Box Office: The Lion Roars Again

With the Emmys happening yesterday (live blog!) -- and thus TV ruling the internet's hive mind -- we thought it prudent to wait until today to discuss the weekend box office.

Box Office (U.S.) Baker's Dozen -actuals
01 THE LION KING 3D [review] re-release $30.1 (cum $369.9)
02 CONTAGION [venice capsule] $14.5 (cum $44.2)
03 DRIVE [review] new $11.3
04 THE HELP [review] $6.5 (cum $147.4)
05 STRAW DOGS new $5.1
06 I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT new $4.4
07 THE DEBT $2.9 (cum $26.5)
08 WARRIOR [review] $2.8 (cum $10)
09 RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES $2.6 (cumulative $171.6) 
10 COLOMBIANA $2.3 (cum $33.3)
11 SHARK NIGHT 3D  $1.8 (cum $17.3)
12 SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD $1.5 (cum $36.1)
13 CRAZY STUPID LOVE [review] $1.5 (cum $80.7)

Talking Points: Goddamnit. Just as 3-D was looking like a doomed prospect, Disney has to go and surpass all expectations of The Lion King's post-conversion release. Now obviously not any old movie would be able to obliterate its new competition but The Lion King has always been the king of its jungle, as one of the highest grossing and most beloved movies of the 90s. But just because this wouldn't work for every feature, does not mean this won't convince Hollywood otherwise. They've already invested a lot in 3D and they aren't going to give up with these results.

The Help continues its very slow decline down the charts. It's not going to top Bridesmaids as the year's biggest non-franchise hit (since it's still $20 million behind) but #2 in that arena and #12 for the year overall from all films released for what is essentially a period piece ensemble actress drama sure is bragging rights. (And Oscar fuel if Disney realizes it in time.) 

Crazy Stupid Love isn't a blockbuster so people aren't really talking about its success but it's had relatively strong legs at the box office and quietly tallied up an impressive $80 million... all of which is very good news for its fine cast who are generally uneven as box office takes go.

Flops: Warrior, designed to be a crowd pleaser, just can't pull in the crowds. No word of mouth resurgence. And tough break for Sarah Jessica Parker's bankability; She Didn't Do It.

What did you see over the weekend? If it's Drive, join the discussion over in my review -- I drew pictures and everything! If something else, what was it? Did you love?

The Adventures of Simba Across the Third Dimension

Michael C. here.

As a dyed-in-the-wool 3D non-believer I can’t say I was thrilled at the notion of Disney combing through the vault, “improving” titles with the latest technological gimmick as an excuse to wring more cash out of their back catalogue. The idea reeks of George Lucas style revisionism. Yet having seen Lion King 3D (opening today) I now have to reconcile this position with the fact that I thought the whole thing worked beautifully. Maybe enough time had passed for the story to feel fresh again. Maybe I was just in a great mood the morning of the screening. But whatever the reason I can’t deny Lion King 3D did what Lion King IMAX failed to do for me, which was to break through my deep familiarity with the material and hit me on a gut level.

Hey, why mince words: I had a blast.

Lion King may be the most technically polished use of 3D I’ve seen, miles ahead of any other after-the-fact 3D conversions, and right up there with Avatar and Up which I consider the gold standard. The Disney team has clearly taken incredible care with their prized title in this their inaugural attempt to access the potential gold mine of retrofitting classics. The level of detail impresses. The snouts of the lions protrude slightly in front of their faces and African plains that were formally flat paintings now stretch convincingly into the distance. Zazu becomes a breakout star since he gives the depth of field a work out every time he swoops by in the foreground high above the action. At the screening I saw there was no hint of dimness or the dreaded multi-plane effect that plagues cheaper 3D conversions.. I can honestly say I’ve never felt the urge to peek out from under the glasses, which is pretty much the highest compliment I can give to the technical job. 

Ultimately, a third dimension will never make a bad script better or make a boring movie exciting. Lion King 3D works so well because Lion King 2D did. But still, when the movie is already playing like gangbusters I can't deny the added depth can help turn things up to 11 from time to time. "The Circle of Life" wows as if it was conceived with 3D in mind from the start, and the wildebeest stampede is predictably stunning. More surprisingly the added dimension also lends increased grandeur to simple scenes like an early heartfelt talk between Mufasa and son in a vast open field. In other scenes where the newfound depth doesn’t do much– "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", for example, doesn’t exactly pop – it’s easy enough to ignore. 

How viable this will be for other Disney classics remains an open question. The group of titles that would really justify the conversion is probably slim. I can’t say a 3D version of The Jungle Book would have me clamoring for tickets. If, on the other hand, they ever give Fantasia the same deluxe treatment they have given Lion King then sign me up.

List-Mania: Goodbye Summer 2011

Before we move on to our new and hopefully joyous Fall Movie Season (which begins September 13th here at TFE) let's look back briefly on the season that was... the movies that opened from May to August. How do we look back? With lists of course.

Three Best Uses of 3D

• Glee: The 3D Concert Movie - Heather Morris's boobs. ("Brittany S. Pierce" has long since surpassed "Coach Sylvester" as Glee's comedic MVP. If only the Emmys had noticed for their season 2 specific nominations).
• Transformers Dark of the Moon - the top of that building cracking and tipping over... and that time that Shia Labeouf almost fell to his death.
• Every Movie That Opted Not To Use It.

Ten Performances That Made the Summer

• Vera Farmiga and Dagmara Dominczyk all sisterly sensual with palpable chemistry in Higher Ground [INTERVIEW]
• Andy Serkis continues to elevate mo-cap into a new acting artform in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
• Viola Davis helps The Help overcome its limitations.
• "I also have an announcement!" and that's this: Kristen Wiig is awesome in Bridesmaids.
• Michael Fassbender moves metal and hearts in X-Men: First Class.
• Powerfully moving father/son relations were the story in both Beginners and The Tree of Life courtesay of fine direction and the efforts of Ewan McGregor & Christopher Plummer (Beginners) and Brad Pitt & Hunter McCracken (The Tree of Life).

Three Movies I'm Relieved I Didn't Have To See

• The Smurfs (22% RT rating), Zookeeper (12% RT rating), and The Change-Up (22% RT rating).

Most Terrible Twosome I Did See

• Green Lantern (27% RT rating), and Cars 2 (37% RT rating).

Eight Movies I Feel Weirdest About Missing and I'll Get To ½ of Them Eventually...Or Sooner

• One Day, The Whistleblower, The Future, The Devil's Double, Winnie the Pooh, Horrible Bosses, Trollhunter and The Beaver

 Two Quickest Memory Fades

• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and that's the actual truth and not meant as a diss on franchises which overstay their welcome. I'm using a spreadsheet of all screenings for this list and barely remember any single exciting moment from either picture... though the mermaid attack in On Stranger Tides lingers the most from these two pictures.

Delicious Looking Edibles

• Minnie's pies in The Help (well, excluding the one with a co-starring role)
• All "Cake Baby" items from Bridesmaids
• Ryan Gosling "Seriously? It's like your photoshopped."

Great Moments in Movies That Didn't Totally Work For Me Otherwise

• Super 8's best moment comes very early as the crew of child filmmakers prep for a big train station scene in their zombie epic only to be gobsmacked by Elle Fanning's prodigious screen presence; they almost don't notice that train hurtling towards them, such is the power of actressing. [reviewed]
• X-Men First Class has several fine moments -- almost all of them involving Magneto -- so why didn't the movie work for me? In retrospect I mostly blame the actual first class of dull, less then fully embodied mutant students. [full review]
• Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) comic fish-out-of-water arrogance in the diner amused. [reviewed]

Movie I Didn't See ...Except That I Did

• The Hangover Part 2 - I accidentally saw the first one again during the summer, and based on reviews and internet commentary that means that I did see Part 2 provided I can imagine it taking place in Bangkok which, as it turns out, I can. Saved myself $13!

Ten Best Animals (Ranked)
This list is dedicated to the narrating cat in The Future which I really am going to see soon. What's up with my procrastination?!?

1. Nim (chimpanzee) Project NIM
2. Cesar (chimpanzee) Rise of the Planet of the Apes 
3. Arthur (dog) Beginners 
4. dinosaurs (dinosaurs) The Tree of Life
5. Flora (elephant) One Lucky Elephant
6. Maurice (orangutan) in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
7. Bridal Party Shower Favors (puppies) in Bridesmaids
8. Buck (gorilla) in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
9. Willie Nelson (dog) in Our Idiot Brother
10. Nagini (snake) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2

Ten Best Movies (Chronologically Speaking)

• MAY: Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, Tuesday After Christmas, The Tree of Life; 
• JUNE: Beginners (review) a dark dark movie month it would've been without this moving film;
• JULY:  Project NIM (which opened just one month too early to capitalize on what an amazing double feature it makes with Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- thoughts on the movie), Captain America: The First Avenger (review) and Crazy, Stupid, Love (thoughts on the movie).
• AUGUST: Rise of the Planet of the Apes and either The Help (review) or Higher Ground... both of which have their problems as films but make up for it with plentiful actressing.

ONE MORE LIST...
and that's yours in the comments. Name your 3 or more favorite anything from Summer 2011. GO! 

Yes, No, Maybe So: Hugo

Robert (author of Distant Relatives) here. If you, like me, have been wondering how the phrases "Martin Scorsese" and "family-friendly holiday season event film" could possibly fit together ever since the announcement of The Invention of Hugo Cabret...

...later shortened to Hugo Cabret, later shortened to Hugo (by the time the film hits theaters in November it may just be H.) the newly released trailer may answer your questions, though not necessarily satisfactorily, and may leave you with all new ones. Let's discuss.

The name Martin Scorsese was, is, and will continue to be the selling point behind this film, at least for cinephiles who consider each new Scorsese film an event. But the trailer here has definitely been cut for the kind of mass audience that doesn't flock to Scorsese in droves. If you're looking for something non-threatening enough for the kids, but well crafted enough for adults, this trailer is targeting you. And in that sense the trailer does have something of an "instant holiday classic" feel to it. Not to mention some possibly impressive production design by Dante Feretti that could get him noticed again after his Shutter Island snub last season.

Yet while the production design appears promising, there's always the possibility that this busy-looking film will be a gold and teal nightmare. The 3D cinematography is rife with things flying at the camera. In this trailer alone we count at least five: Sacha Baron Cohen's hand, a dog, dragon smoke, a key necklace, and Hugo's hand. (So help me if that scene of Hugo going down a big fun slide is accompanied with a POV shot) Barring the title card there's not much here that feels Scorsese. Sure it's off his genre, but even when he does go off genre, Scorsese explores the same general themes and ideas (once calling The Age of Innocence his most violent picture). So even the slightest hint of a Scorsese touch, like the presence of Ray Winstone, was welcome, though I wanted to shout "No Hugo! Don't go with Mr. French!"

So what is Scorsese doing? Pilling up money for his next project? An academic exercise in trying something new?

Actually what he's doing is a family-friendly holiday season event film in exactly the way Scorsese would do it. Scorsese was never going to do fantasy in the mold of something modern. His films always reference back to the classics. Even Shutter Island disappointed many by possessing the obviousness of an old melodramatic Hammer Horror film instead of something that felt new. But that's what he does. Something tells me that what interested Scorsese in this project was the potential to make an homage to Georges Méliès (played by Ben Kingsley) and the films that birthed the fantasy genre. And those films were indeed intentionally artificial and filled with gimmicks.

So maybe we can't fault Scorsese for inconsistency of vision. We may want Scorsese to be modern and inventive. We may want him to wow us with spectacle like Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan. But that's the fault of our expectation. What Scorsese clearly wants to do is recreate the magic of the old days. Whether or not you end up liking Hugo may depend on whether you appreciate the note on which the trailer ends, a recreation of the Lumiere's brother's L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat this time with the train actually pummelling toward the audience... in 3D.

Crabs, Robots, Divas, Ships, Sing-Alongs... LINKS

Montages top ten robots on film (in norwegian but with pics) Roy Batty of Blade Runner is at number one selvfølgelig. Who else, you know?
Hollywood Reporter in case you've been wondering why there's still talk of a Green Lantern sequel (despite the lame box office for the Ryan Reynolds affair), here's why it might happen.
Ultra Culture "better than the last one but still pretty shit" sharp funny review of Transformers Dark of the Moon. Most of the bile is saved for Shia LaBeouf but Megan Fox's replacement gets this.

It might be a little premature to judge Megan Fox’s replacement, British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, given how little she has to work with here — STICK YOUR BUM OUT, LOOK SCARED, POUT YOUR LIPS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO SUGGEST THAT YOU MIGHT BE PROFICIENT AT ADMINISTERING A BLOWJOB — but even with just a handful of lines she’s a firm lock for worst performance of 2011. I’m not even sure she can do a British accent properly.

"Dr Horrible" vinyl lp by Joe SpiottoAlt Screen suggests you see Choose Me (1984) tonight if you're in NYC. God I loved this movie on VHS in the late 80s. Don't remember much of it though.
Critical Condition Oscar Songs Project 1989. Time for The Little Mermaid.  
Super Punch "Doctor Horribles Sing-a-Long Blog Vinyl Album." By the artist Joe Spiotto. Soooooooo cute I just died. (Must finish this post in Zombie-Nathaniel form.)
Hollywood Reporter James Cameron's 3D conversion of Titanic (1997) generating buzz. I will see it because I love all things Cameron but I worry that it will restore the lustre of 3D just as it's been (rightfully) fading.
Kenneth in the (212) "the greatest 30 seconds in cinema" Shirley Maclaine is. still. here. Actually is she? Where is she? 

Go Fug Yourself is absolutely right about this hideous tacky Newsweek cover. 
Coming Soon Madonna, who has been photographed constantly with her supposed "ex" French dancer Brahim Zaibat this week will soon have a cluttered December calendar. The Weinstein Co has announced they'll open W.E. (recently discussed) on December 9th and expand by January. Mark your Oscar calendars. 
Cinema Blend reports that Scarlett Johansson may be starring in the music-centric film  Can a Song Save Your Life? from Once talent John Carney. This seems like a very good idea since ScarJo doesn't even seem like an actress anymore, right?, just a celebrity.