Saturday, October 8, 2016

Review: The Birth of a Nation

I do not own the above image. Copyright Fox Searchlight Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.

            In 15 years of going to the movies, I’ve had a single dream: watching a movie in a theatre by myself.  I’ve come close many times usually with an elderly couple coming in during the previews.  It finally happened this week but never in a million years would I have thought it would have happened during an opening night showing.  And fulfilling that dream wasn’t the most exciting thing to happen me in that theatre that night.  It turns out the movie I saw all by myself was absolutely marvelous.
            Nate Parker (star, director & co-writer) decides right off the bat to make THE BIRTH OF A NATION a personal, artistic motion picture.  The emphasis is not on Nat Turner’s unsuccessful slave rebellion but on our hero and the birth of his rebellion.  This is an up-close look at one slave & his experience as a pawn pastor for the white man and his reaction after reaching his breaking point.  Nat has to appear with multiple dimensions and not just motivated by his faith & treatment as a slave.  Nat finds inspiration through love found in the slave trade.  His love for Cherry is beautifully chronicled in both short-ish montages & conversations.  Two of their scenes together stand out: Their first, full true encounter in the plantation’s front yard is like a scene out of the best romantic movies yet is so natural here.  But their real powerhouse scene is their conclusion.  I won’t spoil it but their final scene is one of those magical emotionally & cinematically perfect moments that don’t come around often enough.
            Nat’s faith journey is just as emotional.  Taught to read by his master’s wife, he is taken from plantation to plantation to preach.  His “ah-ha” moment when we see his face as he tells his fellows slaves that being obedient to their owners will get them to the promised land hits you in the gut.  Nat’s breaking point, in which he talks back to his young master by quoting the Bible, and its aftermath perfectly summarizes the theme of the movie: Religion is a weapon of hope & fear and the vicious hypocrisy between the classes & races use of it is forever evident.  Never before has a movie like this been so timely.  There are also a few “tribal” scenes that take place in the woods that convey that Nat is some sort of spiritual figure, successfully turning him into the chosen savior of his people.
            Nate Parker knows his way around a camera considering this is his directorial debut.  There are sprawling shots of the pre-Civil War American South that creates a “prisoner in paradise” atmosphere, as if the movie needed to be more torturous.  His selective use of extreme close-ups gives each of them the appropriate emotional kick.  There are a few scenes of slave brutality, just enough to get the idea of what they went through.  But TBOAN is far from being the torture & misery porn that 12 YEARS A SLAVE was three years ago.  His direction of the mostly non-household name actors worked like a charm.  Everyone from the never better Armie Hammer as his owner to virtually unknown Aja Naomi King as Cherry to the reliably sinister Jackie Earle Haley as the leader of the slave patrol brought their A-game to the set.
            THE BIRTH OF A NATION is the African-American version of BRAVEHEART.  Some will see this as an insult.  Why?!  Both are emotional tragically heartwarming stories of oppression & resistance, war & love, despair & hope with a little more faith & artistry thrown in the newer feature.  Nate Parker, despite his checkered past, has created something that should be cherished & celebrated.


*****

Sunday, September 18, 2016

The State of My Cinematic Journey

            After the miserable summer I’ve had going to the movies, one thing has become abundantly clear: I am quickly falling out of the key demographic for movie studios.  I’m still a white guy with a fairly good paying day job.  I turned 31 earlier this month.  I have other priorities.  My wife is going back to school to finish her degree.  We want to get a house.  We want to start a family.  I need a new car.  I’m finally beginning to feel great about my poker skills.
            And I hoped my passion since I was 15 would stay with me.  In general, it has.  I still get giddy at the ticket counter.  When the usher rips my ticket, points me in the director of my theatre & says “Enjoy the show!”, I still smile & say “Thanks!” every time.  I love walking in to take my seat & see with whom I get to share this experience.  The hairs on the back of my neck still stand up as the lights dim.  I love the quiet moments I get to reflect as the end credits roll & the lights fade up.  But recently, I’ve noticed something odd.  I’m not enjoying as many movies as I used to.  Also, the audiences I’ve watched these movies with have gotten less & less enjoyable to be around.
            So what can I attribute that to?  Am I at that age where I need to move on?  Do I leave my passion behind?  My answer: I’m not going anywhere.  I still love movies.  I loved travelling with fugitives as they take one’s son towards his destiny.  I loved following teenagers find freedom & joy through music.  I fell in love with a college freshman & his baseball teammates as he assimilates to his new surroundings.  I found joy in a panda finally living out a prophesy put forward years ago.
            So where am I going with this?  Well, I have come to the conclusion that I need to change my movie-going habits.  From this day forth, I will no longer make comic book “movies” a priority in my theatrical journey.  If there is a CBM that I want to watch in a theatre, I won’t be buying a ticket for until the third Monday of release at the earliest.  I will spending 17 days on the outside as yet another visual effects extravaganza makes a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts.  In addition, I won’t waste my time reviewing them nor will I be getting in arguments with people online over them.  They aren’t worth the time or energy.  I’ll throw out a tweet or two immediately after watching said spectacle but will only barely acknowledge its existence after that.
            I’m sure you noticed that I put quotation marks around the word “movie” in the above paragraph.  That is because I believe that recent theatrically released comic book adaptations are not movies, motion pictures, films, whatever term you want to use.  A movie is a series of pictures strung together to create a compelling story with a beginning, middle & end with interesting characters, spectacular action sequences with high stakes & expertly crafted visuals and great actors well-written dialogue.  Many recent comic book adaptations don’t have endings; they stop.  They take this “sequel culture” that we live in to the extreme and leave more open endings than closed ones after every installment.  Recent super villains have been quite dull.  I get a kick out of seeing Daniel Bruhl on screen but his Helmut Zemo in Civil War could have been eons more conniving.  Even as technology improves and visual effects get better, the over-reliance by these creations is really distracting.  And while studios open their bank accounts to get the best looking & most talented actors, studios don’t seem to care who they hire to write these creations.

            I guess you could say I’m a grump, an old fart, stubborn, a snob.  And I won’t deny being any of those things.  I did not grow up on comic books.  I only remotely started paying attention to them after I saw Spider-Man in 2002; even then, I still didn’t read them.  I showed up in theatres from time to time when more comic book “movies” were released.  I’ve raved about a few over the years.  X-Men 2, Spider-Man 2, The Avengers, Days of Future Past: each one great.  But now, especially this year, these seem like experiences that only readers or devotees can appreciate.  I’m not one of them and if I haven’t become a fanboy by now, I never will.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: April 29 - May 1

THE JUNGLE BOOK
Cost: 804 FML Bucks
Estimate: $35.077 million
After another huge weekend, TJB is poised to win its third weekend in a row before a Civil War hits theatres.  But how big will it be?  I can't see a non-animated Disney movie to hold over 60%, even without any new competition.

KEANU
Cost: 346 FML Bucks
Estimate: $17.15 million
A hilarious comedy from the stars/creators of Key & Peele that will sure to test just how powerful television stars can be on the silver screen.  It is 'R'-rated and unabashedly so.  Could go anywhere in the teens or even low 20s.

MOTHER’S DAY
Cost: 309 FML Bucks
Estimate: $12.31 million
Another Garry Marshall "Day" movie for everyone to ignore again.  That cast could open any other movie in the universe.  But that trailer is as bad as the price is high.

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR
Cost: 172 FML Bucks
Estimate: $7.972 million
A sub-$20 million weekend with bad buzz and 'B+' Cinemascore spells doom for this unwanted sequel.

RATCHET & CLANK
Cost: 129 FML Bucks
Estimate: $6 million
If an animated movie opens, but a film buff like me only saw a commerical twice, does anyone else know it exists?

BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT
Cost: 110 FML Bucks
Estimate: $5.575 million
WARNING: ONLY IN 379 THEATRES!  AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 94 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.835 million
This movie is just going through the motions until it disappears from theatres with its capes between its legs.

GREEN ROOM
Cost: 72 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.775 million
The first of two movies expanding this week that are overpriced due to not expanding as much as expected.  AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

THE BOSS
Cost: 71 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.731 million
A bad comedy with a competition coming from both the R-rated comedy side (KEANU) and the female-centric side (MOTHER’S DAY).  Could still be a force considering the cost.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Cost: 57 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.751 million
Final weekend of relevence before it disappears into the great beyond of the Target bargin bin.

CRIMINAL
Cost: 32 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.246 million
A moderate drop after a horrible opening weekend.  Theatre count is everything this weekend.

A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING
Cost: 27 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.043 million
A smaller than expected expansion this weekend (523 screens instead of 600+) makes this a little too expensive to consider, even as 8th screen filler.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Cost: 24 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.044 million
Faces direct competition for the first time this weekend.  Not a huge drop is expected but enough to be unplayable.

COMPADRES
Cost: 15 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.6985 million
The slam dunk Bonus pick last weekend is anything but this weekend.  A 7th & 8th screen filler?  Maybe.

EYE IN THE SKY
Cost: 15 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.5418 million
Too few screens to be a player, especially with the same price as the movie above it.

My Cineplex
           I have no confidence in my projections because of many unanswerable questions.  How much will THE JUNGLE BOOK fall in the "calm before the storm" weekend?  Will Key & Peele's huge fanbase show up?  Does anyone know RATCHET & CLANK exists?  My "safe" lineup:

KEANU, BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT, ZOOTOPIA x5, THE BOSS
Total Cost: 997 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $85.15 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: April 22-24

THE JUNGLE BOOK
Cost: 804 FML Bucks
Estimate: $56.728 million
Where does a movie go after a $102+ million opening weekend with a 90%+ on RT & an ‘A’ Cinemascore?  Back to the top of the box office.  The question is how high it will go.  I’m going the conservative route with my prediction but a $60 million weekend won’t surprise me.

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR
Cost: 324 FML Bucks
Estimate: $25.5 million
A Kristin Stewart-less pre-sequel to the 2012 Stewart hit.  With the interest in this movie low & the Tomatometer even lower, how much can the starpower of Theron/Hemsworth/Blunt/Chastain take in at the cinema this week?  I think I’m on the high side, but you never know.

BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT
Cost: 134 FML Bucks
Estimate: $10.1 million
A big disappointment for those of us who went all out with it last weekend.  The rule of thumb with well-received minority-centric movie falls as close to 50% as possible.  But can this threequel drop just 45% & win the Bonus?  Maybe.

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 67 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.8852 million
Competition from TJB finally knocked this animated film down a few pegs but still had a respectable weekend and should have another one this weekend.

THE BOSS
Cost: 64 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.4811 million
As expected, this fell 57%+ last weekend.  This is a real wild card this weekend.  A sub-50% drop might make this a playable option.  But I doubt it.

ELVIS & NIXON
Cost: 62 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.6 million
WARNING: ONLY IN 379 THEATRES!  AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Cost: 48 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.514 million
This movie is just going through the motions until it disappears from theatres with its capes between its legs.

CRIMINAL
Cost: 35 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.3068 million
A complete flop that isn’t worth even speaking its title, let alone consider playing in this game.  Just keep reading.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Cost: 32 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.69416 million
A moderately successful mom-com (a comedy only your mother could love) that has been on my radar just about every week thus far.  This week is slightly different.  Not chance to play this week.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
Cost: 13 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.93 million
Finally fell like a regular movie last weekend.  This weekend may be its last stand but not worth it.

EYE IN THE SKY
Cost: 12 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.777 million
One last week for Alan Rickman to be in the spotlight but not in your lineup.  Sad…

GOD’S NOT DEAD 2
Cost: 11 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.7508 million
Can this hateful movie just go away already?!

COMPADRES
Cost: 10 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.05 million
A Mexican film that is showing up in 350ish theatres this weekend.  Is its price enough to coax me & you into playing it?  Maybe…

MILES AHEAD
Cost: 10 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.731 million
Don Cheadle’s directorial debut is this Miles Davis biopic that expands enough to be in the game this week.  Just not enough to be useful in the game.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
Cost: 9 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.6165 million
The third part of a YA series that has made half the money as the first one did two years ago.  Not worth shifting your lineup to have one.

My Cineplex
            I am going against my own figures a little this week.  I should go with HUNTSMAN but I have little to no confidence in my own calculations.  Maybe I should change my method to my madness.  Anyhoo, my “safe” play this weekend:

THE JUNGLE BOOK, BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT, COMPADRES x6
Total Cost: 998 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $85.15 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: April 15-17

THE JUNGLE BOOK
Cost: 748 FML Bucks
Estimate: $78.7 million
Another new live-action remake of a classic Disney animated film.  This time, we get Jon Favreau’s take on the Rudland Kipling novel with CGI everything except Mowgli.  The 94% on the Tomatometer (at writing) might help this hit $80 million plus but I’ll stay a little cautious.  Will win the Bonus if the next movie underperforms.

BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT
Cost: 202 FML Bucks
Estimate: $24.35 million
A threequel to one of the most successful African-American franchises.  More importantly, this is the first minority-centric, non-spoof comedy in almost three months.  Look for this to possibly dominate the Bonus race.

THE BOSS
Cost: 143 FML Bucks
Estimate: $10.6137 million
A shocking victory in overall box office & in the FML Bonus contest.  Can McCarthy repeat?  After a ‘C+’ Cinemascore, not a chance.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Cost: 116 FML Bucks
Estimate: $11.6815 million
After a shocking loss last week & three weeks of underperforming, BvS should fall a normal amount this weekend.  Right?  I mean, not enough to win the Bonus but enough to look respectable now.  Right?!

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 93 FML Bucks
Estimate: $9.324 million
Now it it’s 7th weekend, this overachieving Disney animated film finally has competition in THE JUNGLE BOOK.  Regardless, should have a respectable, “might be playable” weekend.

CRIMINAL
Cost: 90 FML Bucks
Estimate: $7 million
A poorly reviewed, under-marketed action movie with Costner & Reynolds.  Avoid at all costs.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Cost: 39 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.368 million
This crowd-pleasing but critically reviled (including by yours truly) rom-com sequel continues to do well relative to its budget.  Another sub-50% drop this weekend & in contention as a screen filler.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
Cost: 31 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.059 million
The Christian-themed movie that won’t go away.  This is a very solid play as a screen filler.

HARCORE HENRY
Cost: 27 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.043 million
Tainted as a failure by both box office prognosticators & FML’ers, stay away from this.

GOD’S NOT DEAD 2
Cost: 24 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.027 million
Mean-spirited religious movie that got rejected this time around.  FML’ers should reject this too.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
Cost: 21 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.1108 million
About 50% behind the pace of the first movie two years ago.  Too expensive for consideration this week.

EYE IN THE SKY
Cost: 20 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.8824 million
Doing fairly well for a movie I’ve heard very little about.  Still not worth playing.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Cost: 20 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.888 million
Can this become the first movie to be part of the Perfect Cineplex for the fourth straight weekend?  Probably too expensive this week.  Too bad.

DEADPOOL
Cost: 13 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.355 million
This is the last weekend this will torture me with its presence.  Good riddance!

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS
Cost: 11 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.966 million
A decent little film gets one more weekend in the spotlight.  Not worth playing though.

My Cineplex
            One projection that I have above most other players is BARBERSHOP hitting well over $21 million.  Again, the target audience has been waiting for a movie like this.  After maxing out on that, there’s about 190 bucks to divide among four screens, to be filled by one mid-range option & three low-end screens, which leads me to a lineup of:



BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT x4, BATMAN V SUPERMAN, MIRACLE FROM HEAVEN x2, DEADPOOL
Total Cost: 999 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $124.554 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Review: THE BOSS

I do not own the above image. Copyright Universal Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.

            What is the most miserable type of movie to watch?  To many, movies with disturbing images, like torture porn or Lars Von Trier films, are seen as endurance tests or feats of nerve & even artistry.  To others, a movie with a depressing subject, like SCHINDLER’S LIST and SPOTLIGHT, is brutal to sit through without feeling depressed feelings afterwards.  While I can’t defend the former, the latter classification of movies features some the best movies of the past few decades, such as the two movies listed above.  But to me, unfunny comedies are the ultra-marathon equivalent of endurance tests in the movie world.  And THE BOSS is among the roughest ones to sit through.
            Michelle Darnell (McCarthy) is one of the most successful businesswomen on the planet.  That is until she’s busted for insider trading, serving prison time & having her assets frozen in the meantime.  Once released, the only person who doesn’t outright reject Darnell is her former tortured personal assistant Claire (Bell), who reluctantly opens her home to her.  How can Michelle get back on her feet?
            You get this sense of doom from the first scene of the movie where we see young Michelle being returned to a Catholic orphanage three times during her childhood with Margo Martindale playing the nun in charge.  Michelle has developed quite a mouth on her while Ms. Martindale has to just stand there, the script rendering her helpless.  This opening exchange is a perfect representation of what THE BOSS is: a good concept that consistently & almost exclusively goes for the lowest common denominator instead of using the situation created to make bigger, specialized joke.  There are numerous opportunities just like this one.  After a show in Chicago, a conversation about Claire getting a raise into a joke about goofy Michelle’s face looks carrying the conversation while getting her teeth whitened with a dental apparatus in her mouth.  The one scene that takes place on the grounds of the prison isn’t about the posh lifestyle behind the barbed wire but just serves as an excuse for Michelle to assault her financial advisor with a tennis ball.  The rivalry between the groups of young female scouts should be about strengthening the skills of future successful professional women.  Instead, Michelle & the opposing alpha-mom exchange vulgarities (not vulgar insults, just the choice four-letter-words) that culminates in a poorly-shot streetfight.  Nothing says female empowerment like a grown woman clotheslining a preteen girl.
            Bell’s Claire is a frumpily dressed single mom, a fact which she reminds every person she interacts with during the movie, exists purely as a punching bag for Darnell.  Their biggest confrontation comes not from the previously mentioned raise, not during the process of creating the homemade brownie company but from her wardrobe choice for a date.  The fight soon devolves into a minute long shot of McCarthy & Bell swatting each other’s boobs.  How hilarious!  For the record, I laughed one time at the most throwaway but least dirty joke in the movie.
            Where THE BOSS completely loses me is in the third act turn that begins with a misunderstanding between Claire & Michelle after a meeting with Renault (Dinklage), Michelle’s former lover turned business rival whose presence lingers for the entire movie like a fart in a near-empty theatre.  From that meeting, the movie spins completely out of control, ending in a sequence that belongs in a bad version of last year’s SPY.  But before the movie gets there, Darnell goes to find herself with a person only alluded to briefly in one scene early in the movie.  The meeting between Darnell & this character makes you like her even less than you did before because it makes Michelle’s intentions that much less genuine & heartfelt.
            Then come the last two “jokes”.  The first is a callback to an earlier moment & serves as a cheap ending to a subplot that hadn’t been referenced in at least 45 minutes.  The second “joke” is actually a gag reel over the end credits.  A staple of the 1990s, the gag reel should have been put to rest after Pixar added such scenes to their end credits in a few of their early movies in the late 90s & early 2000s.  But what’s worse than actually adding it to begin with is that it’s not funny at all; just one last bankrupt attempt to get people to laugh at cheap antics.
            My patience for Melissa McCarthy is running pretty thin.  I’m sure she loves her husband Ben Falcone, who directed & co-wrote this movie with her.  I’m sure in real life that they love each other & are soulmates.  But their professional collaborations, first with TAMMY (full disclosure: I haven’t seen yet despite it being on HBO for about a year) and now with THE BOSS, are complete failures as comedies with bottom of the barrel jokes, choppy editing to remove jokes that epically failed and characters who aren’t worth our time.  A complete waste of time, resources & talent.


Zero Stars

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: April 1-3

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Friday Cost: 346 FML Bucks
Friday Estimate: $19.10 million
Saturday Cost: 472 FML Bucks
Saturday Estimate: $27.19 million
Sunday Cost: 334 FML Bucks
Sunday Estimate: $18.451 million
After the $166 million weekend with an $81 million opening night and the small number of new movies, the powers that be decided to keep each BvS day as an option.  But with 29% on the Tomatometer a ‘B’ Cinemascore, all signs point to a larger than normal drop for a huge blockbuster.  I’m thinking a 61% drop, with daily percentage splits of 29.5/42/28.5.  STAY AWAY!

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 251 FML Bucks
Estimate: $16.213 million
Another weekend, another weekend as the top family option.  It’s doing so well right now that its net theatre change is +28.  Insanity!  Not enough to pull off a surprise upset for the Bonus, but it is a better option than any of the BvS choices.

GOD’S NOT DEAD 2
Cost: 212 FML Bucks
Estimate: $13.5 million
The sequel for the surprise hit of Spring 2014 as it made over $9 million in less than 800 theatres.  It opens in 2300+ theatres this time so the weekend gross will be higher, but with all the Christian movies that have been out so far this year including a more palatable one in more theatres this weekend, this should be drowned out enough to not be in contention for the Bonus.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Cost: 157 FML Bucks
Estimate: $11.61 million
The real crowdpleaser of the weekend with an ‘A-‘ Cinemascore.  And with a target audience who isn’t the type to run out early to see this, the drop should be minimal.  I’m talking Bonus-winning minimal.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
Cost: 93 FML Bucks
Estimate: $5.33 million
No longer the newest Christian-centric movie in theatres.  But the word is out about this as a feel-good kind of religious experience.  It’s just too high priced for Bonus contention.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
Cost: 71 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.717 million
Already down to just above 3000 theatres, this penultimate entry in the franchise is dead in the water.  Don’t even bother.

MEET THE BLACKS
Cost: 55 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.791 million
A few weeks after a black-centric romcom, we get another black-centric spoof of THE PURGE.  Opening in only 1011 theatres, needs a good PTA to have a chance at the Bonus.  It will fall short.

EYE IN THE SKY
Cost: 53 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.19 million
A well-received drama about drone strikes in the War on Terror notable for being the final on-screen appearance of the late Alan Rickman.  Other than that sentimental factor, how many people are clamoring to see that?

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS
Cost: 52 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.356 million
Last week’s Bonus winner expands into 959 theatres this weekend.  Sure to be moderately successful but not nearly enough to win back-to-back weeks.

DEADPOOL
Cost:  FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.938 million
Now in under 2000 theatres…NOPE!  Not doing it.  Not giving commentary on this.  I’m always wrong.  You’re on your own.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Cost: 50 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.97 million
This movie’s success still fascinates me.  Will be a non-factor this weekend, but…wow.

I SAW THE LIGHT
Cost: 47 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1 million
A Hank Williams biopic expanding to only 741 theatres.  There’s something wrong here.  Not worth your time or attention.

LONDON HAS FALLEN
Cost: 28 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.514 million
Drops to about 1500 theatres this weekend while probably splitting screens in most places.  Still a great low priced filler, as the cheapest option usually is.

My Cineplex
            A difficult weekend at first sight, quickly turned into something fairly easy.  One medium-priced movie was a fantastic value but going all-in with it is a risk.  But being able to easily round out the Cineplex with low-priced filler while using near maximum dollars made my choice a no-brainer:



GREEK WEDDING x6, LONDON HAS FALLEN x2
Total Cost: 998 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $84.685 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Friday, March 25, 2016

Review: BATMAN V SUPERMAN

I do not own the above image.  Copyright Warner Brothers/DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

            After the moderate success of 2013’s MAN OF STEEL, Warner Brothers thought it was best to combine their entire comic book catalogue into one movie, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, in order to keep up with rival Marvel/Disney.  This also allowed WB to relaunch the Batman franchise with relative ease.  The move was also seen an overreaction to the success of THE AVENGERS.  Did the move work?  Not really.
            My theory behind my positive reaction to MAN OF STEEL was the belief that producer Christopher Nolan held Zack Snyder back from doing frenetic camera movements & extreme close-ups all the time.  With Nolan no longer over Snyder’s shoulder most days, I feared BvS would allow Snyder go back to his usual self.  My worst fears were realized in the second scene of the movie where the destruction of Metropolis is shown from Bruce Wayne’s view on the ground.  Every shot, from Bruce weaving in & out of traffic to the quiet moment at the end, is shot in a way where the camera appears to be moving in four dimensions.  I’ve ridden roller coasters at Cedar Point that made me less nauseous.  Snyder also uses the darkest color scheme possible for the majority of BvS but when it comes to the numerous explosions, he uses the brightest yellow he can find.  I’ve never squinted more during a movie in my life.  Later on, there’s a car chase where over half the shots are extreme close-ups, most of which are of Batman inside the Batmobile.  In fact, I don’t believe the whole Batmobile is shown in a single frame.  Why build these gadgets, which the fanbase loves as much as the character of Batman himself, if you aren’t going to show them?
            I found myself asking, “what is the difference between Snyder & fellow schlockmeister Michael Bay?”  The scripts they work with.  Chris Terrio (ARGO) and David S. Goyer (DARK KNIGHT trilogy) are given the unenviable task of creating a screenplay that not only contains what seems to be more than two movies worth material required to move this franchise up to where Marvel has The Avengers but to also organize it in such a way that is a half step above understandable.  Unfortunately, not even a master screenwriter like Charlie Kaufmann could crunch two 110 minute movies worth of material cohesively into a 155 minute movie while making room for those audience pleasing action scenes.  Terrio and Goyer have to take so many short cuts during the first hour & a half that the reveals & Easter eggs are cheapened & ineffective.  Once the bloated foundation is laid down as flat as it possibly can, however, the movie slowly begins to work until the third act finally gives us that battle we’ve been promised.  And those final 40 minutes, other than one last stupid rescue moment, are what the whole movie should have been: fluid & alive.
            Each of the actors is at least acceptable in their roles.  Henry Cavill still works well as Superman, juggling with his nobility while showing that unhinged rage when necessary efficiently.  He does, however, get his butt handed to him when his Clark Kent goes mano-a-mano with Amy Adams as his perennial damsel-in-distress Lois Lane.  In their first scene together, Snyder shows his borderline misogynist side by having it performed with Adams naked with little soap in the bathtub; a scene which, as I pointed out to my wife as soon as it ended, was much better portrayed in shoulda/woulda/coulda been Batman helmer Darren Aronosky’s THE FOUNTAIN ten years ago.
            Skeptics can breathe easy as Ben Affleck is almost perfect as Bruce Wayne & is effective as the Dark Knight himself.  Affleck incorporates the perfect amount of suaveness to Wayne & is a very imposing figure as Batman.  But he too is out-staged by a figure close to him.  Jeremy Irons makes it appear that he was born to play Alfred.  But what else would you expect from the classically trained Oscar winner?  Gal Gadot is also perfect as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, proving once again that she was one of the few brightspots of the FAST & FURIOUS franchise.
            But the highlight of the movie has got to be Jesse Eisenburg.  I’ll let you catch your breath for a moment before you keep reading.  Just hear me out: I do agree with the consensus that his character’s motivations are foggy at best.  But Eisenburg as Lex Luthor is that single daisy growing in the charred field that is the first half of BvS.  He is over-the-top but in a partially restrained fashion that worked for me & keeps to movie chugging along until the story is strong enough to take over.
            As wonderful as the cast & the third act are, the rest is the polar opposite.  Overstuffed & incoherent for much of its runtime, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE falls into the trap that the Marvel Cinematic Universe falls into as of late: setting up future projects while sacrificing a tight, cohesive product presently on-screen.


**

Fantasy Box Office: March 25-27

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
Friday Cost: 709 FML Bucks
Friday Estimate: $76.34 million
Saturday Cost: 525 FML Bucks
Saturday Estimate: $55.52 million
Sunday Cost: 408 FML Bucks
Sunday Estimate: $41.64 million
The first of the big, highly anticipated comic book movies of 2016 (What's DEADPOOL?).  For the third time, a new release was divided into days with Thursday night showings (probably) counting towards Friday's total.  I did some research finding the daily splits of these huge blockbusters & after tweaking the formula based on the fact that its Easter weekend to a 44/32/24 split.  A Saturday/Sunday or a double Sunday combo is possible if you have the guts to do that.  At least one of these screens will be part of the Perfect Cineplex, unless another new sequel overperforms.

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 267 FML Bucks
Estimate: $24.9 million
If there is anything that BvS is not, it’s a family movie.  And with no other non-religious movies like it, this will be the choice for those with little children.  Just not enough to be useful this weekend.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2
Cost: 169 FML Bucks
Estimate: $17.8 million
If there is a box office record that will never be broken, it’s the original’s record of highest gross without hitting #1 for a weekend of over $200 million in 2002.  But the real question is how much can this sequel make opening opposite a huge comic-book movie?  It’s not unprecedented for an alternative choice to make a lot of money opposite a huge blockbuster.

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
Cost: 134 FML Bucks
Estimate: $12.19 million
The third installment of the series fell 40% from the original installment two years ago as the Young Adult genre seems to have faded.  My projection is higher than just about anyone else’s so this could go way lower.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
Cost: 97 FML Bucks
Estimate: $10.1 million
It is Easter weekend and those looking for a Christian faith-based movie have two choices this weekend.  MFH is the bigger of the two and could have a great hold or even an increase, but I remain bullish on that idea.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Cost: 71 FML Bucks
Estimate: $6.253 million
Third weekend of a thriller sequel which loses 625 theatres.  My wife still hasn't seen it & hopes to see it Tuesday.  Who will see this on Easter Sunday?

DEADPOOL
Cost: 62 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.646 million
What can it do now that it is no longer the newest comic book adaptation in theatres?  Could be an alternative to those who are shut out of BvS showings but has the target already seen this twice?

LONDON HAS FALLEN
Cost: 46 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.109 million
A week after winning the Bonus, this drops over 800 theatres to begin its well earned slide into obscurity.

WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT
Cost: 18 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.68 million
Loses over 1200 theatres on its way to the bargin bin at Best Buy.  It deserves better than that.

THE PERFECT MAN
Cost: 12 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.928 million
Leaves about a quarter of its theatres behind.  Will the

THE REVENANT
Cost: 12 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.724 million
This movie’s success still fascinates me.  Will be a non-factor this weekend, but…wow.

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS
Cost: 9 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.1 million
What do you call an independent comedy starring a two-time Oscar winner in almost 500 theatres?  A runaway Bonus winner.

RISEN
Cost: 9 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.81 million
Christian movie #2.  Will this be overshadowed by the other faith-based movie & its 500+ theatre drop?  Probably.

My Cineplex
            Despite the insane upside to taking five GREEK WEDDINGS, the downside of it is way too much to go there.  So maxing out on BvS’s & DORISes is the play of the week.  After plugging in my figures in my spreadsheet & playing around with combinations, I come up with this as the best, low risk play:



BvS Saturday, BvS Sunday, HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS x5
Total Cost: 987 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $115.76 million

As always, Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Review: ALLEGIANT

I do not own the above image.  Copyright Summit Entertainment.  All Right Reaerved.

            Since the immergence of TWILIGHT back in November 2008, the Young Adult (YA) novel adaptation has been the go-to genre for studios who can’t get comic book rights.  While none of them have been great, a few including THE HUNGER GAMES and BEAUTIFUL CREATURES have been at least good.  The current most successful franchise is the DIVERGENT series about a dystrophic society in the ruins of Chicago.  I found little enjoyment in the first two installments so my expectations for the third one, ALLEGIANT, didn’t exist.  And yet, it still failed to meet them.
            After the defeat of Janine & a disagreement over the treatment of her supporters by the new leadership, Tris (Woodley) & Four (James) decide to escape Chicago & explore the other side.  Soon after, they are rescued by members of the army protecting the Bureau of General Welfare, headed by David (Daniels).  Tris soon learns from David about the purpose of the Bureau, its relation to Chicago and the lineage & destiny of Tris.
            Let’s say your biggest ally & lover comes up to you and warns you about the possible sinister happenings of the organization that you know little about.  Do you trust him or the leader of said organization, who you met a few days ago?  Here’s another one: Your biological son comes to you to warn you about the fallout that will occur from an attack on a rival faction.  Do you trust him or this slimy, arrogant little punk you’ve known for about an hour?  ALLEGIANT features characters who have been though recent rough physical & mental battles in the previous two movies where they have to have absolute trust in the person in front, behind or next to them in order to keep their fight going.  But all allegiances, whether through birth or genuine chemistry, are pretty much thrown out the window in two significant, inconceivably stupid decisions by major characters.  I do find it interesting that both decisions were made by women in a movie based on a book by a woman.  It’s almost as if this movie is trying to be some sort of weird, anti-feminism thing perpetrated by director Robert Schwentke (INSURGENT, RED, R.I.P.D.) & writer Noah Oppenheim (THE MAZE RUNNER).  There’s probably nothing to that since ALLEGIANT is all talk & no substance.
            As bad as the main story is, what makes ALLEGIANT unbearable is the presence of Miles Teller’s Peter Hayes.  Hayes’ entire role in this series of movies is to add sarcastic comments in the most assholishly way possible and undermine our heroes in every step of the way.  Teller is at his absolute worst during the final two minutes as Tris gives her closing, voiceover monologue, which is juxtaposed with scenes of Peter whining outside the fence that guards the Bureau’s headquarters, distracting us from the final message the movie wants to present to its audience.  How was he able to hang with that group for so long considering how much damage he’s caused in three movies and HOW THE F*CK WAS HE NOT IMPRISIONED OR EXECUTED AT THE END OF THIS MOVIE?!?!
            Shailene Woodley can act and I understand she needs these bigger movies to keep her visible in the eyes of the general movie-going public but these DIVERGENT movies don’t give her any challenges.  She is the only one of the young actors who isn’t a nuisance since Theo James is only slightly more charismatic than Taylor Lautner, Zoe Kravitz is given nothing to do until the final action sequence and Miles Teller…I’ve already had my rant about him.  I’ve seen Jeff Daniels give better performances in Pure Michigan commercials.  Daniels, just like everyone else, appears to just go blandly through the motions until the third act where some action actually occurs.
            Despite the fact that it looks professionally done, ALLEGIANT is a miserable experience in any way you look at it with a boring first hour, a poor second hour hampered by two inconceivably bad decisions and the most annoying adult male character I’ve ever seen in a movie.  The appeal of this entire series is baffling to me but never in a million years would I think I’d see another YA adaptation this inept.


½*

Friday, March 18, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: March 18-20

THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT
Cost: 585 FML Bucks
Estimate: $33 million
The third of four movies in the YA series of books is even worse than the first two (review coming later this weekend).  The second one last year was down $2 million opening weekend & $20 million overall from the 2014 original, despite the 3D additions.  No 3D this time plus the declining interest in this series & YA adaptations in general will doom this one.  Should receive no consideration

ZOOPTOPIA
Cost: 530 FML Bucks
Estimate: $34.883 million
One weekend after cracking its ceiling last week in making $51+ million, ZOOTOPIA looks to repeat as weekend champ for the third straight weekend.  It will be a little more difficult with the competition from the above YA adaptation but this has one thing going for it: extremely positive word of mouth.

MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN
Cost: 225 FML Bucks
Estimate: $13 million
A new, based on true events Christian movie from the makers of HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, which made $22 million opening weekend two years ago.  Can this one with a star in the center repeat?  No.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Cost: 207 FML Bucks
Estimate: $11.6 million
A horror-thriller with a great 89% on the Tomatometer but a bad ‘B-“ Cinemascore.  Who will moviegoers listen to: professional film buffs or average horror fans?  I expect more of the latter.

DEADPOOL
Cost: 110 FML Bucks
Estimate: $6.89 million
The sixth weekend of a comic book movie usually means a small decline in theatre count and not that small of a drop.  DEADPOOL will be no different.  (Yes, this is the same spiel as last week.  I think it will actually happen this week.)

LONDON HAS FALLEN
Cost: 83 FML Bucks
Estimate: $5.96 million
The third weekend for this sequel & it’s still in over 3000 theatres.  Expect a sub-50% drop and the Bonus.

WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT
Cost: 42 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.799 million
A terrific hold last weekend took everyone by surprise.  Can it do it again?  Yes, but even a 40% drop is too much to be in serious Bonus contention.

THE PERFECT MATCH
Cost: 36 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.061 million
Last week, this did everything it was supposed to do to win the Bonus but didn’t thanks to that absurd hold by DEADPOOL.  TPM will act just like every other rom-com for minorities: a 50% drop & not win the Bonus

THE YOUNG MESSIAH
Cost: 25 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.58 million
No one saw this last week when it was brand new.  What makes anyone think devout Christians will see it this weekend with that new, contemporary Christian movie out there now?

THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY
Cost: 22 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.303 million
Sure to split screens with older movies this weekend in most theatres after tanking this past weekend.  My estimate is generous.

GODS OF EGYPT
Cost: 19 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.273 million
No longer the only Christian themed movie in town.  Should suffer like KFP3 last weekend.

RISEN
Cost: 19 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.232 million
Now has TWO Christian movies in front of it.  Could go much lower than my projection.

THE REVENANT
Cost: 17 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.028 million
This movie’s success still fascinates me.  Will be a non-factor this weekend, but…wow.

THE BRONZE
Cost: 17 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1 million
A 2015 Sundance comedy that’s barely marketed & is very rotten on RT?  Yeah…don’t bother with this one.

KUNG FU PANDA 3
Cost: 14 FML Bucks
Estimate: $0.846 million
One last weekend for the best movie so far this year.  Won’t be a factor but…PLEASE GO SEE IT!  PRETTY PLEASE!!!

My Cineplex
            Each of the three decisions I needed to make this week ended up being easy.  For the high priced half of the foundation, ZOOTOPIA is the best option.  Because of the cost of my projected Bonus winner, taking multiple screens of LHF is the best choice of the foundation.  The final two screens mean simply plugging in two random, low-priced movies, leaving me with:



ZOOTOPIA, LONDON HAS FALLEN x5, THE PERFECT MATCH, GODS OF EGYPT.
Total Cost: 1000 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $78.017 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Review : The Brothers Grimsby

            Remember when Sacha Baron Cohen used to be someone who was a joy to watch?  Da Ali G Show was a sensation a decade ago & his 2006 comedy BORAT is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.  He’s had supporting roles in other movies but nothing has reached the heights as that.  But now, Cohen seems to have hit rock bottom.
            Cohen plays Nobby, a poor, uneducated father of 11 in the poor fishing town of Grimsby, pining for the day he is reunited with his little brother who was adopted after their parents died.  Following a tip, Nobby finds Sebastian (Strong), an assassin for a secretive arm of MI6, & promptly makes him an international fugitive.
            Before I go off on a tangent & give this movie the beat down it deserves, I want to make clear that there are some laughs here.  I genuinely laughed six times in 85 minutes, including twice where my wife & I were the only people in the theatre laughing.  I guess the target audience would have no clue what Chernobyl & Manchester United are.
            The rest of the movie, written by Cohen, Phil Johnston & Peter Baynham, is truly repugnant.  I shouldn’t do this but I really, really don’t want you to see movie but I’m going to list a bunch of the attempts of humor & you let me know if any of these are funny: Rebel Wilson queefing, faking Leukemia for welfare checks, wrapping a pool in a condom & hit a SWAT team member in the balls, watch an AIDS sufferer get shot in the shoulder & have blood splatter enter a fake Daniel Radcliffe’s mouth, an Oscar nominee being seduced in a case of mistaken identity, sucking venom out of your brother’s testicle.  I’ll just stop there.  I can’t stand to think about things I can’t unsee.
            The cast astonishes me.  What in the world is Oscar winner Penelope Cruz doing in this junk?  After this & ZOOLANDER 2, she may want to rethink her representation.  Mark Strong had a great supporting role last year in KINGSMEN.  I understand he deserves a chance to be the lead in a spy movie, but he deserves something better than this.  Ian McShane is the head of the spy organization & has about five lines.  I’m curious as to what was cut & just how bad it was to make this movie only 83 minutes long.
            I understand I might have grown out of this type of comedy and that this movie is not for me.  But I honestly question anyone who finds absolute joy in sitting in a theatre & watching two grown men sitting inside an elephant’s ovulating vagina as it gets penetrated by multiple male elephants.  Just pathetic.


½*

Friday, March 11, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: March 11-13

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 6929 FML Bucks
Estimate: $48.75 million
This record-breaker will without a doubt win the weekend again.  But two big questions: How far will it fall? and Will it compete for the Bonus?  To get a sense of how well it might hold, THE LEGO MOVIE two years ago fell 28.89% on a holiday weekend so a 35% drop is reasonable.  As for the Bonus, I’m not optimistic.  This is too expensive & there are too many lower level options in the competition with better chances.  I’m staying away.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Cost: 334 FML Bucks
Estimate: $28.12 million
The surprise sequel to the 2007 surprise smash found footage horror flick that made over $40 million opening weekend.  While we don’t live in that kind of movie world where marketing can open a movie, a big opening is expected.  How big?  I’ve seen estimates in the mid-30s but I’m not willing to go that far.  But even where I have it, it’s my leader to win the Bonus.

LONDON HAS FALLEN
Cost: 130 FML Bucks
Estimate: $10.8175 million
A moderately successful weekend plus an ‘A-‘ Cinemascore means this could be the surprise Bonus winner if it falls less than 50%.  Will the Tomatometer make any difference this weekend?  The target audience doesn’t care.

THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY
Cost: 129 FML Bucks
Estimate: $7.22 million
Sasha Baron Cohen used to be someone.  BORAT was a shocking success.  BRUNO had a huge weekend then plummeted.  So did THE DICTATOR.  This movie has too much bad buzz to be worth considering.

DEADPOOL
Cost: 110 FML Bucks
Estimate: $9.85 million
The fifth weekend of a comic book movie usually means a small decline in theatre count and not that small of a drop.  DEADPOOL will be no different.

THE YOUNG MESSIAH
Cost: 109 FML Bucks
Estimate: $8 million
The second Christian themed movie of the Lenten season but certainly won’t be the last.  This one is a little more Biblical that the previous or next ones.  Not opening as wide nor as advertised as much as either, I expect a decent but not a Bonus contending weekend.

WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT
Cost: 50 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.126 million
This isn’t the feel-good comedy (or straight comedy) audiences were expecting.  This weekend won’t see a hold of an audience.

THE PERFECT MATCH
Cost: 44 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.162 million
A romantic comedy for an underserved, minority audience should be a shoo-in for the Bonus.  But what if that movie only open in 925 theatres?  The Wild Card of the weekend, for sure.

THE REVENANT
Cost: 31 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.04 million
Take my estimate, multiply it by 1.2.  That’s how much this movie should make.  I give up on this movie.

GODS OF EGYPT
Cost: 27 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.82 million
This movie will disappear from about 70% of all theatres.  So will about that much of its box office.

RISEN
Cost: 26 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.795 million
No longer the only Christian themed movie in town.  Should suffer like KFP3 last weekend.

KUNG FU PANDA 3
Cost: 23 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.786 million
Hanging on by a thread.  Zootopia is too huge for this to survive much longer.  What a shame.

EDDIE THE EAGLE
Cost: 21 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.564 million
Americans don’t care about a British skier in a Canadian Olympics.  Should lose at least half its screens & box office.

THE WITCH
Cost: 16 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.118 million
The horror enthusiasts will be at movie theatres this weekend.  Just not in the same room as this.

STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS
Cost: 15 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.155 million
Still hanging on.  A nice, really cheap filler.

My Cineplex
            The foundation is for the weekend is easy: Two Cloverfields & a Deadpool.  Where the weekend got tricky was what I did with the remaining 223 Bucks.  For the longest time, I had another Deadpool & a bunch of random picks to max out the 223.  But, in my research, I found a nice comp for The Perfect Match in Baggage Claim, which made about $4500/theatre two & a half years ago.  Using that, TPM had a good chance for the Bonus AND I could max out on it.  Therefore, here’s my lineup:


10 CLOVERFIELD LANE x2, DEADPOOL, THE PERFECT MATCH x5
Total Cost: 998 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $96.9 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Review: London Has Fallen

I do not own the above image.  Copyright Gramercy Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

            Mike Banning (Butler) is back as the lead Secret Service Agent for President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart).  Banning, with a wife at home & baby on the way, wants to resign from his post.  Those plans change as the British Prime Minister has died under mysterious circumstances.  Banning, Asher & Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Bassett) head to London with the world’s other major heads of state for the funeral.  Then all hell breaks loose.
            As some of my long-time readers may remember, I didn’t like Antoine Fuqua’s 2013 predecessor OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.  Well, Fuqua’s gone & Iranian-Swedish director Babak Najafi is in the director’s chair.  And he actually extracts most of the energy the original had.  A bulk of the initial action sequence features generic helicopter shots of London landmarks being blown up with some of the worst CGI special effects I’ve ever seen. To spend money to sit in a theatre and watch Parliament & Westminster Abbey be destroyed by sub-Sharknado effects is insulting.  The eight (at least) different special effects companies who worked on this movie could have used mismatched Legos as the exploding buildings or helicopters and it would have looked more realistic.
            The screenplay is even worse.  Written by OHF writers Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedict and Christian Gudegast (A Man Apart) and Chad St. John (first feature credit), LHF depends solely on the audience being completely fine with extreme coincidences & the main villain not being on the same continent as the action.  So many basic questions that should not be asked in a movie like this.  First & foremost, why was the Prime Minister’s funeral scheduled before the autopsy results released?  Suspicious deaths don’t happen in this universe apparently.  How did the villain know the Japanese PM would be stuck in traffic on London Bridge?  Or that the Italian PM would take his mistress on a self-guided tour of Westminster Abbey minutes before the funeral?  Or that the French PM would sit on his boat for an extra 10 minutes?  Or that the US President would escape his assassination attempt & would lead a car chase down through London, which would require dozens of faceless, black motorbike drivers?  Or that his attack would cause Londoners to immediately barricade themselves in their homes instead of panicking in the streets?
            The main villain is supposed to be Aamir Barkawi, an illegal arms dealer who is the target of a drone strike that kills his daughter on her wedding day & severely injures his son & other associates in the first scene.  Barkawi then spends the remainder of the movie in an apartment in a random Middle East city in front of a laptop where he taunts the Vice President & Cabinet a few times.  In his place are his son & associate, who also sit behind laptops until the opportune moment to kidnap the President so he can fulfill the family’s ultimate goal: to kill the President live on the internet & force the world to watch.  That’s one lofty goal, isn’t it?  The entire movie is that simple & uncomplicated.
            Butler & Eckhart do their best to brighten the festivities with some witty banter but there’s too little of it & they have no chemistry because Gerard Butler is actually a wooden plank who was magically transformed into a real man.  It also doesn’t help that Najafi doesn’t care if the actors mumble their lines or if the bullets hitting the ground cause the dialogue to be intelligible.  The target audience won’t care.  Just keep blowing stuff up and they’ll be happy.
            There is one element of LHF that sort of works: the opening action scene of the third act is this long take of a long corridor where Butler has his way with everyone who tries to kill him.  That was fun.  The rest of LONDON HAS FALLEN is a jumbled mess of bad everything: direction, writing, acting, special effects & ticket buying.  LHF should be the shining example of what happens when the general movie-going audience goes to see a bad movie in droves enough to warrant a sequel.  They got what they wanted & we suffer.  Thanks for nothing!


½*

Friday, March 4, 2016

Fantasy Box Office: March 4-6

ZOOTOPIA
Cost: 699 FML Bucks
Estimate: $67 million
First new kids movie in six weeks is the new Disney animated flick.  Before you go off and rubber-stamp a $75 million weekend, a little fact: Only two non-Pixar, non-summer animated movies have hit $60 million opening weekend, THE LEGO MOVIE and THE LORAX.  ZOOTOPIA isn’t a known commodity like those two so player beware.  But if DEADPOOL taught us anything, trends can be shattered.

LONDON HAS FALLEN
Cost: 247 FML Bucks
Estimate: $23.6 million
The sequel to the shocking 2012 hit has huge downsides & upsides.  OLYMPUS opened to $30+ million but got mixed reviews & didn’t face competition like DEADPOOL so that result is skewed.  However, LONDON opens in at least 200 more screens & is 24 minutes shorter, allowing for one more showing per screen per day.  I’m a little optimistic.

DEADPOOL
Cost: 201 FML Bucks
Estimate: $17.113 million
Its reign at #1 will end after three weekends.  Some of its target audience may be taken away by the previous movie in this piece but with the love this movie has received by fanboys, they may come back for seconds or thirds this weekend.

WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT
Cost: 106 FML Bucks
Estimate: $9 million
Tina Fey means box office power right?  Right?!  Not exactly.  Fey hasn’t had a $15 million opening that didn’t involve Muppets since DATE NIGHT w/ Steve Carrell six years ago.  Here, she’s the lone star & hits only 2300 theatres.  Filler is its only purpose this week, if at all.

GODS OF EGYPT
Cost: 69 FML Bucks
Estimate: $6.364 million
A $14 million opening, $140 million budget, 14% on RT, ‘B-‘ Cinemascore and one pissed off filmmaker.  What else could go wrong for this movie?  How about a 55% drop?

KUNG FU PANDA 3
Cost: 65 FML Bucks
Estimate: $5.784 million
Not only is this not the newest animated movie in theatres, it’s also not the best reviewed animated movie in theatres anymore.  This could plummet or drop less if ZOOTOPIA’s overflow go elsewhere in multiplexes.

RISEN
Cost: 43 FML Bucks
Estimate: $4.089 million
We inch closer & closer to Easter and RISEN is still the only Christian-themed movie in cinemas.  It may continue to reap the benefits for one more weekend.  Enough to play?  Maybe.

THE REVENANT
Cost: 40 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.97 million
Winner of three Academy Awards…but not the big one and it will suffer the consequences because of it.

EDDIE THE EAGLE
Cost: 33 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.164 million
A well-liked but under-watched inspirational sports movie.  Too bad he’s British.  Has no legs in the States.

HOW TO BE SINGLE
Cost: 32 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.754 million
[Insert failed ‘ladies night’ joke here]

TRIPLE 9
Cost: 31 FML Bucks
Estimate: $3.055 million
Missed last week’s estimates by 50%.  This weekend it’s underpriced & has a great shot at winning the Bonus, as long as theatres don’t bury it.

THE WITCH
Cost: 31 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.533 million
A disaster of mammoth proportions on multiple levels.  And now it loses over 1400 theatres.  Ouch.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
Cost: 27 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.8 million
If a horror movie opens in 500 theatres with little fanfare & no one shows up, does it exist?

RACE
Cost: 25 FML Bucks
Estimate: $2.052 million
Inspirational true sports story holding on for dear life.  The theatre count kills it.

STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS
Cost: 24 FML Bucks
Estimate: $1.792 million
Final weekend for the highest grossing movie of all time in the United States.  Will make a fine theatre filler one last time, if necessary.

My Cineplex
            There are two types of realistic lineups this week: ZOOTOPIA with seven filler screens or three LONDON HAS FALLEN screens w/ WTF & four fillers.  ZOOTOPIA has a solid base but a little bit of history against it.  The reviews may not be great but the target audience for LHF may not care.  All that being said, I’m taking the safe route, especially after the Thursday night numbers.  Need to get off to a good start.


ZOOTOPIA, WHISKY TANGO FOXTROT, TRIPLE 9 x6
Total Cost: 991 FML Bucks
Estimate After Bonus: $102.327 million

As always,

Good Luck & Buy a Winning Ticket!

Saturday, February 27, 2016

88th Academy Awards Predictions

BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win/Alternate: Spotlight
Darkhorse: The Big Short

DIRECTING
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Will Win: Iñárritu
Should Win: Miller

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Win: DiCaprio
Should Win: Damon

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Will Win: Larson
Should Win: Ronan

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Will Win: Stallone
Should Win: Hardy

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Will Win: Vikander
Should Win: Mara

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
Will/Should Win: The Big Short

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Will/Should Win: Spotlight

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
Will Win: Inside Out
Should Win: Shaun the Sheep Movie

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

COSTUME DESIGN
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Will Win: The Danish Girl
Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Will Win: Amy

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Body Team 12
Chau, beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom
Will Win: Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

FILM EDITING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
Will Win: Son of Saul

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
Will/Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Will Win: The Hateful Eight
Should Win: Carol

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre
Will Win: “Til It Happens To You”
Should Win: “Writing’s On The Wall”

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
Will Win: World of Tomorrow

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer
Will Win: Ave Maria

SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Will/Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

SOUND MIXING
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Will/Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Will Win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road