John Hancock appears to be breaking the box office along with buildings in Los Angeles. Peter Berg's superhero flick brought in $17.4 million in just under 4,000 theaters on its opening day. Combined with the $6.8 million grossed from Tuesday night preview screenings in 3,680 theaters, "Hancock"'s total from its first 1.5 days adds up to $24.2 million. By the end of the holiday weekend, the action flick could bring in $90 million - $100 million range.
Last year's Fourth of July flick, "Transformers," opened with preview screenings on Monday night earning $8.8 million. The following day, it picked up another $27.9 million, putting its 1.5-day take $12.7 million ahead of that of "Hancock." By the end of the holiday weekend, "Transformers" had brought in $155.4 million. It is, however, important to note that "Transformers" benefitted from a brand name. "Hancock" should continue to do well despite lackluster reviews from critics based on Smith's star power and likability.
The first reviews of "The Dark Knight" are beginning to trickle in, and all I have read so far are glowing. Most of the praise is going to the late Heath Ledger's performance as Batman's nemesis Joker.
When the young Australian actor passed away earlier this year, rumors of a push for a posthumous Oscar began to circulate. Now that the film has actually been screened, the push seems like less of a rumor and more like an actual plan. Actor Christian Bale praised the actor this past weekend at a press junket for the film, and fellow cast member Gary Oldman spoke in support of Ledger's style and turn as Joker.
"Heath had this frequency none of us could hear," Oldman told E! Online. "The Academy tends to overlook movies like this, but this acting is so good it's going to be very hard for them to avoid it."
Also praised was Ledger's attention to detail in preparing for the role. According to members of "The Dark Knight"'s cast and crew, Ledger pulled influences from "A Clockwork Orange" to Charlie Chaplin's work to how ventriloquist dummies talk. Gone is the cartoonish Joker played by Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 film.
If Ledger does win an Oscar for his performance as the psychotic and unpredictable Gotham villain, it would be the second posthumous Oscar ever granted. The first went to Peter Finch for "Network" in 1976.
Finally! The new Bond trailer has arrived! In a departure from past films of the series, Bond has apparently gone rogue (previously explored only in 1989's "License to Kill") and is out for revenge; it's a different mission altogether.
German director Wim Wenders has been named the head of the jury at the Venice Film Festival, which runs August 27-September 6. His latest film "Palermo Shooting" screened at last month's Cannes Film Festival to atrocious reviews.
I must admit that as it was the second-to-last film to play at the Festival, I was a bit too tired to beg for a ticket. However, a handful of my fellow students did put forth the energy, but soon discovered that they were not going to be rewarded for this one. Aside from bad reviews shared in class, the group invented a new game: Would You Rather? The Palermo Shooting Edition. An example: Would you rather scoop out your eyes with spoons, or watch "Palermo Shooting" again? Ask any of my friends this question, and they will ask you for a spoon.
So to hear that Wenders will be the head juror for the next big film festival fresh off of a failure is a bit strange. Wenders made his first appearance at the Venice Film Festival in 1972 with "Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter" (The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty Kick) and later won the Golden Lion for "Der Stand der Dinge" (The State of Things) in 1982.
For the first time in months, the weekend box office has pulled ahead of that of 2007. Disney-Pixar's "Wall-E" and Universal's "Wanted" both brought in some serious cash this weekend.
Director Andrew Stanton's "Wall-E" came in first place this weekend with an estimated $62.5 million from just under 4,000 theaters. This makes "Wall-E" the second-best June opening of all time ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" is in first place with $94.7 million), the third-highest opening weekend for a Pixar film ("The Incredibles" and "Finding Nemo" both scored just over $70 million), and the highest opening-day gross of a G-rated film with $23.1 million on Friday alone.
In second place, "Wanted" grossed $51.1 million from just over 3,100 theaters, making the action film starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy the best-ever opening for an R-rated film released in June and the sixth best opening for any R-rated film. Universal is of course already preparing for a sequel. In 2005, Jolie's film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" opened with $50.3 million.
Leave it to Pixar to take a post-apocalyptic theme, a protagonist reminiscent of silent movie comedians, and an environmental message and create a film that is at once humorous, touching, and romantic. "WALL-E," directed by Andrew Stanton, is the tale of the little robot who, after 700 years alone, ends up saving our devastated planet, and all because of a pretty girl. Looks like things won't change too much in the future.
When the trash heaps became overpowering and earth was no longer hospitable to humans, the planet was evacuated to a giant space station called the Axiom, and little trash-compacting bots (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class) were left behind to clean up the mess. Over the years, all of these little guys have become defunct, except for WALL-E. WALL-E, a clunky trash compactor, spends his days collecting garbage and stacking it into makeshift skyscrapers. When he finds something he likes (a bra, a bobble-head, a rubik's cube, even a spork), he takes it home and stores it in his trailer. At night, he watches an old recording of the musical "Hello, Dolly!" with his friend, a cockroach. It is through this near-forgotten musical that he realizes what his life is missing: someone to hold hands with.
During a normal day of work, WALL-E notices a red beam on the ground and follows it until a large spacecraft lands practically on top of him. Out hovers EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), a sleek and shiny robot as pretty as anything on the shelf at your local Apple store. WALL-E thinks she is his chance for love and gives her a gift: a small green plant. This tiny sign of life sends EVE back to the space station, and WALL-E tags along for the adventure of a lifetime.
The muddied colors of the earth WALL-E is tasked with cleaning is astounding, but you don't realize the gravity of the environment's plight until that one tiny plant appears on screen. Never has a glimpse of the color green been so moving; this gentle handling of the topic continues throughout the rest of the film, allowing Stanton to concentrate on story and characters instead of beating a political message into the ground. "WALL-E" is a cautionary tale, not a slap on the wrist.
WALL-E's dusty and scrapped world is contrasted with outer space and the Axiom. As WALL-E hangs on to the side of EVE's ship, he takes the audience on a wonderful voyage, passing over planets, the sun (MacNerds pay attention to our lead's start-up sound), and through star fields. The imagery is unbelievably beautiful, rivaling the footage shown in planetariums and natural history museums.
The humans of "WALL-E" are infantile blobs whose arms and legs have been reduced to nearly-useless flipper-like appendages. They hover around in automatic recliners, drink all of their meals from plastic cups, and live with their heads surrounded by projected screens. In the vein of COSTCO and Sam's Club comes Buy 'N Large, the superstore that makes everything from baby food to the space station on which these humans live. Everything that they could possibly want is made available to them in this floating utopia, but these people are too spoiled to realize it. This is the world and race created by consumerism. It can't be all bad, though; after all, WALL-E himself is a product of Buy 'N Large. It is in this detail that Stanton cleverly illustrates the dual nature of creativity.
"WALL-E" marks director Andrew Stanton's second outing as a Pixar director (his first was "Finding Nemo"), and this tale of an unlikely hero certainly places him among the pantheon of talent that resides in Emeryville, CA. The story is the child of both Stanton and co-writer Jim Reardon (a longtime contributor on "The Simpsons"). The team has skillfully blended a subtle environmental message into a family-friendly romantic comedy.
Being a Pixar film, "WALL-E" is guaranteed to feature top-notch animation. "WALL-E" doesn't disappoint, but I don't feel the need to repeat here what everyone knows going in to the film. Instead, I will focus on the sound design for the film. The first half-hour or so contains no dialogue, but trust me, you'll hardly miss it. Instead, WALL-E's world is filled with cranks, bleeps, blips, and squeals, all orchestrated by the master sound designer Ben Burtt, also responsible for the sound in "E.T.," the "Indiana Jones" series, and the "Star Wars" films. So much character is given to this little guy purely through sound effects. With binocular eyes and no mouth, WALL-E generates a symphony of different noises, combining with slapstick physical humor to create a contemporary (or future, I guess) Buster Keaton with treads. He and EVE communicate in similar chirps, some of which mesh together to create the heart-wrenching cries and coos of "EEE-VAA" and "WALL-E!"
Every studio has a flop, but Pixar, who has been churning out instant classics for the past 13 years, doesn't appear to have gotten the message. "WALL-E" is certain to be listed among the best films of 2008 and will be recognized come Oscar season for the Best Animated film category if not Best Picture. With this beautifully-rendered film, "WALL-E'"s creators have shown that beauty and goodness can survive an inhospitable planet; it comes in a little yellow box.
"WALL-E" opened today to rave reviews, cementing it as the best-reviewed film of 2008. It has maintained a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and is being heralded as the best film of 2008 and the best Pixar film yet.
According to Nikki FInke, Pixar will be pushing hard for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the film, a feat attempted by last year's "Ratatouille" which instead brought home Best Animated Feature along with several other nominations. The only animated film to make its way into the Best Picture category was 1991's "Beauty and the Beast."
Even though films that have been in release since January 1 are eligible for Oscars come nomination season, the first half of the year does not usually yield much in the way of award-worthy films. The summer is typically blockbuster season, during which studios can make some bank to put towards projects in the fall and winter, the prime Oscar-bidding season. "WALL-E" is so far the only film to be released this year that will likely still be resonating with audiences when the nominations are considered.
Who would've thought an animated film with post-apocalyptic themes but silent film charm would make it so far? Leave it to the wizards at Pixar!
Film adaptations of graphic novels have taken many forms in the past few years. Some are grounded in realism, like Sam Mendes' screen version of Collins and Rayners' Road to Perdition. Others are highly-stylized, like Robert Rodriguez's adaptation of Frank Miller's Sin City. Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi's 2007 film Persepolis, which recounts one woman's memories of growing up during the Iranian Revolution, manages to be both, creating an honest tale that unfolds like a delicate French fairy tale.
Persepolis is the sum of Marjane Satrapi's two autobiographical graphic novels, Persepolis I and Persepolis II, which recount her upbringing in Tehran in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. Nine-year-old Marjane is precocious and outspoken, but is growing up just as the fundamentalists take over in Iran. Thousands are imprisoned and women are forced to cover themselves with veils. Living with her family and community in terror of the government and the war with Iraq, Marjane westernizes herself with punk rock music and American icons. Her parents, fearing for her safety, send her to a French school in Vienna. Here, she struggles to find her place as her peers equate her Iranian heritage with the country's current political situation. She finally starts to fit in in Europe, but finds herself homesick and alone and thus gives up her freedom to return home. But the times have changed Iran, and the country is no longer the home she once knew. She ultimately decides to leave for France, where Satrapi currently resides, and where the film begins - the airport at Orly.
There is a theory commonly applied to anime that describes the power and ability of animation to present audiences with horrific or disturbing images. The idea is that through animation, anything the artist can imagine can be put on the screen. Likewise, the medium distances the audience just enough so that the horrors of war can be shown without deterring the viewer. Persepolis certainly isn't as naturalistic as Barefoot Gen or Grave of the Fireflies, but it by no means fails in representing the effects of the Iranian Revolution on Marjane's family and friends. The silhouettes of fallen citizens and the clouds of smoke that rise from bombed-out buildings say more about the pain felt by the Iranian people than even the best 3D animation could.
Persepolis may appear to be stark; it's true that the film is black, white, and shades of gray with only a few carefully-chosen moments of color. However, the warmth that the simple and welcoming animation style exudes envelops the viewer like an old Peanuts cartoon. Persepolis could have been brought to the screen as a live action film (and Satrapi has said that she was approached with a script that would place Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lopez in the roles of Marjane's parents!), but it would have lost the emotive quality of Satrapi's no-frills style.
Despite it's cartoony visage, Persepolis is a grim tale of oppression and fear. However, the film never slips into melodrama. Instead, Persepolis maintains a quick wit and light charm throughout. The character of Marjane's grandmother is an excellent example. She is a steadfast example to Marjane of the importance of recognizing and being loyal to her heritage. She's also a little bit saucy and clearly won't be anyone's fool, showing the audience from where Marjane inherited her headstrong behavior).
Persepolis is a near-perfect film that suffers only from presenting the audience with so many heavy subjects. Having known nothing about Iranian politics going into the film, I still found myself slightly confused upon leaving. I did enjoy the whimsical animated puppet show that illustrated the country's history and the reasons for being at war. Satrapi's tale is enormous and full of heart. Coming of age tales are one thing, and war stories are another, but to execute both to near-perfection is a rare treat.
Corporate sibling relationships have reached a new level with Pixar's upcoming film "WALL-E." When Apple CEO Steve Jobs sold Pixar to Disney, I'll bet he never imagined that the companies would end up collaborating on an animated film. Though WALL-E himself is a clunky little tractor, his sleek black and white love interest EVE recalls all of the minimalist beauty of an iPod. As it turns out, EVE is a design product of Johnny Ive, Apple's design wizard.
In an interview with Fortune, director Andrew Stanton explained that he wanted EVE to be "high-end technology... and I wanted it to be seamless and for the technology to be sort of hidden and subcutaneous." Sounds like just about anything on the shelves of your local Apple store, doesn't it?
Thus, in 2005, Stanton made a call to Steve Jobs, who sent Ive to Pixar's headquarters in order to consult on the character design of EVE. However, due to Apple's "tight-lipped" tendencies on the future of technology and design, Ive offered "few specific modifications," according to Stanton. "The most he could do is nod his head to the things we said we wanted to do."
If you're curious about the design for little WALL-E, the idea came to Stanton while playing with a pair of binoculars at a baseball game.
It's good to know that at least a few people in the movie business still have a little imagination!
If I believed everything I saw in the movies, my high school experience could have been a hell of a lot more interesting. In December, little Juno MacGuff of "Juno" taught us that teen pregnancy is okay as long as it's put to a hip soundtrack. And now, Charlie Bartlett of "Charlie Bartlett" shows how peddling drugs to your high school buddies is cool if you pair the prescription with advice.
After being kicked out of the last private school around, Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) moves back home to attend public school. His dad is in prison, so it's just Charlie and his self-medicating mom Marilyn (Hope Davis). Whereas he was a troublemaker at his previous school, he's simply getting beaten up at Western Summit High. Failing miserably at gaining popularity (it doesn't help that he wears a sports jacket and carries an attache case), he studies the social hierarchy and discovers what the school needs. Through his eager charm and desire to help, Charlie becomes a sort of psychiatrist for the student body. Teaming up with bully Murhpy Bivens (Tyler Hilton), Charlie doles out advice and pills collected from the psychiatrist his mother keeps on call. Along the way to popularity, Charlie falls in love with Susan (Kat Dennings), the daughter of the school's world-weary principal Nathan Gardner (Robert Downey, Jr.). It is with the help of these two characters that Charlie begins to figure out who he is and where he belongs. After all, isn't that what high school is all about?
Looking at the synopsis for "Charlie Bartlett," it seems as though it could be an old John Hughes movie. "Bartlett" sets itself apart from films like "Sixteen Candles"and "Pretty in Pink" by portraying an oddly optimistic high school student body that is capable of being united. Here, not only does the geeky guy get the girl, but he brings everyone from the jocks to the special education kids together in a happily ever after ending.
Unfortunately, what could have become a dark comedy bursting with wit and cynicism ultimately plays out like an after-school special. "Charlie Bartlett" touches on a lot of serious issues like suicide, addiction, and dysfunctional families, but never quite dives in. One student almost dies from overdosing on the pills that Charlie gave him, but since Principal Gardner doesn't have enough evidence to pin it to Charlie, all Charlie gets is a stern talking to and a recommendation to "do the right thing."
During the scenes in which Charlie is handing out advice from bathroom stalls, it's hard to take him seriously. Charlie is eager to be liked and honestly seems like he wants to help, but it's difficult to look past the naive rich kid wanting to be popular. Anton Yelchin plays Charlie to be the kid you want to hate but can't. His enthusiasm reminded me of the Charlie Bartlett of my high school: a briefcase-carrying, libertarian nut job that was always trying to tell me his latest theories on how the government should be run. Yelchin's acting seems stilted, as if he's wearing a back brace and talking through a forced smile, but he exudes a peculiar quality in awkward moments, such as when he breaks into song at the piano or puts on an accent, that makes him inexplicably likable. His performance is a little bit cheesy, but this can be forgiven since the entire film carries a tongue-in-cheek tone.
Though Yelchin portrays the film's titular character, it is Robert Downey Jr's Principal Gardner that steals the show. His melancholy and despondent Gardner loves his daughter, is losing control of his job, and sinking further into madness and alcoholism. Downey Jr., who possesses a great unpredictability and slight madness, gives Gardner an air of cynicism and insanity that appears to be necessary to cope with running a public high school. He is hapless and the student body hates him, but this does not discourage him enough to not want to help Charlie realize that he's "just a kid." As Charlie sees it, Gardner needs him to help him control the school. But from Gardner's point of view, Charlie is a kid that was forced to grow up too fast and now is in need of control himself. In one of the final scenes, Gardner offers Charlie advice that turns out to be the funniest line of the film: "Never, never attack a drunk guy with a gun."
When I went to see "Charlie Bartlett" in Atlanta, I was the only person in the auditorium. This was great for me, but it doesn't bode well for the film's reception by audiences. "Charlie Bartlett"was entertaining, but not something I'll watch again. With its failure to see the dark comedic potential of the subjects it touches on but doesn't explore, the film falls short of what is needed to become a cult classic like "Rushmore" or "The Breakfast Club."
While at the Cannes Film Festival this past may, director Quentin Tarantino announced that his long-talked-about WWII film "Inglorious Bastards" would finally be going into production. Rumor has it that the film will be split into two parts, a la "Kill Bill," and that Tarantino has finished the script and is ready to start shooting!
"Inglorious Bastards" will be loosely based on Italian director Enzo Castellari's 1978 film of the same name. In an interview set to appear on the upcoming collector's DVD of Castellari's film, Tarantino claims that the 1978 film is only the beginning of where his two films will go.
According to Tarantino, his film will feature "a bunch of hardened criminals on a military transport during World War II that got ambushed by the Nazis. Everyone but the criminals gets killed and the prisoners decide to make their way to neutral Switzerland and must fight the Nazis and the Allies to get there. It's a true No Man's Land scenario."
No word on the casting yet; Tarantino has tossed dozens of big names around in the past few years, but no one is officially attached to the project yet. The film will be going into production later this year as Tarantino hopes to take it to next year's Cannes Film Festival.
A product of the director of "Nutty Professor II" and the writers of "Failure to Launch," it's surprising that "Get Smart," the feature adaptation of Mel Brooks' zany 1960s comedy series, actually works. The fact that it does, however, is more a result of clever casting than anything else.
Popular funnyman Steve Carrell brings his talents to the role of Maxwell Smart, a self-confident agent for CONTROL. Smart is currently tasked with parsing through international chatter, and though he produces lengthy and ultra-detailed reports, he sometimes misses the point. For example, he announces at a meeting that the Russians are eating muffins, a carb-heavy food, and therefore must be stressed, but misses the connection between the baked goods and the nuclear factory housed in the bakery. Smart seems destined to stay behind a desk until a rival agency KAOS ransacks the CONTROL office and all of the agents' identities are compromised. Smart is partnered with the savvy and beautiful Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), whose identity is unknown due to some recent plastic surgery, and sent into the field to uncover the truth behind the weapons trading and nuclear bomb production.
For a spoof, Peter Segal's "Get Smart" favors action over comedy. There are few truly funny lines, but the ones that are there make the film worth the ticket price. The character of Smart here is a departure from that of the original series; this film's Smart is a little more aware of his surroundings. He's not completely on top of it, but he does seem to have a better handle on things than did his predecessor, whose clumsiness and unawareness made him all the more endearing. But with Carrell in the role, how could you deny Smart the chance to grow? Carrell's ability to both deliver dry and sarcastic comments and to pull off pure slapstick comedy recalls some of the zany humor from the original series but also gives the film a contemporary feel. Fans of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" will delight in the scene in which Smart battles himself with a miniature crossbow. Even the most intelligent of viewers will find themselves laughing at his facial expressions.
Hathaway's Agent 99 appears cool and collected but shows range with an emotional side that hints at and eventually leads to a light romance between her and Smart. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) plays Agent 23, the "it" guy of CONTROL. The hard-bodied actor plays well off of Carrell here; Johnson seems to enjoy the chance to goof off with such a great cast. Last but not least is Alan Arkin, who plays the Chief of CONTROL. "Get Smart" marks his second film with Carrell, and it certainly has a different tone than "Little Miss Sunshine." Arkin, still quite spunky for an aging actor, has some of the best lines of the film and proves that you don't have to be young to be a good agent.
Some complaints may arise from "Get Smart"'s move away from the series' zaniness to more of an action-packed thriller, but if a film can break out of its genre and succeed, why shouldn't it make the effort? Some laughs fall flat and there are a few cheap attempts at humor (a paintball to the crotch and that sort of humor), and we do have to put up with David Koechner ("Anchorman," "Semi-Pro," "Drillbit Taylor," "Balls of Fury," and here playing Larabee), but overall, "Get Smart" manages to be one of the smartest spoofs of James Bond to hit the big screen. I'm just glad they let Steve Carrell fill Don Adams' shoe-phones.
Check out this clip of the upcoming "Wanted" from Trailer Addict. The reviews are so far celebrating this film as a no-holds-bar summer action film, but will it be any good? I feel there are three directions in which this film could go: really awesome, really terrible, or not so great but still entertaining. That kind of sums up every film's potential, but for a comic book movie starring Angelina Jolie, the stakes are especially high.
The following red-band clip shows a high-speed train fight between Wesley (James McAvoy) and an unknown enemy. While they battle bullets, the Fox (Angelina Jolie) drives alongside the train aiding in the fight when necessary, right up until the end when she launches her car into the train car to help Wesley.
"Wanted" spirals into theaters next Friday (June 27).
MSN has posted a link to the first international teaser trailer for the Coen Brothers' upcoming dark comedy "Burn After Reading."
"Burn After Reading" is a spy comedy chronicling what happens when an ousted CIA official's (John Malkovich) memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two goofy gym employees (Brad Pitt and George Clooney) who want to exploit their find.
As if the synopsis and the pull of the Coen name aren't enough to get you to the theater, this trailer should get you excited about the September release. It's the perfect length and features enough quick editing to keep you entertained and guessing.
According to a New Zealand film site, Flicks, director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe have released their plans for a new project together. Their next film, "Nottingham," will be a "revisionist" take on the famous tale.
Crowe will play Sir Robert Tornham, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Though he was appointed by a corrupt king, Tornham must apprehend the famous be-stockinged group of outlaws based in Sherwood Forest.
Sienna Miller is set to play the third member of a love triangle to include both Robin Hood and Sheriff Tornham, but it is currently unknown whether or not this will be the film's central conflict.
Check out this adorable featurette from the Disney website about the different kinds of robots featured in the upcoming "WALL-E." The animators at Pixar came up with a bot generator that allowed them to assemble different robots from a series of different parts.
The American Film Institute (AFI) posted a new set of Top Ten lists today. They are separated by genre, but taking the top film from each category gives you the following list:
2001: A Space Odyssey (Science Fiction)
City Lights (Romantic Comedy)
The Godfather (Gangster)
Lawrence of Arabia (Epic)
Raging Bull (Sports)
The Searchers (Western)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Animation)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Courtroom Drama)
Vertigo (Mystery)
The Wizard of Oz (Fantasy)
By category, the lists are as follows:
Animation
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
2. Pinocchio, 1940
3. Bambi, 1942
4. The Lion King, 1994
5. Fantasia, 1940
6. Toy Story, 1995
7. Beauty and the Beast, 1991
8. Shrek, 2001
9. Cinderella, 1950
10. Finding Nemo, 2003
Fantasy
1. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001
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