The sequel to The Muppets has been given a go but it will proceed without Jason Segel as a writer. That's a real bummer for me. Not only did Segel reinvigorate the brand with his nostalgic but fresh take on Kermit and company, he also brought legitimate passion to the project which it greatly needed. Really hoping his partners who will be moving on to the sequel, Nick Stoller and Jason Babin, can keep that sentiment moving forward.
Dan Aykroyd has finally admitted that Ghostbusters 3 will not happen. What Aykroyd has (supposedly) come to understand is that while there are millions of people who would love to see a third Ghostbusters flick, there are only dozens of people who would love to see a Ghostbusters flick without Bill Murray. No Bill, no movie, period.
The rest of the week's important movie news can be found in the weekly digest.
Weekend Box
Office Results
If there was ever a sign that box office sales are on the
rise, it is the eye-popping debut of The
Lorax. Produced on a reasonable $70 million budget, I would guess the
people at Universal would have been thrilled had their film grabbed $35 million
over the weekend. Instead, it doubled that figure and reached profitability
within the first three days of release. This is a staggering figure made even
more impressive when you factor in that we’re talking about an early March
release. From my limited research, I’m seeing that this total is the third
biggest weekend pull ever for a March release, trailing only Alice in Wonderland and 300 (though you’d have to bet at this
point that The Hunger Games will blow
those totals out of the water in a couple of weeks). This is going to be a good
year at the movies, friends.
1. Dr. Suess’ The
Lorax - $70.7M
2. Project X -
$20.77M
3. Act of Valor
- $13.7M ($45.23M)
4. Safe House -
$7.2M ($108.2M)
5. Tyler Perry’s
Good Deeds - $7M ($25.74M)
6. Journey 2: The
Mysterious Island - $6.92M ($85.61M)
7. The Vow -
$6.1M ($111.71M)
8. This Means War
- $5.62M ($41.46M)
9. Ghost Rider:
Spirit of Vengeance - $4.7M ($44.88M)
10. The Artist
- $3.9M ($37.08M)
New to DVD
What I’ll Be
Renting This Week
Jack and Jill (2011) - Adam Sandler, Katie
Holmes, Al Pacino
No, I’m totally kidding. Haha! Can you imagine if this
was the type of blog where someone can’t wait to see a crapfest like Jack and Jill?! I would hope if that was
the case all of you would immediately abandon my site and/or report me to the
authorities.
What I’ll
Probably End Up Watching
Immortals (2011) - Henry Cavill, Mickey
Rourke, John Hurt
I couldn’t muster up much excitement for this movie when
it was in theaters a few months back. It looks the part of the classic
all-style-no-substance action flick and a 300
knock-off at that. But my standards for what I’ll see in theaters and what I’ll
rent are dramatically different. Movies like Immortals often find their way into my Blu-Ray player when I’ve had
an extra dose of heavy viewing and need some lighter fare. So I might pass this
one by in my local Family Video for a while but eventually, I’ll break down.
Expect a lackluster review in the near future.
What I’ll Be
Buying This Week
Game of Thrones: Season 1 (2011) - Sean
Bean, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) -
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle (New to Blu)
I watched Game of
Thrones last spring having no background on the subject matter beyond a
brief primer I read on someone else’s blog. Since then I’ve read all five books
and completely immersed myself in the mythology of the series. I loved the show
upon my first viewing but having re-watched a few episodes with the knowledge
that I have now, it’s even better. I’m stoked for all the extras this set will
surely pack. Meanwhile, The Holy Grail
was my favorite comedy for the better part of my life and still stands as one
of the five funniest films I’ve ever seen. The Blu-Ray is a must-have for my
personal collection.
Also New
Footloose (2011) - Kenny Wormald, Julianne
Hough, Dennis Quaid
The Skin I Live In (2011) - Antonio
Banderas, Elena Anaya
Senna (2010) - Aryton Senna
Like Crazy (2011) - Anton Yelcin, Felicity
Jones
New to Blu
The Deer Hunter (1978) - Robert De Niro,
Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep
Out of Africa (1985) - Robert Redford, Meryl
Streep
The Jerk (1979) - Steve Martin, Bernadette
Peters
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) -
Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel
Harvey (1950) - Jimmy Stewart, Josephine
Hull
To Catch a Thief (1955) - Cary Grant, Grace Kelly
Reindeer Games (2000) - Ben Affleck, Gary
Sinise, Charlize Theron
Parenthood (1989) - Steve Martin, Mary
Steenburgen
The Nutty Professor (1996) - Eddie Murphy,
Jada Pinkett Smith
9 ½ Weeks (1986) - Mickey Rourke, Kim
Basinger
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) - Gregory
Walcott, Tom Keene
Disclosure (1994) - Michael Douglas, Demi
Moore
Man from Snowy River (1982) - Tom Bulinson,
Kirk Douglas
Striptease (1996) - Demi Moore, Burt
Reynolds, Armand Assante
54 (1998) - Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek
Benji (1974) - Peter Breck, Deborah Walley
Coming to a
Theater Near You
The Lorax
represents the first miss I’ve had in a while as far as Fresh/Rotten
predictions go. It started out very strong but as the weekend progressed, more
and more critics came back with ho-hum reviews. So I missed the mark on my
Fresh/Rotten prediction there (57% versus my predicted 75%). On the other hand,
Project X was as poorly received as
expected, coming out with a 28% rating (versus the 30% predicted). That was a
pretty easy call, though. Anytime you mix Girls Gone Wild with The Hangover, you’re probably not
putting together a movie that veteran critics are going to get excited about.
This week brings us several major releases as Hollywood
begins the process of ramping up to the summer. We’re in for a very interesting
week at the box office and much of that intrigue hangs on the fate of John Carter.
John Carter - Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe,
Mark Strong
Shortly after the Civil War, a veteran (Kitsch) on the
verge of death awakens to find himself on Mars. Emboldened by the supernatural
way in which his body reacts to the Martian atmosphere, he joins forces with a
group of natives who are fighting for their very survival. I am fascinated by John Carter for a variety of reasons.
First, the series of books upon which this movie is based are essentially the
first major works of true science fiction and their author, Edgar Rice
Burroughs, is sci-fi royalty. I quite enjoyed the books despite their
simplistic nature. Second, this is both the first live action film from the Pixar collective and
Kitsch’s first real shot at movie stardom. Like any good human I love Pixar’s
ingenious work and I’m interested to see what they can do in this format.
Kitsch, too, is a favorite of mine, tracing back to his run on Friday Night Lights which was so incredible
that my wife and I have actively discussed naming our hypothetical child after
his character. I want good things from the man. Third, there were many
stunningly poor choices made before, during, and after this film’s production
that need to be discussed at greater length. I’m planning a larger piece for
next week after I see the movie myself. As far as my prediction goes, my gut
says this won’t be as bad as some have guessed it will be but there won’t be
enough good to earn a fresh rating. Rotten
Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 54%
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Ewan McGregor,
Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas
When a visionary sheik expresses a desire to import the
sport of fly-fishing to his desert home, a consultant (Blunt) and a fisheries
expert (McGregor) are brought together to make the dream a reality. I’m sure
there’s a decent movie in here somewhere but honestly, I nearly fell asleep
watching the trailer. No thanks. Rotten
Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 48%
Friends with Kids - Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam
Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig
Two lifelong friends decide to have a child together
without becoming romantically involved. FWK
is getting great buzz from critics, which begs the question: why hasn’t the
studio done ANYTHING to market it? A trailer made the rounds on the Internet a
few months back but that is the extent of this film’s marketing campaign. That
seems like quite a missed opportunity considering the outstanding cast Westfeldt
was able to assemble for her directorial debut. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Fresh, 83%
A Thousand Words - Eddie Murphy, Cliff
Curtis, Kerry Washington
A shady business man (Murphy) crosses the wrong spiritual
guru and pays a hefty (but comedic) price. I will not hold this movie against
Murphy as it was filmed prior to the release of Tower Heist and the semi-resurgence of his career. But if makes
another film or two like this one, I think it’s fair to officially write him
off as a complete loss. Rotten Tomatoes
prediction: Rotten, 30%
Silent House - Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese,
Eric Sheffer Stevens
A young woman’s (Olsen) plan to help her father
fix up a real estate investment goes awry when the pair becomes the victims of
a terrifying home invasion. Shot in real time and based upon a Spanish film of
the same name, Silent House has some
genuine scare potential. It’s not something I’ll ever want to see but if it
gets a large-enough release, it could make some quick cash. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 50%
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