Here it is, guys- the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in all its glory. It's still pretty vague if you ask me- looks like they still don't want to tell us anything about the plot, but hey, look, it's Han and Leia! I have to admit, I was sucked into watching this when it debuted live during Monday Night Football like everyone else. No Luke again, but I'm sure they're hiding his appearance because he's become some kind of wizard looking, Obi Wan Kenobi guy now- I hope he's not a ghost. Get your tickets now, everyone- they went on sale as of a couple hours ago.
New 'Star Wars' Poster Revealed
Here it is, everybody. Looks like we're getting a female lead in the Luke Skywalker position- and I'm still willing to bet she's Han and Leia's daughter, don't you think? I like seeing Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher on the poster, but where's Mark Hamill? He's top billed along with the other two, and we know he's in the movie. I'm sure they have their reasons for excluding him. The brand new trailer premieres tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
BOX OFFICE 10/16-10/18: 'Goosebumps' Leads a Crowded Weekend
The Goosebumps movie took the top spot this weekend, somewhat surprisingly beating out The Martian to deny it a third week atop the box office. It was a crowded week overall, with four new releases vying for attention, but it looks like nostalgia for the 90's continues, with the interest in Goosebumps being higher than expected. The Martian wasn't too far behind it though, grossing another $21 million to place it below Goosebumps' $23.5 million. The Martian has now earned $143 million total.
Meanwhile, the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies opened with $15 million and a very adult audience (over 50% was over the age of 50), but it also got an "A" Cinemascore and could be fairly leggy, given good reviews and word of mouth. Crimson Peak on the other hand, disappointed, opening with just $12.9 million, Guillermo del Toro's lowest big studio opening weekend (and given the way the theater I saw it in responded, I don't expect crazy word of mouth to work its magic on this one). The top five was rounded out by Hotel Transylvania 2, which earned another $12 million for a $136 million total.
Top 5:
- Goosebumps- 23.5 million
- The Martian- 21.5 million
- Bridge of Spies- 15.4 million
- Crimson Peak- 12.9 million
- Hotel Transylvania 2- 12.5 million
In limited, Steve Jobs expanded to 60 theaters to earn about $1.6 million before it goes wide next week, and the debut of Oscar hopeful Room was pretty solid, with a 30k theater average on four screens for a 120k total. Truth, the Cate Blanchett film about CBS and Dan Rather, did not fare so well, opening in six theaters to just $76k. And Beasts of No Nation was released on Netflix but opened in 31 theaters to almost $51,000. Next week it's fairly crowded again with the wide release of Steve Jobs, Jem and the Holograms, The Last Witch Hunter and the new Paranormal Activity movie, along with the limited debuts of Rock the Kasbah, Suffragette and Burnt. Whew. And they wonder why it's so hard for so many adult driven films to find an audience this time of year.
Movie of the Day: "Creature From the Black Lagoon" (1954)
Our last movie monster this week is one of the greats- the dreaded "creature" from 1954's classic B-movie Creature From the Black Lagoon. I expected this film to be one of those cheesy 50's sci-fi matinee movies, but what surprised me was that it's actually much, much better than that. Jack Arnold infused this film with scenes of real suspense and really made this creature an effective and sympathetic presence, more so than any of the human characters in the movie. A bunch of people go on an expedition to the Amazon looking for fossils of a mysterious sea creature and lo and behold, they find and are somewhat terrorized by the creature itself, who wants the female member of their group (Kay Lawrence) all to its own devices. It's kind of a King Kong story, but the movie is fast paced and holds up every bit as well as anything made today with a similar premise. There are scenes that are genuinely freaky (the one where the monster kidnaps the girl from the boat is still crazy startling), and a beautiful sequence of the creature swimming alongside his beloved from far underneath the water where she can't see him. I really recommend this one- it's a fun treat to end your monster movie week.
Original Trailer:
Movie of the Day: "The Wolf Man" (1941)
Another one of Universal's classic movie monsters is the entry today, and that's 1941's The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr (son of the more famous Lon Chaney, the silent screen star who gave rise to many movie monsters himself, including Phantom of the Opera). This movie is actually less frightening than some of the other films this week, as the wolf man legend is inherently sillier, and this film doesn't treat it with the ambiguous brilliance of a movie like Cat People. But like Dracula, this one is so iconic and with so many great images that you've got to see it anyway. Lon Chaney walking through the fog in the original Wolf Man costume for instance- it doesn't get any more cinematic than that. It also was the first to give out all the werewolf lore we're used to now, including silver bullets and full moons and everything. You can withstand some of its silliness for its deserved status as an essential movie monster, that's for sure.
Trailer:
Joan Leslie 1925-2015
A screen actress from Hollywood's golden age passed away today at the age of 90, and although she acted in plenty of films from the 1940's, she's probably most known for playing James Cagney's wife Mary in the classic Yankee Doodle Dandy. Her other most notable credits were the Humphrey Bogart film High Sierra and the Gary Cooper led Sergeant York, before making guest appearances on television shows from the 1950's through the 1980's. But Mary, wife of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle was her liftoff moment.
Scene from Yankee Doodle Dandy:
Movie of the Day: "Cat People" (1942)
This is my favorite film in our series this week, a horror classic from the 40's directed by Jacques Tourneur that boasts two truly terrifying, suspenseful scenes that would still work today, believe it or not. The story may seem silly- a woman with an ancient curse placed upon her fears she's becoming a cat, but there's no cheesy special effects to be had here. Instead, Tourneur uses shadows, light and fear of the unknown following you at every turn to place us in this woman's shoes as something is consistently following her and will inevitably drag her into the depths of a horrifying future. This is a masterpiece of suspense and one of the most influential horror films ever made. Look out for the pool scene, which is so amazingly effective you'll be shocked it existed in a low budget film from 1942.
Original Trailer:
New Trailer for Jesse Owens Biopic 'Race'
This looks like a pretty traditional biopic, but as always with these, the story sells the movie. And I wonder how many people these days are familiar with the Jesse Owens story- maybe it'll generate some interest when it comes out next February.
Movie of the Day: "The Invisible Man" (1933)
I like to think of Claude Rains as the kind of Paul Giamatti of his day- a fantastic character actor who played so many great and memorable supporting roles (classic movie fans know him from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Notorious, The Adventures of Robin Hood), yet rarely got the chance to carry a movie as the lead. Of course in this one where he did, you couldn't see his face. He was The Invisible Man, the scientist whose experiment rendered him transparent and descending more and more into pure cackling villainy and madness. He's actually one of the great movie villains, with an awesomely creepy look (all covered in bandages), and groundbreaking early special effects that really worked in order to make objects appear to move on their own. James Whale, the director of the Frankenstein movies, proved here again that he was the Master of the macabre, and The Invisible Man still holds up fantastically well today, thanks to Claude Rains' deliciously evil performance. Yes, that is him under the costume.
Trailer:
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Aladdin" (1992)
It's hard to believe that as of today, Aladdin still hadn't been released on blu-ray yet, but the wait is finally over. One of the classics from the famed Disney "renaissance" era, this one featured the legendary Robin Williams voicework as the big blue genie, and was also the last of the home runs Disney was hitting in the early 90's to boast the contributions (both musical and creative) of the late great Howard Ashman, who can be credited with so much of the success of the Disney renaissance. It's still funny, entertaining and with a fantastic score that's still better than anything they've come up with in the new CG era for Disney movies (that Alan Menken guy just cannot be beaten). Buy it before Disney shuts it back up in the vault, you guys.
Original 1992 Trailer:
New Trailer for Saoirse Ronan in 'Brooklyn'
Brooklyn has had a steady roll through the fall film festivals, being rapturously received at Toronto and New York, following its debut in Sundance last January. It's been so well-received in fact, that I now think the film is a heavy Oscar contender in both Actress and Picture, especially given that it's backed by Fox Searchlight, a studio with plenty of awards success behind it. I've always loved the soulful Saoirse Ronan, so it makes me happy to see her going on to adult success after having had her first nomination as a child for 2007's Atonement. This is one of the films I can't wait to see in November.
Movie of the Day: "Dracula" (1931)
I've dedicated this month to monster movies over in the October movie page, but there are still so many from the Hollywood golden age, that I'm also deeming this week the celebration of classic movie monsters in general. So we start with the 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula- a movie that to be quite honest, isn't as good as Frankenstein, but still an essential, for Lugosi's "Children of the Night" speech alone. Lugosi was considered the Master of Horror, and this was the first time he played the vampire, as a seductive, charming, gentleman of the night basically, who can't see his reflection, turns into a vampire bat and ensnares young women with the taste of his blood- this was the beginning of the "vampire as alluring sexual predator" metaphor that continues to this day, since the silent Nosferatu couldn't exactly play on the attractiveness of the freaky Max Schreck's features. This one is so iconic that even the slight staginess of the production from the early sound era shouldn't hinder you from checking it out.
Original 1931 Trailer:
