If Melissa McCarthy tickles your funny bone, this looks good for a couple of chuckles, but there are warning signs because it's not directed by Paul Feig, and is in fact another one written and directed by McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone. In case you don't remember, he's the guy she collaborated with on Tammy, one of the worst movies of last year. It's also notable that Melissa's dropped about 50 pounds now and looks decidedly different in this trailer than she ever has onscreen. Good for her, health-wise.
Gerard Butler Stars in 'Gods of Egypt'
I don't think this is another movie based on a videogame, but it sure looks like it. Does anything on the screen in this trailer look real to you? Even the actors only look barely there. I wonder if this is already a catalyst for worst movie of 2016, a month and a half before the new year even starts.
Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson in 'How to Be Single' Trailer
I guess it really pays off to be the priveleged child of celebrity parents, doesn't it? There's no other explanation for the fact that Dakota Johnson, aka the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, gets to actually star in movies now. Does anyone else find that as annoying as I do?
Michael Shannon Stars in Trailer for 'Midnight Special'
Independent filmmaker Jeff Nichols, director of Take Shelter and Mud, is re-teaming with his Take Shelter star for a new movie, this one about what looks to be an alien kid. His past work has been interesting in every case, even if I wasn't totally crazy about Mud, so I'm definitely on the lookout for this.
Chris Hemsworth Returns in 'The Huntsman: Winter's War'
I seem to remember Snow White and the Huntsman being something of a Kristen Stewart vehicle when it came out, so I guess this is more of a spinoff than a sequel. But now we have Chris Hemsworth's huntsman fighting off Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain- could it really be any good? I doubt it, but who knows.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are Back in New Trailer for 'Zoolander 2'
Zoolander 2 is the latest 15 years later sequel to get a trailer in the last few days, and you know what- this one actually made me chuckle a couple times. Any movie that actually kills Justin Bieber in it can't be all bad, at least in principle. I hope it's just as silly as the first one, which also made me laugh in spite of myself.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The City of Lost Children" (1995)
This week a modern cult classic of French cinema has its 20th anniversary blu-ray edition come out, and it's a sci-fi film really worth seeing that will likely blow your mind with the visuals and sheer strangeness of the universe. Co-directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet, whose other films Delicatessen and Amelie also employ a surreal and fanciful style, this one is about a little girl who teams up with a young Ron Perlman to go on a journey to retrieve his little brother from a mad scientist who kidnaps children and steals their dreams. The world they inhabit is inspired by a steam punk look and the mere sight of everything in this film is awe-inspiring. I urge you to check this one out- it's a gem.
Trailer:
Academy Honors Spike Lee, Gena Rowlands, Debbie Reynolds
The Academy Governor's Awards were held on Saturday night, and among the honorees were the usual slew of people campaigning for Oscars this season- casts from the movies Room, Brooklyn, Spotlight, The Hateful Eight, Joy, Bridge of Spies, all the expected players this season, which has turned the event into one of the primary campaign stops of the year, when it's actually supposed to be the one place that's really about the recipients. But you can't stop anything from being political, can you? The speeches were classy though, and always worth listening to. It's a shame they can't find a place for lifetime achievement awards on the actual Oscar telecast, especially since it's the only award given out that's probably not political in nature.
Spike Lee came last and gave the most interesting speech of the night:
Gena Rowlands receives her honorary Oscar:
Denzel Washington to Receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award
This year's very deserving recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Cecil B. DeMille honor is Denzel Washington- it's hard to believe we're at the point where major stars of the 90's are going to start getting their lifetime achievement honors, isn't it? Denzel is a very worthy winner though, with hits consistently for the entirety of his career and still ongoing...Glory, Malcolm X, Philadelphia, Courage Under Fire, The Preacher's Wife, The Hurricane, Training Day, Inside Job, American Gangster, Man on Fire, Remember the Titans, Flight, The Equalizer, and on and on. He won his two Oscars for Glory and Training Day. The Golden Globes will be held on January 10th, 2016.
BOX OFFICE 11/13-11/15: James Bond and Charlie Brown Hold On to the Top Two Spots
New releases flopped this week, ensuring that Spectre and The Peanuts Movie had great holds and no problems hanging onto their places from last week's chart. Spectre grossed another 35 million, falling just about 50 percent, and though it's not catching Skyfall's record here for the highest grossing Bond film ever in the U.S., it's already at 130 million and will probably make it past 200, which is nothing to sneeze at. Besides, overseas it's a monster, earning 48 million in China for the weekend, making it the biggest opening ever there for an international 2D film.
The Peanuts Movie fell just 45 percent as well, coming in with 24 million and benefiting from the being the only family audience movie on the market right now after Hotel Transylvania 2- its total so far is at 82 million. There was nothing much to report on for the low key new releases- the Diane Keaton starring family ensemble holiday movie Love the Coopers came in third with just 8 million, while the Chilean mining drama The 33 took fifth place with almost 6 million. It was bested by The Martian though, which has now crossed 207 million to become the sixth biggest movie of the year.
Top 5:
- Spectre- 35.4 million
- The Peanuts Movie- 24.2 million
- Love the Coopers- 8.4 million
- The Martian- 6.7 million
- The 33- 5.8 million
In limited release, Angelina Jolie's pretentious marital drama By the Sea bombed, earning a dismal 9k per screen average on 10 screens, while Spotlight continues to shine, earning over a million for the weekend expansion in 60 locations. Brooklyn is also doing well, holding a PTA of around 26k, having not expanded much yet, so those two heavy Oscar hopefuls will continue to play for the next few months in specialty release as awards nominations come in. Next week is a big one, with the final Hunger Games movie opening against Seth Rogen's The Night Before, and the limited openings of Cate Blanchett's Carol and Julia Roberts' The Secret in Their Eyes. See you then.
Han Solo Appears in New 'Star Wars' TV Spot
JJ Abrams has said there will be no more trailers for Star Wars, so from now on it looks like we're getting a series of TV spots to be rolled out by the Disney machine- this particular one debuted after last night's Scandal and was introduced by Shonda Rimes herself. How's that for corporate synergy? John Boyega finally speaks in this one and even though he's a Brit, it looks like he's putting on an American accent, so again I wonder if Daisy Ridley just couldn't pull it off.
Shailene Woodley Stars in New Trailer for 'Allegiant'
If anyone cares, the official trailer for Allegiant is out today, but I think this has to be the least hyped, least exciting franchise in the recent slew of YA adaptations. I think even the Maze Runner series might have more fans. I'm actually surprised they're still putting these out, to be honest.
