24: 'Guardians' Returns to #1; 'Sin City' Bombs

Guardians of the Galaxy landed on top of the box office again this weekend, after beating out all the new releases, and it's also crossed $252 million domestically, passing Transformers to become the biggest film of the year, and the third biggest worldwide. Another huge success for Marvel, leaving them no excuse not to kickstart a female superhero franchise (clearly they can market any obscure property they want, if that's what they're worried about) but I'm not holding my breath.

Meanwhile, the Chloe Grace Moretz starring teen novel adaptation, If I Stay, grossed $16 million for the third spot, right behind the Ninja Turtles movie, and Sin City 2 turned into one of the biggest bombs of the year, coming in with a really embarrassing $6.4 million, not even cracking the top ten. Wow. Clearly there was almost no interest in a sequel to that ten year old flick- guess it's curtains for any more Sin City's. Let's Be Cops and When the Game Stands Tall (a new release sports movie from Tri-Star- did anyone see any advertizing for that? I've never even heard if it) rounded out the top five.

Top 5:

Guardians of the Galaxy- $17.6 million
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $16.8 million
If I Stay- $16.4 million
Let's Be Cops- $11 million
When the Game Stands Tall- $9 million

The only new limited release this weekend was the indie Love is Strange, which did well in five locations, earning over $24k per screen, while Boyhood hit $16 million total and appears to be on its way to $25 million or so. The rest of the summer's going to be pretty quiet- all we have next week is Pierce Brosnan in The November Man, the cheap horror film As Above, So Below, and an animated film called The Congress, from Ari Folman, director of Waltz With Bashir.

REVIEW: "Calvary" (2014) Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd. Dir. John Michael McDonagh

Calvary is a very ambitious little movie that tries to tackle a lot of weighty issues, and seems to be an exploration of its writer-director John McDonagh's complicated and contradictory feelings towards the Catholic Church. Most of the characters in this movie harbor ill will and hostility in their varying emotional reactions towards the institution itself, as they question what it means to have faith in modern society. There are no easy answers in this film, just the raising of a lot of questions and expressions of anger, exposed through the prism of what's a rather perplexing film at times, structured in such a way that appears mostly allegorical, reveling alternatively in moments of black comedy, philosophical query and morality play.

It occasionally bites off more than it can chew, but the movie is never less than compelling as it moves briskly through these issues. Brendan Gleeson (who also starred in McDonagh's last feature The Guard) is a solid, sympathetic anchor as the good priest of a small town in Ireland, who's immediately faced with a threat of danger in the film's opening scene. Someone we cannot see is speaking to him in confession, telling him he was raped by a priest for five years as a child. The perpetrator is dead, which leaves Gleeson stumped as to what to tell the man, who seeks vengeance. The man then firmly tells the priest that he's going to kill him in one week, leaving him just enough time to get his affairs in order, and the priest agrees to meet him on the set day. Gleeson is rather calm about his impending death, and spends the week going about his duties, seeking to counsel the various townspeople with all of their personal troubles, as well as dealing with the higher-ups in his own parish. He's also paid a visit from his 30-year-old daughter (Kelly Reilly), who's just recovering from a failed suicide attempt over a bad relationship (he became a priest after he was widowed).

The priest is a very human figure, a sympathetic and good man who perhaps represents any affection McDonagh still has, at least for individuals within the Church. Unfortunately, despite not suffering any particular personal crisis of faith, Gleeson finds himself at odds with the changed attitudes toward priests and the church itself. Most of the people he counsels are disillusioned and suspicious of either his intentions or his usefulness. It's this part of the film that feels most allegorical, as even though the priest is human and specific, the various citizens of this village are not, most representing some bigger, weightier theme that's currently pressing on the outside world. These people exist on the level of metaphor, serving simply to have conversations with the priest that illuminate the view from outside- there's the physically abused and casually promiscuous woman, the financial criminal who cares nothing about so-called sins of ownership and takes pride in his escape from justice, the convicted serial killer who experiences no remorse, the immigrant facing prejudice, etc. All of them have personal grievances with the church for one reason or another, and none of them can be helped despite the priest's best attempts. He has success with one devout Frenchwoman when personal tragedy strikes her life, but it's not enough to stop the church from literally burning as the townspeople watch with little concern or regard.

The movie strikes a strange tonal mix as it hits on some very broad humor within these interactions, including some characters that feel so big it's as if they wandered in from another film (I'm thinking of the extremely cartoonish male gigolo who also bears a grudge against the church and takes it out on the priest). Another character who'd seem more at home in a Neil Simon play is the detached and unconcerned fellow priest who shares the parish with Gleeson, although his ignorance about modern day problems plays for genuine laughs. For every scene that doesn't work, there's another that's extremely powerful, such as the moment where we can feel Gleeson's despair when an alarmed parent practically rips his child away from standing on the same street as Gleeson, fearing the collar of the priesthood on sight, when we know there was a time when that would have been a moment of reassurance. There are no people in this world that exist in their own universe, giving it the effect of feeling something like a play, as villagers walk into the frame, say their piece, and leave with various monologues in tow. There are also no answers to McDonagh's grievances about the world, it simply feels like a moment in time that we've all gotten used to, as we try to figure out where to go from here in regards to organized religion. As far as that goes, Calvary is a very timely examination of society's relationship to the church at this current moment, and a fascinating one at that. It's also one of the most different and thought provoking films you'll experience this year, and one of the most relevant.

* * *

TRAILER: "Nightcrawler"

I originally thought this movie looked like a Taxi Driver kind of thing, but now with this new trailer, it's obviously something more like Network (which was coincidentally, another Best Picture nominee from the same year as Taxi Driver). Gyllenhaal is still creepy but you can see he's actually going for something much broader and over the top than the teaser made it look. Nightcrawler's coming out on Halloween.

POSTER: "The Theory of Everything"

This is one odd poster for the Stephen Hawking movie, The Theory of Everything. What's with the angle? Anyone have a clue? The movie is all set to premiere at Toronto in the Gravity slot from last year. I suppose that means they think it's pretty good. Maybe Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne can garner some awards attention, although I do wonder if the movie will be hurt by the idea of them romanticizing a relationship that ended in affair and divorce. The trailer makes it look like a fairy tale but that clearly wasn't true.

REVIEW: "Chef" (2014) Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara. Dir. Jon Favreau

I should confess right away that I'm not particularly subject to the extremely popular genre now known as "food porn," that a lot of people seem to go nuts over. I like food as much as the next person, and sure, lots of shots of food being made and cooked will probably make me hungry right away, but as far as a movie goes, that can't be the only aspect of entertainment involved when you're watching something, and with Jon Favreau's pet project Chef, I suspect that that is entirely the reason that it's proved to have such staying power since it came out back in May. Which frankly, given the fact that at least 70% of what's shown cooking in this movie is fried, greasy food truck product, I have to admit I'm a little grossed out by what that implies. No wonder this country is so obese.

But that was a total digression and has almost nothing to do with the film itself, which is a fluffy, simple, crowd pleasing story of a father-son bonding experience that comes across as completely sincere and from Favreau's heart- even if that heart has way too big a tendency toward fried, fattening foods. Favreau wrote, directed and stars in this small movie that he recruited several of his pals to be in with him (see Scarlett Johansson in a completely pointless role), and he's chef Carl Casper, who's bored by the way his life is going and disappointed that he can't cook his own food at his restaurant, along with being a neglectful dad towards his 10-year-old son, who only wants to spend quality time with him. So, after getting himself fired from his restaurant and blowing up at a food critic who lambasted him online, Carl finally brings himself to stop whining and accept his ex-wife's suggestion that he take up an offer from her other ex (Robert Downey Jr. in a very funny, scene stealing cameo) of a food truck that he will drive across the country and cook his own stuff in.

That leads to a long, family bonding road trip where he brings his kid and the two start up a quickly booming business with Carl's buddy and fellow cook John Leguizamo along for the ride. Despite the heavy focus on all the grease and carbs in these scenes, I actually much preferred watching the road trip part of the movie to the setup of Carl's life crisis at the beginning. As cheesy as the bonding stuff is, I bought it in this case, and to me the father-son aspect of the film was the more honest place that Favreau was coming from. You can see and feel that he really cares about repairing that rift with his kid, although it's a little bit tough to figure out why it's there in the first place, given that he has such a fantastic relationship with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara). That brings me to the somewhat phony first half of the movie- why on earth are these two people divorced in the first place? We are given no backstory, no cause of separation (even though the split appears to be somewhat recent, less than two years) and Favreau and Vergara get along so well that she spends the whole first hour begging him to let her help him get set up and figure out a new career move- which she can also help him with in any way he could possibly need, because she's apparently so wealthy she has her own cooks, nannies and a publicist whose services she cheerfully hands over to him.

Given that very ideal divorce situation, I think I can be forgiven for thinking that Carl's self-pity is a little out of place (and kind of annoyingly smug actually), especially when the catalyst for his success comes from him finally being humble enough to simply accept her help. Given where it all ends up as far as the "broken family" goes, the only thing standing in Carl's way seemed to be some kind of misplaced pride that we are never privy to the reasons for. But hey, I was probably distracted by this kind of nitpicking because I wasn't as completely drawn in by all the food porn scenes as everyone else will be (there's a LOT, don't worry). I think most people will love this movie for the food closeups and not so much for the kid getting along with his dad, but it's a mostly pleasant, harmless little movie and for the sincerity alone, that makes it worth a look.

* * *

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Y Tu Mama Tambien" (2001)

In perfect timing, our blu ray pick this week happens to be one of our movie recommendations for August as well. Alfonso Cuaron's Y Tu Mama Tambien is now on Criterion Collection and is still a great movie that is often listed as one of the very best films of world cinema you can find. A smart, funny, sexy road trip movie that's a perfect choice for capping off the end of summer. In fact, even after Gravity, I still think this smaller, more personal film from the director is probably his best movie- it'd be interesting to see him try to make something in this vein again.

Original Trailer:

TEASER: "Men, Women & Children"

Jason Reitman's latest movie is set to premiere at Toronto next month, and from this it looks like it's going to be darker than his usual fare (Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult). But it's only a teaser and you don't actually get to see any real scenes from the movie yet in this, so who knows. But part of me wonders if Adam Sandler has sunk so low these days that even showing up in a serious drama won't cut it unless he does the world a favor and stops making his own terrible movies. Like forever.

POSTERS: "Dumb and Dumber To"

The publicity campaign for Dumb and Dumber 2 is ramping up, starting with these new posters that do a takeoff on Scarlett Johansson's Lucy, asking what would happen if Lloyd and Harry use just 1% of their brain.

Kinda funny I guess, although it's no more true than the myth that people use 10% of their brain either. People still believe that, don't they? Yeah, that's pretty sad.

BOX OFFICE 8/15-8/17: 'TMNT' Stays On Top; 'Expendables 3' Bombs

The Ninja Turtles movie and Guardians remained at No. 1 and 2 this weekend, respectively, while none of the new releases made much of a dent at the box office. Guardians has now crossed $200 million and looks like it could become the biggest grosser of the year, and end up passing Captain America and The Lego Movie's $250 million totals. Meanwhile, Let's Be Cops opened in third with $17 million, which was more or less expected, as the movie had opened earlier this week and now has $26 million overall, which means it's already successful on a low $17 million budget.

The Expendables 3 opened with just $16 million in fourth place though, as the previous entries had both earned above $20 million opening weekends. It may have suffered from a leak online, which probably diminished its box office a tad. Finally, the children's book adaptation The Giver opened to just $12 million and bombed with critics as well, so overall it was a not so exciting weekend for new releases.

Top 5:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $28.4 million
Guardians of the Galaxy- $24.7 million
Let's Be Cops- $17.7 million
The Expendables 3- $16.2 million
The Giver- $12.76 million

In limited release, Boyhood cracked the top ten this week and has now made $13.8 million total, while A Most Wanted Man has gotten to $12 million and Magic in the Moonlight looks like it will be one of Woody Allen's lowest grossers as its expansion has been middling. Other new release indies included The Trip to Italy and Frank, which both opened in just two and three theaters, doing well in both, but Daniel Radcliffe's What If faltered as it expanded wide and earned just under $1 million. Next week it's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and the teen melodrama If I Stay as August looks to go out on kind of a whimper.

One Last Look...

Here are a couple of video tributes to the two legends we lost this week. First here's Lauren Bacall in a TCM tribute from Kelsey Grammer:

And here's a montage of Robin Williams' best moments from Mashable:

REVIEW: "Neighbors" (2014) Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne. Dir. Nicholas Stoller

Neighbors is a hit and miss comedy from director Nicholas Stoller starring Seth Rogen in his typical improv heavy referential mode, but one of the nice things about it is the relative brevity involved. When the jokes are hit and miss, but the movie is nonetheless fast-paced and comes in at 90 minutes (a rarity for anything associated with the Apatow crew) you can forgive a lot of the stuff that doesn't work, because you're being fairly entertained throughout and quickly at that.

Of course, if the movie also has a problem staying in your mind for any length of time after you've seen it (I think its lasting power with me was maybe 15 minutes) it may not be worth a repeat trip, but I do recall laughing at a few moments along the way. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are thirtysomething couple Mac and Kelly who we are quickly introduced to when they're trying and failing to have sex "spontaneously" without the new baby getting too corrupted by what she might see and yet not understand, as Kelly argues to no avail with the skeptical Mac. We then observe how they are at the point in life where they're trying to settle into being that "old couple" with a kid, a house and responsibilities that necessitate leaving the partying ways of their youth behind, and neither is particularly okay with it yet, scared of becoming boring and bored by the status quo that's starting to shape out. This is exacerbated when a fraternity led by Zac Efron and Dave Franco move in next door, which at first tempts them to try to get along with the guys to retain their youth.

The two are invited into a rager (Kelly brings the baby monitor with them, so I guess it's ok that poor infant Stella is left alone all night multiple times in this movie) and at first have a great time, but then when the noise continues for days on end, resort to calling the police for the sake of the baby they occasionally are concerned about. This leads to all out war between them and the frat, as one prank escalates to another as Mac and Kelly try to get them kicked out however they can manage it. That may seem like a lot of setup, but trust me, all of that only takes about 10 minutes before the war starts, and from that point on it rides the same joke pretty much into the ground until the movie's end. And as I said, some of the scenes are good (I liked when they pay a tortured freshman pledge to wear camera sunglasses into the frat) and some are just stupid, like the guys stuffing air bags into Mac's work place desk chair that sends him flying into the ceiling with some really cheap CGI effects that are deployed three times and are distractingly awful each time.

Seth Rogen brings his usual, pop culture obsessed, riff-heavy self to play here, and I'll admit I've always enjoyed his everyman persona, but once again this crew falls down in terms of developing the female character. Rose Byrne is fine in the movie, and clearly they wanted to draw her into the proceedings by making her a participant in the prank battles, but instead of giving her a personality of her own, what they've done is turn her into the ultimate cheerleader for her hubbie, parroting everything he says and nodding along to all his plans, so that the clear implication is that the perfect wife for any of the schlubby Apatow gang is a non-nagging woman who likes everything they like without the slightest deviation or individuality of self. Ugh. As for the frat guys, Dave Franco continues to be a winning and charismatic presence on screen in these movies (could he possibly turn out to be the greater Franco?) while the sculpted Ken doll that is Zac Efron makes the perfect fraternity president who always seems to be giving off a slightly psycho vibe in the intense stares thrown at every peripheral character on the screen.

The movie leaves reality behind pretty fast, as it makes no sense to leave the baby alone all the time, or that literally no one else in the neighborhood is bothered by the all night ragers at the frat house. Sometimes in these one joke premise movies, it might be better just to jettison reality entirely and escalate to full on farce or black comedy, like Animal House or There's Something About Mary, which both reached further for bigger laughs altogether. But this one wants to maintain that lesson about maturity in the end, which feels a little tacked on and prevents it from reaching the delirious heights of those other comedy classics. Still, it's good for some amusing chuckles and it's over in swift fashion- just don't expect to bust a gut or anything.

* * 1/2

TEASER: "Mortdecai"

A first look here at Johnny Depp in the comedy Mortdecai, based on the first of a book anthology called The Mortdecai Trilogy. Looks like it's got a good cast and could be fun, but I really don't trust that release date. If this is any good why would they be releasing it in February? That's a pretty notorious dumping ground for new movies (it's where Channing Tatum's Jupiter Ascending was moved to at the last minute). It's directed by longtime Hollywood screenwriter David Koepp (who actually directed Depp back in 2004's Secret Window), but I'm a little wary of this one overall.