A Wahlberg/Berg film just came out last weekend in Deepwater Horizon, and yes, this is their next, due out at Christmas. When do these guys sleep? It's yet another action-adventure film based on recent true life events, their third after the first successful collaboration, 2014's Lone Survivor. They appear to be trying to corner the market in this very specific genre. I'm amazed at how closely this trailer actually resembles the one for Deepwater Horizon, down to Wahlberg kissing his supportive wife goodbye on the way to work before disaster strikes. This time it's the recreation of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and I assume, the city-wide manhunt that took place immediately following. Berg's films are always pointedly politically neutral, despite the reinvention of events that most remember with at least some tint of political shading, but Berg's attitude is to play things out as straightforward as possible, in order to celebrate the heroes and survivors of these incidents without comment. So, if you're into that kind of thing, this might be for you?
Natalie Portman Brings History to Life in 'Jackie' Teaser
This film from Chilean director Pablo Larrain is apparently an extremely unconventional arthouse biopic about Jackie Kennedy in the days following JFK's assassination, and judging from the critical adoration it received at Venice and again at Toronto, Portman at least looks to be a favorite for her second Best Actress nomination. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm having a real hard time with the accent we're hearing over this teaser. I know Jackie Kennedy did have a very distinct voice, but that's...gonna take some getting used to. Fox Searchlight picked this one up for a prime Oscar release date of Dec 2nd.
Jack Sparrow Doesn't Make the Cut in First Trailer for 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'
So yeah, Pirates of the Caribbean is back for its fifth installment, and Jack Sparrow is mentioned and teased during this trailer (which is awfully intense and spooky for a Pirates movie), but no Johnny Depp in any frame of it? I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with his horrifically bad PR year, kinda like how the trailer for Mel Gibson's new movie Hacksaw Ridge tells us its "from the director of Braveheart," whoever that was, with no name attached whatsoever. Huh. I thought this character pretty much was the attraction for the Pirates movies, but this teaser is depending on Javier Bardem doing his best villainous CGI pirate thing (no one can pass Bill Nighy's Davey Jones effect from the second movie in that department).
'Miss Peregrine' lands in first place
BOX OFFICE 9/30-10/02: 'Miss Peregrine' Tops With an Okay Opening
'Miss Peregrine' lands in first place
This weekend saw the opening of two big budgeted releases in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Peter Berg's Deepwater Horizon, the action movie based on the events of the BP oil spill. Miss Peregrine won the battle for first place, debuting with $28 million, but that's not exactly huge for a movie that cost $110 million, and Deepwater Horizon came in lower, with $20 million on a similar sized budget. Miss Peregrine opened a tad below Burton's Dark Shadows, and with mixed reviews and a "B+" Cinemascope, it probably won't stick around too long. Horizon fared better critically and with audience reaction, but the unimpressive opening will hinder it as well.
Last week's champ The Magnificent Seven fell harder than expected to third place, with just $15 million, although it's doing pretty well overseas and has already earned back its $90 million budget. The animated Storks fell to fourth with $13 million, just a small drop-off from its $21 million opening, and Sully rounded out the top five, having now crossed $100 million total in its fourth week, another solid hit for Clint Eastwood well into his 80's as a director. You have to admit, that's a feat for anyone.
Mark Wahlberg in 'Deepwater Horizon'
Top 5:
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- $28.5 million
- Deepwater Horizon- $20.6 million
- The Magnificent Seven- $15.7 million
- Storks- $13.8 million
- Sully- $8.4 million
In limited release, Queen of Katwe stumbled as it expanded, earning just $2.6 million from over 1200 theaters, and the critically panned Masterminds opened outside the top ten with a low $6 million for Zack Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig. Next weekend sees the opening of Girl on the Train, which is getting fairly weak reviews, and the brimming with outside controversy Birth of a Nation, which is now considered a lost cause in the Oscar race, where just nine months ago it was deemed a sure frontrunner out of Sundance. How quickly things change.
New Trailer for 'Rules Don't Apply' Shows More Romance
I have a feeling this movie is going to be a pretty sizable flop, since the tone of this trailer couldn't be more different from the last one, which made it look like a screwball comedy. This one all but hides Warren Beatty, while he was in every frame of the last one. That means the studio doesn't quite know what it should be either, which is never a good sign. It appears now to be some kind of young love conquers all story between newcomers Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich, but why would Warren Beatty's return to film be something so slight? Something about this feels really off.
Kristen Stewart Hears Ghosts in 'Personal Shopper' Teaser
This is another Cannes release that's scheduled to come out here sometime early next spring, so it's definitely not being plugged as an Oscar movie. It actually got a very divisive reaction in Cannes- it's allegedly a ghost story, but it's not that scary and the tone kinda wanders all over the place from spooky to funny and is never really unsettling either way. You can see why they might have a hard time marketing that to an audience. Plus, I've never like Kristen Stewart, as you all should know by now, so I will not necessarily be checking for this one.
Adam Driver Stars in Jim Jarmusch's Latest Film 'Paterson'
Paterson premiered at Cannes this May to some very rapturous reviews, and is now coming out in the U.S. on December 28th. Jim Jarmusch has never exactly been a mainstream director, and now he can't even get his films financed in the the U.S. anymore, but there may be more interest after the cult success of his last movie Only Lovers Left Alive, which happened to be on my top ten of 2014. I'm here for this one for sure- looks like the perfect role for someone like Driver.
Annette Bening Looks to Join the Oscar Race in '20th Century Women'
Mike Mills, the director of Beginners, is back with a new film starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig as a trio of women at different ages in 1979. It's premiering at the New York Film Festival this week and set for release on December 25th. I thought Beginners was just okay, but let's remember it won Christopher Plummer the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, so I'd say this one is probably something to look out for in the performances at least, especially with someone like Bening in the lead. She's a four-time Oscar nominee who's never won- I'd say she's in the Julianne Moore category of veteran overdue actresses.
Powerhouse Acting from Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in 'Fences' Trailer
In Denzel Washington's new directorial effort, he takes on August Wilson's famed play, for which Viola Davis actually won a Tony award. Could an Oscar be next? It definitely looks all about the performances here, from both Davis and Washington, who could land his seventh Best Actor nomination if the movie turns out the way everyone expects it to. It's scheduled for a Christmas release, but may play at the AFI Film Festival in November. Keep an eye out for this one.
BOX OFFICE 9/23-9/25: Denzel Takes 'Magnificent Seven' to $35 Million
The last few weeks has been kind of a tribute to old-school star power, as Tom Hanks was mostly responsible for Sully's success, and now Denzel Washington has one of the biggest openings of his career with The Magnificent Seven remake doing very well with a debut of $35 million. The movie got mixed reviews (62% on Rotten Tomatoes), but earned an "A-" Cinemascope, so it will hopefully stick around long enough to recoup its $90 million budget. Westerns normally don't do well and are hardly made anymore, so the success of this film is a good thing for everyone, including audiences.
In second place was the animated Storks, with a $21 million opening, kind of a low gross, as WB's last animated film was The LEGO Movie, obviously much more successful. Sully fell to third with $13 million, as its total creeps to $92 million and will cross $100 million by next week. The question now is if its financial success can translate to some Oscar attention for the film, and maybe, finally another nod for Tom Hanks, seeing how he was robbed of one (In my opinion) for Captain Phillips. The top five was rounded out by Bridget Jones's Baby and Snowden, neither of which are doing well and are considered bombs.
Top 5:
- The Magnificent Seven- $35 million
- Storks- $21.8 million
- Sully- $13.8 million
- Bridget Jones's Baby- $4.5 million
- Snowden- $4.1 million
Disney's Queen of Katwe opened in limited release this weekend, and despite being one of the runner-ups for the TIFF Audience Award last week, the Lupita Nyong'o starring drama opened to a fairly low $305k from 52 screens. Next week it's Mark Wahlberg's Deepwater Horizon against Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- I'm guessing Deepwater Horizon has the better chance to do well, since it seems to be the season for recent true life events dramas.
New Red Band Trailer for 'Bad Santa 2' Brings in Kathy Bates
I laughed at the first trailer for this, but this new one didn't do it for me. First of all, how annoying is it that 68-year-old Kathy Bates is being brought in to play 61-year-old Billy Bob's mother? Second of all, foul-mouthed old lady feels like a role she's done before, which is why the casting is obvious I guess, but with her doing nothing new and Billy Bob reprising his old role too, the whole thing feels like overkill. I mean, did they really need to bring in a female version of him for this? Seems lazy. I had some hope for this movie before, but now I get a feeling it's just another decade-and-a-half later sequel that nobody wants.
Curtis Hanson 1945-2016
Filmmaker Curtis Hanson, who directed films as diverse as the Oscar-winning L.A. Confidential and the Eminem starring 8 Mile, has passed away at the age of 71 tonight. A producer and screenwriter who once worked as a film journalist and photographer before going on to become a director, his long filmography included films such as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The River Wild (1994), L.A. Confidential (1997), which won Kim Basinger the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Hanson the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Wonder Boys (2000), 8 Mile (2002) and In Her Shoes (2005).
