It’s almost February and some really great movies are hitting store shelves this week for the first time and for the first time on Blu-ray. This week’s releases include This Is It, Surrogates, Whip It, Saw IV, the complete run of NBC’s canceled-too-soon Southland and the Blu-ray release of Wim Wenders’ classic Paris, Texas with Nastassja Kinski and Harry Dean Stanton. (pictured above).

Check out this week’s new releases:

Movies

Atonement ~ James McAvoy (Blu-ray)

Bright Star ~ Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw (Blu-ray and DVD)

Fame (1980) ~ Irene Cara (Blu-ray)

Give ‘Em Hell Malone ~ Doug Hutchison, Thomas Jane (Blu-ray and DVD)

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell ~ Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults (Blu-ray and DVD)

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Overall, it was not a particularly impressive weekend at the box office, with the top films boasting relatively modest numbers. Sony Pictures should be smiling, though, because their studio nabbed the top two spots. According to Box Office Mojo, Zombieland lurched over the competition, raking in an estimated $25 million in its opening weekend.  The horror comedy has already recouped its budget, and will likely be a big success story this year, buoyed by positive reviews and good word of mouth.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs continues to impress and took in another $16.7 million for a cumulative gross of $82 million. The unusual move to release Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D drummed up some impressive interest, netting $12.5 million.  Disney is no doubt salivating over this, because Toy Story 3 is set to be released next summer.

The Invention of Lying from  comedian Ricky Gervais had a unimpressive opening of $7.3 million. Its budget was only $18 million, so it should be profitable anyway. In contrast, last week’s Surrogates also made $7.3 million this weekend. Its cumulative total is only $26.3, nowhere close to its reported $80 million budget.

Capitalism: A Love Story, and Whip It both earned $4.8 million, but Whip It played in almost twice as many theaters. Whip It is probably the biggest surprise of the weekend. It had good reviews, a likable and recognizable cast, and was highly promoted. It had to be a big disappointment to Drew Barrymore, who directed the movie, her first.

Recent holdovers Fame ($4.7), The Informant ($3.8) and Love Happens ($2.7) rounded out the top ten.

Drew Barrymore makes an impressive directorial debut with this coming of age story set in the world of Roller Derby. This is a sports movie for women, by women, starring women.  I suspect men will have little trouble enjoying it as well. Adorable Ellen Page (Juno) plays Bliss, a socially awkward teenager from Bodeen, Texas, who is thrust into the world of pageants by her mother (Marcia Gay Harden). One day while shopping in a thrift store, she sees three women skate into the store  and leave some fliers about an upcoming Roller Derby.

Intrigued, she recruits her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat of Arrested Development) to venture into Austin for the event. She is immediately captivated by the sport. She dusts off her old Barbie skates and tries out for the team. After making the team, she becomes an unlikely hero, using her small stature to weave in, out, and around her competitors. The title refers to a move the team uses when they grab her by the hand and catapult her ahead of the pack “whipping” her into position.

This movie is a blast, despite having all the sport movie clichés. Shauna Cross’s screenplay is not exactly brimming with originality. Underdog, check. Disapproving parents, check.  First love, check. Climatic final match, check.  However, the dynamic cast and the unusual sporting event breathe new life into the genre.  Ellen Page is fantastic, and captures the insecurities of her character perfectly.  A scene where she gets her heart broken takes your breath away.  I actually felt like someone had punched me in the gut.  You see her character harden a bit with steely resolve as she climbs the next rung on the ladder of life.  The mother/daughter scenes hold a lot of emotional resonance, and were very believable.

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After her appearance Kitty Pryde in 1989s X-Men: The Last Stand, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Ellen Page returned to the world of superheroes. During an interview to promote her latest flick, Whip It, Page revealed exclusively to MTV that she has signed on to play Rainn Wilson’s sidekick in the upcoming comedy, Super.

As Page explains, Super is about a “character (Wilson) whose ex-girlfriend gets into a sticky situation and he becomes a superhero, essentially, to solve the problem. I play a slightly eccentric girl who works at a comic book store who really wants to be his sidekick.”

So, what should fans expect from said sidekick, especially one of Page’s caliber? A tricked out motorcycle? Kung Fu moves? Witty repartee?

“Let’s just say there might be some skintight yellow suits,” she revealed. “I don’t know for sure. Who knows what will happen?”

The mention of Page being a caped crusader resulted in some laughter, but it doesn’t sound like it’s totally out of the question.

“I don’t know, okay? I have to figure that out first,” she explained. “I have to go deep inside. But, it’s gonna be really fun. I think it will be really rad”

Super will be written and directed by someone who isn’t a stranger to the world of capes and mysteries. James Gunn wrote 2000′s The Specials about a band of rag-tag superheroes, as well as the first two Scooby Doo live-action films. Live Tyler also joins the cast.