I don’t use this forum often for personal reasons. This podcast is about having a few drinks with some friends, talking about movies, and, oh yeah, we happen to record those conversations.
Well, This posting is going to be a bit different.
Tee Morris has been a part of this podcast from the beginning. When Tony #2 and first sat down in front of his computer with one of those free stick microphones that you used to get with computers (Do they still give those away with new PCs?), we had a copy of Podcasting For Dummies sitting right there next to us. Tee co-wrote Podcasting for Dummies. I’ve since been able to get Tee to sign that copy.
Tee has come on the show a few times each time is more epic than the time before. From the insanely long ‘interview’ we did with Tee and Pip to promote Double Trouble to Tee’s astounding work on Episode 100 to help us blast through reviewing 100 movies in 100 minutes. Just Tuesday I got a tweet from Tee offering himself up for an episode on Avatar. He had apparently seen it the night before and was itching to talk about it.
Wednesday brought shocking news. Natalie Morris, the woman Tee married and mother to their daughter, Sonic Boom, died suddenly. It was completely unexpected.
I’ve known Tee for a couple of years now. We’ve shared amazing scotch, he gave me dieting tips for Tony’s Losing It and talked to me on a number of occasions during the stressful period that I was going through when Julie was in the Hospital for a month leading up to the birth of Erin.
You might know Tee as a podcaster, author, actor or showman. I add to that list friend. Tee is a great guy. Very giving and as genuinely nice a person as I’ve ever known.
Friends, fans… I’m making a request. Show Tee that he is appreciated, not only as a podcaster, author, movie reviewer… but as a parent. Because that’s a gig that he’s got to do solo now. As you can imagine there are immediate bills that need attended to and the community has already come together and, from what I gather, taken care of the immediate needs. Anything more that will be donated to Tee and Sonic Boom will go into a trust fund for SB.
If you have enjoyed what we do here, and especially if you’ve had 1/10th of the fun listening to the episodes that Tee has been on with us as we had recording them, please give.
#1 Dear John from Screen Gems debuts at #1 with an opening weekend gross of $30.4 million in 2969 theaters. Budget was $25 million.
#2 Avatar from Fox drops from #1 to #2 with a weekend gross of $22.8 million (-26.9%) in 3000 theaters (-74). Total gross to date is $629.3 million. Budget is unknown.
#3 From Paris with Love from Lionsgate debuts at #3 with an opening weekend gross of $8.1 million in 2722 theaters. Budget was $52 million.
#4 Edge of Darkness from Warner Brothers drops from #2 to #4 with a weekend gross of $6.8 million (-60.2%) in 3066 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $28.9 million. Budget was $80 million.
#5 The Tooth Fairy from Fox drops from #4 to #5 with a weekend gross of $6.6 million (-33.7%) in 3218 theaters (-127). Total gross to date is $34.4 million. Budget was $48 million.
#6 When in Rome from Buena Vista drops from #3 to #6 with a weekend gross of $5.5 million (-55.1%) in 2456 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $20.9 million. Budget is unknown.
Rounding out the top 12 are:
#7 The Book of Eli drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $4.7 million (-47.0%) in 2820 theaters (-255). Total gross to date is $82.0 million. Budget was $80 million.
#8 Crazy Heart jumps from #14 to #8 with a weekend gross of $3.5 million (+54.5%) in 819 theaters (+580). Total gross to date is $11.1 million. Budget was $7 million.
#9 Legion (2010) drops from #6 to #9 with a weekend gross of $3.4 million (-51.9%) in 2339 theaters (-137). Total gross to date is $34.7 million. Budget was $26 million.
#10 Sherlock Holmes drops from #8 to #10 with a weekend gross of $2.5 million (-43.9%) in 1805 theaters (-445). Total gross to date is $201.4 million. Budget was $90 million.
#11 The Blind Side holds at #11 with a weekend gross of $2.5 million (-17.1%) in 1740 theaters (-11). Total gross to date is $241.5 million. Budget was $29 million.
#12 Up in the Air holds at #12 with a weekend gross of $2.2 million (-18.5%) in 1547 theaters (+117). Total gross to date is $76.6 million. Budget was $25 million.
The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $99.5 million (-9.3%).
A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.
February 7th, 2010 · Darren Goodhart · No Comments
Well, February looks like it’s seeing the resurgence of the buddy action movie with both the releases From Paris With Love and Cop Out. When I saw the trailer for From Paris With Love I just thought that it looked like it could be a fun little diversion, but nothing real special (I wish I could say the same thing about Cop Out, in which every time I see the trailer for that, I cringe just a little more and feel just a little bad that Kevin Smith is making an “Ow! My Balls!” type of comedy by choice- it may be a good movie, but based on it’s trailer, the only way you could get me in the theatre to see it is to tie me to the chair with my eyes pried open like McDowell in Clockwork, but I digress…). In fact, the weather had the potential to be really bad here in St. Louis this weekend, and it looked like there was a chance that it was going to interfere with seeing From Paris With Love and I was pretty much prepared to write it off if that was the case…
Fortunately, the weather turned out to be not bad at all and I did get to see From Paris With Love and man, I’m glad I did.
From Paris With Love is the latest movie from producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel who last year gave us Taken (which I haven’t seen yet, though that will change later tonight) and it’s one very entertaining ride.
James Reece is an American in Paris working as the assistant to the United States’ ambassador in France. He performs all of the mundane tasks for the ambassador and makes sure he’s ready to carry out his duties for the day. But Reece is much more, he’s also a lower level espionage operative who performs preparatory tasks for other operatives and he does them really well. He has ambitions to move up in that aspect of his job. He’s also a young man in love and has just become engaged to his girlfriend in Paris, and as he’s ready to celebrate with her, he gets a call that’s going to give him his opportunity to move up, by assisting one of the best operatives the U.S. has in one unorthodox agent named Charlie Wax…
That’s all I’m going to say about the story here, and while there’s nothing really new that’s done here, what is done is done really well and it’s pretty obvious (or at least it was to me) that all concerned were having a hell of a time making this movie. The action is top notch, the character’s are engaging, and while there are aspects to the story a that are a little over-the-top, it’s not in a way that I didn’t want to go on the ride with the film. One of the things that helps with that is the movie’s brisk pace, which certainly puts our heroes in some rough situations that makes them bond pretty quickly and certainly made me watching this give a damn about them.
the other thing that helps is the fact that you have two actors as capable as John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in the lead roles and their chemistry is really nice. Rhys-Meyers plays James Reece, and he’s pretty stoic in the part, but also pretty engaging. He’s our doorway into this story, and he does a nice job with it. John Travolta… well, I have to say, when I first saw the trailer for this, I did a double take when I realized this was John Travolta as he certainly looks quite a bit different than he has in most of his movies, with his clean-shaven head, and by the trailer, you get the feeling that his Charlie Wax is going to be a wild character, and one that could’ve worked negatively for me. The thing is, when we’re introduced to Wax, he does seem like he’s going to be an unlikeable guy, but by about a half hour in, I was fully taken with him and it’s real evident in Travolta’s performance. You can sort’ve tell when an actor is really having a good time with a part and it’s all over Travolta’s performance here, whether it’s in his line delivery or his genuine joy in the action scenes, it’s there and it’s infectious.
It really is a fun ride, far more entertaining than I thought it was going to be and by it’s end, I was ready to see Wax and Reece together again in another adventure and thinking back to other buddy action movies that I’ve seen, I hadn’t really felt like that since being introduced to Riggs and Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon. and that’s a pretty high compliment to pay to From Paris With Love. This one really took me by surprise and I enjoyed every minute of it. Now I can’t wait to see Taken later tonight…
Special thanks to Stingray and The Great Mr. Chibi for writing this episode’s show notes on short notice.
Hosts:
Tony
Darrell
Chris
Tee
Drink Check: Nothing! Was there an intervention? We hope not.
0:00:00 Intro-D’AWW-ction
0:00:45 Support Tee and Sonic Boom @ TheBoomEffect.org
0:03:14 Welcome to the IMDT
0:03:33 Font of useless knowledge? Or font of AWESOME!
0:04:50 The Worst Taglines for Movies Ever Made. My personal vote: “Laugh. Cry. Share the pants.”
0:05:10 Chuck Norris - Silent Rage
0:07:00 A Beginners Manual for The Backseat Producers. Don’t listen too closely– it doesn’t matter once Tee gets going.
0:08:13 Teaser for the Tee Morris Unified Theory of Avatar, District 9, and The Hangover. I wish I’d been let on the show–I have my own theory uniting Megan Fox and Keira Knightly… it has been researched thoroughly. Every night.
0:09:00 High Level Thoughts: Darrell, Tony, and Chris moderately like it; Tee hates it with the power of a burning sun.
0:09:56 Addendum to the drinking game - One Drink whenever Tee mentions being in New Zealand.
0:10:45 Tee - “It is pretty. Very, very pretty.”
0:12:30 Chris - “In the hands of a better writer, and a director less focused on visuals…”
0:13:15 Darrell - “It’s fun to watch.”
0:14:00 Tony - “Jazz Singer, Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars.”
0:14:08 Tee chokes.
0:15:00 3D has arrived.
0:15:15 Our boys debate the numbers–isn’t News from the Back Seat supposed to cover this?
0:17:30 The IMAX InExperience
0:18:25 The Theater Experience - Good luck recreating that at home.
0:20:40 Tee busts out a parable.
0:21:20 The Tee Critique - “It Lacks Heart.”
0:22:07 Tony vociferously defends Titanic.
0:22:58 “That is so un-Cameron.”
0:23:40 “That’s an insult to cookie cutters.”
0:24:20 The Dreamer’s Thread by Starla Huchton!
0:25:10 Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell
0:25:45 Mini-spoiler warning.
0:26:15 “I would say it’s plagiarism!” There’s a difference between homage and derivative.
0:27:00 Podcast RAGE!
0:27:25 Whedon and Cameron–Dollhouse and Avatar
0:28:20 Tee is still holding back. Chris is scared.
0:28:55 Darrell tries to interject.
0:29:40 Chris almost gets killed via Skype.
0:29:45 Star Wars RAGE!
0:30:30 Looking forward to Glee and SG:U coming back.
0:30:45 Glee is brilliant. The commercials didn’t do it justice.
0:31:30 Glee and the Art of Mashups–Weren’t we talking about a movie? Abba Tart or something like that?
0:32:35 We’re bringing it back to Avatar? The hell you say!
0:33:30 Oh look, Tony’s disagreeing. Take a drink everybody!
0:34:00 This is a SciFi movie for people who don’t like SciFi movies–wasn’t that Star Trek?
0:35:40 Star Wars achetypes: Virginal Princess, Young Hero, Rogue, Villain, Mentor, Abbott & Costello
0:35:55 I wonder if the Virginal Princess’s Walking Carpet matches the drapes…
0:37:15 Can the man on the street name a third Cameron film?
0:38:30 Tee - Terminator was better than expected. Aliens was better than expected.
0:39:45 Agreed: Alien solved the problem of the haunted house.
0:40:55 Do you think Tee didn’t care for the characters in Avatar?
0:41:15 Nobody loves General Badass. Even though he doesn’t need air to kill you.
0:41:45 Tony liked the Corporate Douchebag.
0:42:45 Cameron dropped Michael Bean to avoid ripping off Aliens too much. Too little too late?
0:42:10 Speaking of Aliens, why didn’t the military just nuke the site from orbit? Its the only way they could have been sure!
0:44:00 Tony skips around Tee’s point.
0:44:40 The Russian film is The Battleship Potemkin. Check out the Odessa Stair scene–it’s film history!
0:45:30 “It was so stupid on so many levels….”
0:46:05 There was so much in the script that would have made this film better, but was cut in the interest of…. We’re not sure, actually.
0:46:50 Exciting Behind-The-Scenes Information!
0:48:00 This isn’t a white guilt movie, but a corporate greed movie.
0:48:45 District 9 enters the fray!
0:49:00 Tee - District 9 is the better version of Avatar.
0:51:00 Less money makes for better movies? Wait for the TMUTAD9TH.
0:52:20 Tee wants more District 9.
0:52:50 Tony votes for Up for Best Picture.
0:53:30 Tony tries to dive into uncharted waters. Chris pulls us back from the edge.
0:54:20 Cameron’s got a standard baddie.
0:55:10 Another Tee Morris drinking game addendum: One drink–”Kingdom of the Crystal Suck”
0:56:00 Avatar didn’t give Tee any fun moments.
0:57:40 It’s decided that Tee isn’t the market for this movie.
0:57:50 Here comes the TMUTAD9TH!
0:58:00 Actually, I guess we’re just gonna wank about The Hangover for a bit.
0:59:00 IT’S HERE! The TMUTAD9TH!
0:59:30 Holy crap! Avatar cost a lot of money.
0:59:45 Holy crap! Avatar made a lot of money.
1:00:15 Analysts are surprised. Again. Who are these people, and why do we listen to them?
1:00:45 District 9 didn’t cost much, but made a lot. Percentage-wise, anyway.
1:01:25 The Hangover followed the D9 theory of money-making.
1:02:00 It seemed like The Hangover was in theaters FOREVER!
1:03:00 Tee wants to see Hollywood focus on story and character, and less on over-the-top production costs. The other hosts politely withhold hysterical laughter.
1:04:45 Tee’s skipping Cloverfield because he’s worried about The Avatar Effect.
1:05:45 Tee was pleasantly surprised with The Gamer.
1:07:00 Looking forward to the Tee Morris Rant™ if Avatar gets Best Picture.
1:07:30 LENS FLARE!!!
1:09:00 This show-note writer isn’t shovelling out the money.
1:10:00 Good on Cameron for bringing back the Theatrical Event.
1:11:25 The District 9 short film.
1:12:00 The Hangover beat Star Trek last year by $20,000,000.
1:13:00 Didn’t get to the Deep Geeking, Tony? Really?
1:13:30 Darrell closes the night by inciting the wrath of Tee.
#1 Avatar from Fox holds at #1 with a weekend gross of $31.2 million (-10.5%) in 3074 theaters (-67). Total gross to date is $595.7 million. Budget is unknown.
#2 Edge of Darkness from Warner Brothers debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $17.2 million in 3066 theaters. Budget was $80 million.
#3 When in Rome from Buena Vista debuts at #3 with an opening weekend gross of $12.3 million in 2456 theaters. Budget is unknown.
#4 The Tooth Fairy from Fox holds at #4 with a weekend gross of $9.9 million (-28.6%) in 3345 theaters (+1). Total gross to date is $26.1 million. Budget was $48 million.
#5 The Book of Eli from Warner Brothers drops from #3 to #5 with a weekend gross of $8.9 million (-43.4%) in 3075 theaters (-36). Total gross to date is $74.5 million. Budget was $80 million.
#6 Legion (2010) from Screen Gems drops from #2 to #6 with a weekend gross of $7.1 million (-59.0%) in 2476 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $29.0 million. Budget was $26 million.
Rounding out the top 12 are:
#7 The Lovely Bones drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $4.7 million (-43.8%) in 2638 theaters (+67). Total gross to date is $38.0 million. Budget was $65 million.
#8 Sherlock Holmes drops from #6 to #8 with a weekend gross of $4.5 million (-31.9%) in 2250 theaters (-420). Total gross to date is $197.6 million. Budget was $90 million.
#9 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $3.9 million (-37.6%) in 2526 theaters (-447). Total gross to date is $209.2 million. Budget was $75 million.
#10 It’s Complicated drops from #9 to #10 with a weekend gross of $3.8 million (-34.5%) in 2096 theaters (-205). Total gross to date is $104.1 million. Budget was $85 million.
#11 The Blind Side holds at #11 with a weekend gross of $3.0 million (-27.5%) in 1751 theaters (-181). Total gross to date is $237.9 million. Budget was $29 million.
#12 Up in the Air holds at #12 with a weekend gross of $2.8 million (-28.2%) in 1430 theaters (-277). Total gross to date is $73.2 million. Budget was $25 million.
The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $109.7 million (-14.3%).
A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.
January 31st, 2010 · Darren Goodhart · No Comments
Tom Craven is a Boston police detective. His daughter, Emma, has returned home to take a little break from her job, seemingly. As Tom and Emma start to reconnect at their home, Emma begins to cough up blood. Tom is ready to rush her to the hospital and as they walk out the front door, a mysterious gunman yells the name “Craven!” and fires at them, killing Emma almost immediately. Boston PD is right on this and they believe it to be someone who has a grudge against Tom Craven, but Tom has his own thoughts on the matter and starts his own investigation leading to a secret life he didn’t know his daughter had and her job, with it’s own equally huge ramifications.
Edge of Darkness is the newest film from veteran director Martin Campbell and star Mel Gibson and it’s of special note for Gibson because it’s his first lead-starring role in eight years. It’s also a pretty darn good little movie.
Previously, Edge of Darkness was a television mini-series (that Campbell also directed), which unfortunately, I haven’t seen so I can’t compare it to that. What’s here though is pretty tight, though Campbell is willing to relax his pace and let it unfold fairly naturally. It’s a pretty dialogue heavy piece, but it also features it’s fair share of action and when that action is used, it’s pretty effective, in particular with a scene where Craven meets with a friend of his daughter’s out on a country road.
It’s a pretty familiar idea for a movie, there’s really nothing here that you haven’t seen before, but that can be said for the vast majority of movies that come out now. That’s fine, I know that it’s a rare thing to find something that’s totally original out there, and it really doesn’t matter to me as well as the parts are all put together in an interesting and compelling way, and I think Edge of Darkness does that.
I’ve been a big fan of Gibson’s ever since The Road Warrior (I didn’t see Mad Max until later), and for me, he doesn’t disappoint. He manages to play a man with nothing to lose quite well, but all along there’s still a mind at work in the part. I hope its not another eight years before we see him again on screen. He’s got some impressive support here, with Ray Winstone playing a government “fixer” named Jedburgh, who even though finds himself at some odds with Craven, also has empathy for what he’s doing. Danny Huston is one of the better actors who excels at playing villains these days and he does just as well as the head of Northmoor, the company for which Emma Craven works for. Bojana Novakovic plays Emma Craven and though she’s here real briefly, she and Gibson do a solid job in establishing a father-daughter relationship.
Edge of Darkness doesn’t really do anything new, but it doesn’t do anything wrong either and presents a relaxed paced thriller and a welcome return to the big-screen for lead actor Mel Gibson, who shows that he’s still as engaging a leading man as he’s ever been, though a few years older. It’s certainly worth seeing, if not in a theatre then at least eventually in it’s home video release.
#1 Avatar from Fox holds at #1 for with a weekend gross of $34.9 million (-18.3%) in 3141 theaters (-144). Total gross to date is $551.7 million. Budget is unknown.
#2 Legion (2010) from Screen Gems debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $17.5 million in 2476 theaters. Budget was $26 million.
#3 The Book of Eli from Warner Brothers drops from #2 to #3 with a weekend gross of $15.7 million (-52.0%) in 3111 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $60.7 million. Budget was $80 million.
#4 The Tooth Fairy from Fox debuts at #4 with an opening weekend gross of $14.0 million in 3344 theaters. Budget was $48 million.
#5 The Lovely Bones from Paramount drops from #3 to #5 with a weekend gross of $8.4 million (-50.5%) in 2571 theaters (+8). Total gross to date is $31.2 million. Budget was $65 million.
#6 Sherlock Holmes from Warner Brothers drops from #5 to #6 with a weekend gross of $6.6 million (-33.0%) in 2670 theaters (-503). Total gross to date is $191.0 million. Budget was $90 million.
Rounding out the top 12 are:
#7 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel drops from #4 to #7 with a weekend gross of $6.4 million (-44.9%) in 2973 theaters (-323). Total gross to date is $204.1 million. Budget was $75 million.
#8 Extraordinary Measures debuts at #8 with an opening weekend gross of $6.0 million in 2549 theaters. Budget was $31 million.
#9 It’s Complicated drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $5.8 million (-28.4%) in 2301 theaters (-369). Total gross to date is $98.2 million. Budget was $85 million.
#10 The Spy Next Door drops from #6 to #10 with a weekend gross of $4.5 million (-52.9%) in 2924 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $18.5 million. Budget is unknown.
#11 The Blind Side drops from #9 to #11 with a weekend gross of $4.1 million (-25.0%) in 1932 theaters (-476). Total gross to date is $233.6 million. Budget was $29 million.
#12 Up in the Air drops from #10 to #12 with a weekend gross of $3.9 million (-28.3%) in 1707 theaters (-400). Total gross to date is $69.2 million. Budget was $25 million.
The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $128.1 million (-18.4%).
A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.
It’s December 23rd in an unspecified year (though the setting is obviously contemporary), and we discover that God has had it with the way humans are running the planet and decides that it’s now time for a cleansing and time to start all over. He sends an army of angels led by Gabriel to enact his wish, but one angel, Michael rebels against God and is willing to help humanity make it’s last stand, in particular setting his sights on the people that work and own a remote diner/garage, especially and seemingly a waitress who’s about to give birth to a special child…
That’s the premise to the new movie Legion from a relatively unknown director, Scott Stewart, which he also co-writes with a relatively unknown collaborator, Peter Schink. This follows right on the trail of the release of the Hughes Brothers extremely well done The Book of Eli and has at least in a couple of places inspired some to write articles that these two seem to mark a trend of Hollywood looking to the good book for a message of hope to it’s audiences, to which I think it’s just a matter of coincidence, but that’s just me. Yes, there is a message of faith in both films, but the difference is that The Book of Eli is a really good movie, and Legion is a really bad one…
Watching this, I was put in the mind that Stewart and Schink probably read a lot of Garth Ennis’ comic Preacher and were big fans of movies like Constantine, The Prophecy and Kevin Smith’s Dogma and thought “Wow, we could make something really cool along those lines as well.” But that’s all it has, the idea that they could fill this thing with scenes and visuals that they thought would look really cool, but doesn’t have any sort of real thought put into it. For something like this to work, it needs some rules to go by, and those seem to be made up here on the fly, simply because they think it would look cool on screen. Yeah, we have angels coming to wipe the Earth clean, but they use humans to do it, either seeming like zombies or demon-posessed, but why? If we have a child here who is supposedly being seen as the salvation for humanity, why would God then want to wipe the planet clean? And the whole meaning of the child is something that’s never given a proper explanation, basically being unresolved by the time this ends.
Like I said, it looks to me like this is being done because they think it looks really cool and they really don’t have any conviction behind their ideas whatsoever. It even filters over to all of the atrocious dialogue which all seems written in mind for what would sound cool in a trailer more than anything else. On top of that, all of the characters are simplistically written cliches that behave in mostly a one or two dimensional manner, with little or no smarts amongst any of them, only asking questions when it’s convenient to the script.
On a technical level though, this is pretty well shot and the effects are serviceable, helping them get their “cool” moments, but it’s story reads like it’s written by someone who’s read a lot of DC’s Vertigo line of comics without any real life experience to bring to the whole thing.
And that’s a real shame considering the impressive cast this thing has- Paul Bettany as the angel Michael, backed up by guys like Dennis Quaid, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, and Charles S. Dutton should be a combination for something pretty good. And to their credit, Lucas Black plays Quaid’s son, and that’s something I could actually buy here, it’s just a shame that they’re all of one note (though I also have to give credit to Dutton as well, who in his brief scenes really does try to inject something genuine here even without the base material to do so. Most laughable though is Quaid, and I really do like Dennis Quaid, but he doesn’t do himself any favors here, playing his character with pretty much the same tone all the way through and with a forced expression on his face that’s a cross between the cartoonish and the constipated.
The trailer was pretty good for this, and it certainly sold the movie to me before seeing it. I paid my own money to see it, so naturally, I wanted to like it- but, oh… when this is filled with this many inconsistencies and simplistic characters, it’s real easy to hate it, though I have to admit to some fun making some MST3K comments along the way. Just as I’ll remember The Book of Eli at the end of 2010 when putting together a list of the best movies that I saw, I’ll remember Legion as one of the worst…
Welcome to episode #1 of the first spin-off of the Back Seat Producers podcast.
In this episode we discuss:
Netflix has entered into an agreement with Warner Bros. to delay the release of New DVDs for rental in exchange for opening up the Warner’s back catalog for streaming.
Frank Darabont is going to write and direct the pilot for the new AMC adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead.
Spider-man 4, Sam Raimi, and Tobey Maguire have all been cut. A relaunch of the series is being planned with Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) in the director’s seat. Rumor has it that it’s going to take Spidey back to being a teenager and might be based on the ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ comic books.
Thanks for listening!
News from the Back Seat Episode 001: Netflix, The Walking Dead and Spider-Man 4: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (283)
#1 Avatar from Fox holds at #1 with a weekend gross of $42.7 million (-14.9%) in 3285 theaters (-137). Total gross to date is $493.2 million. Budget is unknown.
#2 The Book of Eli from Warner Brothers debuts at #2 with an opening weekend gross of $32.7 million in 3111 theaters. Budget was $80 million.
#3 The Lovely Bones from Paramount jumps to #3 with a weekend gross of $17.0 million (+43,986.7%) in 2563 theaters (+2560). Total gross to date is $17.4 million. Budget was $65 million.
#4 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel from Fox drops from #3 to #4 with a weekend gross of $11.6 million (-29.9%) in 3296 theaters (-345). Total gross to date is $192.7 million. Budget was $75 million.
#5 Sherlock Holmes from Warner Brothers drops from #2 to #5 with a weekend gross of $9.8 million (-40.4%) in 3173 theaters (-453). Total gross to date is $180.0 million. Budget was $90 million.
#6 The Spy Next Door from Lionsgate debuts at #6 with an opening weekend gross of $9.7 million in 2924 theaters. Budget is unknown.
Rounding out the top 12 are:
#7 It’s Complicated drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $8.1 million (-26.3%) in 2670 theaters (-285). Total gross to date is $88.6 million. Budget was $85 million.
#8 Leap Year drops from #6 to #8 with a weekend gross of $5.9 million (-35.6%) in 2512 theaters (+1). Total gross to date is $17.6 million. Budget was $19 million.
#9 The Blind Side drops from #7 to #9 with a weekend gross of $5.5 million (-26.2%) in 2408 theaters (-472). Total gross to date is $226.7 million. Budget was $29 million.
#10 Up in the Air drops from #8 to #10 with a weekend gross of $5.4 million (-23.9%) in 2107 theaters (-111). Total gross to date is $62.8 million. Budget was $25 million.
#11 Daybreakers drops from #4 to #11 with a weekend gross of $5.1 million (-65.8%) in 2523 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $24.3 million. Budget was $20 million.
#12 Youth in Revolt drops from #9 to #12 with a weekend gross of $3.0 million (-56.4%) in 1873 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $12.1 million. Budget was $18 million.
The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $157.0 million (+5.7%).
A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.
You know, it’s sort of odd at the beginning of a new year for me when I see movies. Often in January, I’m seeing holdovers from the previous year that are now making their way into St. Louis, so really I might not start seeing actual movies intended for the new year’s release until late in January or more often early in February, and as such, I’m often seeing some of the best movies that I’ll see during the last year at the start of a new year. This past year has been a little bit different, with the changes in the economy, home video and the rise of 3D, studios are more getting those prestige films out now all around in the same calendar year, so right now, the only holdover from 2009 that I’m still waiting to show up in St. Louis that would qualify for 2009 is Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and I get to concentrate on new releases for the current calendar year.
Now I would’ve seen The Book of Eli regardless because this is a movie that I’ve really been looking forward to, but it’s just really rare that I see a movie released during the start of a calendar year, that might already qualify to be one of the best movies that I’ll see during that calendar year, and that’s the case with The Book of Eli- already I have seen something this year that will be up there with the most special movies of 2010.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, The Book of Eli tells the story of a lone man, Eli, who’s had a calling and must follow that calling. Because of the great war that caused this apocalypse, nearly all of the Bibles have been destroyed as a result of that (as well as a good deal of other books). One bible remains and it’s in Eli’s possession, and his calling is to go West and from there decide what to do with the book. But Eli runs across others during his travels, and along the way he comes across a town that’s controlled by a man named Carnegie, and Carnegie is desperate to get a hold of a Bible because he knows what power the Bible has and what it can inspire amongst people who have no more hope.
This is the fifth movie from The Hughes Brothers and like James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow before them, their first major release in a long period of time (their last film being their adaptation of Alan Moore’s and Eddie Campbell’s graphic novel, From Hell). And like Cameron and Bigelow, the time away certainly hasn’t hurt their chops at all and in fact, they’ve just gotten better if The Book of Eli is any indication, and for me anyway it is, as I think it’s their best movie yet.
First, it’s just a beautiful movie to watch. Yes, it is set against an all too bleak backdrop, but the composition of every shot is almost a work of art in itself. There’s heavy duty action elements in the film, and the Hughes Brothers buck the trend that a lot of others shooting action go for now, which is a lot of in-close stuff with quick cuts, and instead, they’ll pull their camera back and let you take in what they’re doing, which just makes the scenes even more impressive. One action scene in particular is just really fun to watch and it simulates a single camera shot that travels all around the action. Like Kathryn Bigelow with The Hurt Locker, they’re also not afraid to let a scene play out longer than what another movie might do, and thus add even more weight to what you’ve just seen.
In particular though, this movie deals with faith and they’re not afraid to take it as far as they do. There’s a particular point in the movie that really illustrates this (and I expect for some, this will be the turning point in the movie where they’ll either love it or hate it, depending on whether you want to go with them on it- I went with them on it). This same point is also like ones seen before in The Sixth Sense or Fight Club, the type of scene that makes you want to go back and re-watch the film to see where their “tells” are.
All of this wouldn’t mean anything though if you didn’t have a cast with the same conviction to carry it out, and fortunately, the Hughes Brothers have that with Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman as their leads. With Denzel Washington, you always get an actor who just gives the right amount of credibility to every part he plays, and Eli is no exception- his conviction is there, and I just wanted to follow him all the way through this. Oldman is the same way, once he’s been cast in a part, you know you’re in good hands, and while his Carnegie is the villain of this piece, it’s not just played single-mindedly and you do get the feeling that this is man who knows he’s done some pretty foul things to keep his life and his town going, even if it is starting to go further than what he might’ve planned. They’re backed up with some real nice turns from Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Tom Waits, Michael Gambon and Jennifer Beals amongst others (really nice to see Beals doing something like this) and the entire cast makes sure that the Hughes Brothers vision follows through.
It’s a pretty profound story of faith told against a spaghetti western post-apocalyptic backdrop that’s masterfully made and certainly, at least to me, worth more than one viewing. It’s terrific to see the Hughes Brothers back in action and now I just hope it’s not another nine years before their next movie. Without a doubt in my mind, very much recommended, and already something that I’ll certainly be thinking about for the best that I’ve seen in 2010.
Drinking Game Preparatory Count: 9 Drinks (You don’t get much when they’re on topic.) Drinking Game Participants Final BAC Estimate:
Beer - .02
Wine - .04
Shots - .14
Note: This is a non-scientific estimate and shouldn’t be used as a goal.
1:25 David shows off how prepared he is for the upcoming shows.
1:45 Darren has interesting ideas of “The Perfect Date.”
2:40 High level reviews.
2:45 Chris did not edit him out.
2:55 David feels Darrell. Darrell is conflicted.
3:15 Darren fails to impress with his movie re-watching ability.
3:40 Tony used to disagree with everyone.
4:15 David thinks it’s the third greatest.
5:55 David drops the F-bomb! Then forgets his next point.
6:10 Actor reviews.
6:12 Brad Pitt elicits another F-bomb from David.
6:50 Edward Norton also elicits an F-bomb.
7:05 Death to Smoochy was a great movie, Tony.
7:35 Helena Bonham Carter does not elicit an F-bomb, though everybody liked her performance.
8:10 Meatloaf gets an F-bomb in his introduction!
9:10 David is more informed than everyone else!
9:55 <Censored> <censored>.
10:00 Plot synopsis.
12:00 “Greek chorus?” Darren’s classing up the joint.
12:20 We start talking about spoiling the movie.
13:00 We’re still talking about spoiling the movie.
13:30 We’re still talking about spoiling the movie.
14:00 We’re still talking about spoiling the movie.
14:30 We’re still talking about spoiling the movie.
14:45 We actually spoil the movie.
15:25 “Primal manliness?”
23:10 Darren finally derails the conversation with a sidetrack into Zodiac.
23:40 Darrell gets ‘em back on track.
29:30 David wants to get revolutionary! But leave him his couch.
31:15 Tony goes grunge.
32:15 I want you to punch me as hard as you can.
34:00 We’ll get there.
34:20 Chris calls shenanigans.
34:50 Darren gets very excited about a G4 report.
35:30 My wife leaves the room.
36:10 I say this counts as a “sprung” moment.
36:40 Darrell sticks to the plan.
37:50 “The buffet of manliness.”
38:10 Darren really gets into the rules.
42:40 In a movie about punching, the first punch is pulled.
44:30 David and his terrorist beard, then the guys get sexist.
44:45 Sarah drops an F-bomb!
46:10 Tony tangents.
50:00 Go for the knee and get out.
52:30 Drugs are bad! Move on.
53:05 Darren is weird.
54:00 The second punch is pulled.
54:30 Kudos to random guys.
59:40 “Jack’s sense of having nothing to add to this conversation.”
1:08:00 The Marla conspiracy gathers steams.
1:10:00 Watchmen is discussed in relation to Fight Club.
1:11:00 Timeliness is discussed.
1:13:00 You’re special, just like everyone else.
1:13:50 Tony disagrees about fulfillment.
1:16:00 Chris edited part of it out.
1:18:00 The griping about the jobs is done.
1:19:00 Marla is proven to be really, because we don’t see Edward Norton whacking it.
1:20:00 That’s it!
#1 Avatar from Fox holds at #1 for with a weekend gross of $50.3 million (-26.6%) in 3422 theaters (-39). Total gross to date is $430.8 million. Budget is unknown.
#2 Sherlock Holmes from Warner Brothers holds at #2 with a weekend gross of $16.5 million (-54.7%) in 3626 theaters (no change). Total gross to date is $165.1 million. Budget was $90 million.
#3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel from Fox holds at #3 with a weekend gross of $16.5 million (-52.9%) in 3641 theaters (-106). Total gross to date is $178.4 million. Budget was $75 million.
#4 Daybreakers from Lionsgate debuts at #4 with an opening weekend gross of $15.1 million in 2523 theaters. Budget was $20 million.
#5 It’s Complicated from Universal drops from #4 to #5 with a weekend gross of $11.0 million (-41.5%) in 2955 theaters (+58). Total gross to date is $76.3 million. Budget was $85 million.
#6 Leap Year from Universal debuts at #6 with an opening weekend gross of $9.2 million in 2511 theaters. Budget was $19 million.
Rounding out the top 12 are:
#7 The Blind Side drops from #5 to #7 with a weekend gross of $7.5 million (-36.8%) in 2880 theaters(-46). Total gross to date is $218.9 million. Budget was $29 million.
#8 Up in the Air drops from #6 to #8 with a weekend gross of $7.1 million (-33.2%) in 2218 theaters (+323). Total gross to date is $54.8 million. Budget was $25 million.
#9 Youth in Revolt debuts at #9 with an opening weekend gross of $6.8 million in 1873 theaters. Budget was $18 million.
#10 The Princess and the Frog drops from #7 to #10 with a weekend gross of $4.6 million (-52.7%) in 2620 theaters (-708). Total gross to date is $92.5 million. Budget was $105 million.
#11 Invictus drops from #9 to #11 with a weekend gross of $1.7 million (-55.9%) in 1340 theaters (-830). Total gross to date is $33.5 million. Budget was $60 million.
#12 New Moon drops from #11 to #12 with a weekend gross of $1.7 million (-50.5%) in 1167 theaters (-460). Total gross to date is $290.7 million. Budget was $50 million.
The combined gross of the top 12 movies this weekend was $148.4 million (-29.0%).
A note on “Gross”: On average, studios will earn approximately 55 percent of the final gross.
January 10th, 2010 · Darren Goodhart · No Comments
In a brief ten-year period, an epidemic of vampirism has swept the planet, making most of the population vampires with a small amount of regular humans kept alive to be “farmed” and have their blood harvested for the rest of the population. Civilization has continued for the vampires, still living their regular lives, but making the adjustments for their new condition, and most of the population has embraced this condition with a small few seking an alternative to this life. One corporation, Bromley Marks (The World Leader in Blood Pharmacy) is the leading supplier of blood to the vampire population, and their supplies are now running low. A hematologist for the company, Ed Dalton, seeks to come up with a blood substitute and is edging closer to success, but not quite getting there yet. If the vampire population is deprived of human blood, then they start to degenerate to something much more feral and fearsome, even to the rest of the population. Ed Dalton is a reluctant vampire though, refusing to drink human blood himself, and slowly is starting to fall prey to the condition that’s starting to take the rest of the population. Ed has a chance encounter with a small group of humans one evening that starts to change everything.
That’s the basic premise to Daybreakers a new movie written and directed by Australia’s Speirig Brothers, and for me, this is a welcome addition to what seems like a spate of vampire movies that more romanticizes the field. Daybreakers plays with the concept in some interesting ways, especially with the way life is lived after the condition strikes, but at the same time fully recognizes that it is a horror movie, but laced with some science fiction and speculative fiction ideas. Some of the cooler ideas are being cars that are customized so that vampires can drive during daylight hours, or in the cities, the construction of underground Subwalks that still let the vampires travel from building to building during the day.
But this is a vampire movie, and it doesn’t shy away from the violence inherent within the genre, so in addition to these ideas, you can certainly expect to see a good level of good old R-rated violence that goes with it, and the Speirig’s are quite adept with it as well, even being involved with some of the films more technical aspects.
They’ve got a nice cast here, headed up by Ethan Hawke as Ed Dalton. Hawke plays this quite earnestly and is pretty rock solid. And that pretty much is true for the rest of the cast as well, which includes Claudia Karvan, and always welcome appearances by guys like Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill.
Daybreakers does some fresh stuff with the genre as well as giving it it’s teeth back so to speak. It’s a briskly paced film that recognizes that it is a B-movie and has some fun with it’s genre, and it certainly entertained me. This may not be the best movie that I’ll see in 2010 (and by that, I mean the type of thing that really sticks with you), but I certainly thought it was a good start and a nice little diversion.
As our movie starts, we’re introduced to a strange little traveling sideshow attraction as it’s making it’s way through and setting up for a show near a pub area in London. We’re introduced to Doctor Parnassus himself, his daughter Valentina, a young man who acts as the “barker” for the show, Anton and Parnassus’ aid, the dwarf Percy. And we’re introduced to The Imaginarium itself, which upon entry, seems to present it’s entrant a doorway into his own imagination and there the entrant has to make a choice of a certain path to take through life. We’re told of Parnassus’ origin, which involves him believing himself to be a leader of a group that keeps the order in balance for the world by telling it’s story, and then we’re introduced to Parnassus’ nemesis, the Devil, who has won a wager with Parnassus that takes him out of his former life and puts him into the existence that he has now. Along the way, the group comes across Tony, a young amnesiac man who was at death’s door until they come along to save him and again, Parnassus also becomes involved in another game with the Devil. Tony helps where he can, as little bit’s of his previous life become clearer to him, but those bits of his past look like they could be even more of a hindrance in the end than a help…
And that’s where I’ll leave off with the basic premise of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus both famous for being the newest movie from director Terry Gilliam and the last movie for the late Heath Ledger. I really, really wanted to like this movie, I’m a fan of Gilliam’s, though for me he really hasn’t delivered a really good movie since Twelve Monkeys, and unfortunately, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is another big miss in a string of misses, but one where it might also be impossible to think of it purely on it’s own on it’s first viewing, because of the obvious death of Heath Ledger and what was done to fill in for that. This might improve in later viewings, but I have to say for myself, those viewings would be much later than sooner, as still this didn’t grab me in the way that would make me want to see it again right away.
If Terry Gilliam isn’t the most cursed filmmaker out there, he’s certainly in the top five. After some very public problems with the making of some of his movies from the past (Brazil and the so far yet to be completed properly The Man Who Killed Don Quixote) he’s plagued yet again with the unfortunate death of one of his stars for this movie, and has come up with a way to finish it, by having other actors replace heath Ledger in some of the key scenes within the Imaginarium, at least on the surface… but there would have to have been other changes made as well (I’m thinking of an introductory scene where a young man goes into the Imaginarium and see’s his face has changed, which doesn’t happen for everybody that goes through), as well as what I though had to be some sort of tonal shifts that seem to undermine Tony’s involvement with the group. In addition, these changes seem to make it so that there aren’t really any rules for the use of the Imaginarium proper and while some could write that away as “Well, it’s a fantasy, anything can happen,” fantasy, at least o me is only really good when there are established rules that are stuck to. And in the end, what you get is something that, again to me, was patchy at best.
There’s nothing wrong with the main performances, Christopher Plummer plays Parnassus, and he’s certainly right for the part. Lily Cole is quite good (and attractive) as his daughter and I actually really like Verne Troyer here as Percy, and think there’s something both odd and quite cool about his interplay with an actor of Plummer’s stature. Tom Waits plays the Devil and of course brings those parts of himself that you’d expect him to for the role, making the character untraditionally creepier than what someone else might’ve done. Heath Ledger is also quite good in his last performance, though this isn’t anything near what he did in The Dark Knight it’s still quite solid, but it leaves the question of what would this film had been like had he lived through it’s completion. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell all take the part of Tony as he enters the Imaginarium three times and I don’t think they’re seamless performances at all, and I’m sure there had to be some changes made that altered what the Tony character was originally supposed to be in order to finish this up, and unfortunately, those changes are felt.
There’s also nothing wrong with the visual style of the film, which is Gilliam running on all cylinders and certainly making the most of the technology in front of him to give you worlds within the Imaginarium that are like Gilliam animations from the Monty Python days, but this time working in three dimensions.
At present, like the movie Lost in la Mancha which is about all of the problems that Gilliam went through to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, it almost seems that the background of the making of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus might make for a more interesting piece than the actual film itself. As I said above, this might change for me with a later viewing, but after the first viewing, I’m not really that inclined to readily give this one another chance. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an unfortunate mess, it means well and I’m sure Gilliam did the best with what he had in front of him (and probably more in desperation to just maintain his financing), but it left me more wondering in the end just what this could’ve been had he not made the changes that he obviously had to make.
