Monday, July 23, 2012

Box Office Results: 7/20/12-7/22/12


Amidst heavy anticipation and the tragic shootings that took place in Aurora, Colorado during its midnight premiere, 'The Dark Knight Rises' did take the number one spot at the box office this week. The box office totals for the weekend were not revealed on Sunday, out of respect to those affected by the tragedy. Still, the film opened up with 161.8 million. However, something that will be noted for the rest of the year is how the film did not match 'The Avengers' opening weekend gross of $207 million, the highest of all time. Reasons for this will include the shooting, the fact that the film was not released in 3-D, and the more mature content of the film compared to the more family-friendly 'Avengers'. Even still, it is the biggest opening weekend for a 2-D only film and is even a bigger weekend than that of 'The Dark Knight', which earned 158.4 million its first weekend out and is the third highest opening of all time behind 'Avengers' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'.

1. The Dark Knight Rises: $161.8 Million
2. Ice Age: Continental Drift: $20.3 Million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man: $10.9 Million
4. Ted: $10.1 Million
5. Brave: $6 Million
6. Magic Mike: $4.3 Million
7. Savages: $3.3 Million
8. Madea's Witness Protection: $2.3 Million
9. Moonrise Kingdom: $1.8 Million
10. To Rome with Love: $1.5 Million

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) review


In 2005, director Christopher Nolan revitalized the Batman franchise with 'Batman Begins' by avoiding the comedic routes taken in the Batman films of Joel Schumacher and not only returned the Caped Crusader to his darker roots, but also grounded him in reality as well. Three years later in 2008, Nolan raised the bar for superhero films with his follow-up, 'The Dark Knight', which continued to portray Batman in a more realistic way, as he faced a villain who tested him both physically and mentally, officially pushing him to his limits. Now, in 2012, Nolan makes his final mark on the Batman franchise with 'The Dark Knight Rises'. Really, there's no other way to put it... this may just be the most anticipated film of not only this year, but all time. With two great films under his belt already, especially after a film like 'Dark Knight', the pressure is on for Nolan to deliver on this final chapter. Can he break the 'third film' curse that has plagued many franchises (particularly comic-book movies) with the epic finale to his 'Dark Knight' trilogy?



At the end of 'The Dark Knight', Batman (Christian Bale), AKA millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, took the blame for the murders committed by District Attorney Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent in order to preserve his good name so that Gotham would not lose hope in its darkest hour. Eight years have gone by, and Gotham City has recovered from the onslaught of the Joker. Because of this, Bruce has retired from crime-fighting knowing that the city no longer needs Batman. But Gotham is soon threatened again, this time by the terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who plans to burn Gotham to the ground. As Bruce also tries to deal with the appearance of the mysterious cat-burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), he must take up the mantle of Batman once more to save the city that has now branded him an enemy against the toughest enemy he has ever faced; one that may just be his downfall.



Now, the real challenge begins in order to not spoil anything from what is simply one of the greatest superhero films of all time, if not the best Batman movie at this point. Nolan yet again delivers with a truly epic film, and some of the paths that he takes in terms of story and character development are going to leave you genuinely surprised but satisfied at the same time. More importantly, however, Nolan avoids the curse of the 'threequel' by effectively ending the story arc of Bruce Wayne. What started when a young Bruce fell down that well in 'Batman Begins' and then went on the run from the police in 'The Dark Knight' comes to a close in this final chapter. By this point, Bruce has been through so much that he is just no match for this new villain. He's a broken shell of his former self, and it is only throughout the course of the film that he regains his confidence to take on this threat and save Gotham.



Each of Nolan's Batman films have revolved around a certain theme, like fear in 'Begins' or chaos in 'The Dark Knight'. Here, it's all about pain. Of course, Bruce is dealing with all that he has been through over the years, but other people are dealing with pain as well. The main reason why Gotham became as peaceful as it did was because of a lie. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is conflicted knowing that he is honoring a man who really shouldn't be honored after the crimes he has committed, resulting in him losing his faith in justice. Meanwhile, while Bruce is considering becoming Batman again, we see Alfred (Michael Caine) unable to deal with him going back into the field. He knows how much Bruce's past experiences have hurt him, and that he doesn't stand a chance against Bane. The only real problem with the film is that Alfred is given little to do in this story and Caine isn't in the film that much, but the emotions that he gets across in the few scenes that he is in are extremely powerful.



This is probably Christian Bale's best performance as Batman. He was already fantastic in the role in the previous two films, but this one puts him at the same level of Michael Keaton in the Tim Burton helmed Batman films in the way he gets across the emotions that Bruce is going through. The rest of the returning cast, including Caine, Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are fantastic as well once again. As for the new cast members, we have a great performance by Tom Hardy as Bane which could very much be up there with Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. Comparing these two is rather unfair because the Joker and Bane are different characters. Bane is more calm than the manic psychopath that was the Joker and is clearly someone you do not want to mess with. Also, in regards to the issue regarding Bane's voice after the prologue was released last December, I had no issue understanding what he said in this movie, although there are just a few minor instances where you won't get what he said. I'm betting Christopher Nolan didn't even change a thing after the prologue was released.



Then you have Anne Hathaway, who is phenomenal as Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman. This is very much what Catwoman should be; cunning, sexy, and witty at the same time. She has great chemistry with Bale in this film and this is quite frankly the best portrayal of Catwoman on film. Also closing out the cast is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as cop John Blake, one of the few people left who still believes in justice and the Batman, and Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, a member of Wayne Enterprises who helps Bruce come back to reality and is also a love interest of his along with Selina. Even with two love interests, the film actually does balance this out very well. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Christopher Nolan is a extraordinary actor-director, and all of his films (this film in particular) is proof of that.



There's no other way to say it... 'The Dark Knight Rises' fully lives up to its expectations as the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. In fact, dare I say it even blows Dark Knight out of the water. Nolan avoids the dreaded 'third film' curse by completing the story arc of Batman, successfully getting across the emotions that the main characters go through, and doing some very risky moves that actually do work out in the end. The final shot of this movie in particular (which I am not going to spoil in any way) is just too tempting to leave unanswered. In fact, I feel that it's almost impossible for the next adaptation of Batman to beat what Christopher Nolan has done with his three films. Not only did he resurrect a once-dead franchise, but he also did what no one else has done in the superhero genre, and that was producing a trilogy where all three films are excellent. This film is one for the ages and does not disappoint whatsoever.


Rating: 5/5!


(On a more tragic note, I would like to dedicate this review to the poor souls who lost their lives in the shooting at that theater in Colorado at the midnight screening for this film and to anyone who was affected by this tragedy in anyway. Said Christopher Nolan himself, “The movie theater is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.” Could not agree more.)

Monday, July 16, 2012

Box Office Results: 7/13/12-7/15/12


After a strong opening overseas, 'Ice Age: Continental Drift', the fourth film in this long-running series, opened with a solid $46.3 million, a number that is on par with the original Ice Age's opening weekend gross of $46.3 million, ahead of 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' opening gross of $41.6 million, but behind the $68 million opening weekend of 'Ice Age: The Meltdown'. It was also the only major release of the week, as the rest of the Top 10 was filled out by holdovers from the previous weeks. Also, 'Ice Age' won't stay on top for long as next week will see the release of the highly anticipated 'Dark Knight Rises'.

1. Ice Age: Continental Drift: $46 Million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man: $35 Million
3. Ted: $22.1 Million
4. Brave: $10.7 Million
5. Magic Mike: $9 Million
6. Savages: $8.7 Million
7. Madea's Witness Protection: $5.6 Million
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me: $3.7 Million
9. Moonrise Kingdom: $3.7 Million
10. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: $3.5 Million

Thursday, July 12, 2012

DC and the Justice League


As the release of 'The Dark Knight Rises' draws closer, DC Comics is already looking ahead into the future with one specific goal in mind. That goal is to successfully make a live-action film based on their famous superhero team, the Justice League. The pressure is especially big for DC now after Marvel's 'The Avengers' was both a huge critical and box office success. But can DC really make it happen the same way Marvel did? Aside from Batman and Superman, DC has been unable to successfully translate most of their comic book superheroes to film. Marvel, on the other hand, has brought Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and many more of their famous superheroes to life on the big screen. DC has a long way to go before they can make a true Justice League movie, and here's how they should do it.



The first hurdle on the road to success for DC is with Batman. 'The Dark Knight Rises' will be director Christopher Nolan's final entry in the Batman universe and while many DC fans are hopeful that Nolan will take charge of the DC universe after that, he currently has no plans to work on any more DC films aside from 'The Man of Steel' which he will be producing for a 2013 release. Another issue that DC will probably have to worry about is finding another Batman because like with Nolan, this will most likely be Christian Bale's last stint as the Caped Crusader. There may be a slight chance that Bale could return for a Justice League film, but odds are that will probably not happen. DC will have to not just reboot the Batman franchise, but also find a new lead as well.



DC's next big release after 'Dark Knight Rises' is of course 'Man of Steel', the latest film about the son of Krypton himself, Superman. DC should already be worried about this film seeing how its their second attempt at rebooting the Superman franchise after the disappointing performance of 2006's 'Superman Returns'. However, if DC really wants to make their Justice League movie work, 'Man of Steel' will also have to the equivalent of what Iron Man was to Marvel. It needs to be the film that gets the ball rolling to connect all of these different universes together the same way Iron Man got things started for Marvel in 2008. However, can 'Man of Steel' really do that? We have yet to see any footage from the film at this point, so who knows if 'Man of Steel' will even attempt to connect to other DC universes in the first place. The main reason I say this is because not only is Nolan uninterested in doing any more DC films, he also wants to keep the Batman and Superman universes separate. If that is the case, then this will be a problem for DC if they want a Justice League movie.



Another franchise DC will have to reboot is Green Lantern. Aside from Batman and Superman, Green Lantern has been the only other major superhero from DC to get a film adaptation in this current era of superhero films and unfortunately, DC's first attempt at bringing this universe to the big screen didn't really turn out so well. Not only was 2011's 'Green Lantern', which starred Ryan Reynolds in the lead role of Hal Jordan, a critical failure but it also failed to do much at the box office. With a final box-office gross of $222 million, the film barely made back its massive $200 million budget. So the obvious step for DC here would be to reboot the franchise. But how should DC do it? Do they recast Ryan Reynolds and find a new guy to play Hal Jordan or do they try one of the other famous characters who have been Green Lanterns over the years, like Kyle Rayner or John Stewart? I'm not entirely saying that you get rid of Reynolds though, because while the film wasn't exactly that great, he actually did a really good job in the role of Hal Jordan. Really, whatever happens with this franchise depends on what DC decides to do next.



Finally, and most importantly, DC needs to start working on bringing its other major superheroes to the big screen. If we look at the original seven members of the Justice League as it was in the comics, DC will have to do solo films for Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. If DC does not decide to do a solo film for one of these characters, then have that character inserted as a side character into one of the other characters' movies so that they can fit into what would be a massive universe filled with all of DC's superheroes. Marvel already made this work when they had Black Widow debut in Iron Man 2 and Hawkeye debut in Thor, which led to their next appearances in 'The Avengers'. If that's the way DC will have to go, then so be it.


If it isn't any more clear, DC has quite a long way to go before they can make a Justice League movie. They'll most likely have to reboot both Batman and Green Lantern, have 'Man of Steel' actually work as a film, and will also have to get going in bringing their other famous superheroes to the big screen because that is something DC has yet to do successfully. Imagine, if you will, if DC decided to just make the Justice League movie now. Not only will they have to make all of these superheroes work together the same way Marvel did with 'The Avengers', but they would also need to introduce the characters that haven't made the big screen yet to audiences and that's not the best idea if you're making a movie this big. What Marvel did with their cinematic universe was nothing less than amazing in how they managed to not only make all of their superheroes work on the big screen, but also connect them so that they can all work together. DC, it's time for you to get going and also if you're looking for a director, odds are Joss Whedon won't be available.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Box Office Results: 7/6/12-7/8/12 (Plus Fourth of July Week)


Even though it was a reboot of a franchise that was only a decade old, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' swung its way to the top of the box office this weekend with 65 million. When counting the other three days it was out in theaters having been released on a Tuesday, this Spider-Man has grossed 140 million so far here in the U.S. Meanwhile, Oliver Stone's latest film 'Savages' takes fourth place behind 'Ted' and 'Brave' with 16.2 million while 'Katy Perry: Part of Me' finishes near the bottom of the top ten this week at number eight with 7.2 million.

1. The Amazing Spider-Man: $65 Million ($140 million through six days)
2. Ted: $32.6 Million
3. Brave: $20.2 Million
4. Savages: $16.2 Million
5. Magic Mike: $15.6 Million
6. Tyler Perry's Madea Witness Protection: $10.2 Million
7. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: $7.7 Million
8. Katy Perry: Part of Me: $7.2 Million
9. Moonrise Kingdom: $4.6 Million
10. To Rome with Love: $3.5 Million

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) review


If I haven't made it clear before, I'm not a huge fan of Marvel's plan to reboot the Spider-Man franchise barely half a decade after Sam Raimi finished off his Spider-Man trilogy in 2007. Now when it comes to reboots, usually they are done if the previous film in the series didn't do well financially and/or critically. Of course, Spider-Man 3 wasn't all that great compared to the first two films, but it wasn't a financial failure. Really, the only reason why this happened in the first place was because Marvel wanted a fourth Spider-Man film to be made for a 2011 release, and the problem was that Raimi wouldn't have had as much creative integrity as he had with the other films if he had the film done by then. I believe that what Marvel should have done was give Raimi more time so that he could have made the film his way because there are some instances where the director's final product isn't exactly what he or she intended it to be and those cuts don't turn out as good. Spider-Man 4 could have very much been just as good as the first two films, or possibly better.



But enough of my ranting, because the real question is whether or not director Marc Webb's take on everybody's favorite web slinging superhero works as a movie. Well, in terms of reboots, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' does succeed in being its own story and Webb brings his unique vision to the story of Spider-Man with great success. True, it does have a lot in common with the first Spider-Man film but it does do enough to separate itself from the previous films that came before it without directly copying them. But the biggest surprise is how in some areas, this film improves on Raimi's films from the chemistry between the main characters to just how some of these characters are written compared to previous films. Needless to say, this film delivers on giving us a more realistic take on Spider-Man than ever before.



This story follows Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) while he is a high school student in New York. A social outcast amongst his classmates, Peter vies for the affections of his classmate Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and also seeks the answers to what happened the night his parents left him with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field), having never heard from them again. He learns that his father used to work at Oscorp Industries with fellow scientist Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) and while visiting there, he is bitten by a genetically-enhanced spider and gains spider-like powers from it. He uses these powers to become the crime fighting superhero Spider-Man, but he soon has to deal with a new problem that emerges when Connors tests a new regeneration formula on himself, becoming the monstrous Lizard.



Comparing Raimi's films to this new film is inevitable, but the key thing to note here is that Webb's version is much more focused on its characters compared to the other films. Andrew Garfield is great as Peter Parker, and if there's one thing that he does better than Tobey Maguire, it is making Spider-Man the wisecracking superhero that he is supposed to be. As for his love interest Gwen Stacy and her father George (Denis Leary), the Police Captain who hunts both the Lizard and Spider-Man as a suspected criminal, they are given much deserved bigger roles than in Spider-Man 3. Emma Stone is both radiant and charming as Gwen Stacy, and in terms of the romantic chemistry between Garfield and Stone, the only other time there has been a romantic chemistry this good was Captain America: The First Avenger. It's very natural and realistic, which is a big improvement over the romance between Maguire and Dunst in Raimi's films.



As for the rest of the cast, they also do a fantastic job. Rhys Ifans brings much depth to the role of Dr. Connors and while I hate to bash on Raimi's films again, this film does give The Lizard the proper role he deserves. While he was given a fairly decent role in Raimi's films, he was really just a side character in those films and he never even turned into the Lizard. This version of Dr. Connors also has a good motive for doing what he does. Having lost his arm, he is hopeful that he can find a proper regeneration serum that will not just help him, but many others that are in the same situation that he is in. Denis Leary brings the right attitude to the character of George Stacy and Martin Sheen and Sally Field provide a more authoritative but still very much caring take on the characters of Uncle Ben and Aunt May.



Really, the best way to describe this film compared to Raimi's films is that it is much more realistic in tone. That does seem odd to say considering the premise, but as good as Raimi's films are, they are rather cheesy. The dialogue of the first film is a prime example of this, and the less said about Spider-Man 3, the better. Even Spider-Man 2, the best of Raimi's trilogy, had its cheesy moments though they were less frequent than the other two films. Webb's film is more focused on the story and fleshing out the characters, and is much more serious in tone. We go even further into why Peter Parker became Spider-Man in the first place, having long looking for the answers as to why his parents left him. There was more to it than just the bite from that one spider. This has a lot in common to how Christopher Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise, after the last two films before 'Begins' were more similar in tone to the old Batman TV series of the 1960's than the first two Batman films by Tim Burton.



All in all, this take on Spider-Man does not only successfully separate itself from Raimi's films, but it surprisingly also manages to improve on some of the faults of the previous films by focusing more on the story and characters. I'm still not the biggest fan of this reboot being done so early, but I'm glad that it actually turned out really good. Compared to Raimi's films, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' is more realistic in tone similar to the Christopher Nolan Batman films and if I had to compare the two leads of both Raimi's films and this film, Garfield and Stone are just more compelling to watch. I'm very much interested in seeing how they will now move on with this franchise. While I don't want to give anything away, the end credits does give us a look at who will be the next main villain, and if you follow the movie closely, it does seem pretty clear as to who this character is. But we won't see the next film for two more years so we'll just have to wait and see what the filmmakers will decide to do next for Spider-Man and I have no problem with the way they're doing it now.

Rating: 4.5/5

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Ted (2012) review


Seth MacFarlane made a name for himself in 1999 when he created the hit animated sitcom 'Family Guy'. Even though the show was canceled not once, but two times by Fox early on in its run, its cult following helped it get back on the air in 2005 and since then, it has become one of Fox's biggest hits. I've been a fan of Family Guy ever since about 2008 but like everyone else, I agree that the show has certainly declined in overall quality in recent years. Now there can be many reasons for this, but it seems that one of the main reasons for it would be that MacFarlane was busy with his directorial debut, 'Ted', and the reason why I say this is because Ted is easily one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. MacFarlane brings his trademark humor to the big screen with great success, with a film that is not just funny as hell but also very heartwarming at the same time, which is something that doesn't really happen that much with most R-rated comedies.



John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a normal guy from Boston whose life changed on the day he got a teddy bear for Christmas when he was 8. Longing for a friend, he wishes that the bear would come to life and by the miracle of a shooting star, he does. The two become inseparable and 27 years later, John and Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) are still best friends. However, Ted's vulgar and immature lifestyle has affected John's life greatly, even when he is in the midst of a relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis), who asks John to have Ted move out so that they could move on with their lives. This forces John to start acting his age, even when his relationship with Ted keeps preventing that from happening and John must find a way to keep both his girlfriend and his best friend in his life.



'Ted' is very similar in style and tone to Family Guy. It takes place in New England, one of the main characters is something that shouldn't even exist, and the characters of John and Ted do very much resemble Peter and Brian on Family Guy. In fact, Ted sounds exactly like Peter Griffin and they even make a joke about it in the film. On Family Guy, MacFarlane constantly pushes the envelope for what can be shown on television, and 'Ted' pretty much gives him free reign to do even more than what he could get away with on Family Guy. There are racial jokes, ethnic jokes, 80's references, and so on. Basically, it's the usual crazy stuff you see on Family Guy, and trust me when I say that this film truly deserves the 'R' rating it has been given.



But 'Ted' has something that makes it all work and that is heart. True, both John and Ted act immature and vulgar, but both are actually pretty likeable and are true friends to the end. The main message of the film of growing up and taking responsibility for yourself is very genuine and despite all of the racist and ethnic humor that this movie spews out constantly, it's not hateful in any way. The ending in particular is enough to warm the heart of any New Englander. The screenplay is very well-written and the film never gets dull at any point. Patrick Stewart as the narrator goes beyond the boundaries of your typical narrator, and even when the film becomes more of a thriller during the final act, MacFarlane still pulls in enough jokes to make it all worthwhile.



Mark Wahlberg does a great job here, and really should be given a lot of credit for interacting with something that was only added into the film in post-production. MacFarlane, of course, gets the biggest laughs as this vulgar and obnoxious teddy bear, and him and Wahlberg have great chemistry together. Wahlberg also has great chemistry with Mila Kunis as well, and the filmmakers don't go the cheap route with how her character is written. Instead of just making her a heartless objector of Ted's actions, she's someone who does love her boyfriend but is annoyed that he still acts like a child, obviously because of the bear who has been his best friend since he was 8 years old, which is affecting any chance they have at taking their relationship to the next level. The other members of the cast bring some great humor as well, including Joel McHale as Lori's boss who keeps trying to hit on her and Giovanni Ribisi as a creepy father who tries to acquire Ted for his son.



Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut is one for the ages and is easily the funniest film of the year so far. Wahlberg, MacFarlane, Kunis are great together and as crude, vulgar, and crazy as much of this film is, it does have a lot of heart to it. This easily makes up for the lackluster run that Family Guy has been on for the last few seasons, and while I'm not exactly saying that MacFarlane should stop doing Family Guy just yet, it's clear that MacFarlane should focus on his film career now because he has a lot to offer. Obviously, if you're a fan of Family Guy, then you'll love this movie. But even if you aren't, then I would still recommend this movie because I guarantee that you will be very much entertained by it.

Rating: 5/5!

Box Office Results: 6/29/12-7/1/12


A foul-mouthed and vulgar teddy bear led the weekend box office as director Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut 'Ted' opened with $54.1 million. In second place was director Steven Soderbergh's male stripper film 'Magic Mike' with $39.2 million. Tyler Perry's 'Madea's Witness Protection' took fourth place with a modest total of $26.4 million and the drama/comedy 'People Like Us' underperformed at only $4.3 million. It didn't even crack the Top 10 as 'The Avengers' continued to perform well even in its 9th week of release.

1. Ted: $54.1 Million
2. Magic Mike: $39.2 Million
3. Brave: $34 Million
4. Madea's Witness Protection: $26.4 Million
5. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: $11.8 Million
6. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: $6 Million
7. Prometheus: $4.9 Million
8. Moonrise Kingdom: $4.9 Million
9. Snow White and the Huntsman: $4.5 Million
10. The Avengers: $4.4 Million