more box-office blathering

Ha! I was right! Lady in the Water got 18 million (yeah, yeah, I said 20 million, close enough) and Monster house got 22 million, MORE than LITW! Here's the chart: (The second number is total gross)

USA Weekend Box-Office Summary

21 July 2006

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) $35.2M $322M
2. Monster House (2006) $22.2M $22.2M
3. Lady in the Water (2006) $18M $18M
4. You, Me and Dupree (2006) $12.8M $45.3M
5. Little Man (2006) $11M $40.6M
6. Clerks II (2006) $10.1M $10.1M
7. My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) $8.6M $8.6M
8. Superman Returns (2006) $7.38M $178M
9. The Devil Wears Prada (2006) $7.36M $97.5M
10. Cars (2006) $4.95M $229M

Now let's all try to forget that I mentally guessed Pirates of the Caribbean would gross 30 million opening weekend.

I can't stop talking about this guy!

M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie Lady In The Water came out today. I don't think I'll see it, (not in theaters at least) but I do have some box-office predictions. These are my very first, so be kind.
I think that Lady In The Water will make 20 million this weekend.
*whew* that sure takes a lot out of a person.

On the subject of this week's releases, I really want to see Monster House! I don't exactly care for the type of animation they use, but I have read a lot of good reviews. One critic said it reminded him of Hitchcock. (And btw I think it will make more than Lady In The Water.)

Immortal monkey. Top that! -Jack Sparrow

I missed the Superman buzz, I'm right on top of things for Pirates of the Caribbean!

AOL blogger points out the simularities between The Empire Strikes Back and Dead Man's Chest I just hope Will and Elizabeth aren't brother and sister.

I'm glad the next movie is already written. It's not pretty when screenwriters sue.

Who's to credit for box office records, Jack or Johnny? That's a silly question, it's Keith Richards.

Eonline's Pirates info

Hide the rum!

I just got back from Iowa where *drum roll* I saw Pirates of the Caribbean 2! Me and Maddie dressed up as pirate whores and were the first in line at midnight. Much to my dismay nobody else was dressed up! The theatre wasn't even full! You can understand why I'm a little surprised to see it has grossed 132 million dollars the first day. Ah, the wonder of sequels. Disney is ecstatic.

The whole beginning could have been cut. Elizabeth and Will have to postpone their wedding plans to save Jack on a dessert island. The whole thing has nothing to do with the rest of the plot, except we know that Elizabeth and Will need the find Jack's magic compass. It turns out that Jack has a debt to pay to Davy Jones, (Bill Nighy with a Medusa beard) and when trying to pay it doesn't work out, he just runs away with Davy's heart*. The most exciting development is an interesting new love triangle which will call Will/Elizabeth shippers to question where their loyalty lies! (Wink wink, nudge nudge)
All in all, it was a lot like the first one, similar plot, same characters, same jokes. Only it was two hours and forty minutes long, and that's more than enough to make your butt sore.


* In the most literal sense. Dead Man's Chest, get it?

I'mm Baaaaaaaack!

I will never cease to be amazed that the internet continues to run smoothly while I'm away. Sites are updated, movies are rated, and people continue to pick one movie to put at the top of the box office, even if that movie is basically Bruce Almighty with Adam Sandler instead of Jim Carrey. Crazy.

If you were curious, we're in the middle of the SUMMER MOVIE SEASON!!
Superman Returns and The Devil Wears Prada are out! Not to mention the upcoming release of Pirates of the Caribbean 2! All of which I am very excited to see.


In the spirit of summer movies, I highly recommend watching these trailers.

Spiderman 3 It's new! It's fresh! It's not coming out for a year!

A Scanner Darkly Weird? Yes. Ugly? No. Have you ever seen an animated movie where the characters looked liked the actors who voice them?

Little Miss Sunshine Ooooooohh! I want to see this one SO BAD!

For more previews and a release date calendar click here

Box office loves Ian McKellen

Looks like The Da Vinci Code has the 2nd highest box-office opening for an adult geared film. (The Passion of the Christ is the first.) 77 million is great, but chump change compared to the 107 million X-Men 3 has clocked so far. Not knowing anything whatsoever about X-Men, I doubt I will be seeing it. I did however see The Da Vinci Code today.
It was alright, they did a nice job of cutting out the "Oh gee what could this mean let's talk about it for a few pages" stuff, but unfortunately those were my favorite parts from the book. I also thought it felt too rushed. I don't mind complicated plots, I just don't like it in adaptations when everything from the book is being crammed unceremoniously into a two hour movie. (Or three hour, in the case of The Return of the King.)
The acting and cinematography were nothing to write home about either. That being said, I did like the first part of the movie, and the last scene. And how Tom Hanks could high-light the letters of words in his brain.
I have a horrible confession to make. I actually liked *cringe* Mission Impossible Three better than The Da Vinci Code. *Watches hell freeze over* The thing with M:I:3 was I got exactly what I expected. A dopey Tom Cruise spy movie. I would have been very surprised if it was clever, realistic, or deep.
Alright, enough summer blockbusters, I want to see Water and Friends With Money!

Critics? who needs 'em!?

Good news for Sony, The Da Vinci Code opened with a healthy 77 million this weekend, despite the bad reviews.


Bad news for Sopia Coppola, her latest movie was met with jeering from the Cannes Film Festival audience.

James Schamus announced Ang Lee's next project, Lust, Caution. Production set tentatively for the fall.

And, finally we have some Oscar Predictions!!!

Rumors! Tabloids! Scandal! (ok, not really)

Here's a random grab bag of gossip and observations

There have been a lot of rumors over who's going to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Currently hot money's* on Terry Gilliam. Yes, the one from Monty Python, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Brothers Grimm.
Hey, I think it could be very interesting to see what he does with it.

Woody Allen dropped his summer project about three Americans in Paris. He even started casting people, Michele Williams and David Krumholtz. I guess they'll have to find something new to do with their summer, meanwhile Woody is going to start filming Scoop, the latest Scarlett-Johanson-falls-in-love-in-London movie.

Charlie Kaufman is working on something! IMDb calls it "Untitled Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jones Summer Project" Who will star? What is it about? When will it be out? Will it be conventional and down to earth?**

Mission Impossible 3 has been estimated to only make $50 million over the weekend, instead of the $60 million guess from Friday. How sad, only a five with seven measly zeros behind it. Paramount is dumbfounded. Who is to blame? Is it Cruise? Mixed reviews? The lack of horror movie violence? Well, Tom Cruise is an easy target, which is probably why Hollywood is pointing fingers his direction. I still say $50 million is a damn good opening.



*Don't gamble, kids

** Ha! Seriously, I'm just messing with you

Superman Oscar bait?

Summer blockbuster season, the dry patch for Oscar nominees. (Maybe I should switch to predicting the box office. Will Mission Impossible 3 make more than War of the Worlds?) But none the less, I do have some Oscar predictions.
The Da Vinci Code could get nominations for Cinematography, Art Direction, or maybe Best Original Song.
John Williams is always a safe bet, but he was nominated twice last year, and the Academy might not look too kindly on Superman Returns.
Prairie Home Companion could draw attention, but the early release might still hurt it (maybe it should take a page out of Crash's book), not to mention people saying it's not Altman's "greatest" work.
Thank You For Smoking (Wow! Something that's OUT!) could get nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, so long as Oscar voters don't forget about it. It might do well at the Independent Spirit Awards.
And hey, how about Wylie Stateman getting a Best Sound Editing nomination for Poseidon? He's been nominated three times before.
Ah, technical categories. You gotta love 'em.

Virgins get last laugh

Completely shut out from the Oscars, The 40-year-old Virgin and Wedding Crashers lead the MTV movie awards with 5 nominations each. I haven't seen either of them, so I'm forced to have no opinion. And even worse, I don't have a clue who's going to win! Here are the Best Picture nominees:

Batman Begins
The 40-year-old Virgin
Sin City
The Wedding Crashers
King Kong

Since the general public gets to vote, I would assume the movie that did best at the box office would win. Star Wars Episode III made the most in 2005, and King Kong, followed by Wedding Crashers made the most of the nominees.

For the first time, the acting nominees aren't separated by gender.

Best Performance:

Steve Carrel The 40-year-old Virgin
Jake Gyllenhaal Brokeback Mountain
Terrance Howard Hustle and Flow
Rachel McAdams Red Eye
Joaquin Phoenix Walk The Line
Reese Witherspoon Walk The Line

Best Comic Performance

Steve Carrel The 40-year-old-Virgin
Adam Sandler The Longest Yard
Owen Wilson Wedding Crashers
Vince Vaughn Wedding Crashers
Tyler Perry Maudea's Family Reunion

Oh, that REALLY breaks the gender barrier. Why, a whooping 20% of the nominees were women! (And Steve Carrel got in twice!)

*Perks head, sniffs wind* What's that? Do I smell Oscar nominees!?! Four! Count 'em, FOUR! Yes! Something I have SEEN!
*Clears throat* Well, in my opinion, I think...I think.......
I already went through this before! Alright, Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix already have Golden Globes (and one Oscar).....sooooo.....
I guess the question is, out of Jake Gyllenhaal and Terrance Howard, who would be less humiliated to get the MTV Movie Award?

As you might guess I don't put much stock in this. Which is silly really, because actual people get to vote, instead of snooty Academy members. Still I can't appreciate an audience that opens The Benchwarmers at no. 2 at the box office.

Alright, enough incoherent blabbering and bad sentences, on with the nominees!
The Best thing about the MTV awards is the creative categories.

Best Villain

Cillian Murphy Batman Begins
Tilda Swinton Chronicles of Narnia
Tobin Bell Saw II
Ralph Fiennes Harry Potter
Hayden Christensen Star Wars III

Best Kiss

Taraji P. Henson and Terrance Howard Hustle and Flow
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger Brokeback Mountain
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Rosario Dawson and Clive Owen Sin City
Anna Faris and Chris Marquette Just Friends

Yay! I have seen all the villains except Tobin Bell!
And, *fond sigh* more Oscar nominees! Don't worry guys, being nominated for a Best Kiss MTV award is just as prestigious as winning an Academy Award.
Alright, alright, enough making fun of something I don't understand. I suppose somebody has to recognize Dukes Of Hazzard other then the Razzies.

Get the rest of the nominations here

First 2006 movie I've seen......and it's only April!!

Last night I saw a sneak peek of Akeelah and the Bee. It was really, really, good. *Flexes critical muscles*
I highly recommend it when it comes out next week.
Here's something interesting, Starbucks and Lionsgate teamed up to distribute it. Since when does Starbucks have anything to do with movies? And for that matter, why the little spelling bee indie? Now, I don't go to Starbucks (support your local Mom and Pop coffee shops!), but I heard they are really pushing the film, and are on the whole We-Like-Mom-And-Pop-Family-Movies kick.
For all the Starbucks Gossip click here

As for awards buzz, Ebert and Roeper think that Keke Palmer (Akeelah) should get some nominations. (Deserves to, not necessarily will.)
Their review

Not the camera! My precioussssss!!

I just saw King Kong! It was pretty good, but I don't get how they could get King Kong all the way from Skull Island to New York, but could barely keep some giant bugs at bay.
After watching indies for a solid month, I forgot how good a $270,000,000 movie could be!
Now I have to write a review to go with Capote!

Maddie changed her template, and I think Max did too. I just had to change mine also!