Category: Movies (Page 490 of 498)

The Year in Movies: 2005

December 31, 2005 / Jamey Codding

Bullz-Eye.com’s two lead movie reviewers, David Medsker and Jason Zingale, have laid it all out there, giving their lists of the best and worst the 2005 movie menu had to offer. They couldn’t see everything — quite frankly, they didn’t want to see everything — but they still managed to catch damn near every movie that hit theaters in 2005. Some were good (“Kung Fu Hustle”), some were bad (“Aeon Flux”), some were just god-awful (“Brothers Grimm”), and some simply blew them away (“Batman Begins”).

Some of David’s best movies of the year included “March of the Penguins,” “Sin City,” “Wedding Crashers” and “Jarhead,” while his worst list included “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.”

Jason, meanwhile, listed “Crash” as his best film of the year while also showing some love to “A History of Violence,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Brokeback Mountain.” “Last Days,” “The Aristocrats” and “Just Friends,” meanwhile, wound up on his worst list.

Click here to check out the full feature.

Movies, News, Reviews

The movies of 2006: Welcome to the suck

December 31, 2005 / David Medsker

One of the nifty perks of my job is getting passes to all of the advance screenings for movies. However, that asset is looking a hell of a lot like a liability over the next couple weeks. This is the list of screenings that Tyler Durden and I have to endure:

Thursday, January 5: Casanova, Grandma’s Boy (I’m seeing the former, Tyler’s seeing the latter. I’m not sure which one drew the short straw.)
Wednesday, January 11: Last Holiday, the Queen Latifah she-thinks-she’s-dying-but-she-isn’t movie
Thursday, January 12: Tristan & Isolde, the alleged forfathers to Romeo and Juliet.

Oh, and on the horizon is “Underworld: Evolution” (we can only hope the dialogue evolved as well) and some silly Harrison Ford thriller (“Firewall”) about a software programmer that has to allow someone to steal a bunch of money or his family dies. The summer, with a “Poseidon Adventure” remake and “Mission: Impossible III” as tent pole movies, doesn’t look any better. Welcome to the suck.

Movies

Box Office Roundup: Apes rule, lions drool

December 27, 2005 / David Medsker

Based on Sunday’s estimates:

1) King Kong: $31.4 million ($118.7 million, second weekend)
We’re still wondering how worms can go all “Deep Rising” on us when there is nothing on that island that is small enough for them to eat. With predators, there must be prey, yes?
2) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: $30.1 million ($163.5 million, third weekend)
“Hey, Mouse House, this is God calling. What’s the deal with this overgrown monkey keeping us at #2? You want me to do something about that hobbit Peter Jackson? What? No, I suppose that would only make the movie even bigger. Man, I really want to smite someone, though.”
3) Fun with Dick and Jane: $23.5 million ($31 million, first weekend, Wednesday opening)
Well, there’s a third of the budget back. Only two more thirds to go.
4) Cheaper by the Dozen 2: $14.7 million ($20 million, first weekend, Wednesday opening)
Between this, “The Man,” and the “American Pie” straight-to-video (sorry, “DVD original”) movie, Eugene Levy is fast becoming the Michael Caine/Gene Hackman of the decade.
5) The Family Stone: $10.8 million ($30 million, second weekend)
This looks like a miraculous hold, dropping only 10% from the previous week, but in fact it is a mediocre opening followed by the big Christmas boost.

Movies, News

DVD shuffle: 12/27/05

December 27, 2005 / Jason Zingale

Out on DVD this week:

1) Dark Water – RENT: Please, no more horror films imported from Japan! That being said, this psychological scarefest is actually pretty good. Then again, what more can you expect from a cast made up of Jennifer Connelly, John C. McGinley, and Tim Roth? To those who have seen “Aeon Flux,” don’t answer that.

2) Into the Blue – RENT: For as much as I hated this underwater treasure-hunter popcorn flick, you can’t deny watching the mesmerizing Jessica Alba in a skimpy bathing suit for 90 minutes.

3) The Shield: Season 4 – BUY: Perhaps the next best season of the series since it’s sophomore year, season four gets back to the good ‘ol days of Vic and the Strike Team taking down the baddies.

Also out this week is the direct-to-DVD movie “American Pie Presents: Band Camp,” a special edition of “Toy Story 2,” and Wong Kar-Wai’s latest, “2046.”

Movie DVDs, Movies, Reviews

One retard, two crooks, three geishas and a room full of gays

December 22, 2005 / Jason Zingale

With the holiday weekend fast approaching, movie studios are releasing their last batch of this year’s films. Among this week’s releases are Oscar hopefuls “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “The Producers,” the lighthearted comedy “The Ringer,” and the Jim Carrey/Tea Leoni comedy “Fun With Dick and Jane.” All four of these films are excellent holiday additions, but I wouldn’t expect anything more than a good time from any of them. Both “Memoirs” and “Producers” have grabbed a combined six Golden Globe nominations, but not nearly as many as most had anticipated, while “Brokeback Mountain,” which slowly opens wide over the next ten days, secured seven nominations.

Also in wide release (and opening Christmas Day) is the “The Graduate”-themed comedy “Rumor Has It…” and the Aussie horror flick “Wolf Creek.” Both the Steven Spielberg film “Munich” and the Heath Ledger STRAIGHT romance “Casanova” open in limited release, while Terrence Malick’s “The New World” debuts as a special extended cut of the film – the real version won’t be released for another two weeks while the director wraps up editing on the final product.

Movies, Reviews