AngelsDemons Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We're four weeks into 2009's summer movie season. X-Men Origins: Wolverine got things off to a soggy start and was eclipsed by Star Trek as a popular favorite. Not many were impressed by Angels & Demons (though it did big business overseas), leading into this long weekend with Terminator Salvation and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian doing battle (and a little Dance Flick on the side).

So what are your general impressions so far? I was disappointed by Wolverine and loved Star Trek. My ambitious weekend viewing plans began with a viewing of Terminator Salvation, which satisfied the 12-year-old boy in me, but left the adult me sorely hungry for more substantial entertainment. So I watched two DVDs that came out last Tuesday. Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941) stars Walter Pidgeon as a British big game hunter whose "sporting stalk" of Hitler ends up with the hunter becoming the hunted. Lang is an elegant, efficient storyteller; Man Hunt is intelligent and thoughtful. Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) features Robert Mitchum (pictured) as the weary, wary "Eddie Fingers," a loyal, long-term, low-level Boston hood. Really, though, the story revolves around his "friends" -- criminal colleagues and law enforcement officers, people who don't really care about Eddie. Even with bank robberies and intense stake-outs and stand-offs, the real impact comes from the characters and what happens to them.

What did you watch over the Memorial Day weekend? Feel free to elaborate in the comments section.

Part of the problem with the movie version of The Da Vinci Code was that it took itself too seriously. You had these people dashing around Europe, investigating obscure clues and uncovering outrageous conspiracies, but the only person who seemed to be having any fun with it was Ian McKellen. "Tom Hanks has never seemed so dull," I wrote in my review.

Well, say what you will about Ron Howard as a director, but at least he's consistent. Angels & Demons, the Da Vinci Code sequel, is as overly serious as its predecessor, and poor Mr. Hanks -- the world's most likable man, for crying out loud! -- is still dour and intense. I get that saving the world from disaster is important business, and the characters may not have time to smile and joke and enjoy themselves. But is it too much to ask for it to be fun for the audience?

Not having read Dan Brown's Angels & Demons novel (which actually came before Da Vinci, not after), I was able to find some entertainment in the mechanics of the plot -- not knowing how the mystery would be unraveled, curious to see what the clues would mean. The screenplay, by veteran action writer David Koepp (Panic Room) and Ron Howard regular Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), basically adheres to a limited point of view -- we don't know any more than the Hanks character, Robert Langdon, does. For viewers who already know where things are going, there may not be much pleasure in watching Langdon figure it out, unless the movie has deviated significantly from the book.

Is there really much enthusiasm for a religious thriller this weekend? I realize that The Da Vinci Code made eleventy billion dollars worldwide despite widespread critical negativity, and that legions of fans support Dan Brown, Tom Hanks, and Ron Howard, but I'm not feeling the love for Angels & Demons, which opens on Friday.

I admit I'm biased. I managed to finish The Da Vinci Code, which was one of the most turgid, tortured, self-important works of fiction I've ever read, and don't have much regard for the movie version. I can understand why so many people went to see it, with the unbeatable combination of sensational subject matter, the promise of a thriller, and Tom Hanks' mullet. Yet how many came away satisfied, and demanding a sequel?

Early critical reaction to Angels & Demons has been tepid (54% at Rotten Tomatoes), but that didn't dissuade people before, so that probably won't be a factor. Our ace prognosticator Matt Bradshaw predicted that Angels & Demons would top the box office this weekend with $60 million, with J.J. Abrams' Star Trek dropping to the #2 spot after last weekend's $79.2 million haul. But could Star Trek retain its #1 position? The Movie Blog agrees with me on two points -- disappointment with The Da Vinci Code and lack of buzz for the sequel -- and also suggests that Star Trek's quality, excellent word of mouth, and expected repeat business could make the difference.

What do you think?

(Clockwise, from upper left: Splash, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Castaway, The Ladykillers, The Da Vinci Code.)

Our last two polls covered Star Trek : anticipated box office returns (most folks guessed too high) and 1-10 rating (most folks were very impressed). Those polls are still open, but we thought it was time to let our hair down and move on to this week's big opener: Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's dramatic thriller Angels & Demons.

Based on the novel by Dan Brown, Angels & Demons follows Professor Robert Langdon as he again uses his expert knowledge of symbology to uncover an international conspiracy involving the Catholic Church. Though the book was written before The Da Vinci Code, the events take place afterward. When Hanks and Howard previously teamed on the film adaptation in 2006, Hanks' hair got plenty of attention. As Eric D. Snider noted, "If you recall nothing else about The Da Vinci Code, surely you remember that Tom Hanks sported a ghastly mullet in it. So the important thing to know about Angels & Demons ... is that Hanks' hairstyle has been corrected. So that's a relief."

But did you love Hanks' "ghastly mullet" in The Da Vinci Code? Or are you a bigger fan of his earlier, funnier hairstyles in movies like Splash, his first collaboration with Howard? How about the Forrest Gump flat top? The Castaway outgrowth? Or the Colonel Sanders hair from The Ladykillers? Inspired by a classic post at TheJay.com, please take our silly little poll and tell us: What's your favorite Tom Hanks hairstyle?

When you're finished with that poll, head on over to Moviefone and vote for your favorite Tom Hanks performance.

Though I enjoyed Todd's post, I actually don't think much of the idea that J.J. Abrams needs to go around rebooting franchises, if only due to my vain hope that some Hollywood talent might ration out a little time for some original programming rather than endless prequels, sequels and remakes. But credit where credit is due. Seven years after Star Trek hit its box-office nadir with Nemesis, Abrams' reboot opened to $72.5 million ($76.5 million including Thursday night "sneaks") -- more than twice the gross of any previous franchise entry -- and, crucially, seems to be enjoying good word-of-mouth even among non-Trekkies.

That falls shy of last weekend's $85 million opening for Wolverine, but I expect Star Trek to hold up better than the generally disliked superhero flick. Wolverine dropped nearly 70% in its second week of release, and will struggle to get to $200 million domestic. (Its drop to $27 million is actually slightly bigger, percentage-wise, than Watchmen's much-discussed deflation back in March.) On the other hand, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past held up well, as the weekend didn't bring any new anti-action counterprogramming.

Summit's Next Day Air, the only other opener, managed $4 million on just over 1000 screens, which isn't too bad -- though I'm hoping Summit can do a bit better with the difficult-to-market Brothers Bloom, opening on just a few theaters next weekend and expanding on the 22nd and 29th.

The full top 10 after the jump.

I'm not exactly sure what notes Ron Howard received from the studio following his adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, but I imagine it went something like, "More dead, bloody people hanging in churches!" Indeed, this time around -- for his adaptation of the Da Vinci prequel, Angels & Demons -- there appears to be a lot more ... creepiness. The first couple of teasers and TV spots did nothing to excite the summer movie watcher in me, but I have to say they did a bang-up job with this full-length trailer (watch it below, or in HD over at MSN).

Tom Hanks reprises his role as Dr. Robert Langdon, and he's once again summoned to Rome where he'll need to solve a few puzzles, run around with a beautiful woman and talk a lot about The Illuminati -- all while risking his life, but not dying (because we already know he shows up in the sequel). Perhaps that's not the best description, but I didn't read this particular book -- so head after the jump to get a full, official synopsis. Angels & Demons hits theaters on May 15.

Above: Johnny Depp as John Dillinger in Public Enemies, and Christian Bale as John Connor in Terminator: Salvation

To celebrate the new year, Entertainment Weekly has gone live with a gallery full of brand new photos from some of the hottest films in 2009. Among them we have the much-anticipated Michael Mann-directed Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, more cool images from Terminator: Salvation, another first look at Where the Wild Things Are, the debut image from the Judd Apatow-produced Year One (directed by Harold Ramis), a duo of images from The Taking of Pelham 123 remake, another shot from Pixar's Up, Beyonce in Obsessed, Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia, a little somethin' from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an image from The Ugly Truth, Angels & Demons, Watchmen, Jonas Brothers Concert Movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Land of the Lost ... and I believe that's it. Check out the first image from Year One below, then head after the jump for a few more -- while the rest can be found over at EW.


Year One - in theaters June 19
When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Jack Black and Michael Cera) are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Da Vinci Code.

I read about fifty pages of The Da Vinci Code before hurling it across the room. I sat through the stupid movie – the whole thing – and hated every miserable moment. It now faces some stiff competition from Twilight, but before this year I would have been hard-pressed to come up with a less interesting pop culture phenomenon. At least for a non-Christian like me, who has no reason to be stunned by the notion of Jesus Christ having procreated, The Da Vinci Code simply had nothing to offer.

I don't consider myself a masochist, but I don't mind being a guinea pig. So I thought doing Angels & Demons in this column would be fun, in a way.

It would have been great to be able to say that Angels & Demons was some sort of revelation (no pun intended); it certainly would have made this post easier to write. Alas, it ranks among the dumbest things I've ever read: an adventure book for fourth-graders, seemingly written by a sixth-grader. In an effort to make itself "accessible" to absolutely everyone, it makes its characters into nitwits – which is problematic since its characters are Harvard professors and world-class particle physicists. Dr. Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks in both films, has never heard of a particle accelerator – or maybe he has, and is just astounded to learn that it's an enormous underground structure. Antimatter is a new concept as well. At one point, the novel helpfully explains who Galileo was. You get the idea.

Sony Pictures has provided Cinematical with a brief look at some of their 2009 films, including Julia & Julia, The Stepfather remake, Armored, Obsessed, Max's Mardi Gras, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and Angels & Demons. Some of these images have been released already, but most haven't. Check out the galleries below with descriptions of each film.



The film follows the legendary chef Julia Childs, as well as a government employee who attempts to plow her way through the chef's classic cookbook (starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina and Linda Emond) Release: August 7, 2009



Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain (starring Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, Mr. T and Tracy Morgan). Release: September 18, 2009



The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the highly anticipated Angels & Demons, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Release: May 15, 2009

Pretty soon, the studios will bring the full court press in terms of marketing their big 2009 blockbusters. We've already seen Warner Bros. and Paramount try to one-up each other with regards to pushing Watchmen and Star Trek, and I've heard debut trailers for X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Night at the Museum 2 are literally right around the corner. Angels & Demons has already shoveled out a teaser, and I'm sure Harry Potter is just waiting for all this Twilight nonsense to go away before he starts bringing the pain. As per usual, we're not even done with 2008, and yet all we seem to care about is 2009. Go figure.

We'll probably run this poll a couple of times prior to the real beginning of the season, but we're curious to see what your radar looks like a few months out. Not all of these films have begun their big push yet, but it'll be interesting to see which ones are your most anticipated based on the very little we've seen so far. Below are, in our opinion, the 18 biggest blockbusters of 2009. If we left off your favorite, feel free to write her in down below. (Oh, and that's an image of my most anticipated blockbuster of 2009 up top.)