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.

Films to See in 2012: March

After two consecutive months of having nothing worth anticipating, we finally get around to March, which is always the point where the year actually arrives to some degree. The Academy Awards have been put to bed, and we can now actively move on to films that we may even remember by the end of the year. Of course the month starts out rather unassumingly, with whatever "Project X" is (cause I still don't know), and the animated adaptation of "The Lorax". This was the frame that "Rango" landed in last year, but I do not at all think that Dr. Seuss is quite going to give off the same vibe of nicely dialed insanity. In limited release that weekend is "Being Flynn", starring Paul Dano and Robert Deniro. It's fantastic to see Dano taking on bigger roles, but that film just looks way too simple-minded. I will say that it's better than whatever else Deniro is doing.

The following week we get around to Eddie Murphy's latest film, "A Thousand Words", which I have no idea about one way or the other. The guy's biggest prospect for this year was hosting the Oscars, and that fell through. It's also worth noting that "Friends with Kids", starring Adam Scott, Kirsten Wiig, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, and Chris O'Dowd, is coming into limited release. I know, it's like a huge "Bridesmaids" reunion, and as somebody who really enjoyed that film, this sounds like it could be an interesting mix. And there's also "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", which has some interesting people attached to it, but there isn't much in the way of actual story to be told there, so I'm not that sure about it. Lest I forget, there is also Elizabeth Olsen's year-old thriller "Silent House" finally getting release, so that may well be worth checking out.

2011 Sundance Film Festival: Days 1-2

I'd say that I've entered the fray a little late in terms of the Sundance Film Festival. I've been so swamped this weekend, I never even assumed that there might actually be some new and amazing films debuting at the festival this year. Though the 2010 awards season may not be over yet, it's sure starting to feel like that, and so it's a good idea to get ahead on the next year. It turns out that quite a lot has been doing at Sundance this year, and the only relevant this I thought was premiering was Tom McCarthy's newest feature, Win Win. Even though his film hasn't been getting quite the same accolades as his past features, it hasn't gotten much negative response so far, so I'd say we've got another indie hit from McCarthy.

Transitioning from the expected to the unlikely, the latest film in the string of Blair Witch style caught-on-camera fantasy flicks is apparently upon us. It somewhat dismays me what this film is about: Trolls. I'm not even joking about this one. It's about freakin' trolls! The Troll Hunter is the debut that's caught a great deal of attention, not to mention unnerving looks. I'm not sure if I can buy into this one, or if I want to at all. I find it far easier to put my faith in director Dee Rees' lesbian drama, Pariah. Obviously a young black woman taking center-stage in a film premiering at Sundance is something we're quite familiar with after the film formerly known as Push came out. Last year proved to be the most predominantly white year in film I have seen in years, so it's good to get some diversity back in the swing of things. Pariah is actually aspiring to be the raw emotional-drama of this year's festival, after Blue Valentine lead the pack a year ago. It has definitely peeked my interest as an outside contender.