Month: January 2014

Categories
Movies

You couldn’t pay me to go see that film. Kevin Hart is not funny!!

Box office report: ‘Ride Along’ dominates with $47.8 million, breaks January record

It’s good to be Kevin Hart and Ice Cube this weekend. The increasingly ubiquitous Hart, who recently told EW that Ride Along is “my baby,” scored big with a $41.2 million opening weekend for the buddy-cop comedy. That should jump to an estimated $47.8 million when one factors in the Monday MLK Jr. holiday. Not only does the impressive haul surpass expectations for Universal’s leanly budgeted $25 million comedy, but it also breaks the record for a January opening. (If you’re still not sold on the Hart/Cube pairing, whose chemistry lifted the film to an “A” approval rating with CinemaScore audiences, let this stupendous spot on Conan give you a taste of their chemistry.)

Universal folks have further reason to thrust their chests out this weekend. Buoyed by rapturous word of mouth, the studio’s real-SEAL heart-thumper Lone Survivor dropped just 38 percent to deliver an impressive $23.2 million in its fourth weekend. Director Peter Berg, whose Battleship bombed so badly, made Lone Survivor for $40 million and now can boast about a $74 million domestic total.

Sliding into the No. 3 spot is Open Road Films’ animated The Nut Job. With families looking for holiday entertainment, The Nut Job should swap places with Lone Survivor by the end of Monday. The squirrel comedy, which earned a solid “B” rating from CinemaScore audiences, managed to outperform its modest expectations.

Alas, the same can’t be said for Paramount’s stab at rebooting its Jack Ryan franchise, with Star Trek actor Chris Pine playing the action-hero CIA agent who’s previously been played by the likes of Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which the studio made for $60 million, debuts at a rather limp No. 4 with just $17.2 million. A “B” CinemaScore rating shouldn’t do much to attract moviegoers distracted by all the Oscar-nominated films they want to see before the big show. That said, Shadow Recruit fared better overseas, with $22.2 million from only half of the international markets.

Frozen hung on in the No. 5 spot, with Disney’s domestic kitty now totaling nearly $333 million. But hot on its heels was American Hustle, which earned 10 Oscar nominations and last night walked away with a SAG award for best ensemble cast. David O. Russell’s caper, starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence, enjoyed a 28 percent jump with a $10.6 million haul in its sixth weekend; its total gross rose to $116.4 million. The Meryl Streep/Julia Roberts family drama August: Osage County likewise enjoyed a jump in box office to $7.6 million as it more than doubled its theater count to 2,051; its cume stands at nearly $18.2 million.

The only other other notable new release is Devil’s Due, Eli Roth’s found-footage horror movie that was hoping to benefit from its mega-viral “Devil Baby” campaign. The film failed to crack the top 5 and earned a dismal “D+” CinemaScore rating. That’s a bleak showing, and yet the $7 million film already recouped its investment with an $8.5 million debut.

The top five:
1. Ride Along — $41.2 million
2. Lone Survivor — $23.2 million
3. The Nut Job — $20.55 million
4. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit — $17.2 million
5. Frozen— $12 million

Categories
Television

Hey, remember the 90s?

Fallon to begin ‘Tonight’ run with Will Smith, U2

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight” show, which debuts next month with actor Will Smith and U2 as guests, will look familiar to people who appreciate his current work in the time slot following Jay Leno.

Fallon said he doesn’t expect to change his brand of comedy to tailor himself to an earlier time slot. Fallon and his successor at “Late Night,” Seth Meyers, met with reporters Sunday as NBC begins the delicate process of a late-night transition.

“This show has completely changed from when I first started,” Fallon said of “Late Night,” which he has hosted for five years. “I feel like we’ve blossomed into what will become the new ‘Tonight’ show.”

He rejected the idea of changes to make himself more appealing to an older, middle American audience that likes Leno. It’s a delicate subject at NBC, where executives believe Conan O’Brien’s limited appeal doomed their first effort to replace Leno. The executives anticipate Fallon’s light-hearted comedy translating better.

Leno closes his two-decade run on “Tonight” Feb. 6 with Billy Crystal and Garth Brooks as guests. On Feb. 17, Fallon debuts a week’s worth of shows at midnight following NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics. He moves into his regular time slot a week later, followed by Meyers, who has “Saturday Night Live” chum Amy Poehler booked as his first guest.

NBC’s entertainment president, Robert Greenblatt, said he’d like to keep Leno at NBC, perhaps to host regular specials. Fallon said he’s not worrying about whether Leno leaves NBC and decides to keep working in late-night TV elsewhere.

Fallon said he called Leno when he got the “Late Night” job to reassure him he wasn’t gunning for Leno’s gig. He said they have spoken regularly, and he’s taken some of Leno’s advice, most prominently to make his nightly monologues longer.

“He’s a good guy,” Fallon said. “He’s really treated me well.”

Fallon’s “Tonight” show “should be goofy and fun and make everybody laugh. That’s our job,” he said. He said he appreciates showing different sides of celebrities by getting them involved in skits or games, like when Tom Cruise cracked two raw eggs on his head. Fallon’s musical skits are among his most memorable. He said he alerted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office ahead of time about his recent duet with Bruce Springsteen that spoofs Christie’s traffic jam scandal.

Although Fallon is moving “Tonight” to New York from the West Coast, he said he will take the show on the road — including to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks a year.

Some critics have noted that the formal title of the show is changing from the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” to the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Fallon said it was an homage to the show’s roots.

Meyers is taking over a show where the three previous occupants of his chair — David Letterman, O’Brien and Fallon — are all still hosting shows. He said the legacy of “Late Night” is that hosts get to do weird things and that people have a little more patience with it.

But Meyers seems very much the traditionalist. The current head writer of “Saturday Night Live” values writing, and he’s brought the author of his “SNL” ”Weekend Update” segments over to lead his own writing team. Meyers said he’s looking to build a stable of writer-performers and that a strong monologue will be key to his show. He won’t have a regular sidekick and hasn’t decided whether he will have a band or DJ for musical interludes.

A strong ensemble or guests will be a priority, with Meyers noting that “I like being in a (camera) shot with someone who is funnier than I am.”

“If you get too hung up on the legacy of what you’re getting into, it gets in the way of the work,” Meyers said. “Our goal is to be as funny as we can and get better every night.”

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

20 FEET FROM STARDOM is a must see, enjoy!!

The Couch Potato Report – January 18th, 2014

Two of my favourite films of 2013 are now available to watch at home, and I recommend that you do, especially when it comes to the music documentary 20 FEET FROM STARDOM

This superb film will introduce you to backup singers Darlene Love, Judith Hill, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and many others whose names you might not know, but whose voices you are likely very familiar with.

These very talented performers have worked with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, and Sting, among others.

Over the years, some singers have made it to the front of the stage, but many of them – to this day – remain 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. Sheryl Crow is one who has made it.

I absolutely loved 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. Hearing the stories – both good and bad – from the performers who reside both at the front of the stage and twenty feet back was fascinating and I’m glad – through this film – that these great singers may finally get some acknowledgement for their work.

20 FEET FROM STARDOM is a must see, and not just for music fans as the film has plenty of drama as well.

Okay, ENOUGH SAID. And I don’t mean that I am done yet, ENOUGH SAID is the name of the next movie I have for you, also one of my favourites of 2013.

This great drama stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus from VEEP and SEINFELD and the late, great James Gandolfini of THE SOPRANOS. They both play middle aged divorcees who aren’t necessarily looking for love, but somehow find it.

Complicating their relationship is the fact that Julia eventually finds out that the man she’s interested in is her new friend’s ex-husband.

The main reason I enjoyed ENOUGH SAID as much as I did is the fact that it is a mature, relaxed and calm film, just like the characters in the movie itself are. Just like most of us at middle age are. It has a confidence that most of the romantic comedies about younger people don’t have.

But I also like it because I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus, always have and I always will, and I also love James Gandolfini. His death last Summer at the age of 51 was a huge loss to the entertainment world, and the fact that ENOUGH SAID features such a great performance from him – in one of his last roles – is a great pleasure to watch.

I really enjoyed ENOUGH SAID and highly recommend it. Enough said.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini are primarily known as actors from television shows.

So are most of the cast of the wannabe divorce comedy A.C.O.D. – ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE.

This one stars Adam Scott and Amy Poehler from PARKS & RECREATION, Jane Lynch of GLEE, Clark Duke of THE OFFICE, Richard Jenkins of SIX FEET UNDER and the great Canadian comedienne Catherine O’Hara from SCTV.

Adam Scott stars here as a grown-up man who not only finds out that his parents enlisted him in a study on divorced kids but he also stumbles upon them getting back together.

Add to that the fact that his younger brother is getting married, and that the author of the original study on divorced children wants to do a follow-up, and everything starts to fall apart…or as we discover, continues to fall apart for our hero.

A.C.O.D. – ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE has that great cast – which also includes Jessica Alba and Mary Elizabeth Winstead – and it is likeable, it’s just never great, and only occasionally funny.

Huge fans of any member of the cast should see it, but most people should just skip it. I’m glad I’ve seen it, but I can’t recommend it.

Finally this week is a piece of historical fiction called THE BUTLER.

Loosely based on the real life of Eugene Allen, THE BUTLER stars Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker as a man named Cecil Gaines, who happens to be an eyewitnesses to history during his 34-year tenure serving as a White House butler.

THE BUTLER has some great actors playing the Presidents that Cecil Gaines serves under, John Cusack 1s Richard Nixon, Robin Williams plays Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Marsden John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber is Lyndon B. Johnson, and Alan Rickman plays Ronald Reagan.

It also has a very interesting supporting cast that includes Oprah Winfrey as Cecil’s wife.

THE BUTLER has some great moments, but it is never perfect. That is primarily due to the fact that many of the actors playing the Presidents don’t quite pull off their roles, and there are too many secondary stories that take away from the story of The Butler, the most interesting part of the movie.

Still, I can and do easily recommend it as THE BUTLER is very good.

The very good, but not great drama THE BUTLER; the likeable but not really all that funny divorce comedy A.C.O.D. – ADULT CHILDREN OF DIVORCE; the exceptional romantic comedy ENOUGH SAID – starring the late great James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus; and the spectacular music documentary 20 FEET FROM STARDOM are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

Categories
Awards

All told it was a pretty great Awards show and Tina and Amy nailed it again!!

Golden Globes award American Hustle, Breaking Bad

American Hustle cemented its place as an awards season front-runner at the 71th annual Golden Globes Sunday night by picking up a trio of major honours, including one of the night’s two best film awards.

The David O. Russell-directed crime caper saga, inspired by the Abscam scandal, won best musical or comedy film as well as two actor categories for Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence at the annual celebration of film and television.

“One of the benefits of the motion picture business is that we get to make films about people … We had the privilege of telling this particular story about the art of survival, about resilience and reinvention,” said producer Charles Roven, who thanked his “dream team of actors” that also included Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner.

Lawrence picked up the first award of the evening, earning the best supporting actress in a film trophy for her performance. About an hour later, her co-star Amy Adams took the prize for best actress in a musical or comedy.

One of top nominees at the start of the evening, the searing 12 Years a Slave, left with just one trophy, albeit a significant one heading into the Oscars: best dramatic film.

Departed drug drama Breaking Bad, which became must-see TV in its final season last year, was a top television winner: named best TV drama. Star Bryan Cranston earned his first trophy for playing school-teacher-turned-meth-kingpin Walter White.

“The best thing about this, I think, is that it gives us — all the people up here and all the people who worked on Breaking Bad — one more chance to thank the fans of the show, especially the early adopters… Thank you for helping us get to here,” show creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan said onstage, surrounded by his cast.

Cranston, who earned five nominations as Walter White, had won best actor in a TV drama just minutes before.

“This is such a wonderful honour and a lovely way to say goodbye to a show that means so much to me,” he said in accepting the award before quipping, “[thanks to this], everyone around the world will be able to share in Breaking Bad’s mirth and merriment.”

Emceed for a second consecutive year by comic favourites Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the event is considered a looser, more carefree and wider-ranging toast of Hollywood than the upcoming Academy Awards.

The two Saturday Night Live alums were warmly welcomed and their opening extremely well-received by what they called the night’s “high-wattage, mega A-list” crowd, who laughed uproariously as they — tongue firmly in cheek — alternately saluted and skewered stars such as Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Julia Louis- Dreyfus, Matthew McConaughey and Martin Scorsese, as well as themselves.

Poehler later shed some of her breezy, confident demeanour when she was named winner of best actress in a TV musical or comedy for Parks and Recreation, her first Golden Globe win.

“I’ve never won anything like this,” she said breathlessly “This is so cliché, but you get really nervous. I’m so thrilled to be a part of this evening, among such great people … I never win, so I can’t believe I won!”

The HFPA honoured a wide field throughout the night, spreading Golden Globe trophies out to a range of winners. Dallas Buyers Club, Behind the Candelabra and TV newcomer Brooklyn Nine-Nine were among the multiple prizewinners at the gala.

Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée’s AIDS drama Dallas Buyers Club earned a pair of trophies for two of its stars: Matthew McConaughey, who famously lost more than 40 pounds to portray the real-life, HIV-positive, alternative medicine crusader Ron Woodroof, and Jared Leto, who portrayed his transgendered business partner.

Calling the long in-the-works film an underdog just like Woodroof himself, McConaughey quipped: “I’m glad it got passed on so many times — really glad or it wouldn’t have come to me,” as he accepted best actor in a dramatic film.

He added: “This film was never about dying. It was always about living.”

His co-star, actor and musician Leto, won best supporting actor in a film for his widely praised turn as Rayon.

“It was a very transformative role, and I had to do a lot of things to prepare,” Leto began, detailing his waxing regime before turning more serious.

“[After having been away from acting for six years], it’s more than an honour to come back and have this love and this support. I never expected it and I never even dreamed of it … And to the Rayons of the world: thanks for the inspiration. I love you.”

Behind the Candelabra, HBO’s acclaimed saga exploring the life of outrageous entertainer Liberace, won for best miniseries or TV movie. Mid-evening, Michael Douglas picked up his fourth Globe trophy ever for his performance as the famously flamboyant pianist. When working on the drug drama Traffic in 1999, Douglas recalled that director Steven Soderbergh had asked him: “Ever think about Liberace?”

“Low and behold … years later, I get this incredible gift of a screenplay,” he continued, singling out his co-star Matt Damon and director Soderbergh for extended thanks.

Another SNL graduate, Andy Samberg, saw his latest venture pick up multiple honours as well. The newcomer sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a surprise winner of best TV musical or comedy series, besting established rivals The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation as well as cable hit Girls. Samberg himself seemed surprised upon winning the title of best actor in a TV comedy or musical.

Earlier Sunday, authorities were rushing to clean up last-minute incidents, including reports of a fire sprinkler and pipe bursting over a section of the red carpet earlier Sunday afternoon. Staffers used air blowers and wet-dry vacuums to clear the scene.

Regardless, some of Hollywood’s most famous faces — including Meryl Streep, Hanks, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett — strode the red carpet and were peppered through the packed audience at the event.

This year’s winner of the HFPA’s lifetime achievement honour, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, was iconic New York director Woody Allen, who famously avoids award shows. Actress Diane Keaton — who starred in Allen classics such as Manhattan, Annie Hall, Love and Death, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Sleeper — accepted on his behalf.

“I think it’s safe to say that Woody Allen is an anomaly. He’s made 74 movies in 48 years … He’s directed them. He’s starred in them. He’s written them,” she said.

Hailing Allen’s “unforgettable female characters,” she noted that “179 of the world’s most captivating actresses have appeared in Woody’s film and there’s a reason for this …They wanted to. They wanted to because Woody’s women can’t be compartmentalized. They struggle, love, dominate. They are funny and flawed … They are, in fact, the hallmark of Woody’s work.”

Golden Globe winners
Dramatic film: 12 Years a Slave.
Actress in a dramatic film: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine.
Actor in a dramatic film: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club.
Musical or comedy film: American Hustle.
Actress in a musical or comedy film: Amy Adams, American Hustle.
Actor in a musical or comedy film: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street.
Supporting actress in a film: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle.
Supporting actor in a film: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club.
Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity.
Original score, film: Alex Ebert, All is Lost.
Original song, film: Ordinary Love, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and Brian Burton; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Screenplay: Spike Jonze, Her.
Animated film: Frozen.
Foreign film: The Great Beauty (Italy).
TV drama: Breaking Bad.
Actor in a TV drama: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad.
Actress in a TV drama: Robin Wright, House of Cards.
TV comedy or musical: Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Actor in a TV comedy or musical: Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Actress in a TV comedy or musical: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation.
TV movie or miniseries: Behind the Candelabra.
Actress in a miniseries or TV movie: Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake.
Actor in a miniseries or TV movie: Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra.
Supporting actress in a series, miniseries or TV movie: Jacqueline Bissett, Dancing On the Edge.
Supporting actor in a series, miniseries or TV movie: Jon Voight, Ray Donovan.

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

In Case You Were Wondering…

Springsteen’s punk roots

On his new album, the Boss pays tribute to perhaps his most surprising influence: way-underground noisemakers Suicide.

Ask any Springsteen fan what Bruce’s biggest musical influences are, and you’re likely to hear the same names over and over: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, the British Invasion bands and, naturally, the Jersey Shore groups of the early 1970s.

Few followers of the Boss ever bring up the names Alan Vega and Martin Rev of New York electro-punk pioneers Suicide. But that is about to change, as Bruce releases his 18th album on Tuesday. Called “High Hopes,” the record closes with a sublime cover of Suicide’s 1979 single “Dream Baby Dream.”

Even in the duo’s notorious CBGB and Max’s Kansas City days, the Boss was a fan.

“We first met Springsteen in 1980,” remembers Vega. “He was recording ‘The River’ and we were recording our second album in New York. I spent five or six days hanging out with him and driving around. Then we had a playback meeting for our album. There were three or four big shots from our label, and Bruce was there, too. After we played the album, there was deathly silence . . . except for Bruce, who said, ‘That was f - - king great.’ He made a point of telling us how much he loved us.”

Praise is something that Suicide were not used to, and neither did they seek it out. They first met in 1969, at a downtown art space when Vega was an artist and Rev played in an avant-garde jazz band. The following year, they began working on Suicide, with Rev creating a stark and scary synthesizer backdrop for Vega’s demented howling. They called themselves a punk band years before the word had entered the musical lexicon, and together, the duo forged a sound that was as unsettling and creepy as New York at the time.

Alongside Suicide’s provocative sound was a deliberately confrontational live show. “I would often yell at the crowd,” adds the now 75-year-old Vega with a chuckle. “I had a bike chain which I would swing around. Sometimes I cut my face with a broken bottle. One time we were playing at the Mercer Arts Center [in Greenwich Village], and I stood in front of the doors so people couldn’t leave!”

Unsurprisingly, that tactic would sometimes backfire. One show in 1978, opening for Elvis Costello in Belgium, ended with in a full-scale riot. Another, in England, supporting the Clash that same year, saw Vega almost being struck by a tomahawk thrown by the angry crowd.

But Springsteen was on to Suicide and knew they had something special. His love for the stark sound of their first two albums (1977’s “Suicide” and 1980’s “Suicide: Alan Vega and Martin Rev”) began dripping into his own music through the brooding 1982 album “Nebraska.” One track, in particular, “State Trooper,” was punctuated with shrill yelps that were an obvious steal from Vega. “I remember walking into my label just after it came out,” Vega says. “I thought it was one of my albums that I had forgotten about. But it was Bruce!”

Springsteen’s love of the song “Dream Baby Dream” came to the surface during his 2005 solo tour, when he performed it (with slightly altered lyrics) as the last song at almost every date. “I’ve liked Suicide for a long time,” Springsteen told British magazine Mojo that year. “If Elvis came back from the dead, I think he would sound like Alan Vega.”

The Boss even had plans to perform the tune as part of his 2009 Super Bowl halftime performance but backed out at the last moment, opting to perform all of his own songs, instead. “It’s like a symphony,” says Vega. “It’s a very hopeful song. I think it should be the national anthem.”

Even though Suicide last put out an album in 2002 (their fifth effort, “American Supreme”), more artists have voiced their appreciation of Vega and Rev in recent years. Fellow New Yorkers MGMT love them so much that they invited the pair to open for them at a now infamous Halloween 2008 show at Webster Hall, during which Rev wore ski goggles while Vega growled and scowled at the terrified front row of teeny-boppers. Even more surprisingly, alt-pop singer Sky Ferreira paid homage to them on the dissonant throb of “Omanko” — a track from last year’s “Night Time, My Time” album.

For their part, Vega and Rev are more into gangsta rap. “I think Snoop Dogg and Ice T are really great artists,” adds Rev, now 65. “Rap music is music of necessity — of the street. That’s what we were when we started.”

Although Vega now earns most of his money through his visual art, both members are happy to note that they make more money from Suicide’s music than they ever did. Springsteen’s inclusion of “Dream Baby Dream” on “High Hopes” is likely to add a few more cents to their tally. “I’m middle-class now,” laughs Vega. That may be so, but give them a chance and Suicide can still cause a riot. After all these years, there’s no greater success than that.

Categories
Music

Good to have her back!!

Christine McVie rejoins Fleetwood Mac

More than 15 years after announcing her retirement from Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie is back in the fold. According to Fleetwood Mac News, Mick Fleetwod confirmed McVie’s return during a concert in Maui on Saturday night, telling the audience,”This is the worst kept secret there is, but Christine McVie will be rejoining Fleetwood Mac.”

Last September, McVie reunited with her former bandmates in Fleetwood Mac during a concert in London. In a subsequent interview with the Guardian, she expressed a desire to rejoin the band permanently. “I like being with the band, the whole idea of playing music with them,” McVie explained. “I miss them all. If they were to ask me I would probably be very delighted… but it hasn’t happened so we’ll have to wait and see.”

In response to McVie’s comments, Stevie Nicks told Billboard, “If Chris wants to come back to the band, I said to her, ‘It’s your band. I don’t really think you have to ask. Because it’s your band. McVie. Fleetwood Mac-vie? So, it all depends, Chris, on you. How you feel. Do you want to take this on again?’”

Fleetwood Mac is currently on a temporary hiatus as McVie’s ex-husband, John, is being treated for cancer. In an interview with Rolling Stone last week, Nicks said John is “gonna be fine, adding, “He’s got his treatment, and now he did a show on the 30th and 31st, another tomorrow night, then he has surgery next week. . . I’m not the least bit worried about John. He’s very, very strong and a man of very few words. He’s not a person to mess with.”

Categories
Movies

This is the week I finally get to see INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS!!

Box office report: ‘Lone Survivor’ sizzles with $38.5 million and rare A+ CinemaScore

Pete Berg’s gritty combat drama Lone Survivor accomplished its mission at the box office this weekend. The film, based on the true story of former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, grossed $38.5 million over the Friday-to-Sunday period, marking the second best January debut of all time after Cloverfield‘s $40.1 million bow in 2008. Audiences, which were 57 percent male and 57 percent 30 or older, issued Lone Survivor a rare “A+” CinemaScore grade, suggesting that Universal’s $40 million film will benefit from terrific word-of-mouth in the weeks to come.

Lone Survivor‘s success marks a major comeback for director Berg, whose last film, Battleship, opened to just $25 million against a whopping $209 million budget. Like that film, Lone also stars Friday Night Lights‘ Taylor Kitsch, though it was marketed primarily on the star power of its leading man, Mark Wahlberg. The Boston-born star has grown into a reliable box office draw, so its doubly impressive that Lone Survivor is one of his best-ever opening weekend results, trailing only 2012′s Ted, which started with $54.4 million. The film is a major win for all parties involved.

Disney’s Frozen held strong in second place, dipping a scant 23 percent to $15.1 million in its seventh weekend of wide release. The animated smash has now grossed a truly spectacular $317.7 million against a $150 million budget. Notably, the princess film’s box office success is driving its soundtrack to impressive numbers as well. The disc climbed to the top of the Billboard 200 this week, relegating Beyoncé’s self-titled behemoth to second place. If it continues to melt this slowly, Frozen should finish above $350 million domestically.

Martin Scorsese’s coked-up comedy The Wolf of Wall Street continues to thrive at the box office, despite its polarizing nature. The Leonardo DiCaprio showcase fell just 32 percent to $9 million in its third weekend, lifting its total to $78.6 million. The Paramount film would be considered a solid hit without any qualifiers if it weren’t for its $100 million budget, but it’s still another solid performance for both Scorsese and DiCaprio, neither of whom have ever had to make a franchise film to stay relevant.

New release The Legend of Hercules played like a Greek tragedy on opening weekend, earning only $8.6 million from 2,104 theaters, a gross the gods of Mount Olympus wouldn’t give a second glance. The Renny Harlin-directed action film, which stars Kellan Lutz as the titular hero, cost Millennium Films about $70 million to produce (Summit handled distribution), but it fell way short of Lutz’s last swords-and-sandals picture, Immortals, which opened with $32.2 million in 2011.

David O. Russell’s American Hustle finished in fifth with $8.6 million, pushing his 1970s crime dramedy past the $100 million mark. The $40 million Sony film has now earned $101.6 million total, and if it scores a few Golden Globe wins tonight, it could be looking at a gross closer to $150 million than $125 million, where it seems headed now.

1. Lone Survivor – $38.5 million
2. Frozen – $15.1 million
4. The Wolf of Wall Street – $9.0 million
3. The Legend of Hercules — $8.6 million
5. American Hustle – $8.6 million

Three Oscar contenders expanded nationally this weekend to mixed results. August: Osage County fared best, grossing $7.3 million from 905 theaters. Weinstein’s Julia Roberts/Meryl Streep family drama has now earned $7.8 million total. Warner Bros.’ critically lauded Spike Jonze entry Her played in almost twice as many theaters (1,729 locations) as August, but it finished with a much weaker $5.4 million and an $8.8 million total. Still, that result was better than CBS Films’ Inside Llewyn Davis, which moved into 729 theaters but only strummed up $1.8 million for a $9.3 million total. All three films will need major awards attention to hold up over the next month.

Categories
The Couch Potato Report

It is another slow week for new releases.

The Couch Potato Report – January 11th, 2014

As I’ve said before on The Couch Potato Report, any movie being released right now – either in theatres or for home viewing – (with the exception of those with Academy Award buzz) should be met with low expectations, because if it was a better movie it would have come out during the Holiday Season in December, which is one of the busiest and most profitable times of the year, or in a few weeks, in the middle of Winter when people tend to stay home and watch movies.

So, with lowered expectations, I sat down to watch all of this week’s new releases, and that really helped as none of them are great, but all I can mildly recommend almost all of them, including the dramatic thriller CLOSED CIRCUIT.

CLOSED CIRCUIT begins with a terrorist attack in London. Two lawyers who’ve had an affair are put together on the defense team, but due to concerns about national security, they’re given different degrees of access to evidence.

But as the case plays out, and they start to think the presumed terrorist is innocent, or maybe even a double agent, the closed circuit cameras that are everywhere in London – inside and outside – start to keep a close eye on their activities. Someone is watching their every move, and that puts their lives in jeopardy.

CLOSED CURCUIT stars Eric Bana from MUNICH and Rebecca Hall of THE TOWN and they are very good – individually and together – but their film eventually gets away from the interesting legal side of the defence they are presenting and how British law works, and becomes a more standard-type cinematic thriller where it seems that they will eventually solve the case and end up in each other’s arms.

Once it becomes a chase movie, as they run from the bad people, it becomes less interesting…but I can still mildly recommend it because up until then it is a very intriguing movie.

CLOSED CIRCUIT is never brilliant, but with low expectations you just might enjoy it.

I originally thought I would more than mildly recommend a BBC mini-series called TOP OF THE LAKE. I thought I would maybe even love it, when I first heard of it. When I saw its release date on DVD and Blu-ray was January 7th, I lowered my expectations, and good thing I did as with high expectations I might have been very disappointed.

TOP OF THE LAKE is a seven episode series that stars Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy on MAD MEN, as a detective in a small town in New Zealand investigating the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl.

Academy Award winner Holly Hunter co-stars, and it was co-created and co-directed by Academy Award winner Jane Campion, who also gave us THE PIANO.

TOP OF THE LAKE features some great scenery and has some original moments, but long parts of it just comes across like a remake of TWIN PEAKS as it’s populated by a series of odd and eclectic characters, who all seem to have secrets and good reason to want the pregnant 12-year-old girl to stay missing.

There are also several storylines that don’t add up, for episodes at a time, and a love interest for the detective who doesn’t seem like he’d be anything other than a distraction, not someone she’d let get in the way of finding the missing girl, and possibly even spend the rest of her life with.

Great cast, great filmmaker, interesting story and amazing scenery…TOP OF THE LAKE offers all of that, but hold on and lower those expectations if you want to enjoy it.

The series is too flawed to be great, but it is interesting enough that I can – and do – mildly recommend it.

Here we have a film now that is utterly predictable in just about every way, but the stars of it are people we like, so it isn’t as bad as it should be.

We like Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, and they are the reason RUNNER RUNNER gets a mild recommendation from me.

Music superstar, and wanna be actor, Justin plays a poor college student doing whatever it takes to financially get by. One night, he goes from broke and plays online poker trying to win all the money he needs.

When he loses it all, he goes to see the sly offshore entrepreneur behind the site – played by ARGO’s Ben Affleck – to accuse him of cheating…and he ends up with a job and the lifestyle he’s always wanted, mostly.

Justin and Ben are Justin and Ben in RUNNER RUNNER, and of course the film has a love interest for JT, she is the lovely and talented Bond Girl Gemma Arterton from Quantum Of Solace.

You’ll see the ending of this one coming a mile away, but that didn’t bother me. I didn’t expect much from it, so I sort of enjoyed it.

RUNNER RUNNER is never great, but it’s okay.

I may never get to type this next sentence again, so I’m going to enjoy it this one time.

“This next movie isn’t as great as SHARKNADO, but BIG ASS SPIDER is fun in it’s own right.”

😀

Cheesy, campy, super stupid…those are all words I will use to describe the low grade action flick BIG ASS SPIDER!, about…wait for it…a big ass spider!!

As happens in movies like this, a giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and attacks the city of Los Angeles.

After a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.

BIG ASS SPIDER! is a low budget movie that – much like SHARKNADO last year – is supposed to look and feel low budget.

It is crazy, stupid fun and that’s all it’s supposed to be. I had a blast watching it. A complete blast!!

I was very excited for the would-be comedy I’M SO EXCITED when I first heard of it. After all, it was the latest from Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar, the Academy Award winning writer/director who also gave us ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN and WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

But I’M SO EXCITED isn’t in the same league as those great films, it is an unfunny comedy that features drug scenes and even rape and is one of the biggest disappointments of 2013.

The story here focusses on the flight attendants, pilots and first class passengers of a plane. When it seems as if all is lost and they’ll all die because their plane can’t land, they decide to have some fun…no matter the consequences…and I just didn’t care.

I’M SO EXCITED was neither interesting or fun or funny and I couldn’t wait for it to end. The last thirty minutes of the film were absolutely painful to watch.

No matter how big a fan you are of Almodóvar, skip it, everyone needs to skip this mess.

I’m So Disappointed is more appropriate title.

From that HUGE disappointment, here now was a nice surprise, the television show THE FOLLOWING, starring Kevin Bacon as a former FBI Agent who is brought back to help catch a brilliant and charismatic, yet psychotic serial killer.

Bacon had caught him once before, but he has now escaped prison thanks to a cult of believers who are following his every command.

They are The Following.

THE FOLLOWING was created by Kevin Williamson – who also gave us THE VAMPIRE DIARIES and SCREAM – and I wasn’t expecting much from it – yes, I had low expectations – and they were rewarded.

THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the show is very good, and end with a great cliffhanger into SEASON TWO.

It is creepy, and interesting, and I can easily recommend THE FOLLOWING – with low expectations – to all horror fans.

We end this week with a final mild recommendation for SEASON THREE for STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE!!

ENTERPRISE takes place 100 years before the adventures of James T. Kirk and Spock in the original television series.

Scott Bakula from QUANTUM LEAP plays Captain Jonathan Archer of Earth’s first Warp 5 starship, the Enterprise….picking up, actually beginning STAR TREK’s adventures.

Of all the STAR TREK shows, ENTERPRISE has always been my least favourite, but I admit that I did really enjoy re-watching the series again this week on blu-ray.

It looks great in HD and features a wealth of brand new retrospective features, including the reason why the show adopted a season long storyline this time around.

Huge fans…don’t miss STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE – SEASON THREE on blu-ray. Casual fans, I’d maybe wait until the price goes down in a few months.

SEASON THREE of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE; THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON of the very good television series THE FOLLOWING; the very disappointing Spanish comedy I’M SO EXCITED; the fun but very stupid action flick BIG ASS SPIDER!; the too predictable would be crime thriller RUNNER RUNNER; the interesting but flawed mini-series TOP OF THE LAKE; and the intriguing but not great dramatic thriller CLOSED CURCUIT are all available now, either on disc or on demand.

Remember to keep those expectations low…at least until next week.

And that’s this week’s COUCH POTATO REPORT.

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

Categories
Commercials

I doubt we’ll get to see it in Canada. Instead we’ll have to sit through the same four commercials we’ve been watching for two weekends now. Boo CRTC!! Booooooo!!!!

New U2 song to be unveiled during Super Bowl

U2 fans will get their first taste of music from the band’s upcoming studio album during next month’s Super Bowl.

According to top fansite @U2, the Irish rockers were recently in Santa Monica, Cal., for a video shoot which will be used in a commercial during the NFL championship game on February 2.

Reports indicate the announcement of U2’s upcoming album will be incorporated into the ad, including a release date.

Meanwhile, a few sharp U2 fans were outside the venue where the group was shooting and managed to record (albeit muffled) the new track.

Categories
Concerts

I’m still not 100% sure he can pull it off, even with the Chili Peppers!!

Chili Peppers to join Bruno Mars for Super Bowl show

The Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform with Bruno Mars at the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show on Feb. 2, it was announced Saturday during Fox’s broadcast of the NFC playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks.

Bruno Mars previously had been announced as the halftime headliner.

He follows a starry succession of performers including Beyoncé, Madonna, The Who, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2.