What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 7:24PM In a relatively uneventful weekend save for a great second weekend for Zootopia, falling only 33% the highest per screen averages went to two films starring 60something women -- Helen Mirren in Eye in the Sky and Sally Field in Hello My Name is Doris. How about that? I mean, they're only at a handful of screens in NY and LA but perhaps they'll have decent futures.
What did you see this weekend?
WIDE RELEASES
01 Zootopia $50 (cum. $142.6)
02 10 Cloverfield Lane $25.2 NEW
03 Deadpool $10.8 (cum. $328) Reviewish
04 London Has Fallen $10.6 (cum. $38.8)
05 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot $4.6 (cum. $14.5) Review
06 The Perfect Match $4.1 NEW
07 The Young Messiah $3.4 NEW
08 The Brothers Grimsby $3.1 NEW
09 Gods of Egypt $2.5 (cum. $27.3) Review
10 Risen $2.2 (cum. $32.3)
LIMITED RELEASES
less than 800 screens excluding previously wide
01 The Lady in the Van $.5 (cum. $8) 363 screens Review
02 The Other Side of the Door $.5 (cum. $2.1) 585 screens
03 Embrace of the Serpent $.1 (cum. $.5) 75 screens Interview, Review
04 Where to Invade Next $.1 (cum. $3.2) 151 screens Review & 2nd Opinion
05 The Mermaid $.1 (cum. $2.9) 82 screens
06 Eye in the Sky $.1 5 screens NEW
07 Knight of Cups $.09 (cum. $.1) 36 screens Reviewish
08 Hello, My Name is Doris $.08 4 screens NEW Review
09 Son of Saul $.07 (cum. $1.6) 105 screens Interview, Review
10 45 Years $.06 (cum. $4.0) 70 screens
Reader Comments (35)
It rained all weekend so I am watching Downton Abbey final season, which is like a lasagna made the year before from a dear friend. Still delicious.
The Witch. What an amazing little film. I haven't been filled with dread like that since watching the 2000 election results roll in.
Zootopia was GREAT
I've been finally catching up on season 2 of The Leftovers. Why Ann Dowd hasn't been flooded with awards for her performance on this show is beyond me.
"On the Waterfront."
Still very powerful, especially impressed by how strong and realistic Karl Malden was as the street-wise priest.
Was not moved by Leonard Bernstein's super-intrusive score, which reminded me of the booming music from Carol Burnett's movie spoofs.
As good as Brando was as Terry Malloy (though his eye makeup wasn't!), Marlon's first Oscar shoulda been for "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Spectre (still in theatres!) somehow increased its box office take despite losing 47 theatres. I'm pretty sure the studio has resorted to buying tickets itself in order to get that movie across the $200 million threshold. That particular Bataan Death March is almost over, as it's at $199,953,000 or so.
I watched Blue Velvet and The Color Purple over the weekend, as part of my filling in some of the gaps in my 1980s film watching.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai from Across the Eighth Dimension: Fun little cult oddity
Scandal Sheet: Pungent, nasty noir
Haywire: Apropos of this thread, how the hell does this not even make 20 million dollars? It boggles the mind.
Tabu: Goodness, that was gorgeous. Beautiful cinematography and on-point music choices. Loved the movie too.
I saw "London Has Fallen" an over the top action movie with cheesy fx work.
I started watching Unbreakbale Kimmy Schmidt. I hate that Jane Krakowski has never won an Emmy. It's a fucking travesty. Give her all of the awards dammit!
An American Werewolf in London - good make up and gags. Not so good plotwise
Mamma Roma - Ana Magnani is so powerful. Her laugh is imprinted on my brain
Caterbury Tales - love this anarchic fun ride
Lola (Fassbinder) - would make an incredible hit me with your best shot
Nat, you shoul do a Fassbinder best shot episode a la the Orson Welles one!
Saw 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE and I thought it was quite effective. Goodman and Winstead were just superb.
I signed up for Netflix so binged a couple shows.
(a) Saw the new season of House of Cards which was so good - probably my favorite. Much better than season 3 which was a real disappointment.
Although everyone in the cast is top notch (and this season had the added bonus of adding Ellen Burstyn to the mix), MVPs are once again Michael Kelly (who was tremendous this season) and Robin Wright.
(b) Watched Jessica Jones; which I think I actually enjoyed more than Daredevil. Still plenty of room for improvement but overall pretty cool show. Also, Lee Pace is my favorite Marvel main baddie since Loki, which I know isn't necessarily saying much, but still!
I will be watching And Then There Were None. Yes it is on Lifetime, but this is my favorite book and the reviews have been great. Plus Miranda Richardson is in it. She is 10 years too young to play the part she has, but she is always a hoot.
This was a Netflix weekend for me. Saw "Pawn Sacrifice," which wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be but still worth watching - more for the supporting cast than Tobey Maguire, who's fine but physically miscast- and "Babette's Feast," which my husband had never seen and I hadn't seen in over 20 years. It holds up, even if (or perhaps because) it's the kind of movie that's tailor-made for my parents - indeed, it's one of their favorites.
Still need to see "Zootopia," "10 Cloverfield Lane," and "Embrace of the Serpent," which finally reached theaters in D.C. last week.
Instead of going to the movies I saw The Book of Mormon(second time seeing the show) in Sacramento on Thursday and today I went to see Sutton Foster in concert in San Francisco. Sutton was amazing. I hope I get the pleasure of seeing her on Broadway someday.
Despite having been available for viewing for nearly a decade, I finally got around to watching Aronofsky's The Fountain. I found it to be beautiful, meditative and surreal. Hugh Jackman really deserves more credit for his acting chops, which unfortunately pale in popular comparison to his Wolverine input.
Tom,
Ignore the channel And Then There Were None is a fantastic adaptation, made by BBC for Holiday watching it's evocative and doom-laden, sticking precisely to the spirit of Christie's novel.
Personally I finally caught up with Brooklyn, which I enjoyed a great deal, full of nicely observed moments and sweet touches.
Tom - I'm another fan of "And Then There Were None", I saw it over the holidays and drooled over Aiden Turner who looks like a future Bond.
Great adaptation with superb acting from a really great cast. Charles Dance is wickedly good.
I saw Zootopia and absolutely loved it. Haven't had that much fun at the cinema in ages! On the other hand, also saw Allegiant and it was plain awful.
10 Cloverfield Lane was a blast with a Friday night audience. I think the side-branding trick is actually an ingenious way to champion a small, tight, no stars genre piece in the age of IP.
At home watched half of Mockingjay pt 2, and got bored with the relentlessly dour earnestness, and the telegraphing of Julianne Moore as the real villain.
Saw first episode of new House of Cards. Fun set up, I like the show even though it's never quite as good as its production value and watchability.
Re-watched O Brother where art thou because my wife had never seen it. Coen bros movies age incredibly well, and this one's a gem.
I saw Mike Nichols' THE BIRDCAGE and boy I loved it. What a broad, hilarious, subversive and well crafted film. I can't remeber the last time I saw a mainstream studio relaease a farce with an A list cast. Dianne Wiest comedic timing is marvelous (" And it would be such a special marriage.The son of a cultural attach,
a sort of diplomat, really...who doesn't look down on us because of Senator Jackson. Who's willing to join our family. There's the cover of 'People' and 'Time' and 'Newsweek. Love and optimism versus cynicism and sex!" XD ) amd Nathan Lane & Robin Williams are just magnificent.
Also watched LOVE the newest Judd APatown produced series, and enjoyed it a great deal. Though it was kind of disheartening to see Briga Heelan (having liked her work on GROUND FLOOR, COUGAR TOWN and yes even JANE BY DESIGN) in such a thankless role. But on the bright side Gillian JAcobs is great and I hope she gets a neat film carrer smiliar to Kristen Wigg's; Paul Rust is a much better actor than I'd imagine; Tracie Thoms steals every scene she's in and Claudia O'Doherty is just darling and oh so cute.
Also, for a bit of post-Oscar awards news, the Canadian Screen Awards (the country's main film/TV awards) were on Sunday. Room won basically everything it could conceivably have been nominated for: Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress (Joan Allen), Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Editing, and Makeup.
Brooklyn won Cinematography.
Amazon Prime has some good stuff. Caught a few new episodes this week of Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, and The Americans. Also started on The New Yorker Presents.
Saw THEEB (good, if you're a patient moviewatcher), THE LUNCHBOX (loved it; extra bonus--Michael Pollan just mentioned the fantastic food delivery system in Mumbai in a recent interview) and MERU (also amazing).
There is no shortage of great things to watch on TV.
Embrace of the Serpent was the big watch of the weekend. What a film. I won't say I didn't nod off a bit in the last third, but after it was over I actually stayed pinned to my seat through the entire end credits. That NEVER happens. It was a difficult film to watch and unravel, and perhaps even more difficult to shake. I'm still puzzling out some of its complexities. Loved it.
Denny -- i'm so glad you loved it. I keep recommending it to everyone but it doesn't seem like it's catching on :(
Sean C., what did you think of The Color Purple?
@DJDeeJay: While I haven't read the novel, Spielberg's approach struck me as completely wrong for the material. Some great acting, though.
We caught The Diary of a Teenage Girl - the lead actress was incredible! Surprised she didn't get any awards traction - I thought she delivered much more range then Larsen....K. Wiig continues to surprise me in dramatic roles - can't wait till she finally is recognized for her talent!
-ps - Brooklyn was our favorite movie last year - sure wish it got more awards consideration!!
Knight of Cups - Moving and beautiful, even if Malick does not quite stick the landing this time. An obvious companion piece to Tree of Life. If you don't like Malick's last couple of movies - To the Wonder in particular - you're probably best served by skipping this one.
Aside from that, LOTS of TV catch up - American Crime season finale, last two episodes of The People vs. OJ Simpson, first two episodes of The Magicians, first episode of The Family, and probably a couple other things I'm forgetting about.
BJT and LadyEdith -- thank you for the advice! Part 2 is tonight There is a lot of ambition in this film ( the cinematography is great) Agatha Christie would be proud.
Sean C., that's so interesting. I haven't read the novel, either, and I saw the movie once a long time ago. I remember liking it (and especially the actors) but again, this was when I was around 10 and didn't have the most refined cinematic palate. Can you explain what you mean about Spielberg's approach?
@DJDeeJay: The material is extraordinarily grim. Spielberg's approach to much of the story is way too soft, and at times inappropriately comic.
Sean C. - ah, ok. I can see that (from what I remember - hoping to revisit it soon). Thanks.
Watched Embrace of the Serpent. An expertly made movie like no other. Incredible acting and incredibly effective. Watched it on saturday night and still dwelling on it now and telling everyone about it like anyone cares
Gentleman's Agreement
I can't believe I had not seen this until this weekend. I was browsing HBO Go and here was this classic film that looked like it wandered in from Watch TCM and wasn't sure how to get back out. It's really fantastic, and of course, I couldn't help but notice how relevant it still is today. I felt that the mother was a tad heavy-handed at times with her dialogue, but it was easy to forgive. Dorothy Maguire was a revelation (as my only other real exposure to her has been the Disney live action Summer Magic with Hayley Mills), and Celeste Holm's Oscar was well-deserved. She was like a cool glass of water, freshening up the screen every time she popped in. And Gregory Peck was outstanding - and what a looker. I always forget what a dreamboat he was.
Zootopia
So much fun. Loved the Breaking Bad joke. In fact, there's a good bit of humor that will sail straight over kids' heads. And the message was a good one. Of course, it's practically screaming for a sequel.