Tag: Giancarlo Esposito

Abigail Review

From Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (the filmmakers known as Radio Silence), Abigail sautés between a crime thriller and vampire tale. It doesn’t completely land that From Dusk til Dawn style jump off and it overstays its welcome. There are lively breaks in the gory repetition and that’s thanks to some quality casting.

The title character is a young girl (played by Alisha Weir) who we first see practicing her ballet moves in an empty theater. She’s being tailed by six criminals engaged in a snatching plot. They succeed in the abduction, at least theoretically. The mastermind behind the taking (Giancarlo Esposito) provides a creepy old house for them to hold Abigail for 24 hours until the ransom is met. The operation has a strict no real names policy (think Reservoir Dogs), so the group is named after Rat Packers. Melissa Barrera is Joey and she’s tasked with being Abigail’s sole point of contact. We quickly figure out she kidnaps with kindness and is our heroine. She also has a drug problem and might’ve abandoned her son, but she’s rather virtuous compared to the lot.

That includes former detective Frank (Dan Stevens, clearly having a ball and looking a bit like Bradley Cooper), spoiled brat and computer hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton), and demented getaway driver Dean (Angus Cloud). Low IQ muscleman Peter (Kevin Durand) and Marine Rickles (Will Catlett) complete the sextet.

The young captor doesn’t waste much time engaging in mind games with the unwelcome house guests. In what might have been a juicy twist if the trailer and ads hadn’t clearly spelled it out, she’s a bloodsucker who has been around much longer than her appearance suggests. As if that weren’t enough, she has a father whose name sends chills down the spine of those who hear it.

Abigail should be more of a guilty pleasure than it is. There are times when it flourishes. Stevens steals the show while Barrera is saddled with a semi-serious and boring backstory. Some of the exaggerated violence is reminiscent of Radio Silence’s Ready or Not from 2019. That can be a good thing though it’s a reminder that the pic five years ago was superior. Alisha Weir’s performance is certainly a plus as she switches up the cadence of a preteen and a centuries old devourer of souls.

Despite some clever moves, this ultimately stalls in the third act and takes a while to ramp up in the first place. Its bucket of blood falls on the half empty side a little too often.

**1/2 (out of four)

Abigail Box Office Prediction

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, makers of Ready or Not and the last two Scream installments, are in vampiric mode with Abigail on April 19th. Reimagining 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter, the horror flick stars Melissa Barrera (also of the latest Scream entries), Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, the late Angus Cloud, Matthew Goode, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Genre fans have had plenty to feast on in 2024. Just last weekend, we saw The First Omen struggle to bring audiences in with an opening under $10 million despite solid reviews. Abigail is generating appreciative notices as well with a current 82% RT rating.

I suspect Abigail will cross $10 million, but $20 million (or even $15 million) seems like a bridge too far.

Abigail opening weekend prediction: $13.1 million

For my The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare prediction, click here:

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Box Office Prediction

For my Spy x Family Code: White prediction, click here:

Spy x Family Code: White Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

In what might be the most egregious Oscar snub in the history of the ceremony, Vanilla Ice’s iconic jam “Ninja Rap” was not (I repeat not) nominated for Original Song with 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Therefore the six previous features in the TMNT franchise have had zero presence with the Academy in the 30 years+ of its existence.

That could very well change with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The animated pic that includes Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg among its cowriters opens Wednesday, August 2nd. With the review embargo lifted, the Rotten Tomatoes score is a boisterous and rather shocking 98%! Many critics are saying this is the best Turtles offering the series has seen.

Best Animated Feature is absolutely in play. The catch could be the competition. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is guaranteed a slot and perhaps the win. Japan’s The Boy and the Heron is probably in and don’t discount Pixar’s Elemental. Disney also has this fall’s Wish and other hopefuls could pop up in the second half of the year.

Yet it’s hard to ignore the positivity for Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo. My hunch is that this quartet could make the quintet of animated features in contention. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Box Office Prediction

It’s been over seven years since Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo have graced the silver screen. With Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg among the five cowriters, animated versions of the pizza loving reptilian crimefighters return in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem on Wednesday, August 2nd. Jeff Rowe makes his directorial debut with teens (Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Brady Noon, Nicolas Cantu) voicing the title characters. Plenty of known actors are in on the fun including Hannibal Buress, Rose Byrne, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Post Malone, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, and Rogen himself.

Paramount and Nickelodeon fully plan for this latest iteration to become its own franchise. A sequel and a spinoff TV series are in the works. Early buzz for the project is strong. While we won’t see anything approaching The Super Mario Bros. Movie numbers, there’s a three decades plus TMNT cinematic history mostly in its favor.

The first big screen adaptations of the comic book was the live-action trilogy from 1990-1993. Each entry there was less successful than the other with 1990’s original as the high point with a $25 million start and $135 million (not adjusted for inflation) eventual domestic haul. 2007’s TMNT is the other animated work. It made a decent $24 million out of the gate before limping to a $54 million overall take. In 2014, the franchise returned to live-action with Megan Fox leading and it posted series best results ($65 million premiere and $191 million total). 2016 sequel Out of the Shadows couldn’t keep up with $82 million in the bank.

We know something with near certainty. This won’t nab the greatest turtle debut at $65 million or the lowest which was 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III at only $12 million. With a Wednesday start, I’ll project mid to high 30s for the traditional weekend and possibly in the high 4os to $50 million when factoring the five-day.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opening weekend prediction: $36.1 million (Friday to Sunday); $51.2 million

For my Meg 2: The Trench prediction, click here:

Meg 2: The Trench Box Office Prediction

Maze Runner: The Death Cure Box Office Prediction

Concluding a trilogy started in 2014, Maze Runner: The Death Cure races into theaters next Friday. Based on the James Dashner series of YA books, the sci-fi action pic stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Walton Goggins, Barry Pepper, and Patricia Clarkson. Wes Ball, who directed the first two installments, returns behind the camera. Reviews are so so thus far with a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score.

The reported $83 million production was originally scheduled for release in February 2017 until an injury suffered by star O’Brien on the set delayed production. The nearly two and a half-year lag time between sequels could be a hindrance to its potential.

In September 2014, the original Runner opened to $32 million with an eventual $102 million domestic haul. Sequel The Scorch Trials arrived one year later to diminishing returns – a $30 million debut and $81 million overall take. Enough of the fan base may stick around, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Death take in about 25% less out of the gate than its predecessor in 2015.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure opening weekend prediction: $22.8 million

Money Monster Movie Review

A few years back, George Clooney revealed a list of his top 100 films released between 1964 and 1976. It’s an era he considers the best in the history of the medium and that’s certainly a valid hypothesis. In his impressive career, Clooney has appeared in movies that could have come out in that time frame. Good Night, and Good Luck and The Ides of March deal with themes of corporate corruption and dirty politics in ways that entries on his list did more often forty to fifty years ago. Titles like 1976’s Network and George’s all-time #1 All the President’s Men. Both of those features also deal with the positive and negative aspects of journalism and so does Money Monster. In 1976, 24 hour cable news didn’t exist yet. There were no programs like the one in the title where over-the-top host Lee Gates (Clooney) tells viewers how to invest their cash. Think Jim Cramer… except he looks like George Clooney.

Lee is set to tape his Friday show with his trusty director Patty (Julia Roberts) in his ear. Shortly after the cameras roll, Kyle (Jack O’Connell) crashes the set with a gun and explosive laden vest for Lee to don. His beef? He lost his life savings in a company that his now bomb strapped captive heartily endorsed. As millions of ciewees watch the situation live on TV, Monster becomes a rumination on the themes mentioned earlier.

That list Clooney made also correctly included 1975’s Dog Day Afternoon. Like that excellent effort, this is a real-time New York City hostage drama with humor frequently injected. Al Pacino gave one of his richest performances of his filmography in Afternoon and his riveting character made the tension substantial in it. That’s a problem here as the character of Kyle is neither fleshed out enough or believable enough to create any significant suspense. It’s not O’Connell’s fault really. He’s just written that way. And therein lies the film’s biggest drawback.

Often, Monster manages to coast on the considerable charms of its two leads and their nice rapport. We’ve seen plenty of pictures with this one’s “Wall Street is bad” theme but few with the star wattage. The quick running time (99 minutes) is a plus. This is never boring, though it’s credibility does dip in the third act.

The director, by the way, is an actress you may have heard of named Jodie Foster. She appeared in 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and 1976’s Taxi Driver. They both also made that Clooney list. Money Monster probably won’t be listed on anyone’s all-time top 100 of anything. You may not regret investing a short amount of time in it, but there’s lists of similarly themed fare that’s far superior. Even this movie’s star did one.

**1/2 (out of four)

 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Box Office Prediction

Premiering one year after its predecessor, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials hopes to built upon the solid grosses the franchise began with and perhaps surpass them. The dystopian series, based on popular YA novels by T.S. Nowlin, brings back original stars including Dylan O’Brien and Patricia Clarkson along with some other recognizable faces like Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper and Lili Taylor.

Some prognosticators have Scorch Trails debuting considerably higher than the first film. I’m just not convinced. The original opened on the same weekend last year to the tune of $32.5 million with an eventual domestic gross of $102M. Predictions reflecting a belief that this will manage mid 40s or higher seem a tad lofty for me.

For comparison sake, a similarly themed franchise that began with Divergent made $54 million out of the gate and its sequel this year Insurgent rolled out with a slightly smaller $52 million. I do believe Scorch Trials will outdo the first, but not by much at all.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opening weekend prediction: $33.8 million