just don't have much faith in such franchises that keep blowing up the balloon to no end. In many ways, that's an overarching theme for this particular Summer, with the release of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, the fifth X-Men film, and the eighth Harry Potter film. On the one hand, I don't like to think of Fast Five as the official start of this Summer. The series has gone on longer than it deserves to without offering us anything of value. The fact that this latest film is getting moderately positive reviews proves about as encouraging as the positive reviews for Unstoppable. Both are mindless action films that are heralded as embracing the insanity of it. It just never really worked for me. Then again, I submit that this will rake in a ton of cash at the box office this weekend, so in that sense many will assume that it's the start of the season.
If you were disheartened and confused by the absence of a Fringe review for last week's episode, I plan on suspending my thoughts on the last three episodes until the finale is over next Friday. Even after the monumental first episode, I could that this was a feature-length event stretched across three different episodes. In a nutshell, 6:02 AM EST covered everything that we expected to see in the season finale. Walternate activated the machine, Fauxlivia changed her allegiance to some degree, and Peter submitted himself to his destiny. Then the machine sent him flying, and we have two episodes left of unexpected developments. I'm eager to see what happens as the finale continues tonight.
franchise, especially one that long since lost its steam. I don't remember when the first Fast and the Furious film came out, and I honestly do not care. I only became familiar with it after the fourth film came out, made $70 million in one weekend, and I was forced to watch a pirated copy by my high school chemistry teacher. I honestly cannot tell you the logic behind his decision. Suffice it to say that he wasn't hired back. In all seriousness, most of my anger at Fast Five derives from angst towards the series and the cliche nature of it. It looks like a decent action film that will get a lot of people to see it, and the second film this month to showcase Rio De Janeiro.
tomb of childhood in hopes of snagging a younger audience. I mean, Toy Story 3 played so well with the late high school audience, so why not Prom? Apparently every single person who made this film was home schooled, because nobody thought of prom as importantly as the characters in this film. I'm not sure if it was done the same everywhere else, but my prom would have never even been knocked down to a PG-13 rating. The fact that they managed a PG out of this compromises what high school was. It's not so much insulting as it is annoying. I'm not more upset because I honestly just don't care.
was ready to put a bullet in my brain out of sheer desperation for a world where this film doesn't exist. I have very little to say about Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil, other than the unbelievably poor animation, pointless storyline, and annoying dialogue. Honestly, I can't take seriously a film that replaces "2" with "Too", because it just doesn't make any logical sense. Everything about this film seems engineered to make the audience murder the film's creators. As always, let this clip serve as explanation for my outrage.
season, I can't help but think that May is shaping up pretty well under the circumstances. Each weekend gives us a gargantuan sized blockbuster for mainstream audiences to spend their time and money on, even if you decide to count Fast Five as the start of the season. I don't, because I occasionally decide to be optimistic. I'll continue to refer to Thor as the kickoff event, much like I referred to Star Trek as 2009's kickoff event after X-Men Origins: Wolverine went up in a pile of smoke and oblivion. Reviews for Thor have come out surprisingly well, which was probably the biggest worry heading into this Summer. Joss Whedon has started production today on the epic scale blockbuster for next Summer, The Avengers. We don't want to head into it with a bad taste in our mouths.
The box office continued its wonderful turnaround period this weekend with some admirable holdovers and blissfully undeserved debuts. Two films ended up fighting for the top spot, and last week's 3D animated film, Rio, ended up conquering. The bird flick held onto audiences well, dropping 31.7% and putting it en route to become the highest grossing film of the year thus far. The other film in the battle, Madea's Big Happy Family, fared less well than some had predicted. I'm glad that Tyler Perry's box office strength has begun to ware off, but he's still able to pull in a respectable gross from his lesser trifles.
The good news to deliver, especially after last weekend proved to be the first weekend of this year that was greater than last year, is that the box office isn't likely to disappoint this weekend. We are being delivered our annual Disneynature documentary for the kiddies, a romantic drama starring Robert Pattinson, and yet another film from the equally famous and infamous Tyler Perry. The bad news is saved for those expecting any sort of quality film entertainment, of which we are given nothing new. So if you are looking for quality, head out to see Scre4m or Hanna or Source Code. Those films already have my stamp of unyielding approval. And, in case you wanted an update, I've decided not to see Rio any time soon. It just looks like a pain at this point.
Enter the Void. Those tales have been thankfully exaggerated, but it doesn't make the experience of watching it any more daunting. I hope to put off the experience until next weekend, but I may just get it over with sooner rather than later.
original, and thrilling episode of Fringe, I'm pretty much game for whatever twists and turns the writers are ready to bring our way. I followed the characters through the first season, which more and more feels like a prelude to the series than a whole part of it. The second season started to give us some fantastic work to go off of. The third season has just been everything I hoped it would be and more. There's almost not a single episode that I look like and say, "That's unnecessary". Going into the 3-part season finale, I could build up all sorts of ridiculously high hopes. I just have to sit back contently as they exceed those at every turn. There's never been a better chance to jump on the bandwagon. Watch tonight's episode, even if you're new to the series entirely.
emerging as the biggest new trend in motion picture science fiction, and that's the idea of alternate universes. Fringe, a show that very few people watch from week to week, was what started this avalanche, and was shortly followed by J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. This past year has handed us other films on the matter like Rabbit Hole, Source Code, and now Sundance Film Festival darling Another Earth. The more scientifically minded are going to shrug this one off as being stupid and illogical, because alternate realities exist in other realms. They don't just pop out of the sky.
thing that was ever drawing me to this film was the promise of Christoph Waltz. The man has such a nefarious charm that is ill served by the roles that he is given. Chudnofsky was a criminally sidelined character in The Green Hornet, and the weak opposition of Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon do not spell good things for Waltz in Water for Elephants. I thought that maybe there was a chance for Pattinson to improve. It seems I was wrong, as per usual. This is looking to be something of yet another failure. So it looks like I got at least 2 out of 3 of my picks for this month right.
on the film end of the Cannes Film Festival, as that's the reason most are in attendance at the glorious event. Interestingly enough, I find myself equally fascinated by the jury that is forming around jury head Robert De Niro. Last year, one of the only major stars on the jury was Kate Beckinsale, which isn't saying especially that much. This year gives us a wide variety of photogenic and talented stars like Jude Law and Uma Thurman. As much as it pleases me to have Law, Thurman and De Niro in the same room, it's not the same as them being in the same film. However, I find myself far more intrigued and appeased with the addition of director Olivier Assayas, the man behind last year's brisk 5-hour masterpiece Carlos. It's wonderful to know who is calling the shots at this wonderful occasion, and it gives us something of a clear window to look through.
if I do find such while writing my critical defaming of the piece. I profess that I did not look at the clip provided below, because if I'm going to suffer through this film, I don't want to suffer any more than necessary. I don't watch African-American comedies, because for some reason they don't decide to consign to reality. It's not anything to do with racism, but it's a common critical analysis. I don't expect Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family to be any different, and I know I won't be proven wrong.
least, Oceans was pretty with pretty music, but absolutely nothing more, and African Cats doesn't seem to be raising the standard of greatness. It's just about Earth Day, and you can expect Disneynature to export you via movie theater to beautiful factions of the world. This year, they're not really covering a broad topic. They're going specifically for wild cats that live in the African desert. While I'll admit that there's nothing cuter than a baby kitty, I don't expect that to ensnare many. Also, it's narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. He's hardly Morgan Freeman, and it already seems like he's characterizing this film as a ghetto safari picture.
eventually find bad movies, because one way or another, they find their way to me. Your Highness turned out to be far less than I had hoped it would be, not even providing minimal goods. I fear that Water for Elephants may be on the same route in terms of this weekend. I can hope I'm wrong, but I probably won't be. May is a particularly unpredictable bunch, because there are films that I'll see anyways, even if I know there's a great chance of failure. The Hangover: Part II and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides are two such features. With the way things are going, I may not even end up seeing the former. Too familiar and predictable for its own good.
o unify into their own. You can see white people trying to be black, trying not to break the mold of blackness. Ultimately, nothing I'd like to have to subject myself to. I already have to deal with a black comedy this month. I'm not going through that twice in a row.
At this point, I'm sick and tired of people making excuses for not heading out to the theaters this weekend. It's no longer a fitting excuse to say that there's nothing worth watching out there, because that's a lie. Hanna proved to be something brilliant, Source Code was an intriguing and emotional journey, and Scre4m is an enjoyable enough romp if you're not looking for brilliance. So how is it that these films are being criminally under-appreciated at the box office? It probably has to do with the unreasonable boost in ticket prices. It is getting to the point in which it is not a weekly escape so much as an occasional luxury.
mindset, not in terms of the film, because I know exactly what I feel about it. I find it occasionally difficult to judge a film based on its own technical merit as opposed to how much I enjoyed it. It really shouldn't be too hard to get to the bottom of this film, because it's altogether rather simple and straight-forward. I've taken the time to see the first three films in the Scream franchise this week, and my opinions variably match those of others. The first film is brilliance, the second film only slightly suffering from sequelitis, and the third one was just really bad. One could have fears of going worst with this next installment.
successful box office weekend this year, even if it's small by last year's standards. Two $40 million openings does seem a bit small in the context of Summer, but looking at the drought we've been in so far this year, it's a welcome change. Oddly enough, The Conspirator, the independently released historical drama starring James McAvoy and Tom Wilkinson has gathered many mixed reviews. So don't expect long term potential, not that we would from a 700 theater release. The real benefits of this weekend will come from franchise hits and 3D kids pics, as one should expect. We haven't had that many big franchise releases so far this year, so maybe that's the explanation for the decline.
explanation possible, and yet they always manage to one-up themselves year after year. If I was fit to be disappointed with Brown Betty last year, I can almost definitively say that I won't be with tonight's episode. It's a something of a homage to Inception one of the most fascinating and original science fiction films of the past decade. You can see that in the exciting trailer for tonight's episode. Cities of great expanse, the twin towers looming over the horizon, Olivia's evil stepfather, and the return of Leonard Nimoy as William Bell are just a few things to be excited about. It's great to know that after all this time, we're still questioning Bell's motives. Tonight's episode may be a quick detour before the 3-part season finale, but I'll be damned if it isn't worth it.Sleeping Beauty from Pollen Digital on Vimeo.
Festival line up wasn't exactly filled with shocks and surprises so much as pleasantries and intrigues. Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is obviously making an appearance, as if we needed any further confirmation on that one. As predicted, but not confirmed, Lars Von Trier's latest film, Melancholia, will also be making an appearance in the competition. Pedro Almadovar's The Skin That I Inhabit is also to have it's premiere, along with several other wild cards. Restless is playing Un Certain Regard, as noted yesterday, amongst several other films we're sure to hear first words about this time next month. The only real surprise of sorts is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides playing at the festival. I guess there's always one blockbuster in this heap.
Scream series until just last night, I can't profess myself an expert of Wes Craven's more recent film franchise. What I can say is that it does not feel like a horror series so much as a comedy with emotional content. The first two films have a brilliantly demented and hip sense of humor, even if the third film does completely fail on any and all promises. It was an inglorious end to a previously interesting series, so a continuation isn't the worst thing in the world. Anything to get the bad taste of My Soul to Take out of our mouth. Craven needs to get some street cred back, and you always head back to your home team when you need it.
here at the site for the past two weeks, that's probably a byproduct of the sluggish trend the film industry has fallen into this year. Everything about this year thus far screams of a sort of sedation and lack of enthusiasm, so much that it makes me question the overall happiness of people these days. No film this year has opened higher than $40 million over the weekend, something that should be remedied this weekend by either the child skewing Rio or the horror genre parody Scream 4. Are audiences really just tired with the theatrical experience, or is it just that there's nothing worth seeing out there? I'd very much like to believe the latter, but seeing as Hop is getting higher numbers than Source Code, we could throw that idea out the window.
was going to do with Newt. An animated film needs to only be so good for people to truly embrace it and never let go, and kids will go for it either way. Rio doesn't look like the thing of renowned animated film, but it doesn't look bad. You can expect the cheesy musical cues that lesser animated studios indulge in, but you can expect some sort of warmth to go along with it. I'm held back because they're constantly advertising it as Rio The Movie, as if audiences in the theaters are expecting to go to the actual Rio de Janiero.
career at present. The man is a terrific actor, as very few would deny, but he has not been given a role that really pushes him to the level of fame he deserves. The Conspirator will not be part of that rise, nor do I expect it to do especially well in terms of critical reception or rewards. It will be good, and good enough, but not much more than that. If McAvoy makes a breakthrough this year, it'll probably be in X-Men: First Class. It's still too soon to tell.