It's January, and that means we've entered the dog days of moviegoing. Studios release blockbusters in the summer and Oscar contenders at the end of the year, leaving poor li'l January, February, March and April with a bunch of movies that fit in neither category -- that is, horror flicks and films that, to put it kindly, sort of suck. (OK, that wasn't kind.)
In 2006, for example, the lowest-earning film of the year -- in fact,
of all time -- was a thriller called 'Zyzzyx,' which co-starred
Katherine Heigl (Izzie on 'Grey's Anatomy') and earned a grand total of ... $30. Yes, $30. I believe that covers the director, his wife and an insomniac who wandered in by mistake, looking for a nap. It opened in February. See my point? Anyway, despite that, there are still some gems to be found before we hit the summer. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
'Freedom Writers': Speaking of 'Grey's Anatomy,' here's a movie that co-stars
Patrick Dempsey, known to viewers everywhere as McDreamy. He plays the husband of
Hilary Swank's character, a do-gooder teacher who comes to the inner city to do some good. Wait a minute, haven't we seen this movie before? Oh, my mistake. That was
'Dangerous Minds.' And about a million other movies. To its credit, the movie's getting
decent reviews, and Hilary's got those two Oscars. I just don't know whether she's a big enough name to headline this type of movie successfully, particularly in such a crowded genre.
'Happily N'Ever After': The only family movie opening this weekend, 'Happily N'Ever After' would seem to have the best chance of knocking
'Night at the Museum' from its No. 1 perch. It's an animated fairy tale -- a comic retelling of 'Cinderella' -- starring real-life
married couple Sarah Michelle Gellar and
Freddie Prinze Jr. as Cinderella and Rick, her dishwasher best friend who's secretly in love with her. The prince, interestingly enough (who isn't necessarily the good guy in this movie), is named Prince Humperdink, presumably in a nod to one of my all-time favorite movies,
'The Princess Bride.' At any rate, kids and parents who've already seen 'Museum' and
'Happy Feet' will probably want to give this a chance, though the fact that this movie is opening in January and not peak holiday time is a little suspect, methinks.
'Children of Men': Already showing in limited release but opening wide now is
Alfonso Cuarón's (
'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' 'Y Tu Mamá También') futuristic thriller, starring
Clive Owen and
Julianne Moore, about a world in which women can no longer give birth to children. I wasn't able to catch a screening of this one, but I can't wait to see it. It's gotten great
reviews and has made plenty of Best of 2006 lists; in addition, my colleague Tommy says it has "the coolest sequence of the year": a 10-minute, uninterrupted tracking shot in which Owen, running through a war zone, ducks in and out of buildings and buses. This is the highest quality film going wide this week -- and as a fan of Cuaron's, I'm rooting for it to do well. It's not the most accessible film, but word of mouth is a powerful thing.
Also of note: Cedric the Entertainer's 'Code Name: The Cleaner' comes out this weekend. Shouldn't make the top five, but who knows, stranger things have happened. Cedric's got his peeps. Also, it co-stars
Lucy Liu and
Nicollette Sheridan. Um, that's pretty much all I have to say about this one.
Deadline: Saturday at noon. You've got 24 hours. Go.
1. Night at the Museum
2. The Pursuit of Happyness
3. Dreamgirls
4. Happily N'Ever After
5. Children of MenPOST: What's your weekend top five prediction?
POST: What do you think of these movies?
'Children of Men': Showtimes, tix, trailer & more | Photos | Reviews
'Happily N'Ever After': Showtimes, tix, trailer & more | Exclusive clips | Photos
'Freedom Writers': Showtimes, tix, trailer & more | Exclusive clip | PhotosTags: box office, BoxOffice, code name cleaner, CodeNameCleaner, forecast, freedom writers, FreedomWriters, happily n'ever after, HappilyN'everAfter, movies, prediction
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Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-05-2007 @ 3:56PM
Chris said...
1) Night at the Musuem
2) Dreamgirls
3) Pursuit of Happyness
4) Freedom Writers
5) Code Name: The Cleaner
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 5:00PM
bostons leppard said...
1) Night at the Museum
2) Dreamgirls
3) Happily N'Ever After
4) Pursuit of Happyness
5) Children of Men
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 5:14PM
Judy Guzman said...
DREAM GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! WHAT A FANTASITIC SINGER JENNIFER HUDSON IS AND SHE WAS THE MOVIE.
JENNIFER HUDSON DESERVES THE HIGHEST HONOR IN THIS FILM.
SHE HAS VOCAL CAPABILITIES MOST PROFESSIONAL SINGERS DONT.
SHE IS THE BEST SINGER IN THE MOVIE AND YOU CANT COMPARE HER TO ANYONE.
THANK YOU JENNIFER HUDSON FOR THE HONOR OF LISTENING TO YOU....
JUDY
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 5:17PM
Judy Guzman said...
DREAM GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! WHAT A FANTASITIC SINGER JENNIFER HUDSON IS AND SHE WAS THE MOVIE.
JENNIFER HUDSON DESERVES THE HIGHEST HONOR IN THIS FILM.
SHE HAS VOCAL CAPABILITIES MOST PROFESSIONAL SINGERS DONT.
SHE IS THE BEST SINGER IN THE MOVIE AND YOU CANT COMPARE HER TO ANYONE.
THANK YOU JENNIFER HUDSON FOR THE HONOR OF LISTENING TO YOU....
JUDY
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 5:18PM
isaac said...
My box office predictions are:
1.Night at the museum
2.The pursuit of happiness
3.Dreamgirls
4.Happily n'ever arfter
5.Code name:the cleaner
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 4:05AM
valentine aguilar jr said...
Why don't you feature a segment devoted to movie previews/trailers without all the fuss of showbiz as found in entertainment show. I am not looking for gossip and/or accompanying movie clips, but merely the trailers to the most talked about movie, i.e., "Freedom Writers" with Hilary Swank. I just want to see a bit what this movie is about. That's all. There isn't any feature like this anywhere. Its about time. Don't you think. thanks
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 10:24AM
Bubba8193 said...
Hey, it;s Bubba8193! It's pretty hard this weekend. I'm not sure if 'Freedom Writers' or 'Code Name: The Cleaner' will make the top five or not!
Here are my preddicions:
1)Night at the Museum
2)The Pursuit of Happyness
3)Dreamgirls
4)Happily N'Ever After
5)Children of Men
There might be a chance that 'Freedom Writers' and 'Code Name: The Cleaner' will make the top five and kick out either 'Dreamgirls' and or 'Children of Men', but I'm not really sure. But like Patricia said "stranger things have happened".
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 11:25AM
liesse00 said...
Night at the Museum
Pursuit of Happyness
Children of Men
Freedom Writers
Dreamgirls
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 11:49AM
Evilone1414 said...
My Prediction:
1.Night at the Museum
2.Dream Girls
3.Pursuit of Happiness
4.Children of men
5.Happily Never after
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 11:50AM
zsxxx03 said...
hey everyone
cant really do a big intro this week...
haha happy new year tho
anways, my picks for this week are.....
1) Night at the Museaum
2) Pursuit of Happyness
3) Dream Girls
4) Happily N'ever After
5) Children of Men
p.s. Children of Men was amazing, definitly a powerful and provacative film... probs to Alfonso, Clive, Ms. Moore, and Cain... 4 stars!
- zsxxx03
Reply
1-06-2007 @ 11:55AM
Mario said...
1. Happily N'Ever After
2. Night at the Museum
3. Dreamgirls
4. Children of Men
5. Freedom Writers
Reply
1-07-2007 @ 5:24AM
Kay Scutt said...
I went to see Rocky Balboa..it was indeed different than the other Rocky movies. I felt it was deeper and showed a retired superstar. greiving his wife as a true being who not only had aged but had suffered a huge loss and void in his , a not so great relationship with his grown son and his feeling of self worth as a retired fighter. His decision to fight again was one that could regain his sense of self and not just victory. I loved this movie and certainly read between the lines and related to his struggles. Sylvestor Stallone indeed did one heck of a job showing the realities of life as we age, love, lose. and struggle to prevail in our life's dreams. What a movie !
Reply