We're at the start of a new month again, and now it's time for the June movies to make their appearance. For the first month of summer, the theme is "cops and robbers," as I've picked out ten action movies about bad guys running from the cops or good guys pursuing crooked cops, or just all around shoot 'em ups. I may have to think about changing the theme for one of my summer months to just plain superheroes, since blockbuster movies these days have changed from simple actioners to specifically comic book centered superhero stories- there are more than enough to choose a list of the ten best superhero flicks ever made at this point, but for now, we're still in this other genre, which holds some of my favorite movies ever, like The French Connection, The Departed, Thelma and Louise, The Big Heat and Le Samourai. I still think variety matters a lot, and most superhero movies would all come from the past decade or so, save for maybe one or two. Head to out Movies for Every month page to read more about the theme and click here for the full list of ten movies complete with original trailers. Have fun kicking back with these great action flicks all month long. Happy June, everybody.
Movie of the Day: "Letters From Iwo Jima" (2006)
On this Memorial Day, I'm recommending one of Clint Eastwood's very best films, made as a companion piece with 2006's Flags of Our Fathers, but this was by far the superior movie. One looked at the toll WWII took on the returning U.S. veterans at the time, while this one was a tribute to the fallen Japanese soldiers at Iwo Jima in 1944. A somber, respectful look at the men who did bravely fight for their country on the other side, this is one of the few films to take the approach that tries to understand our enemies as fellow human beings who gave their lives for their country the same way we did for ours. Ken Watanabe leads a strong ensemble that sensitively renders the experience these men went through as the war in the Pacific was winding down and they knew their fate was doomed. Celebrate the American heroes who serve us on this holiday of course, but don't forget to try and empathize with our fellow humans all over the world who also sacrificed themselves in many tragic ways throughout history.
Original 2006 Trailer:
BOX OFFICE 5/27-5/30: 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' Open Soft Over Memorial Day
Even though it's a big holiday weekend, it looks like audiences weren't all that interested in what studios had to offer up on this first official summer movie week, as both would be blockbusters opened under expectations. The X-Men sequel easily opened to No. 1, as it earned about 65 million over the three day weekend and will pull in roughly 80 million over the four day frame. Not too bad, but a big letdown from the 90 million three day opening of Days of Future Past two years ago. Reviews were mixed-negative on the Bryan Singer directed sequel that introduced original X-Men Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm as teenagers, but the Cinemascore was still a pretty good "A-" and it's doing big money overseas, so this one won't be seen as a total failure, but more a result of possible superhero fatigue this season, at least here in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Alice Through the Looking Glass is far more of a clear cut failure, opening with a paltry 28 million weekend, and 35 million extended, a massive drop-off from the 2010 hit that grossed over 300 million domestic and 1 billion worldwide. I think it's just been too long and interest was simply not there, but reviews were dreadful, and now it has the albatross of scandal attached to it as well, in light of the domestic abuse allegations towards Johnny Depp from his wife Amber Heard. I think this one will have to be considered one of the biggest flops of the year. The Angry Birds Movie held up well from last week, while Neighbors 2 plummeted, and Civil War stuck around in the top five for a new domestic total of 372 million, so yeah, Disney's doing just fine despite this result for Alice.
Top 5:
- X-Men: Apocalypse- 65 million
- Alice Through the Looking Glass- 28.1 million
- The Angry Birds Movie- 18.7 million
- Captain America: Civil War- 15 million
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising- 9 million
In limited release, The Lobster is the most recent success, expanding well to land at No. 12 with 725k from 116 locations, and the Sundance documentary Weiner expanded to 27 locations with about 164k, while the indie Maggie's Plan earned 105k from 19 screens. After this mediocre holiday weekend, June rolls around next time with the debuts of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, the Andy Samberg comedy Popstar: Never Stop Stopping, and the romantic drama Me Before You, so expect those hideous looking turtles to take off, I guess. See you then.
New Trailer for 'The Little Prince'
So, I first saw this trailer a while back and figured this would be one of this year's animated feature nominees, but I guess that assumption's dead, because apparently this movie's only coming to Netflix now. Netflix of course, keeps growing in power and stature, but unless they figure out a way to release their movies in theaters, the films they either produce themselves or obtain distribution rights to, are going to be looked at as television first. Sigh. Still, I'd like to see this and it will be available on August 5th.
Teen Romance Blossoms in 'The Space Between Us'
Remember the kid from Hugo? Yeah, well here he is now, as a teenager raised on Mars who comes back to Earth to experience all the wonders of non-space life, including love with 26-year-old Britt Robertson, playing around 16 here (Asa Butterfield's 19). Looks cheesy of course, although it's kind of amusing seeing Gary Oldman in this kind of movie. "His heart can't handle our gravity!" Oof. The corn. It hurts.
New 'Star Trek' Character Posters for Spock, Bones and Co.
One of the things I liked about the new trailer was that it played up the classic trio of Kirk, Spock and Bones, and Paramount's really gone all out all of a sudden with the promo material. I'm liking these posters quite a bit though.
Latest 'Finding Dory' Trailer Gives Us Dory's Origin Story
I already told you that I wasn't all that hyped for this Finding Nemo sequel, but I will say that this is my favorite trailer for it so far. Looks very much in tone with the first one, and more of Albert Brooks's Marlon is always a nice thing, since he was my favorite part of the first movie by far. I'm sure it's going to be good though, this one looks like it has the classic "good Pixar" touch. Inside Out was sort of a return to form for them, and this one looks to be in step with that.
Paul Verhoeven Debuts 'Elle' at Cannes
By most accounts it really hasn't been a great Cannes film festival this year, although there are always going to be some gems worth seeking out. But there's been no splashy premieres to keep watch for later on. This one though, has definitely got my attention. It's the latest film from the 77-year-old Paul Verhoeven, the man who gave us Robocop, Basic Instinct, Total Recall, and of course the notorious disasters of Starship Troopers and Showgirls. The guy goes all out and when he fails, he fails big, but on the other hand, there's also nothing like him, and his great movies can be great in the best, trashiest ways. His last movie was 2006's Black Book, a darkly entertaining WWII thriller that's sooo good- everyone should see it. So I'm happy to report that this film, about a rape victim played by French actress Isabelle Huppert, actually got a seven minute standing ovation and is amazingly, looking to be the best reviewed film of his career, with one of the best performances of Huppert's. It's coming out in the U.S. on Nov 11th. I can't wait.
First Look at Emma Watson as Belle in 'Beauty and the Beast' Teaser
Well, here it is. The first teaser for the live-action remake of one of the great animated films of all time. And Disney sure is milking it, aren't they? Playing that iconic Alan Menken score that's bound to bring back childhood memories of every kid who grew up in the 90's, or today's millennials- the same ones who made Jurassic World such a monstrous hit because they liked hearing that John Williams score again too. This will of course be a megahit, but there's something off about its very existence. Every inch of it is intended to make you recall the cartoon, and none of it will live up to that film in any way, which everyone already knows but doesn't care about. Can't wait to see the teaser for the all CG Lion King that plugs "Circle of Life," and eventually The Little Mermaid that plays the first notes of "Part of Your World." You guys know you can actually go back and watch these old movies, right? On its own terms, Emma Watson is a nice person but has always been a really terrible actress (and Belle was not British), and what on earth is Ewan MacGregor doing with that Lumiere voice? Yikes.
BOX OFFICE 5/20-5/22: 'The Angry Birds Movie' Takes Down 'Civil War'
Well, this was expected, as Universal's animated comedy based on the popular smartphone app (lord, where is society heading? I guess this bodes well for next year's Emoji Movie), took in 39 million, enough for first place, as Captain America came in third with 33 million on its third weekend. Interestingly, the legs haven't exactly been spectacular on Civil War, and yet it's already made 347 million domestic and crossed 1 billion worldwide in just about record time. The fourth MCU movie to do so. It will probably wind up with over 1.2 billion in the end, and yet for some reason it doesn't seem to have captured the zeitgeist of something like Deadpool, for example. Weird, how successful branding breeds continual success amidst ever lessening hype.
The new releases underwhelmed this weekend, as Neighbors 2 came in with 21 million when it was expected to exceed 30- and yet it may not have much to worry about, seeing as there are no other comedies out right now or in the foreseeable future, so legs could be fairly strong. It won't match the 150 million total of the first one though. The Nice Guys hit fourth with 11 million, underwhelming as it seems it's the kind of old-fashioned, big name original movie that people simply aren't interested in seeing anymore, sadly. And The Jungle Book rounded out the top five with another 11 million, continuing Disney's 2016 dominance.
Top 5:
- The Angry Birds Movie- 39 million
- Captain America: Civil War- 33 million
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising- 21 million
- The Nice Guys- 11.3 million
- The Jungle Book- 11 million
In limited release, it may be worth mentioning that A24's The Lobster is doing very well in the specialty market, making 408k this weekend as it expanded to 24 screens and has earned over 1 million total, before coming out in wide release on May 27th. Next week it's X-Men: Apocalypse, which already opened with 103 million overseas and will probably do well next weekend over Memorial Day, although mixed-negative reviews could hurt it, as well as being up against Alice Through the Looking Glass along with superhero fatigue in general. We'll see. See you next week everyone.
2nd 'Star Trek Beyond' Trailer is New and Improved
Now this is big step up from the first teaser. Seriously, why wasn't this the first one released? Petty much nobody liked that first trailer for Star Trek Beyond, but this new one seems to get it all right and make the movie look good, which I'm still hopeful for, because I love this series. I do not trust this Justin Lin guy, not being a fan of the Fast and Furious movies, even though a lot of people are. But I do love this cast and these characters, so I'm always going to root for it, especially on this 50th anniversary year of Star Trek itself. The movie is premiering at Comic-Con in July, on an outdoor IMAX screen, for fans lucky enough to go.
And how awesome is this poster, by the way?
New 'Ghostbusters' Trailer Plays Up Special Effects
So, in answer to that original trailer, which ended up being the most "disliked' one in youtube history (for reasons having entirely nothing to do with the quality of the trailer itself, even if it wasn't terrific), this new one seems to be throwing all the CGI at you, which isn't that impressive either, frankly. I don't have a good feeling about this film, but I'm more annoyed by the fact that if it isn't good, it's only going to get shit on even more by the insanely sexist and misogynistic trolls out there who seem to get their kicks off of hating on something simply for existing. It's really gross, and I want this movie to be good in spite of the negative buzz, just to prove them wrong.
