This looks very cool, and we should take a moment to appreciate the fact that Laika Studios has dedicated itself to being the only company still in the business of producing stop-motion animated features against the onslaught of boring CGI domination. I don't know about everybody else, but CG has proven itself to have limits to its visual creativity in ways that 2D and stop-motion do not. The features Laika has produced so far- Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, have all been more interesting and in unconventional ways than most animated films that flood the marketplace every year, so kudos to them.
Lily James Takes On the Apocalypse in Latest Trailer for 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'
I still think this movie looks really, really stupid- more a copy of recent crap like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter than anything creatively inspired by a graphic novel. But I guess we'll find out soon enough. They don't bother to put any kind of a hook in these trailers besides girls in 19th century garb slicing up zombies either- no clever lines, satire or anything. Lame.
Batman and Superman Square Off in New Trailer for 'Dawn of Justice'
The latest trailer for this CG mess combines several of the most recent TV spots, and this is all you want to see of those, trust me. Every new piece of footage revealed from this thing makes it look worse. Superman is a scowling bully, Batman is wildly overacted with an even more ridiculous growl than he had in his last iteration (I thought no one's Batman voice could be worse than Christian Bale's), and Jesse Eisenberg? Again, the less said about him the better. The reviews on this one are going to be very interesting, if nothing else. Something tells me people who sat through Man of Steel aren't going to go in looking to give Zack Snyder a pass this time.
John Carney's 'Sing Street' Premieres at Sundance
John Carney, director of Once and Begin Again, premiered this coming of age film at Sundance just the other day, and the crowd went wild for it. Apparently another heartwarming, crowd-pleasing, original musical filled with new music, this time inspired by 1980's rock. I'm so there. Carney reminds me of Cameron Crowe when he was at his peak- the kind of guy who can make sentimental, feel good films with warm characters you want to spend time with, and never leave their universes. The kind of sentiment that hits the sweet spot by falling just shy of cheesiness- in other words, my kind of movie.
BOX OFFICE 1/22-1/24: 'The Revenant' Takes the Top Spot Over a Snowy Weekend
As winter storm Jonas pummeled the east coast this weekend and shut down theaters, The Revenant creeped up to No. 1 for the first time since its release, pulling in 16 million and 119 million total. This is, needless to say, the highest grossing Inarritu movie ever and his first to hit the top spot at the box office, no doubt fueled by the 12 Oscar nominations it hauled in a couple weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Ride Along 2 suffered a steep drop and fell to third, earning 12 million for a 59 million domestic total and paving the way for Star Wars to retake second place. TFA earned another 14 million, adding to its now 879 million total as it is now the fourth biggest international grossing movie of all time, surpassing Jurassic World earlier this week. Worldwide, it's still behind Titanic and Avatar- we'll have to see if it can topple Titanic or not, with Avatar's total seemingly out of reach. The rest of the top five was filled by new releases that did not impress, with Dirty Grandpa and the horror movie The Boy sneaking in with fairly lame debuts for both. Chloe Moretz's YA adaptation The 5th Wave did not make the top five, ensuring this one will not become a franchise.
Top 5:
- The Revenant- 16 million
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens- 14.3 million
- Ride Along 2- 12.3 million
- Dirty Grandpa- 11.5 million
- The Boy- 11.3 million
We're pretty much in the dog days of January, with nothing coming out in limited release lately and the film festival crowds gathering in Sundance this week with a slate of potential Oscar contenders for next year's awards season being screened. In light of that, there's not much to talk about, with nothing of note coming out until the Coen Brothers Hail, Caesar on February 5th, followed by Deadpool and Zoolander 2 on the 12th. Until then, we slog through. Stay warm everybody.
'The Big Short' Takes the PGA, Becomes Oscar Frontrunner
Well, we had another shocker here, guys. The year after Birdman stunned everyone by upsetting at the PGA and going on to win the Oscar, now The Big Short takes out the competition and solidifies itself as the Best Picture contender to beat. In fact, I'll go ahead and tell you right now that I trust the PGA winner over every other predictor when it comes to Best Picture, simply because it's matched up the last 7 years in a row. And the Producers Guild uses the same exact ballot that the Academy does and have roughly about the same number of members in its organization- that's why it's been so reliable in recent years. And the truth is it shouldn't be that surprising, considering how well this movie has performed with all the guilds, hitting everywhere it needed to, including in the Oscar nominations. It's clearly the industry's favorite. We've got some more guilds to weigh in, including SAG next weekend, and DGA in a few weeks, but right now I'm saying it's Big Short for Picture and Adam McKay for director. Your best bet is always to stick with the guilds overall, and if it comes down to it, the PGA in particular, and it has now spoken.
2015 PGA WINNERS:
- Feature: The Big Short
- Animated Feature: Inside Out
- Documentary Feature: Amy
Key and Peele Search for 'Keanu' in Their First Movie
Okay, this looks hilarious. The brilliant Comedy Central duo make their movie debut with Keanu, and I'm so there. These guys are awesome.
Kevin Smith Introduces New 'Wonder Woman' Footage
This early look at the 2017 Wonder Woman movie showcases what looks to me like Zack Snyder's typical washed out, slo-mo action, videogame crap in the vein of 300 and everything he's done since. He's not even directing this one, but his signature "style" is all over it. How did a guy like that manage to get his hands on creative control of the DC universe? This is why all the movies with my favorite heroes (I prefer DC guys to Marvel in general), are going to suck so hard. What a shame. If I sound like I'm not giving it a chance, it's because I sat through Man of Steel twice and lived to regret it.
Harley Quinn Showcased in 'Suicide Squad' Trailer
Boy, someone wants to rip off Guardians of the Galaxy, don't they? In the trailer at least. This one takes a totally different tone than the first, super serious teaser did, and it doesn't look half as bad as Batman v Superman- although what could? Not sure though. I think more than half the effect is "Bohemian Rhapsody" playing throughout it. And they're not teasing Batman, who is supposed to show up in this movie, as played by Ben Affleck.
Seth Rogen Takes On a Sorority in 'Neighbors 2'
I wasn't a big fan of the first Neighbors movie, and frankly, this one looks even dumber. But it was a big hit, so maybe this one will continue the series- I'm starting to wonder if Chloe Moretz really has it in her to be a successful actress as an adult though. The best thing she's ever done is still Kick Ass.
Surprise Trailer for 'Cloverfield 2' Comes Out
I'm not sure how many fans there were of this movie, but apparently it's now become a cinematic universe of its own. Yay? I gotta admit, I never saw the first one.
BOX OFFICE 1/15-1/17: 'Ride Along 2' Beats Out 'Star Wars' Over MLK Weekend
The four day weekend proved profitable for the sequel to Kevin Hart's Ride Along, which opened with 41 million over the weekend, off by about 7 million from the first movie's debut. It was pretty dreadfully reviewed, but it managed to dethrone Star Wars' 4-week run at the box office, which fell to third, bringing in 32 million, as its total crept to 858 million through Monday.
Meanwhile, The Revenant benefited from leading the Oscar nominations last week to come in with 39 million, basically a zero percent drop from last week. At this rate, and with Dicaprio's all but certain Oscar win to come, the movie could end up getting close to 175 million or so. The new Michael Bay Benghazi movie 13 Hours opened in fourth with 19 million, and earned over 40 percent of its total from the South. Will Ferrell's Daddy's Home rounded out the top five, having made 132 million to date.
Top 5:
- Ride Along 2- 41.6 million
- The Revenant- 39 million
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens- 32.6 million
- 13 hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi- 19.7 million
- Daddy's Home- 12 million
In limited release, the movies that benefited most from the Oscar nominations were Spotlight, Brooklyn and Room, which all got boosts and will be expanded further in the weeks to come before Oscar night. The only things opening next week are Dirty Grandpa and The Third Wave, both dumped in this sorry month of releases, likely because they suck. We'll see you next week.
