Blockbuster Blog

Funniest People

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 1:21 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags: ,

I love standup comedy. I grew up watching some of the greats: George Carlin, Eddie Murphy, Bill Hicks, and Richard Pryor. I’ve always been fascinated by the standup process and lifestyle.

So when I heard about the movie Funny People earlier this year, I was really excited to see it. And it was everything I hoped it would be. It’s not exactly a comedy, but it is funny. And, better yet, it provides a glimpse into the lives of standup comedians — both those who are up and coming, and those who have “sold out.”

Since Funny People came out on DVD last week, I wanted to share some of my favorite comedians currently working. Some of them you’ll definitely recognize, but hopefully there’s a few you’ll discover. Many of them are featured in The Comedians of Comedy, which I highly recommend.

Zach Galifianakis
My absolute favorite comedian right now. You’ll recognize him from The Hangover, but he’s been doing fantastic standup for years. His shows include musical interludes with random thoughts and a lot of self deprecation. His Between Two Ferns videos for Funny or Die are hysterical. Bonus: he grows a magnificent beard.

David Cross
Not only is his standup hilarious, but he starred in The Greatest Television Comedy Ever.

Sarah Silverman
She has a filthy mouth and yet manages to be endearing.

Michael Ian Black
MIB has starred in two hilarious comedy shows — The State and Stella — in addition to his current Comedy Central show, Michael and Michael Have Issues. He’s also a really funny author, blogger, and tweeter.

Seth Rogen
He’s blown up recently as an actor thanks to Judd Apatow, but he started in standup. You can see some of his stuff online, and also in Funny People.

Tina Fey
More a brilliant comedic writer than a standup, but I loved her on SNL and can’t get enough of 30 Rock.

Craig Robinson
“Darryl from The Office” got his start in standup. If you can find any of his old videos, watch them. He’s also got a hilarious cameo in Knocked Up.

Patton Oswalt
I’m glad he’s had so much success as a comedy writer and actor (and voice of Remy in Ratatouille), but standup is where he really shines.

Norm MacDonald
This man is a Canadian national treasure. He’s been around for a long time, but he still cracks me up whenever he guests on a talk show.

Maria Bamford
She’s a really weird lady, which makes her really funny. Apart from her standup, you can now see her being oddlarious (new word!) in some Target TV spots.

Aziz Ansari
Part of the brilliant Human Giant comedy troupe, and now starring on Parks and Recreation. I love his role in Funny People, too.

Brian Posehn
He’ll forever be known as “The Tall Guy from Just Shoot Me”, but he’s a really funny standup who deals primarily in nerd humor.

Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci
You might recognize Riki Lindhome from The Last House on the Left, and Kate Micucci from her work on Scrubs. But together they form the excellent musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates.

Demetri Martin
Do you enjoy humor featuring graphs, charts, and palindromes? Yeah, I probably would have said no, too, before seeing Demetri Martin’s act. He’s often compared to Steven Wright, but he has his own thing going on.

Unlikely Friendships

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 10:58 AM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags:
unlikely-friendships

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Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and that’s got me thinking of eating myself into a stupor and watching football (specifically, my University of Texas Football Longhorns versus the ne’er-do-wells from Texas Agricultural & Mechanical).

But there aren’t very many movies about food comas and meat sweats (they’re real — I’ve seen them), so this post is about unlikely friendships: Pilgrims and Indians, Magnum and Higgins, cats and dogs, living together — mass hysteria!

Beverly Hills Cop
A streetwise narcotics detective from Detroit teams up with two soft cops from Beverly Hills to take on a crime syndicate. Crazy antics, and a tremendous theme song, ensue.

Rocky III
Apollo Creed helps Rocky train to beat Clubber Lang. Two formerly bitter enemies end up cavorting on the beach in shorty shorts and really high socks. It’s almost as if it’s a modern retelling of the first Thanksgiving.

The Adventures of Milo and Otis
If you read the subtle undertones of this movie, I think you’ll see that Milo and Otis are actually not friends, but frenemies. They’re just like Paris and Nicole.

The Princess Bride
A master swordsman and a giant eventually befriend an ex-pirate after failing to kill him. Most of my friendships are based on an inability to kill the other person.

Tango & Cash
Two cops: one a nattily dressed sophisticate, the other a blue collar slob, team up to fight crime. When I started thinking about this list, I realized that there are 800 cop movies with unlikely friendships. I included this one because I like the idea of Jack Palance as a drug kingpin.

Sideways
A neurotic, depressed writer and his party animal former college roommate booze their way through Napa.

For even more odd pairings, check out our Unlikely Friendships list.

Movies Based on Books

Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 2:49 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags:
movies-based-on-books

This has been a pretty well-kept secret, but New Moon, the second movie based on the Twilight series of books, comes out in theaters this Friday. And that got me thinking about other movies based on books. Here are some I enjoy:

Apocalypse Now
A weird book and an exceedingly weird film. But both were good.

Choke
Not the best movie, but I loved the book so much that I was still entertained.

First Blood
That’s right — there are Rambo books. So cross that off your List of Awesome Things that Need to Happen.

Fight Club
Second Chuck Palahniuk movie on this list, and this was an excellent adaptation. But no matter how many times I talk or write about him, I always have to look up the spelling of his name.

Full Metal Jacket
I’ve never read the book, but I imagine it would be a rough read, much as some parts of the movie are a rough watch.

The Godfather
The movie is so great that it’s hard to read the book without seeing all the scenes from the film.

Goodfellas
Second only to The Godfather in mobster movie awesomeness.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
I haven’t even read the Harry Potter series, but the movies have been well done.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
It was hard to imagine how the book would be turned into a movie, especially with the weight of over 25 years of fan expectations hanging over the production. While there were things left out, on the whole I thought it was a good adaptation, although the casting of Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox had a lot to do with it.

The Last of the Mohicans
I liked the movie better than the book. There, I said it. I think it’s the stirring soundtrack.

Lord of the Rings
I love this book, and I can’t imagine a better adaptation than Peter Jackson’s epic.

No Country for Old Men
The Cohen brothers did an absolutely amazing job of adapting the book into a movie.

Once Upon a Time in America
This often gets overlooked when talking about the best mob/gangster movies, but it’s one of the best.

The Princess Bride
Excellent book, excellent movie. So many quotable lines, it’s ridiculous.

Scrooged
I’m going to make some of my English teachers weep by admitting this: I can’t stand reading Charles Dickens. And yet, one of his books led to one of my favorite holiday movies. Between that and the fact he has an awesome coif/beard combo in the pic on his Wikipedia page almost makes me want to try Great Expectations again. Almost.

Stand By Me
Technically this was based on a short story, but that short story was published in a — wait for it — book. So I’ll allow it.

The Hunt for Red October
I’ve never read a Tom Clancy book, just because it’s not really my bag. And yet I love this movie. When it’s on cable (usually 10-20 times a day), I always tune in, at least for a few minutes.

The Natural
The best sports movie ever made, in my opinion.

The Shawshank Redemption
This was loosely based on a Stephen King novella. Why is it that his novels generally aren’t that great as films, but his shorter works have led to two fantastic movies?

To Kill a Mockingbird
I don’t think the movie lives up to the book, but then again that’s pretty hard to do, considering how good the book is.

Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh is one of my favorite authors. I think his novel Glue would make an even better movie than Trainspotting, if possible.

There are obviously many more fantastic movies based on books that I’m overlooking here due to time constraints, etc. In fact, I’ve just thought of three to add, but I’m staying strong! Okay, they’re High Fidelity, American Psycho, and Lawrence of Arabia. But that’s it! And Into the Wild. Ahhh!

Check out our Great Reads, Great Movies list for some more movies from books.

Historical Movies vs. Historical Fact

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 4:32 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags: , ,

Hollywood loves to make historical movies, but often misrepresents things, sometimes willfully so. Like, for instance, why do so many Romans speak with a British accent? It’s a mystery as old as time. Or all those Roman movies from the 50s.

I’ve rounded up five movies based on true stories or periods of history and pointed out some of their flaws. I don’t dislike these movies — in fact, I enjoyed most of them. I just like to drop history knowledge whenever possible. For each movie, I’ve provided documentaries that will help you get the straight historical dope.

Braveheart
This is one of my favorite movies, but it’s completely off on many points, including Wallace’s background, the completely fabricated romance with Princess Isabelle (Wallace was dead before she moved to England to marry the Prince of Wales), wonky timelines, the Battle of Stirling Bridge not being fought on a bridge, the anachronistic kilts and belted plaids, Edward I dying just before Wallace (he died a few years later), and more.

But the most egregious error is the vilification of Robert the Bruce. He was a patriot and eventual King of Scotland who won independence from the British through a long campaign of guerilla warfare. He never betrayed Wallace, and may not have been at Falkirk at all, let alone on the British side.

The real deal: Check out the biographies The Heroes of Scotland: William Wallace – The True Story and The Heroes of Scotland: The Bruce of Bannockburn.

Gladiator
Do you like movies about gladiators? Some of the mistakes in this movie include really bad Latin, errors in the armor and tactics of gladiatorial combat, and the timeline of Commodus’ rule. When Marcus Aurelius died (probably from plague), there was no fight for succession. In fact, Commodus was a consul and had been co-ruling with him a few years before his death. Maximus is not a real person — he’s a mix of accounts from provincial Roman military commanders.

It is worth noting that Commodus’ older sister Lucilla did plot to kill him early in his reign. And while Commodus really was a bit of a psycho who fought in the arena, he reigned for 13 years before he was assassinated.

The real deal: We don’t have a documentary on Commodus, but here’s a little something about gladiators: History’s Mysteries: The True Story of Gladiators.

The Patriot
Another big production Mel Gibson movie with historical inaccuracies. I’m sensing a trend. Errors in The Patriot include: exploding cannon balls, the over-the-top evilness of the British soldiers, battle timelines and tactics, and some of the undertones that Americans were slowly turning against slavery at the time of the Revolutionary War (Britain abolished slavery decades before America).

Oh, and Mel Gibson’s character, Ben Martin, was not a real dude. He’s a pastiche of different people from the time. In the original script he was Francis Marion, also known as The Swamp Fox, who actually did exist and fought against the British as a militia general. Marion has been accused of committing some fairly heinous acts, so after rewrites, we get Ben Martin.

The real deal: The American Revolution was televised (on PBS): Liberty!: The American Revolution.

300
This was based on a graphic novel, so some of the extreme flights of fancy can be excused. But since that graphic novel was based on real events, it’s still fair game. Aside from the totally weird stuff like giants, trolls, and magic, this movie gets a lot of things wrong (purposefully) about the cultures of the Spartans and the Persians they fight in the movie.

Spartans are portrayed as the tough but fair icons of freedom defending their homes against the evil Persian Empire, which is based on slavery and generally being jerky to everyone. The truth is Spartan society was built on the backs of slaves, and their extremely hardcore warriors dealt more with slave rebellions than anything else.

I also felt the Persians were made out to be kind of lame. While the Persian army really was held off for days by a small band of Spartans at Thermopylae, the Persians were a crack army that had conquered vast amounts of land. As far as we know, though, the Spartans actually did have tremendous abs. People did a lot of crunches back in the day.

The real deal: For more information on the battle, check out Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae. For more on Spartan culture, we have The Spartans.

Apocalypto
Why do you hate history, Mel Gibson?!? Problems include attributing some Aztec architecture and rituals to the Mayans, the capture of Mayan citizens for sacrifice (most sacrifices were prisoners of war), Jaguar Paw’s hunting village in the middle of the jungle (Mayans at this time were a agricultural society: the village would have been in a fully cleared area, not the middle of the jungle, and there would have been fields for crops), and Mayans performing mass sacrifices (another attribute of the Aztecs).

The real deal: Learn about the Mayans here: Mystery of the Maya or the Mayans with bonus Aztec knowledge here: Lost Treasures of the Ancient World 1: Mayans and Aztecs.

For more historical movies, check out our History 101 list.

Games for the Holiday Season

Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 8:40 AM | Posted by:
Category: Games | Tags: ,

The holidays are coming up, which means I have video games on the brain. While some people are saying the releases for this holiday season don’t compare to the loaded slate from last year, there are a ton of games I’m looking forward to, some of them sequels to my favorite next-gen games. So can it, Debbie Downers.

Here are the titles I’m looking forward to this season. Many of these are already out, but unlike some bloggers, I don’t get sweet free games to play, so I’m a little behind on my gaming.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Playstation 3)
Available Now
I don’t own a PS3, so I only got to play the first Uncharted a little. The awesome critics’ scores on this, though, along with Blu-ray capability, means I’ll inevitably be buying a PS3 soon.

Brütal Legend (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Available Now
I really like the idea of playing as a roadie transported to some crazy, heavy-metal-inspired fantasyland. Even better, the roadie is voiced by Jack Black. Not to mention all the other great voice acting done by Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilmister Rob Halford, Tim Curry, David Cross, Steve Agee and Brian Posehn.

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)
Available Now
This is basically just a big expansion for Halo 3, but it apparently has tons of playing time, plus gives you access to the normal Halo 3 multiplayer. Although if you’re a big enough Halo fan to want this, you probably already own Halo 3. Anyway, more Halo is fine by me.

Dragon Age: Origins (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Available Now
I love RPGs, and Bioware makes some great ones. The fact that this game has been called the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate means the only reason I haven’t picked it up yet is that I’m afraid I’ll wind up jobless, friendless, and on the streets due to all the time I would spend playing it. I would have to carry around my Xbox 360 and a bunch of jerky in a polka-dot handkerchief on the end of a stick (Fun Hobo Fact: that’s called a stick and bindle). It might be a risk I’m willing to take, however.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Available Now
The first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was a fantastic game. It was the first in the series to stray from the WWII setting, and although I’m always down for fighting digital Nazis, it was a welcome change. It also marked the return of Infinity Ward as the developer.

The fact that Infinity Ward is back developing the sequel bodes well, and I hear Modern Warfare 2 is even better than its predecessor. We had midnight release parties all over the country for it, because we love video games and we love to party. You can check out the pics on our Facebook page.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
11/15/09
This makes me want to swing my arms from side to side, take one step and then again. And that means I would of course be doing the Mario. You’re welcome for that blast from the past. I’m excited not only because this is an old-school, side-scrolling Mario game with better graphics, but also because it has simultaneous multiplayer gameplay (for the first time in a Mario game since the original Mario Bros.).

Assassin’s Creed II (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Releases 11/17/09
I enjoyed the first game, what with all the sneaking and assassinating, but it certainly had a few problems. I found it got very repetitive; every mission seemed to be the same after a while. Also, a lot of the action felt like it was automatic — you didn’t have to really do much to jump across rooftops or fight eight dudes at once.

The early reviews from the sequel have been great, though, and claim that those issues have been fixed. Can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360)
Releases 11/17/09
Oh, man, I love killing zombies in video games. Or re-killing them. Or whatever it is you do when you shoot one in the head. These aren’t zombies by the traditional definition, but potato, potato, I say. That saying doesn’t translate well in print.

The Saboteur (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Releases 12/8/09
I don’t know a ton about this game, but the demo playthrough I’ve seen looks pretty cool. You get to run around an open-world Paris and foil the Nazis, which seems like a good time.

Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
Releases 1/26/2010
Okay, this comes out well past the holidays, but I run this blog, and I’ve let that very small amount of power go to my head. So I’m including it. I think Mass Effect was one of the best games of the last few years. I played it through twice, once with Commander Mookie Shepard, and once with Commander Evil Mookie Shepard. I think it’s very cool that your decisions from the first game will be reflected in the sequel, including whether key characters are alive or dead. I like my sci-fi realistic like that.

Dysfunctional TV Families

Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 11:05 AM | Posted by:
Category: Television | Tags: ,

We recently put out a poll on Dysfunctional Family Thanksgivings. Which you should really vote in. Even if you’ve already voted. Voting more than once is the American way (note: voting more than once in a real election is actually illegal, so don’t do that).

Anyway, while there are a lot of delightfully dysfunctional families from movies, there are even more from television. Here are some of my favorites.

The Bunkers from All in the Family
This was a groundbreaking show that really opened up the sitcom genre. Quite a strange mix of characters in this family. Fun Fact That I Didn’t Know Until I Started Researching This Post: All in the Family was based on a British show called Till Death Us Do Part. You’ve just been served with knowledge.

The Simpsons
Maybe it’s because it’s animated, but the alcoholism and negligent parenting seem so much more whimsical on here than in real life.

The Bundys from Married with Children
Al Bundy is a great thinker and patriot. After all, he is the founder of NO MA’AM.

The Connors from Roseanne
Roseanne continued the All in the Family tradition, tackling real social issues with humor and candidness. And they had killer Halloween episodes.

The Griffins from Family Guy
A talking dog who drinks like a fish, a baby plotting the murder of his mother, constant abuse heaped on the daughter by the rest of the family. Yep, I’d say that’s dysfunctional.

The Fawlty family from Fawlty Towers
Wacky Brits! Misanthropy! Farce!

The Bluths from Arrested Development
This is my favorite of all TV families. If you’ve ever seen the show, there’s no need to explain why. If you haven’t, shame on you. SHAME!!

The Tanner family from Full House
Not really dysfunctional, but everyone was just a little too sweet and nice. I’m not buying it.

Magnum, P.I.
Okay, there’s not even a family in Magnum, P.I., but man it’s a good show!

New Moon Celebrations

Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 4:31 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags: , ,

Select Blockbuster stores around the country are holding events on Friday, November 13 (ooohhhh, spooooookyyyy) to celebrate the release of New Moon in theaters. We’ll be giving away hundreds of tickets to an advance screening of New Moon at these soirees. That’s right — you can show up your friends by seeing the movie before it even releases!

We’ll also have other prizes to win, exclusive merchandise to buy, and a screening of Twilight. Below are some of the stores holding events. Call your store for exact start time and other valuable information.

Bonus: I’ll be tweeting from the Austin event, so make sure you’re following us on Twitter.

Atlanta
3944 Peachtree Road NE, Suite B
Atlanta, GA 30319

Austin
2118 Slaughter Lane
Austin, TX 78748

Boston
184 Border St.
East Boston, MA 02128

Chicago
2025 Lincoln Highway
St. Charles, IL 60174

Cleveland
650 East Aurora Rd.
Macedonia, OH 44056

Dallas
5960 W. Parker Road
Plano, TX 75093

Denver
9871 Parker Rd.
Parker, CO 80134

Houston
588 Sawdust Road
Spring, TX 77380

Los Angeles
900 N. Pacific Ave.
Glendale, CA 91203

Minneapolis
1649 W. 78th St.
Eden Prairie, MN 55436

New York
701 W. Montauk Hwy
West Babylon, NY 11704

Philadelphia
1586 N. Kings Highway
Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

Phoenix
3141 S McClintock
Tempe, AZ 85282

Portland
14350 SW Barrows Rd, #B
Tigard, OR 97223

Salt Lake City
4095 South Redwood Road
West Valley City, UT 84123

St. Louis
11600 Olive Blvd.
Creve Coeur, MO 63141

San Francisco
1375 Blossom Hill Rd
San Jose, CA 95118

Seattle
1514 Broadway Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122

Tampa
2045A Gulf To Bay Blvd.
Clearwater, FL 33765

Washington, D.C.
11325 Seven Locks Road
Potomac, MD 20854

Play Trivia on Twitter to win a Modern Warfare 2 PS3 Bundle!

Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 12:45 PM | Posted by:
Category: Games | Tags: ,

We’re pretty excited about the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I mean, it’s only the sequel to the BESTSELLING FIRST-PERSON ACTION GAME OF ALL TIME.

How excited are we? So excited that we’ve gone crazy, and are giving away a bunch of sweet stuff for the entire week leading up to the game’s release on November 10! The grand prize is a Playstation 3 bundled with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Hardened Collectors Edition. Other prizes include PS3 peripherals, a copy of the PS3 version of the game, and BLOCKBUSTER GiftCards.

Get in on the action by following us on Twitter. We’ll tweet a military history trivia question each business day at 2pm Central from November 2–10. The first person to correctly answer the question will win a fabulous prize!

If you’re a fan of things that are official, you’ll probably enjoy reading the Official Contest Rules below.

OFFICIAL RULES BLOCKBUSTER® Modern Warfare®2 Contest (the “Contest”)
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANGES OF WINNING. Contest begins on November 2, 2009 and ends on November 10, 2009. Contest is sponsored by Blockbuster Inc., 1201 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas 75270 (the “Sponsor”)

HOW TO ENTER: Each weekday during the Contest, Sponsor will post a military history question at approximately 2 p.m. CST on its Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/blockbuster. The first person to respond back with the correct answer will win the prize for that day. Odds of winning depend on whether you are the first person to respond with the correct answer, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Limit 1 entry per person per day and limit 1 prize per person during the Contest period. Entry requires signing up for a Twitter account through twitter.com. There is currently no charge for a Twitter account. Sponsor has no control over the data practices and data collection of Twitter. This Contest is not endorsed, sponsored by or affiliated with Twitter, Inc.

ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open to all legal US residents, 18 and older as of the start of the Contest. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited or restricted by law. Contest subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. By participating, entrants agree to these Official Rules and accept decisions of the Sponsor as final. Employees (and those with whom such employees are domiciled) or agents of the Sponsor, its affiliates, franchisees or their advertising and promotional agencies and the Contest judges, are not eligible. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify entrants who fail to follow these Official Rules or who make any misrepresentations relative to the Contest or the redemption of any prize. If a winner is disqualified or determined to be ineligible or if a prize is unclaimed or undeliverable, an alternate winner will be selected using the same judging process/criteria describer herein. Alternate winners are subject to all requirements set forth in these Official Rules.

PRIZES: The daily prize for each of the first six days of the Contest period will consist of either a $50 BLOCKBUSTER GiftCard® (value of $50) or a select PlayStation3 peripheral (approximate retail value of $54.99). The daily prize on November 10, 2009 is a PlayStation®3 Modern Warfare®2 bundle which includes one PlayStation®3 120GB System and a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare®2 game, Hardened Collectors Edition (approximate retail value of $359.98). Note: BLOCKBUSTER GiftCards are subject to the terms and conditions printed on the GiftCard and/or its packaging. Prizes must be accepted as awarded, and are not transferrable, assignable or redeemable for cash. No prize may be substituted except by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right at any time to substitute a prize or any portion thereof for a prize of equal or greater value. All federal, state and local taxes imposed on the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. Prizes will be shipped to winners.

CONSENT BY WINNERS: Your entry to the Contest constitutes your agreement to allow your entry and your name, city and state, to be published as a winner of the Contest on blockbuster.com and other websites, as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion without any fee or other form of compensation. All winning answers submitted become the property of the Sponsor and no correspondence will be entered into. Sponsor has the right and permission to use, publish, broadcast, reproduce and distribute all winning entries in any manner or media throughout the world in perpetuity, for any purposes whatsoever, including but not limited to, advertising and promotion.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Sponsor is not responsible for any: (i) computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, technical, electronic or hardware/software malfunctions, connections, failures, availability, traffic congestion, unauthorized human intervention or technical, electronic or mechanical computer error of non-transmitted automatic entries; (ii) incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by tampering, hacking or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; or (iii) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from your participation in the Contest. If the Contest is incapable of running as originally planned due to computer virus, bug, tampering, technical failure or other cause beyond the control of Sponsor, Sponsor reserves the right to terminate the Contest. Sponsor is entitled to interpret these Official Rules as needed and its decisions are final and binding.

By participating in this Contest, you agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and its employees, officers, affiliates, agents and franchisees from any and all damages, injuries, claims, causes of action or losses of any kind resulting from your participation in this Contest, including without limitation, infringement of intellectual property rights, any prize won, any use of the entry materials by Sponsor, the warranties you make under these Official Rules and any misuse or malfunction of any prize awarded. IN NO EVENT WILL SPONSOR BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS CONTEST AND/OR USE OF ANY PRIZE. All disputes between you and Sponsor relating to this Contest shall be resolved by binding individual arbitration under the American Arbitration Association’s rules for consumer-related disputes. Neither you nor Sponsor will participate in a class action or class-wide arbitration for any claims relating to this Contest. If this class action waiver is found to be unenforceable in a particular case, then the entire agreement to arbitrate disputes relating this Contest shall be null and void in that case. Sponsor reserves the right to change this dispute resolution provision, but any such changes will not affect claims that have already been filed. This contest is offered in the United States only and shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and, where consistent, Texas law.

WINNERS LIST: A winners list will be posted online at blog.blockbuster.com

Halloween Costume Contest Results

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 3:17 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags: , ,

I was extremely impressed by the awesomeness of the costumes submitted by you, America. Turns out you people are pretty crafty. Alas, we could only pick four winners. Here they are:

First Place, and winner of a TiVo DVR for his outstanding Zoltar costume is Flickr user jonathan_gleich


Second Place, and winner of a $100 BLOCKBUSTER GiftCard for his impressively detailed Swedish Chef costume is Flickr user waynekaa

Third Place, and winner of a $50 BLOCKBUSTER GiftCard for Shrek and Fiona is Flickr user ourosao

Runner-Up, and winner of a $25 BLOCKBUSTER GiftCard for Where the Wild Things Are is Flickr user four20jm

Thanks to everyone who submitted pictures! Don’t forget to check out the whole album. Stay tuned for more contests and other chances to win desirable goods and services.

Family-Friendly Halloween Movies

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 1:25 PM | Posted by:
Category: Movies | Tags: ,

We’ve been talking a lot about scary movies and games for Halloween, but I haven’t really talked about stuff you can watch with the whole family. Here are some of my favorite kid-friendly movies for this time of year. I’ve divided them up into things appropriate for younger children, and those you should probably save until they’re a little older.

Appropriate For All
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I think this is as good as it gets when looking for things to watch with your kids around Halloween. I grew up watching this every year, and still try to catch it whenever I can. In fact, it’s on this very night, at 8pm Eastern Time on ABC.

The Nightmare Before Christmas
I hesitated to put this on my list, only because I didn’t want to get that “What’s This?” song in my head. Since just thinking about the song lodged it in my head, I guess it doesn’t matter.

Ernest Scared Stupid
Yeah, that’s right, I’m a fan of Ernest P Worrell. And while other Ernest aficionados will tell you this is not the best of Jim Varney’s oeuvre, it’s still good watching. Know what I mean?

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
This scared me as a kid, but not so much that I didn’t watch it all the time.

Monsters, Inc.
Fun fact: we used to have a giant (I wanted to say “life-sized”, but that doesn’t make much sense when discussing a cartoon character) statue of Sully in our lobby. It was awesome. Then, one day, it disappeared, to the dismay of all. Especially to the dismay of me, because I wanted to steal him and make him the centerpiece of my cubicle.

Appropriate for Older Kids
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
If you have a child of a certain age, you probably own this movie already. And the other movies. And the costumes. And the toys. And the cookbooks. But it still bears mentioning, because it really is great to watch with the family.

The Monster Squad
I alluded to this in my Top 10 Movie Monsters post. It’s a fun movie, and if your child happens to pick up some valuable lessons to help defend your home against the inevitable zombie uprising, then so much the better.

Ghostbusters
This is not just a good movie to watch with the family — it also happens to be one of my favorite movies, period. I’m extremely excited that Ghostbusters 3 is in the works.

The Witches
This movie has Anjelica Huston as a villain, creatures by Jim Henson, and is based on a Roald Dahl novel. What more could you ask for?

Beetlejuice
I loved this movie when I was younger, and it still holds up now that I’m an adult. It’s a perfect mixture of humor for (older) kids and adults.

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