"I only need one of you to help me"

...please decide between yourselves."

What did you see this weekend?

The odd proposition of The Great Wall didn't excite moviegoers in the States -- Matt Damon leading historical fantasy fiction about China's great wall and monstersWhaaa?-- but its huge price tag (150 million budget) doesn't mean it will lose big since it's already made over 200 million overseas. Generally speaking director Zhang Yimou knows how to wondrous spectacle movies but this movies reviews leave something to be desired. Nevertheless it was a relatively quiet weekend with not much changing as the maintream titles played steadily and the Oscar titles are beginning to decline as the conversation around the Oscars nears its end point.

But did anyone see I Am Not Your Negro's huge box office gross coming? You never can tell with documentaries which ones will convince people to buy tickets en masse. In specialty theaters the Mexican rom-com Everybody Loves Somebody also opened to strong numbers.

the great Zhang Yimou directing... Matt Damon in The Great Wall?

TOP WIDE 
01 Lego Batman Movie $34.2 (cum. $98.7)
02 Fifty Shades Darker $20.9 (cum. $89.6)
03 The Great Wall $18 NEW 
04 John Wick Chapter Two $16.5 (cum. $58.6) 
05 Fist Fight $12 NEW

TOP LIMITED 
01 Everybody Loves Somebody $1 NEW 
02 I Am Not Your Negro $975K (cum. $3.2) Review, the nominated docs
03 Oscar Nominated Shorts $600K (cum. $1.6) Doc Shorts Ranked
04 Jolly Lib 2 $330K (cum. $1.3)
05 A United Kingdom $270K (cum. $360K)

On This Day: Merry Murderers, Obsessed Seafarers, and Noir Stars

On this day in showbiz history...

1719 Leopold Mozart, Amadeus's father is born in Augsburg Germany. In the 1984 movie phenomenon, one of the biggest hits of its year and the winner of 8 Oscars, he's played by Roy Dotrice and factors in heavily to the film's haunting imagery (and poster). Or to quote Salieri as played by F Murray Abraham:

So rose the dreadful ghost from his next and blackest opera. There, on the stage, stood the figure of a dead commander. And I knew, only I understood that the horrifying aparition was Leopold, raised from the dead! Wolfgang had actually summoned up his own father to accuse his son before all the world! It was terrifying and wonderful to watch. And now the madness began in me. The madness of the man splitting in half. Through my influence, I saw to it Don Giovanni was played only five times in Vienna. But in secret, I went to every one of those five, worshipping sounds I alone seem to hear. And hour after hour, as I stood there, understanding how that bitter old man was still possessing his poor son even from beyond the grave. I began to see a way, a terrible way, I could finally triumph over God.

Uff such a great movie.

Classic screen beauties, unforgettable musical moments and other Best Picture nominees after the jump...

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Trailers: 'The Handmaiden', 'Split' & 'The Great Wall'

Chris here, with some creepy trailers from auteurs for better (Chan-Wook Park and Zhang Yimou) or worse (M. Night Shyamalan). Let's take a look at the coming chills, from the kinky to the twisty to the digitally enhanced:

The Handmaiden

• We've been getting fall festival lineup announcements and hopefully this will pop up somewhere. After a well-reviewed debut in Cannes, we're betting at least on NYFF.
• "... And Stoker" is the most "And Peggy" response to director Chan-Wook Park's filmography.
• Too bad that Oscar is often afraid to get naughty - the design elements look immaculate, especially the cinematography from Park's frequent collaborator Chung-hoon Chung.
• The Handmaiden reenvisions Sarah Waters's novel Fingersmith across the globe and time periods. If only other literary adaptations could be so bold in their interpretations.

Check out what creepiness Shyamalan and Yimou have coming with their more famous stars after the jump...

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To Gong Li on Her 50th Birthday

One of the screen's all time great beauties turns 50 today and she's still completely ravishing. Gong Li holds the fascinating distinction of being the only Chinese cinema star that Oscar has ever been consistently interested in. Despite Oscar's historic (and frankly bizarre) resistance to Asian cinema, even in the foreign film categories, an incredible six films from her resume have been nominated for Oscars.

Alas she has not been nominated herself, though she was "in the conversation" as it were on two separate occassions.  A Gong Li beauty break and those six of her most famous films after the jump... 

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