Bryan Cranston dreams a world after "Breaking Bad"

I've dabbled around the idea of a Greatest Working Actors list for some time now, and as alluring as it is to put them all up on a scale like that, I'd simply never know what to do with the actors who have their feet firmly planted in television. With all the shows moving towards their finishes, I am intrigued to see what Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, John Noble, Anna Torv, Jasika Nicole, and Aaron Paul are to do once their respective shows are up. The bell is chiming for Jon Hamm, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, and the rest of the "Mad Men" gang as well, and Jared Harris has already been let off the leash for a promising future in the business.

One actor who isn't laying down while waiting for his television check to ring in is Bryan Cranston, headliner on AMC's "Breaking Bad", headed now towards its fifth and final season. For every year Cranston has performed in the pivotal character of Walter White, he has taken home an Emmy for Best Actor. He is quite likely to make it four this fall, and with the splitting of the final season into two eight-episode stretches, the possibility is not merely alive for two more, but it's a certainty for after the show's completion. Cranston is in very good hands with showrunner Vince Gilligan at the helm, though has not been laying steady while the end approaches.

Box Office Update: "50/50" plays similarly as title

Weekends such as these are the most tedious to write about, not because it's a necessarily bad weekend for the box office. On the contrary, things were slightly up from last year, when "The Social Network" was the sole big winner. What I find so difficult about it is the low-key nature of the proceedings. With four new releases, one would expect at least one of them to be a hit. Unfortunately, they worked more to cancel each other out, each landing below the $10 million mark. It's great that "50/50" was the highest grossing new attraction, but it still deserved much more than it got.

I can't say that I wished better for "Dream House" or "What's My Number?", the latter of which hit the lowest of the new releases, as I'm very happy to report. "Courageous", on the other hand, I've never really heard of in my life, yet it had the highest per theater average of the (sort of) wide releases. Not at all sure why. The three films that won the weekend were repeats from past weekends. "Moneyball" and "Dolphin Tale" switched up places, but bumped up from #'s 2 and 3 to #'s 1 and 2. "The Lion King 3D" took a fall of nearly 50%, and fell to third. "Take Shelter" picked up $56,000 from three theaters, so that's clearly playing somewhat positively with audiences.

Box Office Update: Crowded at the Front

I very nearly let this slide, as my Sunday afternoon schedule is quite hazily packed. I have two reviews from yesterday still in the works, not to mention my work outside of this site. It's severely frustrating, so forgive me for not having much enthusiasm vested in the workings of a typical box office weekend. True, this weekend was a fond improvement from last, with three films hitting just above the $20 million mark. All of them opened to fine reviews, and I only expressed interest enough to see one of them, and barely at that. "The Lion King 3D" was not that film, and this being its last week in theaters, I won't be able to check the film out at all as things are currently.

The film still, appropriately, played well this weekend, falling slightly as audiences tried to rake in the film's last winnings while they still could. Falling just barely behind it was "Moneyball", which I gave a slight pass to on Friday. Just on its tail, pun most definitely not intended, was "Dolphin Tale", which somehow found and audience in young children. Who could have guessed that? "Abduction" and "Killer Elite" were a good $10 million down from their newer competitors, but they still managed to fill out the top five. "The Help" fell slightly. "Contagion" fell slightly more. "Drive" fell even more, sadly. We can't account for taste in this particular market, but it was up nearly 20% from last year.

1. "The Lion King 3D" (Second Weekend; $22.1 million)

2. "Moneyball" (First Weekend; $20.6 million)

3. "Dolphin Tale" (First Weekend; $20.3 million)

4. "Abduction" (First Weekend; $11.2 million)

5. "Killer Elite" (First Weekend; $9.5 million)

6. "Contagion" (Third Weekend; $8.6 million)

7. "Drive" (Second Weekend; $5.8 million)

8. "The Help" (Seventh Weekend; $4.4 million)

9. "Straw Dogs" (Second Weekend; $2.1 million)

10. "I Don't Know How She Does It" (Second Weekend; $2 million)

Box Office Update: The "King" has Returned

So anyone with measured doubt about how much a 3D re-release of a 2D animated feature from 1995 could really bring in is scratching their heads. Hell, I'm scratching my head at how much "The Lion King 3D" made this weekend. I know that it's kind of brilliant and all, but are people really that eager to revive that classic theater-going experience? I guess that will happen when you release a beloved title that's being re-released specifically for 3D. People aren't going to be interested in seeing it in 2D. They want the entire new experience of it, so maybe I'll end up checking it out later this week. I've heard the film's not bad either.

"Contagion" would've topped the weekend if "Lion King" didn't over-perform to such a degree, instead landing in second from a 35.4% drop. "Drive" topped the rest of the new releases, though still falling to third place. What's more, the mainstream audiences really didn't like this one. Ally that to the action heavy expectations, but I'll get more into that at another time. By the time we get to "The Help", the box office is resting in low digits that garner little to no attention. "Straw Dogs" and "I Don't Know How She Does It" both earned about $5 million apiece. This weekend was a fine improvement from last weekend, but a slight downgrade from last year, when "The Town" and "Easy A" rocked the box office.

1. "The Lion King 3D" (First Weekend; $29.3 million)

2. "Contagion" (Second Weekend; $14.5 million)

3. "Drive" (First Weekend; $11 million)

4. "The Help" (Sixth Weekend; $6.4 million)

5. "Straw Dogs" (First Weekend; $5 million)

6. "I Don't Know How She Does It" (First Weekend; $4.5 million)

7. "The Debt" (Third Weekend; $2.9 million)

8. "Warrior" (Second Weekend; $2.8 million)

9. "Rise of the Apes" (Seventh Weekend; $2.6 million)

10. "Columbiana" (Fourth Weekend; $2.3 million)

Box Office Update: "Contagion" breaks competition down

The top player at the box office this weekend may lead you to believe this weekend was generous. In actuality, "Contagion" was perhaps the only real standout this weekend, with the rest withering in defeat. Soderbergh's film defeated a slump that's been dominated honorably by "The Help" for the past few weeks. Sadly, however, if it weren't for "Contagion", "The Help" would've still conquered the weekend. Despite its most substantial drop of 40%, the film still held on towards the top. Not even "Warrior" could draw in enough audiences, and its weak opening doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in it. The rest of the chart is old hat, with "Bucky Larson" thankfully not even making the top 10. This weekend was just a slight hair above last year, when the stats were pretty much exactly the same with "Resident Evil: Afterlife" in the top spot.

1. "Contagion" (First Weekend; $23.1 million)

2. "The Help" (Fifth Weekend; $8.7 million)

3. "Warrior" (First Weekend; $5.6 million)

4. "The Debt" (Second Weekend; $4.9 million)

5. "Columbiana" (Third Weekend; $4 million)

6. "Rise of the Apes" (Sixth Weekend; $3.9 million)

7. "Shark Night 3D" (Second Weekend; $3.5 million)

8. "Apollo 18" (Second Weekend; $2.9 million)

9. "Our Idiot Brother" (Third Weekend; $2.8 million)

10. "Spy Kids 4" (Fourth Weekend; $2.5 million)

Film Review: "Contagion" (**1/2)

Within 10 minutes of "Contagion", I was already catching myself touching my spotty face and letting out a nervous cough, and the slightest scare of paranoia reached me, and other audience members understandably. I'm about to get into a lot of things that I wasn't too fond of in "Contagion", some forgivable, but nonetheless troubling. All the same, I think it's worth mentioning the one thing that Steven Soderbergh does to perfection in this film, which is that central fear of germs and illness that is unavoidable in real life.

If Soderbergh's film has a main character, it's the virus to which it owes its title. From the first moment, it's about the spread of the virus, and how society and the several disease control agencies deal with that problem. There are several characters put to work in the film, and you'd be forgiven for forgetting one or two. Soderbergh packs "Contagion" with all star cast members, none of which hold total focus. Some of them are doctors (Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet), some of them civilians (Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, John Hawkes), and just outside players (Bryan Cranston, Jude Law).

Weekend Report: Exponential Degradation

As cynical as I can be in matters of film, or more accurately inadequate film, it's weekends like these that make a strong enough case for optimism. Last time I went to the theaters was almost a month ago for "The Help", and since then I haven't felt the urge to head out to the theater for something. This weekend I have the widest variety of options, from films I've been excited for, films I'd be willing to give the benefit of the doubt, and films I've been dreading the imminent task of talking about them. Don't expect the box office to be blindingly alight, but expect a notable uptick.

"Contagion" is clearly the main ticket this weekend, as it's the only wide release playing above 2000 theaters. I've heard people go on about the strong star power at play, as I have gone on about it myself. It's interesting that that isn't much of a playing factor this time around. I'm more interested in the effect of the story, and whatever tools Steven Soderbergh may have put to use this time. The marketing of the film should aid in a wide audience appeal throughout the weekend, but I'll still be surprised if it goes any further than $25 million.

Other than that, I can't make any sure promises. I've had an antagonistic tendency towards "Warrior" since the first trailer, and it seemed to me like the formula of how to make an inspirational fight film. That might be exactly what it is, but ZOMG TOM HARDY!!!!! That's my mentality towards it. It's a lot kinder than what's left, which is "Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star". Honestly, if you put me in any position in which I haven't a choice but to see this film, I will put a bullet in yo' head as if you were Gustavo Fring. That might be a bit extreme, but who the hell makes films like this?

For Your Anticipation: Graffiti with Punctuation

"Contagion" is set to own the weekend, with only a slight fight given from competitor "Warrior", which is opening on nearly 1300 less screens. I think it's wonderful that the buzz for a film this heavily star-laden has been kept on such a steady level. As for the film, I'm not elevated to irrational anticipation for it, but I'm interested nonetheless. It looks like a reserved medical thriller which doesn't just wink at potential consequences. I don't think it'll go all the way down that road, but it'll go considerably further than others would.

Films to see in 2011: September

I was rather disappointed to have nothing to recommend out of the August slate. Both "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Help" were better than I expected, and I suppose "My Idiot Brother" looks delightful enough. I guess if you still haven't seen anything from August, those are the three I'd suggest. However, now we're on to September, which has burgeoned into an amazingly successful slate in the past few years. Last year we were supplied with both "Easy A" and "The Town", and I think I remember liking "The American" more than the critics did. It didn't quite deserve the bashing it got.

As for this year, successful films seem to be much more widespread. It's not going to be all shelled out in one weekend, which I really do prefer it that way. Things start out in a really obligatory pattern, and I'm not sure why September usually kicks off with below-standard horror flicks. Do not expect me to spend any time or effort on "Shark Night 3D" or "Apollo 18", and I won't expect you to either. I saw a trailer for "Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star" in theaters, and I wanted to run as far away from that place as I could. It didn't put me in the right mood for "Bad Teacher" either. Or maybe it did. I'm not sure.

Things do pick up from there, although I still have no intention towards "Warrior", one way or another. It looks like they're milking the formula once again. I don't consign to Sarah Jessica Parker, nor do I consign to her latest film "I Don't Know How She Does It". "Straw Dogs" seems like your typical remake. "Abduction", "Dolphin Tale", "Killer Elite", and "What's Your Number?" all look dreadful. "Dream House" might be an interesting popcorn horror film, but not more than that. And "Moneyball" looks somewhat uninspired, and actually kind of boring. If you think I skipped a few films, you might want to continue to my top three films for this month, after the jump.

Venice stacks favorites big and small

Toronto is a massive canvas, but you do suffer sensory overload with all those films playing against one another. I prefer the smaller and more tightly knit atmosphere around Cannes and Venice, because it just seems so much more homely. Festivals are best suited to beautiful cities, and Venice is putting together what seems like a perfect list of competitors. Of course there will be quite a few that don't stack up, and I'm getting ready for that bitter sting of disappointment. Many are making their sophomore attempts, which is usually when the one hit wonders are cut apart from rest.

Of course there's the debut film of the festival, George Clooney's The Ides of March, but that trailer seems a bit too clean for a tale of hubris. It looks like the sort of sophisticated film that will get Academy attention more than most. I'm obviously not looking for the films that will play better with the Academy. I'm looking for quality, and it's better found in other places. Tomas Alfredson's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has been gaining interest over the past month, and it still looks pretty intense and visually dynamic like Alfredson's last film. Maybe not a huge awards play, but definitely one I'm willing to follow.

"Contagion" Trailer

I know this film has been building up with one of the greatest ensemble star casts I've seen in a while, not to mention a director like Steven Soderbergh, but I was still surprised by just how intense it all was. Like any virus, it keeps escalating to a terrifying and almost disturbing conclusion. This summer has seen very little excitement, so this fall is shaping up to be the intense roller-coaster I always hope for at the start of each year. Contagion is just another impressive piece of it all.

"Dark Knight", "John Carter", "Sherlock Holmes", and "Contagion" trailers playing in front of "Potter" finale

If that title is too insanely long for you, know that it's in service of fantastic news. On the heels of discussion about fantastic film trailers of the past, the final film in the Harry Potter series has just received an extra bump of anticipation. With everybody already in line for the midnight showing, it seems that every studio out there is trying to feed off the event by premiering trailers for their high profile projects. It seems that way, but in actuality Warner Bros. is trying to fuel most of its upcoming hits, with one particular hits standing above the rest.

There's no reason to beat around the bush. The first trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, capping off Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, is set to make its debut. Of course, I don't expect much more than a simple tease, because the teaser for The Dark Knight was purely dialogue driven, and the Inception teaser did nothing to answer questions about Nolan's mystery project. Still, expect it to get people talking until another trailer comes around sometime between December and January. Nolan knows better than to blow his wad a year in advance.

On a less massive point, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is also expected to throw a trailer into the ring. They already placed a few posters online, showing off a once more bearded Jared Harris as Moriarty. Here's hoping they do all they can to make his character as fascinating as possible. Steven Soderberg's Contagion is finally getting a trailer, which could work the same way The Town did last year. However, the trailer I'm most anticipating is outside of Warner Bros., and instead from Disney. Andrew Stanton's John Carter gets a teaser, and just in time. I was nervous that we wouldn't get a first look until November. I'm just glad that it's actually been happening. There's also word on a trailer for Martin Scorcese's Hugo, but we'll wait to see if that's any more than just rumor. In any case, the trailers are enough reason to shell out $10 at the theater.

Most Anticipated Films of 2011

Well, it's about time that I look past the awards season and into the horizon of what I hope will be worthwhile films in 2011. I can't know for sure, because barely any trailer at all has been released for any of my picks, and most of them don't come out until after the start of the summer movie season. So I'm not going to elaborate on my anticipation, but I'll give a brief reason why. I wasn't one of the people who thought that The Hangover was overrated, but I also wasn't one of those crazies pushing it for Best Picture. That was never going to actually happen. The upcoming sequel should provide what was so entertaining the first time through, and the Godfather-ish Part II slapped at the end of the title makes it that much more intriguing.

Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, has a typical name and a typical premise, but it's from the writer of films like The Bourne Ultimatum and The Informant, and it has an all star cast of Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, and Bryan Cranston. Unless it was fabricated from someone's awesome imagination, Contagion is a must-see film. Sherlock Holmes 2 is another story. I'm one of the people who appreciated the first film as a fun and enjoyable detective film with a bit of action, but it was ultimately just a set-up for this sequel. Now that sequel is on its way, with Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry, and Jared Harris joining the cast in major roles. Lets just hope that Rachel McAdams is put on the back-burner this time out.

X-Men: First Class is a bit of a fascination for me at the time, because I find the vintage superhero approach that director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) seems to be going with to be intriguing at the very least. They've got James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in the leading roles, which seems like the perfect formula to restart the series. On the smaller side of things, I'm desperately looking forward to Thomas McCarthy's next film, Win Win, which does sound like some cheesy romantic-comedy, but I expect it will be far more than that. McCarthy has written some great films like The Visitor and Up, so I don't expect he's about to disappoint us.

One of the films that's a little bit further off the radar is 30 Minutes or Less, the upcoming comedy about a pizza boy who has a bomb strapped to his chest and is told to rob a bank. By the way, the main character is played by Jesse Eisenberg. I need not say more. The rest are rather self-explanatory, with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol being Brad Bird's live-action debut, The Tree of Life being Terrence Malick's most highly anticipated film ever, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo coming right off the book phenomenon and director David Fincher's own phenomenon with The Social Network. Oh, and there's also Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, but whatever. What are you most looking forward to seeing this year? Comment below and let me know!

10. The Hangover: Part II
9. Contagion
8. Sherlock Holmes 2
7. X-Men: First Class
6. Win Win
5. 30 Minutes or Less
4. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
3. The Tree of Life
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1