Tag: Jason Bateman

Zootopia Movie Review

Disney’s Zootopia might be a kids animated pic, but as the studio has proven over and over  again (especially with certain Pixar entries) – there are important adult themes at play here. These are mainly focused on not letting fear and prejudice overcome our diversity and the betterment of society. If that sounds like a message we may need in 2016, your animal instincts are correct.

Zootopia is a gorgeously drawn land in which all animals live in harmony. Well, mostly harmony. There’s still crime in the world and that leads precocious bunny Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) to dream of being a police officer for the ZPD. She would be the first of her kind to join the force as it’s made up of “predator” animals. Those predators make up just a fraction of the population as opposed to the “prey”. And it’s the pre judgment of these predators that serves as the pic’s dramatic through line.

Hopps is determined to prove history wrong in her new job, but her first lowly assignment is parking meter duty. Wouldn’t you know, however, that the assignment puts her smack dab in the middle of a big case where various animals are going missing? She soon teams with petty con artist Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and their adventures bring them to various sectors of our title like the Rainforest District and Little Rodentia (which is adorable).

The clever plot from screenwriters Jared Bush and Phil Johnston offers some genuine surprises as it unfolds. There’s political corruption and there’s well constructed action sequences that we’ve seen in many detective tales (or should we say detective tail here?). We also have some bits that will make parents laugh as much as their little ones. The sloth scene/DMV scene is pretty genius. There’s even a nice Breaking Bad reference for the old folks.

Even if Zootopia never completely reaches the heights of the studio’s masterpieces, it comes darn close a lot of the time. You’ll be happy kids receive its worthy message of individuality and perseverance while being howlingly entertained. Maybe its message is one the grown ups should pay attention to as well.

***1/2 (out of four)

 

Zootopia Box Office Prediction

Disney looks to end the box office domination of Deadpool next weekend with Zootopia, the studio’s 55th animated feature. It’s quite likely to succeed. The animal tale features the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, and Shakira.

The pic has amassed positive reviews (currently 100% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it’s already done brisk business in overseas markets. Zootopia arrives just four months after a rare animated disappointment for The Mouse Factory – November’s The Good Dinosaur, which took in a much less than expected $121 million domestically.

That said, with a dearth of family fare out there, I expect this to improve on Dinosaur‘s numbers. An opening in the mid 50s seems most plausible.

Zootopia opening weekend prediction: $54.4 million

For my London Has Fallen prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/02/25/london-has-fallen-box-office-prediction/

For my Whiskey Tango Foxtrot prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/02/25/whiskey-tango-foxtrot-box-office-prediction/

For my The Other Side of the Door prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/02/25/the-other-side-of-the-door-box-office-prediction/

The Gift Movie Review

Many psychological thrillers have memorable moments, but are hampered by cliched third acts that are utterly predictable. Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is more the inverse. For a long portion of its deliberate running time, it feels like every other genre title that was much more popular over two decades ago (think The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Single White Female, Unlawful Entry). They’ve been called the “Blank from Hell” movies. Fatal Attraction = Mistress from Hell. Roommate, Cop, Nanny from Hell.

The Gift is the Old Friend from Hell. Yet not really an old friend. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a yuppie couple recently relocated to Los Angeles from Chicago. Upon shopping at a home furnishing store, they’re encountered by Gordo (Edgerton, directing himself in his feature debut). He describes himself as a high school acquaintance of Simon’s though Gordo is hardly recalled by him. Gordon’s soon dropping off housewarming presents with notes punctuated by smiley and frowny faces. Twenty years ago when this kind of film thrived, that particular character trait may have seemed odd. Now everyone does it. Don’t worry, though, because Gordo has plenty of other legitimate quirks. He’s socially awkward and seems fixated on Robyn. It gets to the point where Simon must confront him.

And that’s when the hallmarks of this genre are on full display. Missing dog. A pregnancy to complicate matters. Our heroine in the shower, possibly vulnerable. There are hints of a deeper history between Simon and Gordo the Weirdo as he calls him. Side note: Weirdo was Edgerton’s original title (he wrote it too) and it’s much better than The Gift.

When the connection between them is revealed, The Gift stops being a typical entry in the Blank from Hell canon and becomes something far more interesting. It’s just too bad it takes a while to get there. When it does move into genuinely unexpected territory, I found enough to savor to make this just worthy of a recommendation. The trio of lead performers elevate it as well. Edgerton is a perfectly acceptable Weirdo and Bateman continues to show he’s a pro in non-comedic roles, too. While much of The Gift keeps on giving familiar material, the final parts that intensify the character’s relationships and motivations are a welcome surprise.

*** (out of four)

The Gift Box Office Prediction

Joel Edgerton directs, writes, and costars in the psychological thriller The Gift, out Friday and I think it stands a fair shot at becoming a summer sleeper hit. The pic, which also features Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, has featured some rather effective trailers and TV spots and it could succeed at bringing in a more adult crowd than your typical product you see in the August frame.

So far reviews have been quite strong and it stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. None of the key players are box office draws and Bateman is much better known for comedic roles, but the robust marketing campaign could succeed in bringing in a larger audience than anticipated.

I’ll predict The Gift yields positive returns for its studio, STX Entertainment and manages a debut in the mid to high teens.

The Gift opening weekend prediction: $16.8 million

For my Fantastic Four prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2015/07/30/fantastic-four-box-office-prediction/

For my Ricki and the Flash prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2015/07/31/ricki-and-the-flash-box-office-prediction/

For my Shaun the Sheep Movie prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2015/08/01/shaun-the-sheep-movie-box-office-prediction/

Horrible Bosses 2 Movie Review

2011’s Horrible Bosses was a better than average raunchy comedy that will most be remembered for showing a whole new side to Jennifer Aniston, which assisted in achieving some shock value. It helped that it was headlined by three highly talented comedic leads – Jason’s Bateman and Sudeikis and Charlie Day. When it turned into a surprise blockbuster with a $117 million domestic gross, the bosses at Warner Bros decided we needed a sequel.

We didn’t.

Horrible Bosses 2 contains only hints of what the original a reasonable success. The sequel pines to remind us of what we dug about its predecessor. Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx reprise their roles but their parts aren’t as humorous as the first go round. Aniston is back, but that aforementioned shock value is long gone. The three leads have an undeniable chemistry which again isn’t as strong as when they were dealing with their original nefarious employers.

It’s actually Chris Pine who turns in the most unexpectedly winning performance. Captain Kirk hasn’t had much opportunity to show his comedy skills and he has them. He plays the spoiled son of a rich investor (a totally wasted Christoph Waltz) who bilks our trio out of their new business venture called The Shower Buddy (not really worth explaining). He is really the only new and worthy addition to the proceedings. The rest is primarily stale sex jokes. Lots of them.

The contrived plot (you can bet a sequel for this was never planned) involves the leads setting up a scheme to kidnap Pine. Their plans necessitate conspiring with their old foes Spacey and Foxx and Aniston because star power is key. Yet those three contributed a lot to the 2011 pic and the same cannot be said now.

Even a less than desirable follow up is bound to have laugh inducing moments with this cast. The ratio isn’t horrible, but it’s not impressive either.

** (out of four)

Horrible Bosses 2 Box Office Prediction

The Turkey Day box office frame showcases a sequel to a well regarded comedy that came out three and a half years ago as Horrible Bosses 2 opens Wednesday. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day are back along with returnees Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey. Newbies Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine join the fray as well.

In the summer of 2011, the original Bosses debuted to a robust $28 million on its way to a $117M domestic take. Those grosses were strong enough to warrant this sequel. Reviews have not been on its side as it currently holds a tepid 11% on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to its predecessor’s 69% rating). However, its opening weekend should be somewhat critic proof before lackluster word of mouth could cause large drop-offs in future weekends. After all, bad reviews didn’t hurt Dumb and Dumber To one bit.

I’ll predict Horrible Bosses 2 opens with just about what the first did for its Friday to Sunday frame while inching close to $40M for the five-day frame.

Horrible Bosses 2 opening weekend prediction: $28.6 million (Friday to Sunday), $38.3 million (Wednesday to Sunday)

For my Penguins of Madagascar prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/11/22/penguins-of-madagascar-box-office-prediction/

This Is Where I Leave You Box Office Prediction

It’s got all-star cast and a director who’s had his share of successful comedies, but I have my doubts as to whether This Is Where I Leave You will have much of an impact with audiences. Shawn Levy, the man behind the Pink Panther reboot, the Night at the Museum franchise and Date Night, is behind the camera. The family comedy’s cast includes Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Kathryn Hahn, Timothy Olyphant, and Abigail Spencer.

Yet my take is that the TV spots and trailers haven’t made this look like a must-see and reviews are mixed. This is the exact type of flick that audiences might wait to watch at home in a few months. The high-profile cast could theoretically push it to a bigger opening that I’m imagining, but my gut says it won’t even reach the mid teens and be a box office disappointment like Levy’s last outing, The Internship.

This Is Where I Leave You opening weekend prediction: $12.3 million

For my prediction on The Maze Runner, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/09/14/the-maze-runner-box-office-prediction/

For my prediction on A Walk Among the Tombstones, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/09/14/a-walk-among-the-tombstones-box-office-prediction/

Bad Words Movie Review

Jason Bateman is such a likeable actor and presence on screen that he manages to generate sympathy for his mostly unlikeable character he portrays in Bad Words. The picture marks his directorial debut and Bateman shows ability behind the camera. Unfortunately Bad Words is hampered by a mixed bag of a script by Andrew Dodge that is often tonally challenged.

Guy Trilby (Bateman) is a 40 year old man whose maturity is so stunted that he’s taken it upon himself to enter spelling bees for children. He’s found a loophole in the tournament guidelines stating that no participant can have graduated 8th grade by a certain date. Trilby is a dropout. And, yes, he’s one hell of a speller. He’s also a profane and self-serving jerk who goes to great measures to torment his prepubescent competitors and psych them out. Trilby is being trailed on his mission to win The Golden Quill national spelling bee by an online reporter (Kathryn Hahn) telling his unique and unconventional story. Her mission, like the audience’s, is to discover just why Trilby is doing what he’s doing. The two also have a romantic relationship, though that might be straining the definition of the word romantic. It’s more of a sexual relationship out of convenience and boredom.

Along the way, Trilby strikes up a friendship with Chaitanya (Rohan Chand), a young boy who will be his main competition. In rather obvious fashion, Trilby shows Chaitanya an inappropriate good time and shows him a different side of life than his strict upbringing which involves studying words constantly. Their friendship does provide some raunchy moments that are good for some decent, if familiar, laughs.

Bad Words shows us the understandable bewilderment of the children’s parents whose kids are being systematically taken out by Trilby and Rachael Harris (of “The Daily Show”) has some funny moments as one of the parents. There’s also the characters of the bee’s Chairman (Philip Baker Hall) and director (Allison Janney). Their two characters shine a light on some of the script problems. Both are one-dimensional and poorly written and they serve only as “villains” getting in Trilby’s way. A better screenplay might have attempted to flesh out their roles.

It’s an accomplishment of Bateman’s acting abilities that we manage to not completely hate his character. When we do finally find out just why he’s participating in the bee, it’s not much of a surprise and it doesn’t exactly ring the emotional bell that it’s meant to. What we’re left with is a very solid performance from Bateman and occasional laugh out loud moments that come mostly from conventional R rated comedy clichés. So to define in a sentence whether you should see Bad Words – You’re not missing out on much if you don’t.

**1/2 (out of four)

 

This Day in Movie History: January 14

20 years ago Today in Movie History – January 14 – Jonathan Demme’s groundbreaking drama about the HIV/AIDS virus Philadelphia opened wide in theaters. Starring Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Antonio Banderas, Mary Steenburgen, and Joanne Wooodward – Philadelphia would strike a chord with mainstream audiences to the tune of a $77 million domestic gross. It was also a hugely important picture for Hanks as it transitioned him from an actor known primarily for comedy to an actor who showed his dramatic range. The role would earn Hanks a Best Actor Oscar – a feat he would repeat the next year with Forrest Gump.

As for birthdays, LL Cool J is 46 today. One of the first rappers to make a successful transition to film, he’s appeared in pics from The Hard Way to Toys to Halloween H20 to Deep Blue Sea to Any Given Sunday. Additionally, LL has had a solid TV career with his sitcom “In the House” and currently with crime drama “NCIS: Los Angeles”.

Jason Bateman is 45 today. He’s come a long way from his days on the 80s sitcom “The Hogan Family” and his film debut in the unfortunate 1987 sequel Teen Wolf Too. Over the last several years he’s appeared primarily in comedies including Starsky and Hutch, Dodgeball, The Break-Up, and The Switch. He’s transitioned to comedic leading man over the last couple of years with megahits Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief. There’s also been some non straight-up comedies including Juno, The Kingdom, Hancock, Up in the Air, and State of Play. This is all, of course, in addition to his acclaimed role on the lauded sitcom “Arrested Development”. Bateman directs and stars in this spring’s Bad Words before this fall’s anticipated Horrible Bosses 2.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between the birthday boys:

LL Cool J was in Any Given Sunday with Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx was in Horrible Bosses with Jason Bateman

And that’s today – January 14 – in Movie History.

2013: The Year of Melissa McCarthy

In the summer of 2011, the star of the CBS sitcom “Mike and Molly” Melissa McCarthy broke through to moviegoers in grand fashion with her supporting role in Bridesmaids. The film was a smash, grossing $169 million and earning McCarthy a rare Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for a comedic role.

After that terrific Bridesmaids part, McCarthy pretty much sat 2012 out with just a small part in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40. 2013 is a different story and this year has solidified McCarthy’s standing as Hollywood’s most bankable funny girl.

February’s Identity Thief with Jason Bateman would put her box office abilities to the test. It received mostly poor reviews and gave McCarthy her first starring role. The result? Thief grossed a fabulous $134 million. Critics may not have been on its side, but audiences were.

In June, McCarthy would pair up with Sandra Bullock in the buddy cop flick The Heat and it managed to accelerate the star’s box office cache. The Heat earned $159 million giving McCarthy two laugh fests that easily crossed the century mark domestically.

Technically, there were three pics featuring her that crossed that milestone. McCarthy had a small role in The Hangover Part III, which made $112 million but was considered a financial disappointment. However, its subpar performance had nothing to do with McCarthy.

In addition to her work on her sitcom, 2014 will see McCarthy on the silver screen with two promising projects. There’s St. Vincent de Van Nuys which pairs her with bonafide comedic legend Bill Murray. July 4th brings us Tammy, a road trip pic that also features Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd, and Kathy Bates.

Bridesmaids proved that McCarthy had the potential to be a major film star. Her movies in 2013 turned that potential into reality and it earns her a deserved spot on the list of performers who had a big impact this year.

My final entry in this blog series arrives tomorrow with an actor who was everywhere in 2013 from a famous yellow bricked land to… brilliantly spoofing a famous rapper’s ridiculous video?