The Longest Yard (2005)

Genre: Sports/Drama/Comedy

Starring: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, William Fichtner, James Cromwell, Dalip 'The Great Khali' Singh, Nelly, Michael Irvin

Ex-football super star, Paul Crewe (Sandler) is busted for drunk driving and stealing his girlfriends car. He gets sent to prison where he is unanimously hated by all the inmates from day 1 for an incident that made him infamous. He was accused of shaving points off a football game which also put an end to his football career. The only person supporting him is Caretaker (Rock) who has been ranked as the least threatening prison inmate by the guards. Warden Hazen (Fichtner) wants Crewe to help coach the prison guards' football team who has been consistently losing for the past few years. Crewe tells him that his team needs a tune-up game where they beat an extremely weak team which would highly motivate the prison guards team. Hazen gets a brilliant idea of organising an inmates team which would play against the prison guards. The inmates were to be headed by Crewe and are supposed to lose. Crewe motivates the inmates by telling them that this is their chance to beat up all the prison guards and that they should join the team. Former football star Nate Scarborough (Reynolds) joins the team as coach along with a host of violent inmates eager to give the prison guards a good thrashing. The movie is definitely a fun watch and is hilarious on more than one occasion. Each and every character in the movie has a definite and unique identity which makes the movie a lot more interesting. A remake of the 1974 film of the same name.

Thumbs up: Amazing characters
Thumbs down: A bit more humour to make it even better

Rating: 7.3/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep previews Hot Docs 2010

While Black Sheep is not going to be covering the 2010 Toronto Hot Docs film festival directly, it is still our great pleasure to preview some of the titles that will be featured this year.  Founded in 1993, the Hot Docs festival is committed to presenting over 150 of the best documentaries floating around the festival circuit.  This year is no exception as the festival showcases docs from directors as famous as Steven Soderbergh and Alex Gibney, as well as giving voice to local filmmakers and marginalized filmmakers the world over.  As is true with the documentary approach itself, Hot Docs is interested in the truth in its purest form and that is what you will get.

Even though I cannot attend the festival as much as I’d like to, the festival organizers were kind enough to send me a bunch of screeners to help you weed through what may or may not be great in this year’s 11-day festival schedule.  And so begins Black Sheep’s Hot Docs 2010 Preview …

BABIES
Directed by Thomas Balmes
Screenings: Thursday, April 29, 6:30 PM, Wintergarden Theatre
Friday, April 30, 1:45 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

It is no fun to start off a preview with an unfavourable review for the opening film, especially when that film is about the world’s most precious resource, babies.  The trailer for this BABIES, which has a theatrical run scheduled for May 7, is adorable.  I found the film itself insufferable though, which might mean I have no soul.  I realize what a monster that makes me sound like but I’m really not.  I just don’t see the point in following around four newborns in four very different locations throughout the world when, if I want to see a baby just being cute, I can visit any number of my friends.  It's like watching BARAKA with babies, except nowhere near as striking and nowhere near as effective.  It’s just kids being kids with no outside explanation as to why we’re watching.  After about ten minutes, these babies get pretty tired and you remember fairly quickly why you stopped babysitting years ago.  It did give me concern though; if I couldn’t handle these babies for an hour and twenty minutes, how am I going to handle my own at some point?

I SHOT MY LOVE
Directed by Tomer Heymann
Screenings: Tuesday, May 4, 7:30 PM, The Royal Cinema
Thursday, May 6, 4:15 PM, Cumberland

Tomer Heymann found some great appreciation after his last documentary, PAPER DOLLS, about a group of Filipino transvestites who emigrate to Israel to take care of old Jewish men, was honoured at the Berlin International Film Festival, picking up both audience and jury prizes alike.  For his follow up project, Heymann decided to turn the camera on himself or, more accurately, on those that he loves.  He meets Andreas Merk, a German dancer one night while he is in Berlin for the festival and they fall in love.  He spends the next while filming that process by keeping the camera on his boyfriend and asking him leading questions that are clearly meant to spark a big debate about how complicated their relationship should be considering he’s Jewish and Andreas is German.  Thankfully, Andreas is cute and fun to watch but I SHOT MY LOVE rarely feels genuine, which means the love he supposedly shot rarely comes through.

LIFE WITH MURDER
Directed by John Kastner
Screenings: Saturday, May 1, 9:45 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre
Sunday, May 9, 3:45 PM, Bloor Cinema

Of all the screeners I was sent for this festival, this was the one I put off to the end.  It was the longest, first of all, which makes me sound incredibly lazy but hey.  It was also the most potentially depressing of the bunch.  LIFE WITH MURDER tells the story of a Chatham, Ontario family torn apart by a chilling tragedy.  Mom and Dad come home to find their daughter murdered and their son missing.  Soon enough, it becomes clear that their son may have killed their daughter.  He is arrested, tried and convicted of the murder but yet his parents never leave his side.  This film forces you to think hard about family and forgiveness but never lets you ignore the possibility of misplaced trust and the dangers of blind faith.  Having been too young to remember this case in the news, watching the details be revealed in this film horrified me.  It is not an easy experience but still a brilliant one. 

MARK
Directed by Mike Hoolboom
Screenings: Saturday, May 1, 9:45 PM, The Royal Cinema
Sunday, May 9, 9:30 PM, Isabel Bader Theatre

I’m new to Toronto but I imagine that there will be a strong amount of local interest in MARK, a sensitive and touching portrait of now deceased activist, Mark Karbusicky.  Without any previous knowledge of who Mark was, it is pretty easy to understand why people loved him – and love him they did.  By piecing together childhood photographs, found footage and interviews with friends and loved ones, director, Mike Hoolboom, is able to create a palpable sense of who Mark was and what he valued.  I can’t be certain whether it was Hoolboom’s intention to leave the details of why Mark killed himself vague but the result is that we spend more time focusing on his life than his death, which is more honourable anyway.  MARK presents a handful of very real people with very real emotions that stay with you and make you wish you had been lucky enough to know Mark too.

THE “SOCALLED” MOVIE
Directed by Garry Beitel
Screenings: Sunday, May 2, 9:15, Bloor Cinema
Tuesday, May 4, 11:30 AM, ROM Theatre

This one is particularly difficult to describe.  I lived in Montreal my whole life and I never heard of this guy.  After seeing Garry Beitel’s NFB production, THE “SOCALLED MOVIE”, I wish I had heard of him a long time ago.  The guy I’m talking about is a man by the name of Josh Dolgin, who goes by the moniker, “Socalled”.  Dolgin is 32, gay and Jewish, and he spends his days as either a hip-hop artist, a filmmaker or a magician.  The music he creates is a blend of funk, hip-hop and klesmer music and he brings it to people everywhere who want to transcend the cultural limitations of the music while still appreciating the history these cultures bring.  He is pretty direct about how he is more a behind the scenes guy than anything else but it is his undeniable genius and incredible drive that propel him inevitably to the forefront of everything he does.  And why does he do it?  Simply put, because he can.  We should all try because we can is how he sees it.  And speaking of seeing it, you all should definitely see THE “SOCALLED MOVIE”.

SOUNDTRACKER
Directed by Nicolas Sherman
Screenings: Sunday, May 2, 6:45, ROM Theatre
Tuesday, May 4, 4:30 PM, Cumberland
Sunday, May 9, 4:00, Innis Town Hall

Gordon Hempton needs you to be very quiet.  He has unheard wonders of beauty just waiting to share with you but you first need to learn how to actually hear them.  Don’t be concerned that you may not be able to.  Even Hempton himself didn’t learn to hear properly until he was 27.  It’s not that he had any hearing disabilities; no, it was rather an inability to be still and truly just listen.  SOUNDTRACKER, tracks Hempton, a professional nature sound recordist, on one of his sound journeys.  Director, Nicolas Sherman faced the difficult task of making a movie about sound.  He needed to allow the time for the audience to take in all the layers of Hempton’s discovered soundscapes without sacrificing the image or his own artistic expression.  And just like the delicate balance between the song of a bird and a passing whistle-blowing train – the symphony we follow Hempton in hopes to find – Sherman finds the perfect sweet spot.

Well, that's all I have, preview-wise, that is.  Before I go though, I would like to mention that the National Film Board of Canada has decided to make their collection of over 5500 films completely available for free to screen at the NFB Mediatheque, as of May 1.  This great offer applies to both the Toronto and Montreal locations and should be taken advantage of as often as possible.  The timing could not be better for tourists in Toronto for Hot Docs so don't miss out.  The NFB Mediatheque in Toronto is located at 150 John Street, just near the Scotiabank Theatre.

Enjoy Hot Docs everybody!
For tickets, just click the Hot Docs link.

readmore »»  

Star Wars (1977)

Genre: Action/Science-fiction/Fantasy/Adventure/Drama

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guiness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice), Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew

The first of the six Star Wars movies, it narrates the story of the Rebels who have won their first victory over the evil Galactic Empire. Princess Leia (Fisher) learns of the Empires plans of the Death Star, an ultimate machine capable of destroying an entire planet. She sends two droids R2-D2 (Baker) and C-3PO (Daniels) to find a certain Obi-Wan Kanobi (Guiness) and to deliver the information to him. Luke Skywalker (Hamill) stumbles across the droids and helps them locate Kanobi, who turns out to be a good friend of Luke's dead father. They decide to travel across space and get to Princess Leia's father with the information. They hire pilot Han Solo (Ford) and his beast of a sidekick Chewbacca (Mayhew) to take them across space but get captured by the Death Star en route. Luke and Han learn that Princess Leia is a prisoner on the Death Star and set out to rescue her. Meanwhile, Kanobi meets his old pupil Darth Vader (acting by Prowse, voice by Jones) with whom he has a score to settle. The movie has an interesting plot and started a new rage in science-fiction movies during its time. The movies special effects were absolutely amazing for its time and could probably rival movies made 15 years down the line. The action is a tad boring and nobody in the entire movie can seem to shoot a target accurately. It's an all time classic and considering the time period in which it was made the movie excelled in almost everything it did.

Thumbs up: Astounding special effects
Thumbs down: Boring action sequences

Rating: 7.7/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

By now, we've all heard about the crazy records James Cameron's AVATAR broke last week when it debuted conveniently on Earth Day, as though Cameron actually cared about the planet.  I mean, if he had allowed a portion of each AVATAR copy sold to go toward some form of environmental cause, I might feel differently about it but sadly, that isn't the case.  Instead the film sold 1.5 million copies on BD alone, over million when you consider DVD's.  That easily smashed the 600K first week sales of THE DARK KNIGHT from last holiday season.  And all this without any serious extras on it and no 3D.  I feel like AVATAR is one of those phenomenon titles that people just buy without thinking because everyone's gotta have it and then leave on their shelves forever.  One thing is for certain though, no title being releases this week will come anywhere near matching those sales figures.

IT'S COMPLICATED

This mature comedy is pure Hollywood cliche at times but also comedy gold at others.  It reminds me of DATE NIGHT in the sense that you know what you are watching is ridiculous and exaggerated and  you also know exactly where things will end up at all times but it doesn't matter.  The casts, in both cases, shine so bright that you just can't help but laugh and laugh loud.  In case you don't know the plot, Meryl Streep takes up with her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) while starting a new relationship with her architect (Steve Martin).  It is also no coincidence that IT'S COMPLICATED is being released just before Mother's Day.  My mother will have already bought it by then but you can get it for yours.  Mothers love Meryl Streep!  And I loved watching Meryl Streep get stoned out of her head.

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS

I have to be honest; I have not seen this Terry Gilliam film and I seriously don't have any intentions of seeing it either.  Sure, it looks like a visual mind trip and has the potential to be a lot of fun but I just can't bring myself to watch Heath Ledger's final performance, especially considering it was unfinished at the time of his death.  I don't want to creep you out.  You should watch it and let me know if it is worth it or not.  It was nominated for Art Direction and Costume Design at this year's Oscars after all.  And the BD release has a ton of goodies, including feature commentary, deleted scenes and a few featurettes, including one about Ledger.  I just prefer to remember Ledger's last completed performance as the Joker in the THE DARK KNIGHT instead.  My apologies, Mr. Gilliam.

ALSO NEW ON BD THIS WEEK:

A whole slew of back catalog titles make their first appearances on BD including the late Sydney Pollack's OUT OF AFRICA, starring of course, Meryl Streep.  Little seen Ang Lee film, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL gets the Criterion experience.  And both the overwhelmingly beautiful ELIZABETH and generally underwhelming ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE can be brought home for your royal enjoyment.

readmore »»  

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Genre: Fantasy/Action/Adventure/Drama

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralf Fiennes, Gemma Arterton

A remake of the 1981 film with the same name, the movie narrates the story of Perseus (Worthington) the illegitimate son of Zeus (Neeson). Zeus created human-kind and all the gods lived on human worshipping except for Hades (Fiennes) who was tricked by Zeus and was sent to rule the underworld. Humans are angry with the gods and have stopped worshipping them because of which the gods grow weak. In a bid to restore order on Earth, Hades commands the king of Argos to sacrifice his daughter else he would send the Kraken to destroy the city. Perseus was brought up by a fisherman and despises Zeus for killing his family. Along with a group of soldiers, he sets out on a quest to find a way to destroy the Kraken and teach the gods a lesson. After watching Percy Jackson quite recently, the story sounds quite similar the only difference being is that Percy Jackson is set in modern America and not Ancient Greece. The movie does a reasonably fair job which makes the movie watchable but not outright lovable. The Action sequences were not thrilling enough and the plot execution made the movie highly predictable.

Thumbs up: Special Effects
Thumbs down: Average story, action sequences

Rating: 6.6/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Not to take away from the great and rare feat that HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON accomplished this weekend by returning to the number one spot in its fifth week of release but what a boring weekend at the box office it is regardless.  It hardly even seems worth reporting.  You know what?  I'm not really going to report that much so there! Let's see .. we know the dragon movie is back at number one; what else? Jennifer Lopez tried and failed to revive her film career with THE BACK-UP PLAN opening to disappointing results in second.  Good thing she has that dying singing career as a back-up plan of her own. THE LOSERS lived up to their name, landing hard in fourth place.  Disney Nature's OCEANS had the highest per screen average of all the Top 10 but also opened about $3 million lower than EARTH did last year.  Still, this is the third best opening for a documentary all the same.  Below the Top 10, Foreign Language Oscar winner, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES continued to perform well, improving over 125% after adding another 23 screens to its run.  There .. that's all you get.

NEXT WEEK: There is absolutely nothing coming out next week that I know of that I am excited about seeing but you might be happy to see A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET slash its way back onto 3150+ screens.  If you prefer your nightmares a little furrier, there is always Brendan Fraser in FURRY VENGEANCE playing on 2800+ screens.  If that doesn't keep you awake at night, I don't know what will.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

readmore »»  

OCEANS

Written and Directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud
Narrated by Pierce Brosnan

Narrator: Down here, it’s like nature has given everything a try.

I’ve never been particularly fascinated with the vast bodies of water known as the planet’s oceans. Sit me in a movie theatre though and immerse me in one of those bodies on the big screen and I may as well be a fish, because I won’t want to get out of the water. Disney Nature’s second environmentally friendly documentary in their Earth Day series, entitled OCEANS, sets out to do just that – to take the viewer by the hand and guide them through these foreign, fantastical waters so that all who take the plunge, emerge knowing that much more about how it feels to be a fish these days.

OCEANS, like any Disney film, is interested in making sure that everyone who sees it is enjoying themselves. When that approach applies to a documentary, it means ensuring that every child that sits in those theatre seats is taken in enough by what they see, so that they sit still in those seats until the credits roll. To do this, directors, Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud – no strangers to nature films themselves, after collaborating on 2001’s WINGED MIGRATION, a documentary about migratory patterns – place the viewer in the mind of a child, focusing more on who lives in the ocean instead of the ocean itself. Why go on incessantly about oceanic statistics when you can simply just sit in wonder and awe of every unbelievable image you see unfold? Even narrator, Pierce Brosnan, speaks in a slow, soothing tone throughout, careful to balance the drifting attention of a child without insulting the intelligence of the adults who brought them.

Striking that balance can be tricky but Perrin and Cluzaud accomplish their goal nicely for most of the underwater journey. Disney broke away from the structure that worked for them in their first nature release, EARTH, where they repurposed footage from the BBC series, “Planet Earth”. With OCEANS though, they captured some of the same situations that “Planet Earth” did for their segment on oceans, but it is an all-new film this time out, allowing OCEANS to feel much fresher than EARTH ever did. It is also a great second topic to explore as the oceans themselves, especially the depths, provide so many fascinating creatures that most people have never seen and some people won’t even believe are real. Some of the focus is lost when the green agenda is raised about an hour into the film but fortunately more time is spent admiring overall instead of preaching.

These two kids behind me did not stop asking their very patient mother questions throughout the film. If my mom had been there, I too would have been tugging at her blouse, asking, “What’s that, Mommy? What’s that!?” Well, I would have if I were still 10. Anyway, at first I wondered if maybe all of this was lost on them, but then I realized that questions mean interest and these two definitely had questions. More importantly though, they also had some very good laughs at just how crazy nature really can be. And while they may be laughing now, they will likely one day be tugging at their mother once again as they inevitably find themselves staring out into an ocean.

readmore »»  

Green Zone (2010)

Genre: War/History/Action/Drama/Thriller

Starring: Matt Damon, Yigal Naor, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla

Based on the US invasion of Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) is given the task to search specific locations to look for weapons of mass destruction. Each of the sites he goes to are found empty and he doubts the authenticity of the intel. When he raises the question with his superiors, they don't agree with his theory except for CIA agent Martin Brown (Gleeson). Brown tells him that each of these sites have already been searched months ago and he and his unit are being sent on a wild goose chase. Meanwhile, while searching another location, Miller is approached by a local called Freddie (Abdalla) who gives them location of the General of the Iraqi army, Mohammad Al-Rawi (Naor) and some other high ranking Iraqi officials. The US government is divided on the stand that it should take on Iraq. Some want to dissolve the Iraqi army while others want to offer truce and take their help. Miller wants to get behind the entire conspiracy revolving the Iraq war and doesn't want Al-Rawi dead so fast. Coming from the makers of the Bourne series, the movie had a lot of expectations that it did live up to. The movie is not as good as Bourne but its not all that bad either. Matt Damon as usual puts on an amazing performance and it would be interesting to see a sequel to this movie.

Thumbs up: Matt Damon and plot
Thumbs down: Was expecting a much more complicated story

Rating: 8.0/10

readmore »»  

Dragonball Evolution (2009)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Starring: Justin Chatwin, Yun-Fat Chow, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, James Marsters, Joon Park

Two thousand years ago, an evil warlord Piccolo (Marsters) descended upon Earth along with his disciple Ozaru. A group of monks used their powers to confine Piccolo and bring peace on Earth. Piccolo has escaped from his confinement and is accumulating the seven dragonballs, which when brought together will grant the person one wish. His wish is to destroy Earth. Goku (Chatwin) is a fighter whose grandfather has trained him in martial arts. His grandfather hands him one of the dragonballs and tells him to keep it safe. Goku soon learns of Piccolo's escape and must prevent Piccolo from getting hold of the dragonballs. He gets accompanied by Bulma (Rossum) a researcher who was studying a dragonball before it got stolen, Master Roshi (Chow) a martial arts teacher and Yamcha (Park) a bandit thief. The movie has used an amalgamation of the most cliched plots ever in a hope to make something stereotypical which it sadly does not. Poor performances and not so thrilling action sequences made this movie a damp squid. The action is reminiscent of the Mortal Combat video games, once popular years ago and simply looks out of place. I actually thought that the movie would be in line with the popular anime going by a similar name, but its not.

Thumbs up: Special effects perhaps
Thumbs down: The entire movie

Rating: 4.6/10

readmore »»  

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

Written and Directed by Juan Jose Campanella
Starring Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil and Guillermo Francella

If in fact the secret is truly in their eyes, as is announced like some new revelation in the title of this 2010 Oscar winner for Foreign Language Film, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS), then it must never have been much of a secret to begin with. As far as I knew, the eyes have always been the gateway to everything you want to know about another person but when it comes to this picture, you can almost get everything you need right there on the surface without any need to go deeper whatsoever.

Argentinean director, Juan Jose Campanella, has been working in the American television industry for years, from series as varied as “30 Rock” to “House”, but has only tried his hand at feature films a few times in his life. Not surprisingly then, this particular feature feels an awful lot like an episode of television – an episode of “Law & Order” to be specific, a franchise that Campanella has actually directed before. Ricardo Darin plays Benjamin Esposito, a retired police officer who has decided to write a novel about one of his most famous unsolved mysteries. Naturally, digging up the past brings a lot of unresolved feelings back to the surface of his life, as well as those whose past he is digging up alongside his own. It’s a great story, and I can see why it would have haunted him all these years, but it isn’t anything you couldn’t catch on any of the countless cop shows out there already.

I understand that just because a picture picks up an Oscar does not make it a great film but I still can’t help a certain level of expectation.  THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES is a very straightforward detective drama with promises that there are further levels just lying beyond our field of vision. When I looked into its eyes though, I didn’t see anything more waiting underneath.

readmore »»  

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Genre: Drama/Romance/Comedy

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard

A New York socialite, Holly Golightly (Hepburn) leads a very typical life for a woman of her kind, socialising and fantasising about attaining a lot of wealth and fame and hoping to marry a filthy rich man very soon. She has a new neighbour, Paul Varjak (Peppard) who is an aspiring writer and the two get along very well. Holly finds that Paul looks a lot like her brother Fred and starts calling him Fred. The bond of friendship grows between the two and Holly confesses her love for the jewelry store called Tiffany's and her ambition to marry its owner. Most of the movie talks about the growing friendship between the two and the eventual and unavoidable love. The story although simple, keeps your attention together and doesn't have the very typical end that you would expect. Good performances by a Hepburn and Peppard keeps the movie alive. Based on the book by the same title by Truman Capote.

Thumbs up: Simple, sweet and enjoyable
Thumbs down: Nothing in particular

Rating: 7.7/10

readmore »»  

Fighting (2009)

Genre: Drama/Sport/Action

Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Brian J. White

Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) takes on underground street fighting in a bid to make some money. Harvey (Howard) was first to spot Shawn and the talent he holds and becomes his agent, getting fights for him. Shawn and Harvey start making good and quick money and Shawn soon becomes popular amongst the street fighting circuit. Shawn falls in love with Zulay (Henao) a girl he once met randomly on the street. The movie has an extremely basic plot of an unknown young lad making the way to the top and becoming rich and famous. Each and every twist in the plot is predictable and most of the dialogues are boring and seem like one big drag. The fights scenes are supposed to be the movies USP, which sadly are not that great either. A complete waste of time and highly avoidable from every angle.

Thumbs up: Only some fight sequences
Thumbs down: Everything else

Rating: 4.9/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Well, I don't know if anyone saw that coming.  Just three weeks after HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON debuted to what was being called a disappointing result at number one, the Dreamworks 3D adventure rises above the much hyped KICK-ASS to reclaim the top spot and throw it in the faces of all those  losers who sold their Dreamworks Animation stock prematurely.

Despite mostly glowing reviews and great internet buzz, this week's expected champion, KICK-ASS,  came in about $10 million below most predictions and had to settle for a humbling second place finish.  An R-rating for a teen film is never going to be helpful but the way folks were hyping this one, it seemed as though the subject matter would have crossed past the youth market.  I guess pretending to be superheroes is not the same as actually being one when it comes to box office dollars.  It could still trade places with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON when the final numbers come in Monday given the close finish but I would say the sequel is now in serious question.

The Steve Carrell/Tina Fey machine, DATE NIGHT, held up very well in its second week, trailing off by only 31%.  The $17.3 million finish was enough to nab the third spot from another comedy vehicle, DEATH AT A FUNERAL.  The Neil LaBute remake of the Frank Oz 2007 film managed the strongest per screen average of any film in the Top 10, including six of my dollars from this morning.  Good word of mouth could carry the film to a respectable end and it could still end up debuting in third if DATE NIGHT overestimates like it did last weekend.

As you already know considering I reviewed it yesterday, I also saw THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO this weekend in its fifth week of expansion, but those numbers were unfortunately not reported.  Meanwhile, another film I caught last week and will be reviewing this week, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, this year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, debuted to strong results on just 10 screens.  The Spanish detective thriller earned a $17.6K average and will be expanding to more major markets next weekend.

NEXT WEEK: What looks like an aptly named film, THE LOSERS, will be hitting 2950 screens. Jennifer Lopez will try to woo back an audience for her flailing film career on 3000 screens in THE BACKUP PLAN. And Disney tries to do some good in the hood known as Earth with their second nature documentary, OCEANS, opening on 1200 screens on Thursday. Don't forget that if you see OCEANS in the first week, Disney will make a donation to save the Earth's coral reefs.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

readmore »»  

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Written by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Starring Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace

Mikael Blomkvist: As we’ve been sharing files recently, I assume you’re up to date.

Expectations are tricky to avoid when you watch a movie from the last year that has already generated enough international buzz to warrant a fast tracked American remake before it even hits American screens. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, from Swedish director, Niels Arden Oplev, is that movie and fortunately, it is worth all the hype that is surrounding it. From the moment it begins with the reception of an odd gift to an old man who weeps when he sees it, its focus is clear and deliberate – this will be a journey shrouded in mystery and deciphering that mystery for ourselves will require visiting some very dark places. Consider yourselves warned.

Two stories unfold to begin with. The first follows reputed, middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist). He has just been found guilty of fabricating evidence to for a story that dragged a prominent businessman through some very dirty mud. He claims that he was set up but he still loses his job and his character. Unbeknownst to Mikael, he is also being investigated by a third party for entirely different reasons. A computer hacker hired out as a security company is following his movement closely. Her name is Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace). She is a young adult with a troubled past that she wears on her face in the form of piercings, studs and jet-black hair. Because of her gothic look, she is talked to, looked at and treated las though she is nothing. When Mikael starts investigating a 40-year-old murder, Lisbeth starts following his new case too. The real story starts when the two start working together instead of side by side in secret.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is on some levels, a straightforward whodunit. A powerful family with obvious secrets makes up the list of suspects in the investigation and evidence points in different directions, moving names up and down that list accordingly. Only each discovery uncovers a fresh and unexpected level of evil behind this deep-rooted murderous conspiracy and each of these levels reveals poignant connections between religion and misogyny. Like the intricate tattoo in the title, this one will leave you scarred for life.

readmore »»  

The International (2009)

Genre: Drama/Action/Crime/Mystery/Thriler

Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armon Mueller-Stahl, Brian F. O'Bryne, Ulrich Thomsen

The International Bank of Business & Credit (IBBC) has been linked with funding terrorist activities. Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Owen) learns that the bank purchases weapons manufactured in China and sells them to third world countries. Salinger is accompanied by New York District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Watts) who look for ways to bring down the IBBC. Umberto Calvini is only 1 of the two people in the world who supplies missile guidance systems and is also a strong Italian Prime Ministerial candidate. He gets shot during a political rally for refusing to supply the IBBC with the guidance systems. Salinger and Whitman realise that anyone who went against the IBBC was killed or went missing. The story is well made and finely executed and along with good performances make it a very good watch. A must watch for people who have loved movies of the likes of Bourne & Michael Clayton. The ending was a little abrupt and could have ended on a slightly better note, but all that said and done, it is a fabulous movie nonetheless.

Thumbs up: Plot and performances
Thumbs down: Slightly better ending

Rating: 8.0/10

readmore »»  

Monsters vs Aliens

Genre: Animation/Drama/Comedy/Science-fiction/Fantasy

Starring (voice): Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson

Monsters exist on Earth but have been closely kept under wraps by the United States government for 50 years. It is so secret that the President himself doesn't know of its existence and speaking about its location is a federal crime. Susan (Witherspoon) is all set to get married when a meteorite infused with Quantonium hits her and converts her into a giantess and gives her super strength. The government captures her and put her in a secret facility for monsters. She meets four other monsters, B.O.B (Rogen) a brainless and talkative experimental tomato that was accidentally brought to life, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D (Laurie) a mad scientist that accidentally converted himself into cockroach-human hybrid, The Missing Link (Arnett) an ugly lizard obsessed with building his physique and finally the super-sized Insectosaurus. Gallaxhar (Wilson) is the evil alien who wants to extract the Quantonium from Susan and rule over planet Earth. With no foreseeable solution, the monster facility jailer, General W.R. Monger (Sutherland) sends the monsters out to save planet Earth. The movie looks a little vague and unstructured and the plot seems like a jigsaw puzzle put together forcefully. All that said, the movie makes you laugh on more than one occasion and finally delivers a good overall package, enough to make a nine-year-old roll in laughter.

Thumbs up: Nice humour
Thumbs up: Unstructured plot

Rating: 6.8/10

readmore »»  

Fracture (2007)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, Rosamund Pike, Billy Burke, Cliff Curtis

Ted Crawford (Hopkins) a wealthy businessman, who murders his wife when he learns of her affair with police officer Rob Nunally (Burke). Ted admits to the crime and goes on trial, acting as his own attorney. Willy Beachum (Gosling) is the rising star at the district attorneys office and has a 97% success rate. He is all set to transit to a private company when Ted Crawford's case is handed to him. When Ted goes on trial, he proves to court that his confession was taken by Nunally, who was having an affair with his wife and who forced him to sign a false confession, thus making it void. All of a sudden Willy realises that apart from Ted's confession, which is now void, there was no other proof against him, neither a murder weapon nor a motive. Although everyone is sure of Ted's crime, nobody is able to prove it. The movie has a very interesting plot but it sadly doesn't deliver in the manner that it could have. Too much time is spent behind hunting for the murder weapon and all other aspects are ignored. Continuously introducing twists in the tale would have made the story far more interesting. That said, the story is not all that bad with good performances and a good climax. A nice movie, could be better.

Thumbs up: Interesting plot
Thumbs down: Could have been much better

Rating: 7.4/10

readmore »»  

Showgirls (1995)

Genre: Drama

Starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Gina Ravera

Las Vegas, the land of opportunities, ambitions and ultimate doom. Thousands of people come here to fulfill their deepest desires and only a handful ever get there. Nomi Malone (Berkley) was one such random face in a huge crowd who came to Las Vegas to become a showgirl. Her ego and over-aggressive behaviour wasn't getting her anywhere initially, until Molly (Ravera) came along and offered her some help. She works as a seamstress at Goddess, a dazzling Vegas show at the Stardust hotel and she takes Nomi along. Nomi loves all the glamour and dance and aspires to become a showgirl at the Stardust. She starts out by working as a stripper at a sleazy nightclub called the Cheetah and soon progresses to become one of the showgirls at the Goddess. The star of the show, Cristal Connors (Gershon) envy's Nomi and her natural talent and the attention receives from the boyfriend cum entertainment director of the show, Zack (MacLachlan). They develop a love and hate relationship and the usual back-biting ensues. The movie has the very usual rags to riches story with nothing unique at all. A bit too long for a plot of its kind and the absence of twists in the story to break the monotony just makes things worse. The movie does have a huge amount of skin show and nudity, something expected from a movie of its kind, without which it would simply look very artificial.

Thumbs up: The stars performing tough and very bold scenes
Thumbs down: Long and boring plot

Rating: 5.5/10

readmore »»  

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Genre: Drama/History/Biography/Crime

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Nathalie Bay, Amy Adams

USA, 1963, the concept of a cheque payment was relatively new and it attracted a lot of fraudulent cheque depositing practices. Frank Abegnale Jr. (DiCaprio) ran away from home at an early age and slowly learnt the way of crime. Frank started making fraudulent cheques and en cashed them and hence made millions of dollars. He successfully worked as a Pan Am co-pilot, a doctor and a lawyer for many years altogether. FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Hanks) started tracking Frank and his moves in spite of a lot of resentment from his superiors. Carl follows Frank's every step but Frank manages to elude him each time. The movie doesn't have anything else to talk about apart from a simple cop and criminal wild goose chase across the country. The story is indeed interesting and performances by Leonardo and Tom Hanks are fabulous as always. The movie is a little too stretched and becomes slightly monotonous after a while. More thrills and suspense would have made the movie a lot more interesting, not that it isn't already.

Thumbs up: Tom Hanks and Leonardo, story
Thumbs down: A little stretched

Rating: 7.0/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

Now that Easter is out of the way and AVATAR is right around the corner, there isn't much in the way of big home entertainment releases happening this week. Who needs to rent something tonight with the return of GLEE on anyway? Still, there are a few releases you might find interesting and here they are ...

APOLLO 13
It's been fifteen years since Tom Hanks told Houston about a little problem he was having in space in Ron Howard's Oscar nominated, APOLLO 13, and Universal has decided to commemorate the occasion with a 15-year anniversary edition on BD. The release contains a feature commentary track from Howard and Apollo 13 Commander, Jim Lovell and wife, Marilyn, as well as a U-Control track that allows you to learn more about the historical context of the film and technological details without having to stop the film. And if I remember the film experience correctly, you'll need stuff to distract you.

PIRATE RADIO
In the UK, PIRATE RADIO is called THE BOAT THAT ROCKED and is 12 minutes longer than the North American version that is released on BD today. This little seen film about a pirate radio station being broadcast from a ship at sea in 1966 Britain is actually supposed to be pretty decent. I haven't seen it myself yet but it comes on good authority. Meanwhile, the disc itself is packed with BD exclusive featurettes but most of them amount to conversations with the cast members about topics they aren't exactly authorities on.

ALSO NOW AVAILABLE ON BD

Just in time for the remake to premiere in theatres, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, sees a BD release.

Underground comedy hit, THE SLAMMIN' SALMON, looks for laughs.

And if you don't have enough room on your shelf for the extravagant deluxe edition of GONE WITH THE WIND, the Scarlett Edition, which fits nicely on your shelf with all the other BD's, is now available.

readmore »»  

Poseidon (2006)

Genre: Drama/Action/Adventure

Starring: Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Jacinda Barrett, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Mia Maestro, Mike Vogel, Jimmy Bennett

The third remake of the book, The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico, the story describes a group of people trapped in a sinking ship, trying to make their way out of it. A new years eve party is going on the Poseidon, a massive cruise liner which gets overturned by a tidal wave. Dylan (Lucas) a professional gambler, doesn't believe that he would survive the sinking ship and decides to take things in his own hands. He decides to make his way out of the ship by himself but gets accompanied by fellow passengers. A single mother Maggie (Barett) her son Conor (Bennett) the ex-mayor of New York, Robert Ramsey (Russell) and Richard Nelson (Dreyfuss) accompany him on the perilous journey to make their way out of the ship. Robert first rescues his daughter, Jennifer (Rossum) and her boyfriend Christian (Vogel) from the night club and take them along. Most of the story revolves around passing one hurdle after another, heart-rendering losses and the final victory. A highly predictable story with nothing original or unique. It tries to do a Titanic but does not quite get there. The relatively average star cast performs decently well which was the only saving grace.

Thumbs up: Decent performance by a relatively unknown star cast
Thumbs down: Highly-predictable plot, unoriginal

Rating: 5.9/10

readmore »»  

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

My apologies for missing the box office last weekend.  It was my birthday weekend and I was a little wrecked on Sunday.  Just a little though.  I still had enough juice to check out HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, which I thought was plenty funny, if not a little too good to be true in the end.  Maybe casting Steve Carrell in the John Cusack part would have made for better box office because it seems like Carrell almost always does well.  Sure, DATE NIGHT is his lowest opener since THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN but it's not like that movie did him so bad.

DATE NIGHT, boosted certainly from Tina Fey followers as well, pulled in a strong $27 million debut to steal first place from CLASH OF THE TITANS and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, all three of which were in position to come in first after Friday's returns.  As far as Fey is concerned, this is definitely her strongest opening to date.  The new comedy dream team already have another project in the works and the success of this film will certainly help NBC's Thursday night viewership as well.  Meanwhile, TITANS crashed an expected 56% and DRAGON managed a strong hold, dropping off only 12%.

Elsewhere in the Top 10, the cancer drama, LETTERS TO GOD, managed to crack the list but barely with an unenthusiastic average of $1300 per screen.  Below the Top 10, the art house fare made very few waves.  Apparition Films celebrated Kristen Stewart's 20th birthday on Friday by adding 120 screens to the floundering run of THE RUNAWAYS.  The total was boosted over 130% but still only managed an average of $2300 per screen.  And with news of an impending American remake, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, continues limited success, pulling in another $550K on just 125 screens.

NEXT WEEK: Super heroes get a little less super in KICK-ASS, blasting out of their pajamas and onto 3000 screens.  Neil LaBute's remake of DEATH AT A FUNERAL with Chris Rock and Tracy Jordan will hopefully not die on 2400 screens.  And Demi Moore and David Duchovny try to keep up with THE JONESES on 190 screens.

Source: BOX OFFICE MOJO

readmore »»