Monday, October 29, 2012

Box Office Results: 10/26/12-10/28/12

 
As the East Coast braced for Hurricane Sandy, the box office was a little slow this weekend. Coming in first place was Ben Affleck's 'Argo' for the first time with the film now in its third weekend out. All of the new releases for the weekend stumbled in their debuts. In third was 'Cloud Atlas' with 9.4 million, which will be troubling considering the film's budget of over 100 million. In sixth place was 'Silent Hill: Revelation' and closing out the Top 10 was the comedy 'Fun Size'. Finishing at only 13th this week was the surfing drama 'Chasing Mavericks'.
 
1. Argo: $12.1 Million
2. Hotel Transylvania: $9.5 Million
3. Cloud Atlas: $9.4 Million
4. Paranormal Activity 4: $8.7 Million
5. Taken 2: $8 Million
6. Silent Hill Revelation: $8 Million
7. Here Comes the Boom: $5.5 Million
8. Sinister: $5.1 Million
9. Alex Cross: $5 Million
10. Fun Size: $4.1 Million
...
13. Chasing Mavericks: $2.3 Million

Cloud Atlas (2012) review


To put it bluntly, Cloud Atlas will go down as one of the most ambitious movies ever made. A near three-hour epic spanning across centuries with the members of its cast portraying multiple characters through six separate storylines across time. Yes, the latest film from the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker is one to be admired for this trio's efforts of adapting a novel that many deemed unfilmable and making it work on the big screen. This is a film that I cannot explain completely just through words. But one thing that is certain is that this is not a perfect film. On one hand, it's compelling, well-acted, and it stays consistent in the right areas when it needs to be. However, the way it juggles these multiple storylines is rather problematic and it's not entirely clear how all of these storylines connect to each other in the first place.


Cloud Atlas is not a single story, but a group of stories that takes us from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future. We follow a notary (Jim Sturgess) as he travels across the sea whilst battling an illness, a musician (Ben Whishaw) as he writes music for an old composer, a journalist (Halle Berry) as she investigates into a unsafe power plant, a publisher (Jim Broadbent) as he tries to escape from a mental hospital in which he is confined in, a fabricant (Doona Bae) as she escapes to inspire a rebellion in a dystopian future, and a tribesman (Tom Hanks) in the post-apocalyptic future. Throughout the film, we learn how the actions of one character impacts another in the past and future and how a killer can be a hero in another life, and vice versa.


First off, you have to admire this film's scope and ambition. There really hasn't been a film like this before that has tried to juggle all of these storylines into one single film and for the most part, it works very well here. The narrative never falls apart at any point, even when the film starts to move rapidly through all of these storylines. However, there's one problem that emerges from this. It seems like some of these six stories felt more important than others. The two segments set in the future seem to get the most screen-time out of all of the six storylines, but the segments about the musician and the notary seem unimportant as the film spends more time in other eras than these two. The segment with the journalist almost falls to that level, but it does get really thrilling near the end. Finally, the segment about the publisher has the best humor in the entire film. So basically, the two future segments and the one with the publisher are the standout parts of the film.


Really when you get down to it, I actually didn't see how all of these stories were supposed to be connected. This might be because I never read the book this was based on, but to me the only real ways these stories were connected were for two reasons. First of all, excluding the first story, the main character of each proceeding storyline learns of the previous' main character's adventure through various means, whether it is a diary or a 'dramatic reenactment'. Aside from that, we of course have the fact that these actors portrayed multiple characters across time periods. Part of me feels like that wasn't necessary, but it is pretty cool to see each actor in different roles and see how they adapt to each character they play. Some of these characters even have them doing something that is against what they are used to, as some of these characters have them change race and even gender on some occasions.


That does not mean that this is a bad movie, because it is far from it. Even though it's almost three-hours long (apparently it's much longer overseas), it's never really dull and it's just plain intriguing to watch. Even if some storylines are focused on more than others, the tone is very consistent and it never really makes any jarring shifts, except for one instance where we transition from a light-hearted chase scene to a thriller. The acting is also very solid, and there is not a single bad performance from this cast. The standout would probably have to be Tom Hanks (one of the few who is literally in every era), but we also have strong performances from Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving (even though pretty much all of his characters are bad guys (although he was awesome as this demon spirit-like character in the post-apocalyptic future)), Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, and Susan Sarandon.


Really, I just don't know what to say about this film. On one hand, I admire this film's ambition, its scope, and the terrific cast. But this is not exactly a perfect film either. I couldn't really see how all of these stories were supposed to be connected aside from the fact that each actor was playing different characters through time. On top of that, I feel that more was needed for some of the other segments not set in the future, but then again that would probably detract from the original source material. To its credit, the film never got dull and even though I never read the book this was based on, it wasn't really that confusing. However, I would recommend you at least read up on this book before seeing the film because otherwise you'll probably be confused at what's going on. 

Rating: 3/5


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Short Review: Hotel Transylvania



 
I'm betting that many of you wrote this movie off before it even came out primarily because it stars Adam Sandler who, despite having a solid fan base, has never been a hit with critics. Even now, Sandler has hit a rough patch after 2011's 'Jack and Jill' received every award at the annual Razzies (rightfully so, by the way) and his summer film 'That's My Boy' was a box office flop. However, 'Hotel Transylvania' is a different story and really, it's the best film Sandler has done in a while. A lot of this stems from the film's director Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of such cartoon classics as Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack. Tartakovsky infuses the film with a great sense of energy, as shown by the film's pacing and its excellent animation. On top of that, it has a great father-daughter story and the film definitely had some funny moments (particularly during the end, which includes a great jab at Twilight). All in all, it's a great Halloween film for the kids that I'm sure even adults will enjoy as well.
 

Rating: 4/5

Monday, October 22, 2012

Box Office Results: 10/19/12-10/21/12

 
'Paranormal Activity 4' continued the 'Paranormal Activity' franchise's stellar box office success, taking the top spot this weekend with 30.2 million. While that is certainly a strong opening, it failed to match the opening weekends of Paranormal Activity 2 and 3. Paranormal Activity 4 was the first in the series to receive primarily negative reviews from critics, which was most likely the key factor in the film's box office performance. The other major release of the week, 'Alex Cross', failed to attract much of an audience with only a fifth place finish.
 
1. Paranormal Activity 4: $30.2 Million
2. Argo: $16.6 Million
3. Hotel Transylvania: $13.5 Million
4. Taken 2: $13.4 Million
5. Alex Cross: $11.8 Million
6. Sinister: $9 Million
7. Here Comes the Boom: $8.5 Million
8. Pitch Perfect: $7 Million
9. Frankenweenie: $4.4 Million
10. Looper: $4.2 Million

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Argo (2012) review


After his acting career went downhill in the early 2000's, Ben Affleck rebounded not by going in front of the camera but behind it as director with his 2007 Boston thriller 'Gone Baby Gone', which was a huge critical hit. Three years later, Affleck helmed his next big project which was also set in Boston, the crime-thriller 'The Town', which was also well-received by critics. For his third film behind the camera, Affleck leaves Boston and moves to 1979 Iran with Argo, based off of a true story of how the CIA came up with a very risky plan to rescue six Americans who were stuck in the country during the Iranian Revolution. Once again, Affleck proves why he is one of the best directors working today, with a film that is quite different in tone compared to Affleck's previous efforts but is still a well-written, well-acted, and intense thriller.



In November of the year 1979, Iranian revolutionists storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking any Americans that they find as hostages. Six of the American Diplomats escape the attack by exiting out of the back of the building, eventually finding refuge in the home of the country's Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). However, they are still at risk of being captured, leading the CIA to try and figure out a way to get them out of the country. Their ex filtration specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with the idea of passing the diplomats off as a Canadian film crew on location working on a science fiction movie. Aided by makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman), producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), and his CIA co-worker Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston), Mendez works at trying to get this fake movie running and to get the diplomats safely out of Tehran.



Argo is quite a different movie compared to 'Gone Baby Gone' and 'The Town' when it comes to its overall tone. Compared to the dark and gritty Boston thrillers that came before, Argo is a more lighthearted thriller that's actually like two films in one. When Mendez is in Hollywood, it's almost like a comedy with some really humorous moments between Mendez, Chambers, and Siegel. But then the movie shifts to Tehran and the suspense grows as Mendez attempts to get the Diplomats out of the country. This leads to the best thing about this movie in that it never gets dull. Probably Affleck's biggest problem going into this film was that because it's based off a true story, many people will already know what had happened. But Affleck utilizes the art of suspense to great effect. No matter what happened (I'm not spoiling anything), there's always the present danger that this plan could not work. The ending in particular is really nail-biting and it keeps you glued to your seat the entire time.



Affleck also once again proves he is a great actor-director, as proven by this film's great cast. In the lead role, Affleck is very reserved and he doesn't try to steal the show. He allows the other members of the cast to shine. Whenever the two of them are on screen, Goodman and Arkin steal the show. Also, in a film with a pretty big cast, Affleck also makes an effort to give enough character development for the right characters, namely the six diplomats. This isn't a case where they are just there to help move the film along. We actually get to know them and we really are hoping they get out of this country. Anytime they leave the comfort of the Canadian Ambassador's house and head out onto to the angry streets of Tehran, anything could lead to trouble.



With Argo, Affleck continues his excellent run as a director, now having made three excellent thrillers over the last few years. In regards to this film, he ditches the cold, dark, and gritty natures of Gone Baby Gone and The Town for a more lighthearted film that has some humorous moments but still maintains a strong sense of tension. As absurd as this 'fake movie' idea may sound, it feels real and we can see how risky this idea is but like they say in the film, it's “the best bad idea they've had by far”. It's another film that we will no doubt see a lot of during awards season. Who knows? Maybe this Ben Affleck directed film might actually get nominated for something other than best supporting actor/actress at the Oscars.

Rating: 5/5!

Box Office Results: 10/12/12-10/14/12

 
It was a busy weekend at the box office this week with four major new releases. None of them grabbed the top spot, which was once again held by 'Taken 2' for the second weekend in a row. The winner of the new releases was the Ben Affleck directed thriller 'Argo', which finished second. Right behind it in third was the horror movie Sinister (written by 'Carlyle' from Spill.com, C. Robert Cargill). The Kevin James MMA comedy 'Here Comes the Boom' slid to fifth behind Hotel Transylvania, also starring James. Finally, the star-studded 'Seven Psychopaths' didn't attract much of an audience as it just barely made the Top 10 at number 9.
 
1. Taken 2: $22.5 Million
2. Argo: $20.1 Million
3. Sinister: $18.2 Million
4. Hotel Transylvania: $17.3 Million
5. Here Comes the Boom: $12 Million
6. Pitch Perfect: $9.3 Million
7. Frankenweenie: $7 Million
8. Looper: $6.3 Million
9. Seven Psychopaths: $4.3 Million
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower: $2.2 Million

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Box Office Results: 10/5/12-10/7/12

 
Despite receiving abysmal reviews from critics, 'Taken 2' took the box office by storm with an estimated 50 million this weekend. That's more than twice the amount of money that the original 'Taken' earned back when it hit theaters in January 2008. Meanwhile, newcomer 'Frankenweenie' couldn't compete with animated holdover 'Hotel Transylvania' (2nd with 26.3 million), as it earned only 11.5 million finishing in fifth. Finally, 'Pitch Perfect' rocketed up to third this weekend with 14.7 million.
 
1. Taken 2: $50 Million
2. Hotel Transylvania: $26.3 Million
3. Pitch Perfect: $14.7 Million
4. Looper: $12.2 Million
5. Frankenweenie: $11.5 Million
6. Trouble with the Curve: $3.9 Million
7. House at the End of the Street: $3.7 Million
8. The Master: $1.8 Million
9. Finding Nemo 3D: $1.6 Million
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower: $1.5 Million