When Baz Luhrmann announced that he would be helming a new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”–in 3-D, no less–nobody expected it to be a straightforward, classical treatment of the material. (That was already attempted in 1974 by Jack Clayton and Francis Ford Coppola, and the result was less than satisfactory.) Nonetheless, I […]
New trailer for Luhrmann, DiCaprio’s “Great Gatsby” Read More »
Tom Cruise seems to be in a hurry to film as many potentially huge movies as possible lest one of them tanks and his semi-comeback comes to a halt. Cruise, who had a rough few years but scored a hit with the latest Mission: Impossible, has attached himself to a remake of the 1960 Western
Tom Cruise to star in remake of a remake The Magnificent Seven Read More »
Most Hollywood films are made for profit, not artistic reasons, but rarely do they make their financial motives as transparent as Kirk Jones’ “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” does. The film’s desire to win ticket-buyers, rather than admirers is evident in every element of its existence, right down to the title — which, taking
Review: “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” Read More »
Today, teasers for two of the most anticipated upcoming films–which couldn’t be more different from one another–hit the web. The more exciting of the pair is the one for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, starring Joaquin Phoenix in his return to formal acting. The teaser does exactly what it should — it doesn’t let you
Teaser Monday: First glimpses of PTA’s The Master and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Read More »
The reason this piece doesn’t need a sub-headline is because you already knew that The Avengers took the #1 spot, zooming over everyone else ala Iron Man in the photo above. Let’s just get to the chart already. No. Title Weekend Per Theater Average Total 1 Marvel’s The Avengers $55.1M $12.958 $457.1M 2 Battleship $25.3M $6,856 $25.3M
Weekend Box Office: Sub-headline? We don’t need no stinkin’ sub-headline Read More »
Peter Berg’s “Battleship,” “based on” the board game, is the sort of film that contains the caption “Hong Kong, China,” as if to remind the viewer that the events aren’t unfolding in the rival Asian metropolis of Hong Kong, Nebraska. The caption is an indication of just how low the film’s sights are set, made
Review: “Battleship” Read More »
Boy, am I getting tired of having to report that The Avengers has once again taken the #1 spot at the North American box office! Are moviegoers ever going to stop flocking to the Marvel juggernaut? All three new openers got crushed; Battleship sunk, The Dictator fell, and What to Expect… over-expected. In fact, the only movie really worth
“God Bless America,” the latest film from stand-up comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, has a story that could have been told from a compelling angle. Joel Murray stars as Frank, a middle-aged man with nothing to lose, who goes on a murderous rampage, offing “scum of the earth” targets like Bill O’Reilly, a spoiled girl featured on
Review: “God Bless America” Read More »
To promote the upcoming release of their new movie Brave, Pixar has partnered with AMC Theatres to bring back four of their most beloved films–Toy Story 3, Up, Ratatouille, and WALL-E–to multiplex screens. It will all go down on Memorial Day weekend, when each film will show at participating AMC locations for only $6 per
Pixar bringing four films back to AMC screens Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, Critic Speak’s weekly box office predictions column. After missing the mark considerably for two weekends in a row–I lowballed the record-breaking run of The Avengers and overestimated Tim Burton’s anemic Dark Shadows–I am ready to redeem myself with better predictions this time around. Thankfully, I have three
Box Office Beat: Weekend of May 18 Read More »
