The Week That Was and the Week That Will Be - 6/11

In "Really Not Sure What to Make of That" news, Joe and Anthony Russo, producers of NBC's Community have been hired to direct the Captain America sequel. So...okay, I guess? 

Zachary Levi has been offered the role of Fandral, one of Thor's sidekicks, in Thor 2. I'm guessing that means the role will be beefed up compared to what it was in the first film. 

Be sure to check out the newest video diary from the set of The Hobbit. 

Kristy Putchko at CinemaBlend gives us "Why We Need to Stop Hating on Prequels", a sentiment I am fully on board with. 

I'm in a hurry this week with vacation right around the corner. Apologies if I missed something important!

Weekend Box Office Results

For the first time in what seems like ages, this weekend we were treated to a legitimate box office battle, with family-friendly Madagascar 3 dueling it out with the sci-fi thriller Prometheus. Madagascar brought home the victory and came very close to matching the total the previous film in the series made in its opening weekend but was received with more enthusiasm than its big brother. Prometheus, meanwhile, may have lost the battle but it still comes in with the tenth highest opening weekend total for an R-rated film. I saw Prometheus (review coming tomorrow) and I liked it a whole heck of a lot; Madagascar is on tap for today. In other news, Moonrise Kingdom expanded to more screens this week and saw a dramatic uptick in its receipts. I still have no idea why this was given a limited release in the first place.

1. Madagascar 3 - $60.35M

2. Prometheus - $50M

3. Snow White and the Huntsman - $23.02M ($98.5M)

4. Men in Black 3 - $13.5M ($135.5M)

5. The Avengers - $10.8M ($571.86M)

6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $3.23M ($31M)

7. What to Expect When You’re Expecting - $2.71M ($35.74M)

8. Battleship – $2.28M ($59.83M)

9. The Dictator - $2.15M ($55.18M)

10. Moonrise Kingdom - $1.57M ($3.75M)

New to DVD

What I’ve Seen and You Should Too

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows – Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris

I did not enjoy this sequel as much as I enjoyed 2009’s initial installment. That said, I REALLY dig the first one so it’s not exactly fair to hold Game of Shadows to that standard. If you were a fan of RDJ’s first foray into the world of Arthur Conan Doyle’s intellectual hero, then there’s no reason why you won’t appreciate this one and I do believe it’s one that is made better by repeat viewings.

What No One Should Ever See

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – Nicholas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Idris Elba

Do I really even have to type anything here? If you’re suddenly possessed by an evil spirit that encourages you to rent this film, just remember that in the trailer Ghost Rider urinates a stream of flame. That should be enough to exorcise the demon.

Also New

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds – Tyler Perry, Gabrielle Union

A Little Bit of Heaven – Kate Hudson, Gael Garcia Bernal, Kathy Bates

Thin Ice – Greg Kinnear, Billy Crudup, Alan Arkin

Entourage: Season 8 – Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven

Scandal: Season 1 – Kerry Washington, Henry Ian Cusick

The Missing: Season 1 – Ashley Judd, Sean Bean

GCB: Season 1 – Leslie Bibb, Kristin Chenoweth

Episodes: Season 1 – Matt LeBlanc, Stephen Mangan

Meatballs (1979) – Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin (New to Blu)

Coming to a Theater Near You

My predictions weren’t so bad last week. Prometheus slightly underperformed (74% versus 77%), though I must be honest and say I’m not sure why those scores weren’t much higher; I loved this movie. Madagascar 3 did better than expected (76% versus 63%) and topped anything the franchise has put out thus far. This week we get the two films I’m probably least interested in seeing for the entire summer. So that’s fun, right?

Rock of Ages – Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin

During the heyday of ‘80s hair metal, a pair of young newcomers find love on the streets of LA. I will say one thing positive about this film: I think Tom Cruise is going to absolutely KILL IT in this role. No one tries harder than Cruise so giving him a character that requires a heavy dose of over-the-top performance value is likely to result in a spectacular showing. As a longtime Cruise fan, then, it bums me out that I’ll never see this performance because absolutely nothing else about this movie holds any appeal for me whatsoever. There are very, VERY few things I hate more than ‘80s hair metal. Sitting through a musical about the worst period of music EVER…not my cup of tea. On the flip side, I have no idea what to expect from critics. There could definitely be enough nostalgic value here to get critics to buy in. Shot in the dark: Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 51%

That’s My Boy – Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester

When his financial situation reaches a critical standpoint, a moronic party guy (Sandler) seeks out the successful son (Samberg) he fathered as a young teenager. I abandoned the friendly confines of the Sandler comedy in 2009 after Grown Ups and with each movie he kindly reaffirms that decision. This will end up being one of the worst films of the year, unquestionably. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 4%

Also New: A disgraced professor (Ethan Hawke) falls for a potential murderer (Kristen Scott Thomas) in The Woman in the Fifth…and a grieving man (Mark Duplass) becomes involved with the sister (Emily Blunt) of his close friend (Rosemarie Dewitt) in My Sister’s Sister.