It’s a relatively quiet Memorial Day weekend for Redbox and Netflix DVD/ Blu-ray and OnDemand releases. Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, Alex Pettyfer, Antonio Banderas, Zoe Saldana, Bridgit Mendler and Toni Morrison are coming home.
The movies currently winning the DVD rental battle are recent releases The Mechanic, No Strings Attached, The Roommate, The Green Hornet, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Fockers, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Black Swan and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in that order.
Memorial Day weekend’s big new releases are sci-fi action flick I Am Number Fourand the animated family film Gnomeo & Juliet.
I Am Number Fourstars Alex Pettyfer as John Smith, an extraordinary teen in hiding. A deadly enemy has already taken out the first three and “John” may be next. In the meantime, under the watchful eye of his protector (Timothy Olyphant), the young man comes into his own and finds love (Dianna Agron).
Gnomeo & Julietis an animated, comic take on Shakespeare’s classic tale. Local garden gnomes play out the star-crossed love story, which features music from Sir Elton John, flamboyant pink flamingos and epic lawnmower races. James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Sir Michael Caine and Jason Statham lend their voices to the tale.
Other new releases hoping to make a dent on the rental top ten include Antonio Banderas’ mystery thriller The Big Bang, Zoe Saldana’s dramedy Burning Palms, the horror romance Forget Me Not and crime comedy The Scenesters.
Old school films hitting DVD/Blu-ray include Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, 1971’s Le Mans and The Boyfriend, 1966’s Grand Prix and 1986’s Platoon, along with director’s cuts of the more recent Gettysburg and Gods and Generals.
Two documentaries also landed in time for Memorial weekend. The French orangutan tale Nénette invites viewers into the life of the 40-year-old star of the Paris zoo, along with her orangutan friends. Martin Scorsese’s Public Speaking is all about writer Fran Lebowitz and her unique world view. It features archival footage of Thelonious Monk, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, William F. Buckley and Truman Capote.
If you enjoy your comedy out of the box, pick up The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town. Real life kids, however, might be more interested in Bridgit Mendler’s Lemonade Mouth.
On May 31, look for True Blood: The Complete Third Season, Drive Angry and Biutiful.
Also, in theaters this weekend:
The Hangover Part 2 review
The Hangover wolf pack chats
Kung Fu Panda 2 review
Kung Fu Panda 2 exclusive clip
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