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.

There's Nothing Wrong With Me: Duncan's Worst Films of 2011

Who wants to wallow in negativity at a time when there's so much to celebrate. I've been so busy with the bustle of catching up with the year's end that I haven't had the time or attention to comment on the films I've seen. If I had, it's only been on twitter, and if you're not following me there then you're sorely missing out. But the truth is that I didn't want to write a "Worst Films of 2011" list because that brings me back to the idea of this as a generally disappointing year, which it was for the greater part of the first nine months, for me anyway. I don't expect you to agree with any of the conclusions I've made in this list, and I don't want you to. You are free to hate me for my opinions, and I'll welcome it, but here what I have to say about the films before you do so.

Summer was a dour exercise I'd rather forget. It's worth mentioning that simple films like "Captain America", "Thor", and even "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" yielded more interest from me than the likes of "Super 8". The more appropriate name for this list would be "Most Disappointing of 2011", as much of what makes some of these films bad is the potential placed on them. Let me say that these are of the films I've seen. I didn't see everything, especially towards the end of the year, when I was especially busy catching up on what I did want to see. Sorry to "Horrible Bosses". You just missed the cut. So without further delay...

Box Office Update: Branded on Both Ends

We're getting very close to actually being ahead of where we were in 2010, and I can't quite pick up why we have been failing so much this year. Audiences still aren't being intelligent with their choices, but they just aren't going to the theater as much as they used to. I admit that I visited the theater more often last year than I have this year, but I'd never wait for a film I'm truly excited to see to release on DVD. The theatrical experience is one of the things that makes this medium of art and entertainment so powerful. I do hope that this year's box office slump has more to do with the quality of the films playing, and less to do with people having grown tired of the big screen experience.

We can still expect films like Hop to succeed more than anything else, an immediate and sustainable draw for the child crowd. The Easter themed flick held onto the top spot, dropping 42.2% from its debut. Another strange draw for the kiddie crowd, Arthur, took second place with the highest of four relatively low openings. Hanna, the true spectacle of this weekend, was right behind it with a higher average per theater. Soul Surfer, which played surprisingly well with audiences this weekend, followed Hanna with an even higher average. Last weekend's horror film, Insidious, held on most impressively amongst last weekend's films, dropping only 26.6%. Your Highness skidded just below the $10 million mark, marking the lowest income of the new releases. Source Code dropped by a margin less than Hop, but greater than Insidious, falling 38.9%. Overall, this weekend was a 13.9% drop from 2010, when Date Night opened shortly behind the second weekend of Clash of the Titans.

1. Hop (Second Weekend; $21.7 million)
2. Arthur (First Weekend; $12.6 million)
3. Hanna (First Weekend; $12.3 million)
4. Soul Surfer (First Weekend; $11.1 million)
5. Insidious (Second Weekend; $9.7 million)
6. Your Highness (First Weekend; $9.5 million)
7. Source Code (Second Weekend; $9 million)
8. Limitless (Fourth Weekend; $5.7 million)
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Third Weekend; $4.9 million)
10. The Lincoln Lawyer (Fourth Weekend; $4.6 million)

Box Office Update: Snuffed at the Source

Fun Fact: The 2011 box office is still failing miserably in comparison to both 2010 and 2009. I get the feeling that once we reach the summer movie season, things will pick up and we'll be on our way to a solid number to end the year on. This weekend does come as something of an upset, because there is a genuinely great film for audiences, but their attention seems to be averted by the typical drivel. Hop came on top, managing a gross that comes close to surpassing Rango. Kids flicks have had the greatest financial success thus far this year, and that trend is continuing here.

Source Code did lure in the majority of the adult audiences this weekend, but such a paltry number as $15 million has to disappoint in some way. Insidious came just behind it, revealing where the other adult crowds decided to go. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules fell to forth place with a massive 57% drop. Even more massive was Sucker Punch's descent of 68%, spelling quick and sudden death for Zack Snyder's only original effort. This weekend constituted a 33% drop from the same weekend last year, when Clash of the Titans opened to a large, but circumstantially disappointing, number.

1. Hop (First Weekend; $38.1 million)
2. Source Code (First Weekend; $15 million)
3. Insidious (First Weekend; $13.5 million)
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Second Weekend; $10.2 million)
5. Limitless (Third Weekend; $9.4 million)
6. The Lincoln Lawyer (Third Weekend; $7 million)
7. Sucker Punch (Second Weekend; $6.1 million)
8. Rango (Fifth Weekend; $4.5 million)
9. Paul (Third Weekend; $4.3 million)
10. Battle: Los Angeles (Fourth Weekend; $3.5 million)

Box Office Update: Felled by a Wimpy Punch

It's kind of hard to believe how pathetic the box office has been this year. There have been films that from afar seemed like definite irrational box office successes, such as Battle: Los Angeles and more recently Sucker Punch, and yet they have come in to less than spectacular numbers. It's kind of sad and depressing that a film made with all the things that guys love (girls, dragons, etc.) ended up drawing such a small opening. Zack Snyder's psychological action film Sucker Punch came in at #2 with a gross that doesn't even head past $20 million. Even more surprising than that low income is what it was surpassed by.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules performed exactly as expected to, drawing in enough excited children to surpass Snyder's under-performer. Kids being kids, you can expect them to return to the film across the following weeks. Talking of which, there were some pretty strong holdovers from last weekend, with Limitless and The Lincoln Lawyer both dropping less than 20%. Mars Needs Moms took the biggest dip of 59%, its target audience being snatched away by the top new release. Interesting enough, the top news of the weekend is probably Rango shooting past the $100 million mark, making it the first film of 2011 to do that. Adam Sandler's Just Go With It came just behind it, edging past the mark by a far more minuscule degree. Surprisingly, this weekend ended up being just 6.8% less than last year, when How to Train Your Dragon came in at the top spot. It did on the other hand come 22.9% lower than two years ago when Monsters vs. Aliens wowed audiences so.

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (First Weekend; $24.4 million)
2. Sucker Punch (First Weekend; $19 million)
3. Limitless (Second Weekend; $15.2 million)
4. The Lincoln Lawyer (Second Weekend; $11 million)
5. Rango (Fourth Weekend; $9,8 million)
6. Battle: Los Angeles (Third Weekend; $7.6 million)
7. Paul (Second Weekend; $7.5 million)
8. Red Riding Hood (Third Weekend; $4.3 million)
9. The Adjustment Bureau (Fourth Weekend; $4.2 million)
10. Mars Needs Moms (Third Weekend; $2.2 million)

Box Office Update: Limited Potential

I think we can now break down how 2011 at the box office is shaping up in comparison to past years. This weekend wasn't exactly a great weekend, but it could've been a lot worse. It did decline from where it was last weekend, but there wasn't really anything major in release to urge people to head out to the theater. Limitless ended up as the #1 film this weekend, but didn't manage to break the $20 million mark. The average income per theater was impressive, but it still lacked something crucial. Rango held onto second place, boosting the animated western to about $92 million. The film should break the $100 million mark next weekend, making it the first film to do so this year.

Battle: Los Angeles took a considerable dive of 59%, landing right behind Rango after opening in the top spot last weekend. The Lincoln Lawyer and Paul both managed decent numbers, but nothing at all spectacular given the hype surrounding them. Surprisingly enough, the wide release that held on most honorably was Mars Needs Moms. I guess 3D still has enough appeal to keep children in the theaters. Overall, this weekend was down 9.9% from last year when Alice in Wonderland held onto the top spot for the third week in a row, but up 7.1% from 2009 when Knowing opened at #1.

1. Limitless (First Weekend; $19 million)
2. Rango (Third Weekend; $15.3 million)
3. Battle: Los Angeles (Second Weekend; $14.6 million)
4. The Lincoln Lawyer (First Weekend; $13.4 million)
5. Paul (First Weekend; $13.2 million)
6. Red Riding Hood (Second Weekend; $7.3 million)
7. The Adjustment Bureau (Third Weekend; $5.9 million)
8. Mars Needs Moms (Second Weekend; $5.3 million)
9. Beastly (Third Weekend; $3.3 million)
10. Hall Pass (Fourth Weekend; $2.6 million)

The Weekend Report: Sexy Men & Aliens

I can't say this weekend is going to be much of an improvement at the box office, but it's shaping up to be rather great in terms of picture quality. None of the films coming out this weekend are likely to reek as much as the films of last week. On the lowest end of the spectrum is Limitless, the Bradley Cooper psychological thriller. I maintain that the film does have the potential to be entertaining, but the fact is that with this sort of material, it does tend to come out as forced. It's still most likely to garner a plethora of audience members, probably skewing towards the female demographic for obvious reasons.

There's also Matthew McConaughey's legal drama, The Lincoln Lawyer, which is snagging some surprisingly favorable reviews. I could've guessed as much from the excellent supporting cast, but I think it may be treading the line of good rather than great. I expect that this film will play most favorably to the older male audience. The rest of the male audiences this weekend should be heading out to see Paul, but that's assuming that people are attracted to quality entertainment. I personally enjoyed Paul very much, even though there are people who are somewhat underwhelmed with the feature. The crux of audience enjoyment is to not compare it to Pegg and Frost's past features. Win Win is in limited release, so if you're in that rare area to see it, that'd be a good idea.

For Your Anticipation: I Need to Make It Right

I think that Matthew McConaughey has gotten a bit of a bad reputation over the years, but one he's definitely earned. He keeps choosing films and roles that benefit from his falsified good looks and charisma, and usually they fall flat on all other accounts. The only reason I had faith in The Lincoln Lawyer is because it's got such a fantastic supporting cast. You here names like Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, and Bryan Cranston, and you expect something fantastic. You here McConaughey, all that hope goes out the window. I don't quite hate the man's talent, but he hasn't really given us anything worthy of praise. That could change with this film, but it's not going to be a major revelation. Every turn around takes time.