Hunger Games takes the top spot in weekend box office totals.
The Hunger Games took the top spot at the box office this weekend earning $155 million. The film is third in all time opening weekends right behind The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It has also passed Farenheit 9/11 as Lionsgate top grossing movie.
Ever since I got an iPad last year, I always buy Blu-ray combo packs that come with a digital copy. I think that it is a great value to be able to have a copy of whatever movie available for whatever portable device you have. Last year, though, many movie studios started using a different system for digital copies. Instead of a digital copy from the iTunes or whatever digital format, many Blu-rays and DVDs come with an UltraViolet digital copy. What is Ultraviolet?, you ask. This is an explanation of the UltraViolet Digital Copy System according to Wikipedia:
UltraViolet (UV) is a digital rights authentication and cloud-based licensing system that allows consumers of digital home entertainment content to stream and download purchased content to multiple platforms and devices.
This system was implemented beginning with the release of Green Lantern on video. Six months into the use of UltraViolet, the system has a great deal of problems. For starters, the implementation of the system is erratic. For Warner Brothers, the use of the app Flixster on Android and iOS based portable devices is the means of viewing Warner Brothers related UV digital copies. While other movie studios are still working on their delivery systems. The use of app-based delivery method is flawed because not only do you have to sign up for an UltraViolet account but also an account for the app to view the movie. The other big problem facing consumers concerning the UltraViolet digital copy is the quality of a film. While some claim the quality of the UltraViolet copy is as good as its iTunes, DVD or Blu-ray counterpart, others say that the UltraViolet version is degraded. I took screenshots of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in both the Flickster app and the iTunes digital copy at the same scene for a comparison.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in Flixster
From the screenshots, you can tell that the iTunes digital copy is the superior quality. The images are much more vibrant and detailed.
The justification of the UltraViolet digital copy is piracy deterrent but with the inconsistencies in delivery systems and quality, I feel that the movie studios are trying to ripoff the consumer by offering a subpar product.
Update: I went back and tried to get the scenes matching as close as I could, was off by a second before.
On Friday, Warner Brothers premiered the teaser trailer to The Dark Knight Rises with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Billed as the “epic conclusion to the Dark Knight legend”, the teaser gives us clips from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and while we only get a couple of scenes from The Dark Knight Rises, we get a brief glimpse of Tom Hardy as Bane.
I am really looking forward to this film coming out next summer and I am eager to see Chris Nolan’s take on Bane and Catwoman.
It’s that time of year again. Ladies and gentlemen, the summer movie season is upon us and with that come blockbusters, romantic comedies, and kids movies. Being a movie aficionado, I am very selective about films I will go see in the theatres. Here is the rundown of the films that I am anticipating:
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