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Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Saw 3D

When last we left off with Saw VI, Detective Marc Hoffman had been discovered as the one continuing the deadly Jigsaw killings. John Kramer’s wife, Jill Tuck was on her way fulfilling her husband’s final wish and taking care of Hoffman, who in his role as Jigsaw (Kramer’s successor) had been subverting the message that Jigsaw had originally intended with his deadly “games.” Hoffman had been left in one of Jigsaw’s reverse bear traps and managed to escape his final fate.

After two initial scenes, a short one that gives the promise to answer the series’ longest standing question of “Whatever happened to Doctor Lawrence Gordon” and an extended scene with another Jigsaw killing about to take place in an all-too-public location, we pick right back up, immediately after the final events of Saw VI. As with the other films in the series, this is a direct continuation, that answers some question and puts in some new elements while continuing it’s Grand Guignol thrill ride.

Saw 3D is the supposedly the final film in the series and it does offer a final resolution, though it’s also left itself a way to continue if the producers chose to continue. I love the series, I have since the start, and even though I’ll miss it, I do hope this is the final chapter.

Many critics dismiss the series as “torture porn,” it’s their way of telling us that they’re above something they perceive as this tawdry. I certainly get it, but disagree with it. I’m guilty of it in my own way as well, just reacting in horror whenever I see a new “comedy” come around with a Seth Rogen, or Zack Galifianakis or Jack Black or a new “romantic comedy” with Katherine Heigl or Jennifer Aniston. So I do get it, and grudgingly accept it, but am quick to defend the Saw series whenever I can. What’s been crafted here over the series of seven movies has been a highly intricate horror epic bathed in ridiculous violence. Sure the violence is ridiculous, but in my eyes, no more ridiculous in it’s own way than seeing a man fly in a comic book movie. This is a trapping that goes with the genre, it’s just a matter of how it’s used. The Saw series has always managed it well, though some fans will debate how well, between movies. But seen as a single piece, it’s been remarkably consistent and always well-crafted.

Even though the series has had three directors over time, the visual style and methods of storytelling have remained uniform and the look has always been on point. The over-arcing story is as intricate as any of Jigsaw’s deathtrap games. Charlie Clouser has provided strong and effective scores with each film, and you just wait for the signature theme to come into play when all of the pieces come together. On top of that, the series has never gone with any “star” actors, but those who have been part of it have been consistently strong and have willingly come back to play in this bloody sandbox.

The new wrinkle added this time is using a character who has falsely admitted to being a survivor of one of Jigsaw’s deathtraps. He’s now profiting from his lie and Jigsaw attempts to teach him a lesson. On it’s own, this would be another faction of the story, but because it’s also intertwined with answering the question of what happened to Dr. Lawrence Gordon, it has a little more significance. The question of Gordon does get answered and while I doubt that it will be of any surprise to long-time fans of the series (it wasn’t to me), it’s still satisfying in that the final story does come full circle. There’s not really any cheats here either, as Dr. Gordon has been mentioned in every film, so eventually it made sense that events would come back around to him. Hearing that this would be the final movie in advance, I was hoping to see actor Cary Elwes as part of the show again, and he does.

Elwes is here for a few brief scenes, and does a great job in those few scenes. Also returning are Tobin Bell as Kramer, Costas Mandylor as Hoffman and Betsy Russell as Jill Tuck. there’s a few other familiar faces as well, either as background characters or some of the other Jigsaw survivors attending a seminar given by our newest character, Bobby Dagen, played by Sean Patrick Flanery. While no one will win any awards for this, it’s all solid work, though I do want to call attention to one player, that being Tobin Bell. Bell’s only here for a couple of brief moments but his presence is felt throughout the entire film. Bell’s been kicking around out there forever in various character parts and it’s been nice to see him get his due with this series. He plays the very best kind of villain, one that knows what he’s doing is absolutely and uncompromisingly right. He has has his own brand of charisma that’s certainly made sense to the others that have followed him. As I said, his scenes are minimal here (though that’s understandable, his character has been dead since Saw 3), but because this is the last of the series, I wanted to give him special credit for what he’s brought to the table.

Where this fails, though it doesn’t hurt it’s story, is that it’s presented in 3D and from what i understand, only in 3D. The 3D here is not necessary at all and it’s just not used well. Oh there’s a couple of scenes where it’s not too bad, but in comparison to other recent 3D horror movies like The Final Destination or Piranha 3D it still falls extremely short. If you’re going to use 3D in something like this, then wallow in it. Absolutely glorify the killings as much as you can and take full advantage of every trick in order to bring the impact. This doesn’t do it, and because of that and because seeing it in the more expensive 3D presentation is from what I understand the only way to see it, this gets a lower rating.

For fans, it’s still a great capper and it’s final scene is absolutely terrific. For the uninitiated, you’ll be hopelessly lost without seeing the other films, so unless you want to make that effort, don’t bother. With the exception of the poor 3D, I was captivated from the start and so this still gets a strong recommendation, but beware, you will have to pay a higher price for it.

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Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #6

Tony, Jonathan, and Andrew are back for another week of box office prognostication.

You can still donate to Virtual SausageFest until October 31.

Before we can get down to business this week there is an airing of secrets and grievances. Andrew is slowly going mad from hearing how poorly he speaks, Tony takes joy crushing his players and Jonathon feels wronged by his co-hosts.

Tony breaks his slump by nailing #3 thru #5 and walking away with 60%. While Jonathan and Andrew only pick up 40% as Secretariat comes up short.

After marveling at Paranormal Activity 2’s success and pondering if the Saw franchise has any life left in it we get down to business and make our picks for this weekend.

Tony and Andrew have nothing to argue about this week as they make identical picks:

  1. Paranormal Activity 2
  2. Saw 3-D
  3. Jackass 3-D
  4. Red
  5. Hereafter

Jonathan brings his ‘A’ game this week and feels that Red will hold steady while Knoxville et al go plunging past:

  1. Paranormal Activity 2
  2. Saw 3-D
  3. Red
  4. Jackass 3-D
  5. Hereafter

Will this be the week we finally break through the 60% barrier?!?

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News

Weekend Box Office: October 22-24

#1 Paranormal Activity 2 from Paramount debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $40.6 million in 3216 theaters. Budget was $3 million.

#2 Jackass 3-D from Paramount drops from #1 to #2 with a weekend gross of $21.3 million (-57.7%) in 3111 theaters (+30). Total gross to date is $86.8 million. Budget was $20 million.

#3 RED from Summit drops from #2 to #3 with a weekend gross of $15.0 million (-30.9%) in 3273 theaters (+18). Total gross to date is $43.5 million. Budget was $58 million.

#4 Hereafter from Warner Brothers jumps from #28 to #4 with a weekend gross of $12.0 million (+5,354.8%) in 2181 theaters (+2175). Total gross to date is $12.3 million. Budget was $50 million.

#5 The Social Network from Sony drops from #3 to #5 with a weekend gross of $7.2 million (-29.5%) in 2921 theaters (+53). Total gross to date is $72.9 million. Budget was $50 million.

#6 Secretariat from Buena Vista drops from #4 to #6 with a weekend gross of $7.0 million (-24.9%) in 3108 theaters (+36). Total gross to date is $37.4 million. Budget was $35 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Life as We Know It drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $6.1 million (-31.5%) in 3019 theaters (-131). Total gross to date is $37.6 million. Budget was $38 million.

#8 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole drops from #6 to #8 with a weekend gross of $3.2 million (-23.2%) in 2236 theaters (-266). Total gross to date is $50.2 million. Budget was $80 million.

#9 The Town drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $2.7 million (-30.9%) in 1918 theaters (-450). Total gross to date is $84.6 million. Budget was $37 million.

#10 Easy A drops from #9 to #10 with a weekend gross of $1.7 million (-33.6%) in 1632 theaters (-682). Total gross to date is $54.7 million. Budget was $8 million.

#11 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps drops from #10 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.2 million (-47.3%) in 1255 theaters (-790). Total gross to date is $50.0 million. Budget was $70 million.

#12 My Soul to Take drops from #8 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.0 million (-66.2%) in 1689 theaters (-840). Total gross to date is $13.9 million. Budget was $25 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $119.5 million (-).

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

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Paranormal Activity 2

Last year, the original Paranormal Activity was the little movie that could. Made for an extremely low budget and utilizing a mostly word-of-mouth marketing campaign, the first was a huge success. Deservedly so as well, as the first is one very fun movie, one of my favorites from last year.

Now the second film is here, almost a year to the date from the first and it has a lot to live up to. And it does, serving up a film that serves as both prequel and sequel all in one.

Now I knew little of what this was about before going to see it, and absolutely zero when it comes to it’s story. I’m going to reveal a little something ahead here with the brief synopsis, so if you want to go into this cold, I’d advise skipping the next paragraph.

As this starts, we’re introduced to Christina and her family. Christina is coming home from the hospital with her brand new baby son, Hunter. Soon, the family experiences a weird break-in into their house and as a result of that, they install a series of six surveillance cameras to keep a record of what’s happening. Well, as this unfolds, we find out that Christina is actually Katie’s sister from the first movie and soon both Katie and her boyfriend Micah both show up to visit the family, where it’s then revealed that this takes place 60 days before the death of Micah Sloat. Weird things continue to happen which leads Christina to believe that this has something to do with the weirdness that she and Katie used to experience when they were little girls.

OK, so that’s it, no more about the story, if you want to find out more than seek it out on the internet or better yet go see it yourself. I was not expecting this close a tie-in to the first movie and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised by it.

Like the previous film, this is made of “found footage,” which of course has become it’s own sub-genre in this type of thriller. Where this ups the ante from the first is in it’s use of six stationary cameras this time around and only using one handheld. I also tend to think it’s there to strike back against the critics that will complain about the camera jumping around too much. Though I also tend to think that this won’t satisfy them either. Really, if you’re not a fan of this type of sub-genre thriller, I implore you… stay home, don’t go see it and spare yourself the “pain.”

Another criticism that I’ve been seeing about the film is that it just takes too long for anything to start to happen. Well, that’s not true, there’s always things happening here though they’re not the big scares. This is called the build-up and it’s necessary to both build the false sense of security and to get you involved with the characters. It does this extremely well.

I love the usage of the six surveillance cameras. Though the action depicted on them might just be happening on one part of the screen, the use makes you examine the whole screen and makes the startling moments all the better. Director Tod Williams uses these cameras extremely well and the pure storytelling is right on target. As are all of the performances (again, I don’t want to say too much here over the risk of revealing too much).

Paranormal Activity 2 leaves things wide open for another sequel and if it follows the same path as this movie and is a continuation, then I say bring it on. The excellent Saw series is coming to an end as of next week (review to come) and so another Halloween-timed horror series would certainly be welcomed by those of us who are fans of these movies. In the meantime, if you’re a fan of the first Paranormal Activity then by all means, go see the second. It’s a terrific night at the movies.

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Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #5

Jonathan, of The Way of the Game fame, and Andrew, Archer Enthusiast, are back this week talking Box Office with Tony.

Tony doesn’t want to talk about last weekend’s results but we talk about it anyway. Tony’s bet that Red would debut at #1 did not pay off and he only got 20% right. Meanwhile, Andrew and Jonathan’s faith in Jackass 3-D was well founded and carried them to a 60% weekend.

Andrew just saw Red and his initial thoughts on the movie leads to us talking about Helen Mirren. We end up going somewhere that felt natural at the time but, in retrospect, might be a bit weird.

After lengthy pondering Tony decides to give Jackass more credit this week and that Mark Zuckerberg has more staying power then Secretariat:

  1. Jackass 3-D
  2. Paranormal Activity 2
  3. Red
  4. Hereafter
  5. The Social Network

Andrew decides to put his faith into Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood and the draw of a holiday sequel:

  1. Paranormal Activity 2
  2. Jackass 3-D
  3. Hereafter
  4. Red
  5. Secretariat

While Andrew and Tony grapple with numbers and projections, Jonathan decides to stick with his gut:

  1. Jackass 3-D
  2. Paranormal Activity 2
  3. Red
  4. Hereafter
  5. Secretariat

Whose got it right this week?!?

Categories
News

Weekend Box Office: October 15-17

#1 Jackass 3-D from Paramount debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $50.3 million in 3081 theaters. Budget was $20 million.

#2 Red from Summit debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $21.7 million in 3255 theaters. Budget was $58 million.

#3 The Social Network from Sony drops from #1 to #3 with a weekend gross of $10.3 million (-33.2%) in 2868 theaters (+97). Total gross to date is $62.4 million. Budget was $50 million.

#4 Secretariat from Buena Vista drops from #3 to #4 with a weekend gross of $9.3 million (-26.6%) in 3072 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $27.3 million. Budget was $35 million.

#5 Life as We Know It from Warner Brother drops from #2 to #5 with a weekend gross of $8.9 million (-38.3%) in 3150 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $28.6 million. Budget was $38 million.

#6 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole from Warner Brothers drops from #4 to #6 with a weekend gross of $4.2 million (-38.6%) in 2502 theaters (-723). Total gross to date is $45.9 million. Budget was $80 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 The Town drops from #6 to #7 with a weekend gross of $3.9 million (-38.0%) in 2368 theaters (-352). Total gross to date is $80.5 million. Budget was $37 million.

#8 My Soul to Take drops from #5 to #8 with a weekend gross of $3.1 million (-53.7%) in 2529 theaters (-43). Total gross to date is $11.9 million. Budget was $25 million.

#9 Easy A drops from #8 to #9 with a weekend gross of $2.6 million (-38.6%) in 2314 theaters (-533). Total gross to date is $52.3 million. Budget was $8 million.

#10 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps drops from #7 to #10 with a weekend gross of $2.3 million (-48.7%) in 2045 theaters (-784). Total gross to date is $47.8 million. Budget was $70 million.

#11 It’s Kind of a Funny Story jumps from #12 to #11 with a weekend gross of $1.2 million (-39.2%) in 757 theaters (+15). Total gross to date is $4.0 million. Budget was $8 million.

#12 You Again drops from #10 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.2 million (-51.6%) in 1588 theaters (-744). Total gross to date is $22.9 million. Budget was $20 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $119.5 million (+46.9%).

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

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Text Reviews Theatrical Review

Theatrical Review: Jackass 3D

After Piranha 3D came out, director James Cameron derided the movie in the press (without seeing it first). He called it an example of the type of movie that’s currently giving 3D movies a bad name, of course conveniently forgetting to mention obvious tacked-on 3D movies like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender. How dare they use the new technology that he pioneered for such a gimmicked up piece of trash (in his unseeing eyes, I loved Piranha 3D).

I can only imagine what he’ll say once he finds out that his precious tech has been used to film a scene in which Chris Pontius’ private part is tethered to a radio controlled helicopter…

Johnny Knoxville and his band of friends are back to use and abuse the new technology with their own particular brand of humor with Jackass 3D and I have to say, I had a great deal of fun with it. 3D’s not the only thing they’re using in their new movie though, the Jackass guys are also now using high-speed filming to help them dramatically make greater effect with their 3D.

If Cameron was dead, he’d be turning over in his grave… and I’d say roll on over, Jimmy!

I love these movies and laugh harder here than what I would with most scripted attempts at film comedy, especially these days. They’re unabashedly stupid, but fun times owing to Tex Avery, Looney Tunes and the Three Stooges. And they’re made even more inviting by the obvious camaraderie that these guys share.

Like the other Jackass movies, this one has both it’s highs and lows with it’s best moments being it’s spectacular opening and closing scenes and just about anything that Steve-O is a part of. Oh, all of the guys are fun to watch in action, but with Steve-O there’s just a little something extra here, especially with his nervous anticipation of the torture that he’s about to put himself through. One of the better examples being “Tee Ball” where Mr. O is about to have his own take with America’s pasttime and the film’s final stunt before it’s close, involving Steve-O, a port-a-potty and some bungie cables.

At the same time though, these guys are getting older and a little chunkier (exceptions being Knoxville and Steve-O who seem fitter and trimmer than ever) and it’s a little apparent on-screen. Oh sure, they’re still having their fun, but it’s a little more hesitant than what it was before.

The 3D is pretty good, though it’s not entirely necessary for your enjoyment. It certainly adds to what goes on and I’d recommend it, but only mildly. To their credit though, this isn’t as augmented as what it would be for a high end effects-driven movie. Knoxville, producer Spike Jonze and director Jeff Tremaine have opted for it to be used more naturally with the only augmentation being the scenes where they’re mixing both the 3D and the high-speed photography.

It’s fun stuff, purely designed to be a party at the theatre. Of course it’s not for everybody, but if you don’t mind letting your hair down to watch live-action cartoon set pieces, you should have a pretty fun time, I know I did.

In your face, James Cameron…

Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #4

This week Tony is joined by Jonathan from The Way of the Game podcast and Andrew, General Roustabout.

We start by discussing Tony’s picks for last weekend. The bad news is that he only got 20% right. The good news is that all 5 of the movies he picked were in the Top 5.

After Tony finishes explaining what went wrong we move into his picks for this weekend which are:

  1. Red
  2. Jackass 3-D
  3. The Social Network
  4. Life as We Know It
  5. Secretariet

The cover of ‘Creep’ from The Social Network trailer is performed by Scala & Kolacny Brothers, a Belgian women’s choir. If you haven’t heard it, go check it out, it’s spectacular.

Finally, Jonathan and Andrew chime in that they both believe Jackass 3-D will debut at #1 with Red at #2. Tune in next week to see who’s right!

Categories
News

Weekend Box Office: October 8-10

#1 The Social Network from Sony holds at #1 with a weekend gross of $15.4 million (-31.2%) in 2771 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $46.0 million. Budget was $50 million.

#2 Life as We Know It from Warner Brother debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $14.5 million in 3150 theaters. Budget was $38 million.

#3 Secretariat from Buena Vista debuts at #3 with an opening weekend gross of $12.6 million in 3072 theaters. Budget was $35 million.

#4 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole from Warner Brothers drops from #2 to #4 with a weekend gross of $6.8 million (-36.7%) in 3225 theaters (-350). Total gross to date is $39.2.0 million. Budget was $80 million.

#5 My Soul to Take from Universal debuts at #5 with an opening weekend gross of $6.8 million in 2572 theaters. Budget was $25 million.

#6 The Town from Warner Brothers drops from #4 to #6 with a weekend gross of $6.4 million (-34.2%) in 2720 theaters (-215). Total gross to date is $73.8 million. Budget was $37 million.

Rounding out the top 12 are:

#7 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps drops from #3 to #7 with a weekend gross of $4.6 million (-54.0%) in 2829 theaters (-768). Total gross to date is $43.6 million. Budget was $70 million.

#8 Easy A drops from #5 to #8 with a weekend gross of $4.2 million (-36.4%) in 2847 theaters (-127). Total gross to date is $48.2 million. Budget was $8 million.

#9 Case 39 drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $2.6 million (-49.9%) in 2212 theaters (+1). Total gross to date is $9.6 million. Budget was $26 million.

#10 You Again drops from #6 to #10 with a weekend gross of $2.5 million (-56.1%) in 2332 theaters (-216). Total gross to date is $20.7 million. Budget was $20 million.

#11 Let Me In drops from #8 to #11 with a weekend gross of $2.4 million (-52.5%) in 2042 theaters(+22). Total gross to date is $9.1 million. Budget was $20 million.

#12 It’s Kind of a Funny Story debuts at #12 with an opening weekend gross of $2.0 million in 742 theaters. Budget was $8 million.

The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $81.3 million (-5.7%).

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

Sources:
Box Office Mojo

Categories
Back Seat Box Office Shows

Back Seat Box Office #3

This weekend’s picks:

  1. Secretariat
  2. Life As We Know It
  3. My Soul To Take
  4. The Social Network
  5. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

My picks for last week came in at 60% with 4 of 5 picks for the top five.

What are your picks?

Call them in at: 618-207-4794

Come to the website and leave them in a comment

Email them to tony at backseatproducers dot com