DVD Releases!

Legion - As most of you know, this is definitely my top guilty pleasure of the year so far. I found this movie to be quite entertaining, even though it has absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. It features Lucas Black, the retarted redneck quarterback from Friday Night Lights (the movie) as a character named "Jeep", who is supposed to be the savior of humanity (and which allows for some great lines of inspirational dialogue). Dennis Quaid, AKA one of the worst actors ever (see: Vantage Point), plays Jeep's father, which results in the worst family of actors ever portrayed on film. Add to that the infamous scene with the demonic grandma, this movie is a must-see for those who enjoy fun, terrible movies.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Daybreakers - This Ethan Hawke vampire flick looked like another great candidate for my guilty pleasure of the year, so I am a bit interested.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Edge of Darkness -  This seemed like an interesting choice for Mel Gibson's first film since Signs in 2002, and from what I can tell from the trailer, if you enjoyed Taken, this seems like pretty much the same movie.

Rating: 2 out of 5

So, any of these interest you?

Box Office Report!

The full report can be found here, but Iron Man 2 was successful, but not as much as the studio might have hoped. The film opened up at #1 with $133.6 million domestically, which is the fifth highest opening weekend of all time. While this may not sound dissapointing, Paramount was hoping for and even predicting this film to be the highest opening of all time, which is a goal the film was far from reaching. In second was last week's winner A Nightmare on Elm Street with $9.1 million in its second week, and in third was the continually impressive How to Train Your Dragon with $6.7 million in its seventh week of release. The other new release this week was the documentary Babies, which debuted at #10 with $1.5 million in 534 theaters. Some experts believe a film like Babies could stay strong since it is different from the summer films the studios have to offer.

So, what do you think? Surprised by Iron Man 2's showing?

New Releases!

Iron Man 2 - This is one I'm not terribly excited about. First of all, the first installment didn't really do much for me. I thought it was one of the better made superhero films, but I just was not too impressed. Secondly, I'm only a fan of sequels under special circumstances, and I don't believe this is one of them. Early reviews have said this is decent, but nowhere near as inventive or as good as the first. I do like Robert Downey, Jr. and Mickey Rourke (even though this seems like a paycheck role for him), I'm just not thrilled about seeing this one. I probably will eventually, though (honestly, it would be pretty tough to avoid it).
Rating: 3 out of 5

Babies - this film already inspired one of the better discussions on this blog (which can be found here), so by reading that you can get a sense of my feelings toward this movie. First, the film is supposed to be very minimalistic (some may say "boring"), and it seems to just follow these babies around with little to no narration. Second, this movie just creeps me out.
Rating: 0 out of 5

So, what do you want to see this weekend?

Hidden Gem of the Week!

Phantasm (1979)

Written and Directed by: Don Coscarelli

Starring: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury,

and Angus Scrimm

Trailer 

After losing their parents, Mike and Jody notice some strange happenings at the local cemetery and funeral home, where they are forced to deal with supernatural forces controlled by the Tall Man.

This film is one of the staples of low-budget horror cinema. It is well shot, and the special effects are very effective, especially given the time period and the budget. This also features one of the most famous effects in horror film history, which deals with a sphere that attaches to your face and drills a hole right through your head. I encourage everyone to watch this, it is definitely very  fun and very memorable.

So, what do you think? Does this appeal to you?

DVD Releases!

Tetro - This is the latest from director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now), and is said to be his most personal film to date. While I've heard this film has its fair share of problems, it also seems to be beautifully shot in black-and-white, and very interesting as well.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Leap Year - This Amy Adams romantic comedy seems to be lacking on originality and quality. Definitely not for me.
Rating: 1 out of 5

Nine - Like many critics, I was not very impressed with this film when i saw it in theaters. While I found some of the musical numbers to be impressive, along with great performances from (the always great) Daniel Day-Lewis and (recently impressive) Marion Cotillard, I thought the overall film was convoluted. If its your thing, you might enjoy it, otherwise I would advise you to avoid this one.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Tooth Fairy - This one falls in the category of "I can't believe this movie actually exists". But, it does feature the long awaited screen debut of Ryan Sheckler (OMG!!!!) In all seriousness, I don't want to see this.
Rating: 0 out of 5

So, what will you be renting this weekend?

Box Office Report!

Hey guys! Again, this is a day late, but once the semester is over, which will be on Saturday, I will be back up to speed on the blog.

The full report can be found here, but it seems as if, after a few weeks of close finishes at the box office, we finally have a clear cut winner. A Nightmare on Elm Street ran away with the top spot this week, pulling in $32.2 million over the weekend. In second this week was How To Train Your Dragon, which continues to impress by pulling in $10.8 million in its sixth week of release. The only other release this week was Brendan Fraser's Furry Vengeance, which came in fifth with a dismal $6.5 million.

So what do you think? Were you surprised by the winner this week?

Guilty Pleasure of the Week!

Hey guys! Since I missed this feature last week, I have decided to have two guilty pleasures this week! Hope you enjoy!

Get Over It (2001)

Directed by: Tommy O'Haver

Written by: R. Lee Fleming Jr.

Starring: Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst,

Shane West, Colin Hanks,

and Sisqo

Trailer

In order to win back the affections of his ex-girlfriend, Berke Landers joins the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While being coached by his best friend's little sister, he develops feelings for her and must decide who he wants to be with.

This movie is purely entertaining on many levels. First, it stars Ben Foster, one of my favorite actors, in about the best performance one could give with this material. It is also a (not really that) clever high school version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and it stars Sisqo, what more could you ask for?!

The Happening (2008)

Written and Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel,

and John Leguizamo

Trailer 

When an unexplained terror comes to New York City that causes people to inexplicably kill themselves, A high-school teacher, his wife, and a young girl must figure out what is happening, all the while trying to run from it.

Now, I have taken much heat for supporting this movie. Yes, I realize the script if terrible, which in turn causes the acting to be atrocious, and there are serious problems with the story. However, I have two points I would like to use to defend myself. First, I thought the scenes of suspense and those of violence were very well done, showing that Shyamalan does have talent as a director, just not a screenwriter. Second, I heard this idea on a podcast and I would like to run with it. The plot of the movie, as well as the twist, seems to be much like a Sci-Fi horror film that would have been made back in the 1950s, much like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That being the case, had Shyamalan realized this and made this more of an homage to those films, mainly by shooting it in black and white and in the same style as those, creating characters to fit that time period, but keeping the gore at the same level, I think he could have had a very interesting film on his hands. However, he took the source material way too seriously and the film suffered for it.

So what do you think? Do you like any of these movies as well?