09/02/10

Tops at the Box: Low budget horror flick The Last Exorcism surprised this past weekend, bringing in a solid $21 million over its first three days. Not bad considering the film is getting mixed reviews, stars no one anyone knows of and is directed by some dude named Daniel Stamm. Said to be a mockumentary, The Last Exorcism is produced by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) and produced in a style similar to The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. From what we’ve seen, the movie doesn’t really seem like much of a mockumentary, but, rather, another in a long line of modern movies shot and edited to appear real. We’ll probably check out this already-huge indie success in the dollar theater. 

More From the Box: A huge number of movies hit the magic mark this past weekend, and by “magic mark,” we mean that their box total topped their production cost. Takers, in its first week, came in at No. 2 last weekend, bringing in $21 million, topping its $20 million budget. Looks kinda unnecessary to us. Stallone’s nostalgia trip, The Expendables, took the No. 3 spot last weekend, upping it’s 17-day total to $82 million - two million over its budget. Eat Pray Love took the No. 4 spot last weekend, upping its total to just under $61 million, a tad over its shooting budget. And last and certainly least, buddy comedy The Other Guys took the No. 5 spot, topping the $100 million mark - also a few bucks over its shooting budget. Other flicks to jump out of the red this past weekend include Lottery Ticket, Salt, Dinner For Schmucks, Step Up 3D and City Island. Oddly, all of these movies topped their production cost by a very small margin. Funny how even when the movies all seem to stink, people still go to the theater and keep the cycle moving. Sadly, a few great recent releases, Restrepo, Winter’s Bone, Get Low and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, aren’t doing so hot in theaters (though all but Pilgrim will still likely top their budget). Heckuva industry, huh?

Opening this Weekend: Finally, here it is, a week where there are almost too many great new releases. Of the major releases hitting screens this week, ScreenTime is most excited about photographer-turned-director Anton Corbin’s The American, starring George Clooney as a hitman who slows down his life, spending a period of time in a small town in the Italian countryside. The trailer looks fantastic. Heavily promoted rom-com Going the Distance, starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, will likely be the big draw of the week due to tons of misplaced hype and a supporting cast that includes Kelly Bundy, that guy from Office Space, the funnies idiot from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” that super pale comedian who talks about food and Kelli Garner. People will go to this movie because they think they have to. People do a lotta stupid stuff. Also opening wide is Robert Rodriguez’ Machete, based on the mock-trailer from his Grindhouse flick, Planet Terror. Looks like a solid piece of grungy B-movie fun. The two flicks we’re most excited about this weekend are French outlaw biopic Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 and director Zhang Yimou’s (Hero) A Woman a Gun and a Noodle Shop, a reinterpretation of the Coen Brothers’ classic first film, Blood Simple. Both films could very well end up on ScreenTime’s year-end list. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 is part two of the two-part Mesrine series; both have already done quite well overseas, featuring a said-to-be classic performance by Vincent Cassel. No telling when any of these three promising movies will make it to Fort Wayne.

ScreenRant: Out on DVD and Blu-ray this coming Tuesday, September 14 is the David Lynch-produced, Werner Herzog-directed, Michael Shannon-starring My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, based on the true story of killer Mark Yavorsky (whom Herzog met with, and was sufficiently creeped out by). We make a special note of this particular film not just because we like everyone involved very much, but because the film has had an interesting life. Completed and ready to hit screens way back in 2008, My Son was held off the market in favor of director Herzog’s excellent Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans movie, which ended up doing quite well with critics and on DVD. The movie went on to play at a number of festivals, even nabbing a prestigious Golden Lion nomination at the Venice International Film Festival. Eventually lost in the studio shuffle, My Son never saw a U.S. release, and will thus be made available to non-festival audiences for the first time with the release of this DVD. There’s much more to the back story, but you’d be better off renting or buying the movie and checking out the bonus features. We hope Herzog and Shannon do some more pictures together, as it seems like a great - if intense - pairing.

Also Out on Home Video: A huge number of additional new DVD and Blu-ray titles hit shelves this coming Tuesday, including Letters to Juliet, Just Wright, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Princess Kaiulani, Boogie Woogie, a reissue of Jacob’s Ladder, first-run Blu-ray editions of Breathless, Carrie, the Lord of the Rings flicks, Se7en, The Third Man, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and much more. Also out on home video are a number of TV series, including season three of “The Big Bang Theory,” season two of “The Fringe,” season one of “Glee,” season six of “Grey’s Anatomy,” season one of “The League,” season four of “Leave it to Beaver,” season three of “Private Practic” and season three of “Rules of Engagement.” Oh, and last but not least, a friend recently pointed out that Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic 1952 novel, “The Killer Inside Me,” starring ScreenTime favorite Casey Affleck. Looks very promising.

Written by G. William Locke