Box Office
Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 12:30PM The box office numbers are too dire to report for the holiday weekend. Suicide Squad crossed the $300 million mark (who is still seeing this and why? It is utterly awful.) It's huge haul will ensure that Hollywood need not worry about the execution of their movies, only the brand names surrounding the movies. Depressing. The Light Between Oceans performed about half as well as expected (ouch) even though it's quite touching and reportedly faithful to the popular novel -- which ensures that Hollywood will continue to be afraid to release adult dramas outside of October-December. Depressing. A huge second week for Don't Breathe will ensure that the easiest money bet in movies (budget to potential gross) continues to be in the gore/horror genre -- just don't get too arty because then you don't cross over! (Depressing but also true for I think as long as I've been alive so whatever). And the intensely pleasurable Love & Friendship (on DVD this week) is losing its crown as the #1 platform release of the summer to Hell or High Water.
Can you tell I'm depressed? Cheer me up by telling me about your favorite screening this weeked, movie, streaming, tv, whatever. What's good?
box office
Reader Comments (44)
Sadly, the best for me was the opportunity to binge on old stuff that I missed, in this case "Dr. Who" Seasons 6 and 7. This series has always been fast, witty and, on occasion, truly touching in a way that is impossible unless you are truly invested in the characters. Steven Moffat, the head writer / show runner, is vastly under-appreciated outside the realm of science fiction fandom.
I saw THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER, which is about a Jewish German hunting Nazis in the late 50's. It's very good. It reminded me of Hitchcock. Beautifully shot period piece, with an interesting gay subplot.
Florence Foster Jenkins has now out-grossed Ben-Hur. Does anyone in Hollywood take notes?
Also happy for Hell or High Water's success. Adult movies have an audience.
Depressed? You! Are! Going! Too! TIFF!
Plus: three of the four big marquee movies (Arrival, Animals, La La) at Venice screened and still sound great, not a Danish Girl in the bunch. (Here's hoping Bad Batch stays on trend.) (And the Ozon sounds good too.)
Plus: before long we'll know who Smackdown favors in the very weird 1963 contest.
And: there's a new MIA album around the corner.
So chin up, get your suitcase packed, and don't sweat the Suicide Squad.
The Day Of The Locust - how did Karen Black and Donald Surherland BOTH miss nominations?
Rewatching Buffy 2nd season..guaranteed pleasurable experience
--- I've been having a feast these past couple of weeks. Trying to watch 2 movies a day. ---
* Ex Machina - a MASTERPIECE easily one of the best of 2015, Vikander is a lead because the story is about her and she owns the final and most powerful moments of the film. I had verbal WOW moments several times once she finally left her room. Step after step after step of great cinematic choices. I don't remember the last time I was surprised + amazed that much by a movie.
* Princess Mononoke - absolutely amazing -> The Spirit of the Forest, anyone? <3<3<3
* Spirited Away <- has to be the best "that's a bit too fast paced for me" movies
* The Wind Rises - not so much (I do have to admit that Miyazaki's imagination is extraordinary!)
* Room - really good, not sure if Brie Larson should've won Best Actress though. Of the nominated 5 I'd say Ronan & Blanchett's performances are the best ones.
* Beginners - really good, I now have total faith in Mike Mills and I'm sure Annette Bening will at least get an Oscar nomination for 20th Century Women.
* Lincoln - not the towering Day Lewis performance that everything on the Internet had prepared me to expect. I ugly-cried of course, the story is moving.
* The Huntsman: Winter's War - Jessica Chastain officially can't do accents. I'll always love her, but that was one of the worst possible Scottish accents I can think of. Blunt and Theron I enjoyed. And yes, the movie is awful.
* Trespass - Dear, Nicole Kidman - please. stop. making. dreadful. movies.
* Snowpiercer - enjoyed it, Tilda Swinton's character is not the big deal the trailer wants you to think she is, neither in screen-time nor impact.
* Dallas Buyers Club - very good, was truly moved.
* Trumbo - all over the place, barely managed to stitch a story. Scorsese could've done wonders with this story.
* The Big Short - a MASTERPIECE. Of the nominated films, this or Mad Max should've won Best Picture. Ex Machina and Carol should've taken Bridge of Spies and The Martian's slots.
I saw "She Done Him Wrong" (thanks, Alaska) since the only Mae West film I'd seen before now was "Myra Breckinridge". Weird, lovely, and doesn't overstay it's welcome at just over an hour.
"Eating Raoul" was also a lot of fun, though kind of a one-joke movie and not the joke I expected.
Looking forward to finally seeing Stanley Donen's "Movie Movie" tonight.
It's been a fun summer for sci-fi tv summer replacement series. Both Killjoys and Dark Matter are winding up their second summer season, have been renewed for a third, and are available for streaming.
Dark Matter started off slow but then hit its stride. A large cast of seven mostly character actors who have fun working with each other and bounce through the space opera genre. Lots of times you expect a story to be strung out for several episodes, but no, they zip through it in one. Emphasis on character and brisk narrative. Out of a cast of 7, five are my favorites and I like the other two.
Killjoys has a bigger budget and a smaller core cast of three. Another spaceship series, it's going for something specific and original in plot, not just cycling through tropes. It's a little harder to keep track of the plot, but sometimes things are wonderfully unexpected.
The two shows together are a great antidote to sluggish superhero blockbusters.
I've been bingeing on Chef's Table. What an extraordinarily inspiring series about ambition and what it takes to be the best. Oh, and the visuals in this are to die for.
It´s all about Ab Fab darlings! The movie was ho-hum but, seriously, series 1-3 of the tv-series are utter brilliance, not a single weak episode!
Also saw Steve Jobs and I liked it, great performances, dynamic direction and Sorkins script has a neat structure
+
In be with Madonna-again. Still love it even though it is a bit overlong...but we´ll never again have anyone like Madge, what a S T A R!
I've been binging Star Trek. I'm on season 1, TNG and...I'm even more sour on it's early days than SF Debris. Though network first seasons are, in my experience, rarely great (Star Trek: TOS being one of the rare exceptions), TNG's first season is worse than Gotham's first season. I mean, it's a show that, in it's first season, has a Nazi Approved Pleasure Planet episode (Justice) and, in Hide and Q, has Picard unabashedly congratulating Riker for letting a kid die. (It made SF Debris compare Picard to a Dalek. I don't disagree.)
I binged by watching about a dozen of the old movie series The Falcon, a fun zippy serial.
One of the most interesting points of it was that it started with George Sanders playing the title character for four films and when he became too big a star to continue his real life brother, actor Tom Conway took over the role in the logically called The Falcon's Brother. They didn't have a lot of scenes together but it was cool to see them acting in the same films as brothers. It's more common to see that sort of thing happening now but rare in 40's Hollywood.
I also saw a loopy screwball murder mystery from 1935 directed by James Whale called Remember Last Night?
I saw a screening of John Waters' Multiple Maniacs, given a beautiful restoration by Criterion. It was a total riot.
I also rewatched Almodóvar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and watched Robert Altman's The Player for the first time. I love both.
Just watched FAR FROM HEAVEN. Todd Haynes truly is one of the greats! Everything about his films is perfect. There are not many other working directors that possess the complete attention to detail that he has. Everything about the film is masterful. Every performance, especially Moore, is sublime. How it missed nominations for Costume and Production Design I'll never know.
" Don't Breath" is a good low budget thriller -until the the third act in which it goes into preposterous mode - I really can't imagine this starting a series but hey who knows?!
Caught with two big screen spectacles on video- "Everest" which was effective but after everyone put on their parkas it was hard to tell who is who- love the way they manage to get shirtless bit for Jake Gyllenhaall (His chest must have looked awesome in IMAX) " Into the Heart of the Sea" is a well crafted studio picture- Chris Hemsworth did not have a shirtless scene which might have helped the box office ( he was born for IMAX) Both films share the same down beat third act problem.
I saw DON'T BREATHE, which was enjoyable but not particularly *scary*. You just don't get used to seeing close-ups of semen in movies though, you know? Great use of production and sound design though.
I am sick, however, of these media res openers for horror movies. The Shallows did it, too, arguably even worse. I don't understand it. Why ruin tension for later in the movie by showing us something that happens later in the movie at the start? I know TV is a fan of this as an episodic hook - and I guess now that movies are far more of an at home entertainment, they need it too, but when you've paid to see something at the cinema it's kinda frustrating to just see the third act in the opening shots.
Andrew I totally agree "Far From Heaven" is a great film... Glen: I thought the opening shot of "Don't Breath" was intriguing....
Oh, I watched Bound this weekend, too, which... Thanks for advocating so often for if. It's great!
I went to 'Hell or High Water'. It was good! Slow and deliberate, with a strong sense of place (West Texas). I was most surprised by how good I thought Chris Pine was with a fairly quiet character - although when they would have a close-up of his crazy blue eyes it threw me out of the movie a bit b/c it reminded me, oh, I'm not looking at a down-on-his-luck taciturn Texas guy, but a pretty movie star. Ben Foster was fairly understated (for him), I don't know what Jeff Bridges was doing with his accent/speaking style but I liked it.
And Dale Dickey! Everytime I see her I think of how bonkerballs good she was in Winter's Bone.
Saw KUBO this weekend and really, really liked it. So damn gorgeous and got quite emotional by the end there for me.
Also screened THE SNAKE PIT with Olivia de Havilland because why not?
@ Rebecca, Dale Dickey is the best part of Winter's Bone
@yavor - absolutely. I can't view that performance as 'what she did in xyz scene/line was great' because what she does is such a complete embodiment of a character that you don't feel you are even watching acting.
Also, I've been re-watching 'Friday Night Lights'. It's so beautiful and heartfelt and just about imperfect people trying to love each other that <runs away with tears in eyes>.
I watched Amour, American Sniper, Heaven and the last episodes of season 4 of OITNB.. All thoroughly depressing in one way or another, but mostly great viewing.
I'm keen to see Jackie Weaver in Goldstone at the cinema, but time is working against me. As is a painful head cold.
So no uplifting news here :(
I saw THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS! I generally liked it, but thought it felt very...old-fashioned? But it was very pretty to look at (the scenery as well as the actors, heh) and the actors really brought it. Fassy and Vikander make such a ridiculously gorgeous couple I could just watch them all day.
I absolutely adored Don't Think Twice. It was filled with so many miraculous small beautiful moments. Can't wait to see it again.
Also, got to see The Lobster for a 4th time (yes. I know. I'm obsessed) with a packed college crowd which was really memorable. Lots of great crowd reaction.
I re-watched Mulholland Drive, following the number one ranking it received in that recent poll.
It wouldn't be my number one of the century - cough CAROL cough - but it is still a great film. I remain completely clueless about what it is about, but who the hell cares. It is brilliant.
Nice to be reminded of how AMAZING Naomi Watts is in this movie. How did she not get nominated?
Also nice to see three Australian actors, all of whom got their start in Aussie TV soaps and somehow ended up in this fabulous movie: Marcus Graham, Melissa George and Watts.
Saw Florence Foster Jenkins. Streep was very good but it's Hugh Grant's film all the way. Also saw Hell or High Water. Thought it was a bit overrated but Line was fantastic!!
#Pine
Saw the documentary "Miss Sharon Jones", and it went to dark places I was glad the trailer didn't spoil! Jones is such a force of nature and you are rooting for her the whole time. Highly recommended even though it's really a straight forward doc. However, the concert footage is where the doc truly shines <3
Toni Erdmann, Mr. Robot (S2E8): excellent
Ray Donovan (S1): frustrating
Hell or High Water - liked it a lot; Pine was terrific, as was Bridges, agree with comments above; another one of those movies where "place" is crucial and almost becomes a character
Love & Friendship - not as good a second time, though Tom Bennett is still MVP
more Mr. Robot episodes - can't binge this show, need a break between episodes to think about things...
Fleabag - the trailer, twice, looks very entertaining, and it's got OLIVIA COLMAN!!!
I saw LITTLE MEN and just adoredadoredadored it.
Glenn - 100% agree on the horror framing device point. Especially because it shows a lack of trust in the audience to stick around if the scares don't begin immediately.
Yeah, I haven't had the energy or desire to get to the multiplex recently. Quite a few people have told me to see Don't Breathe but my anxiety has been a bit too out of control recently to survive something that claustrophobic in a theater.
I did watch a fascinating, super artsy Korean schoolgirl horror on Netflix recently. It's called The Silenced. It's set in a boarding school for ill teenage girls in Seoul, 1938. Meaning, it's a Japanese run school during WWII that forces Korean girls going through major medical crises to submit to a completely different language and culture if they don't want to face severe punishment. Their major academic goal is to be deemed the strongest so they are allowed to study in an elite school in Tokyo. There's also sci-fi and ghost story elements, possibly some lesbian undertones, and more gorgeous period detail than we get in our big Hollywood period epics anymore. It's a fascinating mess worth watching.
I feel you but this weekend I went to the movies and felt a bit of hope. Aquarius opened this weekend here in Brazil and I saw it in a sold out room. And the showing after the one I was in was sold out too.
As for the movie. So powerful, it stayed with me all wekeend. Went for dinner after with a friend and we talked about it for hours. Also, there are no words to describe Sonia Braga. What a performance.
Busy wekend, saw Throne of Blood (thanks toHWYBS and Nathaniel's recco), it's fantastic.
White Girl which was an unpleasant sit and I cringed throughout but after it ended I realized I loved it. So so good, go now but be preapared with a strong stomach.
And then Light btw Oceans - Michael Fassbender should always be costumed in period undershirts.
Been watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix in anticipation of the reunion episodes in November!
V -- yay. so glad to hear it. I will try to see that at TIFF but i might have to wait until NYFF
I saw Southside with You yesterday and it was so much richer than I expected - really thought-provoking in parts. One of my favorite movies of the year so far.
I also watched Close-Up for the first time on Saturday, following all the recent tributes to Kiarostami. Wow, what a great film and a fascinating look at Iran.
Saw Suspiria in 35mm as part of my friend's weekly program he does at a theater in Miami Beach. Brought two of my other friends who had never attended one of their screenings or seen the movie before and they both loved it.
Another friend of mine had just dyed his hair purple and wanted me to bring my camera to take pictures there with his favorite sweater so I did. After that, I started taking pictures of the screening when the program's camera guy forgot his camera. Eventually, the wife of the head of the program and his right-hand man had a surprise for his birthday that weekend and played him a video and brought a Suspiria themed cake so I caught both on video and photo on my phone and camera as much as I could.
On top of that, it was the first time program sold out after they had moved to a new theater earlier this month and it was a uphill struggle to get to that point so he had me get on stage to take pictures of the crowd. It was essentially a celebration of both on top of an old-school scratchy heavy audio loss screening of one of my favorite movies (and the best horror movie made yet IMO) and since most of the 200+ people there knew each other or at least knew the dude who ran it whether as casual acquaintances, close friends, or just the guy they buy tickets from every week.
It left me in extremely high and giddy spirits right up until I got home to witness my card corrupting.
RIP card.
The Light Between Oceans -- Ridiculous but also entertaining. I thought the leads were all good, even though Vikander's character was infuriating.
Saw Hell or High Water, and Chris Pine has finally broken out. Exceptional work. Reminds me of how Colin Firth toiled a while before really wowing us.
I binged through Seasons 3 and 4 of Sex and the City<'b> and, fashion, cell phones aside, still holds up in it's discussion of sex, friendship, and relationships. A lot less nudity than I remember, too.
Saw Hell or High Water. The movie is not as good as the reviews suggest; it is a bit too long and drags in places. But Pine and Bridges are just wonderful. Thought out, soulful performances. And I thought Gil Birmingham was a really great partner for Bridges. I really hope they are all remembered later in the year (maybe?).
Since nothing in the theaters was calling out to me, I caught up on some recent and older movies:
Dear White People - really enjoyed it, almost everyone in the cast was great, funny and challenging
Our Town - thought I'd be bored out my mind but ended up enjoying up, especially the kind of gonzo third act, even if parts do drag on for too long. And William Holden - woof
Casablanca - talk about living up to the hype - wow. so many classic lines, great cinematography, twists and turns everywhere, even surprisingly funny in spots