Box Office Update: "The Town" Steals Top Spot; "Easy A" Passes!

10. Eat Pray Love (Sixth Weekend; $1.7 million): On my way to see Easy A yesterday, me and my friends were shocked to see this film was still playing. I trust this will be the last week this film tastes the top ten.

9. The Other Guys (Seventh Weekend; $2 million): Will Ferrell and Marky Mark continue to inexplicably make a living with this film. It's success is quite simply an abomination, but one that I'll live with.

8. Inception (Tenth Weekend; $2.1 million): Ten weeks into it's run, and this film still won't go down. I'd say it has a chance of climbing to $300 million, but I seriously doubt that will happen. However, I'm going to take a guess that when we're back here next weekend, Inception will be able to hold onto the top ten for one more week.

7. The American (Third Weekend; $2.7 million): George Clooney's drama continues to take a dive, and at this point I don't think I'll end up seeing it at all. Currently at $32 million, expect just a little more before it checks out.

6. Takers (Fourth Weekend; $3 million): What more can I say about this movie? It's made a profit, so lets leave it at that.

5. Alpha and Omega (First Weekend; $9.2 million): Just when you thought 3D couldn't descend any lower, this Lionsgate train-wreck comes in to prove us wrong.

4. Resident Evil: Afterlife (Second Weekend; $10.1 million): This film did suffer from another 3D film swooping in and taking away a share of it's theatres, but I blame the 61% drop on the fact that the film just wasn't worth it.

3. Devil (First Weekend; $12.5 million): You can try to defend this film all you want. I still have no interest in seeing anything even remotely related to M. Night Shyamalan anymore. Still, the horror film made a decent earning in a small tangent of film-goers.

2. Easy A (First Weekend; $18.2 million): Emma Stone's comedy made second place this weekend, as predicted, but I foresee this film to do better in the coming weeks through positive word-of-mouth.

1. The Town (First Weekend; $23.8 million): In just one weekend, Ben Affleck's new film made more than Gone Baby Gone made in it's entire run. You may chalk that up to it's more action-oriented premise, but I feel this film was more accessible to audiences, and it'll probably be the film Affleck gets a greater reputation for.

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)

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.

My "American" Review NOT Coming Soon

So, since I last announced that I was headed to college, you've probably been wondering where I went. Well, since I moved in about a week ago, I've come to realize that I'm in hell. That's probably putting it a little harshly, as I've been having a pretty good time, but it's hot everyday, and none of the local theaters are playing The American. I suppose I'm just one of the people who have faced this predicament, but as a result, I will most likely not be able to see or review the film in the near future. It's a setback, and a disappointing one. I apologize for this problem, and I'll be sure to get you a review of Machete as soon as I see it. It's a close second to The American. In the mean time, take another look at my 3 to see for September. You might find that one or two things are a little different.

Too Quiet Out There?: The American

Alright, it seems like an easy bet to say that The American won't be grabbing a hell of a lot of nominations this Oscar season, because we haven't heard many reviews breach the internet. It's maddening for someone like me, who likes to know what people think of a movie before he goes and sees it. You could go and say that I let other people decide what I do for me, but quite often I find myself disagreeing with the critical majority on some matters. I think that Taylor Lautner is the best actor in The Twilight Saga. It's not saying much, but it's saying something.

Either way, I find it a little disturbing that we have gotten any credible opinion on this film. Most films that don't allow a press screening before the release have good reason to do so. That reason being, they don't quite have faith in their project. They want big audiences to get out there before word leaks out on the quality of the film. I'd understand that for a bigger release, but not The American. This film has had little to no marketing going for it. There have been two teaser trailers and a few TV spots, but that doesn't bode well for the thriller's success.

This is a very dangerous grave to dig oneself into, especially if the film isn't good in the first place. So I'm remaining skeptical of this project until I see it on Wednesday. I really do hope that this film is spectacular, as it's the film this month that I'm most anticipating. I'm just bracing myself for something unexpected.

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.