UP and THE HANGOVER Top Box Office

Pixar’s Up topped the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend with $44.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Playing at 3,818 locations, the Pete Docter-directed animated adventure brought its domestic gross to $137.3 million after a strong two-week run. The plot follows a 78-year-old widower who takes his entire house on a trip to South America.

Debuting in second place with $43.2 million from 3,521 locations was Todd Phillips’ latest comedy, The Hangover. The R-rated film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helm and Zach Galifianakis as three guys who lose their best friend on a night out in Vegas.

Following at a distant No. 3 was Brad Silberling’s [...]

Griffith Masterworks 2: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE STRUGGLE

Walter Huston in Abraham Lincoln

Griffith Masterworks 2: WAY DOWN EAST, THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE
The most anticipated (by me anyway) part of this set is the twofer disc of Abraham Lincoln and The Struggle. Long overshadowed by Griffith’s earlier work, these have the distinction of being his final two films (from 1930 and 1931, respectively), and his only attempts at talkies. By this point, Griffith’s career had been in decline for several years, as newer and, frankly, greater talents eclipsed his trailblazing innovations of a decade earlier. These two films were his last shots at securing a place in the emerging film industry.
For the son of a Confederate soldier, Griffith was surprisingly [...]