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Trailer Trashin’: Analyzing the Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailer
With the release this weekend of both Disney’s live-action Cinderella and the Liam Neeson actioner Run All Night, we’re finally out of the early-year movie doldrums. And as I’ve said many times, dear readers, it’s never too early to look forward to what’s coming out. In that spirit, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column takes another look at the first big mo...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Chappie Tops Unfriendly Box Office
Director Neill Blomkamp took the weekend box office with his latest science fiction epic Chappie, though it is not as impressive a debut as it might seem. With the box office even down from last week, Chappie and its estimated $13.3 million is a weak start for a $49 million budgeted film…and it has not seen much better in overseas earnings. Focus, on the other hand, is seeing some pick up th...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Maori Martial Arts Action in The Dead Lands
Sorry for missing last week, dear readers, but I was so busy with work and other commitments that I had to let the column fall by the wayside. But I’m determined to not let that become a habit, and I’ve got something really cool for you this week. In this installment of Trailer Trashin’, I’m taking a look at the upcoming New Zealand action film The Dead Lands. Premise: Afte...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Focus In the Lead, But Not Very Energetic
It is a slow week for new releases. After the smash opening weekend of Fifty Shades of Grey, the box office took a nose dive as Will Smith and his con artist comedy/drama Focus opened in first place with a fairly tepid estimated $19.1 million, a rough start to the $50 million budgeted film. In second, Kingsman: The Secret Service finds it has settled comfortably in second place for the third week ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Focus
It’s all about focus in the world of con artists and pick pockets. What expert swindler, Nicky Spurgeon played by Will Smith tries to convey to his intern Jess (Margot Robbie) is that you get your victim to pay attention to something else, while diverting them you go in and take whatever you want with them being none the wiser. If you are at all interested in human nature or body language you will...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Fifty Shades Remains a Worldwide Smash
Critics and audiences do not always agree, and little more is this evidence than with Fifty Shades of Grey. With an estimated domestic weekend of $23.2 million, the film has become a worldwide sensation, costing $40 million to make and grossing $410.6 million in total box office around the world, despite lackluster reviews. Second-place place finisher, Kingsman: The Secret Service, with an estimat...[Read More]
Movie Review: The DUFF
It behooves me to say, before we begin, that I am nowhere near the target audience for The DUFF. There is very little to make one feel old like watching high school students’ lives in upheaval when forced to give up their smartphones, when cell phones without all the bells and whistles were the big thing when I was at that age. And yet, despite this glimpse into the grim passage of time and cultur...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Guillermo del Toro Returns to Horror in Crimson Peak
Hello again, dear readers. I hope you all had a good Valentine’s Day weekend, and that a lot of you got out to see Kingsman: The Secret Service, which is totally awesome. This coming Sunday also brings us the 87th Academy Awards, during which I’ll be both hoping Michael Keaton wins Best Actor for Birdman, and cursing the Academy for not giving a Best Animated Feature nomination to The ...[Read More]
Box Office Weekend: Fifty Shades of Grey Seeing Green
Controversy can lead to the demise or the rise of many films, good and bad alike. For the highly anticipated (but critically panned) Fifty Shades of Grey, the controversy was enough to make Presidents’ Day Weekend a profitable one, earning an estimated $81.7 million here and nearly $240 million worldwide, making the $40 million production a runaway success. It won out over the much better reviewed...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Rinko Kikuchi Looks for Riches in Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Yet another Valentine’s Day is almost here, dear readers. Enjoy the holiday, and hopefully none of you will be dragged to see Fifty Shades of Grey by your significant others. In the meantime, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column is a change of pace from the last couple weeks, with a look at the upcoming indie drama Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Premise: Struggling twenty-something ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Paying homage to classic spy movies, Kingsman: The Secret Service is the coming of age story of a young man who joins a private British company that serves as the intelligence organization that is seemingly built to define what other intelligence organizations should be – it is essentially MI-6 without all the bothersome government oversight and regulations. As the film opens, we first hear the he...[Read More]
Pete’s Dragon Starts Production in New Zealand
Principal photography on Pete’s Dragon got underway on February 10, 2015 in New Zealand. The film is a re-imagining of the 1977 Disney classic and will blend live action and CGI to tell the story of the special bond between an orphaned boy, Pete, and his best friend, Elliott, who just happens to be a dragon. The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help) as Grace, a park ranger who discovers the ex...[Read More]