11/25/10
Tops at the Box: With no major competition in sight, the seventh Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2, made major money last weekend, bringing in over $125 at the U.S. box over its first three days. Add to that $205 million in overseas receipts and we have ourselves the 15th proper blockbuster release of 2010 - very likely an all-time record. Playing on almost 10,000 screens spread out amongst over 4,000 U.S. theaters (also probably a record), this David Yates-directed hit is projected to be the biggest of the series so far. As big fans of the series, we at the ScreenTimes offices took an afternoon off in order to check out the movie out on release day. We found it to be similar to the last two films, production style wise, but with something of a Michael Bay big-action element added to the mix. Lots of running, fighting, dying, flying, frowning and quick cuts in this very good movie; that said, after just one viewing, we’d probably rank Pt. 1 somewhere towards the middle - or even bottom - of the series.
More From the Box: The also excellent Megamind took in another $16 million over its third weekend, upping its so-far U.S. box office total to $110 million, still $20 million below its production budget. The Denzel Washington-fronted action flick Unstoppable took in another $13 million over its second weekend, upping its total to about $41 million; meanwhile Due Date brought in another $9 million, surpassing its $65 million shooting budget, now standing at about $73 million in sales. Rounding out last weekend’s Top 5 box office flicks was the new film from Crash director Paul Haggis, The Next Three Days, starring Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson and my man the RZA. Haggis, Hollywood’s version of an art film director, has the ability to make good movies, surely. But if you’ve seen the trailer for this film (and you tend to like good movies), chances are you aren’t too excited about The Next Three Days. Looks pretty formulaic to us.
Opening This Weekend: Despite the known fact that the Potter flick will continue to dominate the box office, four major studios have wide releases this week, starting with Buena Vista’s new animated junker, Tangled. Voiced by Ryan Adams’ wife, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor and some people I’m not familiar with, Tangled looks like a return to the mediocrity we all used to expect from children’s films. Sorry, kids. George Tillman, Jr.’s new movie, Faster, also opens everywhere. Starring The Rock in a role that looks made for Vin Diesel, the movie also features Carla Gugino (who we’ve had a screen crush on since 1993’s Son In Law) and Billy Bob Thornton (who we’ve had a screen crush on since 1996’s Sling Blade). Despite Tillman’s previous effort, Notorious, which was downright awful, we think Faster will be a very watchable action movie. Also out are Sony musical Burlesque, starring Christina Aguilera, Cher, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci and Alan Cumming, and director Edward Zwick’s new movie, Love and Other Drugs, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. From what I’ve seen, Drugs looks pretty lousy - unless you like overacting and white bread sex scenes. But Zwick is a fine filmmaker, so who can really guess? The Cher flick, despite getting Razzie-friendly reviews, will do pretty well (or maybe even great). Prediction: it will get some Razzie noms.
ScreenRant: Over the last few years, while talking film with both friends and strangers, I’ve often found myself saying “Oh, are you one of those people who hate Wes Anderson?” I’ve talked about the man here and there in this column, knowing very well that readers seem to either love or loathe the man. From these many discussions I’ve surmised a couple of theories as to why people tend to dislike Wes, but I’ll keep those to myself, instead focusing on his work, which I believe will stand as the most influential, unique and accomplished of the current generation of American filmmakers. Having been in absolute awe of the man’s first four films, I at first felt underwhelmed by 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited, eventually classifying it as a strong - but minor - production-focused piece that had a major crush on Indian culture. After having recently picked up the new Criterion-issued Blu-ray edition, I’ve seen the film in a new light. It took no more than hearing Anderson’s commentary and working my way through the many excellent bonus features to realize that the movie isn’t the A- minor work I once considered it to be. It’s a solid A film, no minor talk needed, full of cinephile friendly nods and winks and held together by a tight script, excellent cinematography and amazing ornamentation. The same day I worked my way through the Limited extras I read through the details of Anderson’s next project, a 1960s-set ensemble dramedy about a New England town and two lovers who run away together. Titled Moonrise Kingdom (shouldn’t it be Morose Kingdom?) and co-written by Roman Coppola (CQ), the movie is set to star Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and a number of other Anderson players.
New to Home Video: An abnormally huge number of mediocre new releases will hit video store shelves this coming Tuesday, November 29, including Cairo Time, Knight & Day, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Vampires Suck, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Standing Ovation, Dabangg, Going the Distance, a few first-run Blu-ray editions, season two of “Parks & Recreation,” season three of “The Lucy Show” and a stack of Looney Tunes collections. Slim pickens.
