Box Office Review: May 2012

This summer's blockbuster season definitely started out with a series of hits and misses.  However, the total domestic box office gross for the month will end up just north of $1 billion, potentially passing May 2009 to become the second highest grossing May of all time.

What worked:

The Avengers.
With a domestic gross of $527 million and a worldwide total of $1.3 billion, this is easily the biggest success story of the month, and also the year so far. Avengers' gross has made 2012 the first year to possibly out-gross 2009, currently the highest grossing year of all time.  Also thrown in are a handful of all time records and the potential to dethrone Titanic as the second-highest domestic gross of all time.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The perfect counterprogramming to Avengers.  This quirky geriatric British comedy dominated in limited release, making $10 million in three weeks.  Factor in the recent nationwide expansion, which has already brought the film to $20 million, and this could potentially reach $40 million or more before its run ends.

Moonrise Kingdom.
Wes Anderson's newest film broke the record for best limited indie opening by grossing over half a million dollars.  Will that be enough of a push to help this become Anderson's highest grossing film?  I think so, but we won't know for sure until its currently unscheduled nationwide release.

What didn't:

Battleship.
The second $200 million flop of the year.  It is somewhat redeemed by its foreign haul, but domestically it just couldn't compete with fellow alien action films Avengers and MIB3.

Dark Shadows.
Burton and Depp's most recent collaboration made nowhere near as much Alice in Wonderland's impressive domestic haul of $334 million and has only passed its $150 million budget thanks to a decent foreign gross.  However, it could have done much worse considering that it opened in the shadow of Avengers.

Honorable mentions:

Men in Black 3.
Although MIB3 had the highest opening weekend of its franchise, it should have made much more than $69 million due to the combination of being Will Smith's first film in four years, the third film of a successful franchise (the first two films grossed a total $440 million domestically), and the film with the widest release during the four day holiday weekend.  What's most impressive is the film's foreign opening weekend of $130 million.


Think Like A Man.
Think was released in April, but the $12 million dollar film grossed $27 million in May, outgrossing Wrath of the Titans while approaching a final gross of $90 million.



 

Män som hatar kvinnor

Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) (2009)
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev

Having read the book and watched both the American and Swedish versions of the film, I can now say that I prefer Fincher's.  Both films did a good job of adapting an incredibly dense and detail packed book, and neither were perfect.  There are several details that Oplev included yet Fincher left out, and vice versa.  And there are many aspects that I like more about each film than the other.

So why don't I prefer the Swedish film?

Actors.
Physically, I think Michael Nyqvist is a better match for the Blomkvist of the book.  In his defense, Nyqvist did a good job of portraying a complex character.  However, I don't feel that he brought the fullness of Kalle's ferocious determination to life on screen as well as Daniel Craig did.

Noomi Rapace.
She is a wonderful actress, and it must be acknowledged that she was willing to take on, three times, what will probably be the most disturbing role of her career.  My problem with Rapace is that I've seen Rooney Mara.  Both actresses took on the insanely difficult task of portraying Lisbeth, and both have been praised for their performances by critics and the public.  Rapace was nominated for a BAFTA and many other awards for her performance.  Mara was nominated for an Oscar for hers.  For me, Mara's performance is better for two reasons.  First, the Swedish film wants the story to be about Blomkvist, which technically it is, but the American film is equally about Lisbeth.  I find Lisbeth's backstory and personality infinitely more interesting than Blomkvist,  and Fincher uses her time on screen to develop that without the spoilery flashbacks.  Secondly, Rapace's performance felt like a performance.  I know she spent a good amount of time studying the character, getting the piercings, learning Lisbeth's quirks.  But the whole time I was watching the film, I couldn't stop feeling like something was missing, like I was watching a performance.  When I watched the American film, I didn't see Mara performing.  I saw Lisbeth Salander, brought to life straight from page to screen.  I'm not going to say that she was perfect, but after the never ending audition process with Fincher and the year she spent in Sweden preparing for the role, Mara's performance felt nothing like a performance.  I was very disappointed when she didn't win the Oscar.

There are other things that factor into my preference, such as changes in and omissions of details, other performances (Lena Endre's Erika Berger), and general artisticness. (just can't compete with David Fincher...)

The Final Word:  Neither version is for the faint of heart.  Both are dark, sick, full of nudity and foul language, and very well made.  I would definitely advise against watching either before reading the book, solely so you know what you're getting into for the next 150 minutes.

4 out of 5 stars
Viewed May 27, 2012 on Netflix Instant Streaming

June 2012 Preview!

Here is a quick list of the films I plan to see in June:

Prometheus
Ridley Scott's return to science fiction and the Alien universe.  Written by Damon Lindelof. Staring Noomi Rapace.  Charlize Theron.  And Michael Fassbender as a robot.  Definitely worth standing in line for hours and hours to see in IMAX 3D at the midnight premier.

Safety Not Guaranteed
From the producers of Little Miss Sunshine comes another quirky indie comedy, this time about a reporter (Julie from Scott Pilgrim) investigating a man who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
I'm not totally sold on this one yet, and it's opening against Brave, so I will probably wait to see it until the following weekend since I won't be lining up to see Yet Another Bad Sequel Based On A Toy Brand (which has now been pushed back to March 2013 so it can be 3D-ified) or Steven Soderbergh Wishes He Was A Stripper.  The title is pretty self explanatory, and the trailers released so far look interesting.

Brave
In a competition against Lincoln (above) and Seeking (below), Brave is the clear winner in my opinion.  Pixar has only ever released one film that hasn't been universally loved, and I doubt that will ever happen again. 

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Don't you just love it when the title is longer than the movie itself?  This would be a no-brainer for seeing opening weekend if it weren't for the lead actress.  Steve is always hilarious, but I'm most interested in how they end the film. 

Beasts of the Southern Wild
If you haven't seen the trailer or director Benh Zeitlin's short Glory at Sea, go watch them RIGHT NOW.  Zeitlin's visual storytelling style is so unique and beautiful that I can't do it justice with words.  It's only getting a limited release from Fox Searchlight, but it will definitely be worth the time and effort to find a theater showing it.  Did I mention that it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Camera d'Or at Cannes?

Super 8

Super 8 (2011)
Directed by J.J. Abrams

I have probably seen Super 8 at least ten times already, in big theaters, small theaters,  in IMAX, and on cable, but I just recently got my own copy of the film on DVD. What better way to spend a lazy saturday than by rewatching great movies?

One of my favorite things about Super 8 is how much I can personally relate to the film.  My mother is alive and the small town I grew up in doesn't have any aliens, but I grew up making films with my friends, admiring Spielberg and Abrams, and I definitely get turned on by girls in zombie makeup.  Although my experiences were much different than Joe Lamb's and Abrams', the film still elicits some great memories from my childhood.

And I think that is the greatest strength of the film.  Yes it tells an intriguing story of a group of kids, a small town, and a lonely alien; yes it tells a painfully beautiful story of loss and acceptance; and yes it has the most amazing special effects ever seen in a $50 million film, but it's greatest strength is its ability to connect people of all backgrounds, generations, nationalities, and socio-economic status through common childhood experiences.

Let's call it a modern Goonies. Amirite?

5 out of 5 stars
Viewed May 19, 2012.

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows (2012)
Directed by Tim Burton

In its opening weekend, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's eighth collaboration made only $29 million, which makes it the eleventh biggest opening weekend of 2012.  In its defense, not even a Norse god can stand up to the Avengers.  Any chance of Shadows making a profit on its $150 million budget was swallowed up by Disney's fifth billion dollar film.

I haven't seen its source material, but Burton's film, especially the performances in it, does a good job of evoking the style of a 70's cult classic.  The film is cheesy, over the top, and funny.  Depp expertly channels the essence of the vampire-out-of-water, yet is able to maintain his humanity through his onscreen chemistry with all of the adult female characters.  That man is a ladykiller, even after being dead for 196 years.  How does he do it?

However, I found part of the performances to be quite distracting.  I will preface this by saying that I adore Helena and Eva, but their American accents left much to be desired.  Beyond this fact, the performances were spot on, even though the camp was so thick you could smell it.

The final word: If you're a big fan of Tim Burton you've probably already seen it.  If you aren't you should be, so catch a matinee showing for a fun time and some good laughs.

3 out of 5 stars.
Viewed May 15, 2012 at Mt. Pleasant Cinema 6.

The Avengers, Part 2

The Avengers (2012)
Directed by Joss Whedon

So I just got home from seeing The Avengers with the girlfriend.  Don't worry, I won't be posting any spoilers in my review.

We arrived at the theater around 9 pm.  We waited in line outside the theater for an hour while Lockout finished its last show of the night before being seated.  The next two hours passed quickly as the theater filled to capacity.  Then the commercials and trailers began, only three of which are worth mentioning.  First was the final Dark Knight Rises trailer, which commanded the most silence I have ever witnessed while watching a trailer in the theater.  Second was one of the original trailers for Prometheus, not quite as interesting as the most recent international trailer, but still amazing.  Lastly was an Amazing Spiderman trailer which I had not seen before.  And then the Avengers assembled.

To be honest, I was less than excited about this film to begin with.  I was skeptical of how well Joss would meld all of the previous films, all of the characters, and all of the mythologies into one cohesive and engaging story.  While the film was by no means perfect,  I am definitely convinced that my doubts were unfounded.

So what did I like the most about it, you ask?
The effects were awesome, there was enough action to fill ten blog posts, and ScarJo is HOT (and luckily not Jossed, but I'm not saying who is).  But my absolute favorite part of the film is something that Joss is know best for: character interactions.  Not the times when everybody is together delivering exposition to the audience though.  The moments that, in my opinion, make the movie more than just a summer tentpole actiony popcorn flick are the small moments, the one-liners between characters at the most random and unexpected times which truly reveal the characters' identities, even as the end of the world is potentially swirling around them.  The moments are quirky, original, and last only a few seconds each, but they make the characters immensely  relateable, which is quite an accomplishment when the characters are superheros battling aliens who have come to enslave the earth.

I have to be a little nitpicky though.
Ironically, since my favorite part of the film was some of its dialogue, the part that disappointed me the most was also some of the dialogue.  Without going into specifics, majority of the dialogue in the beginning of the film is overly expository.  Granted, there is a lot of information and backstory to be assimilated, but I feel that it could have been worked in to be less obvious.  Also, a few of the actors seemed to do less-than-stellar line readings for  parts of the film.  Overall the dialogue was well delivered, but there were a few times where the line readings were distractingly stiff.  Lastly, the 3D conversion didn't do much for me.  I don't know if it was just me, the projector, or just a bad conversion, but at times the images didn't fully line up, especially on the sides of the frame.  It didn't ruin the film for me, but it pulled me out of the moment.  The main point of 3D is to enhance the experience, but all too often it becomes yet another distraction.

The Final Word:
Go see it.  It is a fun, action packed film, perfect for viewing in a crowded theater, although if you didn't see it tonight you definitely missed out on a good experience.

4.5 out of 5 stars
Viewed 12:01 am, May 4, 2012

Restrepo

Restrepo (2010)
Directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington

Restrepo tells the story of a platoon's fifteen month deployment in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, which was considered at the time to be the deadliest place on earth.
The film begins with footage shot by one of the soldier's as they were getting ready for deployment.  The soldier is PFC Restrepo, a field medic who is killed in a firefight in the first fifteen minutes of the film.  The platoon later captures a Taliban strategic point and builds an observation post named OP Restrepo in his memory.  The film then expertly shows the dichotomy of the battle against the Taliban.  The platoon would spend days doing nothing, and then insurgents would appear and the would be engaged in deadly firefights.
Aided by regularly interspersed interviews with the soldiers, the film gives a very raw and emotional look into the platoon's daily battle against the Taliban, both militarily and culturally.  Through Junger and Hetherington's skilled filming, the experience of watching the film is transcended into becoming part of the film.

5 out of 5 stars
Viewed May 2, 2012