| 1) Wreck-It Ralph | $49 Million |
| 2) Flight | $24.9 Million |
| 3) Argo | $10.2 Million |
| 4) The Man with the Iron Fists | $7.9 Million |
| 5) Taken 2 | $5.9 Million |
| 6) Cloud Atlas | $5.3 Million |
| 7) Hotel Transylvania | $4.4 Million |
| 8) Paranormal Activity 4 | $4.2 Million |
| 9) Here Comes The Boom | $3.5 Million |
| 10) Silent Hill: Revelation 3D | $3.2 Million |
Nov 6, 2012
The top 10 movies for the weekend of November 2 - November 4, 2012
Nov 5, 2012
Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Tau"
Starring the son of legendary cinematic visionary/cult figure/loose cannon Alejandro Jodorowsky "Tau" apparently tells the tale of a man carrying a water cooler bottle across Joshua Tree National Park before putting it down and setting up his tent. "Tau" apparently means "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree".
But seriously, I'm all for experimental cinema even when the experiment yields little in the way of response other than "WTF?" This seems like the kind of piece that, upon the 200th viewing, you'll either say "Oh! I get it!" or "Did I really view this f*#*king thing 200 times!?!"
But seriously, I'm all for experimental cinema even when the experiment yields little in the way of response other than "WTF?" This seems like the kind of piece that, upon the 200th viewing, you'll either say "Oh! I get it!" or "Did I really view this f*#*king thing 200 times!?!"
Nov 4, 2012
"Skyfall" - 2012 - movie review
Where "Quantum of Solace" started off with an ear-splitting symphony of red lining engines, metal screeching against tunnel walls and relentless machine gun fire "Skyfall"s opening returns to the more nuanced environs of "Casino Royale"s exhilarating physical action and death defying stunts. Indeed in most every way "Skyfall" - and not the regrettable "QoS" - is the legitimate heir to Casino Royale and every bit that wonderful movie's equal.
The film opens with Bond coming across a badly wounded MI6 agent who's apparently been double crossed. Bond tracks the perp out into the streets of Istanbul where he's joined by Eve (Naomi Harris) and all hell breaks loose in the form of the most exhilarating chase you'll see at the movies this year. The chase moves from car to motorbikes atop the Grand Bazaar to the interior of said bazaar back to the streets and finally to the top of a moving train where Bond turns an ordinary back hoe into the most unlikely action prop imaginable.
All this action is prompted by the fact that the wounded agent had on him a hard drive containing a list of all NATO agents around the world who have infiltrated major "terrorist" organizations. Being that Britain's NATO allies didn't know such a list existed, nevermind that someone was carrying it around with him on his laptop, M (Judi Dench) is very interested in making sure whoever took the list doesn't get to keep it. In her zeal to kill the list thief M tells Eve to take a risky shot at the thief while he wrestles with Bond on the roof of the train. Eve, however, misses her mark and Bond plummets into the river below presumeably KIA.
So Bond is dead and the list is gone and M has to go to the principal's office where she's notified that she'll be voluntarily retiring in 2 months. On her way back to her own office her car becomes stuck in traffic and while she's arguing with a traffic cop a huge bomb goes off in nearby MI6 headquarters, taking out nearly an entire floor. Had M not been stuck in traffic, well...
Meantime it seems reports of Bond's death have been somewhat premature (whew!) as we see him cavorting on some tropical island with the local talent and in self-destructive games involving hard liquor and scorpions. (I have to say that as he slammed his shot glass down onto the bar I almost expected him to cry out "Pistore!") On the heels of another all-nighter he's lurched over a seaside bar at sunrise when on the TV comes a report of the MI6 explosion. A half dozen MI6 personnel were killed in the attack and this gets Bond's dander up. He returns to London but since he was declared dead he must re-qualify for active service and that means taking a range of tests. These tests reveal that time may be catching up to him. M clears him for service anyway much to the chagrin of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) the new MP overseeing all things clandestine for the government. Mallory wants Bond to go away. M, though, identifies with his struggles and insists he stay.
Things then move on to Shanghai which in 20 short years has gone from overstuffed backwater to the prototypical 21st century city. Unelected totalitarian "government"? Check. Gross imbalance in income distribution? Check. 2000 foot skyscrapers? Check. Lots of multinational corporations fleeing Western pay scales and benefit packages? Check. All right then! Where London is all stone and wood Shanghai is all glass and neon light. Which brings me to another point. This film looks great. Roger Deakins' photography and Chris Lowe's art direction bring the film into the real world while maintaining an air of the mysterious and exotic. A shadow-puppet-like dance of death between Bond and one of his quarry in a Shanghai high-rise with the electronic billboard curtain wall of an adjacent building as backdrop is one of the most breathtaking sequences I've seen at the movies in years.
That man Bond was "dancing" with turns out to be a dead end but he inadvertently leads Bond to Severine (Berenice Marlohe) and through her he's introduced to the man behind the curtain of the recent chaos; former MI6 agent and malcontent extraordinaire, Silva (Javier Bardem). Bardem takes Silva in bold and unexpected directions that are sure to make some in the audience squirm a bit uncomfortably in their seats while imbuing him with the kind of dark self-certainty that made his otherwise very different Anton Chigur the walking black hole that he was. Bardem proves once and for all that his "No Country For Old Men" performance was no fluke and I'd be shocked if he wasn't nominated for his performance here.
Skyfall is a self conscious film but not in a cheesy wink-wink kind of way. More in the sense the film makers are aware the character has been around the block a few times and and may have outlived his usefulness in both a fictional and movie-business sense. After all, in a world where you can see and hear nearly everything everywhere in real time, where someone can hack into one of the most secure computer systems in the world and reek havoc and where unmanned drones are sent by unseen techies to kill the enemy continents away what the hell do you need boots on the ground for? That's certainly the topic of the back and forth between Ben Winshaw's Q and Bond when they first meet. Their terse dialogue concludes with Winshaw dismissively stating that "sometimes you need someone there to pull the trigger." and Bond replying "Or not to." Touche.
Importantly, Skyfall represents a step back from the influence of the Bourne films. If any recent movies could be seen as influencing it I would site Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" as well as Martin Campbell's aforementioned "Casino Royale", the film in which James Bond finally grew up. To be sure, though, Skyfall stands confidently on its own.
This Bond is no consumer wet-dream with all the emphasis on the externals, this Bond demands we pay attention to what's going on inside the characters. To my thinking this is where Bond has been heading since Pierce Brosnan inherited the role 15 years ago and with Skyfall the journey from cheeky consumer fantasy to smart, intense action/drama is now complete. From the outset Skyfall asks the question "Does Bond have a place in the 21st century?" By the time the final credits roll it has answered that question with a resounding "Yes!"
Beautifully filmed, intelligently written, deeply satisfying, with first-rate performances from all the main players - capped off by an Oscar worthy performance from Javier Bardem - "Skyfall" is the best movie of the year.
The film opens with Bond coming across a badly wounded MI6 agent who's apparently been double crossed. Bond tracks the perp out into the streets of Istanbul where he's joined by Eve (Naomi Harris) and all hell breaks loose in the form of the most exhilarating chase you'll see at the movies this year. The chase moves from car to motorbikes atop the Grand Bazaar to the interior of said bazaar back to the streets and finally to the top of a moving train where Bond turns an ordinary back hoe into the most unlikely action prop imaginable.
All this action is prompted by the fact that the wounded agent had on him a hard drive containing a list of all NATO agents around the world who have infiltrated major "terrorist" organizations. Being that Britain's NATO allies didn't know such a list existed, nevermind that someone was carrying it around with him on his laptop, M (Judi Dench) is very interested in making sure whoever took the list doesn't get to keep it. In her zeal to kill the list thief M tells Eve to take a risky shot at the thief while he wrestles with Bond on the roof of the train. Eve, however, misses her mark and Bond plummets into the river below presumeably KIA.
So Bond is dead and the list is gone and M has to go to the principal's office where she's notified that she'll be voluntarily retiring in 2 months. On her way back to her own office her car becomes stuck in traffic and while she's arguing with a traffic cop a huge bomb goes off in nearby MI6 headquarters, taking out nearly an entire floor. Had M not been stuck in traffic, well...
Meantime it seems reports of Bond's death have been somewhat premature (whew!) as we see him cavorting on some tropical island with the local talent and in self-destructive games involving hard liquor and scorpions. (I have to say that as he slammed his shot glass down onto the bar I almost expected him to cry out "Pistore!") On the heels of another all-nighter he's lurched over a seaside bar at sunrise when on the TV comes a report of the MI6 explosion. A half dozen MI6 personnel were killed in the attack and this gets Bond's dander up. He returns to London but since he was declared dead he must re-qualify for active service and that means taking a range of tests. These tests reveal that time may be catching up to him. M clears him for service anyway much to the chagrin of Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) the new MP overseeing all things clandestine for the government. Mallory wants Bond to go away. M, though, identifies with his struggles and insists he stay.
Things then move on to Shanghai which in 20 short years has gone from overstuffed backwater to the prototypical 21st century city. Unelected totalitarian "government"? Check. Gross imbalance in income distribution? Check. 2000 foot skyscrapers? Check. Lots of multinational corporations fleeing Western pay scales and benefit packages? Check. All right then! Where London is all stone and wood Shanghai is all glass and neon light. Which brings me to another point. This film looks great. Roger Deakins' photography and Chris Lowe's art direction bring the film into the real world while maintaining an air of the mysterious and exotic. A shadow-puppet-like dance of death between Bond and one of his quarry in a Shanghai high-rise with the electronic billboard curtain wall of an adjacent building as backdrop is one of the most breathtaking sequences I've seen at the movies in years.
That man Bond was "dancing" with turns out to be a dead end but he inadvertently leads Bond to Severine (Berenice Marlohe) and through her he's introduced to the man behind the curtain of the recent chaos; former MI6 agent and malcontent extraordinaire, Silva (Javier Bardem). Bardem takes Silva in bold and unexpected directions that are sure to make some in the audience squirm a bit uncomfortably in their seats while imbuing him with the kind of dark self-certainty that made his otherwise very different Anton Chigur the walking black hole that he was. Bardem proves once and for all that his "No Country For Old Men" performance was no fluke and I'd be shocked if he wasn't nominated for his performance here.
Skyfall is a self conscious film but not in a cheesy wink-wink kind of way. More in the sense the film makers are aware the character has been around the block a few times and and may have outlived his usefulness in both a fictional and movie-business sense. After all, in a world where you can see and hear nearly everything everywhere in real time, where someone can hack into one of the most secure computer systems in the world and reek havoc and where unmanned drones are sent by unseen techies to kill the enemy continents away what the hell do you need boots on the ground for? That's certainly the topic of the back and forth between Ben Winshaw's Q and Bond when they first meet. Their terse dialogue concludes with Winshaw dismissively stating that "sometimes you need someone there to pull the trigger." and Bond replying "Or not to." Touche.
Importantly, Skyfall represents a step back from the influence of the Bourne films. If any recent movies could be seen as influencing it I would site Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" as well as Martin Campbell's aforementioned "Casino Royale", the film in which James Bond finally grew up. To be sure, though, Skyfall stands confidently on its own.
This Bond is no consumer wet-dream with all the emphasis on the externals, this Bond demands we pay attention to what's going on inside the characters. To my thinking this is where Bond has been heading since Pierce Brosnan inherited the role 15 years ago and with Skyfall the journey from cheeky consumer fantasy to smart, intense action/drama is now complete. From the outset Skyfall asks the question "Does Bond have a place in the 21st century?" By the time the final credits roll it has answered that question with a resounding "Yes!"
Beautifully filmed, intelligently written, deeply satisfying, with first-rate performances from all the main players - capped off by an Oscar worthy performance from Javier Bardem - "Skyfall" is the best movie of the year.
Nov 3, 2012
Advanced tickets for "The Hobbit" go on sale Wednesday
According to Deadline tickets for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" will go on sale Wednesday November 7 at noon, both online and in theaters. That's more than a month ahead of the December 14th release date. All-day screenings of the full, extended edition version of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are scheduled for December 8th and 9th in selected theaters nationwide and you'll be able to buy tickets for these "Rings" marathons on November 7th too, along with your Hobbit tickets.
Nov 2, 2012
"Side Effects" - trailer
Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum Steven Soderbergh‘s "Side Effects" tells the tale of a woman who turns to prescription drugs as a way of dealing with the anxiety she feels around her husband's upcoming release from prison. The cure, in this case, turns out to be much worse than the disease.
"Side Effects" hits theaters February 8, 2013.
"Side Effects" hits theaters February 8, 2013.
Off the beaten track trailer of the day - "Mariposa"
This film, from Filipino director Richard Somes, tells the tale of a young woman lost in the big city searching for her sister. It would seem by the looks of things that her sister has a taste for the wild side. The trailer may set some kind of record for most cuts in 50-odd seconds but the imagery is compelling and the characters seem plucked from the dingiest corners of Manila.
"Skyfall" sets 7 day UK box office record
In its first week of release "Skyfall" has raked in an astonishing $60 million at the UK box office. Those would be good North American numbers for just about any film. By comparison the previous record holder - "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" - had earned $57.5 million in its first week in UK theaters with half of that total coming from 3D showings (Skyfall is being shown in 2D only).
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson along with MGM brass were gushing over the combination of extremely positive early reviews and record setting box office. Broccoli thanked all "the Bond fans and all U.K. cinema audiences for making Skyfall the biggest opening week ever..." and MGM chair Gary Barber added: "The continued record-breaking success of this film is a true testament to all involved and the global power of this 50 year old franchise."
All this bodes well for JB as he prepares to launch stateside on November 9th.
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson along with MGM brass were gushing over the combination of extremely positive early reviews and record setting box office. Broccoli thanked all "the Bond fans and all U.K. cinema audiences for making Skyfall the biggest opening week ever..." and MGM chair Gary Barber added: "The continued record-breaking success of this film is a true testament to all involved and the global power of this 50 year old franchise."
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| Dynamic Duo: Javier Bardem and Daniel Craig of "Skyfall" |
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" - trailer
Looks like the Rock and Bruce Willis have kinda moved in and nudged Channing Tatum aside but with with the fate of the world hanging in the balance (and the hills teeming with mountain ninjas) I suppose it only makes sense to call the big guns.
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" (newly converted to 3D) will hit theaters March 29, 2013.
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" (newly converted to 3D) will hit theaters March 29, 2013.
Nov 1, 2012
Poster for "Oz the Great and Powerful"
I don't know anyone who's not a little uneasy about the idea of Disney tackling a "Wizard of Oz" prequel. That movie is such an iconic piece of cinema, so central to so many people's childhoods that to add, subtract or otherwise try and butt in and profit off all the good vibes seems almost sacrilege. But the prequel - starring James Franco, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis - is coming and here's the first poster. Mila Kunis looks good in black!
New international TV spot for "The Hobbit"
Sometimes you gotta go overseas to get those little snippets you won't see stateside. This spot has a nice balance of humor and heaviness as well. Take a look.
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