Has your Blu-ray collection been missing a certain toy-laden set of adventures from the folks over at Pixar? Would those movies be Toy Story 1 & 2, perhaps? Well if so you’re in luck, as both Toy Story movies are coming to Blu-ray and we have the trailer for their release here for you viewing pleasure.

The folks over at Collider point us to Pixar Talk which says Toy Story 1 & 2 in Blu-ray will be hitting store shelves sooner than you might have thought -- on March 23rd this year. The trailer reveals that the Blu-rays will have exclusive special features, but there’s no word on what those features will be (except for an early look at Toy Story 3), nor if the discs will include the ones on previous DVD versions of the two movies. Pixar Talk says, however, that the Blu-ray exclusive features will most likely be based on previous Pixar releases in that format.

Collider also points us to Amazon which lists the Blu-ray release as including a DVD version, too, although strangely there’s no word if it will include a Digital copy. But since Monster’s Inc. included one, and since almost every (major) Blu-ray release has one, I imagine we’ll hear word very soon of a digital copy for the two Toy Story movies to be included.

Anyway, without further ado, check out the trailer below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-8o8rEFTY

I’m just starting on my Blu-ray collection (up to nine so far, my last purchase being District 9 ). I have two guidelines when it comes to purchases of the post-DVD format: the movie has to benefit from the enhanced visuals (i.e. I’m not going to buy 12 Angry Men on Blu-ray -- what would be the point?) and I won’t buy it if I already own it on DVD (that is, unless, the package is worth the double-dip e.g. loads more special features).

Even though I already own both Toy Story movies, if the exclusive features alluded to above are something special, and since they’re gorgeous films to look at, I might make the Blu-ray purchase.

How about you: will you be buying Toy Story 1 & 2 on Blu-ray?

As stated, Toy Story 1 & 2 are set to be released on Blu-ray on March 23rd this year.

Sources: Collider, Pixar Talk and YouTube

The box office gets Wild; a Vampire Chronicles star moves to Cradlewood; Everything Must Go for Will Ferrell; Owen, Keener and Schwimmer Trust each other and Terrance Mallick’s Tree of Life withers in 2009.

Box Office

After a few years in post-production, Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are took the top spot with a mighty $32.4 million over the weekend. Catering to children and adults alike, it looks like this adaptation of the children’s book might make it to the century barrier.

Law Abiding Citizen came an impressive second with $21 million. The thriller has given a boost to the careers of Jamie Fox and Gerard Butler whose last movies underperformed.

Paranormal Activity scared up $20 million from only 760 screens for a $33 million total. It looks like the sky is the limit as Halloween approaches.

Couples Retreat plunged 47% giving the comedy a weekend take of just under $18 million. With $63 million in the bank so far, it would appear that this Vince Vaughn starrer has a slim chance at hitting $100 million. Slim and Vince Vaughn in the same sentence – that hasn’t been done in a while.

The Stepfather remake faced stiff competition and landed at number 5 with $12.3 million. The low budget of this shocker will probably help it see profit.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs grossed another $8 million giving the film an impressive $108 million total. It might be cloudy – but it’s only raining money!

Zombieland took in just under $8 million this weekend. With $60 million so far it looks like this won’t see $100 million.

The new 3D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 brought in another $3 million giving the duo a decent $28 million total. They’re pretty much there to act as a trailer for next year’s Toy Story 3 so that’s a pretty good win for the re-releases.

Bruce Willis’ Surrogates brought in $1.9 million for a $36 million total, meanwhile The Invention of Lying took a smidgen less than that for a $15 million cumulative gross. Ricky Gervais just isn’t a movie star.

Movie News

1. The Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder has signed on to star in “romantic gothic fairy tale” Cradlewood.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The movie centers on an Australian woman living in Boston with the heir (Somerhalder) to an incredible fortune whose family history is swirled in a legend that tells of a pact made with a demon which ensures that whenever a boy is born into the family, the father is killed. The heir suspects his girlfriend is pregnant, and after strange events occur, he comes to believe he will die if he continues to fall in love.”

Interesting. Sounds like it’ll either be good or terrible. However,  if I was a betting man…

Emma Lung will co-star in the film that will shoot in Melbourne, Australia which is to double as Boston. The reasons for that are financial as I can only assume you guessed.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2. Will Ferrell is set to star in the independent film Everything Must Go.

The $10 million film is based on a Raymond Carver short story . The synopsis is as follows:

“Ferrell will play a guy who loses his job and gets locked out of the house by his wife. She deposits his belongings on the front lawn, and he spends the next four days trying to sell his possessions.”

I can only imagine that Ferrell is bored of remaking old television shows.

Source: Variety

3. Clive Owen and Catherine Keener will be directed by Friends star David Schwimmer in The Trust. Variety says:

“Owen and Keener will play the parents of a 14-year-old girl who are stunned to discover she has been victimized by an adult who gained her trust posing as a teenager on a chat room. Newcomer Liana Liberato will play the daughter.”

It sounds very apt and heavy, which might make it an awards contender.

Source: Variety

4. Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, which had been scheduled for a December 25 release has now been delayed until next year.

The Brad Pitt and Sean Penn drama is currently being edited by Malick who likes to take his time on projects. Malick has only directed four films to date (not including Tree of Life). These films are 1973’s Badlands with Martin Sheen, Days of Heaven with Richard Gere, The Thin Red Line with everyone and The New World with Colin Farrell and Christian Bale.

Not a bad filmography!

Tree of Life is currently without a release date.

Source: Indewire

That’s it for now. See you at the movies.

Got two new trailers for you today, both coming from “The House of the Mouse.” The first one is the theatrical trailer for Disney and Robert Zemeckis’s re-imagining of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, and the other is an exclusive clip for the Toy Story 3D Double Feature, which kicks off its two-week limited engagement this weekend.

Fridays deserve a little touch of magic and there’s nobody who $pecializes in the magic touch better than Disney.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

First up is the trailer for A Christmas Carol, which stars Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge (and the three ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future). The first trailer pretty much showcased Carrey being Carrey, thankfully this second trailer also shows us (as if we needed reminding), what the actual film is about.

Visually speaking Zemeckis has done a pretty good job bringing Dickens’ story to life. Of course there are the usual “made for 3D” gimmicks shots (Scrooge running away from the phantom carriage being the most obvious), but the motion-capture CGI looks pretty fantastic and the colors have this shiny Christmas-type tone to them that my eyes are excited to feast on in 3D. Back during Comic Con we learned that Zemeckis might be mixing his unique brand of creepy in with all the fun, and I’m curious to see if that’s true.

TOY STORY 3D DOUBLE FEATURE

We also have a final trailer/clip for the Toy Story 1&2 3D Double Feature event, which kicks off today and will continue for the next two weeks (check you local theater for showtimes). This latest video features the informative TV Spot we saw before, which lets us know details of the double feature screening (you get a bathroom break), as well as offering an exclusive clip from Toy Story 2 3D.

Check it out:

.

Toy Story Double Feature Trailer/Clip

.

I’m really digging that they’re releasing these Toy Story film in 3D. It’s like getting two great presents before Christmas. Last double feature I sat through was Grindhouse, and with this event, I at least know my time is going to be well $pent, and enjoyed.

As stated the Toy Story 3D Double Feature starts today and will continue for two weeks. Check your local theaters.

A Christmas Carol will be in theaters on November 6, 2009.

Source: Apple Trailers & First Showing

A new TV spot has appeared online recently for the upcoming re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, being shown as a 3D double-feature. I’m normally against the 3D thing (especially considering this kind of case where the films weren’t 3D to begin with), but since Pixar made amazing use of the technology this summer with their latest flick, UP, I’m going to assume they’ve implemented it just as well with this Toy Story 1 & 2 re-release.

Here’s hoping…

The new Toy Story double feature spot is basically a short and fun “instructional” video featuring a voice-over telling us what we can expect, reminding us of our beloved Toy characters, letting us know that we’ll get a bathroom break (rejoice!) and, of course, bragging about the 3D aspect. The first trailer already had me convinced to make the trip out to see this double bill, but if you weren’t convinced yet I’m pretty sure this TV spot will win you over. Take a look:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHA4yiXFRtE

I really love that Pixar has created fresh animation in the promo ads for this special re-release of both Toy Story films, instead of just making a trailer out of the original footage (which they easily (read: lazily) could have done).

Toy Story and its arguably superior sequel (I’ll always PREFER the first, but on a technical animation level, the second is better) have some of the best characters of any animated film, period (IMHO). And seeing them back-to-back on the big-screen is going to be an utter joy. I’ll be there for its limited release in theaters, for sure.

Will you be making the trip out to see Toy Story 1 & 2 in theaters in 3D? Or will you settle for watching it in the comfort of your own home, without having to wear those inconvenient 3D glasses?

The Toy Story 1 & 2 double feature is playing for two weeks only, starting October 2nd, 2009.

Source: FirstShowing and YouTube (special thanks to TheMovieBox)

[Update: We have additional Toy Story 3 Info! See post for details.]

Pixar’s John Lasseter was recently on hand at the Disney Animation Showcase in London, where he showed some footage and spilled some beans about the plots of the upcoming Pixar sequels, Toy Story 3 and Cars 2.

I can tell you upfront that the story revealed for Toy Story 3 pretty much confirms early rumors, while the plot of Cars 2 will be less down-home Southern-fried yarn, and more James Bond.

Pixar fans, if you’ve been waiting to know what’s in store for the next installments of two of your favorite franchises, keep reading.

TOY STORY 3

According to the footage shown, the next Toy Story film will take us ahead to the future where the little boy Andy is now teenage Andy headed off to college, while our favorite toys are headed for a storage unit. When Andy can’t part with his childhood pal Woody (Tom Hanks), the limber little cowboy is forced to set out on a journey to save his fellow toys from the horrible dregs of…a daycare center. I suspect that to the toys, a room full of spastic toddlers will seem like The Spanish Inquisition. I’m already chuckling.

Lasseter also confirmed that former 007 Timothy Dalton will be joining the cast, playing a snooty hedgehog who goes by the (awesome) name of “Mr. Pricklepants.”

Update: Thanks to Slash Film and Twitter we now know the following additional details about Toy Story 3:

• John Morris, the voice of the young Andy in Toy Story and Toy Story 2 is back for part 3. This time round, Andy is 18 years old. Morris is currently age 24.
• Also joining the cast are Pixar vets Jeff Garlin (Wall-E) and Bonnie Hunt (A Bug’s Life, Cars, Monsters Inc.). Whoopi Goldberg will also be making her Pixar debut. Not sure who any of the actors will be voicing.

CARS 2

The sequel to the 2006 Pixar flick Cars will once again focus on sports car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who has graduated to a global Race of Champions that is chock full of other speedsters from around the world. Joining McQueen on his journey will be pal Mater (Larry The Cable Guy), and according to Lasseter, Cars 2 will be a spy-thriller (?), which culminates with a Buckingham Palace throwdown. Rumors are that yet another former (or current?) 007 might be joining the Cars 2 cast.

I love Toy Story, and am eager to see the next installment (in 3D no less!). The plot already has me in goosebumps anticipating all the poignant life lessons about childhood-adulthood transitioning – the childish things we keep and those things we put away – which Pixar is sure to lace into the story. Also the day care scenes already sound like they’re chock full of comedic potential. Count me in.

Cars, on the other hand… never really was able to make it through the first film, and the plot of the sequel has me even less interested. Something about talking cars that look like cartoons never really did it for me. I mean it didn’t quite tickle my gear-head bone, and it didn’t quite tickle my cartoon funny bone, either.

But hey, I’m sure that’s not the case for everybody, so I’ll wait to hear what YOU think in the comments.

Cars 2 hits theaters on June 24, 2011. Toy Story 3 will hit theaters on June 18, 2010.

If you want to catch up on your Toy Story films, remember the first two films in the franchise are being shown in 3D for a limited engagement double-feature event starting October 2nd.

Source (and header image): Cinematical

You’ve done it again, Disney (and Pixar).  All the years that I’ve spent convincing myself that I am free of the tractor beam that is the Magic of Disney™, and once again, I’m off the wagon.

I had relinquished my love/addiction to Disney.  Their magical touch had enchanted me too long with greats like Lion King, or Aladdin, and even The Little Mermaid (if you’re not singing “Part of Your World” in your head right now, you’re soulless). I even went so far as to become a theme part cast member…for six years (true story). But I broke the spell, I cast off the classic demons and villains created over so many years of animation and rid myself of the drug that is Disney Magic.

And then this happened: Toy Story 1&2 in 3D!

Now, I was around when the first Toy Story came out; I was around when the second was a smash; and I’ve even managed to approach the prospect of Toy Story 3 with a healthy cynicism (though some indication that the shell is cracking). But this just pushed me over the edge; just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Hello, my name is Jake, and I’m a Disney-aholic.  I NEED ONE MORE HIT.

And one more hit they shall deliver.  My biggest concern initially was that Disney was going to re-release these masterpieces (yes, masterpieces), embellished with silly, cheap 3D broomsticks in the eye, or shattering glass, or foreground add-ons.  And… Disney has not disappointed.  Based on this first trailer we’ll get Jessie’s hands in our face, Buzz’s jet-pack, and we even get to see Rex’s tail up close after he’s joins the third dimension.

Check it out:

.

.

Even though this trailer promises all the hokey, mawkish tricks that can (and do) send so many 3D films spinning down the toilet, I am, nonetheless, hooked.

Not only can’t I wait to to revisit with my old friends Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the gang – I can’t wait to shriek in pre-adolescent glee as various objects, characters, and body parts come flying off the screen at me.  And I will duck, dodge, and dive; I will do everything in my power to avoid an errant rocket-propelled Buzz Lightyear, or a misdirected Lego, or whatever else is thrown my way.  What’s more, I will shutter in delight as I get to watch the hijinks of Buzz and Woody again, and I will giggle at even the most childish of jokes.

Because I’m an addict, and when Buzz tells me that I can see into the third dimension, you better believe I’ll be rocking those specs to school the next day.  Not to mention, I could watch that little desk lamp hop around to infinity and beyond.

If you or someone you know is addicted to Disney, call 777-FILM for show times and locations, operators are standing by.

Seriously though, the Toy Story 3D Double Feature will be in theaters for two weeks starting October 2nd. Check with your local theater for show times.

Source: MTV Movie Blog

In a not-so-shocking breaking story, Disney has announced that it is going to continue to do what it does best: rework old classics, re-release them, and re-make a boat-load of money. Only this go-round, Disney/Pixar will be taking Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and re-releasing both films in THREE DIMENSIONS!

Come October 2nd, Disney/Pixar has scheduled a short-run release of the Toy Story films as a double feature.  For two weeks only (and then surely on Blu-Ray as a quintuple disk package with life-sized plush toys included) the films will play in theaters to teams of screaming ten-year-olds, and those who were ten when the originals were released but are now… Twenty-five… Whoa. As stated, the Toy Story 3D double feature is set for release in the U.S. on October 2nd.  However, the films will premiere September 2-23, 2009, at the 66th Venice Film Festival, according to Variety.

This may look like another attempt at global domination by Disney, but in actuality, the films’ release appear to be merely harbingers of things to come; a move to drum up some chatter about the upcoming release of the third installment in the Toy Story series, the aptly and creatively named Toy Story 3. Scheduled to debut in the summer of 2010, the third installment will be directed by Lee Unkrich, who has worked on the previous two films first as an editor, then as a co-director – Toy Story 3 will also retain the voice talents of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as leads Woody and Buzz Lightyear, respectively.

Its difficult to justify paying what could be over $25 a ticket for films that you can purchase used and still simulate the 3D experience by sitting too close to your TV. But with Pixar behind the wheel, it’s safe to say this re-release will probably have a few tricks up its sleeve that will prove to make this four-and-a-half-hour moviegoing experience worth it. However, at this point, little is known about any special features of the event.

It does seem kinda silly to go see a movie that’s only 15-years-old for a few gimicky additions like 3D broomsticks in the eye, or toys flying offscreen into the theater. But between you and me: I’m actually the guy already standing in line, waiting for opening night tickets.  See you there.

I'm such a big Toy Story fan, Pixar gave me my own promo poster.

Sources:Variety & Collider

]]> http://screenrant.com/toy-story-1-2-3d-limited-release-jake-17390/feed/ 28 http://screenrant.com/showest-shows-goods-sabrina-6471/ http://screenrant.com/showest-shows-goods-sabrina-6471/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:54:29 +0000 Sabrina Cognata http://screenrant.com/?p=6471

For those not in the know, ShoWest is a convention for theater owners where studios pimp out their movies with the hopes of making a mark regarding their up and coming films. Yesterday, at ShoWest in Las Vegas studios decided to give one another a run for their money. Warner Bros. president Alan Horn showed clips of Terminator Salvation and the new Harry Potter. Both were things we’ve seen before and nothing particularly special.

Horn then introduced the trailer for the comedy The Hangover, which the audience seemed to really enjoy as they broke into laughter, and the action-comedy Sherlock Holmes.  Robert Downey Jr. was there for the unveiling of the film’s trailer. He joked with the crowd and explained that he chose to do this film after the mega success of Iron Man. The trailer itself is said to be classic Guy Ritchie with a mix of action and comedy tied together with a certain supernatural element.

At the Disney panel, they announced that the new Tron film will be in 3D, as well as, asserting that the film will be called just “Tron.” In addition to that they showed the trailer that was originally brought to the public back at Comic-Con. They also dropped the news that Toy Story 1 & 2 will be rereleased in October for a limited engagement in 3D, as well as Beauty and the Beast, but it’s release date will be in February of 2010.

In total, Disney/Pixar have 17 theatrical 3D films planned for release between 2009 and 2012. Included on this list is Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, which will also be released on IMAX 3-D.  They did not show a trailer for Alice In Wonderland, but showed stills from the film including the already seen photo of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and new shots of the Cheshire Cat and it’s smile oddly reminiscent of the Joker.  Finally, we got a glimpse of the Queen of Hearts’ Castle, which happens to resemble the Disneyland Castle.  Way to highlight the Disney iconic logo.  However, the middle part of the castle is appropriately shaped in a giant heart.

Up was also shown again, as it has been at every major movie event for the past few months.  At this point I have seen the first 45 minutes of Up more times than I have seen most of my favorite films.  Still the film does not miss the mark.  It continues to shine in a way that makes the story and characters both believable and relatable.

All in all, the footage shown at ShoWest has been pretty impressive.  Perhaps that has something to do with the 3D wow factor or the fact that most of the movies being marketed there are already highly anticipated films with mega blockbuster potential.

What do you think?  Which films are you excited to finally be hearing more about?

Sources: Collider, IESB.net, SuperHeroHype.com, HitFix, and AintItCool