Quick Takes: "Dr. No", "Dark Shadows", "Journey 2", "Boardwalk Empire"

"Dr. No" (***)

Directed by Terence Young

James Bond is a rather stereotypical choice for Father's Day, but as somebody whose total Bond knowledge amounts to incomplete memories of "Goldfinger" and long past viewings of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace", revisiting the beginnings of the property served more of a purpose. From the first moments, the trademarks of the Bond series, from the pre-credits prologue to the music video essence of it, all were stripped away. Though "stripped" may be an inadequate phrase, since they hadn't been in place yet. This was a film working on the assumption that this will be a simple cinematic series, when eventually it would grow to be anything but.

The plot is very simply, with Bond heading out to track down evil scientist Dr. No and stop him from destroying the world or something tantamount to that. We don't get so up close to Bond, the action, the chaos, or the emotions. Simple treasuries are all it seeks, and those simple treasuries prove absolutely fine for what they are. Ursula Andress only serves as visual treat for Honey Ryder, whose singing and speaking voices are offered to different actresses, though that's really all we need or ask for from her, and she fulfills that duty proudly. But let's not dally over the real attraction, which is Sean Connery in his prime. Illusions of where he would end up physically wash away the moment he's given time to speak. Bond is, quite simply, the coolest character on film, and Connery so perfectly embodies and acknowledges that.

Box Office Update: "Carter" Falls Under "Lorax" Seige

So, let me take this moment to emphasize my feelings on "John Carter". It was a Goliath of a disappointment, structurally, emotionally, tonally, and intellectually speaking. It was sloppily edited, childishly written (even though it has three writers to its name), and directorially numb. And this is a film from the director of two of my favorite films of all time, "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E". Andrew Stanton, please forgive me when I say try harder with your next film. It doesn't disappoint me that the film brought in only $30 million opening weekend, solidifying it as a failure to some degree, and ensuring that Andrew Stanton will not continue on this path.

In fact, I'm rather agreeable towards "The Lorax" now that it has had two strong weekends, because at least I have a positive concept of it in my head. I feel like it's not anything special, but it's not bad. Moving on, audiences ripped "Silent House" apart most likely due to the ending, and nobody even cared that Eddie Murphy had another film out. He just makes films to die nowadays. Overall, the weekend was 9% above last year, when "Battle: Los Angeles" and "Red Riding Hood" were the featured debuts, and only one of them did mildly well opening weekend. It went on to get $83.5 million, which is the most "John Carter" can really expect.

Box Office Update: "Lorax" Speaks for the Green

I feel bad for a film like "The Artist", which spends the entire season an underdog with unnecessary groans from the vast majority, defeats those to take home five strong Academy Awards last Sunday, and still can't grind out a large enough audience. It's not that the film is of too high prestige. I'd argue that it plays for as many giddy laughs as the big comedies out there, with just as much heart and investment from the cast and crew. I feel like plenty of large audiences would love it if they gave it a shot. The fact that they haven't only serves to disappoint me. Are audiences today really that cynical to refuse a loving ode to the past and progression of cinema? Is "The Lorax" really worth the $70.7 million it took home this weekend?

Perhaps it's unfair to pull a punch against a film I haven't seen, but all the advertisements have seemed so desperately cutesy, to the point of a brain aneurysm. I suppose you can't blame kids for knowing what they want, but they could've chosen much better. But it's hard to gripe at the continuing progression of this box office season. It's not at all a bad thing that people are once again so passionate to go to the movies. I just wish they were being offered something better than "Project X" as an outlet. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised the college comedy didn't bring more in this weekend. It seemed like so many people were chomping at the bit to see that one, only for it to not take that much above average. But overall, films held well, and the box office continued to truck along. It may sag a bit next weekend with the coming of "John Carter", or it may just surprise in a positive manner.

Box Office Update: "Vow" for "Safe" "Journey", Despite "Menace"

I didn't really hold strong hopes for this box office weekend, but it has fared about as well as the year for the whole part has so far. Last year was a long and drawn-out nightmare of a year in terms of the box office. There was simply nothing of real spectacle happening, so despite the mildly disappointing films the money's headed towards, it's still satisfying to see an invigoration towards the theatrical experience. I had worried that this weekend would pale in comparison to last year, when that Justin Bieber movie and "Just Go With It" ruled the box office. I guess I underestimated the Valentine's Day weekend draw of Channing Tatum, Denzel Washington, and... 3D, apparently.

"The Vow" clearly played to the right demographic this weekend, and as such reaped the majority of the weekend's winning. "Safe House" played more to the date-night-action-flick crowd, falling just a tad short of its competition. Both are likely to be frontloaded openings likely to fall immensely come next weekend. "Journey 2" and "Star Wars" managed to split the 3D winnings this weekend, so clearly the problem of not having enough 3D screens that we dealt with just two years ago isn't anything to worry about now. The weekend ended up a 31% increase upon last year, so this year is proving to be a pretty strong bounce-back from last year.