April 24, 2024
Box Office
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
Off by a lousy two million. Balls McKenszie.
man, do i feel sorry for hellboy. if it would have came out in feb or even this month, it could have gotten at least another 20 million. really poorly positioned, but i guess the studio got their buck with the mummy instead.
Journey to the Center of the Earth just keeps chugging away. It’s one of the quiet success stories of the summer given its price tag. The X-Files tumbles again. Wall-E will soon take the crown as top domestic animated film of the year.
Boxofficemojo has the margin even wider ($26.0M for BATMAN and $22.4M for PINEAPPLE. Hilariously, Sony is only estimating an 11% drop from Saturday to Sunday, even though it dropped from Friday to Saturday. Expect the final numbers to be even farther apart.
At the end of the Bollywood musical dramedy Singh is Kinng, Snoop Dogg appears in a production number with the cast. It is now official: I have seen everything.
TDK is now at $704.641 million worldwide. Another $91 million and it’ll be in the all-time worldwide Top 20, and it needs another $210 million to get into the all-time worldwide Top 10.
Hellboy II will get the love it deserves on DVD, which I presume was the plan anyway. I read somewhere, here perhaps, that Hellboy II was financed by Universal purely to have a 4th action film to show to stockholders to go with Incredible Hulk, Wanted, and Mummy 3. Otherwise, no way is Universal dumb enough to schedule one cult comic book film the week before a mega-comic book film. But yes, it’s a darn shame that such a fine film had to get smashed because of The Dark Knight.
Despite opening to almost 2.5x the Wed-Thurs number of the opening five-day weekend of the original ($8.9 million x $3.7 million), Sisterhood…Pants 2 ended its three-day portion with only $10.7 million, which is just over the $9.8 million three-day of the original. So, despite starting out 241% ahead going into Friday, the five day total of the sequel was only 46% ahead of the original. That’s some nasty front loading and a good example of when not to open your movie on a Wednesday.
And yeah, Citizen R, how amazing is it that Journey To The Center Of The Earth has a good shot at beating the domestic gross of The Mummy 3?
Speaking of things no one saw coming, Space Chimps (which somehow cost $37 million) has now crossed the $25 million mark and is also dropping less than 40% per week. It will likely make it to about $35 million. Not bad for a movie that has basically been a punchline since the week or so before its release. Yes, this punchline will vastly out gross The X-Files: I Want To Believe (Fox put them both out, how embarrassing for them) and may defeat Disney’s The Wild from 2006 ($37 million).
A ship has officially sailed. Iron Man was actually ahead of Indiana Jones in both theater count and box office this weekend. Iron Man is now $2 million ahead and, barring a release or a saturation of second-run theaters, Indy cannot catch up and Iron Man will remain the domestic champion. And, alas, I fully expect Iron Man to defeat Indian Jones on the home theater front as well, as many fans will be hesitant to buy Indiana Jones 4 (especially on Blu-Ray) as they may wait for the inevitable box set with all four films on Blu Ray or another version of DVD. In my opinion, Indiana Jones will rent more, but Iron Man will sell more.
Scott: I believe Indy’s sales will be dependent on the date. If it gets a BLACK FRIDAY WEEK release date. It could get a good leap on Iron Man. If it comes out in October, then Iron Man will win going away. Nevertheless, The Bat is hanging in there with a rather hearty screen count, which has to decrease at some point.
With TDK setting a new opening weekend record, I had a look at the films that have set new 3-day opening weekend records going back to 1982 (which is how far back BOM’s records extends). Here they are:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; June 4-6, 1982; $14,347,221
Return of the Jedi; May 27-29, 1983; 23,019,618
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; May 25-27, 1984; $25,337,110
Beverly Hills Cop II; May 22-24, 1987; $26,348,555
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; May 26-28, 1989; $29,355,021
Ghostbusters II; June 16-18, 1989; $29,472,894
Batman; June 23-25, 1989; $40,489,746
Batman Returns; June 19-21, 1992; $45,687,711
Jurassic Park; June 11-13, 1993; $47,026,828
Batman Forever; June 16-18, 1995; $52,784,433
The Lost World: Jurassic Park; May 23-25, 1997; $72,132,785
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer
It looks like Lost World actually held the record for a little longer than Spider-Man; four and a half years, rather than just over four.
What’s weird is that Lost World was definitely counted for these records, yet was over a four-day weekend (which sometimes gets it ignored as a “regular weekend” record). I’m sure there were movies opening on non-holiday weekends during that Lost World/Sorcerer’s Stone time that made more than Batman Forever’s $53 mil, but not as much as Lost World’s inflated &72 mil. (In fact, I recall some weird examples in summer ’01: Rush Hour 2, Planet of the Apes, Mummy Returns.) So maybe that four years of Spider-Man really should get the longevity honors, since there was kind of a giant-opening free-for-all around the turn of the century.
Whoops, you’re right about The Lost World holding it for longer than Spider-Man. I didn’t know there was controversy about The Lost World’s record not being a genuine 3-day opening.
It’s a good number, but there’s some lack of excitement about it I can’t figure out. Yes, it will finish bigger than Spiderman and get the closest anyone has to Titanic (at least domestically). But between increases in ticket prices and the blockbuster opening, it just doesn’t feel like the box office thriller that some would like it to be. I guess the films that really hold on, week after week, like a Titanic or a Sixth Sense are to me more exciting box office stories. A gigantic open/moderate weekly dropoff feels much more commonplace, even when the numbers are as large as Dark Knights. All that said, for what is essentially Batman 5 or 6 at this point, you have to give a lot of credit to the cast and crew that put this success together, particularly Nolan. There’s no reason to think the franchise would be anything but tired and pointless at this point, but they still found some life in it. People like to say it’s kind of like the “McDonald’s” of pop culture, but I think there’s a reason why this Batman did better than previous ones, and it’s because it was sold as supremely classy comfort food, and that’s something audiences were clearly in the mood for this summer.
I think we’ve moved into a realm where box office numbers don’t actually mean very much anymore. Records being set and broken are predominantly the result of inflation. More people certainly aren’t going to the movies, yet 14 of the top-20 grossing domestic films of all time occurred in the past 10 years…
Most of the last “record” holders deserve asterisks because of the midnight screening bullshit. Hell, they are now counting films that opened at 10pm because they don’t end until Friday.
What’s next, not counting any film that starts after 6pm Thursday because it’s not a full day?
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Yeah, looks like TDK is going to barely crawl over the $500M threshold. The drops are very respectable, but I think it proves that the days of a major wide released blockbusters being able to hold drops of 30% or less are never to be seen again.
I do think that it will end up doing much better overseas than other Batman films because based in some part simply on the size of the hit has become here. Warner Bros. probably netted themselves tens of millions more because it didn’t open worldwide and will benefit from the extra publicity.
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HELLBOY II is not undeserving of its fate. It’s a depressingly disappointing film. Not a single person I’ve talked to has any praise for it other than art direction, and even that was under par considering it was del Toro.
It’s also disappointing because this will be his last original film before he goes off and becomes Peter Jackson’s avatar on the already bloated HOBBIT pictures. Unless word comes that del Toro has trimmed it back to the 2 hour film it should be, he is nothing more than Jackson’s glorified art director.
Mamma Mia! is now at $277.4 million worldwide. Chicago and Hairspray made $306.776 million and $200.628 million respectively. The Mummy 3 continues to be a much bigger draw internationally than domestically. It expanded into 22 new territories this weekend and made $56.1 million, bringing its international total to $141.1 million and its worldwide total to $211.7 million.
I wonder how much of Journey is the 3D sales. I know that some of the theaters here are charging more for the 3D experience. I think that and the “success” of spac e chimps meant that there was an under served demo that had parents that thought TDK was too violent for them.
Also, wondering, if the X-Files also had a poor release date. Granted I don’t think that it would have ever been as successful as the last film, but an October release away from TDK and Mummy3 might have doubled the gross.
Saw Mamma Mia ovr the weekend. My wife and I were the ONLY ones there under 50. I could see this having some legs considering it was almost sold out at our theater….though to be fair it was in one of the smaller theaters in our 20-plex.
Pirates 2 made 84.7% of its final domestic gross by the end of its fourth weekend. If the same holds true for TDK (which has thus far demonstrated better legs than Pirates 2) it would end up with a domestic gross of around $520 million.
The other Martin: classy comfort food? Really? How about a Batman movie that fulfilled years of promise? How that work for you, tiramisu?
MuCo: If you think about it more people are watching films more than ever before. So it makes sense that while not everyone goes to the theatre these days. There are films that will get the people who just watch flicks at home or steal them online into the theatre.
Does anyone know what the deal is with American Teen? I live in a top 25 market and it is yet to come here….Has Par Van decided to can the national release of it?
Doesn’t Shrek 2 look strange on the all-time box office chart? Name me someone with good taste that loves that movie.
That Bollywood musical sounds like a hoot, Joe. (Is it three-plus hours of delirious excess like most B’wood extravaganzas?)
Loved the four-hour cricket musical (“Laagan”?) that was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar a few years back, but Bollywood movies are notoriously difficult to see in northeastern Ohio (as you might imagine). Sometimes an Indian group will rent a theater to show one, but it’s never advertised in the (non-Indian) press.
Bennett- On the basis of its mediocre per-screen average, I’m guessing that “American Teen” is pretty much done. It did open at one theater in Cleveland this Friday…and Film Jerk promises “50 major markets” on August 15th. It should turn up (however briefly) in your neck of the woods eventually.
Wonder- Compared to “Shrek the Third,” “Shrek 2” was a frigging classic! But seriously, neither “Shrek” sequel could hold a candle to the “lightning-captured-in-a-bottle” original. I wish that DreamWorks had shown a little discretion and stopped while they were ahead. (Huge “LOL”!)
Has anyone else seen “The Children of Huang Shi”? I’ve been struggling to get through a screener all weekend, but it’s sheer and utter torture. Easily one of the worst films of the year.
IO, my comment was specifically in regard to b.o.
But as to the rest of what you said, I think it’s about time we stop with the grosses and focus instead on units sold. That’s how music is rated. TV is about viewers. Magazines are circulation. Etc.
Ticket inflation has made it so that a $300M movie of today isn’t the same thing as a $300M movie of 10 or 20 years ago. However, units sold (tickets, DVDs, etc.) is much more quantifiable.
“It’s a good number, but there’s some lack of excitement about it I can’t figure out. Yes, it will finish bigger than Spiderman and get the closest anyone has to Titanic (at least domestically). But between increases in ticket prices and the blockbuster opening, it just doesn’t feel like the box office thriller that some would like it to be. I guess the films that really hold on, week after week, like a Titanic or a Sixth Sense are to me more exciting box office stories. A gigantic open/moderate weekly dropoff feels much more commonplace, even when the numbers are as large as Dark Knights.”
While it’s not exciting to see TDK drop off as much as it does, did anyone in their right mind really believe it was going to have small drop-offs? It’s mathematically improbable. Also, on the studio’s end, I think they’d prefer to “make the money and run,” especially in today’s movie market.
“But as to the rest of what you said, I think it’s about time we stop with the grosses and focus instead on units sold. That’s how music is rated. TV is about viewers. Magazines are circulation. Etc.
Ticket inflation has made it so that a $300M movie of today isn’t the same thing as a $300M movie of 10 or 20 years ago. However, units sold (tickets, DVDs, etc.) is much more quantifiable.”
I think most would agree that it’s misleading, but they won’t change it because dollars made makes for better headlines than tickets sold. And it allows for records to be “broken.” It’s all about marketing, and it has worked beautifully for the movie industry.
Man on Wire was one of the most amazing, enthralling and joyous film experiences in my life. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a giant favor.
Also saw Transsiberian. A pretty solid, well crafted, well acted thriller. Awesome locations.
So is Journey going to collapse next weekend after it loses a bunch of 3D playdates to Fly Me to the Moon?
Second the MAN ON WIRE recommendation. Ecerything Aris P said. And benefits from a big-screen viewing.
Inflation is inflation. While 300m today is not the 300m. of yesterday. A record is still a record even if the marketplace has changed. If the same logic can work with sports records. It can work for the movie business daggumit!
Journey won’t outgross The Mummy 3. Considering the former is only $10mil atm and the latter grossed $16mil compared to $4.7. Nevertheless, Journey is an even more impressive feat, really, than What Happens in Vegas. That film didn’t have anything similar to compete, whereas Journey had a new action movie every week family oriented or not.
Movies wouldn’t be able to work on a per units scale, no way. Sure, the music and theatre industry’s primarily work with tickets sold, but album and theatre ticket prices can vary wildly whereas cinema tickets are more or less the same around the country. That and a film’s budget is usually much easier to figure out than how much it cost to produce an album.
Yeah, looks like TDK is going to barely crawl over the $500M threshold.
If by crawl you mean surpass by $25 million, then yes, TDK will happily crawl past.
Second the MAN ON WIRE recommendation. Ecerything Aris P said. And benefits from a big-screen viewing.
This one is turning some heads, and making viewers rethink their conceived notions of performances and their goals. I’m there.
The $25.8 mil weekend for TDK doesn’t feel so exciting because its week to week drops look a lot like Dead Man’s Chest in 2006. TDK is making more money because its falling from a higher place with slightly better drops then DMC. The $25.8 mil also doesn’t seem so special when you consider that TDK opened at $158.8 mil and is now down to $25.8 mil.TDKs fourth weekend is also less than the $28.7 mil Titanic made on its fourth weekend ten years ago.
I’ll third the Man on Wire recommendation. Most unexpectedly moving film I’ve seen this year.
There is no accurate way to count tickets sold. The studios may track that information but only release the dollar amounts. Dividing by the average ticket price is not an accurate count, since we are not able to split out regional price differantials, matinee attendance, or second run theaters. So when comparing a film with one from twenty years ago as far as admissions go, you can formulate a rough estimate at best.
The reason they count the money and not the admissions is that it is the money that matters. Employees, stockholders, hookers, and Coke dealers are not paid with ticket stubs. If ticket prices were cut back to 1989 levels TDK would easily jet past the original Batman in admissions but would not be making the 535 plus that it is on schedule to do.
And as far as the average ticket price, in DC matinees are now around 8 dollars and I would think that would be the same in most metro areas. Given that the higher population levels and the fact that most theater going still occurs in the evening at full price (between 10.50 and 13 dollars), where are all these $2 theaters that must be doing hand over fist business to offset the huge amounts that I pay for a ticket.
I know I’ve paid from $14.50 for IMAX Dark Knight (2nd viewing of 2 so far) down to $5.25 for Stepbrothers (1st viewing of 2 so far).
Roxane, you have to admit the competition for Titanic is nowhere as strong as the competition for TDK. By the 4th week, Titanic is against films that studios were dumping, while TDK is facing a slew of summer films. There are more choices for the kids to see.
I saw Pineapple Express Sunday at a Pacific Theater in Culver City. Was on the big screen. We got there very early anticipating a crowd…. Not an empty theater…but pretty close. maybe 20% full. After seeing the movie I know why.
tonally it’s all over the place. Franco’s performace is great, but it should be in another movie. The action stuff was pretty weak. I just barely recommend it for a few funny scenes but I was pretty disappointed.
Is anyone else loving the second season of AMC’s “Mad Men” as much as I am?
January Jones continues to blow me away week after week.
When is she going to get a first-rate leading role in a movie?
Pchu,So far TDK has faced Stepbrothers, X-Files, Swing Vote, Mummy 3, Pineapple Express and Traveling Pants.Mummy 3 is the only film that opened above $40 mil.My point is that TDK opened at $158.8 mil and is already down to $25.8 mil. Despite being in 1300 more theaters, having ticket prices 50% higher, IMAX and playing 20 times a day in some theaters. TDK could not get past Titanic’s 10 year old 4th weekend record.
“Singh is Kinng” runs 2:15 per MovieTickets.com. As Snoop Doggy Dogg is involved, you wonder if a US studio will pick it up for wider release outside the Bollywood circuit.
“American Teen” is toast as movieman said. Next week has 2 arthouse titles opening day/date nationwide and a 3rd adding theaters.
Yes Mad Men is full of fulsome characters…which makes for good watching. January Jones could be something big if she picks the right roles and doesn’t try to be a Personality first, actor second.
Mad men is great…up there as a fave with Deadwood and 24 (and Carnivale).
Mad Men is good, but I’m hesitant to call it great. but it’s refreshlingly containted and smart and I’m always happy to watch it.
Mamma Mia! ‘s staying power is quite remarkable. I’m not surprised. Is it a good movie? Hell no. But did my theater sing-a-long and clap? Absolutely. It’s bubble gum.
TDK could not get past Titanic’s 10 year old 4th weekend record.
Yeah, how dare TDK not surpass the highest grossing film of all-time, which earned that title in the exact opposite method as practically every other blockbuster past 1993!
Come the hell on.
Chucky: It’s already beyond the Bollywood circuit. In Houston, it’s playing at the AMC Studio 30, right alongside Step Brothers and Pineapple Express. Take another look at Klady’s chart — it actually made more than Brideshead Revisited last weekend, in about a third as many theaters. Truly, Singh is King.
So everybody, get up and dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wIypf-Lk-8&feature=related
Well, if we’re going to believe the ol’ law of supply & demand, “as prices go up consumers are willing to consume less…” then the rise in ticket prices should be hurting Dark Knight’s b.o. take just as much as inflation sterioding the total cume up. I paid $12.50 for a “discount” showing on IMAX of Dark Knight. I do plan on seeing the film again and prolly on IMAX. I’m not paying $15 bucks though to see it full price. As much as I loved it, and though it’s not like I would have to make a choice between seeing the film or eating, on principle, I’m having a hard time justifying paying so much to see one film by myself. of course I could see it on a regular theater but my point is, I have decided not to see it based on the market’s higher price.
My belief is if Titanic had been released today, (or just this past winter facing other studio dumped projects), I don’t think it would’ve reached the same b.o. total. Maybe. But I don’t think as many ‘tween girls would’ve seen the thing 6-9 times in the theater if they were schilling out $7.50 a pop instead of $5. Two or three, sure, but they wouldn’t be paying to see it 5 times or more in the theater at these prices. That sh#t would’ve been all over the web too. No way as much would’ve gone out that could’ve been counted.
SPOILER ALERT (but really who hasn’t seen The Dark Knight at this point?)
I saw it again, this weekend, and the movie really does hold up, though there are still some flaws, that strangely no one (even Dave) is talking about:
– I like what Ekhardt does with the role and I do not feel that his third act stuff is rushed or tacked on at all, but…..the makeup job is a distraction and takes me a bit out of the character. Nolan has done such a good job of making this a physically realistic world, am I the only one finding it tough to buy that a man can just walk around like that with muscle and bone exposed???? It’s a bit too ghoulish and fantastical to really buy and the character deserved better.
– The comparisons to crime epics (Heat, L.A. Confidential) really hold up, but this film also falls into a trap that even the best films of that genre fall into….making every other character too aware of the others. If this is supposed to be sprawling, how is it even possible that all of the key characters (Gordon, Batman) are that aware of everything that Dent is doing or will do, in that third act? The city is under seige – two boats wired to blow up, a hospital blown up, mass millions trying to flee, National Guard, hostage situation in a high rise – and they really have any kind of idea where Dent has been and who he has murdered???? I mean, I know he is the D.A., but it strains credibility on the level of in L.A. Confidential, when it seems that every other character has a strong perception of Bud White, when he is really just another shlub detective in the L.A. police force.
– Bale does look a little too pained at times in that costume. The voice never really bothers me as it does others, but it seems at times that he is just trying too hard to emote through the cape and cowl.
It’s still a fantastic film and I am still amazed at how well it is doing. Some other random observations:
– The film does have humor, nice sprinklings of it – just not as broad as most superhero movies. I love the visual punchline to delivering Law to Gotham the best. Nolan has never gotten enough credit for the wit he has brought to his films, even Memento.
– I cannot see where this re-boot of the series would have been without Caine – he brings such soul and wit to the role of Alfred and though it will never happen, it’s pretty Oscar-worth stuff.
– For better or worse, Nolan just makes no bones about this being in Chicago. I live just outside of the city and could pretty much pinpoint almost every location in the movie. Didn’t bother me, but it probably could hurt the illusion for others.
– For all of the talk about characters possibly surviving, sorry, I think it’s pretty clear cut that Rachel and Dent have died – you see Dent’s lifeless body on the ground and you see the explosion right next to Rachel.
Fantastic pop entertainment that just does not know when to quit over those last hours – multiple climaxes building on top of each other, a la Cameron. No doubt the film is exhausting and the very ending is overexplained with all of that exposition given to Oldman, but really, this is quibbling.
Nolan swung for the fences on this one and it’s not perfect, but it delivers.
Sorry, I should really check grammar before posting, some corrections:
“I love the visual punchline to delivering Lau to Gotham the best.”
“Fantastic pop entertainment that just does not know when to quit over that last hour”
movieman – some recommendations, being the resident Bollywood aficionado (these should be at Netflix):
Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Never Come (2003) – the film I use as the foolproof “Bollyconversion” film with friends. Set and mostly shot in NY, it’s the first B’wood to have its script invited to the AMPAS library–and anyone who’s seen a lot of B’wood movies knows that writing is rarely a strong point. But this one is probably the best example I can think of a true Indian masala picture (meaning, all the crazy tonal shifts, songs, etc.) done with unusual technical craft, strong writing, and acting.
Devdas (2002) – first B’wood to play at Cannes, got Aishwarya Rai on the western radar. The “Dola Re Dola” number is a classic.
Dil Se.. (From the Heart) (1998) – nicely wrenching film from one of the greats, Mani Ratnam. Best known to some as the film from which Spike stole “Chaiyya Chaiyya” for Inside Man.
Dil Chahta Hai (The Heart Desires) (2001) – the second of Aamir Khan’s two wildly successful and influential 2001 releases. Now it’s interesting to watch as it’s like the Indian equivalent of the “bromantic comedies” that have become en vogue in Hollywood lately. Very auspicious debut from Farhan Akhtar, who later directed…
Don (2005) – remake of a cool badass Amitabh Bachchan vehicle from 1978, but brought to the modern day with amped up action, slick production style, genius retro song score (with a couple of covers from the original film), and a very un-Indian sense of cynicism (which explains why when I saw it opening day, there was a bit of groaning from the mostly Indian crowd). But I think it’s the best recent Indian action flick.
Life… in a Metro (2007) – my fave B’wood of last year, an Altman-esque tapestry of interconnecting love stories in Delhi. Featured in the ensemble is Irrfan Khan and she of the Richard Gere kissing scandal, Shilpa Shetty.
Anyway, I can go on, but those are some good recent films to start with.
Re – spoilerish Dent nitpicking on Dark Knight
I still don’t know how Gordon came up with five deaths attributed to Dent. The cop in the bar, Moroni’s partner next to the limo (attacked almost off screen), Maroni and Maroni’s driver. It’s stated that Dent has not killed the would-be Montoya, so I don’t know where the last murder came from. I do like how Montoya is changed to Ramirez because she’s crooked. Burton and co did the same thing to the corrupt Lt. Echkhardt, who was a spitting image of the hard-ass but incorruptible Detective Harvey Bullock
Also, yeah, it’s impossible that Gordon would have even heard about Dent’s murders. It would have been more logical if Dent had said as much or if there was some offscreen time where it could be inferred that Dent told Gordon.
Thank you Geoff, for belonging to the non-dumb ass club. Rachel IS dead. Dent IS dead (if they wanted him to possibly service, he would have fallen into the ocean or been trapped in a burning building). George Lucas changed Episode I at the last minute with the bit of Darth Maul being cut in half, specifically so fans wouldn’t think he survived his death plunge. Some idiot fans STILL thought he was alive.
Dent’s make up was kinda unrealistic in the context, especially as he went from howling in pain to being an expert on pain management (you’d at least think the shot of whiskey would have hurt like hell). Again, a comment on how the damage frayed his nerves, or that he had been given experimental medication, ala Darkman (which the make-up most resembled anyway), would have been nice to explain that little tidbit.
It’s not perfect and I really don’t like the ending. A) I disagree with the idea that Gotham needs to be lied to and a villain needs to be made into a hero (it smacks of the Jessica Lynch/Pat Tillman propaganda campaigns). B) You’d like to think that the behavior of the ferry passengers and the selfless choice they made would be more inspiring that the idea that their white knight was kidnapped, horribly injured, then kidnapped again and then murdered. C) As you mentioned, Oldman’s artful but useless exposition is awfully goofy (notice how he never really answers his son’s questions in a way that any kid would understand).
Still, the film is incredibly poignant and entertaining, and it actually improves on a second viewing. I was able to more easily follow the nitty-gritty plot details when my eyes weren’t bleeding from sitting too close in an IMAX theater.
“notice how he never really answers his son’s questions in a way that any kid would understand.”
yeah, but that ain’t any kid. that’s his son.
thnx for the Bollywood rental tips, Aframe:
I always feel so left out when I see the latest B’Wood release on the weekend box-office chart…like an entire strata of the movie business is somehow off limits to me.