22: 'Insurgent' Comes Out on Top; 'The Gunman' Fizzles

This week, the dreadfully reviewed teen YA novel sequel Insurgent opened with $54 million, a notch below the opening of the previous film, but tellingly, this one with 3D prices that the first movie didn't have. That means the audience was actually fewer people than the Divergent crowd, so this particular franchise doesn't seem to be all that exciting- it really is a low rent Hunger Games. It did pull in $110 million globally, so it's hardly a failure, but don't expect anyone to remember this movie existed in two weeks. In second place was Cinderella, which saw its majority female audience cut into a bit by Insurgent, as it fell 49% to earn $34 million from Friday to Sunday. Its worldwide total stands at $250 million, while it looks set to make over $200 million here in the States.

The rest of the top five fell far below the top two films, as new opener The Gunman, Sean Penn's would be Liam Neeson-esque action thriller really fell on its face, barely pulling in $5 million for fourth place. In fact, Neeson's film Run All Night came in third, just a hair ahead of it, although that movie's not really a hit either. Kingsman rounded out the top five, with another $4 million as its total nears $120 million.

Top 5:

Insurgent- $54 million
Cinderella- $34.6 million
Run All Night- $5.12 million
The Gunman- $5.01 million
Kingsman: The Secret Service- $4.6 million

A couple of limited releases opened this weekend, first the Al Pacino film Danny Collins, which made $73k from five locations, and the horror film It Follows, which expanded to 32 screens for an estimated $352,000. Next up it's the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, against DreamWorks' animated flick Home, both of which are reported to be terrible, so it continues to be a long, ugly slog here at the box office this spring, with not a whole lot on the way before the next Avengers movie will likely break the bank on May 1st.

TRAILER: "Paper Towns"

Ok, so like clockwork, after last year's hit The Fault in Our Stars, here comes the next book adaptation from that same author John Green (looks like he's the new Nicholas Sparks at the moment). And this movie looks just as cheesy and schmaltzy as the last one, minus all the death stuff. It's amazing how one hit immediately sparks the frenzy of copycats.

TRAILER #2: "Ex Machina"

This second trailer for Ex Machina makes the movie look just as awesome as the first one did, and I'm excited to say that it just got great reviews out of the South by Southwest film festival in Austin this week. Everybody keep an eye out for this, which is coming out April 10th.

TEASER POSTER: "Spectre"

Huh. Well, if you're going to release a "teaser" poster for the new James Bond movie, you ought to tease something other than Daniel Craig facing the camera, don't you think? Still, I guess we all know that it's definitely "coming out" this year. After Skyfall, I can't wait, but the track record for two decent Bond movies in a row is very weak. I wouldn't say unprecedented, but for me it goes all the way back to the original trilogy, with From Russia With Love followed by Goldfinger. But with Skyfall director Sam Mended at the helm again, I suppose the odds are a bit higher this time. Spectre's coming out in November.

TRAILER: "Pixels"

The best thing I can say about a movie starring Adam Sandler is that it doesn't quite look like an "Adam Sandler movie." Other than that, it mostly looks...weird. Obviously it's meant to be a comedy, but a movie where humans are supposed to act out the Pac-Man video game in order to defeat giant Pac-Mans can't help but scream of product placement in the worst way. Still, because I love Peter Dinklage so much, I hope it turns out okay somehow.

Movie of the Day: "In America" (2002)

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm recommending this lovely, emotional film from 2002, which is from Jim Sheridan and is the semi-autobiographical story of an Irish family who emigrates to America in the early 1980's, and details their struggles to make it in New York City. This is a beautiful, heartfelt, very sentimental movie, but it works because of the truth of the story and the strength of the performances, especially from Samantha Morton as the fragile wife and mother, and Djimon Hounsou as the dying neighbor the family befriends (both were nominated for Oscars in 2003). Told through the eyes of the older daughter, this a genuinely moving film that will wring tears out of just about anyone.

Trailer:

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The Lady From Shanghai" (1947)

On blu-ray this week is a classic film noir, directed by Orson Welles and starring his then wife, Rita Hayworth as a devious femme fatale. Read into that what you will, and you can, especially because Hayworth, who was known for her long red hair, was forced to chop it all off and dye it blonde for this film, at the request of her husband, who wanted to mess with her image as much as possible. This movie is all kinds of twisted, from Welles' ridiculous "irish" accent (why? who knows), to the insane plot that only loosely hangs together at all, but it's filmed in some spectacular shadows and never less than entertaining, despite the insanity. Which you can say for most of Orson Welles' films, no that I think about it.

Original 1947 Trailer:

REVIEW: "Cinderella" (2015) Cate Blanchett, Lily James. Dir. Kenneth Branagh

After last year's dreadful, near fatal experience that was Maleficent, I walked into Cinderella prepared for the worst, so imagine my surprise that what I found was a lovely, earnest, traditional re-telling of the classic story in such a straightforward manner as to seem old-fashioned. And to find a film that exudes an old-fashioned sincerity in this age of irony and cynicism (even in family entertainment) has now reached the point where the discovery of such a thing feels refreshing, somehow.

Kenneth Branagh takes the Cinderella story and gives it to us straight, with some spectacular sets, extravagant costumes, endearing performances and thankfully, as little CGI as possible (yes, the mice are there, but they're onscreen just a minimal amount, and they don't so much talk as make squeaky noises in the background). There are nods to the 1950 Disney classic of course (which this is no replacement for, but works as a companion piece), but the surprise is in the attempt to make the characters feel like real people rather than archetypes. There are no less than three "death of a parent" scenes in this movie (maybe keep that in mind when you take the kiddies), and no attempt at all to throw in superfluous war and battle sequences, unlike recent rebooted fairy tale adaptations Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman and Alice in Wonderland.

In fact, the lack of extraneous action packed with special effects is such a relief and change of pace that it allows you to relax and enjoy the simple story and performances in a way none of these other films have. The fresh faced Lily James (Lady Rose for Downton Abbey watchers) plays Ella, renamed Cinder by her evil stepsisters for sleeping near the ashes in the fireplace, after having been turned into a servant in her own home. But I suppose it's redundant to explain the plot, isn't it? If you don't know the story of Cinderella, I'm not sure where you've been residing for the last hundred years, but surely not on Earth. In this version, the Prince is given a bit more to do, or at least a meaningful relationship with his dying father, the King, and is played with verve by Richard Madden (formerly Robb Stark, for Game of Thrones watchers), who shares a nice chemistry with James as Cinderella, an added bonus in stories such as these, where all that's usually demanded of Prince Charming is that he live up to the adjective his name describes. But, as you'd expect, the best performance in the film is reserved for Cate Blanchett, who sneers deliciously as the evil Lady Tremaine, or as we all know her, the Wicked Stepmother who invented the term. She relishes the role so much, you wish she could have had a bit more screentime, even.

Scene for scene, Cinderella gives you exactly what you want and expect, and somehow, Branagh directs in such a brisk and satisfying fashion that it's not a bad thing. Employing fabulous and overly decorative locations, excessive costumes, color blind casting in the Kingdom (a welcome touch), and an overload of sugary confection when it comes the ballroom sequence, Cinderella's dress and midnight flight (sparkles everywhere!) that it fits Disney's brand of consumer satisfaction, this time with no complaints whatsoever. Every once in a while, it feels so good just to get exactly what you ordered- no more, no less.

* * *

BOX OFFICE 3/13-3/15: 'Cinderella' Opens Big; 'Run All Night' Fizzles

Cinderella opened huge this weekend, earning $70 million from Friday-Sunday, slightly above last year's Maleficent, and this one without the benefit of 3D ticket prices. This tells me that above all, it's the property itself that sells these Disney reboot movies, and it doesn't really matter one bit who stars in them. Cinderella got an "A" Cinemascore and played with an overwhelmingly female crowd, and it also had the benefit of being the first film in this new genre to get decent reviews, with and 85% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the Liam Neeson actioner Run All Night took second place with a weak $11 million, paling next to the $39 million Taken 3 just earned a couple months ago, although such a close release date to that last film might have had something to do with the low opening.

In third was Kingsman: The Secret Service, which, in its fifth week has crossed $100 million and is clearly benefiting from positive word of mouth, as it dropped just 25% from last weekend. Rounding out the top five was Focus and Chappie, each with about $5.8 million, but neither ended up being the breakout hits the studios would have liked, while in very limited release, the well reviewed horror film It Follows, opened on 4 screens with $40k per screen average, a strong debut for a tiny film, which has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Top 5:

Cinderella- $70 million
Run All Night- $11 million
Kingsman: The Secret Service- $6.2 million
Focus- $5.8 million
Chappie- $5.8 million

Next week we get to see how Cinderella holds up against the teen YA sequel Insurgent, and Sean Penn's The Gunman opens as well, although both are poorly reviewed, which may work in Cinderella's favor, as the one actually good movie playing in theaters right now. See you next time!

TRAILER: "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck"

The fascination with rock legend Kurt Cobain continues with this Sundance documentary from Oscar nominated filmmaker Brit Morgan, who directed The Kid Stays in the Picture and On the Ropes. It got amazing reviews out of Sundance and is set to air on HBO May 4th, after a limited theatrical run this spring. Be on the lookout for it.

Zoolander Walks the Runway

Derek Zoolander and Hansel MacDonald showed up at Paris Fashion Week the other day, as it was announced that Zoolander 2 is officially coming out February 12th, 2016. It's always a bit weird when a sequel to a movie comes out fifteen years after the first one- I know Zoolander became a cult favorite (it used to be kind of a guilty pleasure of mine), but are there that many people who were clamoring for another one all these years later? Still, I hope it's good, and just as silly as the first one.

TRAILER: "San Andreas"

Dwayne Johnson's latest disaster movie looks almost like a flat parody of those old 70's ones. The earth will literally crack open, Paul Giamatti? Really?! Like No Escape, this one produces quite a few unintentional giggles, at least in the trailer, but destruction porn always does well in the summer, so it'll probably be a big hit. Frankly, with this kind of thing, the sillier the better, so let's hope it doesn't play it too straight.