imagine that Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 10/6
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », New on DVD », Family Films », Home Entertainment »
Year One (Unrated)
The marketing made it look like it was all about Jack Black and Michael Cera as primitive cavemen, when in reality it's very much a Biblical comedy. In either guise, it fails to fire on all cylinders, never igniting into a full-blown laugh romp. Still, Black and Cera display enough rambunctious charm to keep the proceedings moving along nicely. And maybe the unrated edition will restore some much-needed adult-oriented humor. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.
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Imagine That
As I wrote in my review, Eddie Murphy gives a very warm, very funny performance as a stressed-out financial executive trying to be a better parent to his seven-year-old daughter, but the film springs to life only at rare moments, which are surrounded by so much fatty tissue that you fear the movie will die of a heart attack before it huffs and puffs its way to the end credits. Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.
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My Life in Ruins
No, no, Nia! The unexpected star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding has been struggling in vain to recreate that magical lightning strike, but not even a trip to Greece could interest audiences -- or critics. "It often feels flat and forced," wrote Jette Kernion, "and even the landscapes seemed blah." Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.
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Also out: Trick 'r Treat, The Children, Ken Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea.
Weekend Box Office: 'The Hangover', 'Up' Hang On
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
The Hangover is officially the summer's biggest breakout hit. Its closest analogue is Wedding Crashers, which, four summers ago, was carried by positive word-of-mouth to a final gross nearly seven times its opening weekend. The Hangover has bigger raw numbers, but its second weekend drop -- 25% -- is comparable. For a film that opened to $45 million, and without any sort of holiday boost, that's pretty remarkable. It will have some competition next weekend in the form of Year One, but it may not matter much; its word-of-mouth appears to be the stuff that dreams are made of.Pixar's Up is also going gangbusters in second place. It is now running a mere $4 million behind Pixar box office champion Finding Nemo. At this point it's anybody's game.
The weekend's two wide openers -- The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Imagine That Imagine That opened pretty much to expectations. Pelham did a respectable $25 million, which is pretty close to previous Denzel Washington-Tony Scott collaborations (Man on Fire and Deja Vu). And Imagine That's $5.7 million pretty much precisely mirrors the opening of Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave this time next year. Murphy really needs to do something to shake things up a bit.
The full top 10 after the jump.
Insert Caption: The Proposal
Filed under: Fandom », Contests », Insert Caption »
Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that won't propose marriage, but will instead wine and dine with movie swag until your stomachs are full of awesome. Last week we asked you to toss a caption our way for a photo from the new Eddie Murphy film, Imagine That. And imagine our surprise when you all came up with some pretty funny stuff. Congrats to our three winners, featured below.
1. "Surprisingly, the little girl and the pile of mustard are also played by Eddie Murphy." -- Joe B.
2. "Bah .... I had to eat worse in Daddy Daycare!" -- Jason F.
3. "Are you sure this is the way to make a model volcano?" -- Chris U.
See full image and all captions
This week we're in search of rom-com wedding bells as Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds prepare to debut The Proposal. In the film, Bullock plays a high-powered exec who, when faced with deportation back to Canada, announces that she's suddenly become engaged to her assistant (Reynolds), and both create this fake relationship in order to keep her in the country. But will their fake love turn into something a little more ... real? Hmmm ... The three folks behind our favorite captions this week will walk down the aisle with one The Proposal mug, one set of The Proposal post-its, and one pair of ear buds. Sound off below ...
Read the official rules for this contest
1. "Surprisingly, the little girl and the pile of mustard are also played by Eddie Murphy." -- Joe B.2. "Bah .... I had to eat worse in Daddy Daycare!" -- Jason F.
3. "Are you sure this is the way to make a model volcano?" -- Chris U.
See full image and all captions
This week we're in search of rom-com wedding bells as Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds prepare to debut The Proposal. In the film, Bullock plays a high-powered exec who, when faced with deportation back to Canada, announces that she's suddenly become engaged to her assistant (Reynolds), and both create this fake relationship in order to keep her in the country. But will their fake love turn into something a little more ... real? Hmmm ... The three folks behind our favorite captions this week will walk down the aisle with one The Proposal mug, one set of The Proposal post-its, and one pair of ear buds. Sound off below ...
Read the official rules for this contest
Box Office: Taking This and Imagining That
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Box Office Predictions »
Nausea, cotton mouth, and a splitting headache took everyone by surprise last weekend as The Hangover took the number one spot, just barely outdoing Up in its second week. Land of the Lost had a lackluster opening weekend, scoring a distant third place. My Life in Ruins took ninth place with a $3.2 million take. Here's the top five:
1. The Hangover: $44.9 million
2. Up: $44.1 million
3. Land of the Lost: $18.8 million
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $14.6 million
5. Star Trek: $8.3 million
Two new flicks this week:
Imagine That
What's It All About: A comedy starring Eddie Murphy as a financial executive who salvages his career with advice from his daughter's imaginary friends.
Why It Might Do Well: I just can't imagine that.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's no secret that, unless he's voicing an irritating yet amusing donkey, Murphy is not the box office draw he once was. His last feature Meet Dave opened with a mere $5.2 million. It doesn't help that the plot about a father who will no doubt discover the value of family over work has become a kids' movie cliche.
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $9 million
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
What's It All About: Denzel Washington plays a New York City subway dispatcher and John Travolta plays the leader of a ruthless group of criminals who are holding a subway car full of passengers for a hefty ransom.
Why It Might Do Well: The two leads are the big draw here.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Based on twelve reviews Rottentomatoes.com is giving this only 42% and for the most part remakes leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $26 million
1. The Hangover: $44.9 million
2. Up: $44.1 million
3. Land of the Lost: $18.8 million
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $14.6 million
5. Star Trek: $8.3 million
Two new flicks this week:
Imagine ThatWhat's It All About: A comedy starring Eddie Murphy as a financial executive who salvages his career with advice from his daughter's imaginary friends.
Why It Might Do Well: I just can't imagine that.
Why It Might Not Do Well: It's no secret that, unless he's voicing an irritating yet amusing donkey, Murphy is not the box office draw he once was. His last feature Meet Dave opened with a mere $5.2 million. It doesn't help that the plot about a father who will no doubt discover the value of family over work has become a kids' movie cliche.
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $9 million
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3What's It All About: Denzel Washington plays a New York City subway dispatcher and John Travolta plays the leader of a ruthless group of criminals who are holding a subway car full of passengers for a hefty ransom.
Why It Might Do Well: The two leads are the big draw here.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Based on twelve reviews Rottentomatoes.com is giving this only 42% and for the most part remakes leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $26 million
Scenes We Love: Trading Places
Filed under: Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
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This Friday Eddie Murphy hits screens with the film Imagine That, which looks to be another family-friendly outing for the once-controversial actor. Sure, these films seem to do pretty well at the box office, and I'm positive Imagine That has just enough cutesy kid moments to attract a whole bunch of families to theaters this weekend, but what I really want is old Eddie Murphy. I want crazy Eddie Murphy. I want bug-eyed Eddie Murphy. I want the Eddie Murphy who couldn't blurt out two lines of dialogue without cursing seven times.
That's the Eddie Murphy I want back in theaters, and while I hope he brings some of that to the planned Beverly Hills Cop 4, part of me feels like that Eddie is long gone and only available in films from the early 90s or prior (with the exception of the hilarious Bowfinger in 1999). So with all that in mind, I decided to dig up a little old Eddie to go with the new Eddie arriving in theaters this week, and since I just watched Trading Places with some buddies again over the weekend, I had to go with this clip because we all agreed it showed Eddie at his best. (And whoever that guy is who keeps saying "Yeah" -- well, he should've won an award for comedic timing in this scene because that dude just cracks me the hell up.)
Watch the scene after the jump.
Insert Caption: Imagine That
Filed under: Fandom », Contests », Insert Caption »
Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that asks you to imagine yourself winning tons of wonderful movie swag while you attempt to turn those dreams into reality. Last week we asked you to knock back a few while we toasted to Todd Phillips' new comedy The Hangover as it stumbled its way into theaters this weekend. Congrats to our three winners! Here's hoping your captions are still funny now that we're sober.
1. "I wonder if this is how Jon and Kate got started?" -- Maddy L.
2. "I think we're supposed to walk into a bar now?" -- Zack Y.
3. "If anybody asks, I had cute babes literally hanging off of me." -- Jae Z.
See full image and all captions
This week we're skippin' on over to the new Eddie Murphy comedy Imagine That, which stars Murphy as a down-on-his-luck financial executive who suddenly finds success through his young daughter's imaginary world of friends. (Meanwhile, all my imaginary friends do is hog the remote and drink all my beer. Yeah, thanks imagination!) The folks behind our three favorite captions this week will each walk away with one Imagine That poster. Now go forth and imagine up some funny captions for the photo below ...
Read the official rules for this contest
1. "I wonder if this is how Jon and Kate got started?" -- Maddy L.2. "I think we're supposed to walk into a bar now?" -- Zack Y.
3. "If anybody asks, I had cute babes literally hanging off of me." -- Jae Z.
See full image and all captions
This week we're skippin' on over to the new Eddie Murphy comedy Imagine That, which stars Murphy as a down-on-his-luck financial executive who suddenly finds success through his young daughter's imaginary world of friends. (Meanwhile, all my imaginary friends do is hog the remote and drink all my beer. Yeah, thanks imagination!) The folks behind our three favorite captions this week will each walk away with one Imagine That poster. Now go forth and imagine up some funny captions for the photo below ...
Read the official rules for this contest
'Imagine That' This Was Going to Be a Better Movie
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Paramount », Family Films », Trailers and Clips »
In his continued quest to pursue proud family-friendly mediocrity, Eddie "Meet Dave" Murphy seems to be starring in a comic fantasy about a workaholic dad (Murphy) who neglects his pweecoshus daughter (Yara Shahidi) until imaginative elements of her creation begin to have an effect on his career. Is it called Bedtime Stories? No. Is it called Liar Liar? Nuh-uh. Is it called The Santa Clause? Nope, it's actually called Imagine That, and I'm afraid it's coming our way without a surprise in store.Trailer Addict has the first footage from it (embedded below), and while it doesn't look necessarily bad (not Norbit bad, I mean), it does come off as an exceedingly bland effort for Murphy to mug and just act generally goofy at every turn. Normally, I'd insist that most moviegoers are above this (Meet Dave's theatrical gross fell under $12 million last summer), but Kevin James Falls Down, Goes Boom has just raked in $65 million to date, so, in the words of Kate Capshaw, anything goes.
Imagine That -- formerly called Nowhereland, perhaps too apt to describe Murphy's current career trajectory -- opens on June 12th.
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