ZODIAC
Release Date: July 24
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny
Director: David Fincher
Length: 158 minutes
I the late ’60s a serial killer dubbed the Zodiac terrorized Northern California. Much like the Son of Sam a decade later, he sent taunting letters and cryptic messages to the press. He was never caught. The films stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, who was a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle at the time and who later wrote the true-crime book “Zodiac,” which is the basis for the movie.
“Zodiac” is highlighted by fine performances, especially from Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, the alcoholic reporter for the Chronicle. But the movie suffers from a lack of focus. For about the first two hours, the film follows the investigation of the Zodiac murders. The purported lead character, Graysmith, merely “looms” around the action and has nothing of significance to do. The killings stop and the investigation goes nowhere. Enter Graysmith and the second part of this unintentional double feature. Graysmith, obsessed with the case, begins his own investigation, which leads him to write his true crime book. I found myself uninterested after the first investigation and couldn’t wait for the second one to end.
URCHIN From first-time director John Harlacher, “Urchin” is an urban fantasy that follows the quest of a homeless boy from the underground world of Scum City. | $17.99
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GUNSMOKE (Season 1) The classic and long-running TV Western “Gunsmoke” hits DVD in this six-disc, 39-episode set from Paramount Home Video. | $26.99
If “The Simpsons” have taught us anything it’s that two-dimensional characters are funnier than three-dimensional ones. There are as many great Simpsons quotes as there are Republicans in hell, which is another way to say “a lot.” For 18 years the residents of Springfield have been piling up the wittiest quotes ever uttered on TV. So, before the animated series hits the silver screen next week, here are the best quotes in Simpsons television history, in no particular order…
Frank Welker didn’t get the opportunity to reprise his role as the voice of Megatron in the “Transformers” movie, but he landed a gig with another animated-series-turned-summer-blockbuster. Welker provides the voice of Santa’s Little Helper in “The Simpsons Movie,” which opens July 27.
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth movie in the fantasy series, topped the weekend box office with $77.4 million, knocking “Transformers” to second place.
“Harry Potter” has earned $140 million since opening on Wednesday.
“Order of the Phoenix” had the lowest opening weekend gross of any Harry Potter film. However, it is the first of the series to open on a Wednesday. The last movie, 2004′s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” earned $93.7 in its opening weekend, and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” had the best opening weekend in the series with $102.7 million.
The weekend’s only other new release, the horror film “Captivity,” landed in 12th place with $1.6 million. The movie, starring Elisha Cuthbert, played in 1,050 theaters.
“Transformers” earned another $36.7 million, raising its total to $223 million.
| Rank | Title | Gross | Last Week |
| 1 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | $77,410,000 | - |
| 2 | Transformers | $36,600,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Ratatouille | $18,019,000 | 2 |
| 4 | Live Free or Die Hard | $10,875,000 | 3 |
| 5 | License to Wed | $7,440,000 | 4 |
| 6 | 1408 | $5,010,000 | 6 |
| 7 | Evan Almighty | $4,972,000 | 5 |
| 8 | Knocked Up | $3,653,000 | 7 |
| 9 | Sicko | $2,650,000 | 9 |
| 10 | Ocean’s Thirteen | $1,910,000 | 10 |
“Transformers” didn’t disappoint at the box office. The action extravaganza, based on the ’80s animated series, crushed the competition by earning $67.6 million over the weekend to land at No. 1. The Michael Bay-directed movie has broken several records. It set the record for the highest gross for a non-sequel in its first seven day with $152.6 million since opening on Tuesday, surpassing 2002′s “Spider-Man.” “Transformers” also set records for best Tuesday opening with $27.5 million and best July 4th gross ever with $29.1 million.
In comparison, “Spider-Man 3″ earned $151.1 million in its first three days of release and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” took in $114.7 million in its opening weekend.
The week’s only other new release, “License to Wed,” starring Robin Williams and Mandy Moore, landed in fourth place with $10.4 million over the weekend and $17.8 million since opening on Tuesday.
| Rank | Title | Gross | Last Week |
| 1 | Transformers | $67,600,000 | - |
| 2 | Ratatouille | $29,029,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Live Free or Die Hard | $17,400,000 | 2 |
| 4 | License to Wed | $10,400,000 | - |
| 5 | Evan Almighty | $8,114,000 | 3 |
| 6 | 1408 | $7,140,000 | 4 |
| 7 | Knocked Up | $5,159,000 | 6 |
| 8 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | $4,150,000 | 5 |
| 9 | Sicko | $3,650,000 | 9 |
| 10 | Ocean’s Thirteen | $3,525,000 | 7 |
