Box Office: Got Bank? The Butler Will Get That For You.

With the major success of Lee Daniels' The Butler, second week at the top and already his highest grosser, one senses that Crazy Daniels can do whatever he wants next, carte blanche. Will it be that troubled Janis Joplin biopic as rumored? I actually hope so because I want Amy Adams to sing onscreen more (when don't I want singing actresses to do this?) and I think she could use some of the abandon that Lee Daniels seems to inspire in his actresses.

I liked her rare rougher edges in The Fighter so much. If it weren't for her meercat fixation that one time, the peak of her career might well be that porch scene with Christian Bale. What have you ever done with your life, Amy?

I like my life. I like my life [...] 

All right. I drank too much. I worked in a lot of bars. And I ruined a lot of opportunities but I'm trying to do something better here. And so is Mickey. 

Come on. Come on. People took several pieces of that heart already, baby. So bring that Janis Joplin biopic on!

Oh but now we're way off track. Where were we? The weekend box office...

BOX OFFICE
01 LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER $17 (cum. $52.2) Podcast & Review
02 WE'RE THE MILLERS $13.5 (cum. $91.7)
03 THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS $9.3 *new* 
04 THE WORLD'S END $8.9 *new*
05 PLANES $8.5 ($59.5)
06 ELYSIUM $7.1 (cum. $69) Podcast & Review
07 YOU'RE NEXT $7 *new*
08 PERCY JACKSON 2 $5.2 (cum. $48.3)
09 BLUE JASMINE $4.3 *wide* (cum. $14.8) Podcast & Review
10 KICK-ASS 2 $4.2 (cum. $22.4)

In limited release Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmaster led the newbies with $132,000 at 7 locations and Short Term 12 opened with $60,000 at 4 locations. If I controlled the world Short Term 12 (reviewed) would have opened on 1000 screens to sold out houses but the world is a poorer place because I do not and it did not. But go see it anyway! Fruitvale Station (reviewed) inched past $15 million and Una Noche, a Cuban film winning rave reviews that Glenn just discussed, opened with $18,500

What did YOU see this weekend? Why are you so quiet this weekend?

Open Thread

We haven't done one of these in a while. What's on your cinematic mind? Purge those thoughts in the comments to make room for this weekend's podcast! 

Cue the Music!

Drumroll please. We're almost there... 

Daily Nooners with The Supporting Actresses of 1952 begin tomorrow culminating in this Saturday's Official Supporting Actress Smackdown Revival with emcee StinkyLulu, special guests Nick Davis (Nick's Flick Picks), Matt Mazur (Pop Matters) and myself (Nathaniel R)! In addition to the main panel, we'll have a reader's rank sidebar special so get those ballots in with "1952" in the subject line. Wednesday's your last day to vote!

Say What? August Squabble

We asked you to amuse us with captions or dialogue for these stills from the forthcoming AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY starring Julia Roberts forcibly hugging or attacking Meryl Streep.

And the winners are...

"Viola sends her love"
- Brookesboy 

Honorable Mention

"Meryl babe, let it go, three is the new four"
- Dave in Alamitos Beach 

Caption: "Erin Choke-a-bitch"
- Mareko

"Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit.  Except Julia's craving for another Oscar"
- Davide

Thanks for playing!

Review: Short Term 12

An abridged version of this review was previously published in my column at Towleroad

The movies that hit us hardest can be the toughest to talk about. Sometimes that's because they're personal, striking you right where you live. Sometimes it's more intangible than that, showing you something you needed to see about a less familiar world just to the side of your own, while never forgetting to move and entertain you. Short Term 12 will surely be one of those movies for many, either way.

This rich drama from the Hawaiian filmmaker Destin Cretton, is based on his short film of the same name and concerns a very private young woman named Grace (Brie Larson) the supervisor at a Foster Care facility. Grace is an expert at navigating the emotional chaos of the kids she watches over but less adept at meeting her own emotional needs or opening up to her friends and co-workers about her own secrets. She's got at least two of them weighing her down. Short Term 12 refers to the setting, a temporary shelter for troubled or abandoned kids as they await their next foster home assignment.

I have no personal experience with the foster care system or abusive birth parents or mentoring kids -- Hell, I was never even a babysitter (Youngest Child Escape Clause) -- but within minutes the foreignness of it all slips away. [more...]

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