 Superhero films often get a bad rap among AMPAS members. Not too many of them think any superhero genre film has pushed the boundaries of the cinematic scope to warrant any major citations. We often just accept that despite a movie being just freaking awesome and super entertaining à la Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) last year, there isn’t any feasible chance the Academy will recognize the mass popular film. Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 opened to decent enough reviews, no one necessarily bringing up the “O” word so this doesn’t really apply there per se but what about the other films that are scheduled to open. Better yet, how about the other films that have come before it. Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Elysium looks like a visual splendor while Star Trek Into Darkness looks to capture the magic of its predecessor one more time. Not superhero films but genre films nonetheless that have an extra hard time being recognized no matter the quality.
When Heath Ledger was awarded Best Supporting Actor for his diabolical performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), there’s no real way of ever knowing if Ledger hadn’t passed away prior to the film’s release, would he still have had all the momentum and get the AMPAS love he very much deserved. Read more on Superhero Omissions – What Oscar Hasn’t Recognized Over the Years…
Categories: Article, Editor Tags: Alfred Molina, batman, Batman Begins, Billy Crudup, Christopher Nolan, Editor, Heath Ledger, Hugo Weaving, Iron Man 3, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jonathan Nolan, Lee Smith, Natalie Portman, Spider-Man 2, Spiderman, Superhero, Superhero Films, The Dark Knight, the dark knight rises, V for Vendetta, Wally Pfister, Watchmen, Zack Snyder
The 14th annual Golden Trailer Awards will take place on May 3 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, and will be hosted by Rob Schneider and Aisha Tyler. Film trailers will be honored in 15 different categories, and are judged by “film industry notables.” Last year, Best in Show went to The Dark Knight Rises (who didn’t love watching Heinz field reduced to ashes?). Have a look at this year’s nominees after the jump.
Read more on Nominations Announced for the 14th Annual Golden Trailer Awards…
(The annual “Will Win/Should Win” of the Awards Circuit has been our most popular yet most challenging series where each writer let’s their final thoughts be known on the Oscar categories. Each writer will reveal their choices everyday leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Think you can do better? Let your final thoughts be known in the comment section or by joining our Oscar Pool. -CD)
It’s here, the Big One. The Oscars are finally upon us, generating a frenzy of excitement and a torrent of ever-changing predictions in its path to the big stage on Sunday. This is the highly anticipated annual organized free-for-all when ideals shatter, frustrations bubble over, and sometimes (though not often) pleasant surprises challenge the odds. The final results could go any which way, and especially in such a quality-loaded year, it’s been a dizzying process trying to peg the sway of Academy Voters. Finally dashing aside unrealistically hopeful designs of one candidate over another, I’ve joined my Awards Circuit colleagues in settling on the probable winners, though not without putting up a fight for my preferred winners. In the spirit of the games, here are my “Win Will/Should Win” Oscar Selections: Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Melkonian)…
Categories: Article Tags: Argo, Bradley Cooper, Brave, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Disney, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Joaquin Phoenix, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Mark Boal, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Prometheus, Quentin Tarantino, Robert De Niro, Roman Coppola, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Secret World of Arietty, Wes Anderson, Will Win/Should Win, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
(The annual “Will Win/Should Win” of the Awards Circuit has been our most popular yet most challenging series where each writer let’s their final thoughts be known on the Oscar categories. Each writer will reveal their choices everyday leading up to the Oscar ceremony. Think you can do better? Let your final thoughts be known in the comment section or by joining our Oscar Pool. -CD)
Read more on Oscar 2013 Will Win/Should Win Selections (Young)…
Categories: Article Tags: Amour, ang lee, Anna Karenina, Anna Young, Anne Hathaway, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Brave, Chris Terrio, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Django Unchained, Emmanuelle Riva, End of Watch, Holy Motors, Inglourious Basterds, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, John Goodman, John Hawkes, Joss Whedon, kathryn bigelow, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Logan Lerman, Mark Boal, Moonrise Kingdom, oscar predictions, Oscar snubs, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Robert DeNiro, Samantha Barks, Samuel L. Jackson, Searching for Sugarman, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Stephen Chbosky, Steven Speilberg, The Academy Awards, the avengers, the dark knight rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, The Sessions, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Win/Should Win, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Wales on January 30th, 1974. As a child, Bale starred in television commercials before making a few made-for-television films, including Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986). His first big screen performance came in Empire of the Sun, for which he won the “Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor” award from The National Board of Review.
Read more on Circuit 3: Christian Bale…
 2012 went in the blink of an eye. By July of last year, I was fearful of how the year would turn out for film. At that point my top two films, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Moonrise Kingdom were very good but nothing that I wanted to be in the top-tier of my annual top ten list since neither received a top-notch review from myself. September rolled around and film after film was blowing audiences, critics, and prognosticators away. There’s always a narrative a critic and blogger tries to write for the year. Is it the year of action films? Is it the year of big studios? While large studios definitely stepped up their games, it was documentaries that pushed the boundaries of storytelling and bringing enigmatic issues to the surface. I can only hope a worthy documentary manages to get their due in the future and hit the cultural zeitgeist that will “allow” Oscar to recognize.
As I unveil my personal ballot over the next few days, looking over the citations as a whole make me very proud of what filmmakers, performers, and studios are choosing to do with their narrative techniques. Of course, our beloved readership will have a different top ten, criticize choices, and scream anarchy for glowing omissions, but that’s what the Awards Circuit is about. Make your choices known not only in the comment section but also in the Awards Circuit Community Awards which are currently underway.
Without further ado: Read more on Editor Top Films of 2012 – The Year of the Film…
Categories: Article, Editor Tags: Amour, Arbitrage, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, chasing ice, Editor, End of Watch, Flight, Jeff, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Red Hook Summer, Rise of the Guardians, Searching for Sugar Man, seven psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Ted, The Central Park Five, the dark knight rises, The Grey, the house i live in, The Impossible, The Invisible War, The Master, The Painting, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, Top Ten of 2012, Top Tens, West of Memphis, Zero Dark Thirty
There’s the infamous Watergate scandal; sports followers still get a kick out of Crygate; and Antennagate briefly plagued Apple’s release of the iPhone 4. Well, here’s a new one for you: Trailergate. It’s completely made-up and involves no impeachable offenses or villainous superstar athletes, so bear with me while I set this up.
DISCLAIMER: This is a (slight) dramatization… Read more on Trailergate: The Great Trailer Debate…
Categories: Article Tags: Crazy Stupid Love, Dark Shadows, Django Unchained, Joaquin Phoenix, Lincoln, Peter Jackson, Prometheus, the dark knight rises, The Hobbit, The Master, trailers
 The prestigious American Film Institute has released their top 10 films and television programs for 2012. The American Film Institute’s annual awards are selected by scholars, film and television artists, critics and AFI Trustees. This year’s juries were chaired by producers and AFI Board of Trustees Vice Chairs Tom Pollock for movies and Rich Frank for TV. The awards luncheon will be held on Jany 11.
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
MOONRISE KINGDOM
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
ZERO DARK THIRTY
TV awards after the jump!
Read more on American Film Institute (AFI) names Top Ten Films and Television Shows for 2012!…
Categories: Article, News, Precursors Tags: American Film Institute, American Film Institute Awards, American Horror Story, Argo, awards, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Breaking Bad, Django Unchained, Game Change, Girls, Homeland, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Louie, mad men, modern family, Moonrise Kingdom, news, Silver Linings Playbook, the dark knight rises, The Walking Dead, Zero Dark Thirty
- The week is almost over at The Awards Circuit, but what a week it was! On top of Editor-in-Chief Clayton Davis’ updated Oscar Predictions, the New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review and Boston Online Film Critics Association had quite a lot to say in regards to this highly competitive awards season. Considering this film was wrapped in secrecy since the start of the year, it’s both crazy and exciting that Zero Dark Thirty has become the first “frontrunner” of the Oscar race. Those quotes are there for a reason — the film remains number one because of the recent onslaught of award dominance, but this is still any film’s prize for the taking…and that’s what makes this year’s award season the most exciting one in ages. Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 12/9)…
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 12/9)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: anna belickis, Circuit 3: Julianne Moore, clayton davis, Daniel Ashtiany, grammy nominations, Joey Magidson, joeys dvd pick of the week, John H. Foote, Joseph Braverman, LAFCA, Les Miserables, Mark Johnson, Mike Ward, National Board of Review, New York Film Crtics Circle, Nicole Melkonian, oscar predictions 2013, Robert Hamer, Satellite Award nominations, Searching for Sugar Man, Sizing up, Terence Johnson, the dark knight rises, The Voice, Tiff Chai, Zero Dark Thirty
 Now that the Presidential election and race for the White House is thankfully behind us (at least for another 4 years that is), even more speculation and analysis can be applied to the race for Oscars and mainly Best Picture! We’re at a critical juncture, in my opinion, as only a very small amount of contenders have yet to be seen, so there’s an almost complete portrait of the year to gaze at. I’ve been looking at it pretty hard lately, and from this angle, it appears that Ben Affleck’s film ‘Argo’ is still sitting in the pole position for Best Picture. There’s no shortage of challengers, but outside of the unseen ones like ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Promised Land’, and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, the main films hoping to unseat Ben’s flick all have a long road ahead, and likely only ‘Lincoln’ stands a shot at taking the title from those already in release. There’s also films like ‘Hitchcock’, ‘Life of Pi’, and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ that aren’t yet out but have been seen by a decent number of Oscar pundits, and none of them feel like winners to me either. Yes, I’m a big ‘Argo’ fan, but first and foremost I’m an Oscar prognosticator, so this is just my take on how things are shaping up. The race can and likely will change, but right now this is how it looks to me.
Read more on Why ‘Argo’ is still in the driver’s seat for Best Picture…
Categories: Article Tags: analysis, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ben Affleck, best picture, hitchcock, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Oscar hopefuls, Promised Land, Silver Linings Playbook, the dark knight rises, The Master, Zero Dark Thirty
 Writing this LIVE in the middle of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, what’s a better time to talk about Oscar Predictions than now. As we enter the leg of the season this November, some categories start to look more clear and less of a mystery. Some films also emerge as the ones to beat.
This past weekend Ben Affleck’s Argo took the #1 spot at the Box Office with the word-of-mouth spreading, the film, at this point, looks like the one to beat in Best Picture and Best Director. In response to the acting possibilities, some think that Affleck could show up like Clint Eastwood did in the year of Million Dollar Baby (2004) in Best Actor. It’s hard to imagine Daniel Day-Lewis, John Hawkes, and Joaquin Phoenix missing out on nominations with Denzel Washington in a comfortable fourth spot. Affleck and about fifteen other leading hopefuls are fighting for the fifth spot. Richard Gere’s goodwill charm and the lack of Oscar nominations to his credit may catapult him forward to his first mention in his forty-year career in Nicholas Jarecki’s Arbitrage. The film itself could follow the way of last year’s Margin Call, which surprised with an Original Screenplay mention on Oscar nomination morning.
Read more on Oscar Circuit – The Calm Before the Storm (No Pun Intended)…
Categories: Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Andrew Dominik, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Cinema of the United States, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Denzel Washington, Django Unchained, Entertainment/Culture, Film, Jessica Chastain, Joaquin Phoenix, John Hawkes, Kerry Washington, Nicholas Jarecki, Oscar, oscar predictions, oscar predictions 2013, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Richard Gere, the dark knight rises, the weinstein company, Tom Hooper
 After writing about Christopher Nolan and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ literally every single day for a few months, it’s weird to not be discussing the filmmaker or the flick at the moment. We’re currently in the calm before we find out if the storm will hit for the film with any precursors, but until then, there’s a pretty interesting rumor circulating throughout the web of late. It posits that despite his history, Nolan is going to have a Director’s Cut of the movie available when the Blu-Ray of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ comes out. I’m not 100% sure that I believe it, but if the rumors turn out to be true, some interesting things could be afoot. After the jump I’ll explain just what, but for now take this with a grain of salt. Still, read on for details…
Read more on Will the Blu-Ray of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ have a longer director’s cut?…
 After being left on the Lionsgate shelves for a fair amount of time, The Possession finally got its opportunity to play at the multiplex and won the final weekend at the box office, earning an estimated $17.2 million, wrapping up an interesting 2012 summer box office season. Outpacing the Prohibition-era crime drama Lawless, The Possession was the second consecutive teen-oriented horror film to not screen for critics, following last week’s virtually ignored The Apparition. However, unlike The Apparition, audiences were much interested in being possessed it seems. 2016: Obama’s America attempted to build on its big numbers last weekend on the back of the Republican National Convention, and this week also witnessed an opening of historic proportions. Believe me when I say, it is historic for all the wrong reasons.
Read more on Box Office Report (9.3.2012)…
Categories: News Tags: bloodrayne, box office report, Brave, Hope Springs, Lawless, ParaNorman, the avengers, The Campaign, the dark knight rises, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, The Possession
A lot of hyperbole has been tossed around with this weekend’s box office figures, since a documentary, 2016: Obama’s America has shocked the movie industry with its success. On Friday, it was erroneously reported that the film would be the #1 film of the weekend; a report later revised to indicate the Rocky Mountain Pictures release would be the #1 new release movie from the weekend. In this week’s Box Office Report we will break down the facts and myths surrounding the anti-Obama documentary’s theatrical success. Elsewhere, the story really is more about the fact that this past weekend represents the lowest attended weekend at the movies all year. The overall gross stands to be the worst since the April 27-29, 2012 weekend, which saw Think Like A Man hold off four new releases (The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, The Five-Year Engagement, Safe, and The Raven) to win the weekend. So, what did people see? How bad was it?
Check out the breakdown after the cut!
Read more on Box Office Report (8.27.12)…
Categories: Blog, News Tags: box office, box office report, Hit & Run, Hope Springs, ParaNorman, Premium Rush, Samsara, Sleepwalk with Me, The Apparition, The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign, the dark knight rises, The Expendables 2, The Odd Life of Timothy Green
 Falling short of its precursor, but still strong enough to win a very competitive box office weekend, The Expendables 2 outshot the competition, scoring $28.6 million in its opening weekend. Although again a co-author on the screenplay, Expendables mastermind Sylvester Stallone gave the director’s chair over to Simon West and critics, including our own Joey Magidson, surprisingly embraced the film, which was only screened to critics overseas, in New York, and Los Angeles prior to its release. Coming as no surprise, Expendables 2 drew a sizable Male-25+ contingent of viewers and opening night CinemaScore ratings saw the film come in with a healthy A-. In 2010, the first Expendables blew away the mockery and condescending expectations which preceded that film’s release and grossed $274.4 million worldwide.
Read more on Box Office Report (8.20.2012)…
Categories: News Tags: American film directors, box office report, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Hope Springs, ParaNorman, Sparkle, The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign, the dark knight rises, The Expendables 2, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Total Recall
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises has pulled off the three-peat, grossing $36.4 million to remain at number one at the box office for the third week in a row. It didn’t have much competition this weekend, and has now pulled in a grand total of $354.6 million domestically after 17 days. Meanwhile, the film has brought in $378.4 million internationally, for a $733 million cumulative worldwide. The film’s chances at going over the billion dollar mark seem likely at this rate. The biggest competition the Caped Crusader had this weekend was Sony’s Total Recall ($26 million) remake, and after Joey’s less than encouraging 2-star review, I steered clear of the film altogether, as did many others it seems. Let’s all hope that Recall star Colin Farrell’s next film, Seven Psychopaths, gives us a much bigger reason to head to the theatres. Read more on Box Office Review: Batman Three-Peats…
 Most years, at least a few films from the first half of the year manage to get the attention of the Academy in one way or another. The end result is usually a few Best Picture contenders (even if they’re in the minority overall), but this year there seems to be a dearth of real contenders for the top prize. This is not to say that one can’t cross their fingers for some love for ‘The Cabin in the Woods’, expect that a film like ‘John Carter’ could wind up with some technical citations, or look towards any number of indie films to make a surprise leap into the Oscar race with some precursor love, but at the moment there doesn’t seem to be a lot on Oscar’s plate from January through the end of June. That’s not to say that there aren’t possibilities out there, and I’ve actually collected 10 potential contenders that pretty much represent the best first half hopes of 2012 and listed them in alphabetical order. These aren’t necessarily the ones I’d like to see in play, just the ones realistically under any sort of consideration. Most will wind up excluded from many, if not all, categories, but some of these will score nods for sure. The question is just where. By my count, there are 3 legitimate Best Picture contenders in the group, but none of them is anywhere close to a lock (in fact, I’m actually only predicting one of them to get nominated in my own predictions). Time will tell though, so all we can do right now is ponder the potential possibilities…and ponder we shall! Let’s get started, shall well?
Read more on Ten Contenders from the First Half of 2012…
Categories: Article Tags: analysis, Beasts of the Southern Wild, best picture, Entertainment/Culture, Films, first half of the year, Jack Black, Liam Neeson, Moonrise Kingdom, Oscar, Oscar hopefuls, Steven Soderbergh, the avengers, The Cabin in the Woods, The Dark Knight, the dark knight rises
 The Dark Knight Rises is like the gift that keeps on giving. Whether it’s discussion about its politics or Oscar potential, Christopher Nolan has created a film that has been and will continue to be discussed, dissected and written about. Luckily, for those who want an even more in depth look at the film, the shooting script has arrived only. At 165 pgs, it’s definitely long enough to justify the running time, but mercifully shorter than the supposed 400 pg outline/script that Nolan and co. originally turned in. The download link is available after the jump!
Read more on The complete ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ screenplay arrives online!…
 The second half of the year is upon us. The race is about to heat up with big Oscar hopefuls coming down the pike. Our John Foote will be in attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival and many films will be unveiling themselves to critics alike. There is a very unclear yet still feasible shape to the race looking from ten thousand feet.
There are internet jitters building for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. With the trailers released and now the film being pushed up to September, it looks as though we may be in store for a master class in filmmaking. Phoenix also looks to be a lead contender for his first Oscar after delivering in his previous nominated works, Gladiator (2000) and Walk the Line (2005). Phoenix does have tough competition ahead of him including what looks to be a critical darling-type performance coming from John Hawkes in Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Early word is very positive for the film and the turns by Hawkes along with co-stars Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. Since Hawkes’ initial nomination two years ago for Winter’s Bone, he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. He was arguably left off last year in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and will be seen later this year in Julia Dyer’s The Playroom and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. There seems to be a tremendous following and support for him in his current state. Speaking of Spielberg, we’re still awaiting some type of marketing material for his upcoming Lincoln biopic. No poster or trailer has been released with very few stills leaked online. One starts to think if it will even be ready in time.
Taking a look at the next couple of months, the circuit will begin to reveal itself.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “It’s the time of the season”…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Amour, Amy Adams, ang lee, Anna Karenina, Anne Hathaway, Arbitrage, Argo, Ava DuVarney, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray, Bradley Cooper, Brave, bryan cranston, Carey Mulligan, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Christopher Walken, Clint Eastwood, Cloud Atlas, Colin Farrell, Daniel Barnz, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Django Unchained, Editor, Elizabeth Olsen, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Flight, Fun-Size, Great Expectations, Halle Berry, Helen Hunt, Hyde Park on Hudson, jamie foxx, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Wright, John Goodman, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, judd apatow, Justin Timberlake, kathryn bigelow, Killing Them Softly, Laura Linney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Liam Neeson, Liberal Arts, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Logan Lerman, Looper, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Martin McDonagh, Michael Haneke, Middle of Nowhere, Moonrise Kingdom, nicole kidman, Not Fade Away, olivia colman, Olivia Williams, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson, Richard Gere, Rise of the Guardians, Roger Michell, Russell Crowe, Rust and Bone, Sam Rockwell, Seth Rogen, seven psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Grandmasters, The Guilt Trip, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, The Man with the Iron Fists, The Master, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, tom hanks, Trouble with the Curve, Viola Davis, Woody Harrelson, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
It is probably way too early in his career to do a Circuit 3 on Christopher Nolan, but with The Dark Knight Rises in theatres (and #1 at the box office for the second week in a row) it seemed like a fine time to recognize the director and help him celebrate his 42nd birthday. Born July 30th, 1970 in London, England, Christopher Jonathan James Nolan has come to be known as one of the finest directors working today, and has put together a resume over the last dozen years as equally impressive, or perhaps greater, than anyone else in that span. He is a dual citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States, having split his childhood between London and Chicago, Illinois. His filmmaking career began at the crisp, young age of seven, when he would use his father’s Super 8 camera to make short films using his action figures. After studying at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, he continued his studies at University College London, becoming the president of the college film society from 1992 to 1994. Like many directors, Nolan started with short films before taking on his first feature film in 1998.
Read more on Circuit 3: Christopher Nolan…
The Dark Knight Rises ($64.1 million) repeats as the box office champion in its second week to no one’s surprise. However, after a 60 percent drop from its week one totals it’s looking less likely that Nolan’s final Batman film will catch The Avengers’ incredible box office mass (its running about $84 million behind The Avengers’ numbers after 10 days). So it seems you can toss out my prediction that the film would finish as the third highest grossing film ever. But money isn’t everything, and while the film is still earning a boatload of cash, I’m sure the folks at Warner Brothers are more than proud of the film they are distributing.
Read more on Box Office Review: Surprise! ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Remains Number One…
 Now that ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is out in theaters, it sort of feels like we’ve reached a milestone point in the realm of superhero flicks…perhaps even an apex if you will. Everything that will come next for the genre will be judged on a different playing field due to that film and this year’s ‘The Avengers’ as well (essentially you now have to go big or go home). Those two films were as anticipated as any other major comic book film out there, and some might say the hype has been as much as any other big flick in general. As most people would argue that 2012 has seen the release of two of the best superhero movies of all time, I thought it was only proper to give a little rundown of what I think are the 10 best of all time (at least so far). Obviously there are lots of contenders for a list like this one, some more universally embraced than others, and it’s fair to say that no two people would come up with the same combination of flicks, but this is mine, so just keep that in mind as you read on. Of course I’ll want you all to give your picks later in the comments, but for now let’s get started and focus on my picks and see where things go from there. Which filmmakers who took multiple dips into the superhero pool got a citation from me here? Did I give any love to Tim Burton’s contributions to the genre? What about Jon Favreau’s? Presumably Christopher Nolan’s, right? Perhaps Sam Raimi’s? Bryan Singer’s could be in play, couldn’t they? Maybe even Joel Schumaker’s? (I assure you I did not go that route). First off, here are some that just missed the cut for me when compiling this list of lifesavers…
Read more on Best Superhero Films of All-Time…
Prepare yourself for a very long month where The Dark Knight Rises will more than likely dominate the box office. Christopher Nolan’s final film in his acclaimed trilogy made an estimated $162 million last weekend, and is on track for a $75-$80 million intake for its second go-around. The only other major new release, The Watch, can best be summed up by this image:
No, ladies and gentlemen, that is not a Pokémon being released — though admittedly, that would certainly be a lot more entertaining than what this generic comedy-meets-science fiction romp will be offering us — but is instead an alien device that tries its best to bring cows back to movie relevancy a la the glory days of Twister. In other words, The Watch probably won’t offer you anything new that you haven’t already seen before in any comedy, science fiction, apocalyptic, Jonah Hill/Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller movie. So why are moviegoers going to flock to this film? Because Jonah Hill is just so likeable and endearing, even when he physically assaults a woman in a department store (see: 21 Jump Street) and thinks silencing his mother means caressing his fingers over her lips (if this sounds as gross as it does, it’s because it is). Oh, it also has Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, and while they may be “So 5 Minutes Ago” as opposed to Jonah Hill’s “Currently Trending” status, plenty of film goers still can’t seem to get enough of these golden guys of comedy (okay, that came off harsher than I meant it to). The film may have a difficult time surpassing the $30 million mark this weekend, as the reviews so far have been predominantly damning. Opening in 3,168 locations, I’m projecting a soft yet not terrible $25 million debut. Richard Ayoade and Rosemarie DeWitt co-star alongside the comedic trio. Read more on Weekend Openings (July 27-29)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Ben Stiller, gina gershon, Jonah Hill, Killer Joe, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Dano, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ruby Sparks, Step Up Revolution, the dark knight rises, The Watch, Vince Vaughn, William Friedkin, Zoe Kazan
 That’s perhaps the nicest way to describe The Hollywood Reporter’s newest cover story of the tragedy that occurred last week in Aurora, Colorado. Admittedly, any shocking event associated with pop culture – no matter how loose the connection – are going to inevitably be tied together when artists express their feelings over it. So while I wasn’t exactly supportive of the personal artwork that started juxtaposing a “Grieving Dark Knight” with the Colorado massacre, especially since it implied that a fictional character was impacted by a tragedy that took the lives of real people, I respected the honest attempts by individuals to convey their sadness in a creative, unselfish way. It is also inevitable – if somewhat disheartening – to have such a tragedy followed by the usual political grandstanding on gun control, mental illness, and violence in entertainment before imploding on its own bluster and having nothing to show for it. We have come to expect this from our politicians and from less scrupulous pundits.
Read more on Tacky?…
|
