The Week That Was and the Week That Will Be - 10/8

Seth MacFarlane was announced as the host of the 85th Academy Award presentation next year. This drew a mixed reaction from the Internet but as a friend of mine said, what the Oscars need more than anything else is a song and dance man and MacFarlane certainly qualifies. It has to be better than Anne Hathaway, right?

The cast of Arrested Development sat down for a photo shoot with Entertainment Weekly and it looked like this. I want to go to there.

Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica fame has been added to the cast of the female version of The Expendables. Great call.

Wes Anderson recalls his favorite Bill Murray movies that Anderson did not direct. Whoever first introduced Anderson to Murray was really on his/her game that day. Thank you so much.

My pal Terrence over at The Focused Filmographer has officially earned himself a movie-related TV show. So cool! Check out the video.

Weekend Box Office Report

The good news for the studio behind Taken 2: the film’s $50 million debut makes it one of only three such debuts ever in the month of October. The bad news: the other $50 million films are Paranormal Activity 3 and Jack-Ass 3D. Not exactly elite company. Still, though, that’s a substantial amount of money and Taken 2 did some serious business overseas, too, making it commercial success even if critics weren’t impressed. Frankenweenie was the exact opposite of Taken 2, garnering acclaim from the media and fanboys alike but missing on the family market it looked to attract. Not entirely a surprise but still I would say a little disappointing. And Pitch Perfect continued to grow its audience, reaching profitability in two short weeks. Very smart marketing on that one.

1.       Taken 2 - $50M

2.       Hotel Transylvania - $26.3M ($76M)

3.       Pitch Perfect - $14.7M ($21.6M)

4.       Looper - $12.2M ($40.3M)

5.       Frankenweenie - $11.5M

6.       End of Watch - $4M ($32.84M)

7.       Trouble with the Curve - $3.87M ($29.71M)

8.       House at the End of the Street - $3.69M ($27.53M)

9.       The Master - $1.84M ($12.31M)

10.   Finding Nemo 3D - $1.55M ($38.96M)

DVD Releases

Guys! Guys! GUYS!!! The big day is finally here! We’ve all been looking forward to it and yes, there was a time when I thought it would never happen. But all our struggles, our perseverance, our stick-to-itiveness has paid off. This week we will all FINALLY be able to purchase the first season of Whitney on DVD, thus completing our collective lives in a way Dorothy Boyd never could complete Jerry Maguire. I’m just so happy, guys. Best. Show. EVER. (If you believed any of the previous paragraph, I’d like to kindly ask you to leave this space and never come back.)

                                                                New Film Releases

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

The Raven – John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans

Shut Up and Play the Hits – James Murphy, Chuck Klosterman

                                                                New TV Releases

Bones: Season 7 – Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 7 – Charlie Day, Glen Howerton, Rob McElhenney

The League: Season 3 – Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Paul Scherer

Whitney: Season 1 – Whitney Cummings, Chris D’Elia, Rhea Seehorn

                                                                New to Blu-Ray

Little Shop of Horrors: Director’s Cut (1986) – Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin

The Great Mouse Detective (1986) – Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin, Vincent Price

Red Dawn (1984) – Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen

Strangers on a Train (1951) – Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman

Dial M for Murder (1954) – Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) – Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Bruno

The Thing You Should See

Prometheus – Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron

Okay, really I should have titled this selection, “The Thing I Really Liked Even if a Ton of People Tore it Apart Like a Dollar Store Piñata.” I don’t know if you’d like Prometheus, dear reader. It currently holds a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4 mark on IMDB but I feel like every review I read or opinion I received on the film, the reviewer expressed either disappointment or all-out loathing and it was especially unpopular with fanboys. I, on the other hand, quite liked Prometheus and accept it for what it is: a reintroduction of Ridley Scott to sci-fi and a table setter for the movies that are to come in the series. It’s not Alien but then again, what is? Also, if you know of any support groups for people who really dig this movie, please let me know.

New to Blu Pick of the Week or Whenever I Feel Like It

E.T. The Extraterrestrial Anniversary Edition (1982) – Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote

There were several good choices this week. Little Shop of Horrors is a film for which I hold great affection, The Great Mouse Detective is an underrated Disney movie, and I’m kind of excited for the re-release of Red Dawn which I’ve never seen. But how could any of these fine films hold a candle to E.T., one of the landmark films of my childhood and one of my ten favorite films of all-time? There are people who don’t care for E.T. and/or were scared of him growing up and I like to call those people “Communists.” Seriously, though, this is a film that left an indelible impression on me as a kid and still holds a tremendous amount of magic for me to this day.

Coming to a Theater Near You

Dear professional film critics,

What were you thinking? We were given two wide release films to choose from this week and foolishly you praised Frankenweenie more than I thought you would (85% actual versus my 71% prediction) and panned Taken 2 with more vigor than I would have imagined (19% to 26%). I’m not worried about my own predictions, though; no, I’m worried about your group as a whole. Collectively, you chose to endorse an undead, animated, black and white dog over Liam Neeson. Liam Neeson, guys. Who do you think you are?! Have you not seen Liam Neeson in action? He’s not going to take this slight sitting down. No, he’ll formulate a plan, use his particular set of skills, and unleash a massive counter assault complete with machine gun fire, lightsabers, and neck chops. Oh, the neck chops! You sealed your own fate, critics, and there’s nothing we can do for you now. I wish all of you the best in your attempts to run and hide. Except you, Armond White. I hope he gets you first.

Regards,

Brian

Argo – Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin

During the Iranian revolution, a CIA agent (Affleck) extracts a group of American captives across the border by disguising them as a film crew. I’m still not completely sold on the rejuvenation of Ben Affleck as an actor. But as a director? Total confidence. The early buzz on Argo has been outstanding, the plot is supremely interesting, and I love this cast. Also, I think it’s great that Affleck is taking himself out of his comfort zone and making a movie that doesn’t center on the city of Boston. Really looking forward to this one. Rotten Tomatoes: Fresh, 92%

Sinister – Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone

A new homeowner (Hawke) finds a box of disturbing videos in his attic that leads his family to an encounter with a horrible supernatural force. I’ve been really looking forward to this opening. Not because I’m dying to see it; on the contrary, my dislike of horror films is well documented. No, I’m excited for the opening because it means the constant barrage of trailers and advertisements that pop up anywhere and everywhere and scare the living crap out of me will finally come to an end and I’ll be able to sleep again. I’m so tired, you guys. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Fresh, 75%

Here Comes the Boom – Kevin James, Salma Hayek, Henry Winkler

With his school’s extracurricular activities in danger, a bumbling teacher (James) takes up MMA fighting in order to earn the money the school needs. Ordinarily, I’d write off a Happy Madison film like Here Comes the Boom as mindless entertainment that isn’t for me but isn’t really hurting anyone. This time, though, Adam Sandler and his lackeys have crossed me. Here Comes the Boom is basically a carbon copy of last year’s Warrior, if you stripped out all of the significance, the realness, and the heart. Warrior is a GREAT film and one that has been criminally overlooked whereas Here Comes the Boom is undoubtedly a heap of rubbish that will probably bring in a healthy box office take. This makes me angry. Warrior is on Netflix Instant and it’s brilliant. Go watch it instead of this, I implore you. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Rotten, 31%

Seven Psychopaths – Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson

A struggling writer (Farrell) gets roped into his friend’s (Rockwell) misadventures that bring him into contact with a host of interesting characters. This is writer/director Martin McDonagh’s follow up to 2008’s In Bruges, a dark comedy with extensive critical appeal and great rewatchability. I caught a screening of Seven Psychopaths last week and while I enjoyed it, it’s nothing special and most certainly isn’t for everyone. Rotten Tomatoes prediction: Fresh, 83%