Four new releases fought for a piece of the box office pie and, with the exception of a lower-profile Christian drama playing in 1,100 screens, none of them had much bite.

The Human Centipede II is barely a film. It is technically a 85-minute motion picture that promises to offend and shock on an here-fore-unheard of level, a promise that guarantees disappointment by virtue of its very offering.

There were two major releases this weekend, and both of them more-or-less did what was expected of them. Disney/Dreamworks unleashed the robot-boxing/father-son drama Real Steel, which easily topped the weekend.

The ideas and concepts first found in Frank Miller's Batman: Year One have been so pilfered through over the last 25 years that it feels strange to see this work adapted for film without any narrative alterations.

I'm sure you've heard by now about the woman who is suing Film District over what she felt was a misleading trailer for Drive. In honor of this relatively absurd lawsuit, let's take a stroll down memory lane and look at some classic examples of film-marketing misdirection.

In a somewhat surprising turn, Real Steel repeated at the top of the box office, defeating a Footloose remake and a prequel to The Thing.

As a party movie, a game of sorts among friends or fellow moviegoers, it has its value. But as a movie, this third installment is both a bit of a cop-out and, thanks to its status as a prequel, a bit of a narrative cheat.

The $5 million film grossed a massive $54 million this weekend, which is a 35% jump from Paranormal Activity 2's $40.6 million opening this time last year.

What could have been a cheap and easy spin-off is instead a surprisingly engaging and richly constructed adventure film.

The NC-17 will continue to be a 'scarlet letter' until a major studio is willing to risk releasing a major genre film with that adults-only rating and basically dare chains like AMC, Regal, and Cinemark not to carry it.

Dreamworks seems to have paid a price for their risky release date, as Puss in Boots debuted with a comparatively soft $34 million over the weekend. We'll find out for sure on Monday if it broke the Halloween opening weekend record.