There is no resisting…
In box office prognostication, sometimes the only thing ever for sure…is that nothing is ever for sure. No one anticipated that DreamWorks’ “Puss In Boots” would not only win the weekend over the much hyped action comedy “Tower Heist”, but would also set a record for the smallest drop ever for a fall movie release (non-holiday). The precocious little swashbuckling cat banked another $33.1 million, raising its 10-day totals to $75.5 million domestic/$114.5 million worldwide and finishing a substantial distance in front of the #2 movie of the weekend. Well on its way to making back its $130 million budget, “Puss In Boots” looks to rule the family movie roost for one more weekend until a suffocating avalanche of family films arrive with “Happy Feet Two” releasing on November 18 and “Arthur Christmas”, “Hugo”, and “The Muppets” all opening on November 23 in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday. For those bemoaning a lack of family friendly titles at the box office, your cup is about to runneth over for certain.
So what led to the disappointing start for “Tower Heist” and did audiences warmly receive a third “Harold and Kumar” film? Did any Oscar hopefuls and independent titles make any news? Details and more after the cut!
Read more on Box Office Final: “Puss In Boots” Fights Off The Competition……
Categories: News Tags: analysis, anonymous, box office report, Courageous, Footloose, In Time, Like Crazy, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Moneyball, Paranormal Activity 3, puss in boots, The Ides of March, The Son of No One, Tower Heist
 Had anyone in the seventies suggested to me that Clint Eastwood, at that time best known as the renegade detective in Dirty Harry (1971) and a slew of spaghetti westerns would one day be a two time Academy Award winner for Best Director, twice awarded Best Director by the Directors Guild of America, and having won countless other critics awards for direction, I would have laughed in their face. Further had they told me he would produce his Oscar winning films, thereby earning two more Academy Awards I would have doubled over in hysterics.
Eastwood?
Come on!! He was at best a limited actor of limited expressions and depth, who from time to time made movies with an ape! His forte would forever be box office hits, nothing more. What then would I have said had people suggested he would be nominated twice for Best Actor when he was over sixty??
Madness!!
God how wrong so many of us would have been!!
Read more on EASTWOOD — AMONG THE ELITE…
 With the beginning of the fifth season of Academy Idol, we are counting down with our favorite Academy Idol moments throughout the years. What is the most shocking elimination witnessed in the competition in the five years? Is it No Country for Old Men going out in sixth place? or maybe the following week when Atonement went out fifth after never being in the bottom three? How about The Dark Knight losing in the finale against Pixar’s animated splendor, Wall-E? Could it be Slumdog Millionaire going out seventh or The Hurt Locker being eliminated fourth? Do you want to know my biggest regret? Check it out after the jump along with one of my favorite episodes from Season 1. You can still enter our contest if you’d like here.
Read more on Academy Idol Announcement in 5 Days!…
 This week, well…we have a down week for me, no doubt about it. Now, I grant you that if you’re a fan of a certain franchise that has its final installment hit shelves this week, then things definitely look up. For me, it’s not the case, so it’s very slim pickings around here. The next couple of weeks pick up a bit, so it’s only a temporary lull. As always is the case with a slate of releases that underwhelms, we find the willpower to press on anyway. That doesn’t change here. For my PICK OF THE WEEK, I went with an interesting documentary that doesn’t incite adoration for me, but it does get my respect. It mainly appeals based on its concept, but it’s by no means bad in any way. It’s:
Life in a Day
I like the concept of a user-generated documentary, and while there’s a more completely engrossing one to be made, this look at a single day (July 24th, 2010 to be exact) is a solid one. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, but it does come dangerously close to feeling like a feature length Youtube video. Overall, it’s the best of a weak bunch today, so it kind of wins by default. I still recommend picking it up, regardless. It’s certainly something different.
Read more on Joey’s DVD Picks of the Week (11/8/2011)…
 After being very impressed by writer/director Dito Montiel’s debut film ‘A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints’, I labeled him a filmmaker to watch. His sophomore feature ‘Fighting’ was very mediocre and a definite step back for Montiel. Now, his third film ‘The Son of No One’ has arrived, and if it’s a step forward for him, it’s a minuscule one, and more likely an overall step back. The potential is there for a great, gritty cop drama, but it’s maddeningly inconsistent, made all the more so by a few very nice scenes surrounded by mediocrity. Mostly, you just wonder how a screenplay that makes as little sense as this could have been chosen for production. What should be an intimate study of how old secrets can come back to haunt you is just bogged down by illogical moments and plot holes galore. Montiel still might be a director with a future, but when you get a cast that includes Al Pacino, Juliette Binoche, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, Tracy Morgan, and yes, Channing Tatum (though he’s actually fine), but do absolutely nothing with them…that’s just a troubling sign for any filmmaker. I definitely was expecting more from this film.
Read more on The Son of No One (**)…
 I know people are very mixed on Ricky Gervais and his style of hosting, but I never really care much who hosts a show, as it’s more about the movies and the awards in my eyes. Anyhow, the New York Post is reporting that Gervais is coming back to host the Golden Globe Awards:
Ricky Gervais looks set to return as the host of the Golden Globes. Aida Takla–O’Reilly, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and Doug Vaughan, NBC’s head of specials, were spotted at a dinner with Gervais at Chez Benoit in Paris. While NBC’s ratings shot up last year, Gervais was warned he could never work in Hollywood again after his brilliantly spiked jokes at the expense of stars including Charlie Sheen and R obert Downey Jr. Gervais recently said NBC had asked him back, but he wasn’t sure he’d do it.
Read more on Ricky Gervais coming back to host the Golden Globes!…
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