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Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Drag Me To Hell

Christine Brown is a bright, young bank loan officer, she’s got a solid relationship with a young professor and she’s up for an assistant manager position at her bank. But the bank manager is still waffling on his choice for the job, edging towards someone with more initiative than what Christine has had. An elderly lady, who’s just really creepy from the start, comes into the bank wanting an extension on her home, and when Christine presents this to her manager, the manager gives Christine the chance to make the call. Christine chooses this one time to make the tough call, in a moment of big ambition, and denies the woman her loan. When the woman then begs to have her reconsider, things really begin to go awry for Christine, as she later finds that she’s just crossed an old gypsy who’s put a horrifying curse on her.

That’s the basic premise to Sam Raimi’s newest movie, Drag Me To Hell, which finally has the acclaimed director returning to his roots with over-the-top, tongue-firmly-in-cheek horror, and I have to say I was just entertained with this movie from start to finish. Raimi mad a name for himself with the Evil Dead movies and further with the Spider-Man films, and with Drag Me To Hell he really looks like he’s having a lot of big-ass fun getting back to his roots.

Now, there’s things here that you know will happen, that almost has to happen and while some might find that familiarity tiresome, I thought it was a really fun ride getting there. This is over-the-top, but a few shades less than say what Sam did in Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness but still it has those moments when you know you’re for sure watching a Sam Raimi horror movie. To me as well, this follows the path of old E.C. Comics as well, and when you’re doing this kind of horror movie, those comics are always great templates to go by.

Allison Lohman plays Christine Brown, and it’s pretty much her film. she’s got a delicate line to cross here, in both being sympathetic and at the same time totally deserving of what’s going to happen to her, and I think she does a pretty good job. I could only imagine how this was pitched to her- “Now, Allison, we’re going to have a lot of fun with this movie, but there’s one catch- you’re going to end up with a lot of gross stuff literally in your face, so hopefully, kiddo, you’re up for that…” And I have to say, Lohman had to be a good sport on this film, as she does just that, end up with having a face full of grossness at least five or six times during the film. she’s backed up with Justin Long as her boyfriend, and David Paymer serving a supporting term as the bank manager, as well as others. But probably the other biggest presence in the film is the old lady, Sylvia Ganush, played by Lorna Raver, and she’s pretty much felt throughout the film, though she’s not on-screen the same way Lohman is.

Whenever I’ve talked horror movies with people in the past, the question of whether something is scary often comes up. I don’t really get “scared” by horror movies any more (that kind of went away in my mid teens) and find that the more effective films usually have a more disturbing quality to them more than anything else. I don’t really see Drag Me To Hell as that much of a “scary” affair and I don’t necessarily think it’s supposed to be- it is predictable, but really most horror films like this are supposed to be and when they’re really well put together, then for me, the ride is really enjoyable. The ending that this movie has is the ending that it has to have and when the moment comes, I was genuinely entertained by it, and for a big studio made film, I think this one really delivers the goods.

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Weekend Box Office for May 22 – 24

#1 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian from Fox debuts at #1 this weekend earning $53.5 million in 4096 theaters. Budget for Museum was $150 million.

#2 Terminator Salvation from Fox debuts at #2 this weekend earning $43 million in 3530 theaters. Budget for Salvation was $200 million.

#3 Star Trek from Paramount drops to #3 this weekend earning $22.7 million in 4053 theaters. Total earnings for Trek is $184 million. Budget for Trek is unknown.

#4 Angels and Demons from Sony drops from #1 to #4 this weekend earning $21.8 million in 3527 theaters. Budget for Angels was $150 million.

#5 Dance Flick from Paramount opens at #5 this weekend earning $10.7 million in 2450 theaters. Budget for Dance was $25 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#6 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Weekend Gross: $7,950,000 down 45% / Theaters: 3183, down 709 / Gross $163,204,000 / Budget: $15o million

#7 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Weekend Gross: $3,810,000 down 42% / Theaters: 2255, down 895 / Gross $45,948,000 / Budget: unknown

#8 Obsessed Weekend Gross: $1,975,000, down 57% / Theaters: 1603, down 1031 / Gross $65,883,000 / Budget: $20 million

#9 Monsters Vs. Aliens Weekend Gross: $1,417,000, down 55% / Theaters: 1434, down 517 / Gross $193,063,000 / Budget: $175 million

#10 17 Again Weekend Gross: $1,010,000 down 70% / Theaters: 1107, down 1343 / Gross $60,319,000 / Budget: unknown

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:

Box Office Mojo

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Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Terminator Salvation

As Terminator Salvation opens, we’re first introduced to Marcus Wright, a death row prisoner who has signed an agreement with Cyberdyne Systems before his execution in the year 2004- then we fast forward to 2018 and center in on John Connor and the Resistance after a disastrous confrontation with Connor the only one left standing. But after Connor is taken away, we soon see that one other has also survived- Marcus Wright! Connor’s taken to other Resistance leaders and a plan is revealed that they hope will stop the machines once and for all, with eventually both paths crossing and along the way, the search for Connor’s father, a teenaged Kyle Reese, also takes place.

That’s a very brief synopsis for Terminator Salvation the fourth movie in the Terminator franchise, and the start of a new direction for the franchise while trying to maintain some of the same elements that have kept this venerable series strong- and I think it’s just a terrifically fun movie…

The director who goes by the name McG is responsible for this, and I know that name didn’t exactly give me the greatest confidence in the world going in, but I have to say, I think he’s made a hell of a piece here- a great action ride with an emotional center that to me is reminiscent in a way of the original James Cameron films, but also moving in some new directions, though it’s ultimate resolution (in future movies) should just be in one direction.

This is a terrific looking movie, with some solid action set pieces (a couple of which puts me in the mind of George Miller’s Mad Max films and a nice weaving of both Connor’s and Wright’s story’s, though Wright’s story is the bigger deal. Everything works really well on a technical level and that of course is really cool to see. McG is well aided with a nice score from Danny Elfman that certainly knows it’s part of a bigger story, and uses Brad Fiedel’s original Terminator music as well.

There’s certainly been a lot of press lip service about Christian Bale, mostly around his now infamous confrontation with a crew member on the set, which really meant a whole lot of nothing to me, as just a point used by the press and the internet community to bring this big star down a peg or two. What really matters is what’s on-screen, and while this may not rack up to what Bale has accomplished with the Batman movies, what he does here is set a solid foundation for (hopefully) what’s to come in future movies. Bale’s outshone in this movie, by actor Sam Worthington who plays Marcus Wright, and Worthington is just solid gold here, as both an action presence and being the real emotional center of the film. Anton Yelchin, who’s really having a good summer with this and the Star Trek movie, plays the young Kyle Reese, and he’s obviously looked at what Michael Biehn has done with the original, and does a great job with the part. There’s solid support work from Bryce Dallas Howard (playing Connor’s wife Kate), Michael Ironside, Common and Moon Bloodgood (what a name). Helena Bonham Carter and Jane Alexander are also in the movie, in real glorified cameos, though Carter’s is the bigger part and the more meaningful one here- Alexander’s is more a walkthrough, but I see it as a set-up again for future installments. Still, this is a solid cast…

… and as I said at the top of this, a really fun movie with a lot of very cool nods to the other films (mostly the first), lots of great action bits and a new direction to take this in to what should be it’s ultimate resolution once all is said and done. I’ve heard that it’s getting all sorts of bad reviews, but I just don’t get it, I was solidly entertained by this new direction and think the set-up is there for more cool stuff in the future and of course this is, from me anyway, a highly recommended film…

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Weekend Box Office For May 15 – 17

#1 Angels and Demons from Sony debuts at #1 this weekend earning $46.2 million in 3527 theaters. Budget for Angels was $150 million.

#2 Star Trek from Paramount just loses the #1 spot this weekend earning $43 million in 3860 theaters. Total earnings for Trek is $147 million. Budget for Trek is unknown.

#3 X-Men Origins: Wolverine from Fox drops to #3 this weekend earning $14 million in 3892 theaters bringing its total to $150 million. Budget for Wolverine was $150 million.

#4 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past from Warner Bros. slips to #4 this weekend earning $6.6 million in 3150 theaters bringing total earnings to $39.8 million. Budget for Ghosts is unknown.

#5 Obsessed from Screen Gems drops to #5 this weekend earning $4.5 million, bringing its total to $62 million in 2634 theaters. Budget for Obsessed was $20 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#6 17 Again Weekend Gross: $3,368,189 down 20% / Theaters: 2450, down 453 / Gross $58,363,111 / Budget: unknown

#7 Monsters Vs. Aliens Weekend Gross: $3,182,085, down 2% / Theaters: 1951, down 234 / Gross $190,733,766 / Budget: $175 million

#8 The Soloist Weekend Gross: $2,402,801 down 39% / Theaters: 2022, down 68 / Gross $27,505,154 / Budget: unknown

#9 Next Day Air Weekend Gross: $2,244,878, down 45% / Theaters: 1139, up 1 / Gross $7,613,221 / Budget: unknown

#10 Earth Weekend Gross: $1,697,956, down 36% / Theaters: 1,584, down 210 / Gross $29,088,771 / Budget: unknown

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:

Box Office Mojo

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Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Angels & Demons

The Pope has died, and as the Vatican prepares to name his successor from four possible candidates, they find themselves under attack and their candidates kidnapped by what appears to be a resurrection of The Illuminati. Now, Professor Robert Langdon finds himself recruited by The Vatican, even after his last escapade with them, in order to save the kidnapped and ultimately Vatican City.

That’s a real simplified premise for Angels & Demons, Ron Howard’s sequel to The Da Vinci Code both adaptations of Dan Brown’s books, and at least in my opinion, a better movie than The Da Vinci Code.

Howard packs quite a bit in this film and even with a 2 hour and 20 minute run time, it runs at a pretty brisk pace, especially in comparison to the prior film, and the main reason for that is more a focus on keeping this closer to an action film, and it doesn’t hurt here at all.

Tom Hanks returns to play the part of Langdon, and while this is no real stretch of Hanks’ skills, he’s rock solid in the part. He’s backed up with an international cast including Ewan McGregor, Avelut Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard and Armin Mueller-Stahl and they all do what’s asked of them here pretty well, especially McGregor and Skarsgard, though really this doesn’t necessarily ask that much of them, other than to fill the stock parts of a thriller.

I’ve not read the books, so I can’t say anything as to how faithful they are. And even though I enjoyed this, I do have one complaint and that’s that it’s red herring ending is a little too obvious when it happens- this moment happens, seems like it could be logical, but deep down you know it’s not and that more has to come about . It still works here, but just seems a little too familiar.

Still though, Angels & Demons is a nice diversion and I do recommend it, but your mileage may vary depending on what you thought of both the books and the prior adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. From what I’ve read, it you’re expecting a hardcore adaptation, you might really be disappointed. I wouldn’t really say that this is “must see” summer movie viewing, but still I had a good time with it.

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Weisz, Jackman, Pattinson join Stowe on "Captives"

Variety reports that Madeleine Stowe’s (Bad Girls, The General’s Daughter) period drama Unbound Captives is ready to go.

Starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson Unbound Captives will mark Stowe’s directorial debut and is based on an original script she wrote. Gil Netter and Grant Hill will produce along side Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment.

Stowe originaly wrote the script in conjunction with her husband Brian Benben in 1993 (under the pseudonym O.C. Humphrey) as a star vehicle for herself. Fox offered her $3 million and then later $5 million for the property, with Ridley Scott set to direct and Russell Crowe to star, but she refused both offers because there was no guarantee that she would get anything more than a screenwriter credit, deciding instead to helm the piece herself. The offer represented one of the highest sums ever offered to a new writer

The movie concerns a woman (written for Stowe, now to be played by Weisz) whose husband is killed and her two children kidnapped by a Comanche war party in 1859. She is rescued by a frontiersman, to be played by Jackman. Pattinson is set to play the son.

The movie is scheduled to begin shooting at the end of the year.

Source:

Variety

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Weekend Box Office For May 8 – 10

#1 Star Trek from Paramount makes a strong start in the box office this weekend earning $72.5 million in 3849 theaters. Budget for Trek is unknown.

#2 X-Men Origins: Wolverine from Fox holds on to a solid #2 this weekend earning $27 million in 4102 theaters. Budget for Wolverine was $150 million.

#3 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past from Warner Bros. slips to #3 this weekend earning $10.4 million in 3175 theaters bringing total earnings to $30.2 million. Budget for Ghosts is unknown.

#4 Obsessed from Screen Gems drops to #4 this weekend earning $6.6 million, bringing its total to $56 million in 2602 theaters. Budget for Obsessed was $20 million.

#5 17 Again from Warner Bros drops to #5 earning $4.4 million for a total of $54.1 million. 17 showed in 2903 theaters. Budget for 17 is unknown.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#6 Next Day Air Weekend Gross: $4,000,000 / Theaters: 1138 / Gross $4,000,000 / Budget: unknown

#7 The Soloist Weekend Gross: $3,605,000 down 36% / Theaters: 2090, up 57 / Gross $23,501,000 / Budget: unknown

#8 Monsters Vs. Aliens Weekend Gross: $3,379,000, down 41% / Theaters: 2,185, down 441 / Gross $186,892,000 / Budget: $175 million

#9 Earth Weekend Gross: $2,488,000, down 42% / Theaters: 1794, down 10 / Gross $26,086,000 / Budget: unknown

#10 Hannah Montana The Movie Weekend Gross: $2,414,000, down 42% / Theaters: 2301, down 518 / Gross $74,083,000 / Budget: unknown

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:

Box Office Mojo

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Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Star Trek

We’ll keep this pretty basic: A hell-bent on revenge Romulan named Nero has set his target on the Federation of Planets and in particular the planet Vulcan and through this, we see how the most familiar crew of the Starship Enterprise gets together in order to stop him…

… oh yeah, it’s also the re-vamp of a very tired franchise from one of the hottest creative forces in Hollywood today…

… and yes, it’s very good, really very good, I’m talking Wrath of Khan good…

Star Trek from director J.J. Abrams has been much anticipated by yours truly since he first heard that Abrams was involved with it. And the ideas that Abrams had about using a very young cast, re-casting the roles of the original series was to me anyway, the shot in the arm that this venerable franchise really needed. I originally wanted him to go further and pretty much ignore everything but the basics and just put his stamp on it. But Abrams and his writing team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (his co-conspirators on Fringe) decided to tie it in with original continuity as well, and though I thought it might hurt it to saddle it with that, I’ve got to say that I thought the end result was very satisfying- they’ve essentially found a way to do a new version and still keep the continuity of the old intact.

This is a packed movie- there’s a lot that’s happening here and to Abrams’ credit, I’m amazed at how much he does pack into this slightly over two hour long film. Every one of the main characters gets their shot on the screen with obviously Kirk and Spock getting the most time, but still no one else is left wanting. On top of that, the ideas of the future that Gene Roddenberry had are still very much intact, but this is paced in such a way, that at least in my eyes, it becomes a Star Trek that’s made more for an audience that’s more weened on and accepting of the Star Wars movies more.

The look of the movie is very fresh for the franchise, it’s bright and colorful and goes for shots that you haven’t necessarily seen before in the series. It retains some familiarity with the basic shape of the Enterprise, the structure of such things as the bridge of the ship and the transporter room, but allows itself to get a little more industrial with the engineering section. My favorite salute to the original series though is retaining the look of the classic series uniforms, though there are differences there too, but here, they look fresher than they ever have before.

High marks also for frequent Abrams co-conspirator Michael Giacchino’s music score, who keeps things sounding majestic and exciting and waiting until the exact right moments before some familiar sounds come to the forefront.

But where I give this real high marks is in this great cast that Abrams has assembled to reprise some classic roles- Chris Pine, who plays James T. Kirk has said that he hadn’t seen any of what William Shatner had done on the series prior to this, and he offers up something fresh, but thanks to the script and the direction, he has moments that feel you’re seeing that character start out in some familiar ways. Zachary Quinto, who we better know as Sylar from the Heroes TV series is Spock and he’s just dead on, and yet some new elements have been introduced for him that again makes this both familiar and fresh at the same time. Karl Urban plays Dr. Leonard McCoy and next to Simon Pegg playing Scotty, both look like they’re having the most fun in the world with their parts. Zoe Saldana plays Lt. Uhura, and her part is probably the one that gets the most expanded and updated from any of the main cast of the original series- she’s smart and sexy, and obviously gets to do a whole lot more than just open hailing frequencies. John Cho plays Sulu, and though probably the most quiet of the original crew re-vamps still has a strong inner confidence thanks to Cho. My one problem with the movie, and it’s a moot one, is with Anton Yelchin and his dialogue as Pavel Chekov- and it’s probably not so much with Yelchin in the part, but the fact that they insisted on really going overboard with Chekov’s mangling of “v’s” with “w’s” in his dialogue, and I’m just hoping they’ve gotten that out of their systems with this movie, and hopefully moving forward might temper this a bit more- like I said my only problem with the film, but still this is a very satisfying experience.

That’s just the main crew though, and it’s nice to see that Abrams decided to populate the rest of the film with some more familiar faces. Bruce Greenwood is always a rock in whatever he does and he’s no different as Captain Christopher Pike here. Ben Cross and Winona Ryder are quite solid as Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda, so no complaints there. but finally though, we have Leonard Nimoy as Spock and Eric Bana as Nero, and I have to say they’re both terrific, though one might’ve wanted one more scene for Bana. His Nero character is adequately explained here, but one more scene to punctuate that wouldn’t have hurt- and Nimoy reprising Spock in the context of this script is just fantastic, his final line… a great passing of the torch moment.

I was a huge Star Trek fan back when I was a younger, not during the original series run, but more discovering it when it ran in syndication and for years it was a huge influence on me. I loved the original crew movies (though will admit that The Final Frontier was the weakest of the bunch) and The Wrath of Khan was at the time a near-religious experience when I first saw it. I liked the Next Generation stuff when it started, more I think just for the excitement of having a new Star Trek again, though there was certainly a lot of good stuff over it’s run, but I thought that Rick Berman eventually drove this franchise into the ground, and it got more tired and antiseptic as other things like Babylon 5, Farscape, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica showed you could be more fresh and exciting with set-ups that owed to what Star Trek originally established. As the Next Generation movies came out, this got more staid and it was sad to see (at least in my eyes).

Well, no more… J.J. Abrams has truly delivered with Star Trek with an exciting story, incredible visual effects and most importantly a fantastic new cast in the parts of the very classic of all of the characters. This is the movie that I’ve been wanting to see for this franchise and it’s just terrific fun and the promise is there again. The only shame is that it will probably be another three years before we see another one, and this cast is so good that I just want to see another one with them a lot sooner than later…

Star Trek is back! And I for one couldn’t be more excited… if you can’t guess, this gets my highest recommendation- don’t miss it!

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Dom DeLuise dies at 75

According to CNN comic legend Dom DeLuise died Monday. While cause of death was not released DeLuise had been battling cancer for more than a year.

Dominic DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 1, 1933. In the 1960s he had bit parts in a handful of movies, including Fail Safe, but became well known as a regular on The Entertainers. In the ’70s DeLuise became a staple in Mel Brooks’ films, appearing in Blazing Saddles and Silent Movie among several others. He was also famous for playing off straight man Burt Reynolds but he proved he could play more serious roles in the 1980 when he took the lead in Fatso, in which he played an overweight man trying to wean himself from comfort food. The film was directed by Brooks’ then wife, Anne Bancroft. A role which would have really struck home with the actor as he struggled with his own weight. DeLuise told Larry King that after meeting Luciano Pavarotti he realized that he had become powerless over food.

DeLuise was also a talented voice actor appearing in six animated features including An American Tail and The Secret of NIMH.

The multi-talented DeLuise also penned seven children’s books and several cook books.

DeLuise had three sons, Peter, Michael and David, all of whom became actors and directors. He told Larry King that it was the the joy of his life to work with his oldest son, Peter, when he directed the film Second Nature.

Source:
CNN

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Weekend Box Office For May 1 – 3

#1 X-Men Origins: Wolverine from Fox dominates the box office this weekend earning $87 million in 4099 theaters. Budget for Wolverine was $150 million.

#2 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past from Warner Bros. debuts at #2 this weekend earning $15.3 million in 3175 theaters. Budget for Ghosts is unknown.

#3 Obsessed from Screen Gems drops to #3 this weekend earning $12.2 million, bringing its total to $47 million in 2514 theaters. Budget for Obsessed was $20 million.

#4 17 Again from Warner Bros drops to #4 earning $6.3 million for a total of $48.4 million. 17 showed in 3255 theaters. Budget for 17 is unknown.

#5 Monsters Vs Aliens from Buena Vista climbs back into the top #5 this weekend earning $5.8 million, bringing total earnings to $182.4 million. Monsters showed in 2626 theaters. Budget for Monsters was $175 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

#6 The Soloist Weekend Gross: $5,600,000 down 42% / Theaters: 2033, up 9 / Gross $18,108,000 / Budget: unknown

#7 Earth Weekend Gross: $4,184,000, down 52% / Theaters: 1804 / Gross $21,848,000 / Budget: unknown

#8 Fighting Weekend Gross: $4,173,000 down 62% / Theaters: 2312, up 3 / Gross $17,507,000 / Budget: unknown

#9 Hannah Montana The Movie Weekend Gross: $4,075,000, down 36% / Theaters: 2819, down 412 / Gross $70,857,000 / Budget: unknown

#10 State of Play Weekend Gross: $3,655,000, down 46% / Theaters: 2445, down 362 / Gross $30,883,000 / Budget: unknown

A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.

Sources:

Box Office Mojo