Weekend Box Office: 5/25/12-5/27/12

Men in Black 3 became the first to dethrone 'The Avengers' from the top spot at the box office with a solid Memorial Day Weekend Gross of 55 million. The other major release this week, the Oran Peli produced 'Chernobyl Diaries' did not fare well commercially and only finished fifth this week.

(UPDATE: When counting Memorial Day, the final weekend gross of Men in Black 3 came to a total of 70 million)

1. Men in Black 3: $55 Million

2. The Avengers: $36.8 Million

3. Battleship: $10.9 Million

4. The Dictator: $9.3 Million

5. Chernobyl Diaries: $8 Million

6. Dark Shadows: $7.5 Million

7. What to Expect When You're Expecting: $7.1 Million

8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: $6.4 Million

9. The Hunger Games: $2.3 Million (In its 10th week in theaters)

10. Think Like a Man: $1.4 Million

Men in Black 3 (2012) review

Like the recent sequels to Wall Street and Tron, Men in Black 3 is one of those films where it has been quite a long time since the previous film in the series came out. In fact, it's been a whole decade since Men in Black 2 was released all the way back in 2002. Since it has been that long, there doesn't seem to be any need to continue on, but considering that Men in Black 2 received rather mediocre reviews from both critics and audiences, I'm guessing they wanted to close the series out on a better note and Men in Black 3 just so happens to do that. While Men in Black 2 suffered from just rehashing the same general plot from the first Men in Black film, MiB 3 does not go that route and like the first film, it maintains a great chemistry between its leads and a sense of fun to it all, resulting in a very entertaining popcorn flick and a nice return to form for this franchise.

For years, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) of the secret organization known as the Men in Black, have been keeping Earth safe from any possible alien threats. However, K's past soon comes back to haunt him when Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement), a criminal who he had captured back in the 60's, escapes from prison looking to exact his revenge on K. He does so by going back in time to the date (July 16^th, 1969) when K captured him and kills him then, effectively erasing K from existence and allowing himself and his fellow aliens to take over Earth because if K was killed, he would never set up a shield to prevent Boris' species from taking over. In order to prevent this invasion and to save his partner, J travels back to 1969, where he meets up with a younger K (Josh Brolin) to take on Boris.

What made the Men in Black movies work was the chemistry between the dry, no-nonsense K and the more energetic J. It blended brilliantly back then and that is yet again evident here, except here Tommy Lee Jones is only in the film for about ten minutes or so. That isn't a problem because Josh Brolin does such a fantastic job as young K that you'd swear he was actually Tommy Lee Jones. Because of this, the movie is immensely entertaining and funny from beginning to end and while some of the humor falls rather flat at times, the movie's fast pace never results in a dull moment. But because the film is so focused on Smith, Jones, and Brolin, some of the other members of the cast aren't given much to do, like Agent O (played in the present by Emma Thompson and in the 60's by Alice Eve). While there is some apparent chemistry between her and K, the film never really goes anywhere with that, both in 1969 and the present.

Technically speaking, this movie invokes a major plot hole because if K never existed, then J shouldn't even be a Men in Black agent in the first place because K never recruited him. But the writers did such a good job with the story that the plot hole doesn't affect the movie at all. Instead of just copying the same plot of the first two films, they delve deeper into the relationship between J and K as J learns a lot more about his stone-faced partner and there's even a little given about his past as well. Compare that to Men in Black 2 where they literally had to bring Tommy Lee Jones back just because they realized how well he worked with Will Smith, after they 'got rid of him' at the end of the first film.

Men in Black 3 is a surprising case of a 'threequel' that isn't a mediocre movie. Granted, it doesn't quite match the same level of fun adventure that the original film achieved back in 1997, but it's a huge improvement over its predecessor, Men in Black 2. The story goes deeper into the characters' back stories while also staying fresh and not copying the same old plot of the last two films. While some of the characters are downplayed, the chemistry between Will Smith and both Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin is what ultimately makes this movie work as much as it does. This is a perfect place to end the franchise now, and while there may be talks about a possible sequel, I think it's best to end it here and go out on a high note.

Rating: 4.5/5

Box Office Results: 5/18/12-5/20/12

'The Avengers' fights off its competition to take the top spot at the box office for the third straight week in a row with 55.1 million dollars as it continues to break box office records worldwide, having tied the record for the fastest film to gross a billion dollars worldwide. It has also become the highest grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios. Meanwhile, Battleship failed to attract audiences in the U.S. as it only grossed 25.3 million. Fellow new releases 'The Dictator' and 'What to Expect when You're Expecting' also underperformed at the box office.

1. The Avengers: $55.3 Million

2. Battleship: $25.3 Million

3. The Dictator: $17.4 Million

4. Dark Shadows: $12.7 Million

5. What to Expect when You're Expecting: $10.5 Million

6. The Best Exotic Marigod Hotel: $3.2 Million

7. The Hunger Games: $3 Million

8. Think Like a Man: $2.7 Million

9. The Lucky One: $1.7 Million

10. The Pirates! Band of Misfits: $1.5 Million

The Teenage Mutant Alien (?) Turtles

I know I'm a little late on this issue, but I figured the best way to start off my 'weekend news' posts was to talk about a subject that has certainly attracted controversy over the last few months, and that has been the news that the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, scheduled to be released in 2013 directed by Wrath of the Titans' Jonathan Liebesmann, will change the origins of the four 'heroes in a half shell' and make them aliens. But first, a little back story...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles officially got their start in 1984 with a comic book series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. What followed was what can best be described as 'Turtle Mania' with a hit TV show in the late 80's that ran for a total of 10 seasons. On the big screen, there have been four movies based on the characters, consisting of three live-action films in the 90's and an animated film released in 2007, whose intent was to reboot the film series after reception towards the third live-action film was rather negative. Even still, the new film also did not fare well with critics and wasn't really a huge success financially either. So, Nickelodeon has taken over and along with a new animated series coming out this year, they will reboot the film series again with 'Ninja Turtles', produced by Platinum Dunes and Michael Bay.

Now because Bay has generally been involved with some pretty negatively-received projects his entire career, most notably the live-action Transformers movies, his involvement with the film would most likely get any fan of the show nervous, but it wasn't until he made the following statement in March this year when fans really started to get mad. At the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront, Bay had this to say about the film...

“When you see this movie, kids are going to believe one day that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable.”

So yes, the new Ninja Turtles will not be four teenaged turtles who came in contact with a radioactive substance called Ooze when they were babies, therefore changing them into 'human-like' turtles who learned ninjutsu under their master, a rat named Splinter. They will be aliens, and obviously fans of the franchise aren't too happy about that. However, because I'm not that much of a fan of TMNT, I'm not really affected that much by this news. Even still, when I look at this I say to myself, 'I don't get it...', because this is, in every sense of the word, changing the back story of a long-established story. It's like having Spider-Man acquiring his powers not from a genetically altered spider, but from some freak accident or something of that nature. In response to the fan outrage, Bay told them to, quote on quote, “chill”, and that his team is “working with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles (Kevin Eastman) to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world'.

So, with that in mind, let's see how this can be either a good thing or a bad thing for the Turtles. On one side of the spectrum, the idea of the turtles being from an alien race does actually seem more plausible than the 'sewer and the Ooze' storyline and let's face it, that has been done to death already in this franchise, so it seems like perfect time to try something new. But again, this is a major story change we're talking about here. I'm wondering how Splinter and Shredder are going to come into all of this. Are they going to be from the same planet the Turtles are from? Finally, as much as I defend Michael Bay as not being the worst filmmaker out there today, you never really know how a film of his will turn out in the long run, even when he's not directing it. So my advice to any TMNT fan who was outraged by this whole situation is to just wait until the first trailer comes out and then you can view it whatever way you like. If you're not interested in it, then don't see it. Simple as that.

The Avengers (2012) review

(This review was originally posted on May 10th on Rotten Tomatoes)

At the end of the original Iron Man, Tony Stark met the head of SHIELD, Nick Fury, who wanted to talk to him about a little something called the 'Avenger Initative'. Four years and four more movies later, that plan officially comes into motion with director Joss Whedon's 'The Avengers' as all of Marvel's heroes join together in the ultimate team-up and if I wasn't any more blunt with what I am about to say, then this movie is very much well worth the hype it has been given. Because really when you think about it, there was a very slim chance that this may not have worked at all. If Marvel did not get just one of these characters right, then it would have all been for nothing. But Marvel did not slack off with each superhero and their own respective movie and in 'Avengers', Whedon raises the script, the action, and the characters to their true potential, resulting in one of the most epic movies ever made. Every superhero film that comes out now has a lot to live up to now, because there will probably never be anything that will live up to what this movie has done for the superhero film genre.

The film opens as the organization known as SHIELD, led by director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), investigates the mysterious artifact known as the Tesseract, which was recovered by Howard Stark back in the 40's. However, they are soon hit with an assault by Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the Asgardian God of Mischief, who takes the Tesseract in order to bring his enlisted army of the alien race known as the Chitauri in hopes of enslaving the human race. With nowhere else to go, Fury enlists the help of billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) AKA Iron Man, recently unfrozen supersoldier Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) AKA Captain America, Loki's brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the God of Thunder, and scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) AKA the Hulk, who join forces with SHIELD agents Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) AKA Hawkeye and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) AKA Black Widow to take on the god of mischief before things get out of hand.

What Marvel has done over the last few years has been nothing but extraordinary in how they got each one of their main superheroes to work within their own universes, then seamlessly blend them all together and 'The Avengers' is the end result of all it. But really when you get down to this film as a whole, you have to hand it to director Joss Whedon, who is the master of snappy dialogue, great character development, and can also work wonders with a big cast. All of this is shown throughout the movie as each character is given enough to do without overshadowing anyone else and the dialogue and humor in this film is second to none. While the film does get off to a rather slow start, it all culminates in an epic final battle in New York. That shot of the Avengers coming together ready to take on Loki as a group says it all, and the film is a joyride from beginning to end. Basically, this is Transformers 3 in terms of action but with more passion and soul than any of those movies ever had.

Whedon also does not change a single thing about each hero's personality. Iron Man is still, as the movie puts it, 'the volatile self-obsessed' billionaire who 'doesn't work well with others'. Captain America is still the noble and courageous leader trying to deal with the changed world he now lives in, and Thor is still the god who, while also noble, is burdened by the responsibility to bring his brother to justice. The film also gives more development to some of the other characters, particularly Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Loki. In this film, Loki has officially become a major threat unlike in 'Thor' where his motives were based around the jealousy he had towards his brother. Once he makes his first appearance in the film, it is obvious that the Avengers will have one hell of a problem on their hands. Black Widow and Hawkeye are given much more than their previous appearances in 'Iron Man 2' and 'Thor', respectively, with an apparent romantic chemistry between the two as Widow displays her emotions very early on when at one point, Barton is brainwashed onto Loki's team. Admittedly, this means Hawkeye isn't given as much character development as his fellow Avengers, but his relationship with Widow makes up for it in the end.

Not only did Marvel nail every one of these characters, but the actors who portrayed them also shine as them. Downey Jr, Evans, Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Renner, Jackson, and Johansson return into their roles with ease and give strong performances all the way. But there's one character, or more importantly one performance I haven't mentioned yet, and that is Mark Ruffalo, who takes over for Edward Norton in the role of Bruce Banner. When it was first announced that he was cast, I would've preferred Norton in the role but as soon as he makes his debut on screen, Ruffalo pretty much steals the show. Here, it isn't about Bruce's urgency of trying to cure himself of his powers, but more his quest of trying to control them. He doesn't actually turn into the Hulk until at least halfway through the movie or so and while that does leave you wanting more, it is a well-handled use of the character. They've recast the role of Bruce Banner twice now so my piece of advice to Marvel is to not let your best guy off now when the third time's the charm. Otherwise you're going to have a lot of angry fans to deal with, myself included.

Really I could be talking about this movie for a long time, but I'll stop here for now because I've said all that I wanted to say. 'The Avengers' is the pinnacle of how superhero films are made. Even with a gigantic cast, director Joss Whedon gives them all rock-solid character development while maintaining a steady balance between humor, drama, and action. How Marvel will break these characters up for more movies (as Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 go into production for 2013 releases, with Captain America 2 hitting theaters in 2014) and bring them back again for an obvious sequel is uncertain, but if they do the same as what they did getting these characters together in the first place, then everything will be fine. But really, nothing will ever match the first time out.

Rating: 5/5

The Avengers is easily one of the best, if not the best, superhero films ever made. Needless to say, every superhero film now has a lot to live up to, even Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight Rises'.

Intro

Greetings to all film fans out there!

My name is Sean, and this is my first post for my new blog: Rhode Island Movie Corner.

Here, you'll find reviews of the latest films as well as the occasional retro review of a film or a series. Every weekend, also expect to hear about the latest news hitting the film industry, as well as my thoughts on the matter.

Thanks for listening, and until then...
'May the Force Be With You!' -Han Solo (Star Wars: 1977)