monsters vs. aliens Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 9/29
Filed under: New Releases », DVD Reviews », New on DVD », Home Entertainment »
Away We Go
John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star as a couple about to have a child and who journey across the country to find the perfect spot to settle down. In his review, William Goss said: "It's easily the most tender film that Sam Mendes has done to date, and it's easily among the very best films that the year has offered so far." Buy it. Also on Blu-ray.
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Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters, aliens, superheroes -- it's the sort of fare that's perfect for animation. For the most part, critics and fans seem to agree, although our Scott Weinberg says the film "is NOT one of those transcendent animated features, the sort that bridges the gap between kid stuff and grown-up art with no discernible effort whatsoever. No, Monsters vs. Aliens is a loud, rushed, choppy, silly, colorful Nintendo game of a movie." See for yourself and Rent it. Also on Blu-ray.
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Management
The latest Jennifer Aniston romcom to hit the shelves, this flick watches her get followed around the country by a motel manager (Steve Zahn) eager for her affections. In his review, Nick Schager said that the film's conventions are "delivered with a straightforward sappiness that seems all the more disingenuous in light of the film's variety of off-kilter trappings." Skip it. Also on Blu-ray.
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The Girlfriend Experience
One of Steven Soderbergh's less mainstream films, porn star Sasha Grey stars as a high-priced escort trying to balance her work and personal life. In his Sundance review, James Rocchi wrote: "Sex is everywhere in The Girlfriend Experience, except there's no sex," and instigates a crowd that walks "into the cold night more thoughtful than titillated." Rent it. Also on Blu-ray.
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Also out: Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Lies and Illusions, Stepfather II, The Hills Run Red, The Hanging Woman, The Shortcut, Fermat's Room, Secrecy, Farmhouse, The Storm Riders, Bloodwine, Dinner with a Vampire, Nightmare, Flesh, TX.
Weekend Box Office: 'Demons' Barely Beats Out 'Trek'
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
A below-expectations turn-out for Angels & Demons and good word-of-mouth for Star Trek helped make it a surprisingly close battle for the weekend's #1 spot. Studio estimates have the Dan Brown sequel at $48 million, beating out Trek by about $5 million. $48 million is nothing to sneeze at, but The Da Vinci Code opened to $77 million in the same weekend two years ago, which indicates that the anticipation for the sequel probably wasn't there to the extent necessary to sustain a blockbuster franchise. I am sure that the third Robert Langdon novel due this fall will see its way to the screen -- but maybe it'll be a little cheaper, and released sometime other than the summer.Star Trek, on the other hand, is turning out to be the perfect summer film. It dropped off just 43% in its second weekend, which is bloody fantastic for a movie that opened to $75 million. It's already the highest-grossing Trek entry, but that's kind of a no-brainer. If word-of-mouth keeps it afloat, it will end up as one of the biggest movies of the summer.
With no new contenders hitting their demographic, the holdover family offerings -- 17 Again and Monsters vs. Aliens -- saw tiny drops, but that may change next week. Monsters vs. Aliens is also currently the biggest grosser of 2009, but that will change soon too.
The full top 10 after the jump.
Watch Out, Filmmakers! The End of the World is Scary!
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Newsstand », Fan Rant »
Hey, have you ever thought why movies destroy Planet Earth so often? Lisa Kennedy of The Denver Post did, and not only could she not understand why, but she concluded that doing so was very unethical because it's scary. If you can't help but relish or understand the War Against the Machines, she begs you to at least think of the children: "Even films pitched to the kids aren't safe. A lavish action sequence in the enjoyable 3-D spectacle Monsters vs. Aliens gleefully wrecks the Golden Gate Bridge. As beloved as it is by critics, the opening scenes in WALL-E of an uninhabitable metropolis suggest filmmakers don't think hard enough about the impact visions of apocalyptic or post-cataclysmic landscapes might have on developing imaginations. Too often, they're feeding the pleasures of their own inner kid or teen."
You know, call me crazy but I think Andrew Stanton actually really thought about that opening sequence. I believe he may have had a specific meaning in mind, something along the lines of "if you keep throwing away stuff, you'll eventually run out of room." I even think he handled it relatively gently by introducing a dancing robot. No? He was all about flaunting his CGI skills? My bad. Sorry kids, here's a new toy to numb your emotional trauma. Throw it away when you're bored. No, trash doesn't pile up -- it turns into rainbows!
I'll freely admit that disaster movies can make annihilation pretty damn insipid, but complaining that Watchmen or WALL-E is irresponsible for showing devastation not only misses the point, but suggests someone is determined to live in a fluffy delusion where landfills don't even exist (let alone fill up!) and nuclear weapons shower us with lollipops instead of radiation poisoning.
You know, call me crazy but I think Andrew Stanton actually really thought about that opening sequence. I believe he may have had a specific meaning in mind, something along the lines of "if you keep throwing away stuff, you'll eventually run out of room." I even think he handled it relatively gently by introducing a dancing robot. No? He was all about flaunting his CGI skills? My bad. Sorry kids, here's a new toy to numb your emotional trauma. Throw it away when you're bored. No, trash doesn't pile up -- it turns into rainbows!
I'll freely admit that disaster movies can make annihilation pretty damn insipid, but complaining that Watchmen or WALL-E is irresponsible for showing devastation not only misses the point, but suggests someone is determined to live in a fluffy delusion where landfills don't even exist (let alone fill up!) and nuclear weapons shower us with lollipops instead of radiation poisoning.
Weekend Box Office: Another Notch on 'Hannah Montana''s Belt
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
You gotta respect Hannah Montana. Where her comrades in arms, the Jonas Brothers, were just recently defeated, she has emerged bloodied but victorious. Her $34 million weekend is roughly on par with her own concert film, which opened to $31 million last February on about a quarter of the screens -- I think that range pretty well represents the Hannah Montana brand's draw at this point in time. Concert Tour dropped pretty swiftly after that, topping out at $65 million; the narrative film may have slightly better legs, though last fall's High School Musical 3 faded out pretty quickly too.The weekend's neatest trick is the $11 million for Observe and Report: not a standout opening for Seth Rogen (though slightly stronger than Zack and Miri Make a Porno), but impressive considering that Observe & Report is basically a twisted art film that doesn't belong in wide release by any traditional measure. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that Warners managed to pull this off; I just wanted to highlight the achievement. Given that the movie has even freaked out much of the usually hardy critical community, I'm dying to see how and if it holds up at the box office. The other R-rated comedy that premiered at SXSW, I Love You, Man, has thrived, dropping 17% in its 4th week on its way to a cheerful $75 million. But that movie is, oh, 50 times more accessible.
As for Fox's Dragonball Evolution: not so much. I think they might have been a couple years too late in capitalizing on the brand, as the kids who were really into the franchise when it was hot grew up a bit and lost interest. $4.6 million stings.
More, and the top 10, after the jump.
Weekend Box Office: WTF 'FAST & FURIOUS'?!?
Filed under: New Releases », Box Office »
The first weekend take for Fast & Furious, a staggering $72 million, beats the entire domestic gross of its series predecessor, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift by $10 million dollars? It is also far and away the year's best opening, though that will likely change come May. How did this happen? Bringing back Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as part of the "series reboot" helped. The hip new advertising campaign that focused heavily on the car chase action probably succeeded in making the franchise seem less "cheesy" this time around. (The Tokyo Drift subtitle, which turned out to have great traction (ZING!) as a running joke, didn't help the beleaguered third film.) Having seen the movie, that seems a little silly, since it's probably even more hilarious than its predecessors (and never has the description of Vin Diesel as an "angry potato" been more apt). But here we are, and a fifth entry in the series is all but assured.
A sad casualty of the weekend, apart from our collective intelligence, is the lovely Adventureland, which debuted to a disappointing $6 million. I think Miramax was jamming a square peg into a round hole by attempting to market Greg Mottola's film as another Superbad, which it decidedly is not, but I don't really know. It had a great concept but no stars among its lovely cast, so I guess it wasn't the easiest sell.
Monsters vs. Aliens is headed for a not-great $150-160 million finish. I Love You, Man, on the other hand, looks like it'll beat both Jason Segel's Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Paul Rudd's Role Models. Sunshine Cleaning expanded this weekend and snuck into the top 10, with Overture trying hard to platform its way to a sleeper hit. It may have a minor one.
The full top 10 after the jump.
The Cinematical Roundtable, with Guest Brian Orndorf
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Lionsgate Films », 20th Century Fox », Dreamworks »
Damned if you have a mic, damned if you don't... Coming to you loudly (at least in my case) is the latest episode of The Cinematical Roundtable, and this time, we don't even dare leave the lobby before offering up our thoughts on the rock-'em-sock-'em likes of 12 Rounds, in addition to the week's other wide releases, The Haunting in Connecticut and Monsters vs. Aliens.
Rounding out the proverbial 'we' this week is Brian Orndorf, he of multiple outlets, not the least of which are eFilmCritic and DVD Talk. Also, my good friend Tyler serves as a last-minute substitute for a colleague fallen ill (that, or he just really didn't want to sit through a John Cena flick). He knows his stuff, which I can't say for all in our field, and he happened to be co-anchor of our college movie talk show, "Matinee Idle," which was pretty much a podcast before podcasts were podcasts.
So... yeah. He's good people. Enjoy!
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Poll: The Best of Dreamworks Animation
Filed under: Animation », Dreamworks », Polls »
The time when people thought that Dreamworks Animation might hold an artistic candle to Pixar is probably past. The hollow (if sometimes amusing) spectacle of this weekend's Monsters vs. Aliens will probably put that notion to rest for a while longer. Where Pixar always emphasized story, emotion and artistry, Dreamworks went a more straightforwardly commercial route, confusing movie stars with voice actors and generally going for broad parody instead of anything more complicated and difficult.
Which is not to say some of their movies haven't been clever. I thought the first Madagascar was funny and inventive, and all the Shreks had varying amounts of charm. I'm curious what the consensus Dreamworks Animation favorite is, so I created this poll. I've excluded their early traditional-animation flicks for space, and the Aardman co-production Flushed Away, 'cause I don't really think that one counts. Weigh in below!
I've cast the first vote. My pick? Absolutely no contest: it's Antz, Dreamworks' first foray into computer animation and by far their best. All of their other films are characterized by snark, sarcasm, and a total lack of dramatic ambition; they're sporadically funny larks. Antz is a movie -- funny, but also sad, exciting, and memorable. And that opening pan through the ant colony, set to Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell's rousing score, is as spectacular as anything in Monsters vs. Aliens, eleven years earlier. I think it holds up against almost any Pixar release, except maybe Monsters, Inc.
Review: Monsters vs. Aliens
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Theatrical Reviews », Family Films », Dreamworks »
I know this is going to sound familiar, but I absolutely adore feature-length animation. It bugs me that the medium is STILL -- a mere 900 years after Snow White came out -- considered "kids only" by a large portion of the population. Even my mom, who was moved to tears by Beauty and the Beast, absolutely adores Toy Story, and cites Sleeping Beauty as an all-time fave, turns her nose up when I offer her a DVD like Flushed Away or The Iron Giant. (Or Fear(s) of the Dark.) "Meh," she says, "that's kiddy stuff." But I know that if she actually sat down and focused on, say, The Incredibles -- she'd start to see what I see: An eye-tickling landscape of endless cinematic opportunities.
And here's where I kick the chair out from under you by saying that Monsters vs. Aliens is NOT one of those transcendent animated features, the sort that bridges the gap between kid stuff and grown-up art with no discernible effort whatsoever. No, Monsters vs. Aliens is a loud, rushed, choppy, silly, colorful Nintendo game of a movie, and if you're judging an 88-minute family flick by those specific criteria, then odds are you'll have a diverting time with DreamWorks' new production. But if you're looking for the artistry, the warmth, or the extra dimensions of a Pixar production, I'd say you wait for Up, or just lower expectations where Monsters vs. Aliens is concerned.
Cinematical Seven: Monster vs. Alien Super Smackdowns
Filed under: Cinematical Seven »
My imagination was caught by the title of the upcoming movie Monsters vs. Aliens. I've seen a lot of monster movies and films with aliens in them. I wondered how would some of these characters fare in battle against one another. How would the gentle aliens from Galaxy Quest be able to stand up to vampires? Could Superman defeat the monster from The Host? How would Ford Prefect deal with Noah Cross?
So I decided to stage a smackdown event featuring some of the best-known monsters and aliens in film in one-on-one combat. Instead of matching up characters with similar (or notably different) abilities, I paired them up the old-fashioned way: pulling names out of a hat. Two hats -- I filled one with the names of every alien creature I could think of from movies, and another with every conceivable monster. Here are the results. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Box Office: 12 Monsters Vs. Connecticut
Filed under: Action », Animation », Comedy », Horror », Box Office Predictions »
Fortune smiled on Nicolas Cage as his apocalyptic thriller Knowing took the number one spot by a wide margin with last week's two other newbies I Love You, Man and Duplicity taking second and third respectively. Here's the top five:
1. Knowing: $24.6 million
2. I Love You, Man: $17.8 million
3. Duplicity: $13.9 million
4. Race to Witch Mountain: $12.8 million
5. Watchmen: $6.8 million
12 Rounds
What's It All About: Police officer Danny Fisher (John Cena) finds that his girlfriend has been kidnapped by a criminal from his past and Fisher must endure a dozen challenges to get her back.
Why It Might Do Well: Things blow up.
Why It Might Not Do Well: A generic looking action movie with no star power doesn't look like a good bet.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million
The Haunting in Connecticut
What's It All About: Supposedly based on a true story about a family experiencing supernatural disturbances when they move into a home that was once a funeral parlor.
Why It Might Do Well: There's creepiness in the trailer.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 38% at Rottentomatoes.com does not bode well.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $18 million
1. Knowing: $24.6 million
2. I Love You, Man: $17.8 million
3. Duplicity: $13.9 million
4. Race to Witch Mountain: $12.8 million
5. Watchmen: $6.8 million
12 RoundsWhat's It All About: Police officer Danny Fisher (John Cena) finds that his girlfriend has been kidnapped by a criminal from his past and Fisher must endure a dozen challenges to get her back.
Why It Might Do Well: Things blow up.
Why It Might Not Do Well: A generic looking action movie with no star power doesn't look like a good bet.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million
The Haunting in ConnecticutWhat's It All About: Supposedly based on a true story about a family experiencing supernatural disturbances when they move into a home that was once a funeral parlor.
Why It Might Do Well: There's creepiness in the trailer.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 38% at Rottentomatoes.com does not bode well.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $18 million
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
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Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24
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