09/24/09

Box Office Breakdown: Juno was an okay movie, surely, but the majority of cinephiles were upset when it took home the Best Original Screenplay Oscar over Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages (not to mentioned the equally well written Margot at the Wedding, I’m Not There and Eastern Promises, none of which were nominated). Needless to say, most Juno haters will be happy to hear that the film for writer Diablo Cody’s second screenplay, Jennifer’s Body, bombed this week at the box office. Coming in at No. 5 with only $10 million in it’s first week, look for Body to kill most of the buzz Cody has had the fortune of seeing so early in her career. The $100 million dollar children’s production Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs took the No. 1 spot, as expected, with a respectable $30 million draw in its first week while Steven Soderberg’s modestly promoted The Informant! took the No. 2 spot with a stellar $10.5 million, also in its first week. Rounding out the Top 5 were I Can Do Bad All By Myself ($10 million) and Love Happens ($8.4 million) at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

New This Week: Bruce Willis stars in sci-fi thriller Surrogates, his most anticipated leading role since the already forgotten Live Free or Die Hard. The latest in a long line of Blade Runner-inspired thrillers, Surrogates tells the story of a world where people live their lives through robot doubles who act out their thoughts. When things inevitably go wrong, Willis ditches his robot surrogate and takes to the streets to, you know, save the world. Also out this week: sci-fi/horror flick Pandorum (snooze button); French indie biopic Coco Before Chanel (fingers crossed); and, unfortunately, director Kevin Tancharoen’s Fame remake (unnecessary). Ugh. Don’t worry, five very promising films hit screens next week. Stay tuned.

The Buzz: “Mad Men” and “30 Rock” once again dominated the Emmy Awards, taking home many of the top drama and comedy honors. The leading men from “30 Rock” and “Breaking Bad,” Alec Baldwin and Brian Cranston, took home Lead Actor (Male) awards for drama and comedy for a second consecutive year. Glenn Close (“Damages”) and Toni Collette (“United States of Tara”) took home the Lead Actor awards in the female category. ScreenTime is bummed. As good as “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” are, this business with modern classics “Dexter” and “The Office” getting shut out for a second straight season has gone to far. And what about “Mad Men” leading lady January Jones (who wasn’t even nominated) and “Dexter” star Michael C. Hall, who is basically the best TV actor of his generation (see HBO classic “Six Feet Under” for further proof)? Awards shows … pfft.

New to DVD: A number of new items hit shelves this Tuesday, September 29, including the long awaited 70th Anniversary Edition of The Wizard of OZ. Sure, it’s budget priced for the first time ever and loaded with extras, but, more importantly, the remastering job is said to be first-rate. Crisp, colorful, trippy and strange. Beautiful. Like the recent Beatles reissues, technology here allows us to experience something that’s always been a part of our lives in a whole new light. This week also sees the release of Madonna’s video collection, Celebration, season four of “The Unit,” the complete “Life On Mars” collection, director Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, snoozer Jennifer Aniston rom-com Management, little seen Kevin Spacey indie comedy Shrink, director Steven Soderberg’s supposedly unique The Girlfriend Experience, something called Orgies and the Meaning of Life (dig the title) and, as usual, an overwhelming number of selected Blu-ray reissues. So, you know, nothing all that essential, save for OZ.

NetFlix Watch Instant Pick: Released in 1961 to mixed reviews, Jean-Luc Godard’s minor classic, A Woman Is a Woman, is a style fest - not to mention essential viewing for fans of leftfield dialogue and New Wave cinema. Something of a musical, this comedy features characters who often discuss the most trivial of topics - common in today’s post-“Seinfeld” world, but not so in 1961. Quirky from the first scene, Woman features Anna Karina in an endearing powerhouse performance that French actresses like Audrey Tautou, Eva Green and Marion Cotillard are still chasing almost 50 years later. Fun little weirdo flick.