April 25, 2024
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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
Holy shit is this real?
Wow. A sign of life.
In other news…I’m just sitting here waiting for HALLOWEEN on Saturday night. Trying to keep my expectations reasonable. Avoiding online clips.
But it’s the PROPER sequel to my all-time favorite film so, yeah, it’s kinda hard for me. I enjoy most of the sequels in all their badness, to one extent or another, and will continue to, but cleaning up the canon is important to me. The sister thing never sat well with me, and we all know Carpenter regretted it. It’ll be nice to see something a bit different.
Well, probably not THAT different but still. You know what I mean. a course correction (until the next sequel probably, I know how these things work.)
holy mackerel (who IS this mysterious ‘MCN editor’)
i’m too scared to watch this new ‘halloween’, i can’t take the disappointment anymore
My expectations for Halloween are low – have heard it called the franchise’s The Force Awakens, which to me is not a ringing endorsement – but am still pumped about the idea of having a new, proper Halloween film in theaters, so I’ll very likely see it, maybe even tonight.
the tyranny of low expectations
Mild spoilers here.
I didn’t see either of Zombie’s Halloween movies in theaters, so seeing Michael Myers on the big screen again after 16 years was a thrilling treat. I feel like I need to see it again before I’ll know exactly how I feel about Halloween 2018. I’m still wrestling with it. It’s good, I liked it, but I’m not sure how much. The score is magnificent. The acting is solid, and Curtis is great. I liked how they handled Laurie. Being that traumatized makes sense and is effective. It looks really good. There are fun stalk and kill sequences and the gore/effects are nicely done. I was entertained throughout (though the podcast stuff didn’t do much for me). I’m not sure how I feel about the turn of events near the end. What Officer Hawkins does strikes me as incredibly stupid, and that kind of took me out of it a little bit. I know people do stupid things in horror movies, but it was a little hard to take. And it’s never actually scary. Not once. Boo scares don’t count. Those are fine, and there are some good ones here, but true terror and suspense are sorely lacking. I was never freaked out or on the edge of my seat. Maybe there’s a little too much Michael on screen. Maybe I’m being unfair. I don’t know. Right now I feel like it’s good, not great, and I’m cool with that. I definitely want to see it again and I’m glad it’s going to be successful. Deadline is projecting around $90 million for the weekend based on the Thursday night estimate.
Repost from the other thread:
The original HALLOWEEN is my all time favorite film. I watch it year after year after. I’m 47. It holds up for me. But it has flaws, logic gaps and errors. It’s not perfect. But that’s part of why I love it so much. I love those errors. I love that Loomis stands around the house all night when the car was parked just behind him (or not very far away). I love PJ Soles idiotic death throes. I love the final shots.
It still scares me and entertains the fuck out of me. Just like JAWS, although JAWS is a technically better film. I think THE THING is Carpenter’s best film, and my second favorite of his. But HALLOWEEN remains #1.
Part of that is because of how I heard about the movie: my parents went to see it in 1978. When they came home my dad had to drive the babysitter home (LOL) and my mom claimed she was so terrified that she sat on the couch and did not move until dad got home. She went to see H2 only so she could watch him die, otherwise she never watched any of the other sequels. She has since passed but she’d probably chuckle of the Michael Myers tattoo on my left arm.
So when she told this 7 year old kid about it the next day the movie became legend before I even saw it. And thus truly began my horror genre obsession.
stella, Zombie’s H2 attempts to address PTSD. There’s an element in there. But it is overshadowed by the complete wrong-headedness of the movie, as well as other idiotic indulgences. In actuality I “like” it more than his remake of the original, for those very reasons. It’s freaking nuts and stupid and indulgent and really violent. It’s worth seeing because it’ll probably make you appreciate the new one even more. Zombie has not filter. He can’t write. He’d probably be decent with a strong leash on him and real writer
Oh I’ve seen Zombie’s Halloween movies. I just didn’t see them in theaters. Caught up with them at home. In the last few days I’ve come across a lot of rehabilitation efforts for them, people insisting they are better than their reputation and worth watching. I just don’t agree.
I definitely hold the original Halloween in as high esteem as you do. On the same page there.
Sideshow, stories like yours is the reason I LOVE movies.
“but true terror and suspense are sorely lacking”
this is what i was afraid of. i haven’t seen it yet for myself but honestly, has the crucial art of building tension and suspense been mostly obliterated by solar flares or something
ETA further to nothing, i really want to see ‘can you ever forgive me’
Sorry Stella. I misread what you said.
And thank you Bulldog. We all have stories like that. I was terrified of the Exorcist before I ever saw it because I had an old school Catholic grandma who loved telling her grandchildren that the Devil Was going to take us whenever we were bad. I love and miss her so much but jeez Louise!
Loved Halloween 2018. Great fan service and it becomes its own thing. They pulled it off.
However, I want to address something I find interesting. The complaint that it’s not scary. I don’t necessarily disagree but I dunno if it’s the filmmakers fault. Have any of you considered that because you’ve seen so many movies, know all the beats, and also are older this stuff just can’t affect you anymore? I love watching horror movies but I’m past the point that they have the power to scare me. Im an adult. I know there’s legit nothing in the room when I turn the lights off. So for me, no matter how well a horror film is built, I just cannot suspend disbelief enough to be scared by any of it.
I did find the movie plenty suspenseful, however. Also, I love that they didn’t fetishize Myers. He’s a brutal killing machine. Period. They don’t try to make him cool or get the audience to pop for a kill.
Can’t wait to see it again.
Halloween 2018 suuuuuuucks. It’s got one or two interesting ideas that it tries to build a movie around but realizes it’s not enough so it ends up being just another shitty Halloween sequel. Just a terrible script. I’m genuinely surprised at how awful it was. Honestly, H20 was better. Halloween 4, terrible mask aside, might have been too.
Drove 45 minutes each way for “The Sisters Brothers” yesterday.
Glad I had the chance to see it in a theater.
No, it’ll never be “box office,” but I’m grateful to Annapurna (and partners) for the movie’s very existence.
It definitely moves to an arthouse gait (which is one of the reasons I loved it).
I could easily imagine it showing at the 1972 (or ’73) New York Film Festival back in the halcyon NYFF days when “Bad Company” and “Kid Blue” were part of the main slate. And festival director Richard Road was an unabashed Francophile.
Everyone (Phoenix, Ahmed, Gyllenhaal) is terrific, but the movie really does belong to Reilly who still has “Holmes and Watson” and “Stan and Ollie” coming up this year.
No need for apology Bill.
Amblinman, that’s a fair point and I thought about that after it was over. I think I have realistic expectations and I don’t expect every horror movie to scare me. But I thought this one would be at least more tense or suspenseful than I found it. I think it’s possible for a movie to be scary. I’ve seen stuff in recent years that got under my skin and freaked me out. This didn’t. But I want to see it again.
Also want to see The Sisters Brothers.
I hear you, Stella. Nothing really freaks me out anymore. I thought Hereditary was brilliant. Some really messed up scenes and images. Great sense of dread. But didn’t scare me for a second.
The last movie to really get under my skin was WE ARE THE FLESH. . That movie just oozes evil. I love HEREDITARY and it scared me too. The dinner scene is probably the scariest scene.
The bear scene in ANNIHILATION was gut-churning, too.
The Sisters Brothers is my fave movie of the year, so far.
Excellent acting all around and a beautiful ending.
I love when new movies open at the dollar theatre. Only cost me $5 to see TSB.
I hate tension in movies. It’s more a love hate thing, but tension in movies just makes the experience less fun. Depending on how high the tension is cranked up. I prefer, if I had my druthers, just pure straight up Raid level brutality. Just get down to it. Don’t jump scare it. Just beat the shit/kill some red shit, and let’s get on with it.
Which means, I am glad that the new Halloween seems to just get down to it. Michael Myers is a fucking beast, and he should just be beastly.
Here’s the funny thing: are we actually going to get an OFFICIAL HALLOWEEN 2 now? Ponder that shit, and it will break your brain :D!
HEY! MCN EDITOR! CAN A BROTHER GET HIS EDIT BUTTON BACK? Thanks, and woo! NEW THREAD!
Your thoughts on HALLOWEEN have me smiling, Stella. 6 hours to go. I do wish they had subtitled it though. The uninitiated are going to be confused but oh well. I can’t believe how many times I’ve had to explain to horror fans that it’s not a remake and why they are siblings anymore. How hard is it to grasp?
fwiw and ftr i can still be freaked out and scared by movies, it’s just that i find a lot of what is considered ‘horror’ these days to be mediocre and lacking in ingenuity and imagination conceptually and in the execution.
the last movie that i found i couldn’t quite bring myself to look directly at the screen by the end of a scene was the beach sequence in ‘under the skin’; by the time it was over with the baby i felt a bit horrified and ill. i guess what scares us is very individual.
“The dinner scene is probably the scariest scene.”
ha, re hereditary i relate to this, fucking horrifying, hits you right where you live as a parent from both perspectives (as does the scene in ‘under the skin’, like a knife to the gut as a parent, also why ‘the babadook’ disturbs me. in recent years i also found parts of ‘banshee chapter’ creepy – but i watched this alone in the dark having no idea what it was so some of that may be situational – and some parts of ‘sinister’ (esp the little s-films) kind of freaked me out but it lost me at the end so that’s a bummer)
Initial thoughts: HALLOWEEN 2018 was great. Perfect? No. But better than any of the sequels. Gory. Intense. Score fucking rules. Awesome Easter eggs and callbacks. The ending was a bit to abrupt but interesting in that the final shot was almost an inside joke as well as a piece of character development and an homage to the original. A lot of clever stuff. Michael is brutal but not cartoony like in the Rob Zombie shit.Need to reflect more .
And yeah, leahnz, I think that dinner scene in HEREDITY is probably the most important scene. Coming from a very dysfunctional family I could relay the i cringed.
This looks like crap, but here’s Mojo’s weekend chart:
1 N Halloween (2018) Uni. $77,501,000 – 3,928 – $19,730 $77,501,000 $10 1
2 2 A Star is Born (2018) WB $19,300,000 -32.2% 3,884 +176 $4,969 $126,376,246 $36 3
3 1 Venom (2018) Sony $18,105,000 -48.3% 3,887 -363 $4,658 $171,125,095 $100 3
4 4 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Sony $9,715,000 -38.5% 3,521 – $2,759 $28,804,812 $35 2
5 3 First Man Uni. $8,565,000 -46.5% 3,640 – $2,353 $29,999,050 $59 2
6 9 The Hate U Give Fox $7,500,000 +331.8% 2,303 +2,055 $3,257 $10,641,873 $23 3
7 5 Smallfoot WB $6,615,000 -27.0% 3,032 -574 $2,182 $66,366,035 – 4
8 6 Night School (2018) Uni. $5,000,000 -35.5% 2,296 -484 $2,178 $66,906,825 $29 4
9 7 Bad Times At The El Royale Fox $3,300,000 -53.7% 2,808 – $1,175 $13,341,801 $32 2
10 15 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $2,050,000 +123.4% 802 +574 $2,556 $4,200,856 – 4
11 8 The House With A Clock In Its Walls Uni. $1,740,000 -54.7% 1,588 -1,203 $1,096 $64,928,590 $42 5
12 16 Free Solo NGE $1,009,168 +13.3% 251 +122 $4,021 $3,592,812 – 4
13 19 The Sisters Brothers Annapurna $742,014 +181.3% 1,141 +1,012 $650 $1,970,731 – 5
14 14 Colette BST $585,020 -41.5% 520 -73 $1,125 $3,693,223 – 5
15 20 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $439,056 +100.6% 48 +44 $9,147 $722,008 – 2
16 10 The Nun WB (NL) $415,000 -69.2% 623 -551 $666 $116,745,963 $22 7
17 11 A Simple Favor LGF $360,000 -72.9% 492 -960 $732 $52,901,690 – 6
18 N Mid90s A24 $249,500 – 4 – $62,375 $249,500 – 1
19 42 The Oath (2018) RAtt. $223,510 +668.7% 300 +290 $745 $261,406 – 2
20 N Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $150,000 – 5 – $30,000 $150,000 – 1
21 23 The Wife SPC $138,429 -33.0% 130 -71 $1,065 $7,482,171 – 10
22 N Wildlife IFC $105,614 – 4 – $26,404 $105,614 – 1
23 17 Hell Fest LGF $71,000 -88.9% 263 -605 $270 $10,751,601 $5.5 4
24 24 Peppermint STX $70,000 -62.6% 152 -149 $461 $35,313,552 $25 7
25 39 The Happy Prince SPC $58,862 +51.4% 25 +17 $2,354 $117,395 – 2
26 N What They Had BST $18,845 – 4 – $4,711 $18,845 – 1
27 N The Price of Everything Abr. $17,280 – 1 – $17,280 $17,280 – 1
28 41 Monsters and Men Neon $13,433 -56.6% 25 -40 $537 $481,439 – 4
29 N Wings of Desire (2018 re-release) Jan. $11,635 – 1 – $11,635 $11,635 – 1
30 46 Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. Abr. $9,763 -52.0% 6 -3 $1,627 $170,028 – 4
31 76 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $7,436 +124.9% 3 +2 $2,479 $24,672 – 3
32 N An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn TFA $4,800 – 16 – $300 $4,800 – 1
33 N On Her Shoulders Osci. $4,500 – 1 – $4,500 $4,500 – 1
34 N The Advocates CLS $4,000 – 1 – $4,000 $4,000 – 1
35 N Horn From the Heart Abr. $2,357 – 1 – $2,357 $4,166 – 1
36 72 Assassination Nation Neon $2,241 -38.5% 5 – $448 $1,959,103 – 5
37 66 God Bless the Broken Road Free $2,039 -63.9% 6 -13 $340 $2,837,823 – 7
38 83 Liyana Abr. $1,307 -39.5% 1 – $1,307 $7,977 – 2
39 40 Bigger Free $516 -98.4% 5 -56 $103 $45,559 – 2
I liked “Halloween,” but it’s still depressing to consider that it grossed more in its opening weekend than all of David Gordon Green’s previous movies (dating back to 2000’s “George Washington”) combined.
Guess that means he’ll soon be offered a Marvel, DC or “Star Wars” movie.
Science Fair is just wonderful, and so timely. One of the best docs I’ve seen in a long time. What a funny, endearing, and impressive group of kids. Love the pro-science message and the celebration of learning and dedicated educators. I laughed and cheered and cried. Great movie. A breath of fresh air.
Had my opinion here…also really disliked Halloween 2018…a totally unnecessary movie. I thought where they took the Laurie Strode character was over the top..and honestly, just pretty depressing. MAYBE SPOILERS….It seemed that one of the main questions of the original and this story is…why..why does Michael Meyers kill. It wasn’t answered in the first film and it certainly isn’t answered here. There are no interesting revelations..nothing that adds clarity to a pretty pointless slasher film. Another big spoiler…if Laurie’s MO was to bring Michael to her home, why did she bring her daughter and son in law to the house and put them in danger? Why not just check the into the Hyatt or Hilton…Michael never seems to get on an elevator…if she wants to get them out of safety why put them in the danger zone? David Gordon Green was an interesting choice…but ultimately, his indie film storytelling didn’t really help make this anything other than just another slasher film. No suspense. Nothing new. Just a money grab.
I was excited to see that apparently (I didn’t notice her and only became aware at the end credits) PJ Sole had a cameo as a teacher. Damn, she was my favorite indie actress…not only from her appearance in the original Halloween, but also Carrie, Stripes and Rock N Roll High School. She really brightened up every movie she was in.
MarkVH, in case you see this: thanks for the warning, i don’t think i flat-out hated it as much as you but i should have gone with my gut and given this thing a miss but noooooooo, i gave in to peer pressure like a spineless twerp and live to regret it
(to those of you who gave it props above: thanks a lot, you can send me $15 + $27 more for the popcorn and drink, fortunately i brought my own lollies, my go fund me is: #cantreclaimmytimebutmaybemymoney, ta appreciate it)
to gordon green, mcbride and somebody: your writing is really not good, dumbasses, stick to your little wheelhouse (tho mcbride has tried this genre shit before and he sucked then, too) — or if you must inflict your ‘vision’ on people, find yourself a terrific and talented gal – or three – and look at her the way carpenter looked at debra hill, LOOK LONG AND HARD, and maybe your little sausage club writing might get less ridiculous and messy and silly and fanboy-y and make sense and get a bit more fresh and original and rockin’
DGG: did you even bother to watch the original before making this? because you did like pretty much the opposite of everything that makes it so great, how is this even possible.
(i can honestly say that the audience in the cinema for my show was one of the quietest i’ve ever seen, and a lot of people get scared really easily even in the shittiest horror movies, bless them, so that’s really saying something and it’s not good; the only reaction i saw was the guy in front me jumped when the babysitting girl was doing her “excuse me sir, can you please leave” bit and then jumped out jump-scare, but when he sat down in front of me i noticed he had a not-large head/hair and carried a coffee so maybe too much caffeine)
aesthetic question: did the attorney general keep MM’s murder spree mask in a vat of acid in the evidence room during those 40yrs or something because damn, it looked nothing like the fairly pristine mask worn by The Shape, how’d it get all melted and silver-y. it’s as if the mask looks more like it did in the more recent sequels, which makes no fucking sense
also agree with glamourboy above. my god i could write about this all day — it could have been good, there are some interesting ideas there that don’t go anywhere and when they do it defies logic and reason; some things i like about it, JLC is great because she’s dope (and i have some major weakness for will patton) but damn i better pace myself.
Man, DGG has been doing his own thing for a long time. I doubt he will get offered anything from those franchises. Why? They all need to hire more women, or a man of color, before they hire another white dude.
a victimised young woman fights back against a preternaturally relentless killer and morphs into an obsessed mother who amasses an arsenal and trains her kid to fear and fight the unstoppable bad man who will come eventually, but then her kid is taken away by the state because she’s paranoid and loopy and dangerous, then isolated from the world while her kid grows to resent her for being an obsessive nutjob…however one day the bad man DOES come and the kid – older now – realizes mama was right all along and she’s a boss who kicks ass
(i think one of the dudes who wrote this new halloween was watching T2 and thought, hey let’s make laurie strode sarah connor and see if anyone notices)
Mea culpa.
After shutting down my laptop for the night I realized that I’d forgotten “Pineapple Express” in DGG’s oeuvre.
Should have said that “Halloween” grossed more in its opening weekend than all of his previous films–excepting “PE” which always felt like an outlier
anyway (maybe because it actually made money)–combined.
But not by much.
‘saul’ is my spirit animal
“It seemed that one of the main questions of the original and this story is…why..why does Michael Meyers kill.”
Ummm…no. That was never a question, main or otherwise. The original, and this one, make it clear: he’s just pure evil. That’s it. Delving into why he would kill is what strangles the character. Zombie tried to do that with his 2 films and they were terrible. Granted, Zombie kinda sucks so it’s not necessarily the fault of the subject matter. However, I think some characters need to be enigmatic to work. If anyone here has read all the Thomas Harris Lecter books, I think they’d agree the more we know about an iconic villain’s backstory, the less iconic they become.
Semi off-topic but to answer leahnz in another thread about Michael Myers breathing: apparently this man did it in post production
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0748839/
Tex Rudloff. Hell of a name.
Sorry you didn’t like the movie Leah. To each his own
Ummm, maybe that Sisters Brothers expansion was a tad premature. I don’t know how flexible the schedules are but after small increments to lesser returns, the jump to a wide release seems a bit rash. I’m glad people are getting a chance to see the film, but if I was a theater owner and you took up my real estate with a film that averaged $650 a screen for the weekend I would no longer return your calls.
You know what I’d like to see?
A horror flick where a group of super-smart Millennials team up to stalk and slaughter (in grisly, “Hostel”/”Saw”-like fashion) Jason, Freddie, Leatherface and Michael (Myers).
Somehow I don’t think LeBron James’ upcoming “Friday the 13th” reboot will satisfy my itch.
thanks Sideshow! aw he just recently passed away too, looks like he had a good innings. thanks for the nightmares, tex rudloff
no worries about the movie, took me a matter of hours to get over it (during which i ranted above, so it goes, and that was just a drop in the bucket haha). i didn’t write much at all about the aspects i did like so i should at some point.
the main thing is: a simple story, well told. there were just too many concepts and angles with no depth or focus – one of the serious enduring problems with more recent screenwriting/film, even laurie felt short-changed in her own movie. just a mess, all over the place.
the beauty of the OG is the build-up and focus on laurie strode so that when her and her friends are eventually in serious peril we feel it, the mounting tension and the suspense is earned because we care about this girl we’ve gotten to know and death in a mask is getting closer and closer…clean, effective storytelling. i don’t know how DGG, who’s a decent film-maker much of the time, got this gig but his hand at horror is clumsy, i think that’s being kind.
ETA “Somehow I don’t think LeBron James’ upcoming “Friday the 13th” reboot will satisfy my itch.”
lebron james the basketball player?…
Yep.
LeBron is segueing into the movie biz.
All power to him–he’s a major force for good off the court here in the U.S.–but I’m not really sure the world needs another “Friday the 13th” reboot.
how weird — i mean good for ‘king james’ he seems a sterling fellow but what an odd place to start. maybe he’s a massive F13th fan (assuming he might inject some diversity into proceedings)
He is indeed a huge Friday the 13th fan. I’m all for it. Need has nothing to do with it. I’m sure the world didn’t need a new A Star is Born either. But the legal situation is a bit complicated right now with Victor Miller’s lawsuit. I bet a new Elm Street is coming too.
i don’t know why but that’s hilarious, “i love that movie so i’m gonnna make my own one!”
(if i had fuck-you money and for some reason had to use it to reboot a classic horror flick i think i’d go with making jan fischer’s OG screenplay of ‘the lost boys’ as first intended — we were talking about that here not long ago and i think it’s a redo i could actually fathom)
Ever since I saw They Live, I always wanted a follow up. Then real life became the sequel. Sigh.
My problem w/ the classic slasher movies is that I always wanted to see Freddie, Jason, et al brought to their knees and have the same things (eviscerated, decapitated, disemboweled) done to them they did to the clueless teenagers.
I wish somebody would try that: it’d certainly be a new twist on a very old formula.
a new lady snowblood hell bent on the disarticulation of slasher killers?
the long-awaited follow-up to john carpenter’s THEY LIVE, ‘WE DIE’ (starring us, unfortunately not directed by JC :”( <supposed to be a crying emoticon, sorry)
this made me think of skyping with my boy recently and i noticed his PC screensaver in the background is someone in a crowd of protesters holding up a sign that says, "this is the shittiest episode of Black Mirror ever" and i'm like, your screensaver is on-point, son.
Is that what that comic Hack/Slash is about? The heroine hunts and kills slasher killers? Or something like that? I know they tried to make a movie at one point. It sounds like a great premise for a horror flick.
Isn’t that a bit of what the show Dexter was?
Never watched it, but yeah I think Dexter hunted and murdered serial killers.
Dexter hunted and murdered criminals, sometimes they were serial killers. It was basically a procedural in which the protagonist happened to murder the perp at the end of every episode.
Friday The 13th sucks. I don’t care how nostalgic everyone in my age group gets about these things. The first movie is fine for what it is but Jason sucks. Always has.
Friday The 13th sucks? For shame. Not remotely. But different strokes I guess.
Dexter also has the big baddies that last a season. Trinity/John Lithgow, etc.
That’s exactly what Hack/Slash is, Stella, and it’s a lot of fun. If you can find an entry point it’s worth a go.
Friday the 13th is to Halloween what Happy Days was to American Graffiti. But people still enjoyed Happy Days.
Let’s be clear, Friday the 13th and Halloween are to Robert Wise’s The Haunting as the Quarter Pounder with Cheese is to a ribeye steak. But people eat McDonalds everyday and never know that they are eating crap.
Glamour, you see an oceanwide gap in quality between Halloween and the Haunting? If you were to chart a line with Sleepaway Camp on one end and Haunting/Shining/Rosemary/insert your classic here on the other you wouldn’t put Halloween and the original Friday on opposite poles?
My classic, Hcat?
DePalma’s “Carrie.”
Never know they are eating crap. That’s awesome. Gee whiz I had no idea these movies I enjoy are so bad for me. Good thing someone is here to show me the way. Please tell me more so I don’t get fat.
Bad Night at the El Royale is easily one of the worst movies I’ve seen this year. A dull and overlong mess. The guy next to me fell asleep about thirty minutes in and I can’t say I blame him. Talented cast but none really does anything interesting. Characters are paper thin and boring. There are a few compelling moments in the beginning, but they go nowhere. I expected more from Drew Goddard. A better script at least. But wow it’s a crappy movie.
“Let’s be clear, Friday the 13th and Halloween are to Robert Wise’s The Haunting as the Quarter Pounder with Cheese is to a ribeye steak.”
NOPE!
‘halloween’ is a classic of genre cinema and a film-making pioneer.
since some people are very concerned with how ‘the critics’ rate flicks, let’s compare scores via metacritic
carpenter’s ‘halloween’: 80
wise’s ‘the haunting’: 74
oops
Shame that El Royale doesn’t live up to what that cast is capable of. I have been looking forward to his followup to Cabin which was delightfully gonzo.
Sounds like Bohemian Rhapsody is more Soundtrack to Highlander than Night at the Opera so that will probably be another kick in the teeth for Fox. Only one release topping 60 million so far this year, that’s painful to watch.
I think Bohemian looks every inch the generic biopic. Really too bad Sasha Baron-Cohen didn’t get to make his Freddie Mercury movie. He was on Stern and said it all fell apart because the surviving band members didn’t want him to go near the more controversial aspects of Mercury’s life. Not sure what would be “controversial” in 2018, though.
Anyway, who knows. Just one side of that story but I’d be willing to bet if nothing else, Baron-Cohen’s version is at least the more interesting of the two proposed films.
I’m looking forward to Bohemian, if anything for Rami Malek’s performance. Sasha would’ve been great, but I like Rami having a chance to shine too.
Leah,
Not sure if you have alerts set up or have a spidey sense that searches these out, but came across this today and thought of you. If you haven’t seen it…..
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/25/the-untold-story-of-lost-star-river-phoenix-25-years-after-his-death
Leah, really? Robert Wise’s The Haunting is considered a classic…from Wikipedia…”Director Martin Scorsese placed The Haunting first on his list of the 11 scariest horror films of all time. Richard Johnson says that Steven Spielberg considers The Haunting one of the “seminal films” of his youth, and Robert Wise says that Spielberg told him The Haunting was “the scariest film ever made!”
It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, vs…ah, how many major awards was Halloween up for the year it was released? Halloween was a teen slasher film and it still is. Even though it hides behind its ‘Me Too-ness’ it still carries the old sexist torch of the sexualized teenage girl being one of the first victims and the ‘smart’ girl who doesn’t have sex being one of the survivors. You are really trying to say that the trash that is Halloween is a better film than The Haunting?
You can easily find acclaimed filmmakers heaping similar praise on Halloween ’78. And come on how many classics didn’t receive award recognition? Not to mention, ah, the Golden Globes? Really? Jesus what a wacky claim and weak argument.
Gee, you say “teen slasher film” like it’s a bad thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oliCVn7Ic68&list=RDoliCVn7Ic68&start_radio=1
“it still carries the old sexist torch of the sexualized teenage girl being one of the first victims and the ‘smart’ girl who doesn’t have sex being one of the survivors. ”
I can certainly not argue that this is a trope in Slasher films but can we apply this to the original Halloween? Laurie’s virginity was not portrayed as virtuous but as a sign of her awkwardness, that she was uncool. Not in a mocking way but just matter of facterly that she saw herself as a wallflower. This heightened the tension because having the reserved shy person fight the unstoppable beast at the end increased the odds against her.
You are placing the sins of the imitators at the feet of the source material. I thought the teens of Halloween were like the fully formed teens of Movieman’s aforementioned Carrie than the cardboard knifebait of Friday, Nightmare or Prom Night. Not that you are more than entitled to your opinion and I would agree with you on the vast majority of the slasher genre but I think the original Halloween stands far above and apart from those.
As for the awards, Halloween was an independent at a time that was truly under the radar, it didn’t get noticed until past any eligibility months into release. Haunting was MGM at one of their higher points from the guy who had dropped West Side Freaking Story on the world just two years prior. There couldn’t be a larger difference in visibility.
hcat, you’re a gentleman and a scholar. i will now read that and cry
(solid defenses of ‘halloween’ against an insipid rebuttal so i don’t really have much to add except glamourboy admitted in the other thread that he didn’t think of much halloween when he saw it back in the day, claimed it was just like all the other slasher films that were “going around at the time” (revealing his ingnorance), and it would seem he hasn’t seen the movie since or in a donkey’s age because he actually then asked if anyone had watched it recently and how it held up — so i won’t waste any more of my breath trying to get him to admit that his anecdotal opinion of the film and his own shitty taste isn’t the prevailing sentiment of a film that is widely considered a masterpiece of modern horror in the film world, an influential work of cinema as a pioneer of the steady-cam (or panaglide to be pedantic) technique that then went on to change the face of modern film-making, and progenitor of a sub-genre after which few – if any – compare to the original. look at film publication’s lists of all-time best horror movies and carpenter’s OG classic will feature heavily. oh wait, but it’s not on scorsese’s list…well that settles it! and OMG no Golden Globe nom well CASE CLOSED! hahahahaha like the dumbest argument ever and the competition for that is fierce)
“You are really trying to say that the trash that is Halloween is a better film than The Haunting?”
well indeed i am, professor dillweed, and ‘the critics’ agree with me so how about them apples
ETA shit meant to say above, wise’s ‘the haunting’ is not a horror movie, more a psychological thriller/drama (personally i find it a bit overwrought and not scary), actual horror as a genre is looked down on and judged more harshly so the fact that carpenter’s movie is so well regarded is particularly relevant
missed the edit window looking for box office results (oh man i’m bad at it)
the haunting, made on a budget of about 1.4 mil from what i found made around 2.6m at the US box office (i couldn’t find WW figs including the UK but i’m a box office dipshit so this is unsurprising)
‘halloween’ with a prod budget of about $300,000 made $70 million WW (47m in the US)
so i guess it’s a no-brainer which flick movie-goers flocked to…
ETA few number typos above fixed, typing numbers on my tablet screen blows
As someone old enough to have actually seen “Halloween” (the ’78 John Carpenter, not the ’18 DGG) on opening day, I can attest to the film’s power AND uniqueness at the time. Romero’s “Living Dead,” Hooper’s “Chainsaw” and DePalma’s “Carrie” were/are undisputed masterpieces. But Carpenter created a brand new style of horror film 40 years ago, and it was freaking awesome. Not to mention scary as hell.
Yeah, I know that it’s been dumped into the “slasher movie” trash bin because of the onslaught of shit imitators–many with “Halloween” in the title–
but the original was indeed a thing of beauty. And a work of art. It’s the only time I’ve seen a movie twice on opening day (see previous thread with “Movieman’s ‘Halloween’ Bio,” lol).
‘halloween’ is indeed a work of art, the excellent lighting, palette, unique camerawork, score, and nardly a drop of blood (The Shape is a strangler, really, the knife is a novelty at the end of his campaign of terror)
“Yeah, I know that it’s been dumped into the “slasher movie” trash bin because of the onslaught of shit imitators”
this kind of reminds me of how people get pissy at ‘jaws’ for starting the blockbuster movie phenom that’s ‘ruined cinema’ in its populist wake
Agree, Leah.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the New Hollywood era survived for at least five years after “Jaws.”
I’ve always believed that America’s “New Wave” officially died when “Heaven’s Gate” was pulled from release after one week in November 1980. At that point, there was no denying that the party was truly, irrevocably over.
Speaking of which, “Hal” is absolutely wonderful. Anyone who has abiding affection for any Hal Ashby film (“Shampoo,” “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Coming Home,” “Being There,” whatever) should definitely check it out. It’s as much a valentine to Ashby as it is the entire New H’wood era.
GlamourBoy calling Halloween “trash” and then using a Golden Globe nod as proof of something’s quality makes it clear to never ever pay attention to GB posts again. Dolt.
I disagree with GB on this title, but seeing as how we have about fifteen people keeping this blog alive right now shouldn’t we be a little more forgiving to a regular who obviously loves movies as much as we do? I hate the Big Mac arguement even when it’s leveled against Michael Bay (honestly isn’t he more of of an eat a 3 pound bacon cheeseburger and iget a free T-shirt type of guy) , and against early Carpenter I am on board with the disbelief. But Glanour is a perennial and would rather know what he might think of Carpenters other work that I loved than disregard him for a film I disagree with him on.
Sorry if any of that is less than coherent, I’m a tense bit tipsy
Halloween ’78 is great and at least as good as The Haunting (I’ve certainly watched it more).
Man, serious bummer about Filmstruck shutting down. Would love to hope that as long as there’s a market for niche/classic/hard-to-find movies that somebody will find a way to try to make money by showing them, but I’m not optimistic. Those 1,500+ DVDs/Blu-rays of mine are looking mighty nice right about now.
I’ve looked into Filmstruck a couple times and honestly nothing about it made me salivate. I need someone to digitize an entire studios catalog and put it on the web on a subscription basis. They could hold new films until they are through with second pay cable window (about 5 years after release) keep their top fifty movies off it so they can still monetize them in the home video market, but there is no reason we can’t have the MGM or United Artist or RKO library online for 10 bucks a month. Hell, I would pay that for the unlimited Audie Murphy westerns that would come from the Universal catalog.
The older these films get the less of an audience there will be. As more and more of these studios are swallowed by non movie companies the less likely they will be interested in preserving their studios legacy films.
HC, those Universal films are a part of Xfinity. That’s where you can usually find them, behind the paywall, that’s named, “Comcast.” Yes, it sucks, but they seem to think it’s a plus. Boo.
Here’s the thing with Filmstruck: it sucked. Compared to when Criterion was on other platforms. The limited amount of Criterion titles on the site was just not good enough for the money. If Criterion learns anything from this. They should learn something simple: I want everything. I want everything, numbered, and listed that way. If not, then what’s the point of Criterion?
Also, IT’S FUCKING HALLOWEEN! Halloween, isn’t really a slasher movie. It’s a monster movie, because Michael Myers isn’t fucking normal. He’s otherworldly, and that’s why Halloween isn’t even a slasher movie. Sure. You can call Michael Myers a slasher, but he’s not. Freddie? Sure. Jason? Definitely? Chucky? For fuck’s sake… yes. Michael Myers is embodiment of evil, and that makes him a monster.
Friday box office estimates:
Rank* Title Friday
10/26
(Estimates) Saturday
1 HALLOWEEN (2018)
Universal
3,990 $10,015,000
+166.1% / $2,510
$104,671,400 / 8
N/A
N/A
N/A
2 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
3,904 $4,185,000
+108.6% / $1,072
$138,762,400 / 22
N/A
N/A
N/A
3 VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
3,567 $2,865,000
+145.3% / $803
$179,347,314 / 22
N/A
N/A
N/A
4 HUNTER KILLER
Lionsgate/Summit
2,728 $2,550,000
— / $935
$2,550,000 / 1
N/A
N/A
N/A
5 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Sony / Columbia
3,723 $1,800,000
+295.5% / $483
$32,648,809 / 15
N/A
N/A
N/A
6 THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
2,375 $1,440,000
+183.9% / $606
$14,640,005 / 22
N/A
N/A
N/A
7 FIRST MAN
Universal
2,959 $1,400,000
+92.2% / $473
$34,343,080 / 15
N/A
N/A
N/A
8 MID90S
A24
1,206 $1,307,000
+8337.2% / $1,084
$1,657,170 / 8
N/A
N/A
N/A
9 SMALLFOOT
Warner Bros.
2,662 $1,135,000
+217.3% / $426
$68,976,050 / 29
N/A
N/A
N/A
10 NIGHT SCHOOL (2018)
Universal
1,991 $923,000
+206.6% / $464
$69,120,025 / 29
N/A
N/A
N/A
11 INDIVISIBLE
Pure Flix
830 $605,000
— / $729
$605,000 / 1
N/A
N/A
N/A
12 THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
1,042 $548,000
+116.1% / $526
$5,962,097 / 29
N/A
N/A
N/A
– BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE
Fox
1,798 $410,000
+14.3% / $228
$15,603,736 / 15
N/A
N/A
N/A
– THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Universal
1,042 $251,000
+129.2% / $241
$65,724,015 / 36
N/A
N/A
N/A
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
25 $102,598
+488.8% / $4,104
$332,737 / 8
N/A
N/A
N/A
– THE SISTERS BROTHERS
Annapurna Pictures
774 $79,144
-25.9% / $102
$2,550,189 / 36
N/A
N/A
N/A
– HELL FEST
Lionsgate
907 $54,000
+512.3% / $60
$10,855,623 / 29
N/A
N/A
N/A
– A SIMPLE FAVOR
Lionsgate
222 $43,000
+8.4% / $194
$53,118,320 / 43
N/A
N/A
N/A
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
160 $36,000
+189.2% / $225
$607,796,484 / 134
N/A
N/A
N/A
– DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Buena Vista
148 $26,000
+375.7% / $176
$98,767,950 / 85
N/A
N/A
N/A
– ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
Buena Vista
68 $7,000
+79.7% / $103
$216,622,024 / 113
N/A
N/A
N/A
–
–
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
<< PREVIOUS
A movie about Neil Armstrong is going to gross less money in America than a movie about Winston Churchill did in the same year.
That’s utterly insane.
It’s all about how you relate to the leads, the average American doesn’t have the same kinship to the trim team member relying on science to work toward the future, but a fat jowely guy who might soon have Nazis move into the neighborhood.,.,..
First Man should have been released in August, or earlier in the year. It’s just release date shenanigans, and… IT’S ANOTHER MOVIE THAT DIDN’T SPECIFICALLY SELL WHAT IT’S ABOUT! The trailers were fucking obtuse to a fault, and those trailers simply do not work in 2018.
On paper, First Man is perfect for an October opening. For the past few years, a high profile ‘adult’ sci-fi / epic has opened in October or early November (Blade Runner 2049, The Martian, Interstellar). It’s also one of the last viable slots for a big studio drama (Argo, Bridge of Spies, Captain Phillips were all released in early October). So in theory, First Man in October makes sense. It’s just getting crowded out. Too bad – it’s a wonderful movie that will be more appreciated when time has done its thing. This generation’s The Right Stuff.
Check out the PSA for “Suspiria”! Yowza!!!!!
Weekend Box Office
October 26-28, 2018
Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Halloween (2018) Uni. $32,045,000 -58.0% 3,990 +62 $8,031 $126,698,400 $10 2
2 2 A Star is Born (2018) WB $14,145,000 -25.8% 3,904 +20 $3,623 $148,722,400 $36 4
3 3 Venom (2018) Sony $10,800,000 -40.1% 3,567 -320 $3,028 $187,282,314 $100 4
4 4 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Sony $7,500,000 -22.8% 3,723 +202 $2,015 $38,348,809 $35 3
5 N Hunter Killer LG/S $6,650,000 – 2,728 – $2,438 $6,650,000 – 1
6 6 The Hate U Give Fox $5,100,000 -32.9% 2,375 +72 $2,147 $18,300,005 $23 4
7 5 First Man Uni. $4,935,000 -40.7% 2,959 -681 $1,668 $37,880,080 $59 3
8 7 Smallfoot WB $4,750,000 -27.8% 2,662 -370 $1,784 $72,591,050 – 5
9 8 Night School (2018) Uni. $3,255,000 -33.5% 1,991 -305 $1,635 $71,451,025 $29 5
10 20 Mid90s A24 $3,000,000 +1,062.1% 1,206 +1,202 $2,488 $3,350,170 – 2
11 10 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $1,800,000 -15.7% 1,042 +240 $1,727 $7,214,097 – 5
12 N Johnny English Strikes Again Uni. $1,626,000 – 544 – $2,989 $1,626,000 – 1
13 N Indivisible PFR $1,575,000 – 830 – $1,898 $1,575,000 – 1
14 9 Bad Times At The El Royale Fox $1,400,000 -59.1% 1,798 -1,010 $779 $16,593,736 $32 3
15 12 Free Solo NGE $1,061,659 +3.9% 394 +143 $2,695 $5,177,991 – 5
16 11 The House With A Clock In Its Walls Uni. $1,045,000 -42.4% 1,042 -546 $1,003 $66,519,015 $42 6
17 18 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $592,897 +46.4% 192 +146 $3,088 $1,435,094 – 3
18 23 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $380,000 +135.3% 25 +20 $15,200 $610,139 – 2
19 15 Colette BST $327,636 -47.1% 235 -285 $1,394 $4,424,118 – 6
20 13 The Sisters Brothers Annapurna $271,051 -64.2% 774 -367 $350 $2,742,097 – 6
21 N Suspiria Amazon $179,806 – 2 – $89,903 $179,806 – 1
22 30 Hell Fest LGF $175,000 +123.2% 907 +644 $193 $10,976,623 $5.5 5
23 19 A Simple Favor LGF $135,000 -62.5% 222 -270 $608 $53,210,320 – 7
24 36 The Happy Prince SPC $80,604 +36.2% 71 +46 $1,135 $224,329 – 3
25 27 The Wife SPC $78,476 -39.8% 82 -48 $957 $7,608,251 – 11
26 N Border Neon $71,565 – 7 – $10,224 $71,565 – 1
27 46 What They Had BST $57,764 +226.7% 25 +21 $2,311 $82,816 – 2
28 31 Peppermint STX $40,000 -48.2% 88 -64 $455 $35,395,139 $25 8
29 N Burning WGUSA $28,650 – 2 – $14,325 $28,650 – 1
30 47 The Price of Everything HBO $19,874 +18.2% 8 +7 $2,484 $46,586 – 2
31 49 Monsters and Men Neon $8,751 -37.5% 10 -15 $875 $500,101 – 5
32 56 Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. Abr. $7,468 -28.9% 5 -1 $1,494 $191,541 – 5
33 N Monrovia, Indiana Zipp. $6,100 – 1 – $6,100 $6,100 – 1
34 N Weed the People Abr. $4,279 – 1 – $4,279 $4,279 – 1
35 – Bisbee ’17 4th Row $3,812 – 4 – $953 $108,832 – 8
36 58 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $3,020 -63.8% 5 +2 $604 $34,497 – 4
37 68 The Advocates CLS $1,458 -66.5% 1 – $1,458 $10,012 – 2
Very encouraged by those BORDER results, if I’m reading them correctly. “Suspiria” is divided into six chapters and an epilogue, and I got the sense Guadagnino conceived part 6 first, then filled in all the rest. I wish I could say part 6 made parts 1 through 5 worth sitting through.
Surprised that “The Hate U Give” isn’t making more of a splash. And VENOM still being in the top 3 is absolutely mind-blowing. Is its success due to a hunger from fans for a Venom film that’s not complete, utter dogshit, or is there really something about the film itself that’s connecting with audiences? This doesn’t bode well for people who don’t want anymore mediocre, studio-sliced-and-diced B-level superhero films. Ever since Moviepass died I just can’t be arsed to bring myself to these fall faux-tentpoles.
I know it’s a minority opinion (sorry: no offense intended), but “Hate” felt very “After School Special” to me.
Nicely acted, of course, but directed with a trowel, and fairly simplistic overall. (Not to mention wildly overlong at 132 minutes.)
I kept saying that “ASIB” would be the tortoise to “Venom”‘s hare, and it’s fulfilling my prophecy.
Weirdly, WB still hasn’t decided to get behind “The Mule” re: “awards consideration.”
The only titles listed on their 2018 awards website are “ASIB” (duh), “CRA” and…”Ready Player One.” Good luck w/ the latter, WB. You’d be better off throwing PR awards dollars at “Ocean’s 8.” Or “Tag.”
So Venom is “utter dogshit”, but you haven’t even seen it?
I’ve seen it 4 times and thought it was a blast. Tom Hardy playing against Tom Hardy is double the fun.
London Fields didn’t even crack the chart? Ouch!
I remember reading London Fields when it came out and was mind-blowing to my late teen mind. It was a pretty big deal and there were comparisons to David Lynch. I was looking forward to a movie adaptation. Was. It sounds absolutely horrid.
Good Halloween weekend viewing. The Haunting of Hill House is easily the best thing Mike Flanagan has ever done. It’s fantastic. Great acting. Characters you care about dealing with loss, grief, betrayal and relatable family dynamics. Effective shifts in time periods. Creepy and unsettling with many solid scares. Just a wonderful show all-around. Also watched a couple movies on Shudder. Terrified doesn’t make a lot of sense but it has some truly freaky moments. Gave me the chills a few times. I liked it a lot. Summer of ’84 is so-so. Too predictable and covers awfully familiar territory. Basks in nostalgia a little too much. Still, youngsters are pretty likeable and it has its moments. Checking out What Keeps You Alive on Wednesday night. Looking forward to it.
Movieman, are you seriously saying that Oceans 8 and Tag are better than Ready Player One? RP1 is great. The most purely exuberant Spielberg entry since Minority Report and maybe in a quarter century. And in terms of Oscar prospects, it should be at least in play for FX, production design, music score and sound.
Pete, if you reread what PC said it was that Venom wasn’t complete dogshit, which is likely damning with faint praise and a slam on Spidey 3.
Sideshow: I thought you’d be interested in this Variety article:
Not even a star-studded cast could save “London Fields” from pushing daisies at the box office.
The long-delayed mystery drama — starring Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, Johnny Depp, and Cara Delevingne — brought in a dismal $116,470 when it opened in 613 North American theaters. That means each venue sold just $190 worth of tickets. In other words, it was the second worst debut in recent history for a wide release (classified as any movie playing on over 600 screens) behind just “Proud American,” which launched with $96,076 in 2008, according to Box Office Mojo.
“London Fields” certainly had a tumultuous journey to the big screen, one that was plagued with a number of legal issues. Mathew Cullen directed the film, which was based on the 1989 dystopian novel of the same name by Martin Amis. It follows a terminally ill author suffering from writer’s block. The movie was originally set to premiere at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival, but it was pulled from screening after Cullen sued producers Chris Hanley and Jordan Gertner. Two months later, the producers countersued Cullin, accusing him of breaching his contract and going over his $8 million budget. The producers also sued Heard for $10 million for breach of contract, accusing her of sabotaging the project. She countersued, alleging that the producers of violated her nudity agreement. Heard’s settlement was reached in September, and GVN Releasing came on board to distribute the film. Cullin’s suit has yet to be resolved.
To cap off off a record-low box office showing, “London Fields” was savaged by critics, and it now holds an abysmal 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Curiously, the few moviegoers who managed to see the film propelled its audience score to 77%. The New York Times called it “quite simply, horrendous — a trashy, tortured misfire from beginning to end,” while Variety’s Andrew Barker said the novel “proves even more unadaptable than expected.”
Dr. Wally: Sorry, but I kind of hated “Ready Player One.” It’s actually my least favorite Spielberg after “The Lost World.” Maybe it’ll score a few tech nods.
I wasn’t a big “Tag” fan (great cast; decent premise; ho-hum execution), but I definitely enjoyed “Ocean’s 8” more than “RP1” which (for me) was literally hell to sit through.
I’m with you movieman. My kid loved Ready Player One, but I didn’t care for it. I was pretty bored for most of it. One of my least favorite Spielberg movies.
Thanks, SB.
Maybe it’s because I’m not (and have never been) a gamer, but “RP1” just left me completely cold. Felt totally alienated from what was happening onscreen.
(And enough w/ the ’80s nostalgia already!)
Yeah. RP1 is in the top five of best Spielberg movies. It’s awesome in ways, that it has no right to be awesome. The same goes for Bridge of Spies. Later Beard is hit or miss, but those two films I can watch repeatedly.
And Man, you know if it were 70s nostalgia. You’d be popping hard.
Maybe it’s a gamer thing. My kid loves video games so I wasn’t surprised he loved the movie. Still need to see Bridge of Spies. Many people have told me it’s really good.
Bridge of Spies is just the kind of movie I love. It’s also doesn’t have that spy movie pace, that drags so many good spy movies down. Yes. I am looking at you, “The Good Shepard.”
—- SPOILERS ———
i liked ‘the haunting of hill house’ as well, but i found the last ep weirdly maudlin in tying up the series after some unsettling and creepy haunted house/dysfunctional family moments (and i am genuinely freaked out by damp house black mould – it features in my nightmares on the regular – so it’s as if that aspect was tailored specifically for me); it didn’t ruin the entire thing for me but the conclusion let me down
also, beware the reichstag fire (repetition, projection, blatant lies & gaslighting, scapegoating, stochastic dog-whistling, distraction, YOUINDANGERGIRL)
Major “Bridge of Spies” fan!
And have always thought “The Good Shepherd” was ridiculously underrated.
Crazy that Universal didn’t even attempt an Oscar play back in 2006.
Recent Spielberg has been spotty for me: “Spies” was the last film of his I truly loved. Actively disliked “B.F.G.” and “RP1;” even “The Post” underwhelmed me.
Can’t say that the prospect of Spielberg and (Tony) Kushner’s “West Side Story” reboot or another “Indiana Jones” sequel fills me w/ anticipatory glee.
“another “Indiana Jones” sequel”
ugh, is there any way this could work
I was RP1’s target audience. I had read the book, been actively involved in geek culture and video games, and grew up on Spielberg. Didn’t like it much either. It captures the book in a way that ignores what made the story interesting and only retains the surface level pop culture fun. And more than that, it highlighted some of the book’s shortcomings rather than trying to fix them. So not my favorite.
But still I can see how Spielberg’s name pushes this movie up in the Academy’s collective mind.
I actually forgot that Spielberg directed RP1, for some reason I thought he just produced it. Looking back I just realized that I haven’t seen a new Spielberg film in the last ten years! Bridge Lincoln and Post are high on my list but everytime I am about to pull the trigger and watch them something else grabs my attention. Same with Eastwoods Jersey Boys and Scorsese’s Silence, different reasons in deferring both but I feel like a bad movie fan for ignoring the old gents.
Based on the love people have for Good Shepard I have thought about revisiting it, but honestly I found it dull as paste and stitched together. I loved what they were going for and thought the “we have the united states of America” exchange was really powerful but I didn’t think the movie overall was the sum of its parts. But again its name comes up every now again in these parts, I might have to give it another sit.
Alright JS, going to need the rest of the rankings, I’ll go first
Jaws
Raiders
Schindlers
Color Purple
Minority Report
Jurassic Park
Munich
Temple of Doom
Catch Me if you Can
E.T.
Close Encounters
War of the Worlds
Last Crusade
Sugarland
A.I.
Lost World
Empire of the Sun
Always
Terminal
Amistad
1941 (2 hour cut, the 2.5 would rank lower)
Private Ryan
Hook
So here’s a question, if you were ranking by filmmaker who do you think would shift around the most for you? I swear my top five Coen brothers switches around every year while the Eastwoods and Soderberghs stay pretty static.
“I swear my top five Coen brothers switches around every year”
why? i mean, is it because you watch your fave coens more, or…
Interesting (semi) revisionist take on Spielberg’s oeuvre, Hcat.
But do you really think “Private Ryan” is his second weakest film?!?
I had some issues at the time w/ the prologue and epilogue–neither of which the movie really needs–but I thought it was SS’s best overall work since “E.T.” when it opened in 1998.
My personal faves (in order of preference):
“E.T.;” “Close Encounters;” “Catch Me;” “Jaws;” “Raiders;” “Minority Report;” “A.I.;” “Bridge.”
(I remember loving cinema maudit “1941” in 1979, but have never seen the longer cut. It’s one of those movies I hesitate revisiting for fear that my youthful auteurist ardor will be diminished.)
Leah, its like favorite songs, it almost depends on your mood at the time. Mostly its whatever I have watched most recently after watching Fargo I will think that’s the best but will always feel the same with Lewbowski and Millers Crossing as well. Oh Brother always slips in the rankings until I revisit it and remember what a joy it is (though like most movies is suffers from not enough Holly Hunter). Its like a buffet where I keep switching what I like the most based on the last bite I take, Their oeuvre is an embarrassment of riches.
Movieman, 1941 first-grew up on the recording we had from HBO and 1941 is directly aimed at a fifth grade boys comic sensibilities, its all screaming, punching and destruction. Revisited it when it hit DVD and it was the directors cut with an extra half hour, and I don’t know if it was the change of pace and rhythm from the movie I had seen fifty times, if I had grown out of the lower brow humor and revolting sexual dynamics of the film, but who looks at the 2 hour cut of 1941 and says “you know that this needs? More bloat.”
As for Saving Private Ryan, I have seen it three times to give it a chance and I fucking hate it. Compared to Fuller and Oliver Stone it is a Boys Life Magazine look at war. Cliched characters like the sniper who kisses his medallion before taking a shot. The ugly moral business about them letting the prisoner go to keep their humanity only to have him shoot Hanks later, and having the weak guy become a man by executing him as a prisoner (bet that got a cheer in the theater). Spielberg can’t resist putting his flourishes in even though he is making a serious movie. Hanks shooting his pistol futilely at the approaching tank only to have it explode and then the Calvary comes in. Now some of it might be it was lauded over The Thin Red Line which I absolutely loved but I remember thinking ‘oh fuck you’ multiple times during the film, and the epilogue, yeesh. It played to the cheap seats as shamelessly as Greatest Showman did last year.
Hcat: Agree that “The Thin Red Line” is a better film than “Private Ryan.”
Interesting to read someone’s alternative take on the film, though.
I hadn’t even realized there was an “extended cut” of “1941” out there. Your comments certainly didn’t make me want to seek it out. Some (formerly favorite) movies are best left in the recesses of one’s memory bank.
(You should hear me rant about “The Color Purple” and “Schindler’s List” sometime, lol!)
“Raising Arizona” has always been a favorite of mine. Sad that it rarely comes up in discussions of best and/or most beloved Coen Bros. movies. Of course, the only Coens I think that are truly minor–although I enjoyed both at the time of their initial release: just haven’t had any interest in revisiting them–are “The Ladykillers” and “Intolerable Cruelty.”
Besides “RA,” my top picks are probably “Fargo” (duh), “No Country” (double duh), “Llewyn Davis” and “A Serious Man.”
That makes sense to me Hcat. The Coens have made so many rich and amazing films, I can imagine my top 5 list changing depending upon what I’ve seen most recently. I really need to revisit Blood Simple and Barton Fink. Those are the two I haven’t seen in forever. Can’t wait to see Buster Scruggs.
“another “Indiana Jones” sequel”
ugh, is there any way this could work”
Yes. Follow the Blade Runner 2049 model and make Indy HIMSELF the Macguffin. Maybe Indy, like Deckard, disappeared years ago in order to protect a valuable secret (think about the stuff he knows, like the location of the Ark or the Grail, and what kind of people in The Cold War would want that knowledge). Cast Bryce as Sophia Hapgood. And then off we go.
Having seen it again Blu Ray, I’m banging the drum for Solo even more emphatically now, so the news that Jon Kasdan rather than Koepp is now doing the Indy 5 script makes me optimistic.
The only praise I have for Crystal Skull is that they resisted including the line “We named the dog Mutt.” And the punching sounds, god I missed the punching sounds say what you will about Lucas but I can’t think of anyone who can use audio cues as good as he can. The hum of a lightsaber, the crack of Indy’s whip all immediately inspire memory lane.
Movieman, glad you didn’t include Hudsucker in the dog column, I have a strong affinity for that movie even though it lands in the bottom middle. And released the same year as Nobody’s Fool made 1994 a hell of a victory lap for Newman’s legacy.
As for Purple and Schindler, I have to say it has been decades since I have seen them, I probably have them so high because of reputation.
I love(d) “Hudsucker,” Hcat. Admittedly I haven’t seen it since 1994–and it hasn’t lingered in Coen Bros.-memory like, say, the closing shot in “Raising Arizona” that always brings a tear to my eyes–but “Y’know; for kids!” is one of my all-time favorite Coen lines. (I’ve even been known to quote it on occasion, lol.)
Ironic you should mention the great “Nobody’s Fool,” esp since the same-named Tyler Perry movie opens this week. I swear, every time I see a trailer for Perry’s “NF” I flash back (Newman, Tandy, Willis, Griffith, PS Hoffman!) to the 1994 Robt. Benton movie that I adore.
Nobody’s Fool ’94 is wonderful. Love that movie.
Like that wonderful week and a half in the summer of 88 that gave us Midnight Run Die Hard and Fish called Wanda, Christmas weekend of 94 gave me and my wife’s two warm Afghan and hot tea favorites iin Nobody’s Fool and Little Women. They are both revisited at least twice every winter.
And to mark it as even more bittersweet, Nobodys Fool pretty much marked the end of the Gulf and Western era at Paramount which was such an incredible run.
“Leah, its like favorite songs, it almost depends on your mood at the time. Mostly its whatever I have watched most recently”
oh i feel ya, though i’m kind of like this for all the films/film-makers that i watch on rotation so i was wondering if it was something specific to the coens
“Raising Arizona” has always been a favorite of mine. Sad that it rarely comes up in discussions of best and/or most beloved Coen Bros. movies.”
que?! movieman you must be discussing with an unsavoury crowd of louts (hopefully not here haha)
“Yes. Follow the Blade Runner 2049 model and make Indy HIMSELF the Macguffin. Maybe Indy, like Deckard, disappeared years ago in order to protect a valuable secret (think about the stuff he knows, like the location of the Ark or the Grail, and what kind of people in The Cold War would want that knowledge). Cast Bryce as Sophia Hapgood. And then off we go.”
this sounds ok i guess except it’s just been done with ford so it would seem a repetitive ‘solution’ — but then again everything kind of sounds repetitive at this point, it would nice to get some fresh takes
(my god i watch watch almost everything under an afghan with a hot tottie now, it’s very sad)
out-of-the-blue random movie observation:
i don’t know how many times i’ve watched demme’s delightful ‘married to the mob” (a LOT of times) but for some reason it never registered before now while watching it that “goodbye horses” plays in the background in the foot rub scene, a few years prior to being used again by demme to such dramatic effect in ‘silence of the lambs’.
this fascinates me, this double up by demme; the one-hit-wonder q lazzarus song — “all things pass into the night ” — must have intrigued him so.
Glad you mentioned that sweet stretch of films from summer ’88, Hcat.
I’m constantly arguing w/ people who love insisting that the post-New Hollywood ’80s was a wasteland for studio films. (I personally think the ’90s was pretty meh.)
Yeah, there were too many rotten (and increasingly generic) slasher movies and teensploitation comedies, but the decade produced a lot of all-time keepers.
Films like “Lost in America,” “The Right Stuff,” “Reds,” “Bull Durham,” “Married to the Mob,” “The Big Chill,” et al were sort of like an early H’wood #Resistance movement.
I can’t think of any decade that I would consider a wasteland. There is euphoria and disgust through any era. I actually prefer the 60s to the 70s in film, and I have a soft spot for the Garner/Doris Day type comedies, but if you were to argue that those were a low point in American cinema, I wouldn’t have a counter.
The 80s felt a little more assembly line, and vastly more upbeat compared to the 70s, but it seems odd to toss out an entire decade worth of achievement. Was it worse than the current era?
The ’90s was a great decade in America, but it was also the decade Hollywood officially passed the baton to Indie Land. We’ve been there ever since.
Lots of fantastic non-studio films in the ’90s (and today for that matter).
But many of the movies green-lit by major studios in the 1980’s would’ve never gotten the OK from corporate brass in the ’90s and beyond.
See above, and add (among many others) “Something Wild,” “Rumblefish,” “One From the Heart,” “Wall Street,” “Born on the 4th of July; etc. Heck, even “Terms of Endearment,” “Garp,” “The Accidental Tourist” and “Tootsie” would have probably been relegated to a Searchlight or Focus in today’s movie world.
P.S.= I’ve got a soft spot for Day’s better ’60s rom-coms, too, but the decade didn’t really catch fire until 1967 (for obvious reasons).
I don’t know I have to disagree re: the ’90s. There’s a whole lot of good studio fare in that decade. I think you’re right about the rise of the indies and the quality of a lot of non-studio films, but the major studios released a lot of good stuff in the ’90s. Just go to BOM and check out the top 50 or so movies each year in the ’90s and there are many great flicks. Some of it might be an age thing. I was a teenager in the ’90s and have many fond theatrical memories from that time.
And I was a teenager in the ’70s, SB, which might be why I fetishize that decade as fervently as I (still) do, lol.
Yeah, there was some fantastic movies that somehow made it through the studio pipeline in the ’90s (“Unforgiven,” “Heat,” “Babe,” “Gattaca,” “Dogfight,” “J.F.K.,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Titanic”!, etc.), but when I think of ’90s cinema it’s indies like “Pulp Fiction,” “Chasing Amy,” “Household Saints,” “Breaking the Waves,” “Sling Blade,” “The English Patient,” “The Piano” and “The Crying Game” that define the decade for me.
‘didn’t catch fire until 67’
actually that’s what I love about the decade, the best of both worlds regarding old and new Hollywood. Start the decade with Spartacus, Liberty Valance, on through Sound of Music and end up with Point Blank and Wild Bunch with more than a half dozen Bonds scattered within.
I used to joke there were only a handful of great studio films (“Liberty Valance,” “Manchurian Candidate,” “Kiss Me, Stupid,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Seconds”…) released between 1960-1967, but I’ve come around a bit on that.
For starters, I’ve learned to stop worrying and now love “The Sound of Music,” lol. Really kind of remarkable how a movie that seemed stodgy and old-fashioned in its time–certainly in comparison w/ that year’s big critical darling, “Darling”–now seems classical. On the other hand, certain movies that felt so “cutting edge” and even outre (e.g., uh, “Darling”) look very, very dated.
Bottom line: I fell in love with The Movies in the early ’60s, so naturally I have a lot of affection for the period. But the seemingly overnight maturation of Hollywood films that occurred in 1967 (“Two for the Road,” “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Graduate,” “In Cold Blood,” et al) was truly mind-boggling to my nine-year-old self. Which is why I always point to ’67 as the year when the decade truly started.
Hard to argue the decade was not bottom heavy with classics but at least with comedies I would say early decade Apartment, Strangelove, and Americanization of Emily edge out Graduate with Shot in the Dark right on its heels.
And I’m glad you found room in your heart for Sound of Music. It’s one of those movies where familiarity breeds contempt in some, but I would put it on the shortlist with anything. I have also had to defend Miracle on 34th Street as well. People pretty much see watching that as ritual, but it is perfect example of the era.
Reminder:
November means 50% of Criterion Blu Ray and DVD at Barnes and Noble. I’m at least getting Blue Velvet. Maybe Night Of The Living Dead
Does Melancholia have a Criterion edition? I’m gonna have to what else is out there. Maybe another Cronenberg, too.
Friday box office.
Have to admit I never saw “Bohemian Rhapsody” catching fire like it did.
Truly mind-boggling.
Rank* Title Friday
11/2
(Estimates)
1 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Fox
4,000 $18,400,000
— / $4,600
$18,400,000 / 1
2 THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Buena Vista
3,766 $5,619,000
— / $1,492
$5,619,000 / 1
3 NOBODY’S FOOL
Paramount
2,468 $4,800,000
— / $1,945
$4,800,000 / 1
4 HALLOWEEN (2018)
Universal
3,775 $3,331,000
+120.9% / $882
$142,724,705 / 15
5 A STAR IS BORN (2018)
Warner Bros.
3,431 $3,150,000
+121% / $918
$157,684,566 / 29
6 VENOM (2018)
Sony / Columbia
3,067 $1,975,000
+153.3% / $644
$192,788,348 / 29
7 HUNTER KILLER
Lionsgate/Summit
2,720 $1,030,000
+95.4% / $379
$10,470,116 / 8
8 THE HATE U GIVE
Fox
1,507 $910,000
+162.7% / $604
$20,970,924 / 29
9 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Sony / Columbia
2,828 $825,000
+162.8% / $292
$40,957,316 / 22
10 SMALLFOOT
Warner Bros.
2,002 $720,000
+170.2% / $360
$74,399,301 / 36
11 FIRST MAN
Universal
1,712 $628,000
+73.6% / $367
$40,417,870 / 22
12 NIGHT SCHOOL (2018)
Universal
1,271 $524,000
+196.1% / $412
$72,919,215 / 36
– SUSPIRIA
Amazon Studios
311 $422,000
+3602.1% / $1,357
$672,857 / 8
– MID90S
A24
1,091 $407,000
+64.5% / $373
$4,867,967 / 15
– BEAUTIFUL BOY (2018)
Amazon Studios
540 $385,000
+405.4% / $713
$2,188,242 / 22
– THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
Fox Searchlight
765 $300,000
+50.6% / $392
$8,470,687 / 36
– CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Fox Searchlight
180 $300,000
+955.9% / $1,667
$1,020,140 / 15
– JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN
Universal
552 $262,000
+129.5% / $475
$2,478,765 / 8
– INDIVISIBLE
Pure Flix
742 $247,000
+95.6% / $333
$2,376,873 / 8
– INCREDIBLES 2
Buena Vista
150 $40,000
+253.2% / $267
$607,980,568 / 141
– DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
Buena Vista
165 $38,000
+335% / $230
$98,909,049 / 92
The Nutcracker… well… that was a waste of money. GOOD GOING, DISNEY* (What it make 300 million in China, and Alan Horn just nod his decrepit head in victory).
Saw that Nutcracker opening coming a mile away.
I think we all did. Well, everyone but Disney.
Nutcracker is indicative of one thing, and it’s a big thing. What’s the thing? DISNEY SUCKS WITH NEW IP! Redoing one of their animated films? MAGIC! Star Wars? Someone else. MARVEL? Kevin and Co. PIXAR? Those folks. Left to their own devices? Disney, will shit the fucking bed, and that’s on Alan Horn.
For what it’s worth–and sorry that it looks like shit:
November 2-4, 2018
Weekend
Standard Chart Screens & Showings Studio
<<Last Weekend <Last Year View Index: By Year | By Weekend
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Bohemian Rhapsody Fox $50,000,000 – 4,000 – $12,500 $50,000,000 $52 1
2 N The Nutcracker and the Four Realms BV $20,000,000 – 3,766 – $5,311 $20,000,000 – 1
3 N Nobody's Fool Par. $14,000,000 – 2,468 – $5,673 $14,000,000 $19 1
4 2 A Star is Born (2018) WB $11,100,000 -20.9% 3,431 -473 $3,235 $165,634,566 $36 5
5 1 Halloween (2018) Uni. $11,015,000 -64.9% 3,775 -215 $2,918 $150,408,705 $10 3
6 3 Venom (2018) Sony $7,850,000 -26.3% 3,067 -500 $2,560 $198,663,348 $100 5
7 8 Smallfoot WB $3,805,000 -20.1% 2,002 -660 $1,901 $77,484,301 – 6
8 4 Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween Sony $3,700,000 -49.2% 2,828 -895 $1,308 $43,832,316 $35 4
9 5 Hunter Killer LG/S $3,525,000 -47.0% 2,720 -8 $1,296 $12,965,116 – 2
10 6 The Hate U Give Fox $3,400,000 -33.4% 1,507 -868 $2,256 $23,460,924 $23 5
11 7 First Man Uni. $2,265,000 -53.4% 1,712 -1,247 $1,323 $42,055,870 $59 4
12 9 Night School (2018) Uni. $2,015,000 -37.7% 1,271 -720 $1,585 $74,412,215 $29 6
13 17 Beautiful Boy (2018) Amazon $1,414,800 +116.5% 540 +348 $2,620 $3,218,042 – 4
14 10 Mid90s A24 $1,360,000 -54.4% 1,091 -115 $1,247 $5,820,967 – 3
15 19 Can You Ever Forgive Me? FoxS $1,080,000 +203.1% 180 +155 $6,000 $1,800,140 – 3
16 12 Johnny English Strikes Again Uni. $1,045,000 -36.2% 552 +8 $1,893 $3,263,765 $25 2
17 15 Free Solo NGE $1,034,878 -8.7% 363 -29 $2,851 $6,866,591 – 6
18 11 The Old Man & the Gun FoxS $1,000,000 -43.3% 765 -277 $1,307 $9,170,687 – 6
19 23 Suspiria Amazon $964,722 +424.2% 311 +309 $3,102 $1,215,579 – 2
20 13 Indivisible PFR $752,000 -50.0% 742 -88 $1,013 $2,881,873 – 2
21 16 The House With A Clock In Its Walls Uni. $520,000 -50.5% 510 -532 $1,020 $67,342,150 $42 7
22 N Boy Erased Focus $220,000 – 5 – $44,000 $220,000 – 1
23 28 Incredibles 2 BV $173,000 +24.9% 150 -10 $1,153 $608,113,568 – 21
24 21 Colette BST $167,612 -49.5% 130 -105 $1,289 $4,794,208 – 7
25 N Maria by Callas SPC $152,633 – 16 – $9,540 $152,633 – 1
26 18 Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer GVN $141,031 -63.9% 267 -200 $528 $3,542,939 – 4
27 31 Disney's Christopher Robin BV $134,000 +43.8% 165 +17 $812 $99,005,049 – 14
28 29 Wildlife IFC $128,712 +19.7% 55 +37 $2,340 $420,391 – 3
29 34 The Happy Prince SPC $90,283 +12.5% 277 +206 $326 $360,777 – 4
30 N A Private War Aviron $72,000 – 4 – $18,000 $72,000 – 1
31 27 A Simple Favor LGF $68,000 -54.8% 102 -120 $667 $53,364,490 – 8
32 22 The Sisters Brothers Annapurna $67,427 -75.8% 146 -628 $462 $3,005,674 – 7
33 45 Burning WGUSA $57,550 +120.2% 6 +4 $9,592 $97,299 – 2
34 36 Border Neon $51,729 -29.8% 12 +5 $4,311 $160,490 – 2
35 N Bodied INDEP $50,528 – 14 – $3,609 $50,528 – 1
36 35 The Wife SPC $49,304 -37.4% 49 -33 $1,006 $7,700,507 – 12
37 37 What They Had BST $37,520 -38.0% 37 +12 $1,014 $159,178 – 3
38 N In Search of Greatness Art of Sport $35,000 – 16 – $2,188 $35,000 – 1
39 51 Viper Club RAtt. $26,270 +85.3% 70 +67 $375 $44,585 – 2
40 24 Hell Fest LGF $26,000 -85.1% 92 -815 $283 $11,100,156 $5.5 6
41 65 Monrovia, Indiana Zipp. $13,950 +169.7% 10 +9 $1,395 $21,330 – 2
42 74 The Great Buster: A Celebration Cohen $8,728 +189.0% 8 +3 $1,091 $46,720 – 5
43 – Science Fair NGE $7,814 – 8 – $977 $250,306 – 8
44 26 London Fields GVN $2,044 -98.8% 32 -581 $64 $249,696 – 2
45 33 Tea with the Dames IFC $1,092 -98.6% 56 -13 $20 $692,206 – 7
Interesting to see if Venom eventually outpaces Ant-Man and the Wasp. Would be quite a come from nowhere achievement.
Not surprised about that Bohemian opening. Just hearing the soundtrack in the theatre most likely sold a lot of tickets. The music just envelopes you, and for those of us who have never had the pleasure of a live Queen experience, this is probably as close we’ll ever get.
bulldog your fixation on venom is amusing, from whence does this well spring
never underestimate the trans-generational appeal of the anthem-masters ‘queen’ – i don’t know if i’ve ever heard my son so psyched for a movie because he’s so keen on their music – and FM is arguably the most gifted rock vocalist in history so good on ’em for making some dosh (i haven’t seen the movie yet so can’t comment on the content, just the package)
I think I need a few hours on the couch for that one leahnz, but I think it boils down to most prognosticators writing it off and basically imo try to dictate to audiences that it wasn’t worth their time. It ends up being a proverbial FU to all them. Catwoman comparisons were all the rage, and for some reason, its underdog status was something I began to root for.
Venom ended up as a very good business model for other superhero movies that are not playing with Marvel or DC dollars. A $100m budget, and a $600m WW result is nothing to sneeze at, and quality aside, still bodes well for the industry at large. Successes like these allow smaller movies that color outside the lines to be made, whether we want to admit it or not.
Plus Tom fucking Hardy. How could you not root for that mug?
I think I said this in an earlier thread, but the trailers for Bohemian were rocking. They had these killer Queen mashups and on top of that you had a fresh-faced Rami Malek looking really charismatic. I didn’t necessarily think it would be a good movie, but I knew that people would want to see it.
The only movie in wide release this weekend that holds any interest is “Overlord.”
The “Spider’s Web” reviews have been mostly meh, and no “Grinch” will ever beat the Chuck Jones original.
Going wide w/ “Beautiful Boy” seems like a waste of money at this stage of the game, but I guess Amazon has deep pockets.
I know it can be frustrating to talk about limited-release movies, but folks, if you’re anywhere near where “Burning” is playing, I recommend seeing in on a big screen. I watched it on a tablet, via a screener link, and while the film is a knockout, I confess that I had to restart it a couple of times – for reasons that are more about me than the movie.
First attempt, I broke the movie over three nights. DO NOT DO THIS. It’s a 2.5-hour film that, as was evident about halfway through, benefits greatly from an immersive environment. Not stopping and starting. Without the easy distractions of home and family. Let yourself sink into the story – in a theater. (If someone lights up a cellphone, yell at them. At the top of your lungs!)
So I tried again … and fell asleep! Feel free to blame the movie for that, but believe me when I say that I just turned 48 years old, and that falling asleep during movies at home has been a perpetual problem, quality issues aside, since the time I turned 40, maybe earlier. That’s one reason I like to go to theaters. It’s not that I’ve never fallen asleep at a movie theater – a rarity, but it’s happened – but that I’m much less likely to nod off when I’m not in my recliner at home. (Yes, I know: I shouldn’t sit in my recliner while trying to watch movies! But it’s just soooooo comfortable, and …)
Anyway, “Burning” is slow in a way you might recognize and accept if you’re accustomed to storytelling that isn’t dictated by American studios. But the best thing about it is how the film evolves as it plays. It pretty much shifts genres – and more than once! It gets stronger as it goes, building to a finale that I won’t soon forget. The performances are top-notch, and the music, though rather sparse, is memorably distinctive.
But, again: See it in a theater if you can. Let it wash over you. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
If Venom has close to another 75 million in it, then it is indeed worthy of a heap load of praise? Right now? It screams, “It’s a fun movie.” The people who are told this go and see it, then they tell their friends, “It’s okay.” Venom isn’t getting a sequel for two years, and who knows if it ages worth a shit in those two years. Sony didn’t shit the bed, and they should be commended.
Well, I guess Venom has some juice left according to Box Office Mojo:
“Sony’s Venom brought in an estimated $4.85 million this weekend for a domestic cume that now stands at $206.2 million. The story for this film, however, is its $111 million opening in China this weekend, the 2nd highest debut ever for a superhero film in the market and Sony’s largest debut in China ever. The overall international performance added $118.2 million this weekend for a global cume that now stands at nearly $675 million.”
So it now is #7 worldwide for 2018, passing Ant-Man & The Wasp by over $50 million.