Category: Movie Dramas (Page 156 of 188)

Blu Tuesday: He’s Just Not That Into You, Revolutionary Road and Weeds

June 2, 2009 /

After what seemed like an avalanche of Blu-rays during the month of May, HD consumers can finally rest their pocketbooks. The lull isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds – after all, studios continue to release catalog reissues every week – but those looking strictly for new titles have fewer options. For instance, last Tuesday brought us only one new release (the Renée Zellweger comedy, “New in Town”) – which is also why there was no new column – but this week offers up a slightly better selection to choose from.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” (Warner Bros.)

Though not quite an instant classic like Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually,” the Ken Kwapis-directed romantic comedy has a lot in common with the 2003 film. Both movies juggle several interweaving storylines (including some that end well and some that don’t), and both feature an all-star cast of actors. “He’s Just Not That Into You” isn’t as memorable, but it’s definitely better than expected thanks to a smart script and some standout performances by Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long. While the movie doesn’t appeal to the opposite sex in the same way as Curtis’ rom-com, it’s still an easier sell than most films like it due to the variety of male characters represented in the story. The Blu-ray release is far from extraordinary, but for fans of the genre, you could do a lot worse.

“Revolutionary Road” (Paramount)

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t love “Revolutionary Road” quite as much as the other critics, but it’s still a solid period drama with fine performances from the hugely underrated Leonardo DiCaprio and the slightly overrated Kate Winslet. While the story is just as depressing as most of the award films Hollywood is producing these days, there are small moments of happiness sprinkled throughout that helps make what can easily be conveyed as an anti-marriage tale a little easier to swallow. There’s obviously more to story than that, which is why anyone who might have strayed from seeing the film in theaters (and judging by its box office receipts, that’s a pretty big percentage) should definitely give it a go on Blu-ray. The book by Richard Yates has been called one of the greatest novels in the history of American Literature, and while that’s certainly not true of the movie adaptation, it’s still worth seeing once.

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Weekend Box Office: “Up” Surprises; “Drag Me to Hell” in Limbo

May 31, 2009 /

Everyone expected a big weekend for the latest from the seemingly unstoppable Pixar/Disney creative team, but who knew that an elderly human could outperform an immature robot?

Yes, despite apparently being a bit intense for the very small ones, “Up” benefited from its widely noted ability to make adults cry and then laugh a lot as well — and perhaps more pointedly from being shown in what Nikki Finke reports is a record number (over 1,500) of 3-D digital screens. It raised $68.2 million, beating “WALL-E” by about $5 million, making it the third highest grosser in Pixar’s illustrious history. (Though, as always, one should remember that ticket prices keep getting higher.) But for those who think pristine visuals and high tech sound are the only attractions, I also have reason to believe it did well at the few remaining drive-in theaters as well…but more about that in a bit.

Overall, “Family” was apparently the watchword as “Night at the Museum: The Battle of the Smithsonian,” as Brandon Gray points out, dropped what is now considered a very respectable 53.5% to net $25.5 million smackers, buoyed by those premiums for IMAX theaters, both legit and “Liemax.”

Meanwhile, there was just a slight whiff of disappointment in horrorland as the ethically fascinating creepfest “Drag Me to Hell” netted a mere $16.6 million, but Sam Raimi’s presumably lowish budget flick is not quite in the movie toilet. Variety‘s Dave McNary cites a Universal bigwig thusly:

“It was a solid start,” [distribution chief Nikki] Rocco said, who asserted that “Drag Me to Hell” should benefit in coming weeks from a slew of positive reviews.

And, word of mouth of course. Like me, right here. As mentioned in my pre-weekend b.o. post, I really did head down to the Mission Tiki Drive-In in otherwise scenically challenged Montclair, CA. Alongside seeing hordes and hordes and hordes and hordes of families scrambling to see “Up” and meeting some very, very cool fellow cinenerds (some famed far and wide, relatively speaking), I can also say that “Drag Me to Hell” is a genuine hoot. You serious horror fans should be aware that, while it has laughs, they are mostly of the nervous and ironic variety, if that makes you feel any better. I mean, God forbid if a horror movie should actually be, you know, fun — and I don’t mean Dick Cheney’s idea of fun.

Meanwhile, “Terminator Salvation” did a lackluster $16.1 million in its second weekend, meaning that McG, Christian Bale and company likely feel like they’ve been dragged to the unhappy place themselves.

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Weekend at the Multiplex, Pt. II: The Power of Family Defeats Robot Rehash + the Palm Goes to…. (Updated)

May 24, 2009 /

The long holiday weekend is barely halfway through here on the west coast, but the numbers gurus have already spoken. Both Variety and megablogger Nikki Finke report that “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” outgrossed “Terminator Salavation” by 53.5 to 43 million smackers, proving once again the power of family films and that I am, at best, a very mediocre prognosticator. It also indicates that McG’s name and talents may not be pure box office gold.

In other news, in what turned out to be a battle of movie bad boys of various types, the coveted Palme D’Or (that’s Golden Palm to you and moi), has been awarded at Cannes after a week of some very divided audience and critical responses. Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” elicited reactions ranging from reasonably positive to angrily disappointed. “Antichrist,” the new horror film/domestic drama from the personally disliked but often genius-level brilliant Lars von Trier (“Breaking the Waves,” “Dancer in the Dark”) crossed some deep psychological lines in terms of graphic violence and human genitals, leading to a raucous screening and deeply appalling many while eliciting some truly unusual, often more positive, reactions from writers. (Roger Ebert’s take, for one, is certainly worth a look.)

Not too surprisingly, the winner was another overage enfant terrible entirely. Ironically enough, he himself has been simultaneously applauded and despised for the first version of “Funny Games.” The second, English-language, version was mostly just despised for its manipulations and made Bullz-Eyer David Medskar talk of punching its maker in the face, which I’m sure he intended as a metaphor.

That winner would be Austria’s 67 year-old Michael Haneke — often regarded as the world class director most in need of a hug, as well as a punch. He picked up the Palm for “The White Ribbon” a dark (of course!) black and white pre-World War I drama. Haneke has had some out-and-out success apart from “Funny Games” with 2005’s genuinely compelling and thoughtfully upsetting “Caché,” which Ron Howard once considered remaking but, perhaps fearing David’s reaction, choose to make the movie version of “Arrested Development” instead. Probably a wise move, in any case.


UPDATE: Brandon Grey of Box Office Mojo has the final figures “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithinsonian” raked in $70 million on 7,000 screens and “Terminator Salvation” earned $53.8 million on about six-hundred fewer screens. Also, NPR’s hourly newscast this morning suggested that some of T4’s weakness, especially here in Southern Cal, might be related to the ongoing NBA play-offs. Could be, I suppose. That’s what I get for being a guy who writes for an online men’s mag who’s also a complete ignoramus about sports.

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Blu Tuesday: A Bug’s Life, Batman and Terminator 2

May 19, 2009 /

The wealth of Blu-ray titles being released this week is actually pretty incredible (in fact, most of the month has yielded a nice selection for HD enthusiasts), but you’d be wise to get in on the fun now, because the future is looking pretty dim – at least in the short term. Nevertheless, there are plenty A-list titles to last you through the upcoming drought, and most of them are good enough to warrant headlining their own column.

“A Bug’s Life” (Walt Disney)

It may not be one of Pixar’s most popular films (in fact, it’s curiously missing from just about every marketing campaign of the last decade), but “A Bug’s Life” is still a solid entry in the studio’s 14-year history. A clever reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” the film features all of the usual Pixar trappings (humor, heart and charm), not to mention an awesome voice cast including the scene-stealing Kevin Spacey and Richard Kind as the villainous grasshopper and his dim-witted brother, respectively. Oh, and that cute little girl providing the voice of Dot? It’s none other than “Heroes” hottie Hayden Panettiere in one of her very first film roles. What’s ultimately so great about the new 10th anniversary Blu-ray release, however, is that it not only includes the previously released bonus material, but two brand new special features as well. The first is a 21-minute roundtable discussion with co-directors John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton and producers Darla K. Anderson and Kevin Reher where they reflect on the making of “A Bug’s Life” with stories about pitching the idea to Disney and screening the film for President Clinton at Camp David, while “A Bug’s Life: The First Draft” offers a never-before-seen look at the film’s original concept starring a completely different main character. It’s exactly the kind of fan service moviegoers don’t see enough of these days, but when it comes to a company like Pixar, you shouldn’t expect any less.

“Batman” (Warner Bros.)

It’s hard to imagine anyone that wanted a copy of “Batman” on Blu-ray didn’t pick up the anthology box set collecting the first four films when it was released a few months ago, but those holding out strictly for the Tim Burton original will be pleased with Warner’s new digibook release. Though the 1989 film doesn’t quite hold up when compared to Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the franchise, it’s still a solid entry in the history of comic book films that, if nothing else, offers a great performance from Jack Nicholson as a more classic version of the Joker. The set is also jam-packed with all of the special features from the 2005 DVD reissues including a director commentary, an in-depth look at the history of Batman, and hours of production featurettes about the making of the film. The digibook release also features slick packaging with a 48-page booklet filled with essays and a script excerpt, as well as a digital copy for those on the go.

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Passengers

May 17, 2009 /

Whenever a movie with an A-list cast suddenly disappears from the release schedule only to pop up on DVD several months later, you know it was probably for a reason. In the case of “Passengers,” it’s that the movie isn’t very good. Anne Hathaway stars as Claire Summers, a young psychologist assigned to the small group of survivors of a recent plane crash. When the patients begin disappearing, however, Claire teams up with one the survivors – a surprisingly carefree man named Eric (Patrick Wilson) – to unlock the truth behind the incident. Though Sony originally marketed the film as a supernatural thriller (it even had a very limited theatrical release around Halloween), there’s almost nothing supernatural or thrilling about it. Director Rodrigo Garcia tries to ratchet up the tension by sprinkling in ominous stalkers and conspiracy theories, but to little avail. Even the big twist ending – which the script tries to protect by ignoring the obvious – can be seen from a mile away, making the wait seem even longer. It’s always sad to see a great cast wasted (along with Hathaway and Wilson, the film also stars David Morse, Andre Braugher and Dianne Wiest), but “Passengers” just doesn’t have what it takes to be an engaging thriller.

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