MCN Weekend Archive for October, 2010
Friday Estimates – October 16
Estimates have the crazy-stunt boys of Jackass 3-D kicking off the weekend box office with a solid lead over the rest of the pack, leaving everyone else to battle it out for second place.
Read the full article »TIFF Review: Hereafter
After a pretty spectacular opening scene, I was hopeful that Clint Eastwood‘s highly anticipated film, Hereafter, with a script by Peter Morgan, was going to be something special. Then it became evident that the setup is a triptych, which is really hard to weave together into a coherant story without it feeling enormously contrived. Unfortunately,…
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Critics’ Roundup – October 14
Jackass 3-D||||| Red|Red||Green||Yellow Hereafter|Yellow||Red|Yellow|Go Conviction |Green||||Green Samson and Delilah |||Green|Green| Gerrymandering |||Green|| Carlos |Yellow||||
Read the full article »Wilmington on Movies: The Chicago International Film Festival, Red, Conviction … and more
And listen, if I have to read one more review about how this is a movie especially for AARP members, or the geriatric set, or card-carrying Medicare moviegoers, or old folks, I think I’ll throw my walker at them. Give me a break. What do these clowns want, a life spent perusing nothing but Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Cera, or Hannah Montana movies?
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Box Office Hell – October 14
This week, our box office pundits see those crazy boys from Jackass leading the pack with the third installment of the franchise — now with 3-D! Meanwhile, Social Network looks to take a backseat to Red’s take on the pulled-out-of-retirement spy story.
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVDs: How to Train Your Dragon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Darjeeling Limited, The Films of Nikita Mikhalkov, The Hangover, The Human Centipede and more …
The opening, for me at least, would have been better with something quieter before the storm — however virtuosic that dragon-storm, however riveting that warfare. The movie could have used a lot more initial contrast between the dreamy predispositions of Hiccup, and those bloody dragon assaults that come blasting at us right from the start.
Read the full article » 14 Comments »The DVD Wrap: Splice, The Magician, White on Rice, Leaves of Grass, and more …
Splice: Blu-ray If an Academy Award were given each year to the most ingenious new monster, it would be difficult to choose between the conjoined creature created by a mad surgeon in The Human Centipede and the genetic abominations in Splice. In Vincenzo Natali’s continuously inventive sci-fi/horror thriller, Splice, a pair of young scientists extends…
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Digital Nation: In Washington, No One Can Hear You Scream
Eliminate the birthers, tax-dodgers, bigots, wannabe witches, Flat Earth diehards and Palin-tologists from the Tea Party movement and you’ll find the righteously angry offspring of the just plain pissed-off Americans, who, in Network, opened their windows and shouted “We’re as mad as hell and we’re not going to take this anymore.”
Read the full article » 1 Comment »Weekend Box Office Report – October 10
Tracking reports had pegged the uplifting tale of racing Triple Crowner Secretariat as the weekend’s odds-on favorite with estimates in the range of $16 million to $18 million. But its appeal to women and an older demo that remembered the four-legged wonder of the early 1970s failed to bring ‘em out in its maiden performance despite a considerable marketing push.
Read the full article » 3 Comments »Weekend Estimates – October 10
It looks like The Social Network has enough friends to win the weekend by a nose over orphaned baby rom-com Life As We Know It, while family-friendly Secretariat settles for the show position.
Read the full article »Friday Estimates – October 9
Friday’s estimates have Life as We Know It and The Social Network neck-and-neck for the lead, with Secretariat behind in the place position. Will the horse tale come from behind to win the weekend?
Read the full article »Review: Secretariat
Secretariat, the horse, was a big, glossy chestnut colt who won the Triple Crown and is widely regarded today as perhaps the best racehorse who ever lived. Secretariat, the movie, is big, glossy cinematic comfort food for the family in troubled times, grilled cheese and tomato soup wholesomeness to soothe the soul and take the…
Read the full article » 10 Comments »Wilmington on Movies: Secretariat, Life As We Know It, Buried, You Again, and Let Me In
Secretariat (Three and a Half Stars) U. S.; Randall Wallace, 2010 If you’ve got a great story, in life or in movies, the best thing to do is usually to let it fill your heart, tell it clearly, keep it straight and pure, and don’t load it up with agendas and tack-ons. The new movie…
Read the full article »TIFF Review: It’s Kind of a Funny Story
I had mixed feelings about It’s Kind of a Funny Story, directed by Half Nelson and Sugar directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. They were so mixed, in fact, that I ended up doing something I’ve never done at a fest before — I saw the film twice, once at a P&I screening and once…
Read the full article » 2 Comments »Critics Roundup – October 7
Secretariat|Yellow|Yellow||Yellow|Green Life As We Know It|||||Red Inside Job||Green|Green|Green| It’s Kind of a Funny Story |Yellow|Yellow|Green|Green| Letters to Father Jacob ||||Green| Marwencol |||Green|| Stone |Red|Green|Green||Yellow Nowhere Boy |Green|Green|||Green Tamara Drewe |Green|Green|Green||
Read the full article »Box Office Hell – October 7
It’s a horse race for the box office winner’s circle this week, with our pundits picking Secretariat as the favorite by a nose over Life As We Know It and The Social Network.
Read the full article »Wilmington on DVDs: The Thin Red Line, Mid-August Lunch, Grindhouse, The Twilight Zone, A Nightmare on Elm Street … and more
PICK OF THE WEEK: CLASSIC The Thin Red Line (Two Discs) (Four Stars) U.S.; Terrence Malick, 1998 (Criterion Collection). Let‘s talk about a really great American movie that has been somewhat underrated and neglected, and shouldn’t be any more, not after this superb new Criterion two-disc release. The movie is Terrence Malick‘s 1998 film of…
Read the full article »The DVD Wrap: The Karate Kid, Beauty and the Beast, The Human Centipede, The Rig, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Slumber Party Massacre Collection … and more
The Karate Kid The concept is simplicity itself: The Karate Kid in China, with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s way-cool son, Jaden Smith, in the Ralph Macchio role and Jackie Chan in the place once reserved for Pat Morita. Instead of shooting a silver-anniversary version of Karate Kid in Vancouver or a back lot in…
Read the full article » 7 Comments »Weekend Box Office Report — October 3
The uber-ballyhooed The Social Network buzzed above the pack with an estimated $22.6 million to lead weekend ticket sales. Two other national releases proved commercial disappointments. The much-admired horror remake Let Me In ranked seventh overall with $5.3 million and the thriller Case 39 was a peg behind with $5.2 million.
Read the full article » 5 Comments »Weekend Estimates — October 3
The Social Network dominates the weekend, with a bit lower box office than our pundits expected. Meanwhile, Let Me In barely draws blood.
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