Box Office Report: Another boring weekend of disapointment.

Dude here again. These numbers are disappointing, people. It's like we're not trying to keep Hollywood afloat. How are we gonna get more transforming robot pictures made if we don't support the smaller things?

For what it's worth, though, I'm freakishly enjoying this.

This weekend, four movies go heat-to-head-to-head-to-head but not really as Shrek yawns to first place. 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, as these are holiday numbers).

1. Shrek Forever After (Par/DW) - $25.3, 4386 screens, week 3, $183.0 total

2. Get Him To The Greek (Uni)- $17.4, 2697 screens, week 1, $17.4 total

3. Killers (LGF) $16.1, 2859 screens, week 1, $16.1 total

4. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (BV) - $13.8, 3646 screens, week 2, $59.4 total

5. Sex and the City 2 (WB)- $12.6, 3445 screens, week 2, $73.4 total

6. Marmaduke (Fox)- $11.3, 3213 screens, week 1, $11.3 total

7. Iron Man 2 (Par) - $7.7, 3007 screens, week 5, $291.2 total

8. Splice (WB)- $7.4, 2450 screens, week 1, $7.4 total

9. Robin Hood (Uni) - $5.1, 2599 screens, week 4, $94.2 total

10. Letters to Juliet (Sum)- $3.0, 1962 screens, week 4, $43.3 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that more people cared to see Shrek than any other movie that's out there. Is it inflated.. oh who cares?

I'm glad that Get Him To The Greek found a sizable enough audience, but so did Killers. And I want you to think about what this means. We've allowed both Russell Brand and Katherine Heigl to continue being in movies for a little while longer. But only for a little bit, those aren't great numbers for June.

Well, maybe for June 1993! BURN!

Nobody's going to see Marmaduke, eh? My buddy Larry went to the midnight show of it. Said it was "SUPERB" and that it ended with a dog farting and winking at the camera. Grade-A cinema, though not as great as Furry Vengeance, where a raccoon urinates on Brendan Fraser.

Tough break, Splice. You can take comfort in knowing at least you're not MacGruber, (which dropped a whopping 93% from last weekend). Or any of the other alleged "blockbusters" which are doing okay, but not nearly as good as anybody was predicting.

Below the radar, Raajneeti was unleashed upon 124 screens, and took in $917,000 to come in 11th place. It also has the highest per screen average of the week. Take that Fat Bast… I mean Shrek.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, the box office has a problem, so hopefully The A-Team can solve it. (I wanted to quote the whole opening from the show, but I've got too much else to do today to even bother searching, cutting and pasting).

Until next weekend....

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

A Printer Made of Legos?!?!

Why, I never...






(Thanks to Geekologie for pointing me in the direction of this one).

I've gone and written more reviews!

Yeah, that's right. I went ahead and wrote some things of movies I saw. In case you missed it, I did put an Iron Man 2 review underneath the Hall and Oates post a few weeks back, but now I have a MacGruber, a Survival of the Dead AND a Mystery Team!

Not only that, but I was asked to conjure up a tale of why I would rather not sit through either Sex and the City 2 OR any other Twilight movie.

And because I like R. Bill Mountain so much, here's my thought pattern while watching Robin Hood!

Robin Hood

Be less stupid. You're making Clash of the Titans seem coherent.

Why does every map on screen have to burn up? Bonanza was like fifty years ago.

WHOA! Cate Blanchett is on that battle field alongside Robin! HOLY SHIT!!! How liberal for a 40-something woman to take up arms in battle in the 13th century. Or something. HOLY SHIT!!!*

Remember when you saw Phantom Menace, and you were excited about the things could happen, and then the movie began and it was all about taxation and franchise routes? That's exactly what this Robin Hood is like.
It's a whole lot of who cares.

Why didn't they make the movie where Nottingham was sympathetic and Robin Hood was the douche? That would've been a better movie. Better than this nonsense.

(But the opening was really cool. And Russell Crowe is badass, if way too old.)

*TRUE STORY- Watching this in the theater with Dan, when that scene happened and Blanchett revealed herself, I had THE GREATEST silent look of faux-shock on my face that cracked Dan up for a good two minutes straight.

"He is not a man. He's the holy Half-Dead who has seen the UnderVerse. "

-Lord Vaako

Box Office Report: In Memorium...uh, Day

Dude here again. Another disappointing holiday weekend has been bestowed upon us, full of motion pictures that disappoint both the studios that makes them and the audiences that see them. But that doesn't mean I can't slack off and tell you about the things that are disappointing.

Although, that would bring everything around full circle, in a never-ending ring of disappointment.

This weekend, it's 2004 all over again as a Jake Gylenhaal movie tries to take away from the Shrek juggernaut. Only with less impressive numbers this time around. Let's go to the numbers, shall we? (All in millions, remember, and these are the studio estimates. The actuals will be available on Tuesday, as these are holiday numbers).

1. Shrek Forever After (Par/DW) - $55.7, 4367 screens, week 2, $145.4 total

2. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (BV) - $37.8, 3646 screens, week 1, $37.8 total

3. Sex and the City 2 (WB)- $37.1, 3445 screens, week 1, $51.3 total (Thurs Open)

4. Iron Man 2 (Par) - $20.6, 3804 screens, week 4, $279.1 total

5. Robin Hood (Uni) - $13.6, 3373 screens, week 3, $86.3 total

6. Letters to Juliet (Sum)- $7.2, 2825 screens, week 3, $37.9 total

7. Just Wright (FoxS)- $2.7, 1195 screens, week 3, $18.6 total

8. Date Night (Fox)- $2.2, 1126 screens, week 8, $93.9 total

9. MacGruber (Uni)- $1.9, 2546 screens, week 2, $7.5 total

10. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $1.4, 825 screens, week 10, $213.0 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that Shrek continues on, attracting the kiddies and the parents on this long weekend. But not as many as previous incarnations. Could it be that people are sick of Shrek? Or of inflated movie prices? Did we give all our money to Avatar? Or are we as a culture developing taste?

More questions abound as we look at the other new releases this week. Prince of Persia would have had a very impressive debut, if this were August. Alas, this is Memorial Day weekend, and considering the price tag on this one, this is not so good. Yes, it received decent positive reviews, but my old roommate claimed it "boring". And as I've mentioned time and time again, when that guy doesn't like things, you KNOW it's probably bad. (Except Gentleman Broncos, he's way off on that).

And Sex and the City. I feel too much vitriol has been spent on that one, with far more clever people saying far more clever things than I could even be bothered to come up with. Still, Given that Sex opened on Thursday, and it is now a holiday weekend, and it's made almost as much as the original did in 3 days… well, you do the math.

NOthing much to note about the other deflating numbers of the big ticket items. IRon Man, Robin Hood, blah blah blah. But in all seriousness, let's hope that Date NIght continues chugging along to that $100 million goal, eh?

Below the radar, the latest from Jean-Pierre Juenet, Micmacs, opened up on 4 screens and took in $56,700. Impressive, but Agora opened on 2 screens and took in $43,200 bringing it the highest per screen average of all this weekend. Also, for some perspective, they re-released Breathless to the tune of $41,000. Now you know, and knowing is had that battle.

(The other half involves violence).

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, four mid-sized films try to change my opinion on this newly minted Summer of Disappointment! (Splice is one of those flicks, which gives hope, but the other movies are Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, and Marmaduke. If you listen carefully, you can hear me sigh from  wherever you are.

Until next weekend....

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

What's that? You're clamoring to see that awesome First-Person-Shooter sequence from Doom?

Lucky you found me, then.



Such an amazing sequence for such a stupid movie.

"If they're so smart, how come they're so dead?" - Karl Urban

Box Office Report: Who cares, Lost ends tonight!

Dude here again. Movies are what I talk about here, but with such a lackluster summer of movies that aren't very good, I feel obliged to remind everybody that Lost ends this evening. And I'm sure that many executives would love to consider this as the reason for lowered box office numbers.

And not the fact that they're making really crappy movies.

This weekend, a complete lack of surprise of an animated 3-D movie comes out and disappoints. 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. Shrek Forever After (Par/DW) - $71.2, 4359 screens, week 1, $71.2 total

2. Iron Man 2 (Par) - $26.6, 4177 screens, week 3, $251.2 total

3. Robin Hood (Uni) - $18.7, 3505 screens, week 2, $66.1 total

4. Letters to Juliet (Sum)- $9.1, 2975 screens, week 2, $27.4 total

5. Just Wright (FoxS)- $4.2, 1831 screens, week 2, $14.6 total

6. MacGruber (Uni)- $4.1, 2551 screens, week 1, $4.1 total

7. Date Night (Fox)- $2.8, 1869 screens, week 7, $90.6 total

8. Nightmare on Elm Street (WB) - $2.2, 2125 screens, week 4, $59.9 total

9. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $1.8, 1751 screens, week 9, $210.9 total

10. Kites (Relbig)- $1.0, 208 screens, week 1, $1.0 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that Shrek has become some sort of cultural obligation. It also means that if you were 5 or so when the original came out, and loved it you are now a teenager, and have no use for such films. Oh, and they raised some 3-D prices for shows of this Shrek, and it still managed to disappoint.

But nothing is as disappointing as the performance of MacGruber. The first SNL based film since The Ladies Man nearly a decade ago, MacGruber truly failed to find any sort of audience. This saddens me, as I was convinced MacGruber would be a huge sleeper hit, and it was the only movie after The Expendables that I wanted to see this summer. Maybe I should name this summer "Summer of Massive Disappointment.

Something called Kites opened in tenth place. Impressive. I believe it's a foreign film of some sort. Indian, maybe? But I'm too lazy to actually bother doing the legwork on this one, so I'll just leave this with a simple Jai Ho!

Everything else is dropping steadily into obscurity. Iron Man 2 will probably surpass the original's take, but not by much. Robin Hood is lucky for foreign grosses. Letters to Juliet and Just Wright, however, seem to be holding steady, which means there is still hope that all movies are not explosions and CGI and just two hour commercials for a movie that's 2 years away.

(That's right, Marvel FIlms, I'm calling you out for making a crappy sequel just to make one big movie. Screw you, I want my money back).

Below the radar, Solitary Man opened on 4 screens, and took in $89,000 for a per screen average higher than Shrek's. Racing Dreams also opened up on 33 screens, and took in $21,500. I have no idea what this movie is about, but it sounds like one of those fake titles for movies that Seinfeld and his gang would see.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, men will be powerless against Sex and the City 2! And Prince of Persia, starring one of the whitest dudes in the world.

Until next weekend....

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

WERE YOU AWARE...

...that New Jersey has an official state dinosaur?

It's the Hadrosaurus foulkii!

And now you know!

Bullies From the 80s.

I'm disturbed by how many of these I remembered seeing. And by how many times they used the same guys in all the movies.

But I'm NOT disturbed by how awesome Val Kilmer is. That man's a national treasure.

Box Office Report: Iron Redux UPDATED

UPDATE: It's with great sadness I report that it was indeed confirmed. RIP Dio.

Dude here again. I feel that I need to set the record straight on a topic unrelated to Box Office numbers. There are rumors abound the interwebs that Ronnie James Dio had passed on. These are false. He is merely hospitalized. There is nothing to fear. But please don't be spreading these terrible rumors, and ruining my Sunday brunch with them. 

Like a rainbow in the dark.

This weekend, more money is thrown about casually in no effort to produce any sort of entertaining motion picture. 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. Iron Man 2 (Par) - $53.0, 4390 screens, week 2, $212.1 total

2. Robin Hood (Uni) - $37.1, 3503 screens, week 1, $37.1 total

3. Letters to Juliet (Sum)- $13.7, 2968 screens, week 1, $13.7 total

4. Just Wright (FoxS)- $8.5, 1831 screens, week 1, $8.5 total

5. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $5.1, 2620 screens, week 8, $207.7 total

6. Nightmare on Elm Street (WB) - $4.7, 3075 screens, week 3, $56.1 total

7. Date Night (Fox)- $4.0, 2481 screens, week 6, $86.6 total

8. The Back-Up Plan (CBS) - $2.4, 2497 screens, week 4, $34.2 total

9. Furry Vengeance (Sum)- $2.3, 2695 screens, week 3, $15.1 total

10. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $1.2, 1300 screens, week 7, $160.1 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means Iron Man 2 once again duped people into giving more money, but nowhere near as much as last weekend. It's sort of amazing that Iron Man 2 is following practically the same trajectory as its predecessor, especially since both movies are pretty much exactly the same.

Oh, we get another Robin Hood movie, huh? Casting the ever-so-youthful 40-something Russell Crowe in a Robin Hood tale set years before the "legend" (thanks, rebooting and prequels!) and one time Academy Award Winner and two time mother Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, Ridley Scott's Maximus Hood managed to take a fair amount of money given the bad word of mouth from such wise asses as myself. Watch for a steep drop and no chance in hell of recouping the alleged $237 million budget.

Letters To Juliet tried to do the counter programming thing and took in a fair amount of money, but more importantly it probably helped a handful of teen boys get to second base when they agreed to see it over Robin Hood.

And Just Wright… You know, I have too much respect for Queen Latifah to callously mock this film. Good job, Queen!

Below the radar, a Hawaiian historical fiction film called Princess Kaiulani opened to $185,000 on 33 screens. And a film called The Living Wake, which is allegedly phenomenal, opened on one screen to take in a whopping $4800. What do you want, folks, the indies aren't stepping it up in the counter programming against the big boys like they used to.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, we're brought another Shrek movie upon ourselves. And Macgruber, which just looks fantastic.

Until next weekend....

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

They Finally Answered My Letters!!!!

First the thing about RZA getting to direct his own movie, and now the wonderful news that we'll get to see Van Damme fight Dolph... IN 3-D!!!!!

I can't believe it took this long to actually happen, but Im glad to live in a world that allows this. Now all we need is Crank 3-D, and I'm sold.

Flarhgunnstow

It's been making the interweb rounds, but this makes me laugh everytime.

F@#k it, let's enjoy some Hall and Oates!

Why? Because it's the start of the week!



And because Hall and Oates fuckin rock!



I'm not being sarcastic, either. At first, long ago, I was. But much like Billy Joel, I came around and realized how truly awesome Hall and Oates are.



Don't even try to deny it.



Oh, and here's my Iron Man 2 review.

Box Office Report: Man of Iron Edition 2

Dude here again. It's Mother's Day in addition to something else I got going on today. So you get another truncated (read: lazy) report. But I like to think that if Hollywood is going to churn out the same crap summer after summer, without regard for quality of product, that's how I'm gonna roll.

For this week, at least.

This weekend, in a shock to nobody, that man of iron took a lot of your money. 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. Iron Man 2 (Par) - $133.6, 4380 screens, week 1, $133.6 total

2. Nightmare on Elm Street (WB) - $9.1, 3332 screens, week 2, $48.5 total

3. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $6.7, 3003 screens, week 7, $201.0 total

4. Date Night (Fox)- $5.3, 2734 screens, week 5, $80.8 total

5. The Back-Up Plan (CBS) - $4.3, 3003 screens, week 3, $29.4 total

6. Furry Vengeance (Sum)- $4.0, 3002 screens, week 2, $11.6 total

7. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $2.3, 2157 screens, week 6, $157.8 total

8. Death at a Funeral (ScrGms) - $2.1, 1706 screens, week 4, $38.3 total

9. The Losers (WB)- $1.8, 2450 screens, week 3, $21.4 total

10. Babies (Focus)- $1.5, 534 screens, week 1, $1.5 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it's pretty apparent that Iron Man made a ridiculous amount of money but did so without breaking any records. How does a film manage to be an enormous financial success AND kind of a disappointment? Only Iron Man knows for sure.

Oh, and Babies opened up. Which was a movie about babies.

Also, look how steep the drop on Nightmare on Elm Street dropped. Sad, isn't it? Think about that before purchasing your 3-D ticket for the sequel next summer.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week more disappointing movies.

Until next weekend.... Happy Mother's Day, mom!

(Looks kinda like Yoda, doesn't it?)

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Is there a movie with an iron man coming out soon?

I haven't heard anything about it.

Other people's reviews of things they've seen

I've seen a few flicks, but haven't gotten the reviews written.

But after reading this review of the upcoming film "Babies", I don't know if there's a point in writing any reviews anymore.

Written discussions of things I've recently viewed.

I've seen some movies recently. I've only written one proper review, and that was for The Human Centipede, which is as dumb and disgusting as it sounds.

In the interest of those films I didn't write proper reviews for, here are the random thoughts that went through my head as I saw the following:

Greenberg
Man, this is full of miserable assholes who insist on going to Trader Joe's AND Farmers' Markets.

This is a movie about white people problems.

Why is anybody answering their phone when this asshole calls?

Rhys Ifans is really good.

(By the way, for a fun time, see what happens when you put Greenberg into google image search, and you wind up getting an interesting summation of the movie.)


The Losers

This is pretty solid. Everybody in this is solid.

Holy crap, did they just destroy that helicopter full of kids?!?

How is Jason Patric getting away with this? This is great.

Mmmmm.... I like Zoe Saldana when she's not Avatar-d.



Clash of the Titans

Wha?!?

Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson sure have recaptured that Schindler's List on-screen magic once again!

Wait... Wha?!?

Mt Olympus is like the greatest prog rock album cover brought to life EVER!

It's like watching Dan play God of War 3. But a little dumber.

Box Office Report: Rock's Birthday Edition

Dude here again. Out of the 52 weekends of the year, this is my favorite weekend. The weekend before the onslaught of the summer blockbusters. The calm before the storm. No records need to be broken. Old movies need to be cleared out. It's fun. Too bad it won't last.

Oh, and since today is The Rock's birthday, Happy Birthday to The Rock!

This weekend, nobody seems to want to care about going to the movies, and a five week old picture nabs the top. 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. Nightmare on Elm Street (WB) - $32.2, 3332 screens, week 1, $32.2 total

2. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $10.8, 3426 screens, week 6, $192.3 total

3. Date Night (Fox)- $7.6, 3093 screens, week 4, $73.6 total

4. The Back-Up Plan (CBS) - $7.2, 3280 screens, week 2, $22.9 total

5. Furry Vengeance (Sum)- $6.5, 2997 screens, week 1, $6.5 total

6. The Losers (WB)- $6.0, 2936 screens, week 2, $18.1 total

7. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $5.9, 2737 screens, week 5, $154.0 total

8. Kick-Ass (LGF) - $4.4, 2542 screens, week 3, $42.1 total

9. Death at a Funeral (ScrGms) - $4.0, 2271 screens, week 3, $34.7 total

10. Oceans (BV)- $2.6, 1210 screens, week 2, $13.5 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that for all the complaining we've done about the remake-volution means nothing when you pay to go see the movies. Nightmare on Elm Street, despite failing to entertain my old roommate who likes everything, managed to take in $32 million dollars, which is just a bit more than the original made in its' entire run. There you go.

Ah, Furry Vengeance. There's nothing good to say about you, so I'll opt to say nothing at all. (Although it's tempting to make a joke about "furries", the joke's just not quite forming yet.

Wow, there really is nothing too interesting to report. Except that Date Night seems to love being at that number 3 spot. perhaps it will continue that way for a few more weeks, so that in their ads, they can proudly claim "The #3 movie in America 3 weeks in a row!" Date Night, people.

Why is nobody seeing The Losers? It's really solid, and quite enjoyable. Sometimes there are mysteries I just don't understand. Like magnets.

Below the radar, Michael Caine did played his Gran Torino card with Harry Brown, which opened up on 19 screens to take in $180,000. Insert "Get off my lawn" line here. There's also Please Give, which I don't know much about aside from it opened up on 4 screens and took in $128,000 to have the highest per screen average of the week.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week the man of iron returns.

Until next weekend.......

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Werner Herzog's Where's Waldo

Hobo With A Shotgun is now a reality.

Well, is on its way to becoming a reality.

Either way, I like it.

Sin (UPDATED!)

I find myself having dirty unhealthy wrong thoughts about this sandwich. Does that make me a bad person?

I need to try it. But I can already feel the illness the sandwich will bring about. Anyone try it yet?

I NEED TO KNOW!!!

UPDATE: Geekologie has this handy chart, which makes me feel a little better about myself.

Box Office Report: Reruns

Dude here again. Last week's confusion between what was actually the number one movie got me thinking about how I report the estimates and not the final numbers.. After I got the Date Night article wrong the week before, I figured it would better to wait things out instead of being the first to report on things that are wrong.

But then you go and give me a softball, so I'll knock this out and have a sandwich before wasting my day with Pong.

This weekend, nobody seems to want to care about going to the movies, and a five week old picture nabs the top. 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. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $15.0, 3665 screens, week 5, $178.8 total

2. The Back-Up Plan (CBS) - $12.2, 3280 screens, week 1, $12.2 total

3. Date Night (Fox)- $10.6, 3294 screens, week 3, $63.4 total

4. The Losers (WB)- $9.6, 2936 screens, week 1, $9.6 total

5. Kick-Ass (LGF) - $9.5, 3065 screens, week 2, $34.8 total

6. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $9.0, 3271 screens, week 4, $145.6 total

7. Death at a Funeral (ScrGms) - $8.0, 2459 screens, week 2, $28.4 total

8. Oceans (BV)- $6.0, 1206 screens, week 1, $8.4 total

9. The Last Song (BV) - $3.7, 2794 screens, week 4, $55.3 total

10. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $2.2, 1385 screens, week 8, $327.4 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that nobody cares about any movies that don't contain a man in a metal suit fighting other people in similar suits. Which opens up in two weeks. Until then, we get the 3-D inflated numbers pushing the Dragons on us again.

J Lo tried to do the wacky romantic comedy thing again, and made a paltry $12 million. Most of it probably from men making it up to their ladies for sitting through Kick-Ass last week.

The Losers… It's just too easy to come up with a bad pun. Especially for something that looks pretty good. I'll blame this under-performance on that volcano.

Oceans, a film I can only assume is the prequel to the George Clooney Ocean's 11, also opened up. And not very well. Seems Earth Day was only good to Avatar.

Last week's flicks dropped sharply. Again, volcanoes and lack of iron men.

Below the radar, I got nothing.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week a horror remake surprisingly not in 3-D tries to make some dough before people realize it's probably terrible. and Furry Vengeance opens as well, which might be a more terrifying film than the one with "Nightmare" in the title.

Until next weekend.......

(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Belated Box Office Report: Kick-Ass edition.

Dude here again. So, I got a new computer this weekend, and really slacked off on the box office report because I was too busy importing 22 days worth of music. (Mostly of it Ethiopian Acid Jazz and Rush).

So... Yeeeeah. The top movie was Kick-Ass.

The End.



What you think about his company is what you say about society...

Are kids small... or just far away?

There are few words that can describe this Insane Clown Posse video. But it must be seen.

I know what you're thinking. "DUDE?!?! I know you have odd music taste, but why the fuck are you listening to songs by Insane Clown Posse?!?!"

And my answer is this: Larry, the guy who made The End Of Irony below, showed me this video. And it blew my mind.

Keep this in mind: This video is done with no sense of irony and is, for all intents and purposes, a genuine song. Also, allegedly the Clown-folk are very Christian, which explains the disdain in the scientist lyric.



Fuckin magnets. How do they work?

I don't find it necessary for anything to parody this work. It's sort of impossible to make it any more hilarious and amazing than it already is.

That being said, the two least likely folks managed to do come close on SNL last weekend.



Made me laugh. Parts, anyway.

Box Office Report: Date Edition

Dude here again. Another weekend has come and gone, as so many do, and that means there are dollars out of consumers' wallets and in the hands of the Hollywood bigwigs, who are no doubt lighting cigars with aforementioned dollars.

Because that's how they roll out in Hollyweird.

This weekend, A tight race for first place among the top 3, but the lead isn't in 3-D!! 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. Date Night (Fox)- $27.1, 3374 screens, week 1, $27.1 total

2. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $26.8, 3802 screens, week 2, $110.4 total

3. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $25.3, 4007 screens, week 3, $133.8 total

4. Why Did I Get Married Too? (LGF) - $11.0, 2155 screens, week 2, $48.5 total

5. The Last Song (BV) - $10.0, 2674 screens, week 2, $42.4 total

6. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $5.6, 2530 screens, week 6, $319.3 total

7. Hot Tub Time Machine (MGM)- $5.4, 2611 screens, week 3, $36.9 total

8. The Bounty Hunter (Sony) - $4.3, 2901 screens, week 4, $56.0 total

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) - $4.1, 2453 screens, week 4, $53.7 total

10. Letters To God (Viv)- $1.1, 897 screens, week 1, $1.1 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means the star power of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey is just too much to be contained on a television screen. Date Night, despite a terrible marketing campaign, managed to trump the 3-D movies, the first time in 5 weeks that such a thing has happened! For that alone, this film escapes my derision.

Close on Date Night's heels, though, is the 1-2 punch (or 2-3 punch in this case) of Clash of the Titans and the Dragon movie that doesn't have Matthew McConaughey in it. Both films prove stalwart and hearty, despite a large drop for Clash which could bode well for future unnecessary 3-D transfers!

Opening at the bottom of the list is Letters to God, which tries to follow the Fireproof model of release from a few years back. Time will tell if it's another hit on that level, but something tells me the Christian films might be better off contemplating their next release in 3-D!

I promise I'll knock off the 3-D shit by the time the huge summer blockbusters come around, which is only in a few weeks!

We've let the Bounty Hunter make $56 million? And we couldn't pony up to make Gamer a hit? This world needs an enema.

Below the radar, a bunch of films opened up that I never heard of, so I'm not gonna bother talking about them, because I'm a jerk like that, and that's how I roll.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week I finally get to stop seeing the previews and finally get to see the actual movie of Kick Ass! Plus, they remade Death at a Funeral, despite the orginal opening up a few years ago.

Until next weekend.......


(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

The End of Irony

This is an awesome video for the band Captain Ahab. My friend Larry made it.

Larry is a genius. He also has a tattoo of Paul Verhoeven's signature on his leg, and he's known for it through lore. Oh, and he played "Slow Ricky" in Porky's The College Years.

Enjoy!

CAPTAIN AHAB "The End Of Irony" from Deathbomb Arc on Vimeo.

When life starts getting a little too real...

...I suddenly remember that I'm in the state that's ruled by Conan the Barbarian.

Did you see the crazy guy who reviewed The Phantom Menace?

If you didn't, and you have 70 minutes of spare time, I'd suggest you check out all of it.

That being said, in case you did, the crazy guy's Episode 2: Attack of the Clones deconstruction has been unleashed upon us all. This one runs 90 minutes, and I have yet to watch it all. But I can't wait. Hopefully he doesn't have as many jokes about randomly killing women he keeps tied up in the basement, but we'll see.

Enjoy! (Special Thanks to Aint It Cool, who put them all together and allowed a simple man like me just link to them)

Box Office Report: Release the Kraken

Dude here again. It being Easter, I've succumbed to a Ham-and-Peeps-induced coma. So you know what that means. LAZY NUMBERS REPORTING!!!

This weekend, a lot of movies opened and made money! Some in 3-D! 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. Clash of the Titans (WB)- $61.4, 3777 screens, week 1, $64.0 total

2. Why did I Get Married Too? (LGF) - $30.1, 2155 screens, week 1, $30.1 total

3. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $29.2, 4060 screens, week 2, $92.3 total

4. The Last Song (BV) - $16.2, 2673 screens, week 1, $25.5 total

5. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $8.2, 2980 screens, week 5, $309.7 total

6. Hot Tub Time Machine (MGM)- $8.0, 2771 screens, week 2, $27.8 total

7. The Bounty Hunter (Sony) - $6.2, 3118 screens, week 3, $48.9 total

8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) - $5.5, 2842 screens, week 3, $46.2 total

9. She's Out of My League (Par)- $1.4, 1390 screens, week 4, $28.6 total

10. Shutter Island (Par)- $1.4, 1356 screens, week 7, $123.4 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means Clash of the Titans made a bunch of money! Mostly because of 3-D ticket prices, probably, but I'm done bitching about that. Or am I?

Tyler Perry made a sequel that doesn't involve Madea!?!? If his next movie is in 3-D, then Tyler Perry will truly be unstoppable. Like Krull. (See? I didn't stop with the 3-D).

Dear lord, there was a Miley Cyrus movie released this weekend? When will it end? WHEN?!?!?!

Other movies aren't doing so well. But props to Hot Tub Time Machine for not dropping off huge and maintaining some semblance of success, but mostly because I like writing Hot Tub Time Machine as often as possible. (And I don't even get paid to do it).

Below the radar, The Greatest opened up on 8 screens and took in $37,000, which is not exactly the greatest. But that terrible joke is.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week is Date Night! And more Kraken.

Until next weekend.......



Michael Buble being stalked by a raptor.
(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

The Trailer For The Best Movie Of The Year.

There's no denying it.

This is not an April Fool's Day prank. I don't have it in me to do that this year.

Unless that's the April Fool!

Watch that trailer again. I'm gonna go prank call Bill Murray.

It must be some sort of...

Hot Tub Time Machine

I'm not gonna lie to you, it's pretty fuckin funny. Stupid, yes, but it's called Hot Tub Time Machine. You get what you're paying for.

Box Office Report: I'm tired of 3-D edition.

Dude here again. These 3D numbers are getting to be ridiculous. It's getting to the point where no movies will stand a chance against 3D movies. I like 3-D movies, but I also like seeing regular movies. And I don't need to pay these exorbitant prices for the experience of getting a headache.

God, I'm getting old. .

This weekend, holy crap! A 3-D animated movie took the top spot with a larger than normal take! Who could have seen that coming? 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. How To Train Your Dragon (Par/DW) $43.3, 4055 screens, week 1, $43.3 total

2. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $17.3, 3384 screens, week 4, $293.1 total

3. Hot Tub Time Machine (MGM)- $13.6, 2754 screens, week 1, $13.6 total

4. The Bounty Hunter (Sony) - $12.4, 3074 screens, week 2, $38.8 total

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) - $10.0, 3083 screens, week 2, $35.7 total

6. She's Out of My League (Par)- $3.5, 2432 screens, week 3, $25.6 total

7. Green Zone (Uni) - $3.3, 2557 screens, week 3, $30.4 total

8. Shutter Island (Par)- $3.1, 2123 screens, week 6, $120.6 total

9. Repo Men (Uni)- $3.0, 2519 screens, week 2, $11.3 total

10. Our Family Wedding (FoxS) - $2.2, 1132 screens, week 3, $17.0 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that when you raise the prices of the 3D tickets (as was reported earlier this week) then the 3D movies are going to make the most money. This is the future of movies, people. Accept it. Thanks James Cameron. Oh, and Dragon made $43 million dollars. Yay.

The lack of 3D screens deflated Alice's take a little bit, but still took second place. I refer you to the previous paragraph for the "Yay" comment.

Sadly, this oversaturation of family films in 3D made an uphill climb even steeper for the beloved Hot Tub Time Machine. A $13 million opening is fine, yes, but really people, why didn't more of you go see Hot Tub Time Machine? Unless you all bought tickets to the 3D movies and snuck into it. Maybe that's what happened. That's what I'll tell myself so that I can sleep better at night.

Nobody seems to really care about the other movies out. However, it should be noted for the first time in FIFTEEN WEEKS (!) Avatar has left the top ten. Farewell you creepy blue digital bastard. Thanks for changing the game. In the wrong way.

Below the radar, Atom Egoyan's Chloe opened up on 350 screens and took in about $1 million dollars. There was no 3D, but there is Liam Neeson. And we all know that Liam Neeson can do whatever the hell he wants, especially if it includes a nude Amanda Seyfried. Which this movie may or may not have.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, Liam Neeson releases the Kraken with Clash of the Titans, which is thankfully being presented in pedestrian two dimensions, or you can be a man and see it in 3-D!!!! Oh, and a Tyler Perry movie opens, also possibly in 3D.

Until next weekend.......




(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Han's Realization

Box Office REPOrt: Repo Men didn't fare as well as the others.

Dude here again. I'm very excited to be presenting you the numbers this week. Not for any selfish reasons at all. It's because I enjoy writing them. I enjoy getting up at the crack of 11:30 (Pacific Time) stumbling my way to the computer, reading numbers, writing numbers, hitting the crack pipe, coming up with witty things to say about movies making money. I'm living the dream, people!

Provided the dream involves being paid in candy.

This weekend, a showdown at the... no, it's Alice again. 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. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $34.5, 3739 screens, week 3, $265.8 total

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Fox) - $21.8, 3077 screens, week 1, $21.8 total

3. The Bounty Hunter (Sony) - $21.0, 3074 screens, week 1, $21.0 total

4. Repo Men (Uni)- $6.1, 2521 screens, week 1, $6.1 total

5. She's Out of My League (Par)- $6.0, 2958 screens, week 2, $19.9 total

6. Green Zone (Uni) - $5.9, 3004 screens, week 2, $24.7 total

7. Shutter Island (Par)- $4.7, 2704 screens, week 5, $115.7 total

8. Avatar (Fox) $4.0, 1236 screens, week 14, $736.8 total

9. Our Family Wedding (FoxS) - $3.8, 1609 screens, week 2, $13.6 total

10. Remember Me (Sum)- $3.3, 2215 screens, week 2, $13.3 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means that anyone releasing anything seems to be in a fight to reach second place. And as my high school track coach once told me, second place is really the first loser. (Note, I wasn't on the track team, I just heard him say that once). But Alice continues to rake in the green, thanks to the 3-D and everyone's fascination with the source material. Or love of Johnny Depp. Or all of the above. I don't know, I still haven't seen it yet.

In a surprise move, Diary of a Wimpy Kid took second place over the much more hyped (and the absolutely dreadful) Bounty Hunter. Sure, both took in around $21 million, but let's be honest, unless you're a kid who knows the books or a parent who's forced to take them, you wouldn't expect it to do that well. Kudos! As for the Bounty Hunter, you know what you've done.

Alas, poor Repo Men. Looks like the film couriers will be Repo-ing this one in 2 weeks. Damn shame, really, as it's a pretty fun flick and it deserved an audience. Poor Universal, between this and the steep drop off of Green Zone, they better hope they have an impressive summer, otherwise more heads will roll. (Although that means I could be running things there this time next year!)

Avatar seems to be slowing down, eh? Strangely enough, because it didn't win the Bst Picture, my esteem for it has risen immeasurably. I want to see it again in IMAX now, and I don't mind paying for it.

Below the radar, The Runaways, a movie with Dakota Fanning and K-Stew about the chick band from the 70s that promises a kiss between them opened up on 244 screens and took in $803,000. Impressive for a film I'm told "makes you feel creepy, like you want to go door-to-door and announce yourself to your neighbors." Also, the Hubble 3-D movie opened up, which I am all for. It took in $453,000 on 39 screens. Take THAT, Avatar!

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, four words: Hot. Tub. Time. Machine.

Until next weekend.......


(All Numbers courtesy of Box Office Mojo)

Let's Get Sushi and Not.. Oh wait, wrong movie.

I checked out Repo Men. I dug Repo Men. I suggest you do the same.

If not for me, at least do it for Jude Law. Sky Captain needs your help to see his movies.

Predators looks pretty badass

Even if we had to suffer through to AVP movies to get to this point.

More Predators Videos

Between Two Ferns

I wish they would let me do interviews like this.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Ben Stiller from Between Two Ferns

Reviews and stuff

Yeah, I've been slacking, but I moved. And now, my laptop decided to shut down on me, which is AWESOME!

Anyway, I managed to write a few reviews and pieces. One's for Shutter Island, this one's for The Crazies, and this is for She's Out of My League.

Then, for extra added bonus pleasure, here's a piece about Five Director's Cuts that are better than the original Theatrical Release. (I wrote it awhile back, and needed something for the site to make up for my 3 week internet-less dwelling.

Enjoy!

Box Office Report: now in 4D!!!!

Dude here again. Trying to get back in the swing of things. Thankfully the box office numbers have been generous. Have you heard there's some bit of legislation that will actually let you bet on what movie is going to be number one at the box office? That's both ridiculous and fantastic.

And what's best is that if it goes through, that makes me a guru!

This weekend, a number of films are released in the hopes that they'll knock down the 3-D champ, and they all fail. 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. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $62.0, 3728 screens, week 2, $208.6 total

2. Green Zone (Uni) - $14.5, 3003 screens, week 1, $14.5 total

3. She's Out of My League (Par)- $9.6, 2956 screens, week 1, $8.3 total

4. Remember Me (Sum)- $8.3, 2212 screens, week 1, $8.3 total

5. Shutter Island (Par)- $8.1, 3356 screens, week 4, $108.0 total

6. Our Family Wedding (FoxS) - $7.6, 1605 screens, week 1, $7.6 total

7. Avatar (Fox) $6.6, 1718 screens, week 13, $730.3 total

8. Brooklyn's Finest (Over) - $4.29, 1939 screens, week 2, $21.3 total

9. Cop Out (WB) - $4.23, 2882 screens, week 3, $39.4 total

10. The Crazies (Over)- $3.6, 2359 screens, week 3, $33.3 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means the proliferation of 3-D titles in the future are going to make life difficult for movies that just want to tell a story in 2-D, sans spectacle. Tim Burton's Alice took the top spot once again, and made an obscene amount of money once again, but the difference between the one and two spots again are a bit distressing. Sure it will die out, like all trends, but we have to act now, people! If we don't start living in two dimensions, then what kind of world do we expect to have for your children?

Green Zone, or as everybody else is calling it Bourne Minus Bourne, took second place, but a far from respectable take considering how well Bourne movies do. Of course nobody goes to see Iraq war movies, not even the one that won Best Picture this year, so that might have something to do with it.

She's Out of My League took the hint and didn't attract too many people. Now She will be Out of My Local Movie Theater! (They need to pay me for these bon mots of brilliance). And Remember Me shows that there are far too many puns to be regarding a film's audience. Oh, and that Robert Pattinson can't open a movie to save his life unless he gets all sparkly in the sunshine. Stupid Twilight.

Our Family Wedding opened up, and aside from a giant billboard I saw up the street that's in front of the studio that made the film, I haven't seen any bit of advertising at all for the flick. I had no idea it actually came out, and apparently, neither did you. Hopefully it will eventually find an audience, but it was just a bad weekend to come out.

Below the radar, a movie called The Exploding Girl opened up, and I'm fairly sure it's not a Japanese movie which means that the title is probably metaphoric and the movie is probably boring. Or nowhere near as awesome as something called Exploding Girl should be. Anyway, it opened on one screen and took in $6000. DO the math to realize how much less that is than Alice in Wonderland. The answer may surprise you.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, a few more movies try but will ultimately bow before the Alice, including an awesome looking sci-fi flick called Repo Men that stars Jude Law, which means I am sold on it!

Until next weekend.......


(Alright, so they're 3-Ds. Sue me)

(All Numbers courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com)

Treat yourself to this terrific trailer.

It pretty much sums up my feelings about Oscarbation movies.

The return of the Box Office Report!

Dude here again. I've been out on sabbatical the past couple of weeks, as I've been moving into a new place, and had a ludicrous ordeal of unfortunate events in an attempt to get hooked up to the interwebs. It's long and stupid, and still not totally resolved, but I have a basic use and can at least give you some ridiculously large box office numbers.

Truth be told, though, I really didn't miss much, right?

This weekend, a juggernaut of an opening for Tim Burton leaves everything else hanging it's head in shame. 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. Alice in Wonderland (BV)- $116.3, 3728 screens, week 1, $116.3 total

2. Brooklyn's Finest (Over) - $13.5, 1936 screens, week 1, $13.5 total

3. Shutter Island (Par)- $13.3, 3178 screens, week 3, $95.8 total

4. Cop Out (WB) - $9.1, 3150 screens, week 2, $32.3 total

5. Avatar (Fox) $7.7, 2163 screens, week 12, $720.1 total

6. The Crazies (Over)- $7.0, 2479 screens, week 2, $27.4 total

7. Percy Jackson and The Olympians... (Fox) - $5.1, 2994 screens, week 4, $78.0 total

8. Valentine's Day (WB)- $4.2, 3040 screens, week 4, $106.4 total

9. Crazy Heart (FoxS)- $3.3, 1274 screens, week 12, $29.5 total

10. Dear John (ScrGm) - $2.8, 2496 screens, week 5, $76.6 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means HOLY CRAP! That's an obscene amount of money. Complain all you want about Avatar's increased 3-D ticket prices, the same can be said about Alice. Even more so, being that the flick can run more times a day than Avatar could. Still, that's an ass load of cash to overhaul. I'm sure it broke records, but I'm just too tired to look them up.

Brooklyn's Finest, you opened respectably for yourself. You're just $103 million off from the first place. But let's be honest, nobody saw that coming. Well done, and it's nice to see Wesley Snipes on a screen again.

Shutter island, the previous number one movie, might be the number 2, but it still doesn't forgive the ridiculous overuse of the word "Marshall" spoken with obnoxious Bah-ston accents for two and a half hours. (Yet, I still liked the flick!) Cop Out hasd become Kevin Smith's highest grossing movie, which is good for him.

Do you realize that, for about a day, the number one movie of this year was Valentine's Day? Think about what that means.

Crazy Heart, still digging that ninth place spot, but watch it go up as soon as Jeff Bridges wins the Oscar. Update: He did win it!. Way to go, The Dude! He even sounded like The dude in his acceptance speech. That's just the tops.

Below the radar, I got nothing, really. It's all about the Alice in Wonderland, and the state of 3-D prices.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, I', predicting that Alive will continue to reign, as Matt Damon tries to recapture the Bourne magic and kick someone's ass while wearing a ridiculous scarf. Seriously, check out the poster, you'll see.

Until next weekend.......

Scream of the Bikini screenings this weekend!

ATTENTION L.A. READERS: SCREAM OF THE BIKINI SCREENINGS THIS WEEKEND!!!

Greetings gang. Sorry for the geographically localized post, but I wanted to let viewers in the greater Los Angeles area know of a few screenings of this ridiculous-hilarious-sexy-crazy movie I saw called Scream of the Bikini that will be playing in town this weekend!

A lost classic from South American director Fernando Fernandez, Scream of the Bikini is an action spy thriller thought lost to the ages in the 1960s, recently discovered, then translated into English by Germans where something obviously got lost in the translation. (Sort of like what they did with the Metropolis restoration, but with more bikinis and sexy intrigue). The film focuses on the adventures of supermodels by day/sexy secret agents by night Jasmine Orosco and Paola Apanapel who engage in intrigue, espionage, adventure, excitement, vespas, and pillow fights! Pajama-clad pillow fights! Between two gorgeous girls!

I feel the need to repeat the Hot Lady Pillow Fight Action, as that's pretty much all I ever want out of a movie.

Scream of the Bikini is winner of Best Comedy at the ThrillSpy International Film Festival AND 3 Maverick Movie Awards including Best Director. Scream of the Bikini is a hilarious bastard offspring of Barberella, Modesty Blaise, James Bond, and What's Up Tiger Lily.

The movie will be showing this Friday and Saturday, February 19th and 20th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 at midnight! It's a great flick to see with an audience (and with a little buzz, so feel free to have a cocktail beforehand). So if you're around and want to see the aforementioned hot chicks with pillows and vespas, please check it out and help support some indie cinema!

Here is the link to buy tickets at the Laemmle for Friday and for Saturday

And the Facebook Links: 
For the event: 
For the fan site

And the link to the official movie site

Dolph Sings!

Let's be honest, this is the greatest thing you will see all day. Probably the greatest thing this week, maybe of the month, and definitely in the top ten of the year.

More friends across the interwebz

Rob Grace, another friend of the blog (and featured extra in the Royal Tennembaums) is interviewed in this piece for Backstage. I actually saw the play he speaks of, and it was indeed a unique performance. And I admit, I am one of those who believed the play was written for the space. But then again, I also believed it to be a post-apocalyptic story, of which I am most certainly wrong.

Box Office Report: Valentine's Edition

Dude here again. It seems the reign of Avatar is crumbling slightly, and it's for the best. It's time to move on to new things, and progress forward. We've spent our time on Pandora, and it's a place we can always revisit on one way or another. But more movies need to come out, more unexplored worlds that require our attention. And that's okay.

Unless all these movies are in 3-D, because that's a trend ready to burn out fast. (And furious).

This weekend, a crowded "holiday" weekend slate comes in and cleans house.. 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. Valentine's Day (WB)- $52.4, 3665 screens, week 1, $52.4 total

2. Percy Jackson and The Olympians... (Fox) - $31.1, 3356 screens, week 1, $31.1 total

3. The Wolfman (Uni) - $30.6, 3222 screens, week 1, $30.6 total

4. Avatar (Fox) $22.0, 2685 screens, week 9, $659.6 total

5. Dear John (ScrGm) - $15.3, 2975 screens, week 2, $53.1 total

6. The Tooth Fairy (Fox) - $5.6, 2748 screens, week 4, $41.5 total

7. From Paris With Love (LGF)- $4.7, 2722 screens, week 2, $15.8 total

8. Edge of Darkness (WB)- $4.5, 2615 screens, week 3, $36.0 total

9. Crazy Heart (FoxS)- $4.0, 1005 screens, week 9, $16.5 total

10. When In Rome (BV)- $3.4, 2125 screens, week 3, $26.0 total

So those are the numbers, but what do they mean? Well, it means the shame of Dear John has NOTHING on the shame of Valentine's Day taking in that obscene amount of money. On the one hand, I'm happy for Garry Marshall, who is truly one of the nicest men on Earth. But this also means we'll be treated to more vapid romantic ensemble "comedies" centered around holidays. While this bodes well for my "Arbor Day" script, it does not bode well for humankind.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief wins the race for longest title, but failed to capture some of the Harry Potter magic Fox was hoping for. Despite hiring the latter film's director. Still, a very respectable opening, and better than previous attempts to cash in on Potter. (Which also never seem to work).

The Wolfman finally saw a release! And it seems to have attracted enough interested folk to also have a respectable opening! Not bad, considering everything it took to actually get that movie on a screen. Of course if it continues success, that means more updated (or rebooted) monster flicks. Most likely in 3-D, but only after the fact.

Everything else seems status quo, returning to normal box office patterns and routines. Nothing too shocking, nothing Earth shattering. I feel this is because Avatar broke almost every record out there already, so it's not going to make that much of a difference what comes out. Even though Avatar only dropped 3 percent from last week's take. That movie's unstoppable. Until it gets kicked off the 3-D screens for all the other 3-D fare we're about to be assaulted with.

Below the radar, My Name Is Khan, which could be a documentary about either Ghengis Khan or Ricardo Montalban (Ed. Note: It's Neither) opened up on 120 screens to take in $1.8 million. Impressive. as it's also the highest per screen average of the whole group. Even more impressive? I have no idea what this movie is.

So there, you have my amazing break down. Next week, Scorsese finally gets to show us Shutter Island, which means I don't have to see that damn trailer anymore!

Until next weekend.......


(All Numbers courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com)

Weekend Round Up!

There's a couple of things stirring up on the old internets that are worthy of your interest.



"IT'S A TRAP!"

First up, another wacky editorial over at Moviesonline, this time about bad date movies.

There's also a review for From Paris With Love and District B13: Ultimatum up there.



PARKOUR!

Next, friend of the blog Brian Dickett has finally granted an interview! Here's his press release:

This is Brian Dickett. I'm sending you all a quick update on some of the exciting projects I worked on over the past year. I was interviewed by an online magazine called "Eerie Digest," which showcases people who work in the film industry on projects of a supernatural nature. Among the topics I discuss are:

1. "Night of the Demons" - a feature film where I was the Lead Digital Artist.
2. "Monster Mutt" - a fantastic feature film for kids that I was delighted to be the Visual Effects Supervisor on.
3. "Ghost Writer" - a pilot for a TV show for which I was the Second Unit Director, Visual Effects Supervisor, and Editor.
4. PlasterCITY - An amazing Post-Production house in LA where I will be helping with their new visual effects department.

You can read all about it @:
www.eeriedigest.com
Scroll down to find the article, but I'd also encourage you to read the articles with Julian Moss and Joe Taranto. I worked with them on the "Ghost Writer" pilot and they're incredible people.

So check that out at the link provided. It's a fun read of a fascinating man.

(He's somewhere in this picture. At the very least, it's his house. the chap is quite elusive).

And finally, here's, uhhh... CUTE THINGS EXPLODING!!!



This comes courtesy of Andrew Bentler, the man responsible for the opening title sequence for Night 2 of THE STORM! (Also a major force in the Fantastic Mr. Anderson video I'm curiously not posting for once). He's an all around resident genius. They've even got shirts made! Check out his madness.

And why not one more weird thing? Here's a picture of my cup, after I drank most of the root beer that was in it. This picture is not doctored.



Made my day. Hopefully it does the same for you. Pay it forward!

Moviesonline stuff

Things have been starting up again over at the Moviesonline site, and I kicked things off this week with a list of what I consider the best sci-fi flicks of the past decade.

Check it out, why don'tcha?

I'm hoping to do more fun things for them, similar to the Fanastic Mr. Fox video I did some time ago.

What's that? You don't know what Fantastic Mr. Fox thing I speak of? Thankfully YouTube is here to enlighten you.



(There's also a semi-coherent review of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus up, but it's ok because that's a semi-coherent movie).