Thursday, February 24, 2011

Talkin music, and another video.

In honor of Radiohead's new album released this week, here's Morgan Freeman receiving his boxed set of the last album.



By the way, I've been listening to the new album like crazy, and I somewhat enjoy it. But I'm through defending Radiohead and my love of them, so you're on your own when it comes to this one.

Music of late I haven't really been paying much attention to. The best album I heard last year was the new Underworld album. And yes, it does make me very happy when there's a new Radiohead and a new Underworld album released within a few months of each other. (Just like their previous albums, now that I think about it).

In other music news, it's a bummer about the White Stripes breaking up, but then I take comfort in knowing that there might be a new Soundgarden album on the way. My 16 year old self has never been happier.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Predator Musical

Not as good as my Se7en musical, but what can you do?



Bonus from /Film, dancing Predators on the set of part 2!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Box Office Report: Lots of new movies and one with gnomes

Dude here again.  Hey, how about those recent current events in Egypt, eh? Or that super bowl of football that was played last week? Or anything else that's not movie related? Can we talk about something different for just one week? For a change?

Nah, I'm just fuckin' with ya! 

This weekend, a neck and neck battle between the titles beginning with "J", while my estimation of humanity drops down a few more pegs. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Monday).

1. Just Go With It (Sony)- $31.0, 3548 screens, week 1, $31.0 total

2. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (Par) - $30.2, 3105 screens, week 1, $30.2 total

3. Gnomeo and Juliet (BV) - $25.5, 2994 screens, week 1, $25.5 total

4. The Eagle (Focus)- $8.5, 2296 screens, week 1, $8.5 total

5. The Roommate (ScrGms) $8.4, 2534 screens, week 2, $26.0 total

6. The King's Speech (Wein)- $7.4, 2263 screens, week 13, $93.8 total

7 No Strings Attached (Par) - $5.6, 2756 screens, week 4, $59.8 total

8. Sanctum (Uni)- $5.1, 2789 screens, week 2, $17.5 total

9. True Grit (Par)- $3.7, 2072 screens, week 8, $160.3 total

10. Green Hornet (Sony) - $3.6, 2090 screens, week 5, $92.3 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that the top two movies are neck and neck for our mediocre viewing pleasure. The Adam Sandler/Jennifer Anniston romantic "comedy" Just Go With It seems to be in the lead, but who knows. The posters for this movie seem like rejected designs from the fake movies Sandler made for Funny People, so I'm a little surprised to find out it's real.

Hot on that film's heels is a documentary about a 16 year old boy (in 3D) managed to capture the hearts and imaginations of the people. The Bieber doc has exposed many people as fans and this opening proved this precocious boy and his hair charm everyone around them with auto-tuned glee. Except me.

Gnomeo and Juliet, the animated retelling of the Shakepearean romantic tragedy with lawn gnomes, had a impressive debut considering it opened up this same weekend. It sounds like the best movie out of any that were released this weekend, and far more interesting than that Leonardo DiCaprio version we got fiteen years ago. Holy shit, has it been fifteen years? Anyway, gnomes.

One thing's for sure, though. Nobody really wants to see The Eagle.

Fun Fact: Anniston is recognized by my spell-check.

Below the radar, Cedar Rapids, the latest from Miguel Areta, opened up on 15 screens and took in $311,000. There's also something called Vidal Sassoon: The Movie, which opened on one lowly screen, but took in $14,300 on that one screen, so what the hell do I know?

So there you have my amazing breakdown. Next week, a few more releases, one of which includes Liam Neeson traversing through Europe and kicking people's asses, which means you should see it above anything else. Or he'll find out. 

Until next weekend....
(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Best/Worst of 2010 - Addendum Pt. 1

Catching up on some of the flicks from last year that I haven't seen yet, some of which happen to have been nominated for shiny gold statues.

(Curiously, when I typed "Shiny Gold Statues" into Google Images, the following image came up).
Matt Day-mun!
Of those films, only one has rocketed to the top of my best of list: 127 Hours.

What a tremendous film! I came out of that actually feeling something more than "What a nicely crafted movie about people I don't care about", which is what I felt after the facebook movie.
James Franco overexposure aside, his performance is nothing short of extraordinary. Danny Boyle once again knocks it out of the park in a very tense, very moving, very life affirming flick. Very well done. Truly one of the best of the year, and it's a shame it's getting overlooked for awards.
In a way, that makes it a much cooler movie, but it's a shame not enough people are seeing it.

Mini Tweeners as follows...


The Other Best Picture Nominees I've Seen:
True Grit - Solid, but doesn't feel like a Coen Brothers movie at all. Girl deserves the award, though.
The Fighter - Again, solid. Bale's great, Walhberg's great, it's crowd pleasing and worthy of your time.
The Kids Are All Right - It's fine, everyone's fine, but don't understand the love for it. Frankly, Please Give should have gotten the attention and love this did.
Winter's Bone - Intriguing. I liked seeing this world on film. That girl is deadly serious. 
She makes this face for literally the entire film.


Other nominated films:
Animal Kingdom - Powerful and intense, with some great performances.
Blue Valentine - Great performances, but depressing as fuck. 
Exit Through The Gift Shop - I really dug this flick, even if it is all a hoax. It was cheeky fun.

  
Not nominated but intriguing nonetheless:
The Killer Inside Me - Brutally violent, intense pulpy Jim Thompson adaptation.
The Square - Not bad Australian noir. A bit too dour, but solid performances.
MicMacs - If you enjoy French whimsy, you'll love this. I quite enjoyed it.
OSS 117 Lost In Rio  - Really fun, French whimsy (these movies are strangely working in pairs). Bonus points for the casual racism!
The Girl with Dragon/Fire/Hornets - I really enjoyed all three of these flicks. Noomi Repace is quite fascinating, and I can't wait to see her in this Ridley Scott sci-fi flick. I can't imagine what Fincher's remake will bring to the table, because these are pretty solid. However, should Fincher make the second film, he should cast Dolph Lundgren in a key role.
You know you'd see this movie.



Not Nominated For Anything and Kinda Lame:
Prince of Persia  - Watching Former Roommate Dan play video games was more enjoyable, better acted, and made more narrative sense than this movie. On top of which, it was boring.


Still Need To See:
The King's Speech - But Marty my Father-In-Law declares it "The Best Movie He's Seen Since Coming Home", so that tells you something right there.
Jackass 3D - I'm shamed for not having seen this yet.

Still Haven't Made it Past These Opening Credits Yet:
Enter The Void


(Not good if you're prone to seizures)

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Box Office Report: Nobody Cares

Dude here again. Another yawn inducing weekend has graced us. Nary a surprise in sight. People say it's because of the Big Game that's happening later today, but I think it's because everything sucks.

Except Tron. 

This weekend, a teen horror movie that's not a remake takes the top spot, while James Cameron discovers he's not quite king of the world afterall. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Monday).

1. The Roommate (ScrGms) $15.6, 2534 screens, week 1, $15.6 total

2. Sanctum (Uni)- $9.2, 2787 screens, week 1, $9.2 total

3 No Strings Attached (Par) - $8.4, 3050 screens, week 3, $51.7 total

4. The King's Speech (Wein)- $8.3, 2584 screens, week 11, $84.1 total

5. Green Hornet (Sony) - $6.1, 3033 screens, week 4, $87.2 total

6. The Rite (WB) - $5.3, 2985 screens, week 2, $23.6 total

7. The Mechanic (CBS)- $5.3, 2704 screens, week 2, $20.0 total

8. True Grit (Par)- $4.7, 2902 screens, week 7, $155.0 total

9. The Dilemma (Uni)- $3.4, 2545 screens, week 4, $45.7 total

10. Black Swan (FoxS) - $3.4, 1977 screens, week 10, $95.8 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that scary roommates are this week's possessed! The Roommate, released just in time for college kids to return to a new semester, capitalized on CW counter-programming to pull off another weak weekend. Since costs were probably kept low, this will turn out to be a success. Champagne and hookers for all!

Sanctum proved that if you're going to have a 3D cave movie that's rated R, you should try to put a little more into it than just attaching the Avatar guy's name and hoping that's enough. At the very least, put the creatures from The Descent in it!  Morons.

Pity last week's new releases, with astounding drops from last week. When does that Thor movie get here?

Hooray for the Oscar nominated flicks, which really class up the top ten list with their higher numbers. And kudos to you all for seeing them in theaters.

Fun Fact: If you take your 3D glasses into Black Swan, it actually works!

Below the radar, Cold Weather opened up on one screen and took in $15,100, which gives it the highest per screen average. Also opening up is Waiting For Forever, which opened on 3 screens, took in $10,200, and garnered some of the worst reviews for a release this year!

So there you have my amazing breakdown. Next week brings us a documentary about a pubescent boy that looks like a girl but gets paid millions of dollars while I enter my third unemployment renewal. And a 3D animated movie about gnomes.

Until next weekend....
(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)