Box Office Update: "Evil" Rules A Weak Weekend

10. Eat Pray Love (Fifth Weekend; $2.9 million): The Julia Robert drama looks to be settling on a total gross of $80 million.

9. Inception (Ninth Weekend; $3 million): Christopher Nolan's first film to be nominated for Best Picture, as it undoubtedly will be, takes one more week in the top ten.

8. The Expendables (Fifth Weekend; $3.2 million): Stallone's action pic continues falling down the charts as it gets closer $100 million.

7. The Last Exorcism (Third Weekend; $3.4 million): The documentary style horror film has received a rather startling backlash from audiences, mostly due to its disappointing ending.

6. The Other Guys (Sixth Weekend; $3.6 million): How this film is still earning money, I don't at all understand.

5. Going the Distance (Second Weekend; $3.8 million): It's a romantic comedy starring the Mac guy. What can you expect?

4. Machete (Second Weekend; $4.2 million): Robert Rodriguez's exploitation-action film continues performing at a similar pace as the film that contained its origin, Grindhouse.

3. The American (Second Weekend; $5.9 million): George Clooney just doesn't have the star-power that he used to, but it would help if this film were remotely interesting.

2. Takers (Third Weekend; $6.1 million): It's a heist film that isn't Inception. Why on earth should I remotely care?

1. Resident Evil: Afterlife (First Weekend; $27.7 million): On the weakest weekend in nearly two years, the fourth film in the video game franchise manages to edge out a win with the help of added 3D ticket prices.

Box Office Update: "The American" Comes Out On Top!

This weekend was kind of pathetic, as most Labor Day weekends are. It'd be nice if people released films that deserve the four day weekend. I'm not going to wait until tomorrow for the final tally, because it probably doesn't make much of a difference. The most I can say is that there's a strong chance this'll be the last weekend with Inception in the top ten. They've had a good run, and now it's truly time to leave the Summer behind, and look forward.

10. Nanny McPhee Returns (Third Weekend; $3.5 million)
9. Inception (Eighth Weekend; $4.5 million)
8. Eat Pray Love (Fourth Weekend; $4.8 million)
7. The Other Guys (Fifth Weekend; $5.4 million)
6. The Expendables (Fourth Weekend; $6.6 million)
5. Going the Distance (First Weekend; $6.8 million)
4. The Last Exorcism (Second Weekend; $7.6 million)
3. Machete (First Weekend; $11.3 million)
2. Takers (Second Weekend; $11.4 million)
1. The American (First Weekend; $12.9 million)

(Mini) Film Review: Machete

This review is going to be relatively short and straightforward, because a lot of the things successful and unsuccessful with the film were the same way in the trailer. When you put everything together in Machete, it's one hell of a mixed bag, but mostly filled with enjoyable goodies. It's a lot like when you have a ton of candy, and you more enjoyment when you're having it than you do afterwords. In short, this film won't stay in your mind for long after you leave the theater, but you'll be glad that you saw it.

The plot of Machete is pretty straightforward. Machete (Danny Trejo) is an ex-federale who is hired to kill a senator who is tough on illegal immigrants (Robert Deniro). He is then double-crossed, soon after which he goes on a quest for vengeance. Now this film has about eighteen characters, and that sets up for Rodriguez's best ensemble in years. Lindsey Lohan somehow found a part in this movie, and I still don't like her in anything. Her character in the film is the same as her character in real life. You can get an idea in your head of what that means.

Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, and Robert Deniro all put up great cheesy work. Daryl Sabara, otherwise known as the Spy Kid, makes an appearance, but you barely recognize him at all, and he doesn't make much of an impression. We're sure to see more of him in Spy Kids 4: Armageddon, also directed by Rodriguez. My favorite actor in this film is Jeff Fahey (Lost), who plays the man who screws over Machete. He's got such a charismatic persona that permeates into every character he plays. I wish he took bigger roles than this.

The music and cinematography are extremely cheesy, and they're supposed to be. They often elicit a hilarious reaction from the audience in the screening I attended. Ultimately, Machete is one trashy miracle after another, and though it won't leave any last impression on you, you'll enjoy yourself while it's happening.

B

The Weekend Report: Clooney Just F**ked With The Wrong Mexican!

If there's one thing people could have predicted about this weekend, it would be that Going the Distance was never going to be a good movie. It's a romantic comedy starring Drew Barrymore and the Mac guy. That does not qualify a good cinematic experience. It qualifies a funny trailer, but some trailers just weren't meant to be fleshed out into feature length films. On the other side of the spectrum is the surprising front-runner for this weekend, Robert Rodriguez's Machete, based on the renowned Grindhouse trailer.

I was frankly surprised to hear that this was likely to be a hit with both audiences and critics. Out of this weekend, everybody just assumed that the winner would be The American, starring George Clooney. Here's a film from a new director who has displayed skill in the past, but is currently beginning a sort of slump. Critics have been mixed about this film, hoping for something to actually happen in their movie. As a matter of fact, this was the film I was most looking forward to seeing. Perhaps I should be thanking the local theaters for not screening it in my neighborhood.

On the other hand, critics have been really getting behind Machete, because it offers audiences what they couldn't get from The American. All we want at this point in our lives is a good, insane, exploitation action jamboree, and who better to give us that than Robert Rodriguez? Planet Terror remains, for me, his best work today, because he explored all the things he's been good at in the past. I'll be checking out Machete tomorrow, and seeing if all the buzz has benefited his film, or hurt it.

My Verdict: The women of the world, afraid of Rodriquez's "unique" sense of humor, will find entertainment in watching another sub-par romantic comedy, or gazing at two hours of George Clooney not really doing anything. The men who aren't seduced by Clooney, will be spending their time and money wisely with Machete. Or you can screw off the theater crowd altogether and stay at home watching Camp Rock 2. It's your decision.

3 to See in September!

The lineup of films this September isn't nearly a depressing as August was. That may be because the summer is over and therefore people are going to be too busy to go out to the theaters on numerous occasions. It might be because we're heading into Autumn when more Oscar worthy films tend to pop up. I strictly believe it's because there are just some good movies out this month, along with some diverting and unnecessary flops waiting to happen (You Again, Alpha and Omega, Devil). Before I get into the top three, I would like to draw attention to a few films that almost made this list, and do have the potential to be surprise hits.

Easy A, whose trailer I initially panned because I couldn't brush from my memory how disgusting Amanda Bynes looks in the film, actually looks like a moderately funny and enjoyable film. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps got some good reviews coming out of Cannes, so you might want to watch out for that. Ben Affleck's The Town has a decent amount of buzz going for it, but it looks a little too much like Brooklyn's Finest, or any other cop drama out there. However, you never can tell with Ben Affleck whether he is going to make a great film or not. Now on to my three to see.

3. MacheteThe audience favorite of the month definitely has to go to Robert Rodriguez's Machete, based on the fake-trailer that premiered in Grindhouse a few years back. One thing that Rodriguez knows how to do best is old-style gritty violence with a comedic edge to it. You can see that talent in the trailer with the title character using some poor guy's intestines as a rope to swing into a lower window. This film exists for the action within it, and for Danny Trejo to shine in a lead role. The main actor to watch in this movie is Cheech Marin, who plays the catholic priest brother of Machete. I can tell from the trailer that he's going to get most of the lines that will be remembered in this film.

2. The American Barely beating out Machete for the number two spot on my list of films to look forward to next month is Anton Corbijn's The American. I'd like to say up front that I don't think this film will be a huge presence in the awards season. Maybe for the cinematography, and perhaps for George Clooney's performance, but not much beyond that. Still, I think this will be the sort of contemplative thriller that I usually enjoy. I enjoy the slow-building intensity that those films give, instead of the quick jolts of the average thriller that you quickly get used to. This film may not be something incredibly new, but it looks like something incredibly good.

1. Never Let Me Go (Limited Release) Never Let Me Go doesn't get a wide release until later on, but it's worth nothing. It's a british drama based on a beloved book, starring Kiera Knightly, Carey Mulligan, and Andrew Garfield. It's got the most basic buzz surrounding it already, so if it actually manages to be a heartfelt and enjoyable film, it could break through to be a legitimate contender this awards season, like Atonement did in 2007. I dearly hope I'm not wrong to place my vote of confidence in this film. As it is, my other two picks on the list seem either destined not to be critical darlings, or have been too quiet to encourage confidence that they'll actually be good. So I'm going to sit back and pray that all three of these movies I want to see, including my top pick, are reviewed positively so that for once in my life, I can be right about what you should and shouldn't see.

Comic Con 2010: "Machete" Red Band Trailer!

Last night offered people the once in a lifetime opportunity to eat a taco prepared by the cast of Robert Rodriguez's Machete. I don't like Mexican food, but I'd eat a taco if I had the knowledge that it had been touched by Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba's hands. Either way, that was only one treat from the Machete section at Comic Con yesterday, another being this red band trailer for the film. It doesn't measure up to the initial fake trailer that premiered with Grindhouse, but it's worth it for that last line from Cheech Marin. You have to be 18 years or older to watch, but this being the internet, it's not very hard to fake that.

Machete Red Band Trailer