The Collector Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Summer 2009 Fun Facts
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Independent », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Family Films », Remakes and Sequels », Lists », War », Summer Movies »
So here we have it, the summer movie season finally winding down, and maybe it's just us, but a couple of peculiar trends have cropped up since May that we thought were worth bringing to light. For starters, we've only further elaborated on Eric's early indicator that puking was 'in' this year (seriously, it's gotten to be a pretty considerable theme), and as for the rest, you can check them out after the jump. Some spoilers follow. And if there are any corrections or additions to be made, please pipe up in the comments, and do so gently.
Weekend Box Office: 'Funny People' for the Modest Win
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
Attempting to market Funny People as a typical Adam Sandler comedy was quixotic, and as another laugh riot from the Apatow factory only marginally less so. Still, the combination of Sandler and Apatow (and, probably, Rogen) was enough to get the off-kilter, two-and-a-half-hour dramedy off to a $23 million start -- not one for the record books, but hey, not too far off the opening numbers for Apatow's Knocked Up and Sandler's Bedtime Stories. There are shades of M. Night Shyamalan in Judd Apatow, in the way that he appears to be moving from blockbuster crowdpleasers to more personal, slightly odd films that not everyone "gets." Aliens in the Attic, hidden from critics and not really sold as any sort of event, unsurprisingly ended up with a middling $7.8 million -- a minor opening for a minor flick. The independently-distributed horror film The Collector, from some of the folks behind the Saw franchise, debuted in 11th place and $3.6 million; not great either, but probably above expectations, and perhaps an indication of how many ticket buyers are willing to see a horror movie, any horror movie, on a given weekend. (500) Days of Summer continues to do very well in limited release, with the highest per-screen average in the top 20. Next week, when the film expands to over 1000 screens, will be the real test.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince found its footing a bit in its third weekend after last week's big tumble; it won't wind up atop the franchise, but may make a run for second place. And I was glad to see Orphan hold up at least semi-respectably after a weak start. That's one summer movie that deserves better than it got.
The weekend's top 12 after the jump.
Review: The Collector
Filed under: Horror », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », Summer Movies »
The new horror film The Collector doesn't dilute its intense scenes with comedy or cartoonish visuals: it goes straight for the shocks. The pre-credits teaser scene gets your adrenalin going without visible bloodshed, and prepares you for something suspenseful and a bit strange. To set your expectations, it might help to know that writer Patrick Melton and co-writer/director Marcus Dunstan also scripted the Feast films and the third through sixth Saw films. In fact, the script was once considered for a Saw prequel film. Now you know what you might be getting into in terms of horror style.
The first 20 minutes of the film start a little awkwardly -- it takes a few minutes to figure out who's who -- but then the stage is set for major suspense and scares. Arkin (Josh Stewart) finishes a contractor job at a family's fancy house in the country. He's not paid enough to give his own daughter's mom the money she needs to evade some nasty loan sharks, though. So he decides to break into the rich family's house, since he knows they just left for a vacation, and steal some jewelry to make up the difference. He's got a deadline of midnight. And while Arkin's working to crack the safe, he hears disturbing sounds coming from the cellar ... what else is happening in what is supposed to be an unoccupied house?
Box Office: Funny Collections in the Attic
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Trailer Trash », Family Films »
The hallowed halls of Hogwarts were stormed this past weekend by a group of heavily armed guinea pigs (metaphorically speaking, but imagine the film THAT would make) as G-Force pushed the latest Harry Potter adventure down to second place. The Ugly Truth took a respectable third place with the creepfest Orphan taking fourth. Here's the top five:
1. G-Force: $31.7 million
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $29.5 million
3. The Ugly Truth: $27.6 million
4. Orphan: $12.9 million
5. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: $8.4 million
Three more new ones this week with laughs for younger and older audiences, and one designed to make you rethink your parenting options.
Aliens in the Attic
What's It All About: An adventure comedy about a group of kids fighting off hostile but diminutive aliens while staying at their family's Summer home.
Why It Might Do Well: Doris Roberts in a Matrix style kung fu battle? Does that conjure an image or what?
Why It Might Not Do Well: The trailer makes this seem like an uninspired made-for-Disney-Channel production.
Number of Theaters: 3,100
Prediction: $11 million
Funny People
What's It All About: In this comedy Adam Sandler plays a successful stand-up comic who, when he learns he is dying, tries to forge a friendship with an up and coming comedian played by Seth Rogen.
Why It Might Do Well: This is the latest from Judd Apatow who directed Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin and as of right now it's got an 82% at Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Sandler has had his share of bad films.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $38 million
1. G-Force: $31.7 million
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $29.5 million
3. The Ugly Truth: $27.6 million
4. Orphan: $12.9 million
5. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: $8.4 million
Three more new ones this week with laughs for younger and older audiences, and one designed to make you rethink your parenting options.
Aliens in the AtticWhat's It All About: An adventure comedy about a group of kids fighting off hostile but diminutive aliens while staying at their family's Summer home.
Why It Might Do Well: Doris Roberts in a Matrix style kung fu battle? Does that conjure an image or what?
Why It Might Not Do Well: The trailer makes this seem like an uninspired made-for-Disney-Channel production.
Number of Theaters: 3,100
Prediction: $11 million
Funny PeopleWhat's It All About: In this comedy Adam Sandler plays a successful stand-up comic who, when he learns he is dying, tries to forge a friendship with an up and coming comedian played by Seth Rogen.
Why It Might Do Well: This is the latest from Judd Apatow who directed Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin and as of right now it's got an 82% at Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Sandler has had his share of bad films.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $38 million
Trailer Park: Despicable Whipping and Triangular Rice
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Drama », Horror », Trailer Trash », Family Films »
Despicable Me
This animated comedy about the world's greatest super villain looks pretty cute and I definitely didn't see the big gag coming. The bad guy is shown in profile silhouette and is it just me or does he look like Danny Devito's Penguin from Batman Returns? Things get dastardly on July 9, 2010.
Whip It!
I had assumed from the title that this was a Devo biopic, but it's actually about a young girl from a small Texas town who grows tired of the beauty pageant scene and joins a roller derby team. Ellen Page stars and this marks Drew Barrymore's first theatrical film as director. Things get rolling on October 9.
Love Horror? Live in Austin? We've Got Some Good News
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Fantastic Fest »
Back at last year's Fantastic Fest, I was privy to a conversation between Scott Weinberg and screenwriter Marcus Dunstan about the latter's latest project (he'd just done some Saw sequels and was in town for his Feast follow-ups). It was called Midnight Man at the time, and if I could remember what it was about, I'd tell you. (Honest!) I just remember being vaguely psyched for it.*Well, the film's done now, under a new name of The Collector and accompanied by a bunch of solid buzz from genre sites all over and none other than Alamo Drafthouse head honcho Tim League himself. Thusly, Fantastic Fest and our own Horror Squad have teamed up to bring an early screening of the film to Austin before its July 31st theatrical run.
For more details on this free (!) sneak peek, head on over to Horror Squad.
*"Vaguely psyched!" - Go ahead, put that on the poster.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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