Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After coming within $100,000 of the estimate on “Texas Chainsaw 3D” last weekend, which surprised many by breaking $20m, I’m nearly feeling the impulse to quit while I’m ahead and not even bother with this […]
Box Office Beat: Weekend of January 11 Read More »
Billy Crystal’s Oscar schtick ceased being funny years ago, but if the actor’s lack of a regular paycheck from the Academy was what compelled him to spearhead “Parental Guidance”—his first starring role in a decade—then I suggest that we anoint him the ceremony’s permanent host. Enduring Crystal’s hum-drum video-package and monologue is nothing compared to
Review: “Parental Guidance” Read More »
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching numerous Chinese historical dramas on Blu-Ray this past year, it’s that Chinese moviegoers must know a lot more about their country’s history than Americans do ours. With little exposition, these films plunge the viewer into complicated situations where prior knowledge is essential to finding one’s bearings. As
Blu-Ray Review: “The Assassins” Read More »
“Jack Reacher” is based on Lee Child’s “One Shot,” the ninth mystery novel in a series of 17 that have cumulatively sold over 60 million copies worldwide, but you’d never guess this by only watching the film, which is exceedingly unexceptional. Paramount executives could have saved a lot of money on licensing fees by simply
Review: “Jack Reacher” Read More »
The title and advertised premise of Judd Apatow’s “This is 40” are diversion tactics. Yes, the focal couple turn 40 during the film and there are plenty of jokes about growing older—Debbie (Leslie Mann) pathologically lies about her age, while Pete (Paul Rudd) asks her to examine an irregularity he finds on his anus via
Review: “This is 40” Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. Now that the holidays are over with, we’re back to movies being released on the standard Friday, so extrapolating predictions from existing comparisons is easier. There are only two new wide releases this weekend, so
Box Office Beat: Weekend of January 4 Read More »
The product of two negative integers is a positive one, but the product of two cliché film premises is not an original one, as proven by “The Guilt Trip,” a relentlessly uninspired pairing of the road-trip movie and the mother-son bonding movie. When even the smartly cast Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen–the quintessential Jewish mom
Review: “The Guilt Trip” Read More »
West Hollywood, 1979. One night in a gay bar, Paul (Garret Dillahunt), who has barely come to terms with his homosexuality after the collapse of his heterosexual marriage, locks eyes with drag performer Rudy (Alan Cumming). They have a sexual encounter in the parking lot and Paul gives Rudy his phone number. The next morning,
Review: “Any Day Now” Read More »
When designing high school history textbooks, publishers often incorporate small, colorful boxes filled with “Did you know?”-style trivia about the people and places relevant to the material at hand, so that the otherwise monotonous, dense reading doesn’t become overly tedious for the student. The new FDR film “Hyde Park on the Hudson” feels like the
Review: “Hyde Park on the Hudson” Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After several weeks in a row of only one or two new wide releases, moviegoers have a bevy of fresh choices to pick from this time — five, to be exact. That makes my load
Box Office Beat: Weekend of December 21 Read More »
