Even though 2008 was a good year for the box office, budgetary concerns remain foremost in many studios' thoughts. What better way to help shore up cash intake than to make movies with huge merchandising potential? Look at the blockbuster Transformers, for example. Hasbro will be following up with a sequel, as well as movies based on their board games, like Candy Land, Monopoly, and the ol' party-pleaser, the Oujia board. Not to be outdone, Mattel will be getting into the action with a live-action Barbie movie and a movie revolving around their Hot Wheels toy line. Man, it's like the Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Chocobot Hour come to life.

Do you still have a couple of Christmas gifts to buy and not a lot of money to spend? Well, good news! Christmas movies are not only thematically appropriate in most cases, they're also a relatively cheap way to say, "I love you." Sometimes they also say, "I hate you, but I'm pretending to love you for the holidays." But which movie to choose to send just the right message to the recipient? Consult the following pitiless Christmas movie-buying guide for handy tips.

So you've just seen Twilight, and you are now officially addicted to Robert Pattinson. You need him like a flower needs sunlight, or like a teenage girl needs a dangerous-yet-non-threatening vampire boyfriend. You've bought the T-shirt, the calendar, everything you can get your hands on, but now you need a tiny, three-dimensional totem of Edward to worship and adore. You need a doll, or, better yet, an action figure. Like, right now. Well, Edward thinks you should wait, and if you really love him, you will.

No, I don't mean that Ridley Scott is going to direct a movie so bad that it will make the sure-to-be-cheesy adaptation of the real estate board game Monopoly look like Blade Runner in comparison. I mean that Ridley Scott, the director of Blade Runner and Alien, who was on the verge of redeeming himself as a geek auteur with adaptations of Robin Hood and The Forever War, is now signed on to direct the Monopoly movie, and he wants to make it look like Blade Runner. Which makes sense, because you'd have to travel pretty far into the future to find a way to make the housing market exciting again. (Or maybe he's going for dystopic?)

Just in case you're not reading our DVDs Unwrapped blog, we thought we'd clue you in on the latest DVDs we've gotten the chance to review. We were going to review Sukiyaki Western Django, but we decided to keep our sanity.

Despite all the troubles the automobiles of Quantum of Solace have, er, enjoyed in the last several months, from the Aston Martin that was driven into Lake Garda on its way to the set to the stuntman who was hurt when the Alfa Romeo he was driving crashed into a wall, car makers still seem to be rather fond of the Bond franchise. So fond in fact, that as reported by Motor Authority, Aston Martin has given Bond star Daniel Craig an open invitation to drive any car of theirs he pleases, for life.

Are you plagued by specters, spooks or phantoms? Do you have a strange and penetrating belief in the paranormal? Do you own an old firehouse with a perfectly good garage, and nothing to put in it? Well, whip out a check or money order and remove the spending limits on your Paypal account, because one of the three original Ecto-1 Ghostbusters cars is up for auction on eBay Motors. Of course, this one never appeared on the big screen, and was instead made specifically for people to take their picture with at the Universal Studios theme park, but from a distance, who can tell? The bidding is already over $45,000 with three days left, and you'll have to pick it up yourself in Tennessee or pay somebody to deliver it, but isn't 60-70 grand a small price to pay for a piece of history? ...Well, you know, film history? ...Okay, theme park history?

Just in case you're not reading our DVDs Unwrapped blog, we thought we'd clue you in on the latest DVDs we've gotten the chance to review. In addition to a few new movies, there are also some kick-ass reissues out this week. Sadly, no Dead Heat Special Edition yet, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Toyota's offshoot brand Scion was designed to appeal to teens and early twenty-somethings looking to buy their first cars. Their web site is so cool it makes cool people feel like nerds. It makes me feel like... what's one level below a nerd? Okay, maybe two levels. Anyway, I bought one of their cars a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for Scion's much wished-for youthful image, so did a lot of other people a wee bit outside the target age range. Variety reports that instead of breaking out the Geritol, Scion will try to appeal to the youth market by hiring Roman Coppola (CQ)to direct a series of short films called The Fist of Oblivion to run on the automaker's site starting in November. Its star will be an ex-cop kung-fu master who's hunting down a friend who framed him for a crime. Also, he's a puppet.

Dear Miss Bette Davis,

Only you could appreciate me writing you. After all, in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, you sang, "I've written a letter to daddy/His address is Heaven above." I'm sure your address is Heaven above too, but just in case I'm wrong, I'm sending a fireproof version of this letter to my eternal resting place as well. Your biggest fan is here to ask you two favors: Say hi to Barbara Stanwyck for me (hubba hubba!! Sorry...) and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE forgive me for not noticing a crucial detail about your new postage stamp. I wrote about it before, and am using it to mail this letter. Please have a look at it. I know, I know! How could I have missed that you've been censored in it? Your second most famous attribute is missing: They removed Margo Channing's cigarette! Ms. Channing has been castrated by the politically correct post office! Holy Marlboro Man, Miss Davis! Your hand looks as if you should be screaming out "WESSS' SIIIIIIIDE!"