It’s here! But, not in 3D. And, entirely devoid of special features. Sigh, the huge box office success of Avatar has truly awakened Hollywood’s worst profit-maximizing instincts. Fox is going to release Avatar three times. First, the sucker edition, due out on the 22nd (Earth day! Puke). Second, the “normal” edition, with the deleted and extended scenes and the extras that you can normally expect. Finally, sometime in 2011, the 3D version — the only one most of us care about, anyway.
And you know there are people who will buy them all. For all the complaining Hollywood does about piracy, I think it’s clear who the real thieves are. If you don’t feel like feeding the Fox, check out Summer Hours, a moving French drama and this week’s lone Criticker Pick.
Avatar – Average Tier 6.94
A band of humans are pitted in a battle against a distant planet’s indigenous population. Avatar @ Amazon
The Lovely Bones – Average Tier 4.06
Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. The Lovely Bones @ Amazon
Crazy Heart – Average Tier 6.46
When small town reporter Jean Craddock seeks out Bad Blake — an alcoholic, seen-better-days country music legend — for an interview, they make a connection, and hard-living Blake sees a possible saving grace in a life with Jean and her young boy. Is he ready to leave behind a life playing in the shadow of Tommy, the upstart kid he once mentored? Crazy Heart @ Amazon
Two brothers and a sister witness the disappearance of their childhood memories when they must relinquish the family belongings to ensure their deceased mother’s succession. Summer Hours @ Amazon
The Young Victoria – Average Tier 5.53
A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria’s rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert The Young Victoria @ Amazon
A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960′s. 
A comedy centered around three characters: an everyday guy who comes to believe he’s a superhero, his psychiatrist, and the teenager he befriends. 
His country torn asunder by civil war, Zhao, a common man heeds the call of duty and from the humblest of roots rises through the ranks on wings of courage and cunning to command an army charged with liberating the land from an evil warlord. Inspiring by action, honor and a dream of unifying his divided nation, Zhao’s heroism becomes legend, but as the years pass and the throne changes hands the war still rages on… 
A policeman (Crowe) works to figure out whether a violent teen (Foster) murdered his family. 
When a boxer turned restaurateur (Michael Clarke Duncan) announces a contest to his waitstaff, the good news is that the winner will get a $10,000 bonus. The bad news? The loser will be on the receiving end of a heavy-duty smack-down at the hands of the champ himself. 
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