The following is the second portion of a three-part series/countdown of the top paid actors and their most recent movies. See whether or not name power equates to box office success and critical appeal.
6. Adam Sandler
King of Unfunny Comedy. That is the title that Adam Sandler has been crowned in recent years. He makes one awful movie after another filled with the same jokes and the same actors as previous movies. The ex-SNL cast member who was in the midst of the shows heyday in the 90s now produces his own movies, so until he runs out of money we are going to be stuck with garbage like Bedtime Stories, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
Bedtime Stories (2008)
Domestic Gross – $110 million
Worldwide Gross – $212 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes –24%; 4.4/10
Netflix – 3.8/5
Box Office Mojo – B
You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (2008)
Domestic Gross – $100 million
Worldwide Gross – $200 million
Budget – $90 million
IMdb – 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –36%; 4.6/10
Netflix – 2.9/5
Box Office Mojo – C
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
Domestic Gross – $120 million
Worldwide Gross – $186 million
Budget – $85 million
IMdb – 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes –13%; 3.6/10
Netflix – 3.5/5
Box Office Mojo – C
Reign Over Me (2007)
Domestic Gross – $20 million
Worldwide Gross – $22 million
Budget – $20 million
IMdb – 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes –63%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B
5. Harrison Ford
This is an interesting case because discounting the fourth Indiana Jones movie released in 2008, Ford hadn’t made a financially relevant movie since 2000’s What Lies Beneath. Although Ford is a big name and garners a lot of respect when it comes to pushing a movie title, the paycheck really was for the Indy name, not Ford’s.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Domestic Gross – $317 million
Worldwide Gross – $787 million
Budget – $185 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –76%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – B
4. Shia LaBeouf
I’m a fan of this goofy kid and like most wasn’t aware of his existence prior to Transformers. So no, I didn’t watch much Even Stevens.
Besides repeatedly being cast in big-budget action movies that are generally well liked by audiences, my favorite thing about LaBeouf is his involvement in one of the top-five funniest SNL skits ever. When you’ve got the time, check out Sofa King. It is worth it.
Note: I’m omitting the 2007 animated movie Surf’s Up. LaBeouf only did voice work for the film and was so far down on the list of talent for that movie, so I am not counting it.
Eagle Eye (2008)
Domestic Gross – $101 million
Worldwide Gross – $178 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –27%; 4.6/10
Netflix – 3.8/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Domestic Gross – $317 million
Worldwide Gross – $787 million
Budget – $185 million
IMdb – 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –76%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Transformers (2007)
Domestic Gross – $319 million
Worldwide Gross – $710 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes –57%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 4/5
Box Office Mojo – B+
Disturbia (2007)
Domestic Gross – $80 million
Worldwide Gross – $118 million
Budget – $20 million
IMdb – 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –67%; 6.2/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth From Name Power? (Part One)
Frequently movie advertisers will tease a film by enticing the audience with an actor or actress’ name. Producers believe the celebrity’s name power will get people in the seats. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Running across a list of the top-paid actors and actresses of 2008, I decided to do a check on the latest movies the top 10 were in and whether they were any good or not. So here is the list with some financial stats and numerical ratings from four Web sites.
The percentage that goes along with Rotten Tomatoes measures the positive reviews of approved Tomatometer critics.
It should also be noted, since most people don’t rate a movie unless they like it, the scales are always rated a little high. So therefore, a movie is average at about 6.5 on a 10-point scale and 3.5 on a 5-point scale. Anything above those numbers means audiences generally liked them and below is a negatively received film.
10. Daniel Craig
Since being named James Bond in 2005, Craig’s paychecks (and name) have become increasingly larger. In 2008, Craig was in two films (one of which was a 007 movie) that both received mixed reviews and ratings.
Defeating megalomaniacs and their evil henchmen while bedding the hottest women in the most exotic locations around the globe onscreen doesn’t always mean success in the real world for the actor as can be seen in Craig’s recent filmography.
Defiance (2008)
Domestic Gross – $29 million
Worldwide Gross – $$50 million
Budget – $32 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 55%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Domestic Gross – $168 million
Worldwide Gross – $586 million
Budget – $200 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 64%; 6.1/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
The Golden Compass (2007)
Domestic Gross – $70 million
Worldwide Gross – $372 million
Budget – $180 million
IMdb – 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –42%; 5.6/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – C+
The Invasion (2007)
Domestic Gross – $15 million
Worldwide Gross – $40 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –19%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.2/5
Box Office Mojo – C+
9. Angelina Jolie
An Academy Award winner, humanitarian and collector of babies, Jolie is synonymous with sex appeal. It seems nearly all of her movies are geared toward her physical assets and when movie trailer voice guy says her name, the men in the audience are automatically supposed to think, “Well, I’m definitely going to see that movie if Angelina Jolie is in it.” However, getting her naked in a movie doesn’t necessarily mean box office success as Robert Zemeckis learned after releasing an animated Jolie lizard monster in 2007’s Beowulf. Since a disappointing 2007, she has rebounded and done a good job of earning her paycheck by getting people in the seats and having them leave liking what they saw.
Wanted (2008)
Domestic Gross – $135 million
Worldwide Gross – $341 million
Budget – $75 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –72%; 6.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Changeling (2008)
Domestic Gross – $38 million
Worldwide Gross – $113 million
Budget – $55 million
IMdb – 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –61%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Domestic Gross – $215 million
Worldwide Gross – $632 million
Budget – $130 million
IMdb – 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –89%; 7.2/10
Netflix – 4/5
Box Office Mojo – B+
Beowulf (2007)
Domestic Gross – $82 million
Worldwide Gross – $196 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –71%; 6.5/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B
A Mighty Heart (2007)
Domestic Gross – $9 million
Worldwide Gross – $19 million
Budget – $16 million
IMdb – 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.3/5
Box Office Mojo – B-
8. George Clooney
The man who temporarily killed Batman, Clooney is a likeable guy who has slowly risen to become adored by female fans of his ER doctor role and envied by men for the coolness he portrayed in the Ocean’s series. Although Clooney is the eighth highest paid actor in Hollywood, the movies he stars in aren’t exactly blockbusters, but audiences generally like his movies (excluding Leatherheads).
Burn After Reading (2008)
Domestic Gross – $60 million
Worldwide Gross – $161 million
Budget – $37 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.8/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Leatherheads (2008)
Domestic Gross – $31 million
Worldwide Gross – $41 million
Budget – $58 million
IMdb – 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –52%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3/5
Box Office Mojo – C
Michael Clayton (2007)
Domestic Gross – $49 million
Worldwide Gross – $93 million
Budget – $25 million
IMdb – 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes –90%; 7.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Domestic Gross – $117 million
Worldwide Gross – $311 million
Budget – $85 million
IMdb – 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –69%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
7. Reese Witherspoon
Girl-next-door-cute Reese Witherspoon has two honors on this list: being the highest-paid female in Hollywood in 2008 and being the most overpaid person in Hollywood in 2008. The two movies she made last year received awful reviews and ratings. In her defense however, for Rendition she did take a pay cut to help keep the budget low. Had she only taken it a step further with Four Christmases and bowed out completely we might have been saved another horrible holiday movie.
Four Christmases (2008)
Domestic Gross – $120 million
Worldwide Gross – $164 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –24%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B-
Rendition (2008)
Domestic Gross – $10 million
Worldwide Gross – $27 million
Budget – $27.5 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –47%; 5.5/10
Netflix – 3.5/5
Box Office Mojo – C
Running across a list of the top-paid actors and actresses of 2008, I decided to do a check on the latest movies the top 10 were in and whether they were any good or not. So here is the list with some financial stats and numerical ratings from four Web sites.
The percentage that goes along with Rotten Tomatoes measures the positive reviews of approved Tomatometer critics.
It should also be noted, since most people don’t rate a movie unless they like it, the scales are always rated a little high. So therefore, a movie is average at about 6.5 on a 10-point scale and 3.5 on a 5-point scale. Anything above those numbers means audiences generally liked them and below is a negatively received film.
10. Daniel Craig
Since being named James Bond in 2005, Craig’s paychecks (and name) have become increasingly larger. In 2008, Craig was in two films (one of which was a 007 movie) that both received mixed reviews and ratings.
Defeating megalomaniacs and their evil henchmen while bedding the hottest women in the most exotic locations around the globe onscreen doesn’t always mean success in the real world for the actor as can be seen in Craig’s recent filmography.
Defiance (2008)
Domestic Gross – $29 million
Worldwide Gross – $$50 million
Budget – $32 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 55%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Domestic Gross – $168 million
Worldwide Gross – $586 million
Budget – $200 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 64%; 6.1/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
The Golden Compass (2007)
Domestic Gross – $70 million
Worldwide Gross – $372 million
Budget – $180 million
IMdb – 6.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –42%; 5.6/10
Netflix – 3.4/5
Box Office Mojo – C+
The Invasion (2007)
Domestic Gross – $15 million
Worldwide Gross – $40 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –19%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.2/5
Box Office Mojo – C+
9. Angelina Jolie
An Academy Award winner, humanitarian and collector of babies, Jolie is synonymous with sex appeal. It seems nearly all of her movies are geared toward her physical assets and when movie trailer voice guy says her name, the men in the audience are automatically supposed to think, “Well, I’m definitely going to see that movie if Angelina Jolie is in it.” However, getting her naked in a movie doesn’t necessarily mean box office success as Robert Zemeckis learned after releasing an animated Jolie lizard monster in 2007’s Beowulf. Since a disappointing 2007, she has rebounded and done a good job of earning her paycheck by getting people in the seats and having them leave liking what they saw.
Wanted (2008)
Domestic Gross – $135 million
Worldwide Gross – $341 million
Budget – $75 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –72%; 6.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Changeling (2008)
Domestic Gross – $38 million
Worldwide Gross – $113 million
Budget – $55 million
IMdb – 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –61%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.9/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Domestic Gross – $215 million
Worldwide Gross – $632 million
Budget – $130 million
IMdb – 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –89%; 7.2/10
Netflix – 4/5
Box Office Mojo – B+
Beowulf (2007)
Domestic Gross – $82 million
Worldwide Gross – $196 million
Budget – $150 million
IMdb – 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes –71%; 6.5/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B
A Mighty Heart (2007)
Domestic Gross – $9 million
Worldwide Gross – $19 million
Budget – $16 million
IMdb – 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.9/10
Netflix – 3.3/5
Box Office Mojo – B-
8. George Clooney
The man who temporarily killed Batman, Clooney is a likeable guy who has slowly risen to become adored by female fans of his ER doctor role and envied by men for the coolness he portrayed in the Ocean’s series. Although Clooney is the eighth highest paid actor in Hollywood, the movies he stars in aren’t exactly blockbusters, but audiences generally like his movies (excluding Leatherheads).
Burn After Reading (2008)
Domestic Gross – $60 million
Worldwide Gross – $161 million
Budget – $37 million
IMdb – 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes –77%; 6.8/10
Netflix – 3.1/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Leatherheads (2008)
Domestic Gross – $31 million
Worldwide Gross – $41 million
Budget – $58 million
IMdb – 6.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes –52%; 5.8/10
Netflix – 3/5
Box Office Mojo – C
Michael Clayton (2007)
Domestic Gross – $49 million
Worldwide Gross – $93 million
Budget – $25 million
IMdb – 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes –90%; 7.6/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Domestic Gross – $117 million
Worldwide Gross – $311 million
Budget – $85 million
IMdb – 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –69%; 6.3/10
Netflix – 3.6/5
Box Office Mojo – B
7. Reese Witherspoon
Girl-next-door-cute Reese Witherspoon has two honors on this list: being the highest-paid female in Hollywood in 2008 and being the most overpaid person in Hollywood in 2008. The two movies she made last year received awful reviews and ratings. In her defense however, for Rendition she did take a pay cut to help keep the budget low. Had she only taken it a step further with Four Christmases and bowed out completely we might have been saved another horrible holiday movie.
Four Christmases (2008)
Domestic Gross – $120 million
Worldwide Gross – $164 million
Budget – $80 million
IMdb – 5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes –24%; 4.3/10
Netflix – 3.7/5
Box Office Mojo – B-
Rendition (2008)
Domestic Gross – $10 million
Worldwide Gross – $27 million
Budget – $27.5 million
IMdb – 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes –47%; 5.5/10
Netflix – 3.5/5
Box Office Mojo – C
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Are You Kidding?
Trolling around on the Internet today I came across an article that listed 10 respectable horror movie sequels. The writer, Jeff Giles, gives his take on why he feels the sequels to Blade, Scream, Frankenstein and Alien were deemed acceptable. So be it.
Not only is Aliens one of the few sequels to rival its predecessor, but it also has the greatest sequel name of all time. Do you add a numeral on to the end of one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time to name the sequel? No that is too easy. So what makes sense? There is more than one alien this time, so why not add an “S” to show that the threat has been multiplied. Genius.
As for Scream 2, The Bride of Frankenstein and Blade II, I have always thought the second movie in the Scream trilogy was underrated, Frankenstein is on of my favorite movies and I love the sequel and the more I view Blade II the more I like it.
Yet, the rest of the sequels on this list are far from respectable. Giles starts right off the bat with Psycho II. Not able to say it better myself, “critics were generally less than thrilled to be revisiting a story that seemed to be wrapped up pretty neatly in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 original.” Hitchcock didn’t seem to wrap things up. He had wrapped things up. Psycho was wonderfully executed and Norman Bates was a character that had been perfectly formed by both Anthony Perkins and Hitchcock to never need further examining. He should have been left alone to rot in his padded cell at the insane asylum.
The next head scratcher is Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I get that it was supposed to be a farce on the genre of horror movies in general, but when the director who created the character of Gizmo and his wicked counterpart Gremlins returns for the sequel, you expect a sliver of similarity. The difference between Gremlins and its sequel is like the differences between Christopher Nolan and Joel Schumacher’s direction of the Batman series. It was just too much of a divergence for the audience to have a chance at enjoying it. I’m not going to say there aren’t parts to love about the Gremlins sequel, but to say it is respectable is just poppycock.
The problem with 28 Weeks Later is it starts out pretty good but quickly dumbs itself down to just another zombie thriller with good guys shooting their way through legions of the undead.
I’m not going to waste much time describing why Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn is not a respectable sequel. That is because it is a remake of the original. Director Sam Raimi may have intended for it to be a sequel, but having the exact same action and characters go through the same events with better effects doesn’t make it a sequel. That would be like having Peter Parker fight the Green Goblin a couple of years after Spider-man came out simply to cash in on better special effects (which now that I think about it, maybe that is what he was trying to do with Spider-man 3). Plus, the Evil Dead series is just too campy for me.
I haven’t seen The Devil’s Rejects or the original Dawn of the Dead, so I can’t comment on whether these stand a chance to be on Giles list.
Not only is Aliens one of the few sequels to rival its predecessor, but it also has the greatest sequel name of all time. Do you add a numeral on to the end of one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time to name the sequel? No that is too easy. So what makes sense? There is more than one alien this time, so why not add an “S” to show that the threat has been multiplied. Genius.
As for Scream 2, The Bride of Frankenstein and Blade II, I have always thought the second movie in the Scream trilogy was underrated, Frankenstein is on of my favorite movies and I love the sequel and the more I view Blade II the more I like it.
Yet, the rest of the sequels on this list are far from respectable. Giles starts right off the bat with Psycho II. Not able to say it better myself, “critics were generally less than thrilled to be revisiting a story that seemed to be wrapped up pretty neatly in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 original.” Hitchcock didn’t seem to wrap things up. He had wrapped things up. Psycho was wonderfully executed and Norman Bates was a character that had been perfectly formed by both Anthony Perkins and Hitchcock to never need further examining. He should have been left alone to rot in his padded cell at the insane asylum.
The next head scratcher is Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I get that it was supposed to be a farce on the genre of horror movies in general, but when the director who created the character of Gizmo and his wicked counterpart Gremlins returns for the sequel, you expect a sliver of similarity. The difference between Gremlins and its sequel is like the differences between Christopher Nolan and Joel Schumacher’s direction of the Batman series. It was just too much of a divergence for the audience to have a chance at enjoying it. I’m not going to say there aren’t parts to love about the Gremlins sequel, but to say it is respectable is just poppycock.
The problem with 28 Weeks Later is it starts out pretty good but quickly dumbs itself down to just another zombie thriller with good guys shooting their way through legions of the undead.
I’m not going to waste much time describing why Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn is not a respectable sequel. That is because it is a remake of the original. Director Sam Raimi may have intended for it to be a sequel, but having the exact same action and characters go through the same events with better effects doesn’t make it a sequel. That would be like having Peter Parker fight the Green Goblin a couple of years after Spider-man came out simply to cash in on better special effects (which now that I think about it, maybe that is what he was trying to do with Spider-man 3). Plus, the Evil Dead series is just too campy for me.
I haven’t seen The Devil’s Rejects or the original Dawn of the Dead, so I can’t comment on whether these stand a chance to be on Giles list.
Thoughts On Last Night’s Rangers Win
Like many Texas Rangers fans, I am new to cheering for a durable, competitive team that finds ways to win. Usually by this point in baseball season I am scouring the Internet for the latest football news to finalize my fantasy player list. Yet, I am still enthralled by what the Rangers are able to do right now, finding ways to win ballgames and stay in a wildcard (and pennant) race.
Playing the Yankees is a tough thing, especially in New York. When coaches and analysts talk about a home field advantage with the fans being that deciding factor for a game, Yankee and Red Sox fans are exactly what they mean. It is awful going into their cities to play series or even a single game. The same can be said for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
With that said, a lot of Ranger fans would be happy to win one game in the current series with the Yankees, who are playing lights out right now. I will admit, I teeter on being a realist and believing that winning one game in Yankee Stadium would be a momentous event for this team as it continues its battle to hang with the Angels, Red Sox and Rays, but I’d like to also be the eternal optimist and think that a sweep is possible.
Well, last night’s win was that momentous event fans were hoping for, and boy was it a nail biter. With a Ranger lead of 10-5, many Yankee fans had left the stadium for the night expecting a quiet end to the game. Boy, were they probably kicking themselves when they got home and watched SportsCenter.
It looked like Frank Francisco was going to give the Yankees a nice win they certainly didn’t need since they had about a seven game lead on the Red Sox. There were no outs and the boys in the pinstripes had crawled back into the game being down by one. With runners on first and second, it seemed hopeless.
Adding an additional mountain to climb for the Rangers was that half-gone Yankee fan base. The booming thunder they generated to lift their team up was deafening and could be heard over the play-by-play from Josh Lewin. I sat on my couch repeating, “I can’t believe they are going to lose this.”
But everything came together for the Rangers within a two-minute timespan. Michael Young caught a popped-up bunt and then Elvis Andrus pulled off an unassisted double play to end the game. Amazing.
This Rangers team has shown multiple times that they aren’t going to give up and neither should the fans. As I type this, Andrus made a great play to throw A-Rod out at home with a sliding groundball grab behind second base.
To bring this around to movies since that is the new focus of this blog, does anyone find it frightening that Frog from Smokey and the Bandit is the new face of osteoporosis commercials? I don’t want to think of the charming Sally Field, able to get Smokey to find a reason for taking his hat off, pushing Boniva on senior citizens to help with their bone loss. It just makes me feel old.
Playing the Yankees is a tough thing, especially in New York. When coaches and analysts talk about a home field advantage with the fans being that deciding factor for a game, Yankee and Red Sox fans are exactly what they mean. It is awful going into their cities to play series or even a single game. The same can be said for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
With that said, a lot of Ranger fans would be happy to win one game in the current series with the Yankees, who are playing lights out right now. I will admit, I teeter on being a realist and believing that winning one game in Yankee Stadium would be a momentous event for this team as it continues its battle to hang with the Angels, Red Sox and Rays, but I’d like to also be the eternal optimist and think that a sweep is possible.
Well, last night’s win was that momentous event fans were hoping for, and boy was it a nail biter. With a Ranger lead of 10-5, many Yankee fans had left the stadium for the night expecting a quiet end to the game. Boy, were they probably kicking themselves when they got home and watched SportsCenter.
It looked like Frank Francisco was going to give the Yankees a nice win they certainly didn’t need since they had about a seven game lead on the Red Sox. There were no outs and the boys in the pinstripes had crawled back into the game being down by one. With runners on first and second, it seemed hopeless.
Adding an additional mountain to climb for the Rangers was that half-gone Yankee fan base. The booming thunder they generated to lift their team up was deafening and could be heard over the play-by-play from Josh Lewin. I sat on my couch repeating, “I can’t believe they are going to lose this.”
But everything came together for the Rangers within a two-minute timespan. Michael Young caught a popped-up bunt and then Elvis Andrus pulled off an unassisted double play to end the game. Amazing.
This Rangers team has shown multiple times that they aren’t going to give up and neither should the fans. As I type this, Andrus made a great play to throw A-Rod out at home with a sliding groundball grab behind second base.
To bring this around to movies since that is the new focus of this blog, does anyone find it frightening that Frog from Smokey and the Bandit is the new face of osteoporosis commercials? I don’t want to think of the charming Sally Field, able to get Smokey to find a reason for taking his hat off, pushing Boniva on senior citizens to help with their bone loss. It just makes me feel old.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Greatest/Abominable Best Picture Oscar Winners According To Me
I've been working to view all the movies that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture and I have only four movies to go. Being that I love lists and I am in the mood, I have ranked my top five favorite and least liked movies that won the highest honor in Hollywood. Although I still have four movies that could creep in to the top five on either side, I will update this if I need to at a later date. However, here they are.
Favorite:
1. The Godfather
2. Casablanca
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Gone With the Wind
5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Honorable Mention: There are plenty of movies from Braveheart and It Happened One Night to My Fair Lady and The Bridge on the River Kwai that deserve to be among the top five favorite Oscar winners, but a movie that nearly cracked my top five was On the Waterfront.
Midnight Cowboy, Tom Jones, Gigi, The English Patient and Annie Hall
Despised:
1. Midnight Cowboy
2. Tom Jones
3. Gigi
4. The English Patient
5. Annie Hall
Honorable Mention: The Deer Hunter has never excited me like it does some. The only reason it beat out Annie Hall to not be on my top five least favorite Best Picture winners was because the Russian roulette scenes are pretty thrilling. That accolade alone makes it more eventful than the bore-fest that is Annie Hall.
Favorite:
1. The Godfather
2. Casablanca
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. Gone With the Wind
5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Honorable Mention: There are plenty of movies from Braveheart and It Happened One Night to My Fair Lady and The Bridge on the River Kwai that deserve to be among the top five favorite Oscar winners, but a movie that nearly cracked my top five was On the Waterfront.
Midnight Cowboy, Tom Jones, Gigi, The English Patient and Annie Hall
Despised:
1. Midnight Cowboy
2. Tom Jones
3. Gigi
4. The English Patient
5. Annie Hall
Honorable Mention: The Deer Hunter has never excited me like it does some. The only reason it beat out Annie Hall to not be on my top five least favorite Best Picture winners was because the Russian roulette scenes are pretty thrilling. That accolade alone makes it more eventful than the bore-fest that is Annie Hall.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sad Day
This is upsetting news for Scorcese fans. His new movie Shutter Island has been moved back from October to February.
The initial report was that financing couldn't be found to promote the film that quickly and the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio, wouldn't be available for a promotional tour. Later it was stated the economy was to blame for the move and the movie will help with a thin 2010 slate for the company.
Whatever the reason, I am saddened by this news. I saw the preview when I went to watch District 9 and it showed extreme promise. Hopefully the extra wait will be worth it.
The initial report was that financing couldn't be found to promote the film that quickly and the film's star, Leonardo DiCaprio, wouldn't be available for a promotional tour. Later it was stated the economy was to blame for the move and the movie will help with a thin 2010 slate for the company.
Whatever the reason, I am saddened by this news. I saw the preview when I went to watch District 9 and it showed extreme promise. Hopefully the extra wait will be worth it.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Summer Blockbuster Guessing Game
My wife and I have had an ongoing bet for several years now that includes the summer blockbuster movie season. We guess which film is going to bring in the most money in a nine-week time period. We combine domestic gross with foreign markets, which factors in the decision making process because some movies (such as the Harry Potter franchise) are huge overseas.
This summer was the fourth time we’ve made the bet and sadly I have yet to get a win. I’m the movie guy in the family and yet I can’t even pick the top grosser of the summer. I wouldn’t equate Joanna’s wins each year to a woman sitting down with her boyfriend while he is watching a baseball game and her rooting for the guys in the red shirts because they look nicer, but I certainly should have an edge in this competition. It would be like me making a five-course meal that would have the judges of the Next Food Network Star salivating over, despite Joanna being the master of the kitchen.
The previous summers I have received every kind of defeat possible. I’ve come within millions of winning but also I have seen a blowout of epic proportions, thanks to Nolan’s success with The Dark Knight. The following are our earlier bets and how I came out.
2006:
Joanna – X-Men: The Last Stand – $459 million
Matt – Superman Returns – $391 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Da Vinci Code – $758 million
2007:
Joanna – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million
Matt – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – $938 million
Biggest Moneymaker – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million
2008:
Joanna – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million
Matt – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – $748 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million
Our 2009 bet includes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Although it is not yet complete, it is looking like I will get my first victory in our annual guessing game. Yea, go me!
This summer was the fourth time we’ve made the bet and sadly I have yet to get a win. I’m the movie guy in the family and yet I can’t even pick the top grosser of the summer. I wouldn’t equate Joanna’s wins each year to a woman sitting down with her boyfriend while he is watching a baseball game and her rooting for the guys in the red shirts because they look nicer, but I certainly should have an edge in this competition. It would be like me making a five-course meal that would have the judges of the Next Food Network Star salivating over, despite Joanna being the master of the kitchen.
The previous summers I have received every kind of defeat possible. I’ve come within millions of winning but also I have seen a blowout of epic proportions, thanks to Nolan’s success with The Dark Knight. The following are our earlier bets and how I came out.
2006:
Joanna – X-Men: The Last Stand – $459 million
Matt – Superman Returns – $391 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Da Vinci Code – $758 million
2007:
Joanna – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million
Matt – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – $938 million
Biggest Moneymaker – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $960 million
2008:
Joanna – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million
Matt – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – $748 million
Biggest Moneymaker – The Dark Knight – $948.5 million
Our 2009 bet includes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Although it is not yet complete, it is looking like I will get my first victory in our annual guessing game. Yea, go me!
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Has A Remake Ever Been Better Than Its Predecessor?
One of the biggest complaints from moviegoers recently is the lack of fresh ideas coming out of Hollywood. It seems that for every new film that gets made, an additional four are done that are either remakes, reboots or revisions of a previous movie or television show.
I wanted to take a look at some of the more recent remakes and see how they measured up to their original predecessor. Now, when I went to research this topic, my trusty friend Wikipedia found hundreds of titles that are considered remakes. If I tried to cover every movie that’s been redone and shown to a modern audience I would either kill myself halfway into the project, or you would kill yourself halfway through reading about it. So we will just stick to a few guidelines. I only picked movies that are enough well known that a major star was attached to the picture or most people could figure out one of the movies made when given the plot. I’m also not considering conversions from foreign markets (excluding the UK) like Japan’s The Seven Samurai to America’s The Magnificent Seven or Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs to our The Departed.
Here is a list of all the movies recently remade that were either complete failures or forgotten 20 minutes after being released. I have made notes beside some of the movies mentioned.
3:10 to Yuma (1957) made as 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – The only great thing about the remake is the poster of a train seen underneath the legs of a cowboy. It’s a very cool shot. And what is with the Luke Wilson cameo out of nowhere?
Alfie (1966) made as Alfie (2004)
All the King’s Men (1949) made as All the King’s Men (2006) – The first version won an Oscar for Best Picture but both are equally boring.
The Amityville Horror (1979) made as The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Bad News Bears (1976) made as Bad News Bears (2005)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) made as The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Get Carter (1971) made as Get Carter (2001) – The original is considered one of the best British gangster films of all time, so why mess with greatness.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) made as Guess Who (2005)
Hairspray (1988) made as Hairspray (2007) – Four words will settle this: John Travolta in drag. Enough said.
Halloween (1978) made as Halloween (2007) – I don’t need to know why Michael Meyers is a killer and I don’t need obligatory gore to be scared. Just give me suspense.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers made as The Invasion
King Kong (1933) made as King Kong (2005) – While Peter Jackson’s remake is good, it doesn’t compete with the original.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) made as The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Omen (1976) made as The Omen (2006)
Planet of the Apes (1968) made as Planet of the Apes (2001) – Tim Burton’s remake is almost always mentioned in conversations of bad remakes. It just doesn’t make any sense.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) made as Poseidon (2006)
Psycho (1960) made as Psycho (1998) – Making a movie shot-for-shot of the previous one doesn’t impress me.
Rear Window (1954) made as Disturbia (2007)
Shaft (1971) made as Shaft (2001)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) made as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The War of the Worlds (1953) made as War of the Worlds (2005)
The Wicker Man (1973) made as The Wicker Man (2006) – Could anything be worse than the remake. I nearly walked out of this one and that would have been a first.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) made as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Another Tim Burton remake that didn’t come close to its original.
I’d be surprised if you made it through that long list, but if you did then congratulations. It makes you wonder if any remake has ever been better than its original. Well, here are a few that do (and might) make that list:
Ben-Hur (1925) made as Ben-Hur (1959) – A little unfair considering the second was made after talkies were introduced, but nonetheless.
Cape Fear (1962) made as Cape Fear (1991) – I prefer the first, but some believe Robert De Niro’s performance alone makes the remake superior.
The Italian Job (1969) made as The Italian Job (2003)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) made as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – This one is interesting in that it was directed by the same master of suspense: Alfred Hitchcock.
The Mummy (1932) made as The Mummy (1999) – This one depends on if you prefer action to suspense.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960) made as Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
I wanted to take a look at some of the more recent remakes and see how they measured up to their original predecessor. Now, when I went to research this topic, my trusty friend Wikipedia found hundreds of titles that are considered remakes. If I tried to cover every movie that’s been redone and shown to a modern audience I would either kill myself halfway into the project, or you would kill yourself halfway through reading about it. So we will just stick to a few guidelines. I only picked movies that are enough well known that a major star was attached to the picture or most people could figure out one of the movies made when given the plot. I’m also not considering conversions from foreign markets (excluding the UK) like Japan’s The Seven Samurai to America’s The Magnificent Seven or Hong Kong’s Infernal Affairs to our The Departed.
Here is a list of all the movies recently remade that were either complete failures or forgotten 20 minutes after being released. I have made notes beside some of the movies mentioned.
3:10 to Yuma (1957) made as 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – The only great thing about the remake is the poster of a train seen underneath the legs of a cowboy. It’s a very cool shot. And what is with the Luke Wilson cameo out of nowhere?
Alfie (1966) made as Alfie (2004)
All the King’s Men (1949) made as All the King’s Men (2006) – The first version won an Oscar for Best Picture but both are equally boring.
The Amityville Horror (1979) made as The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Bad News Bears (1976) made as Bad News Bears (2005)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) made as The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Get Carter (1971) made as Get Carter (2001) – The original is considered one of the best British gangster films of all time, so why mess with greatness.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) made as Guess Who (2005)
Hairspray (1988) made as Hairspray (2007) – Four words will settle this: John Travolta in drag. Enough said.
Halloween (1978) made as Halloween (2007) – I don’t need to know why Michael Meyers is a killer and I don’t need obligatory gore to be scared. Just give me suspense.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers made as The Invasion
King Kong (1933) made as King Kong (2005) – While Peter Jackson’s remake is good, it doesn’t compete with the original.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) made as The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
The Omen (1976) made as The Omen (2006)
Planet of the Apes (1968) made as Planet of the Apes (2001) – Tim Burton’s remake is almost always mentioned in conversations of bad remakes. It just doesn’t make any sense.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) made as Poseidon (2006)
Psycho (1960) made as Psycho (1998) – Making a movie shot-for-shot of the previous one doesn’t impress me.
Rear Window (1954) made as Disturbia (2007)
Shaft (1971) made as Shaft (2001)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) made as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
The War of the Worlds (1953) made as War of the Worlds (2005)
The Wicker Man (1973) made as The Wicker Man (2006) – Could anything be worse than the remake. I nearly walked out of this one and that would have been a first.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) made as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Another Tim Burton remake that didn’t come close to its original.
I’d be surprised if you made it through that long list, but if you did then congratulations. It makes you wonder if any remake has ever been better than its original. Well, here are a few that do (and might) make that list:
Ben-Hur (1925) made as Ben-Hur (1959) – A little unfair considering the second was made after talkies were introduced, but nonetheless.
Cape Fear (1962) made as Cape Fear (1991) – I prefer the first, but some believe Robert De Niro’s performance alone makes the remake superior.
The Italian Job (1969) made as The Italian Job (2003)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) made as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – This one is interesting in that it was directed by the same master of suspense: Alfred Hitchcock.
The Mummy (1932) made as The Mummy (1999) – This one depends on if you prefer action to suspense.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960) made as Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Friday, August 07, 2009
Upcoming Movies Worth Considering
Summer is nearly over and along with students and teachers moaning about having to go back to school, it is also upsetting for me because most of the really great summer blockbusters have come and gone.
Up, Star Trek and Harry Potter were all really great movies. Terminator Salvation, while getting a lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike, at least took the series in a different direction than robot is sent back in time, tries to kill human, human/robot is sent back to protect human, Judgment Day sucks for all mankind. The really awful movies that still made a boatload of cash were X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. From everything that trailers and advertisements are showing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is likely going to join that last group of garbage.
But we’re not here for an outlook of the depressing future of films. We want something to look forward to as we roll into the final months of the year. Here is a preview of some of the more exciting prospects Hollywood has to offer.
August 14 – District 9: The producer and director of this movie were brilliant to go with a documentary style of filmmaking, especially when the trailer is presented as a hard-hitting feature that focuses on a South African government harboring a group of outsiders on the country’s dime. Interviews with locals talk about how they don’t like them and they don’t want them around. Things get really interesting though when it is revealed that the outsiders aren’t illegal aliens in the sense of Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande, but rather illegal aliens crossing the Milky Way to land on Earth. With each new commercial that is aired I get more eager to see this movie. It doesn’t hurt the chances of this movie being great in that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is one of the producers.
August 21 – Inglorious Basterds: I will say that I don’t trust Quentin Tarantino any more. Sure, he wrote and directed Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. They are both great movies from the 90s, but that’s just it. They were made in the 1990s. He hasn’t been associated with anything relevant or interesting for 15 years. And if you say Kill Bill was any good then you’re an idiot. It was mindless violence that wouldn’t stand up to a B-rated samurai flick from 1950s Japan. With all that said, I will say Tarantino’s latest movie, a World War II picture starring Brad Pitt, Eli Roth and Diane Kruger, looks to not only be entertaining but also in the vein of great war/action flicks from the 60s like The Dirty Dozen and The Guns of Navarone. For me, Tarantino is on a short leash and this is either going to make or break his entire career. If it’s a hit then I’ll concede that he’s still got it, but if it fails then it will further prove he was a flash-in-the-pan guy who rose too high, too fast.
September 9 – 9: Despite the cheesy promotion they are going with by releasing this movie on 9/9/09, everything about this movie looks good to me. You might have seen a preview with little burlap bag characters using sporks and other utensils to fight giant mechanical creatures (no, I’m not talking about Transformers). The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where mankind has disappeared, likely being killed off by the industrial monsters it created. The movie is likely a prequel to a short film by the same name and done by the same director, Shane Acker. Voice talent includes Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover.
September 25 – The Invention of Lying: What if everyone in the world always told the truth. Besides a lot of hurt feelings from some of the honest things said, I imagine it would be a pretty boring place. So to spice things up, have one guy create the first-ever lie and see what ensues. And to make things even more interesting, have that one guy be the person who created The Office (the original one from the UK) and the little-known HBO show Extras. I guarantee you this will be some laugh-out-loud comedy throughout that will be like the opposite of Jim Carrey’s Liar, Liar: the jokes will actually be funny, stupid faces will be kept to a minimum and the morality won’t be completely shoved down our throats for the final 30 minutes of the picture.
October 2 – Shutter Island: Never heard of this movie before? Well, all you need to know is Martin Scorsese is directing and Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in this crime drama. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo play U.S. Marshals who chase after a psychotic killer that escapes from a mental institution. Scorsese finally won his first directing Oscar after 2006’s The Departed, starring DiCaprio, and the two also had success in 2004 with The Aviator. All things considered, this should be a hit for the duo.
October 16 – Where the Wild Things Are: When thinking of children’s books made into live-action movies, your memories most likely go to flops like Jim Carrey’s Cat in the Hat or the Jason Lee starring Alvin and the Chipmunks. So hearing that a movie would be made out of Where the Wild Things Are didn’t have me giving much more than a disinterested shrug, however, when I saw the preview a couple of weeks ago I was stunned to actually find myself emotionally invested in the trailer. Director Spike Jonze, while worshiped by many, has never been that appealing to me, but I will certainly give him a chance if this turns out to be anything close to what the trailer shows it could be.
October 16 – The Road: I dig post-apocalyptic flicks like The Road Warrior and 28 Days Later, so this Viggo Mortenson starring vehicle is intriguing to me. The story follows a father and son as they travel alone through a ravaged America. It is cold and dark and the duo is searching for a warmer climate to the south, but they don’t know what awaits them. All they carry is a pistol, the clothes on their backs and a shopping cart of scavenged food. The film also stars Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron, who both have shown flashes of talent over the years.
November 6 – A Christmas Carol: The only thing that interests me about A Christmas Carol is seeing how far the technology used in 2004’s Polar Express has come. When Robert Zemeckis first started using the computer motion-capture equipment, what was seen of Tom Hanks was much creepier than that old stop-motion Christmas movie with Rudolph from 1964. It got a bit better in 2007’s Beowulf, but still was too odd looking to give the viewer a sense of security while watching. The entire time I am thinking about the animation and not the story. Hopefully things have progressed to where the story can be told without the technology being a hindrance, but I guess if you’re going to pick a movie that the viewer might not pay attention to plot then it’s a good thing the filmmakers decided on a story that has been filmed about a thousand times.
November 13 – 2012: Roland Emmerich has pretty much covered every possible disaster from the world freezing over and a giant lizard monster attacking New York to aliens invading our skies. So to spice things up he is combining every possible ecological catastrophe available into one movie. Nothing new to see here, but it will still make $200 million.
November 13 – The Fantastic Mr. Fox: It’s sort of odd that some of the best and most original movies are animated. Pixar is showing us that great movies can be made with animation. With the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Angelica Huston, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman under the direction of Wes Anderson, who helmed The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, this should be quite enjoyable.
November 20 – The Twilight Saga: New Moon: I haven’t read these books. I don’t comprehend the fad. From all the things I’ve heard about this series it is utter garbage, but the women who follow it don’t care. Personally, I need my vampires to be a little more villainous and less sparkly.
December 11 – The Princess and the Frog: I am hoping for the old-style magic of Disney to come back in this 2D film set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age. Disney hasn’t made a classic, let alone good, animated movie since 1994’s The Lion King. Disney’s latest attempt at another animated classic is the story of the frog prince with a twist that when the princess kisses the frog to change him back into a prince she instead transforms into a frog as well. The film includes a voodoo villain and the first-ever black princess in Disney’s collection.
December 18 – Avatar: I know nothing about this movie except that it is James Cameron returning to sci-fi and he waited to make this until the technology caught up to his imagination. I don’t want to know anything else. I saw some artwork from the movie, and while it didn’t knock my socks off, I am combining that information with the little bit of news that occasionally is reported about how amazing it is going to be. I believe in James Cameron and am confident he can deliver another huge success on the level that is Aliens, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
December 25 – Sherlock Holmes: Hollywood constantly tries to shape movies into shallow, generic things that will offend the least number of people in their homes of appealing to the widest audience possible. It just makes sense from a business point of view. So why shouldn’t they dumb things down when it comes to Sherlock Holmes. Instead of the brainy sleuth who battles the criminal element with his wit and cunning, Robert Downy Jr. and Guy Ritchie have decided to turn the most famous detective into a lover, a fighter and an adventurer who leaps out of windows and gets handcuffed to beds naked. Instead of building to a climactic “the butler did it” moment at the end of the movie, Ritchie will use the star power of Downey Jr., the beauty of Rachel McAdams and the charm of Jude Law to beat us into submission with a Lock, Stock, and Snatch style of movie throughout. It will be great, it just won’t be the Holmes I know from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Up, Star Trek and Harry Potter were all really great movies. Terminator Salvation, while getting a lukewarm reception from fans and critics alike, at least took the series in a different direction than robot is sent back in time, tries to kill human, human/robot is sent back to protect human, Judgment Day sucks for all mankind. The really awful movies that still made a boatload of cash were X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. From everything that trailers and advertisements are showing, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is likely going to join that last group of garbage.
But we’re not here for an outlook of the depressing future of films. We want something to look forward to as we roll into the final months of the year. Here is a preview of some of the more exciting prospects Hollywood has to offer.
August 14 – District 9: The producer and director of this movie were brilliant to go with a documentary style of filmmaking, especially when the trailer is presented as a hard-hitting feature that focuses on a South African government harboring a group of outsiders on the country’s dime. Interviews with locals talk about how they don’t like them and they don’t want them around. Things get really interesting though when it is revealed that the outsiders aren’t illegal aliens in the sense of Mexicans crossing the Rio Grande, but rather illegal aliens crossing the Milky Way to land on Earth. With each new commercial that is aired I get more eager to see this movie. It doesn’t hurt the chances of this movie being great in that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is one of the producers.
August 21 – Inglorious Basterds: I will say that I don’t trust Quentin Tarantino any more. Sure, he wrote and directed Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. They are both great movies from the 90s, but that’s just it. They were made in the 1990s. He hasn’t been associated with anything relevant or interesting for 15 years. And if you say Kill Bill was any good then you’re an idiot. It was mindless violence that wouldn’t stand up to a B-rated samurai flick from 1950s Japan. With all that said, I will say Tarantino’s latest movie, a World War II picture starring Brad Pitt, Eli Roth and Diane Kruger, looks to not only be entertaining but also in the vein of great war/action flicks from the 60s like The Dirty Dozen and The Guns of Navarone. For me, Tarantino is on a short leash and this is either going to make or break his entire career. If it’s a hit then I’ll concede that he’s still got it, but if it fails then it will further prove he was a flash-in-the-pan guy who rose too high, too fast.
September 9 – 9: Despite the cheesy promotion they are going with by releasing this movie on 9/9/09, everything about this movie looks good to me. You might have seen a preview with little burlap bag characters using sporks and other utensils to fight giant mechanical creatures (no, I’m not talking about Transformers). The action takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where mankind has disappeared, likely being killed off by the industrial monsters it created. The movie is likely a prequel to a short film by the same name and done by the same director, Shane Acker. Voice talent includes Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover.
September 25 – The Invention of Lying: What if everyone in the world always told the truth. Besides a lot of hurt feelings from some of the honest things said, I imagine it would be a pretty boring place. So to spice things up, have one guy create the first-ever lie and see what ensues. And to make things even more interesting, have that one guy be the person who created The Office (the original one from the UK) and the little-known HBO show Extras. I guarantee you this will be some laugh-out-loud comedy throughout that will be like the opposite of Jim Carrey’s Liar, Liar: the jokes will actually be funny, stupid faces will be kept to a minimum and the morality won’t be completely shoved down our throats for the final 30 minutes of the picture.
October 2 – Shutter Island: Never heard of this movie before? Well, all you need to know is Martin Scorsese is directing and Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in this crime drama. DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo play U.S. Marshals who chase after a psychotic killer that escapes from a mental institution. Scorsese finally won his first directing Oscar after 2006’s The Departed, starring DiCaprio, and the two also had success in 2004 with The Aviator. All things considered, this should be a hit for the duo.
October 16 – Where the Wild Things Are: When thinking of children’s books made into live-action movies, your memories most likely go to flops like Jim Carrey’s Cat in the Hat or the Jason Lee starring Alvin and the Chipmunks. So hearing that a movie would be made out of Where the Wild Things Are didn’t have me giving much more than a disinterested shrug, however, when I saw the preview a couple of weeks ago I was stunned to actually find myself emotionally invested in the trailer. Director Spike Jonze, while worshiped by many, has never been that appealing to me, but I will certainly give him a chance if this turns out to be anything close to what the trailer shows it could be.
October 16 – The Road: I dig post-apocalyptic flicks like The Road Warrior and 28 Days Later, so this Viggo Mortenson starring vehicle is intriguing to me. The story follows a father and son as they travel alone through a ravaged America. It is cold and dark and the duo is searching for a warmer climate to the south, but they don’t know what awaits them. All they carry is a pistol, the clothes on their backs and a shopping cart of scavenged food. The film also stars Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron, who both have shown flashes of talent over the years.
November 6 – A Christmas Carol: The only thing that interests me about A Christmas Carol is seeing how far the technology used in 2004’s Polar Express has come. When Robert Zemeckis first started using the computer motion-capture equipment, what was seen of Tom Hanks was much creepier than that old stop-motion Christmas movie with Rudolph from 1964. It got a bit better in 2007’s Beowulf, but still was too odd looking to give the viewer a sense of security while watching. The entire time I am thinking about the animation and not the story. Hopefully things have progressed to where the story can be told without the technology being a hindrance, but I guess if you’re going to pick a movie that the viewer might not pay attention to plot then it’s a good thing the filmmakers decided on a story that has been filmed about a thousand times.
November 13 – 2012: Roland Emmerich has pretty much covered every possible disaster from the world freezing over and a giant lizard monster attacking New York to aliens invading our skies. So to spice things up he is combining every possible ecological catastrophe available into one movie. Nothing new to see here, but it will still make $200 million.
November 13 – The Fantastic Mr. Fox: It’s sort of odd that some of the best and most original movies are animated. Pixar is showing us that great movies can be made with animation. With the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Angelica Huston, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman under the direction of Wes Anderson, who helmed The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, this should be quite enjoyable.
November 20 – The Twilight Saga: New Moon: I haven’t read these books. I don’t comprehend the fad. From all the things I’ve heard about this series it is utter garbage, but the women who follow it don’t care. Personally, I need my vampires to be a little more villainous and less sparkly.
December 11 – The Princess and the Frog: I am hoping for the old-style magic of Disney to come back in this 2D film set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age. Disney hasn’t made a classic, let alone good, animated movie since 1994’s The Lion King. Disney’s latest attempt at another animated classic is the story of the frog prince with a twist that when the princess kisses the frog to change him back into a prince she instead transforms into a frog as well. The film includes a voodoo villain and the first-ever black princess in Disney’s collection.
December 18 – Avatar: I know nothing about this movie except that it is James Cameron returning to sci-fi and he waited to make this until the technology caught up to his imagination. I don’t want to know anything else. I saw some artwork from the movie, and while it didn’t knock my socks off, I am combining that information with the little bit of news that occasionally is reported about how amazing it is going to be. I believe in James Cameron and am confident he can deliver another huge success on the level that is Aliens, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
December 25 – Sherlock Holmes: Hollywood constantly tries to shape movies into shallow, generic things that will offend the least number of people in their homes of appealing to the widest audience possible. It just makes sense from a business point of view. So why shouldn’t they dumb things down when it comes to Sherlock Holmes. Instead of the brainy sleuth who battles the criminal element with his wit and cunning, Robert Downy Jr. and Guy Ritchie have decided to turn the most famous detective into a lover, a fighter and an adventurer who leaps out of windows and gets handcuffed to beds naked. Instead of building to a climactic “the butler did it” moment at the end of the movie, Ritchie will use the star power of Downey Jr., the beauty of Rachel McAdams and the charm of Jude Law to beat us into submission with a Lock, Stock, and Snatch style of movie throughout. It will be great, it just won’t be the Holmes I know from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle.
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