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Theatrical Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

A young orphaned boy, Dastan, living in the streets, displays an amazing bit of courage that impresses King Sharaman of Persia. The King, so impressed, adopts the boy and over the years, Dastan grows up to be a fine warrior and leader, though somewhat rougher around the edges than his brothers, Garsiv and Tus. Tus, the older brother is looking to expand the rule of the king and seeks to take the holy city of Alamut, though later we find out that this is against the wishes of the king, but still it’s happened and now it’s time to make the better of it. Along the way, we meet the beautiful Princess Tamina of Alamut, who’s also a guardian of something sacred within the city. Tus plans to make the Princess one of his wives, but the King has different plans and chooses to make her the wife of Dastan instead. At the presentation of the Princess to the King, the king dies under some mysterious circumstances and immediately everyone thinks Dastan is the one to have planned the murder. Now, Dastan and Tamina are on the run and Dastan seeks to bring the real murderer to justice. On their run, Dastan discovers what the princess was the guardian of, and there finds the real reason for the invasion of Alamut…

That’s the premise to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time the latest video game-to-movie adaptation to hit the big screen. It’s a pretty enjoyable romp, though there’s nothing of any real big surprise through the film. We know that Dastan will save the day. We know that he and the princess will eventually come together. And we know who will be uncovered as the real mastermind behind the plot to kill the king. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but the ride is fun getting there.

This is a big production from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, though it seems somewhat restrained in comparison to some of Bruckheimer’s other big action movies, and here that’s a pretty good thing, nothing ever really gets too overbearing.

That’s thanks to veteran director, Mike Newell, who’s basically making the type of movie that you’d see in the 40s, 50s and 60s but with today’s technology at his disposal. The production values are high, the effects are very good, and everything moves at a pretty even clip, all making for an entertaining adventure.

Now I’ve played a few Prince of Persia games in the past, though I’m certainly no expert on their history. I do know that through these games, with the exception of a couple, there’s little continuity between them. This movie does feature the involvement of the game series creator, Jordan Mechner, which for fans of the game will be welcome. They’ve basically (from what I understand) have created their own new story that borrows elements from past versions of the game and puts them together for something new here.

One of those elements, has always been that each Prince is a very nimble and athletic character, and it’s certainly put to good use here, using lots of factors from the sport of parkour. Now I’m sure some of these moments are helped out by visual effects, but others feel like they’re all done in-camera. The combination comes off well on the big-screen.

What also comes off well is the chemistry between our two leads, Dastan played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Tamina played by Gemma Arterton. I have to say, both actors look fantastic here, like they literally stepped out of the games into real life. Arterton, who we saw earlier in the year in Clash of the Titans is just stunningly beautiful, and she’s credible on screen (and as an aside, I personally think she’s someone who Warner Brothers and DC Comics should be eyeing to play Wonder Woman). Jake Gyllenhaal looks like he’s having a great time making this. He’s certainly had more meaningful work on the big screen, but I think he commits himself just as well to this pure popcorn material.

Ben Kingsley plays the Prince’s uncle, Nizam. We pretty much know the moment we see him, what sort of part he’ll play in the movie. He always brings a level of credibility to just about any part he plays. I almost wish he wasn’t cast here though, and someone less known would’ve been thrown into this part, just to maybe add a little more surprise to the film. It’s still solid work, just not as surprising as I would like. Alfred Molina is cast as Sheik Amar, a rogue “businessman” who Dastan and Tamina meet on the run. He really steals the show in just about every scene he’s in, bringing in just the right touch of humor without being obnoxious.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is solid B-movie fun. It doesn’t do anything new, but it doesn’t do anything wrong either and that’s a good combination for a summer popcorn film.

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Weekend Box Office: May 21-23

#1 Shrek Forever After from Paramount/Dreamworks debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $70.8 million in 4359 theaters. Budget was $165 million.

#2 Iron Man 2 from Paramount drops from #1 to #2 with a weekend gross of $26.3 million (-49.3%) in 4177 theaters (-213). Total gross to date is $251.0 million. Budget was $200 million.

#3 Robin Hood from Universal drops from #2 to #3 with a weekend gross of $18.7 million (-48.0%) in 3505 theaters (+2). Total gross to date is $66.6 million. Budget was $200 million.

#4 Letters to Juliet from Summit drops from #3 to #4 with a weekend gross of $9.0 million (-33.5%) in 2975 theaters (+7). Total gross to date is $27.3 million. Budget is unknown.

#5 Just Wright from Fox Spotlight dropss from #4 to #5 with a weekend gross of $4.2 million (-48.2%) in 1831 theaters (no change). Budget is unknown.

#6 MacGruber from Universal debuts at #6 with an opening weekend gross of $4.0 million in 2551 theaters. Budget was $10 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Date Night holds at #7 with a weekend gross of $2.9 million (-23.8%) in 1869 theaters (-612). Total gross to date is $90.7 million. Budget was $55 million.

#8 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) drops from #6 to #8 with a weekend gross of $2.3 million (-50.2%) in 2125 theaters (-950). Total gross to date is $59.9 million. Budget was $35 million.

#9 How to Train Your Dragon drops from #5 to #9 with a weekend gross of $1.9 million (-62.0%) in 1751 theaters (-869). Total gross to date is $210.9 million. Budget was $165 million.

#10 Kites debuts at #10 with an opening weekend gross of $0.9 million in 208 theaters. Budget is unknown.

#11 The Back-Up Plan drops from #8 to #11 with a weekend gross of $0.9 million (-60.5%) in 1079 theaters (-1418). Total gross to date is $35.9 million. Budget was $35 million.

#12 Babies holds at #12 with a weekend gross of $0.7 million (-27.2%) in 395 theaters (-148). Total gross to date is $5.1 million. Budget is unknown.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $143.0 million (+8.9%).

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

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Weekend Box Office: May 14 – 16

#1 Iron Man 2 from Paramount holds at #1 with a weekend gross of $52.0 million (-59.4%) in 4390 theaters (+10). Total gross to date is $211.2 million. Budget was $200 million.

#2 Robin Hood from Universal debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $36.0 million in 3503 theaters. Budget was $200 million.

#3 Letters to Juliet from Summit debuts at #3 with an opening weekend gross of $13.5 million in 2968 theaters. Budget is unknown.

#4 Just Wright from Fox Spotlight debuts at #4 with an opening weekend gross of $8.2 million in 1831 theaters. Budget is unknown.

#5 How to Train Your Dragon from Paramount/DreamWorks drops from #3 to #5 with a weekend gross of $5.0 million (-25.1%) in 2620 theaters (-383). Total gross to date is $207.6 million. Budget was $165 million.

#6 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) from Warner Brothers drops from #2 to #6 with a weekend gross of $4.6 million (-48.9%) in 3075 theaters (-257). Total gross to date is $48.4 million. Budget was $35 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Date Night drops from #4 to #7 with a weekend gross of $3.8 million (-29.8%) in 2481 theaters (-253). Total gross to date is $86.5 million. Budget was $55 million.

#8 The Back-Up Plan drops from #5 to #8 with a weekend gross of $2.3 million (-52.6%) in 2497 theaters (-506). Total gross to date is $34.1 million. Budget was $35 million.

#9 Furry Vengeance drops from #6 to #9 with a weekend gross of $2.2 million (-49.9%) in 2695 theaters (-307). Total gross to date is $15.0 million. Budget was $35 million.

#10 Clash of the Titans (2010) drops from #7 to #10 with a weekend gross of $1.2 million (-50.8%) in 1300 theaters (-857). Total gross to date is $160.1 million. Budget was $125 million.

#11 Death at a Funeral (2010) drops from #8 to #11 with a weekend gross of $1.1 million (-50.7%) in 1062 theaters (-644). Total gross to date is $40.4 million. Budget was $21 million.

#12 Babies drops from #9 to #12 with a weekend gross of $0.9 million (-53.9%) in 543 theaters (+9). Total gross to date is $3.8 million. Budget is unknown.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $131.4 million (-23.1%).

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: Robin Hood

King Richard The Lionheart is fighting an unpopular war with France. One of his best archers is a man named Robin Longstride. On a night before the big taking of a castle, King Richard wants to know what an honest man thinks of his war, and Robin Longstride, who’s just been in a tussle with a man named Little John, voices an incorrect opinion and finds himself along with his men then put into laughingstocks and made to sit out the taking of the castle. Well, King Richard gets killed and when word reaches Robin and his men, they immediately desert because their prospects of being payed by a dead king are pretty slim. Along the way back home to England. Robin and his men come across Sir Robin Loxley of Nottingham, one of the king’s most trusted men. Loxley and his men have been ambushed by the French as they’re along the way to return the king’s crown back to England. Robin Loxley is dying and in his final moments, he asks Robin Longstride to return his sword back to his father, Sir Walter Loxley. Robin Longstride agrees and he assumes the identity of Robin Loxley and makes his way back to England, where civil war is about to erupt.

That’s the premise to this newest version of Robin Hood from director Ridley Scott, writer Brian Helgeland and lead actor Russell Crowe. This movie attempts to give a new origin to the legend, but one that has a lot more weight to it than what previous films have done. What it does instead, at least for me, was deliver a huge mess, and at least in my mind, deliver the worst movie of the year so far.

This re-writes the legend in a big way. Now that prospect doesn’t really bother me as long as the creative team is committed to what they’re doing. For instance, Quentin Tarantino does it well with Inglourious Basterds, (though what he’s re-writing is based on fact) and I’m one of those who really appreciates Antoine Fuqua’s re-telling of the legend of King Arthur in King Arthur. But with Robin Hood, it appears that director Ridley Scott really doesn’t give a damn about even wanting to really deal so much with Robin Hood and more wants to do something that has a lot more angst to it and deliver his own very thinly veiled political message.

Now from what I understand, this movie has a pretty checkered history. Scott was (and again, this is all from what I understand) contracted to deliver a Robin Hood movie and the original film that he was going to do was going to have the same man in the role of both Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham, which of course, sounds like a pretty bad idea. There was also supposed to be some issues with Russell Crowe when he came on board (I think mostly around some weight gain that Crowe had for a prior film that he made with Scott) which in turn caused a re-casting of Lady Marion (played here by Cate Blanchett). These things don’t really give one a lot of confidence that it mattered to these guys about actually wanting to tell the story of Robin Hood, so they came up with their own way of doing it.

Now that’s fine and dandy if they commit to what they’re doing, and as the movie plays out, this first seems to be like it will be a watchable version of the story, though unremarkable when compared to the other Robin Hood films. But then we get to the end of the movie… and oh man…

The last five minutes of the movie betrays everything that’s been set up in the prior two hours and basically tries to set Robin Hood back to it’s status quo, with Robin still considered one of the greatest of outlaws. The ending here absolutely makes no sense, especially considering what has happened to get it to this place. This ending feels very tacked on. It’s like Universal wanted to set this up for a possible franchise, Scott didn’t give a damn about that, told the story that he wanted to tell, and then made it safe for Universal to pursue a series if they wanted to. Who cares if it made any sense?

The real shame is that you have a lot of talented people connected to this and it just didn’t seem like anyone’s heart was actually in it, except for the craftsmen who were trying to make sure that it was technically proficient and some of the supporting cast who genuinely look like they’re trying to make the best of what they can with the situation.

Crowe’s Robin is a uninspired (and I say this as a fan of his prior work). There’s really nothing in the opening of the piece that makes you as an audience member want to really get behind him. Points come out along the way to try and rally you behind him, but Crowe just doesn’t feel like his heart is in this, except for a few moments when he has some scenes with Max Von Sydow, who plays Sir Walter Loxley. Cate Blanchett does the best that she can with this, but there is really no chemistry between her and Crowe. Scenes between the two that are meant to evoke some sort of emotion and eroticism basically fall flat and are pretty boring. You just want to move on to the next scene. Mark Strong is in this film (I think he’s supposed to be in every big movie these days), playing the villainous Godfrey and Englishman who has an allegiance to the French. Again, Strong does his best with what’s here, but what’s here isn’t so much a character as a plot device and so this villain doesn’t really have a lot of fire to him.

There’s better work from the support here. Kevin Durand and Mark Addy are really well-cast as both Little John and Friar Tuck. Scott Grimes and Alan Doyle are also well cast as Will Scarlet and Allan A’Dayle. These four are the actual “Merry Men” of the piece and they’re the only ones who look like they’re actually bringing any fun to the movie, something this sorely lacks. I mentioned Max Von Sydow above, and he’s also solid in his part, and for the age of his character actually brings a lot of life to the piece. There’s also appearances by William Hurt as William Marshal and Danny Huston as King Richard The Lionheart and they’re both solid, though I think Huston fares a little better.

In the end, this was for me a huge mess. It’s few bright spots are limited to it’s technical proficiency and some of the supporting work. There’s no real chemistry or passion amongst it’s leads and there’s just no sense of fun. Deconstruction is certainly the rage these days in lots of forms of entertainment. I think it works best though when there’s still some sort of semblance in place to the source and there’s little of that here. The biggest thing missing though is any sort of sense of fun and any sort of passion for the source. Kevin Costner’s version, Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves is a much maligned movie (though I don’t get it, I loved it), and by the end of this movie, it just made me want to re-visit that all the more. This movie is an inflated waste of talent, and for me, so far the worst movie of the year.

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Weekend Box Office: May 7 – 9

#1 Iron Man 2 from Paramount debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $128.1 million in 4380 theaters. Budget was $200 million.

#2 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) from Warner Brothers drops from #1 to #2 with a weekend gross of $9.1 million (-72.3%) in 3332 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $48.4 million. Budget was $35 million.

#3 How to Train Your Dragon from Paramount/DreamWorks drops from #2 to #3 with a weekend gross of $6.6 million (-37.1%) in 3003 theaters (-423). Total gross to date is $201 million. Budget was $165 million.

#4 Date Night from Fox drops from #3 to #4 with a weekend gross of $5.4 million (-28.1%) in 2734 theaters (-359). Total gross to date is $81 million. Budget was $55 million.

#5 The Back-Up Plan from CBS drops from #4 to #5 with a weekend gross of $5.0 million (-30.6%) in 3003 theaters (-277). Total gross to date is $30.1 million. Budget was $35 million.

#6 Furry Vengeance from Summit Entertainment drops from #5 to #6 with a weekend gross of $4.4 million (-32.4%) in 3002 theaters (+5). Total gross to date is $12.1 million. Budget was $35 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Clash of the Titans (2010) holds at #7 with a weekend gross of $2.5 million (-57.2%) in 2157 theaters (-580). Total gross to date is $158 million. Budget was $125 million.

#8 Death at a Funeral (2010) jumps from #9 to #8 with a weekend gross of $2.3 million (-44.0%) in 1706 theaters (-565). Total gross to date is $38.5 million. Budget was $21 million.

#9 Babies debuts at #9 with an opening weekend gross of $2.1 million in 534 theaters. Budget is unknown.

#10 The Losers drops from #6 to #10 with a weekend gross of $1.8 million (-68.6%) in 2450 theaters (-486). Total gross to date is $21.4 million. Budget was $25 million.

#11 Oceans drops from #10 to #11 with a weekend gross of $1.6 million (-37.4%) in 1232 theaters (+22). Total gross to date is $16.1 million. Budget was $80 million.

#12 Kick-Ass drops from #8 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.5 million (-66.7%) in 1759 theaters (-783). Total gross to date is $45.2 million. Budget was $30 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $170.8 million (+86.4%).

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: Iron Man 2

It’s been six months since Tony Stark has revealed to the world that he is Iron Man. In that time, Iron Man has become a deterrent to other nations aggressive to the United States. That isn’t enough for the United States though, as they want Stark to fully turn over the Iron Man armor to them. Stark won’t do it though, claiming that he and the armor are one and the same, though there may be more nobler intentions than that. The power source of the armor is infecting Stark and raising his blood toxicity levels, though he’s keeping that little fact to himself. Other nations, and even another American defense contractor, Justin Hammer, are trying to develop their own Iron Man-type of armor but with little success. But success does come to one, a Russian named Ivan Vanko who has his own grudge against Stark.

That’s the premise to Iron Man 2 from Marvel Entertainment and director Jon Favreau and it’s a far better movie than what I thought it was going to be based around it’s initial trailer. I was sort of turned off by it’s initial trailer and seeing the more flippant images of Robert Downey Jr. in his confrontation with the government. i was half expecting in those scenes for him to suddenly turn into Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack and at the end turn to the crowd and say to everyone “Now let’s all go back to my place and get laid!” But, those trailer scenes are fortunately shown out of context from the main movie, and so as they play in the main movie, there’s actually a little more subtext to them.

This doesn’t quite have the same impact that the original film had, but I don’t think that that’s a bad thing at all. What it does well though is present a continuing story of the character that’s really more on the mark with the original comic material. Further, it expands the mythology that Marvel is shooting for with the films that they’re actually producing around their characters. It stands alone well as another Iron Man film, but I think it’s even richer as part of the bigger picture that Marvel is painting.

I think some of it’s quieter scenes could’ve been tightened up a bit and I certainly wouldn’t have minded maybe another earlier action sequence with Iron Man, but still what’s here is a lot of fun. Director Favreau is obviously committed to what he’s doing with Marvel and I think the evidence is right up there on the screen. It’s as technically proficient as these movies come.

Robert Downey Jr. really has found a good character for himself in Tony Stark. Yeah, sure there’s a lot that’s over-the-top with the character, but I also think that there’s some considerable subtlety that he’s displaying as well. Most of that comes into play when Stark has his dealings with Nick Fury and SHIELD. Stark gets a little humbled by that, though he certainly still has his own brand of bravado. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau are back from the original cast, reprising their characters of Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, and they’re both solid. Also we have Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg back respectively as SHEILD’s leader Nick Fury and Agent Colson and though their scenes are fewer than the rest of the cast’s, they’re still a lot of fun when they come up.

New to this series though are actors Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson. Cheadle takes over the part of James Rhodes, established in the first film by actor Terence Howard. This won’t stand out as one of Cheadle’s great roles, but he’s rock solid in the part and looking like he’s having some genuine fun when he’s in his own armor. Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko and he brings some nice weight to the film. He’s essentially been billed as playing a villain from the comics called Whiplash, though in the actual comics, Vanko was the inventor of the Crimson Dynamo armor and as the movie plays out, that’s more evident to longtime fans. Sam Rockwell plays industrialist Justin Hammer and he certainly brings a lot of smarm to the part and he does it in an entertaining fashion. My personal favorite of the new additions is Scarlett Johansson. She plays a character named Natalie Rushman, who’s really a SHIELD agent named Natasha Romanoff who in the comics is also known as the Black Widow. Now, on the acting front, she’s serviceable here, but then again it’s not her movie. She fills a role for the film and the mythology and that’s fine. But she does have presence and that’s considerable. She’s certainly beautiful and physically, she sort of reminds me of the days when John Byrne drew the character over in the pages of Marvel’s Champions comic. She, at least to me, drew my attention every time she was on screen and I also think she has the best single action scene of the whole film.

Iron Man 2 is a lot of big fun and I certainly think it’s a step in the right direct yet again for Marvel’s own movies. It may not carry the impact as the first movie did, but I think in Marvel’s big picture, it’ll fit just fine and add to the richness of the cinema mythology that they’re building. If you’re planning to see this, well stay through the entire credits as you’ll get a nice taste of what’s to come from them next year. Good stuff here… go see it.

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Weekend Box Office: April 30 – May 2

#1 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) from Warner Brothers debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $32.9 million in 3332 theaters. Budget was $35 million.

#2 How to Train Your Dragon from Paramount/DreamWorks drops from #1 to #2 with a weekend gross of $10.6 million (-30.9%) in 3426 theaters (-239). Total gross to date is $192.1 million. Budget was $165 million.

#3 Date Night from Fox holds at #3 with a weekend gross of $7.5 million (-27.6%) in 3093 theaters (-201). Total gross to date is $73.6 million. Budget was $55 million.

#4 The Back-Up Plan from CBS drops from #2 to #4 with a weekend gross of $7.2 million (-40.5%) in 3280 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $22.9 million. Budget was $35 million.

#5 Furry Vengeance from Summit Entertainment debuts at #5 with an opening weekend gross of $6.6 million in 2997 theaters. Budget was $35 million.

#6 The Losers from Warner Brothers drops from #4 to #6 with a weekend gross of $5.8 million (-37.4%) in 2936 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $18.0 million. Budget was $25 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Clash of the Titans (2010) drops from #6 to #7 with a weekend gross of $5.8 million (-34.4%) in 2737 theaters (-534). Total gross to date is $153.9 million. Budget was $125 million.

#8 Kick-Ass drops from #5 to #8 with a weekend gross of $4.5 million (-51.7%) in 2542 theaters (-523). Total gross to date is $42.2 million. Budget was $30 million.

#9 Death at a Funeral (2010) drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $4.1 million (-48.6%) in 2271 theaters (-188). Total gross to date is $34.9 million. Budget was $21 million.

#10 Oceans drops from #8 to #10 with a weekend gross of $2.5 million (-57.7%) in 1210 theaters (+4). Total gross to date is $13.4 million. Budget was $80 million.

#11 The Last Song drops from #9 to #11 with a weekend gross of $2.2 million (-40.0%) in 2276 theaters (-518). Total gross to date is $58.6 million. Budget was $20 million.

#12 Alice in Wonderland (2010) drops from #10 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.4 million (-34.7%) in 1050 theaters (-335) . Total gross to date is $329.6 million. Budget was $200 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $91.6 million (+2.2%).

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

Sources:
Box Office Mojo