Year: 2013

Categories
Movies

I have a bunch of movies to watch and go see over the next couple of days. A whole bunch!!

‘Hobbit’ Holds Off ‘Frozen’ as Nail-Biter Caps Record 2013 at Box Office

Tolkien tale is tops with $29M. “Anchorman 2,” “American Hustle” and “Wolf of Wall Street” bunched behind leaders

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” beat out “Frozen” in a battle as tight as the last lap of a NASCAR race to win its third straight weekend and cap a record year at the 2013 box office.

Peter Jackson’s second movie in his “Hobbit” trilogy, a prequel to the “Lord of the Rings,” will take in $29.8 million over the three days, and has rung up nearly $50 million since Christmas Day. It’s rolled up $190 million domestically and added another $98.3 million from abroad this weekend, to up its worldwide total to $614 million since opening on Dec. 13 for Warner Bros., New Line and MGM.

Disney Animation’s 3D “Frozen” was just behind it with $28.8 million for the three days – an eye-popping 47 percent increase from last weekend – and $44.2 million over the five days. After six weeks, “Frozen” is about to pass $250 million in the U.S. and is bearing down on $500 million worldwide.

Final numbers will come Monday, but with “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” at $20.1 million, “American Hustle” at $19.5 million and Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” opening to $18.5 million, the jam-packed holiday weekend pushed the overall box office ahead of last year’s record grosses of $10.83 billion.

The crazy-crowding at Christmas meant some movies were going to take box-office belly flops, and they did. Keanu Reeves’ pricey samurai epic “47 Ronin,” the Sylvester Stallone-Robert De Niro boxing comedy “Grudge Match” and Justin Bieber’s concert documentary all bombed since opening on Christmas Day.

“The Hobbit” is on course to match the $1 billion global haul of 2012′s first film, “An Unexpected Journey,” and Warner Bros. has succeeded in making it a holiday habit. Like the first two films, next year’s “There and Back” will open in mid-December.

“The finale in a series almost always does the best of a series, so we’re very much looking forward to next year,” the studio’s executive vice-president for distribution Jeff Goldstein told TheWrap. “We’ve still got a long way to go with this one though.”

He noted that while “Smaug” started a little more slowly than the first film, it’s picked up steam over the holidays. That’s particularly true at Imax theaters, which accounted for 17 percent of the grosses – up from 13 percent last weekend — from its market-high 3,928 theaters. The majority of those are 3D which, like the large-format screens, brings a ticket-price upcharge.

FROZEN“Frozen” is benefiting from tremendous word of mouth, with an 89 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A+” Cinemascore. It also got a boost when its only potential competition for families over the holidays, “Walking With Dinosaurs,” tanked last week.

The Will Ferrell comedy “Anchorman 2” was third and has pushed its domestic total to $83.6 million for Paramount. Unlike the 1994 original film, however, the sequel is scoring overseas and with $25.5 million from abroad, Ron Burgundy and his newsroom buddies have taken in $109 million worldwide in two weeks – easily eclipsing the $85.5 million haul of the first film’s entire run.

The only movie that improved as much as much from last week as “Frozen” was another Disney movie, its Oscar hopeful “Saving Mr. Banks.” The tale behind the making of “Mary Poppins” starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson brought in $14.3 million for the three days – a 50 percent jump from last week.

That put it in sixth, ahead of another Christmas Day opener, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” The Fox comedy starring Ben Stiller blew past analysts’ expectations with a three-day total of $13 million and a five-day haul of $25.6 million.

“Our exit polls were very strong, we got a “B+” Cinema Score and we have a PG rating,” said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson. “That’s going to help us a lot in January, especially if we can get some love at the Golden Globes and Oscar nominations.”

“American Hustle” also topped its first-week showing, and David O. Russell’s quirky comedy beat out “Wolf of Wall Street for fourth. Sony’s Oscar hopeful starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has pushed its domestic total past $60 million since going nationwide last weekend.

The film’s no-holds-barred portrayals of debauchery clicked with critics, who have it at 76 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but may have divided moviegoers. Audiences, which were 54 percent male and 90 percent over 25 years of age, gave it just a “C” CinemaScore.

“47 Ronin” wound up with a dismal $9.9 million for the weekend and $20.6 million for the five days since its Christmas opening. That’s lousy, given its $170 million budget, but Universal saw it coming and took steps to mitigate the damage.

“We adjusted film costs in previous quarters and as a result our financial performance will not be negatively impacted this quarter by its theatrical performance,” the studio said in a statement.

Its audience, which was 62 percent male and 53 percent over 30, gave it a “B+” CinemaScore.

“Grudge Match” couldn’t get off the canvas, taking in $7.3 million over the weekend and $13.4 million since opening on Christmas.

The PG-13 pairing of Stallone and De Niro drew older moviegoers – the audience was 68 percent over 25 – and mainly men, just not enough of them. They gave it “B+” CinemaScore, but the comedy directed and produced by Peter Segal is a very long shot to cover its $40 million budget for Warner Bros.

Open Road’s concert documentary “Believe” managed just $2 million for the three days and $4.2 million for the five. To put that in perspective, the young pop star’s “Never Say Never’ opened to $29 million in 2011 and went on to take in $73 million.

Take a look at the Box Office Chart right here: http://cdn-s3.thewrap.com/images/2013/12/box.off_.12.29..jpg

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

The album is awesome!!!

Bruce Springsteen Accidentally Pulled a Beyoncé

Early Sunday morning, it seemed like Bruce Springsteen had taken a (modified) lesson from the Beyoncé book of surprises and released his upcoming album early. Billboard reports that High Hopes — which is scheduled to come out on January 14 — was briefly available for purchase and download on Amazon. But, after properly waking up and having our respective coffees, it now seems more likely that the Internet retailer just screwed up than that the rock legend decided to get creative with release strategies. According to Billboard, “It is unclear whether or not [the early release] was the website’s intention,” considering the option to purchase anything besides the title single was only visible on their mobile site. “Amazon has since rescinded the ability to download the album, which was merely available by buying each song individually.” Congratulations to the hardcore Springsteen fans who got there in time.

Categories
Music

In case you were curious…

‘Beyoncé’ illegally downloaded 240,000 times in 10 days

It has been revealed that Beyonce’s new self-titled album ‘Beyoncé’ was illegally downloaded 240,000 times in the first 10 days since its release, resulting in $3.8 million of lost revenue for the singer.

The record, which was released on December 13, also clocked up just under a million legitimate sales in the same time period, reports Billboard, putting the surprise release at the top of the American Billboard chart for the two subsequent weeks.

The report also states that the former Destiny’s Child singer’s entire back catalogue has been shared more than two million times using BitTorrent downloading sites. As well as recent downloads of her eponymous new release, the album has also spurred downloads of the singer’s older albums; on December 15, more than 11,000 downloads of previous Beyoncé albums were also downloaded, which accounts for more than five times the number accessed the day before the singer’s newest release.

‘Beyoncé’ was released this month on iTunes with no run-up or publicity, marking a final surprise release in a year that has also seen similar promotion-less tactics from David Bowie and My Bloody Valentine.

Beyoncé, meanwhile, revealed after the album’s unveiling that she was ”really nervous” about the release. “I was terrified. I was so scared. I already envisioned like the worst things that could happen,” Beyoncé revealed before moving on to discuss the more personal side to the album. “I’m very private and I’m very respectful, and I think it just took me no longer being someone’s child — once I became a mother, I felt like I could tear those fourth walls and I just felt like it was time. I completely feel liberated.”

Categories
Movies

That is shocking news as it was such a bad year for movies.

Hollywood poised for best-ever box-office year

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite a string of summertime flops, Hollywood is expected to have a banner year at the domestic box office, coming in just shy of $11 billion, the largest annual take ever. But because of higher ticket prices, actual attendance at North American theaters remained flat after a decade of decline.

With the current domestic box-office tally nearly 1 percent ahead of last year at this time, 2013 could surpass 2012’s overall haul of $10.8 billion by more than $100 million, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.

High-profile flops such as “The Lone Ranger,” ”After Earth,” ”R.I.P.D.” and “Turbo” were offset by mega-hits like “Fast & Furious 6” and “Iron Man 3,” which consistently filled theaters last summer.

More recently, Warner Bros.’ space epic “Gravity” has earned $254 million domestically, Lionsgate’s sci-fi sequel “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has grossed $378 million and fantasy prequel “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” has brought in $150 million for Warner Bros.

A strong holiday slate is also boosting the year’s box-office total. “There has virtually been every kind of genre of film available,” said Rentrak box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “You have blockbusters like ‘Hobbit’ and esoteric, challenging films like ‘Nebraska,’ ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’ All of these films get people to the movies.”

But the National Association of Theater Owners projects that the actual number of tickets sold domestically in 2013 will remain about the same as last year’s 1.36 billion. That’s down from the all-time high of 1.57 billion admissions in 2002.

In 2011, the domestic box-office gross sunk to a 16-year low, dropping 3.5 percent from 2010 to $10.2 billion. But 2012 saw the industry rebound with a $10.8 billion total, thanks to hits like Disney’s “The Avengers” and Warner Bros.’ Batman finale “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Both films screened in 3-D, a profit-boosting perk that saw a huge increase in popularity following 2009’s “Avatar.” But the public’s appetite for the heightened technology has eased, leaving Hollywood to search for other ways to counter audience drain.

Entertainment available on countless portable devices continues to threaten multiplex attendance, as do advanced home theater systems and video-on-demand services offering original premium programming and feature films the same day as their theatrical release.

But Hollywood is fighting back with the premium multiplex experience. Movie attendance may be tepid, but the audience is willing to pay more for theater extras, which keep the bottom line growing, even as admissions remain flat.

“Theaters are offering IMAX, bigger chairs, dine-in options and alcohol,” said Don Harris, head of distribution at Paramount. “It’s kind of like the difference between staying at a Hilton or a Ritz Carlton. I think what you saw this year was a growth in a segment of the audience that isn’t as worried about the price of a movie ticket as they are interested in the out-of-home premium experience. I think you’re going to see that going forward.”

And with all of the bells and whistles now offered at theaters, movie-going is still one of the least expensive ways to be entertained, compared to concerts, sporting events and live theater,” notes Richie Fay, Lionsgate’s president of domestic distribution. (So far this year, the average cost of a movie ticket in North America has been $8.05, according to NATO.)

Social media has also helped boost sales, Fay observed, with Twitter and other services providing a powerful marketing tool for studios and a faster way for fans to spread that all-important word of mouth. “People don’t have to wait a day for a print story anymore. It’s an important part of the growth of the industry.”

Studios are hoping to continue that growth in 2014 with such anticipated releases as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” ”The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” ”X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” ”Dumb and Dumber To,” ”The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1″ and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again.”

“I think the fact that attendance is at least holding its own is impressive, given the number of other media options in the mix,” said Rentrak’s Dergarabedian. “Going out to the movie theater is clearly as attractive, relevant and viable as ever with audiences.”

Although year-end figures for the overseas box office are not yet available, foreign receipts are typically two to three times higher than domestic earnings. So fan-driven hits like “The Hangover Part III,” which grossed $112.2 million in North America, are expected to earn more than double their domestic takes overseas.

“With all of its ebbs and flows, ups and downs, the theatrical experience just continues to resonate,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution at Sony.

Categories
Television

Aims to turn it into profit, that should read!!

‘Duck Dynasty’: A&E Ends Phil Robertson Suspension; Aims to Turn Controversy into Teachable Moment

A+E Networks has maneuvered its way out of the “Duck Dynasty” controversy surrounding its top-rated show by consulting with the key advocacy groups in a position to raise the loudest ruckus over its response to the inflammatory remarks made by Phil Robertson about homosexuals and African-Americans, among other topics.

A&E said Friday it would lift the suspension against the family patriarch implemented on Dec. 18 after Robertson’s remarks in an interview with GQ made national headlines, exposing the lingering divide in the nation over the acceptance of homosexuality.

In the ensuing days, A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc and other top execs had extensive conversations with the Robertson clan about how to move forward with the show after the decision to suspend Phil Robertson sparked a furor about his right to voice his opinions.

The execs also kept in close contact with reps for GLAAD, the NAACP and other orgs in an effort to find a path to allowing the show to continue. The rest of the family issued a statement in support of Phil on Dec. 19, suggesting that they would not continue filming without him. But it was notable that none of the family members took to the media to bash A+E for the suspension, despite ample opportunities.

Before A+E announced its reversal on Robertson’s suspension and plans for a PSA campaign aimed at promoting tolerance, GLAAD and NAACP were apprised of the cabler’s decision — ensuring that there would be no immediate backlash from the two prominent advocacy orgs. The Robertson family’s reps at WME were also involved in the discussions, none of which were held face to face because of the holiday timing of the flap.

“After discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming ‘Duck Dynasty’ later this spring with the entire Robertson family,” the network said in a statement.

Robertson was placed on “indefinite hiatus” for comparing homosexuals to animals, saying “start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.”

On Friday, A+E sought to continue to distance itself from those remarks while arguing that the show is not about politics or the cultural issues but the homespun antics of the Louisiana-based family that made it big selling duck hunting equipment.

“We at A+E Networks expressed our disappointment with his statements in the article,” the statement said, “and reiterate that they are not views we hold. But ‘Duck Dynasty’ is not a show about one man’s views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about.”

The sheer volume of punditry and commentary unleashed by Robertson’s comments and A+E’s initial response added urgency to the company’s need to find a resolution to the standoff with the family. Numerous conservative critics and orgs cited the suspension as an example of the media’s anti-Christian bias given the religious foundation of Robertson’s expressed beliefs, while GLAAD and other advocacy orgs condemned the sentiment behind his remarks as intolerant and highly insensitive.

The PSA campaign amounts to A+E’s attempt to turn the turmoil into a teachable moment, and also provide some cover for a decision that will undoubtedly prompt criticism from some quarters. The decision to reinstate Phil Robertson to the show may dampen A+E’s standing with some in the creative community, where tolerance and respect for gay rights are considered a given, not a subject for debate.

Details of the PSA campaign, which will run across A&E, History, Lifetime and other A+E outlets, were sparse on Friday. There was no word if any of the “Duck Dynasty” family members would appear in the spots, or if any of the issues would be addressed in the future episodes of the show.

A+E vowed that the campaign would promote “unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people, a message that supports our core values as a company, and the values found in ‘Duck Dynasty.’ “

The uproar over Phil Robertson is likely to give a boost to the upcoming season of “Duck Dynasty,” which unspools Jan. 15 with episodes filmed long before the GQ article hit. Not that the show needs much help in drawing an audience. Viewership soared during the past year to average 13 million for the most recent season. Merchandise sales have also been part of the success story, with Forbes estimating that the show has sold $400 million to date.

Categories
People

Miley had a good year, but Jennifer had a great one!!

JLaw edges Miley as Entertainer of the Year

LOS ANGELES — The battle for AP entertainer of the year came down to the Girl on Fire and the Queen of Twerk.

Jennifer Lawrence edged out Miley Cyrus by one vote in The Associated Press’ annual survey of its newspaper and broadcast members and subscribers for Entertainer of the Year.

There were 70 ballots submitted by U.S. editors and news directors. Voters were asked to consider who had the most influence on entertainment and culture in 2013.

Lawrence won 15 votes. Cyrus had 14. Netflix was a close third, earning 13 votes for altering the TV landscape with its on-demand format and hit original series.

But Lawrence — who started the year with an Academy Award for best actress, fueled a box-office franchise as “The Hunger Games” heroine Katniss Everdeen, and wrapped 2013 with a critically acclaimed performance in “American Hustle” that just earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations — charmed fans everywhere with her candid sincerity.

She was also a fashion darling — a muse for Dior — who made headlines with her pixie haircut. (“That was the weirdest thing that ever happened to me,” she recently told Jon Stewart.)

Lawrence declined comment for this story.

The 23-year-old actress “is not only talented and beautiful, but comes off as incredibly intelligent, genuine, funny and well-spoken in her public appearances and interviews,” writes Kristi Runyan of The Derrick and The News-Herald Newspapers in Oil City, Pa. “It’s refreshing to see a young woman not squandering her talent and success by succumbing to the temptations many do in Hollywood and who actively speaks about the ridiculous behavior of some of her peers.”

Speaking of ridiculous behavior, Cyrus raised eyebrows throughout 2013 with her embrace of twerking, nudity and public pot smoking. The 21-year-old “Wrecking Ball” singer also made news with her pixie chop, but her breakup with fiance Liam Hemsworth and highly sexualized (and scrutinized) performances made her water-cooler chatter all year.

“She made the biggest splash, without comment on whether I thought it was a good thing,” said Jim Turpin of KMPH-TV in Fresno, Calif.

Women have dominated the Entertainer of the Year contest. Past titleholders include Adele, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey, Betty White and Taylor Swift. Stephen Colbert is the lone male winner in seven years of voting.

Netflix commanded votes for changing viewing habits (binge-watch “Breaking Bad,” anyone?) and challenging the traditional TV-release concept with its original series. The outlet eschewed typical TV pilots and released a season’s worth of episodes at once of its acclaimed series “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.”

“In a divided entertainment landscape that includes the fans of pop princesses like Miley as well as high-minded devotees of cutting-edge filmmaking, Netflix is the one common denominator,” said Sean Stangland of Paddock Publications in suburban Chicago.

The beloved, Emmy-winning series “Breaking Bad” was in fourth place with 10 votes. Justin Timberlake, whose year included a pair of albums and top-selling tours, seven Grammy nominations and two film roles, claimed fifth place.

Categories
Movies

Of course they will, there is too much money at stake if they cut them out.

Paul Walker’s scenes will be part of ‘Fast and Furious 7’

When Fast and Furious 7 opens in theaters in 2015, audiences can expect to see Paul Walker.

The actor died in a car accident on Nov. 30 before he finished filming the next installment of the popular action franchise. The tragedy not only was a devastating shock to the production, a creative team that prides itself on its sense of family, but it put in doubt whether the new film could be completed at all. Universal quickly shut down production — which was approximately halfway done — and postponed its summer 2014 release date while it reconsidered its options.

Would Walker’s character be removed from the film and the script rewritten? Could his scenes be saved by filming additional footage with a double or CG effects? That remains unclear, but over the weekend, Vin Diesel took to his Facebook page to inform fans that Fast and Furious 7 will now open April 10, 2015.

Universal followed with an official statement that confirmed that Walker still would be part of the picture. “Continuing the global exploits in the franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead the returning cast of Fast and Furious 7, which will be released by Universal Pictures on April 10, 2015. James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series, and Neal H. Moritz and Vin Diesel return as producers.”

Categories
Television

Seriously…who cares!!!

‘Saturday Night Live’: Drake to pull double duty as host, musical guest in January

When “Saturday Night Live” returns from its holiday break, it’ll be with its third double-duty host of the season.

After Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga’s turns as host and musical guest this fall, the series announced during its holiday episode on Saturday (Dec. 21) that Drake (aka Aubrey Graham) would be the next musician to get the gig this season.

The rapper and former “Degrassi: The Next Generation” star will host the January 18, 2014 episode. This will be Drake’s second appearance on “SNL” — he served as musical guest in 2011 opposite host Anna Faris.

We’re totally in for a Wheelchair Jimmy/”Degrassi” spoof sketch, right?

Categories
Movies

No, ANCHORMAN 2 isn’t a great movie, but it is hilarious from start to finish!!!

Box office report: ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ scorches ‘Anchorman 2’ opening with $31.5 million

This just in: Ron Burgundy is no match for a fire-breathing dragon at the box office. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (CinemaScore: B) beat out The Hobbit sequel on Friday, but updated totals show the Will Ferrell-starrer trailing Peter Jackson’s fantasy pic for the three-day weekend.

In first place, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug fell about 60% and brought in an estimated $31.5 million from 3,903 screens in its second weekend in theaters — spot on with Grady Smith’s prediction. Its domestic take now stands at a healthy $127.5 million. But that total lags behind the first Hobbit film by a significant margin. In 2012, An Unexpected Journey dropped 56.4% in its second weekend, earning nearly $36.9 million and bumping its domestic total to $150 million. That film played in about 200 more theaters and had a stronger opening weekend.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s heavily marketed Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opened in second place with a weekend estimate of $26.8 million. The PG-13 rated sequel opened in 3,507 locations Wednesday and is expected to net about $40 million for its first five days, much lower than EW’s prediction. The first Anchorman opened in July 2004 to $28.4 million and went on to gross $85.3 million domestically.

Coming in third is Disney’s animated pic Frozen with $19.2 million, down only 15% from last weekend. The $150 million 3-D musical has been in theaters for four weekends and boasts a $191.6 million domestic total. Frozen opened this weekend in Mexico, Italy, Lebanon, Greece, South Africa, Finland, Hong Kong, and Venezuela, and will continue its worldwide expansion in the coming weeks, including a release in China at a date still to be determined. Its current global total is $344.2 million.

Director David O. Russell’s star-studded epic American Hustle (CinemaScore: B+) took in an estimated $19.1 million (meeting expectations) from 2,507 theaters, landing it in fourth place. The ’70s-set tale of con artists and strivers opened last weekend in limited release. Last year’s Best Picture-winner Argo opened to a similar $19.5 million weekend. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, which also starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, had a vastly different box office story last year, playing in fewer than 800 theaters for nine weeks before expanding wide closer to the Oscars. It would go on to gross $132 million domestically, making it the first Russell film to cross the $100 million mark. In addition to having the benefit of Russell’s recent successes, Sony’s American Hustle has the bonus selling points of stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams — both of whom are receiving raves for their performances.

Saving Mr. Banks (CinemaScore: A), another Disney property, snagged the fifth place spot in its first weekend playing to a wide audience with a slightly sub-par $9.3 million, bringing its worldwide total to $15.4 million. Audiences skewed female (57%), and 39% of attendees were under age 35. Another awards contender (for Best Picture and Best Actress for Emma Thompson’s portrayal of Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers), the glossy PG-13 rated pic will likely enjoy a healthy holiday run.

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $31.5 million
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – $26.8 million
3. Frozen – $19.2 million
4. American Hustle – $19.1 million
5. Saving Mr. Banks – $9.3 million

Fox’s Walking With Dinosaurs (CinemaScore: B) opened outside of the top five to an estimated $7.3 million from 3,231 theaters. With the combination of Frozen and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the family market was a bit too saturated to allow any box office leftovers for Fox’s 3-D dinosaur pic.

The action-thriller Dhoom 3 broke the record for a Bollywood opening in the U.S. with $3.3 million from 236 theaters. The Coen brothers’ awards contender Inside Llewyn Davis expanded into 148 theaters and took in about $1.1 million for an impressive $7,169 per theater average.

UPDATE: In the speciality box office world, Spike Jonze’s futuristic love story Her opened in six theaters Wednesday and brought in $258,000 across the weekend. Jonze’s film, starring Joaquin Phoenix, will open wide on Jan. 10. Feng Xiaogang’s Chinese comedy Personal Tailor made its U.S. debut in nine theaters and earned an estimaed $104,000. Finally, Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian mystery The Past, starring The Artist’s Berenice Bejo, opened in three theaters to $30,900.

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

Here are my latest reviews, and some gift ideas for the movie lover on your list!!

The Couch Potato Report – December 21st, 2013

It’s the final shopping weekend before Christmas and I have a few releases that could make great gifts for the Couch Potatoes on your list. I’ll start with one for the science fiction fan.

Back in 2009, South African born, Vancouver raised director Neill Blomkamp gave us a superb sci-fi flick called DISTRICT 9 and this year he followed it up with the very interesting ELYSIUM, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

This film takes place in the year 2154, in a time when the very wealthy live above the now overpopulated, ruined earth on a man–made space station called Elysium.

People there live in luxurious comfort and all have medical devices called Med-Bays to keep them free of disease and injury. No one, who can afford it, ever gets sick.

Matt Damon plays a man who lives on earth, and after an accident at the plant he works at exposes him to a lethal dose of radiation, he only has five days to live…unless he can get to Elysium and into one of the Med-Bays.

Jodie Foster is the Elysian Secretary of Defense, and it is her responsibility to ensure no one from earth has access to their land, lifestyle or equipment.

But Damon isn’t just trying to save himself, he wants the two worlds to be equal and for everyone to have access to the same lifestyles and medical benefits.

ELYSIUM is a very, very smart action film, but overall it isn’t great. Damon is playing a character we’ve seen too many times before, so is Jodie Foster for that matter, and her accent is unfocussed, which is surprising as she is a two-time Academy Award winner who knows how to act and do accents.

But the partially made in Vancouver film does have enough going for it that I can – and do – recommend it…especially to the science-fiction fans on your Christmas list, who will really appreciate all of the behind-the-scenes features..

Fans of actor Hugh Jackman on your list might be pleased to receive the drama PRISONERS. This movie is engaging and isn’t predictable, at least I never saw the end coming. I figured some of it out, but not the ending.

PRISONERS is a thriller directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, who also gave us POLYTECHNIQUE and INCENDIES.

Hugh Jackman stars here as a father who is living every parent’s worst nightmare – his six-year-old daughter, and her friend, go missing and are presumed kidnapped. They may even be prisoners.

He is prepared to do anything – just about anything – to get them back. And as the days go by, what he’s willing to do becomes more and more violent.

PRISONERS is very well made, with some strong performances, but it is a flawed film. It doesn’t always have the greatest attention to detail, and its own plot points, and that works against it.

But Hugh Jackman fans will appreciate his performance, and so let me recommend it to them, and for them as a present this Holiday Season.

Fans of the cinematic character of Jack Ryan will appreciate the gift and enjoy owning the four disc blu-ray set THE JACK RYAN COLLECTION, starring Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck as the title character, based on works by Tom Clancy.

THE JACK RYAN COLLECTION includes the incredible HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, the very good PATRIOT GAMES, the only okay CLEAR AND PRSENT DANGER and the not great at all Ben Affleck entry THE SUM OF ALL FEARS.

Even though the entertainment value of the films went down as the series went along, THE JACK RYAN COLLECTION has some great special features and is still a great Box Set for action film fans and I can – and do – easily recommend it.

There was a little movie that came out in 2010 that I really liked. Called KICK-ASS, it was about a group of high school students who decided to stand up for the oppressed and become super-heroes, even though they had no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

A sequel to that little film came out this year, and it is nowhere near as good as the original.

It isn’t odd for a sequel to not be as good as the original film, but KICK-ASS 2 pales in comparison to the first one. That flick was fun, and full of interesting characters, all a bit cartoony, but the mood, tone, action, and humour were all perfectly done.

The made-in-Toronto KICK-ASS 2 has all the action and some of the adventure of the first one, but none, absolutely none of the fun. This second one just isn’t fun at all…even with the addition of Jim Carrey to the cast.

I like the characters of Kick-Ass, Hit Girl, Battle Guy, and the other made-up superheroes, so I hope they can get it right when they film the expected third movie in the trilogy.

Get it right, and make the series fun again.

See KICK-ASS…that movie is a blast…skip KICK ASS 2…it is not.

WOW!! That is what I will start off with when it comes to THE FINAL SEASON of the television series BREAKING BAD. WOW!!

This is the Emmy Award winning show about former teacher turned meth dealer Walter White and his partner Jesse Pinkman.

Over the course of the series, Walt struggled to survive and keep his drug dealing identity a secret from his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank.

At the end of the last season, Hank figured out that Walt was a drug dealer, and these final eight episodes offer the series an epic and spectacular conclusion.

The creators of BREAKING BAD have given us a superb FINAL SEASON, and even though I wasn’t always the biggest fan of the show, it grew on me with each season and the ending is perfect.

Even if you watched the show when it aired, check out this three-disc set as it offers extended and uncensored versions of some episodes, and the alternative ending they filmed with Bryan Cranston’s co-star from MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE is also included here. That other ending is incredible!!

So are the final eight episodes, and the series itself.

As I said, WOW!!

Finally this week, last and absolutely least is THE LONE RANGER, starring Armie Hammer from THE SOCIAL NETWORK as the title character and Johnny Depp as Tonto.

This movie was universally panned, even before it was released, and it is as bad as you’ve heard.

It absolutely is one of the worst films of the year.

While I will admit that that there is some good stuff in the film – the train crash scene is amazing, for instance – there is so much wrong with it and with a running time of almost two and a half hours, it goes on and on and on and on and you have better things to do at this time of year.

The best gift you can get for the movie fans on your list this holiday season is to get them any movie other than THE LONE RANGER.

It should be avoided at all costs…man, is it a stinker!!

The absolutely every bit as bad as you’ve heard it is movie version of THE LONE RANGER; the absolutely every bit as good as you’ve heard it is FINAL SEASON of BREAKING BAD; the action packed, not as good sequel KICK-ASS 2; the mostly entertaining JACK RYAN COLLECTION, featuring the incredible HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, the very good PATRIOT GAMES, the only okay CLEAR AND PRSENT DANGER and the not great THE SUM OF ALL FEARS; the very good, but flawed adult drama PRISONERS, from Canadian director Denis Villeneuve; and the not great, but very good science fiction film ELYSIUM – from Vancouver based director Neill Blomkamp – are all available now, either on disc or on demand, for your Holiday gift giving.

And, for 2013, that’s THE COUCH POTATO REPORT.

Enjoy the movies HAPPY HOLIDAYS and I’ll see you back here again next year on The Couch!