Liam Neeson Delivers Another Box Office Beatdown
Sunday, October 7, 2012 at 7:16PM 
Jean Grey, mysteriously having lost all of her mutant powers, relies on Liam Neeson for rescueLiam Neeson's surprising late career popularity continues. People love to see him putting the vicious beat down on evil types. Even if the film is as generically titled and redundantly plotted (from what I hear) as Taken 2. I wonder when we'll Neeson working a softer side again onscreen like he did in Nell, Husbands and Wives or Kinsey. Well I suppose he was more cerebral than soft in Kinsey, but the point stands. Kinsey was only 8 years ago but it seems like a different lifetime ago. It must be all those dead bodies he's left behind him onscreen since!
Box Office Dozen
01 TAKEN 2 $50 *NEW IN WIDE RELEASE*
02 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA $26.3 (cum. $76)
03 PITCH PERFECT $14.7 *EXPANDING* (cum. $21.6)
04 LOOPER $12.2 (cum. $40.3) review
05 FRANKENWEENIE $11.5 *NEW IN WIDE RELEASE* on the original short
06 END OF WATCH $4 (cum $32.8)
07 TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE $3.8 (cum. $29.7)
08 HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET $3.6 (cum. $27.5)
08 THE MASTER $1.8 (cum. $12.3) Team Experience
09 FINDING NEMO 3-D $1.5 (cum. $38.9 this time around)
I'm sad that the surprisingly worthwhile and funny Frankenweenie didn't seem to connect with ticket buyers. It's Tim Burton's best since Corpse Bride. (Maybe he should stick to animation for awhile?).
This weekend I went to Pitch Perfect with my two besties. The movie wasn't quite Aca-mazing -- I wish the filmmaking itself had been stronger -- but it was definitely a good time. Our favorites were Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) who the marketing campaign is forcing has chosen as everyone's favorite, and Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) who trusted that if you missed her barely audible punchlines, they were still funny. She was right.
I have to set fire to things to feel joy"
What did you see this weekend?
Liam Neeson, Pitch Perfect, Tim Burton, box office
Reader Comments (16)
I wanted to see 'Beasts of the Southern Wild', but it's no longer playing in cinemas. I'll have to wait till it's out on dvd.
Tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving, so we have the day off. I'll probably go and see 'Argo' or 'The Words.' Yeah, 'The Words' got sucky reviews, but I do like Bradley Cooper, and it was filmed in my hometown of Montreal, so I'm curious and willing to plunk my money down for it.
I also saw "Pitch Perfect," and I'm sad to say that I was a little disappointed. The musical numbers are good, but the movie just really lacks zip. A lot of the scenes drag (the shower scene seems to go on forever), and the pacing is all over the place. A stronger director would have been able to give it that "Bring It On"-like attitude and energy that it needed.
I don't get the Liam Neeson love. I *wanted* to see THE GREY because of the good reviews, but every time I saw Neeson in the trailer, my eyelids grew heavy and I started to nod off, and I couldn't bring myself to go. Maybe I'll give it a shot now it's on DVD.
Unlike Liz, I loved Pitch Perfect. It was exactly what I wanted out of a film about college acapella: semi-cheesy, good fun. Loved Skylar Astin. Lol'ed a bit at the notion of Anna Kendrick as some super-alt chick.
'I ate my twin fetus in the womb.'
I DIED.
"I ate my twin fetus in the womb" was indeed the one I laughed hardest at.
The film is so desperate to be "Bring It On" for a new generation and is so desperate to remind audiences of "The Breakfast Club" that it doesn't forge its own identity. Still fun, but it's no "Easy A" in that it will itself become a teen film that will be getting referenced by future teen movies.
Saw The Master... absolutely loved every minute of it... especially the 2 stars... How are they both not Best Actor category?????
Even though we loved it, we were not sure about all that was happening... want to see it again.
Glenn, I dunno-- to me, Easy A had its fair share of trying too hard, too (e.g., the Tom Cruise line). In the end, I think the durability of these films comes down to uniqueness in plot (for which the singing sets it apart) and one-liners/laugh factor (which thanks to Rebel Wilson and Hana Mae Lee, this has in spades).
eff you Rick for loving the best movie of the year.
Arbitrage -- A very good thriller. They used to make these ones more often. Sarandon shines in a tiny tiny role.
Magic Mike -- Finally! Very good. Beautiful transition from light and funny to dark and bitter. Great ending. All the boys did a fine job, but as an actressexual I would like to congratulate Cody Horn and Olivia Munn for creating two strong female roles.
This whole Rebel Wilson thing is so strange. You can have her.
Evan, I guess I consider Emma Stone in "Easy A" to be one of the best performances of the decade and one that's so much richer than anything one note like Rebel bloody Wilson who says every line in the same deadpan monotone way. No thanks. Now I just wanna watch "Easy A".
what does Aca-mazing mean????
Saw Looper in the theater on Saturday. It's certainlyl better than your average Hollywood sci-fi time-travel thrill-ride, and JGL was pretty amazing (the Bruce Willis-isms in the beginning were jaw-dropping and actually kind of funny), but something was missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Still one of the better films of the year at this point, but I don't think it will stay that way.
Then on Sunday, saw Snow White & The Huntsman on demand (finally!). Charlize Theron is definitely the best Evil Queen ever, and there were lots of great, sometimes stunning images, but it didn't always know what to do with all the great ideas it had. Didn't quite live up to the promise of that amazing trailer, but was far from the mess it could have been.
Neeson was Spielberg's first choice for LINCOLN...if he had accepted it maybe at this time we'd find him among Best Actor contenders...
Saw "The Paperboy." It's awful, inept filmmaking, but not altogether unenjoyable. How Lee Daniels is able to attact this cast and have them do some loony crap is laudable. My favorite is an unabashed Nicole Kidman. Lee Daniels seemed too preoccupied with the film's more lurid aspects that he forgot to tell a compelling and coherent story. Forget trying to figure out the character motivations. The only motivation involved is to get Zac Efron in his skivvies.
me, much like BRING IT ON did with the word "cheer", PITCH PERFECT does with "a capella". Adding "aca" to start of random words. For example: "aca-scuse me?" "aca-mazing", "aca-whatever" etc etc.