Tag: David Morse

Cabrini Box Office Prediction

Angel Studios is hoping that audiences of the faith-based variety flock to Cabrini this weekend. The tale of Italian immigrants in late 19th century New York comes from Alejandro Monteverde, who made the unexpected smash hit Sound of Freedom for the aforementioned production company last summer. Cristiana Dell’Anna stars in the title role of the real life eventual saint. Costars include David Morse, Romana Maggiora, Federico Iepali, Virginia Bocelli, Rolando Villazón, Giancarlo Giannini, and John Lithgow.

Early reviews are of the thumbs up variety with a 96% RT rating. As mentioned, the studio broke out in a major way with Freedom, which grossed an astonishing $184 million. This was assisted by a unique pay it forward marketing strategy. Angel follow-ups haven’t gotten anywhere near those numbers. October’s After Death took in just over $5 million for its start while December’s The Shift premiered to $4.4 million.

I will readily admit that I’m playing a guessing game with Cabrini. I haven’t seen a theater count and my estimate could shift when I do. A Catholic contingent could get this to higher figures than I’m about to project. Faith-based titles in general certainly have the ability to exceed expectations. It could also start out slow and hold well in subsequent weekends with Easter approaching. This might hit $10 million or even post a larger gross I’m not envisioning. $5 million is also possible. I’ll go higher single digits, but keep an eye on this post to see if I change it up or down before Friday.

Cabrini opening weekend prediction: $8.9 million

For my Kung Fu Panda prediction, click here:

Kung Fu Panda 4 Box Office Prediction

For my Imaginary prediction, click here:

Imaginary Box Office Prediction

World War Z Movie Review

Last summer’s World War Z was met with Waterworld type expectations upon its release. The vast majority of its publicity was negative. Stories of a troubled production, cost overruns, and script problems were abundant. What happened? It turned into a massive worldwide hit with a sequel on the way. It’s also star Brad Pitt’s highest grossing film ever.

For a picture that was looked at as a potential disaster which was apparently plagued with issues during the shooting, you’d never know it while viewing it. Loosely based on Max Brooks’s (son of Mel) bestseller, World War Z excels in taking your typical zombie movie clichés but expanding them on a big-budget, global scale. Pitt is Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator turned stay at home father. When a mysterious pandemic breaks out with people being infected with zombie-like symptoms, Gerry is recruited to go on a mission to find the outbreak’s origin and a potential cure. He does so reluctantly only after being told his family’s safety is not guaranteed if he doesn’t. Gerry’s new life of Dad and chief pancake maker is history.

The movie doesn’t take long at all to get revved up with a giant action spectacle scene set in Philadelphia. Gerry’s journey takes him to South Korea, Jerusalem, and Wales within a short period of time – probably around the number of continents that Brad Pitt and family visit in one week’s time. Along the way, he finds a female Israeli guard to help him and comes across a corrupt CIA agent (creepily portrayed by David Morse) who has his own ideas on how to stop the virus.

The first two-thirds of World War Z are shot on an epic scale with big action scenes directed quite well by Marc Forster. This is a bit of a surprise considering his handling of action in the Bond pic Quantum of Solace was mediocre. The final acts opt for more claustrophobic locations and this is a wise decision by the filmmakers. If the pic had kept moving along at its large scale, it might’ve become routine. Instead the audience is treated to a truly suspenseful airplane scene and the finale at the Welsh WHO research facility where Gerry’s surprisingly plausible explanation for how to stop the virus is tested. Rather than explosions and widespread mayhem with hundreds of zombie extras chasing our hero down, it is one zombie and his chattering teeth that memorably keep us on the edge of our seats.

Of course, there are clichés we expect to see in zombie flicks and most are present here. It even features the latest zombie cliché craze where the zombies are FAST, like in 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. It makes for better action scenes and World War Z has plenty of them. Then there’s Gerry’s daughter who has asthma – because in films like this, there must be an asthmatic child. That said, signs of a difficult production don’t make it to the screen. World War Z is a tremendous amount of fun and ranks high on the scale of Z features.

***1/2 (out of four)