I smell a potential Oscar contender here. This coming of age independent film set in the 1950's was very warmly received at Sundance and immediately picked up by Fox Searchlight for a fall release, and it looks right up Oscar's alley to me. Saoirse Ronan is a teenage immigrant from Ireland (so she gets to use her natural accent) and she looks great in the lead role, sensitive and genuine as she often is. Surrounded by colorful character actors in the supporting parts and with a script written by Nick Hornby (Wild, An Education), I'd say to definitely be on the lookout for this one.
Chris Pine and Casey Affleck Battle Storm Waters in 'The Finest Hours'
Looks like Disney wants a Perfect Storm type movie with this disaster flick, but as always, the January release date raises suspicion. Chris Pine keeps trying to break through outside the Star Trek franchise, but I'm not sure this will be the vehicle for him. Frankly, the only person who sounds believable with that Cape Cod accent is Casey Affleck (for obvious reasons). It's coming out January 29th, so be wary of this one.
Jack Black is R.L. Stine in the 'Goosebumps' Trailer
I was never a Goosebumps fan as a kid- for the TV show I preferred Are you Afraid of the Dark?, and with the books I liked Stine's own Fear Street series better. But if I had been I would probably think the premise they chose here to make a movie out of the property seems weird and convoluted. Apparently R.L. Stine's book monsters literally spring to life out of the pages and chase everyone around the neighborhood? Huh. Seems aimed at really little kids, but I guess that was why I wasn't into the books in the first place.
Tom Hanks Negotiates a Trade in New 'Bridge of Spies' Trailer
This new look at the Spielberg/Hanks thriller showcases a better side of the action part of it, at least in the second half. It looks pretty talky, but I loved the last talky Spielberg movie (Lincoln), so that doesn't bother me at all. Still mostly feels like an old-fashioned kind of spy movie, but I'm in based on the cred of the people involved. Comes out October 16th.
New 'Ant-Man' Trailer Connects it to the Avengers
Early word on Ant-Man is surprisingly positive, although most of it is from fanboy critics who are always given the benefit of early screenings to enhance buzz. Still, they were kinda lukewarm on the last Avengers flick, so it may mean something that Ant-Man is faring better than that one at this stage. Reviews start dropping tomorrow, and the early embargo lift (the movie doesn't come out until the 17th) means Marvel at least thinks it's decent. Of course, that seems to be their MO these days- make at least a "decent" movie at all costs. No epic disasters on the DC scale (like with Green Lantern). Slick professionalism has turned into formula filmmaking at its most efficient.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The Killers" (1946)
On blu-ray this week is this hardboiled noir from the '40's, which gives us early, pre-star performances from Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner as a couple of criminals who fall for each other. You can see the screen presence they both had in this early film, and how they would both go on to become iconic stars of the 1950's. I love the word "hardboiled" that's often used to describe film noir, because it always tells you exactly what you're going to get- cynical, gritty, tough subject matter, hardened characters and steely acting that doesn't soften for one second. Some noirs are more of that than others, and this is definitely one of them- there's not a vulnerable second for any of these burned out people as they try to flee from their past crimes. You should check this one out as soon as you can, it's worth a watch.
Original 1946 Trailer:
BOX OFFICE 7/03-7/05: 'Jurassic World' Crushes New Releases 'Magic Mike' and 'Terminator'
It was a bad holiday weekend for the new release movies, as both Jurassic World and Inside Out continued to battle each other for the number one slot. Jurassic made another $30 million, while Inside Out was right on its heels, and the two are so close in estimated totals, that even though Jurassic came in on top by a hair, with actual numbers in on Monday, there's a real chance Inside Out could pull ahead to finally win the #1 spot at the box office. Jurassic World also just took over Age of Ultron's worldwide total to become the fifth biggest movie of all time with $1.3 billion, and passed The Dark Knight domestically to land in #4 all time in the U.S. with $558 million. At this rate, I'm sure it will pass Titanic next, becoming only the third movie to earn over $600 million at the box office.
Meanwhile, both the new films disappointed, with Terminator Genisys taking in over $28 million for the three day weekend, and $44 million since Wednesday, a pretty bad start for a movie that cost over $150 million to make. And Magic Mike did even worse, pulling in $27 million over the five days, with just $12 million of that from Friday to Sunday. The movie was extremely frontloaded, with a whopping 96% of its audience being female (a stat kind of unheard of, as even the first movie was just 73%). Ted 2 fell off a cliff this week, dropping 67% for an $11 million weekend to close out the top five.
Top 5:
- Jurassic World- $30.9 million
- Inside Out- $30.1 million
- Terminator Genisys- $28.7 million
- Magic Mike XXL- $12 million
- Ted 2- $11 million
In limited release, the documentary Amy, chronicling the life of Amy Winehouse, got off to a searing start, opening in just six theaters for $222k, which adds up to a $37k total, impressive even for a non-documentary opening of this size. Next week its the Minions movie, along with the cheapie horror flick Gallows, and the Ryan Reynolds thriller Self/Less, so maybe it's time for something other than Jurassic World to top the charts finally. We'll see you then, everyone. Hope you had a great holiday weekend, and go Team USA!
Movie of the Day: "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989)
The obvious question here might be, did I pick this movie just for its title? Well, the title didn't hurt, but the truth is this is a very good movie about the transformation of Ron Kovic (whose autobiography this is based on) from an idealistic and uber-patriotic young American soldier to an outspoken and virulent anti-war activist in the late '60's. Tom Cruise gives one of his best performances (truly) in Oliver Stone's film, as the teenager who volunteers for duty in Vietnam, is injured and comes home to find the country changed in its attitudes, which in turn shapes his own feelings about the war. This movie argues that anti-war protesters weren't anti-American in their message, but that protesting is in itself a form of patriotism in supporting the country you love and making sure it doesn't go down the wrong path. That's why it's a good choice for today, as we celebrate the 4th with all the parades, fireworks and barbecues that go along with the holiday. Happy Independence Day everybody!
Original Trailer:
Katherine Heigl and Alexis Bledel Get Married in 'Jenny's Wedding'
In a timely move, Jenny's Wedding is a movie coming out soon about a lesbian who must get her family to accept who she is. Katherine Heigl hasn't exactly had a lot of success since Knocked Up and her days on Grey's Anatomy (her recent TV show was canceled almost as soon as it premiered), but maybe this one will be a comeback vehicle. I kind of doubt it, but the subject matter sure hits the zeitgeist.
Trailer for New Documentary 'I Am Chris Farley'
Castmates and friends look back on the life of Chris Farley, the SNL star and comedian who died of a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33 (much like previous SNL'er John Belushi before him). Farley was one of a kind of course, as everyone who's seen any of his SNL skits knows, and he was beloved by his peers, as you can see in the reminiscences here. I Am Chris Farley is set for release in August.
Movie of the Day: "Brokeback Mountain" (2005)
What better movie this week to celebrate the 4th of July than with the film that should have won Best PIcture in 2006. It's a movie that became immediately iconic and joked about at the time, but it holds up as a beautiful, tragic love story with great performances all around, but an especially amazing one from Heath Ledger (every bit as good as his Joker in The Dark Knight, for which he won a posthumous Oscar). It really is a shame that he died so young, when you see what he was capable of so early in his career and what more he would have done for years. In this last couple weeks when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states, this is an especially poignant film to look back on, to celebrate the country and how far we've come, and in such a short time, really. In 2006, Crash beat Brokeback to win the Best Picture Oscar in one of the most stunning upsets ever, which many attributed to homophobia within the Academy, but how many doubt that if that same contest were held today, just nine years later, Brokeback would easily prevail?
Trailer:
Conan Takes His Co-Workers to See 'Magic Mike XXL'
...or another reason why I still love Conan (and why I kinda want to see Magic Mike too). Everyone watch this clip and try not to laugh all the way through it.
