Home Theatre Tuesday (Jan. 10, 2012)

Each week, we bring you a quick run-down of what's out on DVD so you don't miss the hits and you can skip the misses.

Must buy: Moneyball

Baseball could not be more boring in my mind. Baseball movies, however, are a whole other ball game.

A League of Their Own. Bull Durham. Field of Dreams. Damn Yankees. The Sandlot. The Rookie. Fever Pitch. (Okay, maybe that one’s just Jimmy Fallon-fawning me.) The most long-winded, slow-paced nationally-played sport has inspired some serious cinematic catches. Some of them are straight-up great films, with great scripts to run home on. And others are simply exciting because they cut the actual game down to barely-quarter inning stretches to make it seem exciting. Moneyball is a bit of both.

Read the rest of Emily's review here.

Don't even rent: What's Your Number

I know, we should have seen it coming. It looked like an un-funny female take on Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and it was. But let's just blame it on the fact that we're fans of all other "terrible awesome" Anna Faris comedies (ie. The House Bunny, The Hot Chick).

Also out: Paranormal Activity 3

Hailed as the redeemer of Paranormal Activity 2, the third instalment to the series is actually a prequel to the first, and supposedly brings back the scares we loved from the original. Remember when Katie talked about the demon following her since she was a kid? This is that story.

The Fille Files (September 25 - October 1)

Each week, the Filles bring you some of our favourite films finds of the week - news, reviews, features, interviews, tweets, new releases, etc. - just in case you missed them.

REEL GREAT READS

• The top 10 badass line deliveries by movie ladies (IFC News) - Because we love when women are badass.

• 75 Years of Pinewood Studios (The Guardian) - A retrospective on the 75th anniversary of the British film studio where iconic films from the late ‘30s to present were staged and shot, including The Red Shoes, Bonds, Batmans and more. Bonus: The Guardian’s original review of Black Narcissus, also filmed there.
• George Clooney talks Batman & Robin (Total Film) - “It was a difficult film to be good in.” A short, honest (but funny) read.
• Hollywood Eyes Fate of Copyright Law (Variety) - According to a 1994 law in the States, some films can be revoked from the public domain. Just think of what that means for adaptations. Which is why a group of orchestra conductors, educators and homevid distributors are challenging the law in courts next week. Yes, a bit of a dense read but very interesting.
• Eyesore Cinema declares October 15th Video Store Day (blogTO) Now that all the Blockbusters in Canada are closed and Netflix has officially landed, videostores seem to be going the way of VHS. And we're highly depressed about it. So when we heard that one Toronto's own, the awesome Eyesore Cinema, was trying to organize a day to celebrate the survivors, we couldn't have been happier. OCTOBER 15TH!

WEEKEND WATCHES

• Dream House - Part mystery, part ghost story, part psycho-thriller. Starring Daniel Craig in the lead alongside Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts, this film follows a couple who’ve just moved into a house not knowing that a brutal murder took place there several years prior. As spooky things start to spiral, so seems the sanity of Craig’s character.

Photo: Universal Pictures

• What’s Your Number - We think Anna Faris is hilarious. And so was The House Bunny. So, we don’t care that this sounds like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past speed-dating style; we’re still going to see it.
• George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Although it’s not a weekend release, we’re really looking forward to Martin Scorcese’s biopic of “the quiet Beatle” airing on HBO this week.

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: John Dies at the End

A trippy, sci-fi horror with alternate realities, gory murders and creepy, crawly hybrid-monsters. This. Looks. So. Good.