Box Office Predictions (July 10-12)

So there were fireworks during the 4th of July weekend at the box office.  Well, aside from the colorful display of explosions that blanketed the night sky… in the movie world Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen squeaked by Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for its second straight weekend at #1.  It was an extremely close call… so close that the studio estimates on Sunday night tallied a tie for the top spot.  Can a new release this weekend topple over the violent robots or the clumsy cartoons?

I’m sure you’re aware of the talked-about, highly controversial film called Bruno.  Yes, that Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again.  After the surprise hit that Borat was (maybe it wasn’t too big of a shocker how well it did at the box office, but who would’ve thought it would receive an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win?), his homosexual, journalist character comes out of the closet and is ready to take the world by storm.  Although it’s an entirely different character and storyline, Bruno will act as a sequel to Borat and because of Borat’s success, don’t be surprised if Bruno passes Transformers and Ice Age this weekend.

The other wide release that comes out this weekend is the teenage romantic-comedy, I Love You Beth Cooper.  Starring Hayden Panettiere, this looks like your typical slapstick rom-com where a nerd falls in love with the hot cheerleader.  Opening in less than 2,000 theaters, I really don’t see this film being much competition but because of the lacked volume of new films, it has a chance to squeak into the Top 5.

Here are our predictions:

My Predictions:

1.  Bruno – $45 million
2.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $27 million
3.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $25 million
4.  Public Enemies – $15 million
5.  The Proposal – $8 million

Phil’s Predictions:

1.  Bruno – $60 million
2.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $20 million
3.  I Love You, Beth Cooper – $15 million
4.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $15 million
5.  The Hangover – $6 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  Bruno – $57 million
2.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $36 million
3.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $32 million
4.  I Love You, Beth Cooper – $20 million
5.  Public Enemies – $19 million

–

Chris was unable to submit his predictions due to a wedding in Rhode Island (not his).  Anyway, it’s unanimous that Bruno will top this weekend’s box office.  The range of our gross estimates is from $45 million – $60 million.  After that, things get quite interesting with our predictions.  Phil and Sheehan both believe that I Love You, Beth Cooper will have a major impact in the box office while I snubbed the film from the Top 5.  Surprisingly, Phil left out Public Enemies on his predictions during it’s second weekend.  And I still have The Proposal hanging on the #5 spot while Phil has The Hangover.

Check back on Monday for the box office results.

Review: Public Enemies

Public Enemies (2009)
140 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring:  Johhny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup

Grade:  B-

–

Based on Bryan Burrough’s non-fiction novel of the same name, Public Enemies is a story about John Dillinger, a notorious bank robber who was applauded by the public and loathed by the police.  I don’t have much knowledge of Dillinger so I cannot comment how historically accurate Mann’s adaptation was, but it sure was fun to watch.

Set during the Depression-era, John Dillinger and crew robs banks for a living.  Played wonderfully by Johnny Depp, he is the star and soul of the film.  But there are a whole lot of other gangsters and crooks in this film and Mann didn’t do a proper job introducing.  Known for his shaky-cam style and quick cuts, those elements didn’t help make the movie any less confusing.  In a 2+ hour long film, there was time to present all the characters appropriately but instead Dillinger’s various gangs were blurred.

The movie shows how slippery of a fellow John Dillinger was.  Able to rob banks in under two minutes and escape maximum security prisons with a fake gun, it was impossible not to root for him even though you knew he was breaking the law.

The plot moves forward when FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover (Crudup) puts agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) on the job to capture Dillinger after Purvis successfully hunting down and killing Pretty Boy Floyd.  The cat-and-mouse games begin with Dillinger always a few steps ahead of Purvis.  The story thickens when Dillinger falls in love with Billie Frechette.  This allows Purvis to exploit Dillinger’s only soft spot and utilize unethical techniques to eventually track him down and kill him.

Overall, the film felt like it was lacking something important.  Whether that be a stronger plot, more insight to supporting characters, or more depth into the character study of John Dillinger (or just howabout a reason for why he is the way he is?), there was a missing element throughout.  But for what the actors were given, they exceled in their roles, giving them life and color in a very dark and shallow film.  This isn’t Michael Mann’s best, but it certainly felt more like a summer blockbuster than a serious Oscar contender.

Jennifer’s Body Red Band Trailer

If you haven’t heard already, the writer/ex-stripper Diablo Cody (Juno) has penned up a high school horror film called Jennifer’s Body starring the guy-magnet Megan Fox.  It’s about a gorgeous cheerleader who has a demon inside of her that consumes boys.

I’m not sure why they even released a red band trailer.  So there was one curse in the entire two minutes?  Anyway, I’m expecting a hip dialogue and surprises from Cody in this horror movie… but should I be?  Juno was an oddball film that somehow caught fire and was a box office hit for an indie movie.  Heck, it was nominated for Best Picture (when Best Picture nominations counted).  It doesn’t seem like Jennifer’s Body has the same intent, but you never know.  Oh, and all this talk from Megan Fox only using 7% of her acting abilities in Transformers 2.  Well this is her chance to shine.  But again, this is a horror movie… so she’s probably only used about 40% of her so-called “talent.”  As for now, I’m slightly interested but no where close counting the days until the release.

Veronica Mars movie looks dead

A while ago, a Veronica Mars movie seemed hopeful with creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell on board with the project.  But then they hit a roadblock called Warner Bros.  This is what Kristen bell told Entertainment Weekly:

“I don’t think it will ever happen, and here’s why: Rob Thomas and I had a powwow, and we were both 100 percent on board. We took our proposal to Warner Bros. and Joel Silver told us that there is no enthusiasm to make a Veronica Mars movie, and that is unfortunately a roadblock we cannot compete with. Maybe if we bombard them with letters? Maybe they will change their tune.”

I was a huge fan of the series that lasted three seasons before being canceled.  The concept of a detective show in the setting of high school and college made the series hip, entertaining, and very unique.  And although Kristen Bell looks like she’s years younger than she actually is, this project needed to be green-lit a year ago.  I think it’s safe to say that a Veronica Mars movie won’t ever happen.  But instead of grieving, just pop in the DVDs and relive Veronica Mars in Neptune driving a Saturn, solving mysteries with her P.I. father.

Box Office Results: *UPDATE* Transformers win weekend by a hair

Studio Results for July 3-5:

1.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $42.3 million
2.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $41.7 million
3.  Public Enemies – $25.3 million
4.  The Proposal – $12.9 million
5.  The Hangover – $11.3 million

–

The Independence Day weekend showdown went down to the wire.  It was as close as the Federer/Roddick match on Sunday turned out to be (tennis anyone?).  The results show Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen edged out Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs by a slim margin, $42.3 million to $41.7 million.  Meanwhile, Public Enemies sits comfortably in the #3 slot with about $26 million and The Proposal and The Hangover round up the Top 5.

It’s tough to see who had the most accurate predictions from the Panel since the studio estimates were indecisive.  In any occasion, the results seemed have caught us by surprise as the box office underachieved what we expected.  Combining Ice Age + Transformers, none of us predicted a gross estimate less than $100 million.

Check back on Friday for our new predictions when two new comedic releases hit a theater near you:  Bruno and I Love You Beth Cooper.  Personally, I cannot wait to watch Bruno.

Box Office Predictions (July 3-5)

So have you seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen yet?  As of Wednesday, the film has grossed about $240 million domestically and $235 million from the rest of the world.  Yikes!  Well I haven’t seen it yet and I probably won’t, but those are staggering numbers right there.

Anyway, Happy Independence Day/Weekend!  What does the cinema have in store for us… the third installment of the children’s favorite sloth and mammoth combo, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and the 1930’s gangster flick, Public Enemies.

There’s little doubt that Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs will be the kiddies’ must-see movie of the weekend and topped with the 3-D screenings, it could really give Transformers a run for the #1 spot at the box office.

Public Enemies is the Michael Mann film starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, two superstars who really know how to draw a crowd.  With an R-rating, mixed reviews, and a lengthy runtime, it’s tough to predict how well this movie will do.  I saw the movie on Wednesday and it wasn’t a typical summer blockbuster.  There was a substance that separated it from the usual shoot-them-up kind of film.  That being said, will that hurt or help Public Enemies this weekend?

Here are our predictions:

My Predictions:

1.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $53 million
2.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $48 million
3.  Public Enemies – $30 million
4.  The Hangover – $10 million
5.  The Proposal – $9 million

Chris’ Predictions:

1.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $85 million
2.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $75 million
3.  Public Enemies – $55 million
4.  The Proposal – $9 million
5.  The Hangover – $6 million

Phil’s Predictions:

1.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $80 million
2.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $40 million
3.  Public Enemies – $30 million
4.  The Hangover- $8 million
5.  The Proposal – $7 million

Sheehan’s Predictions:

1.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – $60 million
2.  Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – $40 million
3.  Public Enemies – $30 million
4.  The Proposal – $15 million
5.  The Hangover – $14 million

“Moonlight” – The Complete Series

Creators: Ron Koslow, Trevor Munson
Starring: Alex O’Loughlin, Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring, Shannyn Sossamon

Grade:  C+

–

Have you heard?  Vampires are the hottest thing in entertainment.  Oh you have.  Well, just because they’re trending doesn’t mean everything with vampires is actually good… and apparently it doens’t mean everything vampire is very popular.

“Moonlight” debuted in 2007 on CBS and only lasted for one season before being canceled.  It doesn’t have the most original premise of all-time: the protagonist is Mick St. John and he’s a private investigator in Los Angeles.  Apparently there are hundreds of vampires living in L.A. and no one knows about it.  During his investigation on a string of vampire-like murders, he meets Beth Turner who is a cop reporter for the tabloid news service Buzz Wire.

In the pilot episode, the writers lazily display Mick St. John seated in a room with an interviewer, explaining the rules of vampires in “Moonlight.”  This sort of fast-forward, catch-up method doesn’t really seem necessary in a TV-series of hour-long episodes.  Maybe in a rushed 90-minute movie, but I’m sure they could’ve explained the standards for the “Moonlight” vampires within the 692 minute length of the season.

Anyway, the guidelines are something like this:  Vampires don’t like the sun, but they certainly don’t turn to dust if sunlight hits their skin.  A stake through the heart merely paralyzes a vampire, not kills them.  The only way to kill a vampire is to be-head them or to burn them with fire.  The term “turning” refers a human changing into a vampire.  This is done when a vampire drips his/her own blood into a human as they’re feeding off of them.  These vampires still have incredible strength, speed, sense of smell and hearing.  They sleep in freezers or bathtubs of ice cubes, anywhere that’s cold.  Crosses and garlic doesn’t effect vampires at all.  And they cannot fly.  I think that’s about it.

The show suffered from the writer’s strike and the sloppiness was evident from the uneven storylines throughout the season.  My main problem with the show was that season-long story arc, which was basically the up-and-down relationship between Mick St. John and Beth Turner.  The whole romance plot entailed the issues between a human and a vampire, a serious couple being outted by a P.I., a love triangle turned into a love rhombus, and a bunch of mythology to give it any sort of authenticity.  It was messy, unfocused, and poorly executed.

I did like plenty of the individual cases that Mick St. John had to solve, sometimes with the help of Beth.  They did make a good team when they were on-screen together.  Separately, Alex O’Loughlin held his own better than Sophia Myles did.  This stems from the fact that I was on the border of hating Beth.  To me, her character wasn’t in the least bit likable.  She was in a relationship with Josh but then developed feelings for Mick even though Josh was seemingly perfect.  She wasn’t very subtle about her feelings towards Mick and when Josh confronted Beth, she didn’t have the courage or respect to tell him the truth.  In fact, she would try to spin it back at him to make it seem like it was his fault, and somehow he would end up apologizing.  She was a confused, ungrateful brat who always wanted what she couldn’t have.

The beginning of the series held my attention with the suspense of Beth finding out that Mick was a vampire.  The revelation was discovered in the conclusion of the second episode, which in my opinion was way too early for such a turn of events.  But it was clear the writers wanted to concentrate on the love story between the two and to throw all the mystery behind them as soon as possible.

As the series went on, storylines got more and more jumbled together.  It’s discovered that Mick and Beth actually have a past together, Mick’s ex-wife returns, Beth’s relationship with Josh hits a rocky road, people die and some come back, and the ongoing saga whether or not Mick and Beth will get together trudges on.

I will reiterate, the main reason I wasn’t too fond of this show is simply because the season-long story arc, in my opinion, was a weak one.  Perhaps the show should’ve followed a season-long story arc based on one huge investigation, with smaller individual cases every episode.  Having the main plot being character-based, they needed to develop better and more interesting characters.  Just because Mick St. John gets beat up once in a while doesn’t mean he’s flawed.  And for a vampire with morals, you can’t really relate to most of the things he does.  His character is static throughout the whole show.  You want to see a successful episode-to-episode series with a character-based plot… watch “House.”

It was mildly entertaining viewing the writers trying so hard to be hip and funny but instead only achieving levels of cheesiness.  They did have their moments though.  I liked the references to famous entertainment blogs like Perez Hilton and Ain’t It Cool News, along with mentioning emo music developing from Jimmy Eat World to Dashboard Confessional.  But the chatter isn’t close to the wonderful voice of Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), nor is it even as good as Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars).

Overall, the show was solid but the only explanation for why it had a cult following was because of the vampire aspect.  I believe that with all these vampire movies and shows popping up everywhere, there’s a simple way to determine which are good and not.  If you take away the vampire element, is the show/movie still effective?  As for “Moonlight,” if you take away the vampire element you’re stuck with a very dull and corny cop show with two lead characters you don’t want to see get together, though you know they will.

Roger Ebert discussing Oscar change

Roger Ebert’s take on The Academy Awards’ decision to expand the Best Picture nominations from 5 to 10.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090624/OSCARS/906249995

Review: Drag Me to Hell

Drag Me to Hell (2009)
99 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring:  Alison Lohman, Justin Long

Grade:  B

–

There’s something about laughing during a horror movie that intrigues me.  Usually, it’s a result from the nerves within the audience during a suspenseful sequence.  Your heart is pounding with anticipation for something to pop out of the corner and to lighten the tension, you let out a small chuckle to ensure your surroundings that you’re doing fine.  Or someone might offer some advice to the soon-to-be-victim like, “Don’t open that door!” which could attract a few laughs around the room.  And then there’s that aftermath of a shock-scare that lingers with a buzz of smiles and giggles and, “That made me jump” comments.  All of this is in the fun that the horror genre brings, and all of this is present in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell.

Although Raimi is known better for his involvement directing the Spider-Man franchise, he’s an accomplished horror director with the Evil Dead films and his personal joy for the genre is evident in Drag Me to Hell.  There is plenty of shock value in this film but without much gore since it has a PG-13 rating.  Still, you will be grossed out, you will jump with surprise, you will laugh and most importantly you will have a grand time.

So the story goes something like this.  Christine (Lohman) is a loan officer who is competing for a promotion with Stu (Reggie Lee).  To show she’s serious about the promotion and to prove she can be stern with customers, she turns away an extension on the home-loan payments owed by Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver), a gypsy who starts all the trouble.  The gypsy then puts a curse on Christine where an invisible demon haunts her for a few days until she would be dragged into hell.

There are also subplots with Christine’s boyfriend, Clay Dalton (Long) and his disapproving mother, the sabotage in the workplace for the promotion, and Rham Jas the fortune-teller and the mentor Christine flocks to when trying to get rid of the curse.  Of course the only thing that really matters when you’re being hunted by a demon is to stop being hunted.  Unfortunately, that’s a lot easier said than done.

Alison Lohman is pitch perfect for this role.  She can scream really well, she has a youthful vibe about her even though she’s actually 29, and she can scream really well.  Half the time she seems way too calm and collected for someone who was attacked by a one-eyed gypsy, but maybe that just plays into her hard-working, independent character who has a boyfriend bringing her back to Earth during all the supernatural elements.  The other half of the time she is scared to her core.  You see the fear in her eyes and you’re prepared to scream in unison with her exactly when something jumps out.

Drag Me to Hell is purposely corny, hilarious, and scary all at the same time.  It’s a thrilling experience at the movies where you can just sit back (but not for long) and enjoy a well-made film with friends and strangers.  I don’t think I’m alone when I wish Sam Raimi would stick with this genre and abandon the Spider-Man franchise (Spider-Man 4?  Ugh).  This sure beats out the modern torture-porn subgenre from the Saw and Hostel movies.  Give me a horror film that doens’t take itself seriously anyday!

The Weekly Top 5

1.  The boy who never grew up: Michael Jackson.  Here’s a nice written aftermath of Michael Jackson’s life by Roger Ebert.

2.  MTV’s Five Sequels That Don’t Suck.  In response to the vast negativity Transformers 2 is generating, MTV Movie Blog touches upon five sequels they actually like.  I agree with every one of them except Gremlins 2: The New Batch simply because I haven’t seen it.  But I applaud the MTV Movies Team for choosing great sequels like Toy Story 2 and Before Sunset.  Two of my favorite sequels of all-time.

3.  Oscar Best Picture Near Misses of the Past Decade. So the talk of the Oscar town has been about the decision to expand the Best Picture nominations from 5 to 10.  Seriously?  Doubling the number of nominees?  This got the MTV Movie Blog thinking about what films would’ve made the cut if there were more Best Picture nominees in the past decade.

4.  Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” seems to be back on track.  Universal threw this project on the back-burner for a few years but with a rewrite by Mark Heyman and the lead role to Natalie Portman, who doesn’t want to check out this supernatural thriller about a veteran ballerina?  Come on!  Aronofsky back to the supernatural?!  Let’s see it happen!

5.  Dollhouse and Joss Whedon get help from Reaper creators.  Since CW’s Reaper is canceled, creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters have joined the writing staff of Dollhouse.  This is certainly good news for the low-rated, sci-fi show on Fox.  The only problem is that it still has the Friday death slot.  Throw Dollhouse a freakin’ bone!