REVIEW: ‘Across the Universe’
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Adventure, Independent, Music, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,
When I first heard the words Julie Taymor, The Beatles and musical linked in the same sentence, I immediately etched the title Across the Universe into my brain. Without even glimpsing a trailer, I knew I had to see the film. I was raised on The Fab Four and was curious to see what Taymor, the award-winning director behind the stage production of The Lion King, would do with their library. After months of waiting, I knew from the minute I heard Jim Sturgess’ haunting vocal on the opener (‘Girl’) that this would be a special event.
The movie centers around a dock worker from Liverpool, England (Jude) who travels to America in the early ‘60s to find the father he never met. He quickly befriends a rich college dropout (Max) and later falls in love with his younger sister (Lucy). All three eventually end up in New York where their lives become tied to the anti-war movement.
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Box Office Breakdown: Geeks Fight Off Statham, Jet Li
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
No, you are correct. Superbad is one of the few movies that has managed to stay at #1 for more than one week this summer. The movie that only cost $20 million to make now shares the Two-Timers title with Spider-Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End. (And I’m guessing those movies cost a bit more to produce).
Not only did the high-schoolers hold back the action-packed War (starring Jason Statham and Jet Li), but so did the aging Bourne Ultimatum and British goof Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean’s Holiday).
Unfortunately, the Top 5 was so testosterone-laden that it didn’t leave any room for the film adaptation of The Nanny Diaries. I’m wondering if more women were eager to see that hunky Statham than be reminded of their bratty kids waiting at home…
1. Superbad, Sony, $18,044,369
2. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal, $12,472,215
3. Rush Hour 3, New Line, $11,706,643
4. Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Universal, $9,889,780
5. War, Lionsgate, $9,820,089
6. The Nanny Diaries, Weinstein Co., $7,480,927
7. The Simpsons Movie, Fox, $4,317,689
8. Stardust, Paramount, $3,872,560
9. Hairspray, New Line, $3,265,384
10. The Invasion, Warner Bros, $3,093,428
Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Books, Lists, New Releases,
The Judd Apatow train is bound to hit a roadblock at some point—but for the time being, it’s full steam ahead. Superbad opened impressively with over $30 million this weekend making it the third Apatow-related project in a row to accomplish this feat (the others being Talledega Nights and Knocked Up). This is, of course, not taking into consideration the uber-sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Meanwhile, there was nothing super about Nicole Kidman’s latest outing. The Invasion, the latest version The Body Snatchers, scared up a dismal $5.9 million (and that’s despite Daniel Craig’s hunky presence). But I predict a much stronger outing for these two later this year with The Golden Compass.
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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Not Yet Tuckered Out
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates, Ocean’s, Bourne and now Rush Hour 3. All six three-quels premiered directly at the top of the heap this summer.
Unfortunately, a six-year gap between the second and third Rush installments may have led to what some would consider slightly disappointing receipts. On any other occasion, a $50 weekend would be something to brag about. But considering it pales to the $67.4 million brought in by the 2001 predecessor, it’s only worth a pat on the back.
But really, the Disappointment of the Week honor should really fall on Cuba Gooding Jr. When you’re accepting rejected scripts from the man who played Norbit, you have to wonder where it all went wrong (two words: Chill Factor). Sadly, Daddy Day Camp was originally slated to be a straight-to-video release but somehow tested well enough to be released in theaters. Who knows? Maybe Gooding can pull a Halle and go straight-from-Oscar-to-Razzie.
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Box Office Breakdown: Bourne Breaks Bank
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Music, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Matt Damon may still be vying for People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ title—but he has one thing that George Clooney and Brad Pitt don’t have: the biggest debut for an August opening ever.
The Bourne Ultimatum‘s $70 million take improved upon the previous Bourne installments and gave Damon his largest weekend to date (and that’s including all three Ocean’s movies).
Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan should be happy that she’s holed up in rehab again—though seeing her movie kicked out of the Top Ten would have probably sent her there anyway. Apparently theatergoers can only handle one movie about Bratz at a time…
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Box Office Breakdown: A Homerun For Homer
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Musicals, Period, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,
Looks like Homer ain’t gonna be needing a deal on donuts anymore….
With a $74 million opening weekend, The Simpsons Movie debuted higher than most of the animated features released…ever. Only the two Shrek sequels did better. Quite a head-shaking number since we can still see the series for free on television. But viewers from every single Springfield in the US—plus a thousand other cities out there—love the family so much, they were willing to pay for more. Especially when it comes with nudity.
What theatergoers aren’t willing to pay for is more Lindsay Lohan. I Know Who Killed Me placed a dismal 9th, possibly due to lack of promotional work by the star. How ironic that in the end it was Lindsay who was responsible for killing the movie and possibly her career.
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| Variety
Box Office Breakdown: Chuck and Larry Outmuscle Harry
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, New Line, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Political, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy,
Lord Voldemort should be kicking himself. Wizardry, schmizardry. All he needed was a bag of outdated gay jokes to bring young Harry down.
Wedding planners everywhere had expected 7/7/07 to be the biggest wedding day of the year, but it was 7/20/07 that proved to be eventful for comedians Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Their domestic partnership brought in enough guests to outdo Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, though they only gained $2 million more than the Potter juggernaut. Fan support for Sandler movies has always been strong—which is why I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry is his ninth movie to open at #1.
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The Remake Sprayed Round the World
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: New Line, Family, Musicals, Period, Comedy, Box Office, Casting, Upcoming Releases,
The dance moves. The music. The fashion. And, of course, the hair. Hairspray has been successful as an iconic film and Broadway hit for almost two decades - but is that long enough to wait for a remake? The new Hairspray is scheduled to hit theatres July 20, with Nikki Blonsky playing the role that Ricki Lake once made famous, delightfully full-figured teen Tracy. The new Hairpray will show much more John Travolta than fans have seen before - he’ll be in a fat suit, and he’ll be in drag as Tracy’s mother, a role once played by famous drag queen Divine. Early reviews have already bashed Travolta, saying his accent rings false, proving that critics are finding far too little to complain about. It took more than a year to convince Travolta to play the role of Edna Turnblad, and now his star power will no doubt bring in bucks for the spray-licious remake. Michelle Pfieffer, Amanada Bynes, and Britney Snow are also in the flick, ensuring that more than one generation of music and dance fans will have a reason to go to the theaters.
Read More | LA Times
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