New trailer for Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street, now officially set for release on Christmas Day. This looks so awesome, I can't wait:
Movie of the Day: "Lady in White" (1988)
A really spooky and chilling ghost story involving a kid in the 1960's (the always otherworldly looking Lukas Haas) who keeps seeing the ghost of a dead little girl from years earlier, along with the re-enactment of her murder. This movie is lesser known than a lot of others but it's really worth seeking out, because the creepiness and disturbing nature of the mystery is quite effective. In fact, the dark material may be the reason that this film is not better known- the topic of child murders is unsettling enough without all the ghosts thrown in, but it really is quite scary, and the more serious subject matter adds to the weight of the story. This one will definitely stick with you, and it happens to be set on Halloween too.
1988 Trailer (this is a really weird trailer for this movie- it's trying to make it look a LOT more lightweight than it actually is, and again, I think that was due to the subject matter involving children):
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "La Notte" (1961)
Michelangelo Antonioni is not for everyone. His films tend to glide along at a leisurely pace, the plot (if there is one) unfolding seemingly despite itself. But for those who can appreciate his meditative tone and the aimless, unhappy wandering of his characters, this is one of his more accessible movies. La Notte is about a married couple who have grown bored with their life and each other, and spend one long night at a friend's party, rethinking and rekindling their marriage. It's a beautiful, introspective look at love with one of the most romantic endings in the movies.
Original Trailer from 1961:
TRAILER: "X-Men: Days of Future Past"
The trailer for the new X-Men movie is here! Looks pretty good. The movie comes out in May of next year:
FEATURETTE: "Veronica Mars"
The Veronica Mars movie has a new behind the scenes featurette today! Filled with lots of new footage, but the interviews are mostly a defense of the decision to bring back Piz, the most useless and hated character in Veronica Mars history (fans know what I'm talking about), as Veronica's boyfriend. I don't know what that's about- frankly, it seems like a move to purposely anger the fans for some reason (seriously, they've been together for 10 years???). Anyway, here's a look:
Movie of the Day: "Poltergeist" (1982)
"They're here."
With Halloween just 4 days away we're going to do one last Movie of the Day series this week leading up to it. And the theme this time is "ghosts." Another favorite category of horror movies, and there's been plenty of great ones, including this, which might be my favorite. Ostensibly directed by Tobe Hooper, but Steven Spielberg's fingerprints are all over this movie, from the screenplay to the direction and the way certain shots are set up- in fact, in many circles it's been widely assumed for years that he did in fact direct the movie himself (I'm convinced he did most of it). The story of a suburban family whose house is built on a cemetery and their little girl Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) who gets sucked into the walls and stuck between two worlds, still has the power to scare but occasionally make you laugh and as always with Spielberg, leave you moved with the power of a mother's love for her child. The effects may be dated now (though state of the art at the time), but the movie's timeless. Check it out.
Original Trailer from 1982:
POSTER: "Muppets Most Wanted"
Poster for the new Muppets movie! Coming out next March:
REVIEW: "Mama" (2013) Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Dir. Andres Muschietti
Mama is, for the most part, a nifty little ghost story that's at times unpredictable and happily, not your average horror flick that's totally dependent on false scares and stops. There are some of those in here, yes, but there's also an emotional undercurrent that's genuinely affecting, until the disappointing and bombastic ending practically ruins it.
It starts out as a unique and chilling mystery, with two little girls whose father (Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who later plays his own twin brother) kills their mother and crashes their car in the woods, hiding them out in a cabin and intending to kill them too until a mysterious entity stops him. Five years later, the girls are found, still young (8 and 5) and nearly feral, having been raised in the wilderness by an invisible being only they can see. Now they're brought back to civilization and taken in by their uncle and his girlfriend Annabel, played by Jessica Chastain, a tattooed and somewhat Goth rocker who doesn't like or want kids in the first place. Of course, their friend "Mama" comes with them, and the spookiness continues in the girls' new domestic setting.
There are further plot complications, as a court appointed psychologist tries to drag the truth out of the older girl, Victoria, but what works best in the movie is Chastain and her evolving relationship with the girls and eventual rivalry with Mama over guardianship of them. Annabel at first comes across as abrupt and nearly mean to these poor kids, but Chastain is such a good actress that she conveys Annabel's changing emotions so clearly and gradually that we believe it as we see it happen, and we start to root for the logical ending, which is for Annabel to save the kids from Mama's firm, ghostly grip on them.
Unfortunately, despite a few good scares and some effective creeping atmosphere as Annabel tries to figure out what's haunting them, the movie gets way too caught up in the plot, which becomes unnecessarily complicated and starts to lose its way with certain characters like Uncle Luke (Coster-Waldau). He serves a very real purpose in setting up the story, as the brother who wants his nieces, but after a while it becomes obvious there's no more role for him to play, and so the movie simply gets rid of him by putting him in a coma for what should have been the remainder of the film. When Coster-Waldau returns to the story the character is now completely out of place and is part of the overstuffed climax that takes things to a dark and unsatisfying turn that leaves you highly disappointed and almost angry at what passes for the finale.
Despite the last 15 minutes however, I did like most of the film and the story itself kept me interested, entertained and contained enough good scares to recommend itself to horror fans (Mama herself looks extremely creepy and is a very well designed CG creation). But, man, that ending. Sometimes knowing how to finish a film and take it to its logical conclusion is all you need to do, and trying to add unnecessary last minute twists to avoid cliches is going a bit too far when you've done more than enough already in that department. I suppose I sound a bit like I'm saying give the people what they want, but in this case, yes, that would have been wise.
* *
FINAL TRAILER: "Catching Fire"
This last trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire aired during the World Series tonight. The movie's coming out Nov 22nd.
BOX OFFICE 10/25-10/27: 'Jackass' Topples 'Gravity'
Johnny Knoxville ends Gravity's three week reign as Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa scored $32 million to land the No. 1 spot atop the box office this weekend. The movie didn't beat the opening of the last Jackass movie (which was helped by 3D), but did top the two before it, despite just an ok "B" Cinemascore. It will probably top out with $75 million or so, which isn't bad for a franchise whose films cost just $15 million to produce.
Gravity earned $20.3 million to land in the second slot, which is another great hold and it crosses the $200 million total to become George Clooney's highest grossing movie (Ocean's Eleven made $184 million back in 2001). If I had to guess I'd say it ends up around $275 total, but you never know with the Oscar nominations coming up, which always guarantees higher box office than usual for a movie. I wouldn't be surprised if WB re-released it around that time in January to capitalize on the hype.
The Tom Hanks drama Captain Phillips also had another good hold, pulling in $11.8 million and crossing $70 million, which guarantees it at least $100 million in the end. The movie is clearly playing well with adult audiences due to word of mouth, unlike The Counselor, which got a dismal "D" Cinemascore from audiences along with bad reviews, and bombed with just $8 million despite its all star cast. And Carrie fell 63% in its second week to finish outside the top five, giving Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs a chance to regain some ground with $6 million for the weekend and a total of over $100 million.
Top 5
- Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa- $32 million
- Gravity- $20.3 million
- Captain Phillips- $11.8 million
- The Counselor- $8 million
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2- $6.1 million
In limited release, 12 Years a Slave expanded to 123 theaters and pulled in $2.2 million, which is a very good expansion (it also got an "A" Cinemascore) as next week it goes wide. But also in wide release next weekend it's Ender's Game and Last Vegas while Dallas Buyers Club, the AIDS drama with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner comes out in limited.
Movie of the Day: "Sweeney Todd" (2007)
Tim Burton week concludes with one of my favorite films of 2007, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This was a dark, violent musical adaptation of the stage play, but gloriously entertaining in all its bloody excess. The sets and costumes were superb as always (it even won the Oscar for art direction), and Johnny Depp was nominated for Best Actor for his performance here. Of course, the singing is not what it was on stage, but the music is still terrific in spite of that. I don't understand why it's not even considered thinkable anymore to have your voice dubbed if you can't sing- Helena Bonham Carter was good in the movie, but she really can't sing, so why isn't that a possibility? Aside from that though, this was a fantastically fun movie that pays tribute to a lot of silent horror movie classics with Burton's unique visual style. One of his best.
Trailer:
POSTER: "Anchorman 2"
Just days after the new trailer, we now have a new poster. The sequel to Anchorman is coming out Dec 20th.
