What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, March 26, 2017 at 4:03PM 
Beauty & the Beast continues to be a cash machine for Disney Corp, already at nearly $700 million worldwide. Power Rangers fared the best of the new releases with a stronger than expected opening. Was that nostalgia driven or just people in the mood for campy schlock? My friends and I headed to the theater after a few drinks because we figured we shouldn't see it sober...
But then it was sold out. Campy schlock will have to wait.
Other new titles: Sci-fi thriller Life opened weakly but it's relatively low budget for a sci-fi picture (only $58 million) might help it eventually break even. CHIPs, a comedy adaptation of the late 70s early 80s TV series attracted even fewer takers and also terrible reviews. This makes us sad for Michael Peña who deserves leading roles and rarely gets them; this probably won't help on that front. In limited release (but still at a lot of theaters) the biggest title was the new Christian basketball drama Slamma Jamma.
TOP WIDE
01 Beauty & The Beast $88.3 (cum. $316.9) Review
02 Power Rangers $40.5 NEW
03 Kong: Skull Island $14.4 (cum. $133.5) Review
04 Life $12.6 NEW Review
05 Logan $10.1 (cum. $201.4) Review
06 Get Out $8.6 (cum. $147.4) Review
07 CHIPs $7.6 NEW
08 The Shack $3.7 (cum. $49)
09 Lego Batman $1.9 (cum. $170.8)
10 The Belko Experiment $1.8 (cum. $7.5)
TOP LIMITED
01 Slamma Jamma $1.6 NEW 502 screens
02 The Last Word $520k (cum. $971k) 380 screens
03 T2: Trainspotting $380k (cum. $612k) 59 screens
04 Wilson $330k NEW 310 screens
05 Sense of an Ending $270K (cum. $1.0) 235 screens Interview and Review
06 Phillauri $265k NEW 74 screens
07 Personal Shopper $225k (cum. $553k) 107 screens Review
08 Kedi $205k (cum. $1.7) 107 screens Review
09 A United Kingdom $185k (cum. $3.5) 159 screens
10 Badrinath Ki Dulhania $150k (cum. $1.8) 93 screens
I hit Life at the movie theater and at home gagged on Gaga on RPDR and finished Iron Fist. The latter was a total waste of 13 hours. Though it improved slightly in the middle by the end it was just as dramatically dull, terribly written, and badly acted (Finn Jones mostly... the others do what they can), as it was at the beginning. I will not be watching a second season if it gets one but I felt like I should finish out of respect to the other much better series its paired with. But if The Defenders (which will combine the four Netflix/Marvel series: Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones) is also this bad, I'm out!
CHIPs, Iron Fist, Life, Power Rangers, box office
Reader Comments (41)
I saw Power Rangers which was a lot of fun. I also saw Life. I thought it was pretty straightforward yet effective. But I'm saddened it's underperforming. Mainly because Jake Gyllenhaal can't catch a break. He does consistently great work yet it tends to go unnoticed.
Also, Hollywood, Ryan Reynolds...ain't gonna happen.
Finally saw "I'm not your negro" and I was NOT disappointed. How it lost the Oscar is beyond me.
Dave Chappelle's two Netflix specials.
Yeah, I saw Power Rangers. But I also saw the older Power Rangers films in theaters when I was a wee one, so definitely nostalgia factored into my decision. That said, it was fun and the "kids" (one actor is 29) were generally good. It's the kind of origin film where I'd like to see a sequel, but wouldn't be too crushed if it never happened.
Power Rangers was fucking awful!
Don't understand the hate for Jones. Mike Colter was so much worse in Luke Cage. Like "I'm reading off of cue cards" bad.. Jones' performance is just weird because they decided to interpret the character as a true manchild.
Saw Life the creature is totally non threatening.I don't mean Ryan.
I saw "Life" which was ok the story was a bit too predictable. Ryan Reynolds must have done it as a favor to his "Deadpool" screenwriters . There was no bromance between Reynolds and Gyllenhaal which at least would have made the film a bit more interesting. Yes Gyllenhaal is good as usual but he alien threat was routine. The film reminded me of "The Green Slime" (1968) in that one the monsters looked like walking penises.
I think Gyllenhall will be just fine.
The reason Life is underperforming is because the trailer made it look uninteresting. I haven't seen it and have very little desire and I adore Sci-fi
Caught Frantz, the highly acclaimed film by Francois Ozon, which is a beautifully retelling of Ernst Lubitsch's 1932 film, Broken Lullaby. Central to the film is Ozon's exploration of the nature of truth and how is can be used to both protect and punish those involved. So appropriate for these unsettling times when basis of truth now is questioned.
I've gotta ask, re: Iron Fist, because there's something I don't understand about tv culture, why do people finish things they don't like?
I saw Personal Shopper and LOVED it. Kristen Stewart really has grown so much as an actress (though I was always a fan), but not in the way that people might think when they hear that. It isn't that her acting style has changed, she just seems to have finally learned how to use her awkwardness to her advantage. And she's also making great choices and working with great people, so that helps, too.
I really want to see it again.
thefilmjunkie: I second everything you said.
Power Rangers was as cheese as cheese can get, which I think was the best way to go, considering the source material. Banks and Cranston were the standouts of a really nice cast, and the visual effects were aces. My only complaint? The iconic theme isn't in the movie enough! Like, I would've been fine if they didn't play it at all, with how the movie played out, but...if you're gonna have the song; go big or go home with it.
Mike -- i would normally echo that question but in truth i dont usually finish things i don't like. I give things 3 or 4 episodes if i was hopeful but dont like. 5 or 6 if i like elements and keep trying to convince myself it's better than it is. But i almost always give up by around 5 or 6 if i dont like something. The only reason I finished Iron Fist was because of The Defenders and because I really liked Daredevil (season 1) and Jessica Jones (season 1). Luke Cage i was mostly indifferent too but liked some of the characters. Iron Fist was just a fail. Ugh.
Saw Beauty and the Beast: I was open to it, not having seen the original (not that into animation), but it was visual overkill and musical meh. I did appreciate a few of the performances (Watson, Evans, Kline), but Ewan should *never* do a French accent again and this movie wins the award for Biggest Waste of a Future Oscar Winner (Gugu), also known as the Paycheck Prize. The movie did make me curious about Dan Stevens.
And the Justice League trailer, which was fun (but that color palette has gotten really old).
I watched Silence of the Lambs for the first time. With the lights on. I probably could have turned the lights off. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.
Split
I am a fan of M. Night Shayamalan's efforts. But this one... awful.
Yes Marcello- " Splits" it's a lame movie I don't understand why it's made so much money...."Silence of the Lambs' on the other hand remains a masterpiece of suspense... the trailer for " Life" actually made it seem a bit more exciting than the movie and seriously can there be a more generic title than " Life"
Yall are crazy. Split is a return to form for M. Night. It's not just moviegoers. Read the reviews.
Before Sunrise:
I'd forgotten just how beautiful and romantic this film was, given how the latter two did romance differently and have basically eclipsed the first (which is funny, because the first actually was more successful B.O. wise). I've only seen it three or four times (compared to 10+ for the 2004 film). Linklater really does a lot perfectly with this one. Hawke and Delpy really were just marvelous.
I look forward to revisiting the other two soon.
Paul, if you're curious about Dan Stevens then I highly recommend THE GUEST. There's little to be curious about after that.
I too saw Beauty and the Beast. I wasn't bothered by Emma Watson's voice (it doesn't compare to others; Luke Evans got the most out of his chances in that regard), but I was very much bothered by the over-abundance of CGI. It didn't annoy me in The Jungle Book that it was essentially an animated movie again, but this one was ridiculously over the top in its use of CGI. The sets and the beast (on occasions) were the most egregious. It's bad when the costume of the Beast is clearly just hovering over pixels. My favourite scene from the 1991 version, "Be Our Guest" was the worst here. It was just so over-stuffed, never no clarity in the images. Why were the faces of the objects so hard to see? If you're going to do live action movies, why did it just look animated all over again (but not as colourfully as the original).
I also saw THE PASS with Russell Tovey in a variety of sexy costumes. First in tighty whities, then in a suit, then in grey sweatpants. He's very good, though. And I liked how it played with expectations.
@/3rtful - which of the two did you prefer? It seems like the vast majority of people like the first one better, but I preferred the looser, conversational style of the second one a lot more. They were both great though.
At the theatres I saw Get Out which I really liked. People online are mostly talking up the script, but I was way more impressed with Peele's direction; very polished for a first feature. I don't care for horror movies at a;;, but this one was a nice mix of horror, comedy, and social satire which made it easier to swallow.
I also saw Logan which was nowhere near "the greatest superhero movie of all-time." Enjoyable though.
His Texas show was the better of the two. But the Cali show has the Care Bear reference which is everything. @MDA
I finally caught Beaty and the Beast tonight. It was a really good time.
HOWEVER.
T2. Was. Awesome. This is one of the best sequels I have ever seen. We're talking Empire Strikes The Dark Knight Godfather Part II Before Sunset type quality here. It made me want to revisit the first again again again before catching this one at least once more in theaters. Danny Boyle delivers with such consistency, it's insane.
Thanks, Glenn, I will. (And I like the way you phrased that...)
I caught Comrades Almost a love story on Blu-ray (just released) although I've watched it on two other past occasions. Maggie's best performance bar none. Not even her In the Mood for love, Clean, or others comes close, which I agree with the recently released SCMP poll by some 500 over Asian critics. That performance was hailed by these critics as No 1 - overwhelmingly 96% in consort.
Additional clarification on the above post - the critics ranked only Maggie's performances, not that of other actresses in HK/China/Taiwan,. If you're interested and can read Mandarin, go to the SCMP website and find out how her other performances stacked up with detailed analysis/comments from the region's critics. Interesting indeed.
Ez: I think it gets scarier the more you watch it. The attention to detail and the control of the pace are pervasive.
Watched 'Howard's End' for the first time since high school now that it's not Netflix. Loved it much more now that I'm old enough to understand everything that's going on. Such a well-crafted and emotionally complex film.
Also watched the latest episode of 'Big Little Lies.' Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman doing some of their best work, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern not far behind
Jans -- i'm glad i saw that one. i had heard about the raves for the performance. I wasn't quite blown away but she was very good in it.
Rainy, cold weekend, so more U.K. and international television. Thanks, Dailymotion.com (Apple Tree Yard, S2 Unforgotten, S3 Broadchurch); Netflix (Hotel Beau Sejour, Occupied); Hulu (National Treasure).
And finally caught up with Big Little Lies. Whew. Whatever else is said about that show, can we also say "real estate porn"?
The Music Box here in Chicago played a 35mm print of Wait Until Dark, which really holds up and got a round of applause. Audrey Hepburn is so terrific in this.
Brookesboy, funnily enough, I watched Wait Until Dark on TCM this weekend for the first time. It was underwhelming, except for the last 15 minutes or so (the confrontation). The plot holes took me out completely from the movie (first, who accepts a doll in an airport from a stranger, why does Hepburn does not call the police, why she sends Gloria for her husband and not for the police, why she did not go to a neighbours' apartment to wait for the police she should have called earlier?). Nonetheless, I found the acting very good, especially Alan Arkin.
By the way, I also saw Power Rangers, which was better than expected. A by the numbers superhero origin story with an underdeveloped villain. Nothing new but at least it was funny.
Saw The Big Sleep with Bogart and Bacall. Fun enough just to watch those two, even if the story didn't grab me. It was funny how the 46- or 47-year-old Bogart says he's 38. Ha. Sure.
I'm still coming off of a really bad case of laryngitis and a viral infection, so I didn't get out to the theaters this weekend.
I did watch the new animated Gantz film, Gantz.0, on Netflix. It was pretty good. My biggest issue with the series--manga, anime, and previous films--has always been the blatant exploitation of the female form. The characters wear these high tech, skintight suits that don't fit over regular clothes. They change in a room with everyone else and, without fail, some man or men ogle the woman/women in the room regardless of their age and usually go for much worse.
None of that is in the new film (beyond obvious bad guys getting their comeuppance after calling the female lead "Jugs"), which makes it by and large the best entry in the series. The only real issue is the pacing. Gantz is an endless reincarnation cycle where the recently dead for the chance to permanently come back to life by battling aliens with high tech weapons. This film focuses on one very repetitive mission that, in the anime, would have lasted maybe two episodes. It's slow for what's there but hits on many of the highlights from the original anime series in unexpected ways and has the best visuals of any animated/live action adaptation so far.
That Power Rangers still encapsulates Hollywood perfectly. The white male is front and center, the women and minorities are behind and around him, and they're all fascinated by what he's doing.
Split was worth seeing for Anya Taylor-Joy's magnificent performance - she's so fucking good!
Nat - my only gripe about her Comrades performance was the accent which seemed to oscillate between Guangdong (China) and Hong Kong. Not sure why. She nailed it in some scenes but went off mark in others.
Catching up on 2016 - saw Jackie, Everybody wants some and The Witch
Jackie - extremely well crafted, original and stylized. Very hard to emotionally connect to. Natalie Portman was great but still would put her behind Huppert by a mile.
The Witch - a fantastic debut. Kept me breathless and does not fall into usual easy clichés. acting is tricky and uniformly amazing. Can't even imagine what it took to get the children to behave in that way, Anya Taylor-Joy is on her way. She is a very very exciting new talent.
Everybody wants some - I wanted to sleep with all these dudes then they bored me out of my mind. Which is I think the point of the movie. Underrated and masterful.