BLU-RAY TUESDAY: 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Seeks Vengeance with Steelbook, Extended Cut Exclusives

Without much resistance Cobra took command over the White House this past spring, now the villainous organization has its sights on the home media market as G.I. Joe: Retaliation makes its way to Blu-ray this Tuesday. Also scheduled for release are Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 4 and Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is the sequel to 2009's cartoonish G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, featuring old and new Joes who have been targeted by the terrorist organization Cobra, who have infiltrated and assumed absolute control over the United States government. Roadblock (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson), Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) are a few of the Joes who survived Cobra's extermination and band together to seek vengeance on the evil group.

'Wolverine' Sequel Claws Its Way to Middle of X-Men Pack

Adamantium-clawed Logan (Hugh Jackman) confronts his own mortality in Japan in The Wolverine.

The quality of the X-Men movies hasn't been the most consistent over the franchise's decade-plus run. When the series belts out rock solid installments such as X2 and X-Men: First Class, they're not just superior superhero films, but rank amongst the best of the their respective years. But then again, the franchise also includes X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Feel free to erase those two from canon.

Much like 2009's X-Men Origins, The Wolverine is a standalone feature that focuses solely on Hugh Jackman's adamantium-clawed loner, Wolverine. Set one year after The Last Stand, Wolverine is summoned to Japan to fulfill the dying wishes of Yashida, an industrial tycoon whose life he saved during the Nagasaki attacks. Yashida offers Wolverine an opportunity to strip away his immortality and put an end to eternal suffering.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'The Wolverine' Attacks Top Spot Despite Weaker X-Men Franchise Opening

There was no surprise that The Wolverine would claw its way to the top spot at the box office this weekend, however the standalone mutant film starring Hugh Jackman debuted weaker than every other X-Men film in the franchise with the exception of the first film from 2000.

The Wolverine transports adamantium-clawed superhero halfway around the globe to Japan to reunite with an industrial tycoon whose life he saved during World War II. Despite being based on a popular 80's X-Men arc, a $55 million opening for The Wolverine is startling for a franchise that has boasted higher numbers in the past.   

Last week's top film, The Conjuring and previous two-week champion Despicable Me 2 continued to hold strong in the face of competition. The James Wan scare fest closes in on a successful $100 million run, while Illumination Entertainment's animated spy flick became to second film of 2013 to cross $300 million domestically.

'The Conjuring' Frightens Away Guts and Gore For Retro Ghost Hunting

Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) confronts the evil entity tormenting a Rhode Island family.

For a while there, director James Wan failed to generate the same level of genre-changing thrills that his breakout slasher Saw had in 2004. Dead Silence and Death Sentence weren't exactly resume highlights, however Wan returned to the horror scene in early 2011 with his terrifying supernatural thriller Insidious, which gave  audiences a second wind of Wan's contemporary mastery of the genre, and in return scared the living daylights out of them as hefty thank you. Wan now continues to spread his wings into the supernatural once more with The Conjuring.

From the start, The Conjuring claims to be based on the undisclosed investigation of paranormal team Ed and Lorraine Warren, most notable for their involvement in the Amityville Horror case. The Conjuring, however, is set a few years before Amityville as the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) investigate the disturbing events at house of the Perrons, a Rhode Island couple living with their five girls.

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: Danny Boyle's 'Trance' Leads Quiet Week For Blu-Ray New Releases

With no major studio releases set to street this Tuesday, audiences however can choose between a few new titles that only received limited exposure beyond the Toronto International Film Festival and a handful of independent markets.

Director Danny Boyle is prominently known for his use of vivid color palettes featured in 2008 Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire and 2010 Best Picture nominee, 127 Hours. His latest psychological caper, Trance is equally stylized while audiences delve deep into the mind of an art auctioneer (James McAvoy), whose memories are the key to locating a misplaced piece of art. 

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Conjuring' Frightens the Masses During Overcrowded Weekend Frame

With four new releases launching onto the big screen this weekend, Despicable Me 2's impressive back-to-back run as the top film at the box office was set to end.

The Conjuring starring Patrick Wilson (Insidious) and Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) scared up a first place finish with an estimated $42 million, setting a horror record for  non-sequels, prequels or reboots. The Conjuring also is a career high for director James Wan (Saw, Insidious).

Dropping to the second place, Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me 2 continued to fend off the other three new releases, Turbo, RED 2 and R.I.P.D. with another $25 million added to its $276 million 3-week run. Despicable Me 2 is now the highest grossing animated film from the past three years.

'Turbo' Idles in Pursuit of Predictable Underdog Roads

Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) convinces his brother (Paul Giamatti) that his new powers are for the better.

Back in 2010, DreamWorks Animation was undeniably at the top of their game with acclaimed Viking adventure, How to Train Your Dragon. Flash forward three years later and while fairy-tale Avengers and caveman road trips haven't been complete busts, Rise of the Guardians and The Croods haven't sealed the deal in becoming long-term franchises. And don't think for one second a super-fast snail racing in the Indianapolis 500 is the solution either.

That's right, one of the slowest creatures imaginable right in the middle of the most famous race in NASCAR. Is Turbo an example of "Bizarro world" at its finest or is DreamWorks Animation randomly choosing plot points out of a hat? In actuality, Turbo's quite derivative in the way the underdog story unfolds.

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: 'Evil Dead' Reboot Scares Up Various Exclusives, '42' Hits Home Run on Blu-Ray

Jackie Robinson, Sylvester Stallone and the Evil Dead are as remotely different from one another as possible, but all three go head-to-head on home media as 42: The Jackie Robinson Story, Bullet to the Head and Evil Dead street this week on Blu-Ray.

42 was released in theaters this past April just in time for the start of the 2013 Major League Baseball season and now finds itself on Blu-Ray precisely for the league's All-Star game. 42 is Jackie Robinson's biography onscreen detailing his initial year playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first player to break the color barrier in the sport in 1947. 

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Raunchy 'Grown Ups' Sequel Edges Out 'Pacific Rim; 'Despicable Me 2' Repeats

The Minions from Despicable Me 2 may have conquered the box office for a second week in a row, but the most asked question coming out of the weekend was how Adam Sandler's toilet humor antics attracted a slightly larger audience than giant robots clanking metal with Godzilla.

Grown Ups 2 and Pacific Rim clashed head-to-head for the #2 and #3 spots over the weekend, however Adam Sandler's comedy emerged victorious with $42.5 million to Pacific Rim's $38 million. Grown Ups 2 and Pacific Rim appeal to two completely polarizing demographics, but both films still fell short of Despicable Me 2's second weekend haul, opening close to $45 million.

Despicable Me 2 continues its assault on the summer box office, breaking the $200 million milestone in 12 days of release. Only Toy Story 3 and Shrek 2 reached $200 million a few days faster with both finishing above $400 million at the box office. 
   

'Pacific Rim' Wins War Against Summer Sequels, Prequels and Reboots

Two pilots control the massive "Jaeger" robots to fend off the "Kaiju" attacks in Pacific Rim.

In a summer where there's practically a sequel or prequel or reboot released weekly, it's a refreshing change of pace when an original high-concept film maneuvers into a pivotal position that challenges the landscape of a sea of summer blockbusters.

Pacific Rim is unquestionably that movie. Visionary Guillermo del Toro returns to the director's chair after a five-year hiatus since helming Hellboy II: The Golden Army back in 2008. Instead of demons and dark fairy tales, del Toro tackles a concept intended to appeal any inner child who was visually fed Transformers, Power Rangers and Godzilla. In that mindset, what can be more entertaining than robots and monsters duking it out for over two hours?

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: 'Admission' Leads Class of New Blu-Ray Releases, Tyler Perry and 'Legend of Korra' Debut

With no major titles released on Blu-Ray last week prior to the Fourth of July weekend, Blu-Ray Tuesday returns with six new titles set for release today including: Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, The Host, Spring Breakers, Dead Man Down, Admission and The Legend of Korra: Book One - Air.

Based on the play of the same name, Temptation is the latest film from Madea creator, Tyler Perry, which goes down a more dramatic darker road than many of his other upbeat films. As the title suggests, a marriage counselor divulges a story about their therapist sister (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), whose temptation to fall for another man sends everyone's lives into a downward spiral. Temptation is released as Blu-Ray, UltraViolet combo pack from Lionsgate Films.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Despicable Me 2' Conquers Fourth of July Box Office, Depp's 'Lone Ranger' Left for Dead

The lovable minions from the highly anticipated sequel, Despicable Me 2 lit up the Fourth of July holiday frame earning the top spot this weekend as well as becoming the most successful animated film for the first 5-days of its run.  Despicable Me 2 looks to join animated juggernauts such as Shrek 2, The Lion King and Finding Nemo by summer's end.

However, Johnny Depp's costly iteration of The Lone Ranger couldn't hold a candle to the success of Despicable Me 2, opening much lower than anticipated by many box-office analysts. With a weak $29 million 3-day opening, The Lone Ranger is pegged to be one of 2013's greatest financial failures.

The Heat, Monsters University and World War Z round out the weekend's Top 5 with all three films continuing their ascent towards their next milestones.

Disney's 'Lone Ranger' Loses Its Way in Bloated Western Adventure

Johnny Depp carries over his quirky Jack Sparrow routine as Tonto in The Lone Ranger.

Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl made boatloads of booty back in 2003, Disney has desperately gone back to the drawing board attempt to duplicate its financial and critical success. 2010's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time failed to generate any sort of buzz as did last year's John Carter, but now with The Lone Ranger riding headfirst to the big screen, is there any reason to beat yet another dead horse?

Going through the motions to tell the origins of how and why district attorney John Reid (Armie Hammer) and Comanche outcast Tonto (Johnny Depp) crossed each other's paths shouldn't need to include a tonal seesaw shifting between silly lighthearted Jack Sparrow stunts one minute and the villains feasting on a victim's bleeding guts the next.

More Minions and More Mayhem Keep Laughs Loud in 'Despicable Me 2'

The minions are back for even more slapstick humor and mayhem in Despicable Me 2. 

What's wrong with being the bad guy fueled by sinister plots of global domination? After all, the perks that go along with being a stereotypical baddie are plenty of worthwhile incentives. Who wouldn't want top-notch gadgets, a decked out secret lair and most importantly an army of minions?

However since Illumination Entertainment's 2010 breakout animated film, Despicable Me, ex-supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) has reformed into a family man, raising three girls (Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher) until Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), a high-strung spy abducts him on behalf of the Anti-Villain League to track down El Macho, a villainous face of the past thought to be long gone.

'The Way, Way Back' Refreshes Summer Scene with Charming Coming-of-Age Tale

Teenage wallflower Duncan (Liam James) finds a positive outlet working at a local water park.

There is hardly a kid out there who doesn't look forward to those glorious three months known as summer vacation. After nine grueling months of hitting the books day in and day out, who wouldn't want to spend an entire summer on the beach oblivious of responsibility and expectations.

For Duncan (Liam James), a summer in a remote beach town isn't some cakewalk, particularly when you're an introverted pubescent wallflower raised by a bunch of oddballs who nobody quite gets. On top of that, Duncan can never shake off the reality that his mother's overbearing boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell) ridicules him from the start, flushing what little confidence he had right down the toilet. But when a water park manager (Sam Rockwell) takes Duncan under his wing, the summer looks a bit brighter in The Way, Way Back.

Bullock, McCarthy Mix Havoc with Hysterics in Buddy Cop Comedy 'The Heat'

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are both cops, but complete opposites in "The Heat."

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are no strangers to generating breakout comedic success stories over the summer months. Back in 2009, Bullock flexed her comedic wit as a stuffy exec who forces Ryan Reynolds into marrying her to avoid deportation in the romantic comedy, The Proposal. Likewise, audiences recall McCarthy from her notably raunchy, over-the-top performance in Bridesmaids.

Paul Feig, who helmed Bridesmaids back in 2011 is back in the directorial saddle for The Heat. In The Heat, Bullock and McCarthy clash as a by-the-books FBI agent and a local detective each assigned by their respective bureaus to bring down a mysterious drug lord in the heart of Boston. Taking few risks from the buddy cop formula that flashes rehash in bright lights, the success of The Heat solely hinges on the chemistry between the two lead actresses.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Monsters University' Repeats, Taking 'The Heat' and 'White House Down' to School

Raunchy buddy cop films and Roland Emmerich's latest assault on the White House since his 1996 film, Independence Day failed to put a dent into Pixar's continuing success of the final box office frame in June.

Pixar prequel, Monsters University topped the charts for the second week in a row with a $46 million weekend, more than half of its $82 million opening haul. With Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger set for Wednesday release this holiday weekend, the family competition grows stiff.

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy's comedy The Heat opened in second with $40 million, coming up short of the top spot, but bolting past the frame's only other new wide release, White House Down. The Jamie Foxx action vehicle scored a decade low for Roland Emmerich outside of his 2011 film, Anonymous.