Tag: Split

Speak No Evil Review

Maybe if you thought long and hard about some of your past vacations, you wouldn’t want to go back and revisit. Perhaps some negative aspects would seem clearer. Best to concentrate on how enjoyable it was while you were there. That’s a bit how I feel about Speak No Evil where a family of three interrupts their mundane London life to visit another family of three in the remote English countryside. I found myself non tongue-tied during its runtime. This is one of those thrillers where you find yourself talking back at the screen. Get out of the house already! You’re almost a teenager – why are you still attached to a stuffed rabbit?? We’ll get to that one.

Let’s start with some official business. Speak No Evil from James Watkins (The Woman in Black) is based on a 2022 Danish pic that I haven’t seen. It’s said to be darker and less audience friendly than this. Comparisons cannot be made from my vantage point. Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) are Americans residing in London. We meet them on vacation in Italy along with daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler). Mom is a little overprotective while Dad is a little gun shy to truly challenge her. The fragility of the Dalton clan seems pronounced at first when compared with Paddy (James McAvoy), younger wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their mute son Ant (Dan Hough). Paddy is a boisterous and fun loving doctor who entertains his fellow travelers during one of those who cares what hour it is wine filled lunches that becomes dinner that becomes an after hours chat. They get on well enough that the Yankee Londoners agree to visit Paddy and company at their home.

Louise and Ben see it as an opportunity to rekindle a relationship on shaky ground. Maybe some fresh country air will do that. Yet cracks in their plan emerge after they take the long and winding road to their new surroundings. Paddy has some eccentricities that initially are presented as mild annoyances. He force feeds some goose meat to Louise even though she’s already told him she’s a vegetarian. His parenting skills to silent (but always trying to convey something) Ant are questionable. Then again… so are Louise’s in a less sinister way.

Part of the screenplay’s fun is how there’s usually enough logic that you can understand why the Daltons don’t go speeding back to London. After all, their hosts can’t be crazy right? We know they must be or there wouldn’t be a movie to view. The tension building up to certain reveals are the creepiest moments and most of those come in the first half. James McAvoy is responsible for the bulk of them. I didn’t dig M. Night Shyamalan’s Split as much as many others did, but I definitely was wowed by McAvoy’s work. Here again he is chilling.

On the opposite end, the handling of McNairy’s Ben can be fascinating. He’s probably the weakest character of the sextet. Even quiet Ant seems determined to get something done though we’re not sure what it is for awhile. Plenty of genre material portrays the patriarch as the figure of strength. Ben is decidedly not that for most of Speak No Evil and it’s a fairly fresh and often amusing angle. Mackenzie Davis does an admirable job at conveying the realization of the menaces they’re facing.

Contrivances are common to keep the action moving in these thrillers. The plush bunny belonging to Agnes is a prime example. It’s the most memorable use of that non-human character since Nicolas Cage protected one in Con Air. Plot machinations mount as Evil goes along and the third act isn’t as juicy as the first two. Once motivations are known, it’s a mild letdown. However, I never wanted to hop off the B movie ride.

*** (out of four)

Oscar Predictions: Speak No Evil

Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil has developed some consensus approaching its Friday the 13th release. The thriller from director James Watkins stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, and Scoot McNairy.

A remake of a well-regarded 2022 Danish effort by Christian Tafdrup, most reviews say the American version doesn’t match intensity or shock value of the original. Write-ups are still saying it’s effective as it sports an 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating and 63 Metacritic score.

Critics are lauding the work of McAvoy in this genre once again. That’s reminiscent of their praise for his work in 2017’s Split by M. Night Shyamalan. McAvoy managed to generate some awards buzz for that blockbuster. I doubt he’ll get that chatter for Speak. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Speak No Evil Box Office Prediction

Blumhouse hopes for lucky results over the Friday the 13th weekend with Speak No Evil. The psychological thriller is a remake of an acclaimed 2022 Danish production. James Watkins, who helmed 2012’s The Woman in Black, directs with James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, and Scott McNairy starring.

Evil‘s opening weekend could be good due to lack of competition. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be in its sophomore frame and should easily be the reigning champ. However, Evil looks to appeal to genre fans in the teens for a second place start.

Whether that opening is low or higher teens is a question mark. Perhaps McAvoy’s previous successful psycho work (see Split) will help. A gross of $15 million or over is certainly doable, but I’ll put it just under.

Speak No Evil opening weekend prediction: $14.6 million

For my The Killer’s Game prediction, click here:

The Killer’s Game Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Trap

It has been a quarter century since The Sixth Sense was a box office phenomenon that turned writer/director M. Night Shyamalan into a household name. The Academy took notice and rewarded the suspense thriller with six nominations including Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay. It lost each of those races to American Beauty.

Since then, the sole Oscar nod for an M. Night joint is 2004’s The Village in Original Score (it fell short to Finding Neverland). In fact, his filmography has garnered more Razzie attention in the last two decades with Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, and After Earth.

Trap is the filmmaker’s latest with Josh Hartnett as a serial killer boxed in at a concert with his daughter (Ariel Donoghue). Costars include Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill.

Like his most recent tales Old and Knock at the Cabin, critical reaction isn’t near strong enough for awards buzz. The RT rating for Trap is just 49%. On the flip side, the buzz probably isn’t poor enough for the Razzies to notice. Some reviews are going out of their way to applaud Josh Hartnett (similar to how they lauded James McAvoy’s work in Shyamalan’s Split). Don’t expect Academy voters to put him in the convo for Actor. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Trap Box Office Prediction

M. Night Shyamalan and Warner Bros hope Trap fills movie houses on August 2nd. The thriller casts Josh Hartnett as a serial killer trying to thwart a manhunt while attending a concert with his daughter (Ariel Donoghue). Mr. Shyamalan’s own daughter Saleka plays the artist at the venue. Hayley Mills (known for The Parent Trap some 63 years ago) and Alison Pill costar.

The writer/director experienced a mini career resurgence starting with 2017’s Split. His last two efforts haven’t generated huge numbers, but have been profitable due to low budgets. 2021’s Old started with $16 million and then grossed $48 million overall domestically. Last year’s Knock at the Cabin premiered to $14 million and $34 million total stateside. Both had reported price tags in the high teens to $20 million.

I haven’t seen the cost for Trap but its gimmick of a one place setting can’t be too expensive. Shyamalan’s pics do their business based on his name though there’s certainly limits compared to his early 2000s heyday. I doubt this will make much more than his aforementioned predecessors so let’s go high teens to low 20s.

Trap opening weekend prediction: $19.4 million

For my Harold and the Purple Crayon prediction, click here:

Harold and the Purple Crayon Box Office Prediction

Oscar Predictions: Knock at the Cabin

Nearly a quarter century ago, M. Night Shyamalan’s phenom The Sixth Sense scared up six Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Director. It didn’t win any, but it established the filmmaker as a force at the box office. His fortunes have certainly ebbed and flowed in the 21st century with financial hits and misses. As far as awards attention, only 2004’s The Village achieved another Academy nod for its score.

Shyamalan’s latest is the apocalyptic thriller Knock at the Cabin with Dave Bautista headlining the cast. Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 novel, Knock‘s embargo is up today ahead of its Friday release. The results are pretty encouraging with a 71% Rotten Tomatoes score. At the low point in his filmography, he had a string of flops and critical bombs (Lady in the Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender, After Earth) that racked up plenty of Golden Raspberry mentions.

Cabin is ahead of Shyamalan’s two predecessors Glass and Old as far as the RT meter. It isn’t as high (77%) as comeback vehicle Split from 2017. While Bautista is being complimented for his performance, I don’t see this being welcomed in any of the Academy races a year from now. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

February 3-5 Box Office Predictions

**Blogger’s Update (02/01): I am adding a title to the top 5 that I previously didn’t have on Monday when I did my initial projections. The Chosen: Season 3 Finale is playing on over 2000 screens. As you may recall, the season premiere grossed nearly $9 million in December out of the gate. I’ll say the finale generates a little more than that and could challenge Avatar for the 3 spot. Changes are reflected below.

The seven-week reign of Avatar: The Way of Water at #1 should end in its 8th outing as February dawns at the box office. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Knock at the Cabin and the octogenarian comedy 80 for Brady debut and look to place 1-2. My detailed prediction posts on them can be found here:

Knock at the Cabin Box Office Prediction
80 for Brady Box Office Prediction

Beginning with 2017’s Split, Shyamalan experienced a career resurgence that could carry Cabin (generating solid word-of-mouth) to a low to mid 20s start. Getting close to $30 million is not out of the question. That number should be enough to top the charts.

80 for Brady looks to appeal to a female audience and older viewers. A Man Called Otto recently showed the demographic is ready for a return at multiplexes. With a robust marketing campaign and the involvement of Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno, I could absolutely see it over performing. My current mid teens forecast is worth keeping an eye on before Thursday (meaning it could rise).

As mentioned, Avatar: The Way of Water (while remaining above $10M) should finally relinquish its stranglehold in first. Fellow holdovers Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and A Man Called Otto should round out the top five and here’s how I see it looking:

1. Knock at the Cabin

Predicted Gross: $23.6 million

2. 80 for Brady

Predicted Gross: $15.5 million

3. Avatar: The Way of Water

Predicted Gross: $11.8 million

4. The Chosen: Season 3 Finale

Predicted Gross: $11 million

5. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Predicted Gross: $8.9 million

6. A Man Called Otto

Predicted Gross: $4.8 million

Box Office Results (January 27-29)

Avatar: The Way of Water cruised to a seventh frame atop the charts with $15.9 million (ahead of my $14.3 million take). The domestic haul is $620 million, but the story of the weekend is that it surpassed Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the fourth largest worldwide grosser in history. That means James Cameron now has three of the top four (with Avatar and Titanic also in the mix).

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was runner-up with $10.4 million, surpassing my $9.2 million prediction. In six weeks, the animated sequel has amassed $140 million.

The surprise of the weekend was Pathaan, a Hindu language action spectacle that I incorrectly had outside the top five. It was third with $6.8 million and $9.4 million since its Wednesday bow. The PTA of nearly $10k was easily the highest on the charts.

A Man Called Otto was fourth with $6.6 million (in line with my $6 million projection) for $45 million overall.

M3GAN rounded out the top five with $6.2 million (I said $5.8 million) as the campy horror tale is approaching nine figures at $82 million.

Finally, Missing was sixth in its sophomore weekend with $5.6 million, a tad above my $5.1 million call. The ten-day total is $17 million (doubling its reported $7 million budget).

Check out my new podcast at the following link:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movies-at-the-speed-of-speculation/id1668006585

And that does it for now, folks! Until next time…

Knock at the Cabin Box Office Prediction

Universal Pictures is counting on audiences to take a Knock at the Cabin when it debuts February 3rd. The latest film from M. Night Shyamalan, it’s based on the 2018 novel by Paul G. Tremblay. A thriller blending horror elements, Dave Bautista is a believer in the imminent apocalypse holding a family hostage. Costars include Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint.

This looks to be the picture to knock Avatar: The Way of Water off its lengthy perch at #1 and should do so with room to spare. Shyamalan, after a career resurgence that kicked into high gear with Split, is one of the few filmmakers whose name can sell tickets (especially in this genre). This is his first R rated title since 2008’s The Happening. His predecessor Old (2021) opened in the summer of 2021 with just under $17 million.

Cabin, with less competition than Old had, should exceed that starting gross. A take of over $20 million is doable.

Knock at the Cabin opening weekend prediction: $23.6 million

For my 80 for Brady prediction, click here:

80 for Brady Box Office Prediction

Old Review

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest is Old and it plays like a long Twilight Zone episode which rapidly puts its subjects in that time frame of their lives. If you’ve seen the trailer or TV spots, what you see is essentially what you get. The writer/director is responsible for putting this uninteresting group on a gorgeous beach. That’s in the figurative sense since he created them. It’s also in the literal way because Shyamalan casts himself as the driver who takes them there.

Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca Cappa (Vicky Krieps) are on the verge of splitting up and they take their 6-year-old boy and 11-year-old daughter on a tropical excursion before they break the news. They know this is meant to be a short-lived paradise, but they get more than they bargained for. You know how parents say their youngsters act like teenagers before they should? It happens here.

The Cappas are taken to a secluded area of the island for R & R. Joining them are a surgeon (Rufus Sewell) and his snotty wife (Abbey Lee) and their 6-year-old going on 11…13…15 (eventually played by Eliza Scanlen). There’s a nurse (Ken Leung) and his wife (Nikki Amuka-Bird) that’s prone to seizures. In the latest example of eye rolling character choices, we also have a hemophiliac rapper (Aaron Pierre) who goes by the name of Mid-Sized Sedan. This might an even more cringe worthy use of a hip hop reference than James McAvoy’s MC skills in Split. 

Once placed in the breathtaking locale, all the vacationers discover they’re aging approximately one year every half hour. This is, of course, first noticed with the children. The Cappa kids morph into Thomasin McKenzie and Alex Wolff. Their elders fall prey to the typical signs of advanced age – disease, Alzheimers, low calcium content. Poor Mid-Sized Sedan never gets the chance to trade in for a cooler sounding vehicle name.

In Shyamalan’s best features (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs), the auteur created pretty interesting characters to place in his twisty tales. That is just not the case with this group. Even a coasting Shyamalan is reliable for a few thrills, but they don’t roll in too often.

Too much of Old is filled with his clunky dialogue. The kids talk like adults before they actually are a few hours later. The surprise developments toward the end (which aren’t all that shocking) hint at a larger picture. They may have been engrossing had we not been subjected to an hour and a half of watching this dull lot waste away. This could have made a nifty Twilight Zone episode because that program ran 30 minutes. In Shyamalan’s labored production, it feels closer to a year.

** (out of four)

Old Box Office Prediction

Blogger’s Note (07/21): I am revising my Old prediction down from $22.8 million to $19.8 million

What will be the ending to the next M. Night Shyamalan opening weekend story? That’s a tough one with Old, the filmmaker’s latest thriller debuting July 23rd. Based on a graphic novel, the pic places its cast in a beach setting where they inexplicably begin rapidly aging. That’s about the biggest nightmare Hollywood can imagine and Universal Pictures is banking that the horror will translate onscreen. The cast includes Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Eliza Scanlen, Alex Woolf, Abbey Lee, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, and Embeth Davidtz.

Over the past six years, Shyamalan has experienced a career resurgence with his budgets getting lower and his grosses far exceeding the price tag. 2015’s The Visit took in a surprising $25 million out of the gate ($65 million overall domestic gross). 2017’s Split started off with a cool $40 million ($138 million haul) and its 2019 follow-up Glass earned $46 million over the long MLK frame with a $111 million eventual take.

In a summer filled with sequels and reboots, Old could have the advantage (despite being based on a property) of looking like something fresh. You could even say – what’s Old is new. The trailers and TV spots are pretty effective. It is competing for some of the same audience with the G.I. Joe franchise overhaul Snake Eyes. However, my gut says this could manage to overshadow it.

The aforementioned predecessors from the director kicked off in a less competitive timeframe. I still believe Old gets pretty close to the $25 million achieved by The Visit and gives it a solid chance at topping charts over Snake Eyes.

Old opening weekend prediction: $19.8 million

For my Snake Eyes prediction, click here:

Snake Eyes Box Office Prediction