What to Watch

"2012" crashed into theaters last weekend, and came out victorious with a $65 million take. This is a big sum, but likely less than the studio had hoped, as the film had a budget of over $200 million. It feels like an equal amount was spent on the inescapable marketing campaign. Holding over strongly from last week, "A Christmas Carol" came in second with $22 million. "Men Who Stare At Goats," "Michael Jackson's This Is It," and the surprising indie hit "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," which made more than $6 million on only 174 screens, round out the top five.

Film:

Three new films go into wide release this weekend. "Planet 51" is a new CG animated film from Dreamworks releasing this weekend. The story centers on an astronaut who lands on an alien planet, only to discover that to them, he is really the alien. As I've stated before, anytime a CG animated movie has released, and it is not made by Pixar, it is not worth watching if you are over nine years old. If you want to see some animation worth watching, the stop-motion masterpiece "Fantastic Mr. Fox" expands next weekend, catch that instead.

Also out this weekend is "The Blind Side," an uplifting true story sports film staring Sandra Bullock. She plays Leigh Anne Touhy, a strong southern woman who takes in and raises an abandoned youth, who would later grow up to be Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Michael Oher. The film chronicles how Michael transitioned from extreme poverty, to NFL stardom. The film is written and directed by John Lee Hancock, who helmed 2002's "The Rookie," so he knows how to make a good sports movie. The cast is pretty weak however, with Bullock taking the movie on her shoulders, as her supporting cast is made up largely of new comers, with Tim McGraw as her husband. I'd imagine he's no De Niro, but who knows.

Lastly, all those high-pitched squeaks and squeals you can hear are growing, and this weekend they will come to a head, as "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" releases. This is the latest chapter in the tween craze over the series of "Twilight" novels, if you can call them that, and millions of women will flock-and 16-year-old boyfriends will be dragged-to the theater this weekend. "Twilight" made nearly $400 million last year, on a paltry $37 million budget, and is poised to repeat that success with the sequel. This time around, the budget has been increased, and a new director, Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass"), has been brought in. Regardless, fans of the series will go see it, and it doesn't really offer much else, as even fans of vampire films in general have little interest in the romanticized "Twilight" films. For all you guys left at home this weekend as seemingly all womankind is watching pale 25-year-old "teenagers" run around, head down to the video store, and rent "Let The Right One In," last year's amazing Swedish vampire film. We must fight back, men.

DVD:

There are some much better viewing options out on DVD this week. The Cameron Diaz/Abigail Breslin tear jerker "My Sister's Keeper" releases this week. It was based on the popular novel of the same name by Jodi Picoult, in which a young girl sues her parents for the right to not give her kidney to her sister with leukemia. The book apparently had a shocker of an ending, which was not used for the film, causing outrage among fans of the book. But those angry book clubbers weren't enough to hurt the film at the box office, where it did quite well, despite largely mediocre reviews. I can tell you this, it's the least funny Alec Baldwin movie since, I don't know, "The Good Shepherd."

Also out this week is the summer blockbuster "Star Trek." I was not expecting a lot from this movie, but once again writer/director J.J. Abrams struck gold and proved me wrong. I am not a fan of any other iteration of Star Trek, but this movie was a blast. The cast was great, the story was innovative, and the action was exhilarating. It just worked. Without giving away the plot, they were able to create a new storyline while still keeping all of the history for the diehard fans in a genius way. J.J. Abrams really knows his stuff, and has a Midas touch lately. I love everything he works on (TV's "Fringe" and "Alias," "Cloverfield," and I would probably like his wildly popular "Lost" but the fans are insufferable so I won't even give it a chance). If you didn't catch "Star Trek" this summer, I highly suggest you give it a chance--it isn't as nerdy as you would think.

Finally, out on DVD is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Its A Very Sunny Christmas." This is a direct to DVD special that was not aired on TV, and thus is uncensored and unbridled. If you haven't seen the show, it is about the exploits of a group of friends, often described as the "most awful people on the planet" by those they come in contact with. It is uproariously funny and highly original. They played some scenes from this DVD at the live show the cast did earlier this fall in Philadelphia, and it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen from the series. When the TV language and content barrier is down, the cast is really able to shine. Trust me, this is a must-own for any fans of the show.