And now… for a new category on the blog. It’s called Guilty Pleasures and if you’re a movie lover, you’ve got ’em.
Those movies that you love and watch every single time they’re on TV, but don’t immediately come to mind when people ask what the greatest movies are. I get asked that question a lot. And truth be told, there’s a difference between greatest movies and favorite movies.
Schindler’s List is one of the greatest movies of all time. I’ve seen it once. In the theater. Almost twenty years ago. However, a Guilty Pleasure movie… that’s a different story.
My first selection is Clue, the 1985 comedy based on the popular Parker Bros. board game. We all know the game. I played it incessantly as a young child growing up in the inner city of Fremont.
Co-written by director Jonathan Lynn and comedy genius extraordinaire John Landis, Clue is simply a whole lot of fun. It was not particularly well-received upon its release and grossed $14 million domestically (its budget was $15 million). Since then, it’s developed a deserved cult following. I am a proud member of the cult.
Clue excels in its casting. As the players suspected of killing Mr. Body, we have the invaluable Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White, Lesley Anne Warren as Miss Scarlet, Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Peacock, Michael McKean as Mr. Green, Martin Mull as Colonel Mustard, and Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum. They all have some great moments to shine. Even better, Tim Curry is marvelous as Wadworth, the butler of Hill House.
The picture comes in at a tidy and fast-paced 94 minutes. There were three endings shot for the pic with different characters being the murderer. During its theatrical release, some viewers saw one outcome. Others witnessed an alternate ending. By the time it was released on home video, all 3 endings were shown back to back… to back.
Is Clue a great movie? No, but damn it’s fun. And it’s populated with talented actors who seem to be enjoying themselves. Is it a guilty pleasure? I guess so. However, it’s also indisputably the Citizen Kane of movies based on board games… meaning it’s better than Battleship. And unlike Battleship, it’s intentionally funny.
It seems like every summer, there’s a breakout R-rated comedy or two that hits it big at the box office. Wedding Crashers. Knocked Up. Superbad. The Hangover. Bridesmaids. Horrible Bosses. Ted.
This Is the End has the potential to be 2013’s contender in the category. It features a who’s who of contemporary comedic starts playing themselves as the apocalypse nears. We’ve got Seth Rogen and James Franco. Danny McBride and Jonah Hill. Michael Cera and Jay Baruchel. And many more – even Emma Watson and Rihanna are in the house!
Early reviews for End have been very positive and it apparently delivers on its clever premise. The trailers have been quite funny. So… how big could it open?
This is a tough one and its release date is a factor. End opens on Wednesday, so my prediction will reflect my five-day estimate. There is no doubt in my mind that the Wednesday opening is due to a certain superhero flick opening Friday. This allows End two days of grosses without Superman in competition. I made my prediction for Man of Steel yesterday on the blog and that post can be found here:
Man of Steel absolutely provides direct competition for This Is the End. They are both going after a similar demographic. If End were able to bring in $45 million or over for the five-day, that should be considered a major victory. I’m not convinced it goes that high, though it’s certainly possible. As much as I’ve enjoyed the film’s marketing campaign, I truly wonder whether its concept may seem a little insider-ish for some moviegoers. For instance, I’m not sure it has the broad appeal of last summer’s Ted, which opened to $54 million (that’s a three-day gross). And with Superman in the way, there might be some viewers who simply choose to make that film their weekend entertainment.
Still, This Is the End should have a solid debut and, based on early critical reaction, could have nice legs in the coming weeks.
This Is the End opening prediction (five-day gross): $38.6 million
That’s all for now! On Wednesday, I’ll have my predictions for the Top Five of the weekend.
As we enter a new week, one question will be bothering box office prognosticators like me: How big will Man of Steel open?
Zack Snyder’s take on the Superman story seems to have a lot going for it. For starters, the trailers for it have been terrific. Audience awareness of the film is through the roof. And… well, it’s Superman for goodness sake!
However, the Man of Steel’s track record at the box office underwent an interest journey just seven summers ago. Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns was supposed to be the beginning of a new Supes franchise. It didn’t work out that way. While the picture grossed a solid $84 million in its first five days, moviegoers and critics weren’t impressed with what they saw. Returns went on to gross $200 million domestically, less than its huge budget. The film was considered a box office disappointment.
Warner Bros. went back to the drawing board, bringing in 300 and Watchmen director Snyder. Relative unknown (but not for long) Henry Cavill is Superman/Clark Kent. While the lead may not be a big name, Man of Steel‘s supporting cast is populated with recognizable stars – Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne and Russell Crowe.
Folks seem to be excited about Man of Steel. Those effective trailers have been a plus. As I consider its opening weekend possibilities, the question seems to be: will it gross over $100 million the first weekend or not?
I believe it will. Frankly, anything below nine figures might be considered a letdown. It does come with a reported $225 million budget, after all. When the sixth Fast and Furious earns $120 million over four days, it stands to reason that Man of Steel could make similar bank in three. Somewhere in the $120M range seems like the best bet. There’s also the distinct possibility that it makes upwards of that number. Anything around $140 million and we’re talking Top Ten openings of all time. I’m skeptical it’ll reach that high and I’m more inclined to go a bit lower. However, as the week rolls along and anticipation grows, this could turn out to be a low ball figure.
With that, here’s my best guess:
Man of Steel opening weekend prediction: $124.3 million
We’ll see what happens! Tomorrow on the blog – my prediction for the week’s other newcomer, the all-star comedy This is the End.
A shrewd marketing campaign propelled The Purge to a massive opening this weekend. The Ethan Hawke thriller, which cost only $3 million to make, took in $36.3 million (well above my generous $24.9M projection). The effective trailers clearly got audiences to the multiplex, but with a weak C Cinemascore grade, expect The Purge to experience a healthy decline next weekend.
Holdovers Fast and Furious 6 and Now You See Me both held up better than I predicted. Fast 6 was second with $19.8 million (my prediction: $16.4M) and Now You See Me was third with $19.5 million (my prediction: $15.8M).
Opening at fourth was the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy The Internship with a just OK $18.1 million. I predicted a little higher at $20.7M. It’s not surprising that Internship posted rather weak numbers with its unfunny trailers. This will be no Wedding Crashers for sure.
A small weekend to weekend decline helped the animated Epic stay in the top five with a $12.1 million gross. I incorrectly had After Earth being fifth with $9.5 million. It actually grossed $11.2 million, but that was only good enough for seventh place.
Tonight on the blog – I will make my projection for a little flick called Man of Steel. Tomorrow – my projection for the all-star comedy This is the End. Stay tuned!
Hard to believe it, but Mr. Johnny Depp turns the big 5-0 tomorrow. He was once known as that cool actor who eschewed big Hollywood projects in order to do it his way. Ten years ago, a certain project came along that made him the biggest movie star in the world… and the highest paid. There is no question that Depp belongs in the pantheon of most significant film stars in the medium’s history.
In order to celebrate Johnny’s half century on this Earth and the enjoyment he’s brought to audiences, I’ve compiled my personal Top Ten favorite Johnny Depp performances.
First, some notes about pictures that did not make the cut. Most famous actors have forgettable film debuts. Not Johnny Depp. Audiences first saw Depp meeting a rather unfortunate end in one of the best scenes in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street.
While 2010’s Alice in Wonderland may be his second highest grossing flick ever, you won’t find it in my Top Ten. I found it to be quite a disappointment. Johnny is apparently negotiating to star in a sequel and I hope it improves on the original considerably.
While a number of Depp’s Tim Burton collaborations are in the Top Ten – you won’t find Sleepy Hollow or Dark Shadows or Sweeney Todd. And even though he got an Oscar nomination for it, Marc Forster’s JM Barrie biopic Finding Neverland missed the cut, as did Michael Mann’s John Dillinger biopic Public Enemies.
So, let’s get to the movies that did make the list, shall we?
10. From Hell (2001)
The Hughes Brothers retelling of the hunt for Jack the Ripper is a violent and visionary feast. Depp is terrific as Inspector Frederick Abberline, the investigator whose drug-inspired dreams leads him down Jack’s trail.
9. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Robert Rodriguez’s follow-up to Desperado is the rare sequel that’s quite a bit better. And part of that has to do with Depp’s often hilarious and typically offbeat portrayal of a CIA agent. He’s got some great one-liners to work with here: “Are you a Mexican or a Mexican’t?”
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Anyone trying to compete with Gene Wilder’s brilliant work in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory faced an uphill battle. Smartly, Depp didn’t even try. He created his own take on Roald Dahl’s eccentric factory owner. The result: another top-notch performance from Depp in his collaboration with Tim Burton.
7. Blow (2001)
Based on the true life story of drug kingpin George Jung, Depp is on his game in this Ted Demme effort. This is a Depp performance that is mostly free of his character quirks that are found in most roles he chooses. He’s one of the best dramatic actors and Blow is evidence of it.
6. Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
One of the actor’s most underrated films and performances. Depp plays a patient at a psychiatric hospital who believes that he is Don Juan, the world’s greatest lover. His doctor is played by Marlon Brando. Don Juan DeMarco features fabulous work from these two titans of acting and if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor.
5. Donnie Brasco (1997)
Here we have Depp teaming up with another acting God, Al Pacino. Mike Newell’s film casts Depp as an undercover FBI agent infiltrating the Mob in the 1970s. Pacino is one of the gangsters who becomes close with Depp’s character. Based on a true story, Depp excels once again in another straight dramatic performance.
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Terry Gilliam’s tale of journalist Hunter S. Thompson on a drug fueled journey through Sin City gave Johnny an unforgettable role. There are simply too many terrific one-liners that Depp spews to list here and he has a solid partner with Benicio del Toro as his attorney. This is Johnny gone wild and boy is it fun!
3. Ed Wood (1994)
Tim Burton’s loving biopic of Ed Wood, often called Hollywood’s worst director, is a great film with Depp as the title character. Burton’s picture wonderfully displays the joy of movie making, even if the movies are crap. And Depp sells it as the man behind the camera. And he gets to cross dress in it, too!
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
It’s kind of hard to recall now just how amazing this picture was when it came out ten years ago. Much of that may be due to the three lackluster sequels that followed. However, Black Pearl is popcorn entertainment of the highest order. And it’s Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow that turned it into an instant classic. Disney was worried about Depp’s performance when it was being filmed. Turns out Depp’s quirky take on the pirate was its main selling point. This is what turned Johnny into the biggest movie star on the planet.
1. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Depp’s first collaboration with Tim Burton is still the best. Furthermore, Depp’s performance as the title character embodies everything great about this performer. There’s the aforementioned quirkiness. The vulnerability. The physicality. Edward Scissorhands is a special film with a very special leading performance.
So there you have it! My favorite work from one of the best actors in movie history. And Happy 50th birthday to Johnny Depp!
At the Oscar ceremony in 2003, Academy voters clearly were in the mode of honoring Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was the third and final entry in the series. The first two, Fellow of the Ring and The Two Towers, had been nominated for Best Picture in 2001 and 2002, but not won.
A similar fate would not befall Return of the King. The Tolkien adapted pic took the top prize over Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River, and Gary Ross’s Seabiscuit.
I certainly haven no issue with King, Mystic, and Translation‘s nomination. While I liked Commander and Seabiscuit, other titles would’ve made the list for me. How about Fernando Meirelles’s terrific City of God, for one? Or American Splendor, the very original biopic about Harvey Pekar. Or Quentin Tarantino’s electrifying genre mix-up Kill Bill – Volume One.
Rings director Peter Jackson would win Best Director over Coppola, Eastwood, Weir, and City of God‘s Meirelles. Once again, I would’ve given serious consideration to Mr. Tarantino especially.
Sean Penn would win his first Oscar in the Best Actor race as a grieving father bent on revenge in Mystic River. He was expected to win and he beat out a solid group that included Johnny Depp in his first appearance as Captain Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean, Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog, Jude Law in Cold Mountain, and the incomparable Bill Murray earning his first nomination for Lost in Translation.
I would have replaced Jude Law with Paul Giamatti’s brilliant work in American Splendor. William H. Macy also gave a fine performance in The Cooler. On the comedic side, how about Will Ferrell in Elf or Billy Bob Thornton as Bad Santa?
As expected, Charlize Theron’s shocking and highly effective performance in Monster would earn her Best Actress. Other nominees: Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider, Diane Keaton in Something’s Gotta Give, Samantha Morton for In America, and Naomi Watts in 21 Grams.
I absolutely would have found room for Bill Murray’s counterpart in Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johannson and Uma Thurman in the first Kill Bill. Others for consideration: Jennifer Connelly in House of Sand and Fog and Maria Bello in The Cooler.
The Mystic River acting love would extend to Tim Robbins, who took Supporting Actor over Alec Baldwin in The Cooler, Benicio del Toro in 21 Grams, Djimon Hounsou for In America, and Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai.
Others for consideration: the fine work of Jeff Bridges in Seabiscuit. And, at this point, I will confess to being a huge fan of Love Actually. And the work of Bill Nighy as an inappropriate aging rocker might have made my cut.
While Cold Mountain did not get a Best Picture nod as the studio clearly hoped it would, Renee Zellweger would win Supporting Actress for the film. Zellwegger won over Shohreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog, Patricia Clarkson for Pieces of April, Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River, and Holly Hunter for Thirteen.
Ms. Charlize Theron’s remarkable work clearly overshadowed Christina Ricci, who was left off in this category for Monster. I also would’ve considered Hope Davis in American Splendor. And for the comedic performers who are too often ignored, how about Joan Cusack as the tightly wound headmaster in School of Rock?
In retrospect, 2003 was the year of the King and Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking trilogy.
Two new entries join the box office fray this weekend to compete with the third weekend of the massive sixth Fast&Furious pic and the second weekend of the surprise hit Now You See Me, as well as the Will Smith bomb After Earth.
I am predicting our two newcomers will open 1st and 2nd. With the Ethan Hawke thriller The Purge, I am predicting above expectations and sticking with it. My extensive blog post on that pic can be found here:
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson reunite for The Internship. I’m not expecting Wedding Crashers numbers, but am predicting a respectable opening. My full post outlining its prospects is available here:
As for holdovers, Fast&Furious 6 will likely not experience the over 60 percent drop it received its sophomore weekend after a mammoth opening. I look for it to dip a tad above 50%. Now You See Me opened #2 last weekend with a much bigger than anticipated $29 million. With solid word of mouth, this may not dip below 50%, which would be a terrific hold. And, lastly, the Will/Jaden Smith sci-fi flick After Earth debuted last weekend with a very disappointing $27 million. Pretty much all buzz since its opening has been highly negative. A major drop seems assured.
And with that, my top five predictions for the weekend:
1. The Purge
Predicted Gross: $24.9 million
2. The Internship
Predicted Gross: $20.7 million
3. Fast&Furious 6
Predicted Gross: $16.4 million (representing a drop of 54%)
4. Now You See Me
Predicted Gross: $15.8 million (representing a drop of 46%)
5. After Earth
Predicted Gross: $9.5 million (representing a drop of 65%)
As always, I’ll have updates posted on the Facebook page this weekend and full results Sunday on the blog!
I would say that even a month ago, The Purge was really on no one’s radar screen when talking about potentially successful summer flicks. That has changed.
The Ethan Hawke thriller comes with a very cool concept. Set in 2022, The Purge refers to a 24-hour period that takes place every year in which all crime, including murder, is legal. Hawke is the head of a family who are terrorized by those looking to punch their free crime card. This pic seems to have gained momentum just in the last couple of weeks with frequent TV spots. I will admit – the trailers and ads for The Purge are pretty damn effective.
Five summers ago, a similar title The Strangers opened to a robust $21 million. I certainly believe The Purge could post similar grosses. Films like this tend to do more than what most prognosticators go with, so I’m tempted to predict on the high end of expectations. Mr. Hawke had a nice size hit just last fall with Sinister, which opened with a more than expected $18 million.
The sudden surge of Purge could mean a #1 opening this weekend. I believe it will be a close race between this and the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy The Internship. My prediction for that film can be found here:
Eight long summers ago, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson struck box office gold with Wedding Crashers, which was the surprise hit of the season with $209 million domestically. Since then, the two actors have seen more flops than hits. Fred Claus? You, Me, and Dupree? The Dilemma? Drillbit Taylor? Hall Pass? The Watch?
You get the idea. So it makes perfect sense that the two stars would team up again to recapture some box office magic. The Internship features Vince and Owen as obsolete salesmen who are forced to start over at Google headquarters. It costars Rose Byrne, John Goodman, and maybe even a surprise actor or two…
The question is: will the reunion of these actors be enough to guarantee solid box office returns? My feeling is – if so, the marketing campaign surrounding the picture is not doing it any favors. I simply haven’t found the trailers to be very funny at all. Some of the humor displayed in the previews looks curiously outdated. And I find the decision of a PG-13 rating to be possibly troubling – Wedding Crashers, after all, is known for its R rated humor.
When The Internship was first announced, there may have been a feeling of excitement about the two leads teaming up again. That anticipation seems to have dissipated. There’s also what I feel will be a real competition for the top spot this weekend. The Ethan Hawke thriller The Purge seems to be running an effective marketing campaign and its numbers could be strong. My prediction post for that will be up either later tonight or tomorrow.
The Internship is an excellent example of a movie that could easily over or under perform. We could see a $30 million opening weekend. We could see a $12 million opening weekend. I think Vaughn and Wilson reunited is most likely to equal a high teens or low-twenties opening weekend.
The Internship opening weekend prediction: $20.7 million
2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is the third entry in the series. It brings in a new cast and places its setting on a new continent. The results, however, are not too pleasing.
With Paul Walker, Tyrese, and everyone else out of the picture (for now), Tokyo Drift centers on Sean, a rebellious high school kid who loves drag racing. So much so that Sean gets into trouble after one particularly fouled up race and is sent to Tokyo to live with his military father.
Sean is played by Lucas Black, who you may remember as the kid from Sling Blade. He grew up to look a little bit like a young Dave Matthews. And he definitely grew up… I couldn’t help but chuckle when his character is supposed to be 17. The actor was 24 when he played the role. He looks 28. There’s one scene where some girls are flirting with Sean and his friend exclaims, “Ladies, he’s underage!” I wanted to shout “No he isn’t!!” back at the screen.
With the move to Tokyo, Sean strikes up a friendship with a famous actor played by Bill Murray who’s in town to shoot a liquor commercial. Wait. Wrong movie. Sean actually strikes up a friendship with Twinkie, played by Bow Wow. I’m assuming at one point his name was Lil Twinkie. Of course, Twinkie gets Sean right back into the street racing world.
This mixes Sean up with DK (Brian Tee), whose uncle Mr. Kamata (the legendary Sonny Chiba) is a fixture in the Yakuza. Naturally, DK has a girlfriend Neela (Natalie Kelley) that Sean stupidly goes after. Just like Paul Walker does! And there’s also Han (Sung Kang), who works for Mr. Kamata and takes a liking to Sean.
Tokyo Drift introduces us to the practice “drifting”, in which the driver intentionally loses traction in the rear wheels to get through corners, etc… And that’s straight from Wikipedia, folks, so ya know it’s true! We even get a couple of monologues after how drifting makes you feel like a free person. Or some nonsense like that.
The movie takes a long way to get where it’s going and the first hour is quite a bore. When we finally get a pretty badass race through the streets of Tokyo, Drift makes a rather severe shift in tone that feels a bit jarring.
Although there is that aforementioned race that works and the climactic race down a mountain that is effective, Tokyo Drift is mostly weak sauce. None of the acting is particularly memorable and the screenplay feels lazy (lame references to Justin Timberlake and Beyonce stand out). Director Justin Lin takes over the franchise and he can direct action, but there’s not enough of it. Some of the production design is rather sweet looking so props to the team behind that.
By the end, we do get a cameo from a major star in the franchise. I don’t wanna give too much away, but here’s a hint. It’s not Viola Davis, but it’s an actor with the same initials. Perhaps I’ve said too much.
The original was a mixed bag that had a lot of solid moments. I found the second to be an improvement because it knew it was trash, but was often fun as hell. Tokyo Drift simply doesn’t have much going for it and it definitely the worst of the bunch so far.
** (out of four)
The blog series will continue with film #4 Fast&Furious.
