August has been somewhat of a dull month for home releases, with this last week of release bringing a little something for everyone.
Fans of methodical, intelligent, gritty, crime dramas will certainly be entertained by Michael Caine’s latest, Harry Brown. The movie hits home today on DVD and Blu-Ray. Caine stars as Harry Brown, an older man living in a rundown neighborhood. His friend attempts to stand up to the neighborhood hulligans, only to be killed as a result.
Once Harry hears of the news, he steps into action and sets out to shut down the drugs, prostitution, and violence he feels the local police are inept at stopping. The movie runs with a bit of a slow pace, so those expecting Rambo or something similar: be warned.
Releasing for the kids is the live adaptation of the popular comic series, Marmaduke. The movie, much like the comic, is about a mischievous dog who is a bit too big for his owners to handle. His size and obstinate behavior lead to trouble, and laughs. The movie tanked pretty hard at the box office, but should be popular among tots on home video.
The last weekend of August was crowded with rappers, exorcisms, and senior citizens.
The Last Exorcism made a startling debut at the box office, bringing in an impressive $21.3 Million in just three days on a budget of merely $1.8 Million. That amount of profit essentially guarantees a sequel to be greenlit any day now. The opening is similar to last year’s Paranormal Activity, which had a budget of only $15,000. Maybe Hollywood has finally learned that quality scares, minus that CGI nonsense, shouldn’t cost millions of dollars to produce and will still generate solid revenue.
This weekend’s other big release, Takers, brought in a very surprising $20 Million, losing to Exorcism by an incredibly small margin. The movie had a large ensemble cast, which seems to have paid off for the action-packed heist movie.
There are some benefits that come with being a horror movie fan; appreciating a rare film like Piranha 3-Dfor what it is intended to be–is one of those benefits.
Director Alexandre Aja has been making me grimace ever so slightly in my seat since the day I watched Haute TensionHigh Tension). Aja then kept on going, full steam ahead, and brought to life the remake of The Hills Have Eyes ( in 2006. After my many years of observing the horror genre, I have seen very few movies that have caused multiple reactions from the audience and from myself.
The Hills Have Eyes was one of the most intense theater experiences I have ever had, and I wasn’t alone. I had friends cheering and applauding extremely loudly when the mutants started to get killed, and my friend Connor even brought his iPod to listen to throughout the movie so he wouldn’t get scared. Any director who can provoke that kind of reaction in a crowd during a screening deserves credit. I have followed Aja’s work ever since…..even though it’s all been remakes since Haute Tension.
The official summer movie extravaganza has once again come to a close.
Each year, fans of big, popcorn movies look forward to whatever the summer schedule may bring. Typically, summer is when studios wait to unleash their biggest blockbusters, their smashing successes, and their over-hyped movies with nothing but CGI adventures.
With students across the nation heading back to school next week, the summer of 2010 has come and gone, but fans of film have once again been treated to an explosive summer of entertainment.
While movies like Piranha 3D are certainly hoping to get in on some of that summer box office gold, it’s too little too late. And as such, we are left looking back on this past summer and how it matched up to previous ones. Was it better? Worse? Did our favorite releases live up to our expectations? Did the latest sequel live up to the previous installment?
Let us know what you think. What are your Top 5 summer movies of 2010?
Friday Five: Best Movies of Summer 2010
Honorable Mention: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
While it may be a known fact, by now, that Scott Pilgrim tanked at the box office, it has to be mentioned here. The movie is pure popcorn entertainment aimed directly at audience members responsible for successful summer box offices. Sure, no one went to see it, but they should have. Pilgrim represents entertainment in its purest form, from opening credits to the movie’s end. It’s not a perfect movie, nor should it be nominated for an Oscar any time soon, but what summer popcorn movie really should?
“The most unexpected comedy ever conceived.” That’s one little sentence that’s a lot to live up to. Luckily The Switch marketing team didn’t go with something outrageous like “best” or “smartest” in places of “most unexpected” in their tagline.
Most unexpected… Jennifer Anniston in a movie about an older single woman? Jason Bateman as the nerdy and non-studly yet hot-in-his-own-way best friend? An annoying, hovering, sidekick played but none other than Juliette Lewis? Ooo! Ooo! Maybe it’s the mundanely predictable ending! Oh wait, that describes the most expected comedy ever conceived, AKA The Switch.
Allow me to break this one down. Kassie (Aniston) is an unmarried 30-something-year-old who decides to take fate into her own hands by exploring the world of single motherhood. At Kassie’s “I’m Getting Pregnant Party” her best friend Wally (Bateman) drunkenly “hijacks” Kassie’s pregnancy by switching her sperm donor’s specimen with his own. Flash forward seven years and we find Kassie with a Wally look-a-like of a child who slowly brings Wally’s memories to surface. Wally must struggle with telling Kassie the truth, and fostering his newfound connection with her son, Sebastian.
The two most anticipated movies right now have to be True Grit and Black Swan.
True Grit has been filming for a few weeks now, and the first official images are just hitting the net, but not to be outdone, Black Swan just got an official trailer.
As with all Darren Aronofsky movies (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream), the trailer is haunting, beautifully shot, slightly bizarre, and always thought provoking.
Take a look for yourself. The trailer has it all–a great score, a lesbian kiss, Natalie Portman growing feathers (I assume), and did I mention that kiss?
Check out the HD at Apple.
Article written by Lee C. Jaster on GotchaMovies.com. Reposted with permission.
The Expendables continued to show their muscle at the box office this weekend, beating out five new movies for the number one spot!
After only two weeks at the box office, The Expendables have brought in $64 Million towards their $80 Million budget and should have no problems making the rest back before next weekend starts. The movie fell only 52% from last weekend, which is pretty standard fare these days (unless you’re Inception) and still managed to average $5,000 per theater.
The cast has been hinting at a sequel being in the works, and Sylvester Stallone has confirmed that Jean-Claude Van Damme is disappointed in himself for not taking the role he was offered. Will The Muscles from Brussels make an appearance in the inevitable followup to the smash hit? What other mega stars may join the ranks of this incredible cast? It would seem that at this point, any action star could benefit from lining up with a franchise this successful.
Debuting in second place was Vampire’s Suck, which somehow managed to bring in $12 Million towards its $20 Million budget. The movie actually opened on Wednesday, and opened with as much as it made on Friday alone, meaning that it most likely would have beat out The Expendables had it not released early. The movie has grossed $18 Million since release, and almost guarantees that more of these types of low brow comedies (using the term loosely here) will follow. Vampires made only $200,000 more than Eat,Pray, Love, which came in third this weekend. In fact, only $2 Million separated Vampires from Piranha 3D, which came in 6th.
Before Wes Craven gets us ramped up for Scream 4, or is it Scre4m? Regardless, Craven has another bit of horror for us coming soon. My Soul to Take is going to be the first foray into 3D for the Scream master, and it doesn’t look too bad. Well, it looks better than My Bloody Valentine 3D at least.
The trailer is well done, and while I always hate trailers that have you guessing where the plot will be going, until the last 5 seconds where it gets spoiled (seemingly), it’s still quite good. This is the first movie since Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) that Craven has written and directed.
Fear the Riverton Ripper! My Soul to Take opens October 8th, 2010.
Article written by Lee C. Jaster on GotchaMovies.com. Reposted with permission.
