unaccompanied minors Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Say all you want about Mel Gibson's driving, audiences were curious enough (about another Gibson film? about the Mayan civilization? about whether or not there would be a slew of Jewish jokes -- like that one about the Rabbi who wondered into the forest and was chased by a tribe for a little over two hours?) to show up and help Apocalypto finish in the number one spot this weekend. Granted, it's $14.2 million didn't break any records, and just barely beat out a film with one helluva odd cast (Jack Black, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz? Who cast this film -- identical twin sisters who hate one another?), but it still managed to finally knock Happy Feet and Casino Royale out of the top two spots.

Now comes the fun part -- did Apocalypto generate enough buzz to carry it onward and upward? Or will it crash after people realize they have to read words on the bottom of the screen for a really long time? My personal prediction? Depending on whether Oscar throws him a bone, I'd say Apocalypto tops out at around $43 million domestically. As previously noted, The Holiday ($13.5 million) took the weekend's second spot, while Happy Feet ($12.7 million) lingered around in the third position. Casino Royale continued to feed off penguin leftovers; it took fourth with $8.8 million. Perhaps the idea of Leonardo DiCaprio with a strange accent hurt its opening, or maybe the competition was just too tough (I know folks must have been dying for a nice, wholesome chick flick) -- regardless, Blood Diamond finished fifth with $8.5 million.

Unaccompanied Minors ($6.2 million) gut stuck duking it out with Deja Vu ($6.1 million), while The Nativity Story ($5.6 million) dipped a bit more this week, despite the fact that it's playing in 3,083 freaking theaters. This year's two dreadful Christmas comedies, Deck the Halls ($3.9 million) and The Santa Clause 3 ($3.3 million), rounded out the top ten.

Full numbers after the jump.

As I departed the theater after a screening of Unaccompanied Minors and set off for the long train ride home, I attempted to let the film sit with me for a little while before forming an opinion. However, one other movie kept gnawing at me, and no matter how hard I tried those Goonies wouldn't leave me alone. Really, the only thing both films have in common is that they focus on a group of teenage misfits, each with their own bizarre idiosyncrasies, who are desperately trying to allude a common enemy. Aside from that they're completely different in every way, shape or form.

Yet, part of what makes flicks like The Goonies so special and memorable is that the actors, while only teenagers, do a tremendous job of not only convincing us they are these characters, but also making us feel -- we sympathize, we root and we run right alongside them until the very last frame. Now, if you take The Goonies, strip anything even remotely adventurous and free-spirited about it, then wrap the entire thing in plastic -- the kind your grandmother uses to keep her living room furniture stain free -- then you'll wind up with Unaccompanied Minors, a film so formulaic, rehearsed and polished that it would make a great companion next to that fake basket of fruit on grandma's dining room table.

From the very beginning I was really behind this project: A comedy (from the man behind Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared) based on a rather amusing story called Babysitting (which you can still hear on This American Life) about a bunch of kids who get stuck in a snowed-in airport during Christmas Eve -- sounds pretty promising, right? And then I heard that folks like Paget Brewster, Jessica Walter, B.J. Novak, David Koechner, Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Rob Corddry were among the "grown-up" cast members, and my enthusiasm for the movie doubled in a heartbeat.

And then I watched this trailer. If you can watch this thing and not think "Home Alone Times Six," then you've probably never seen Home Alone three times like I have.

Now, maybe I'm just a victim of overzealous and misleading advertising ... but this movie looks like a 12-ton migraine of monumental proportions! And the jokes! How about a nice overlong belllllch or that reliable old "ouch that high-five secretly really hurt!" grimace? Some little brat punching Santa in the belly? A kid comically choking on an inflatable life-jacket? The air-duct ceiling-crash cribbed from The Breakfast Club? Silly dancing, slapstick security guards and a kid inside a suitcase being bashed around the room?? What the hell is going on here?

Of course this sort of simplistic physical schtick is by no means a surprise ... if we were talking about someone like Brian Levant or Don Rhymer or (dear lord) Steve Carr, but from Paul Feig? The guy who put so much heart and soul and warmth (AND comedy) into Freaks & Geeks AND Undeclared? And directed episodes of The Office and Arrested Development?? Ugh, how disappointing. I guess the Nielsen ratings on both of his babies taught Paul Feig an important lesson: Heart doesn't sell -- and fart does.

Anyway, here's where you can check out the trailer and one specific scene from the flick, and here's the official site for those who enjoy picking through character bios, photo galleries, video interviews and production notes. Of course I'm still quite interested in seeing the movie, and obviously I'll give the thing a perfectly fair shake, but based on this trailer ... I'm just pretty much stunned.

There's no doubt about it -- I am a huge Paul Feig fan. Most people have no idea who the man is, but if you're at all familiar with Freaks and Geeks, The Office, Arrested Development and Undeclared, then you're familiar with his work. For those of you who dig awkward childhood stories, I will also suggest reading Feig's book Kick Me -- simply hilarious stuff right there. Recently, Feig left the world of television to get his feet wet directing feature films -- his second, Unaccompanied Minors, is due out December 8.

Well, Warner Bros. is so happy with Minors, they've just signed Feig to do another film for the studio, one he will re-write and eventually direct. It's called Smooth Operator, and Feig describes it as "a high-tech version of Cyrano ... or like a Hitch-meets-Rush Hour." Story revolves around a pimped out CIA agent who's placed in charge of training a computer nerd on how to seduce a female operative. As you can imagine, the nerd needs a little bit of help in that area. And who better to tackle nerds than Paul Feig.

One of the things Feig intends to do with the script is beef up the physical comedy, something he's not so accustomed to -- obviously, from looking at his prior work, the man is more about character and less about pies to the face. It will also be the first time Feig adds a bit of action to his repertoire. However, he goes on to say, "I am first and foremost into character writing but the last few years I've wanted to try to bring back stuff I used to watch, movies from John Hughes, Blake Edwards, and stuff like the Three Stooges." It should be interesting to see if he succeeds ... I know my fingers are crossed.

The good folks over at 20th Century Fox just released a new poster for Eragon, an adaptation of the popular novel due to hit theaters this December 15. Essentially the first part in the Inheritance Trilogy, pic tells the story of Eragon, a young man, swept into a world of magic and power, who discovers it's his destiny to ride a dragon and help save the Empire ... or destroy it. I haven't read the book, but folks tell me it rocks and the kids love it. Will Fox discover some of their own Lord of the Rings box office magic here? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty stoked about it.

I'm not sure there are many people who can capture the awkward side of adolescence as well as Paul Feig. Those of you who are giant fans of Feig's canceled (biggest mistake ever!) TV show, Freaks and Geeks, should definitely read his book, Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence. Personally, it's one of my favorites. (Then again, my childhood was filled with awkward, embarrassing moments, so yeah -- I can relate.) Anyway, after doing a bit of directing for shows like Arrested Development and The Office, Feig's big-screen directorial debut, Unaccompanied Minors, is set to crash into theaters this December. Pic, which revolves around a group of kids snowed in at an airport, now has its first poster up online for all to see. And yes, I will be there opening night. You?

Wilmer Valderrama who, with the merciful ending of That '70s Show is going movie crazy, has added yet another feature to his already full slate. This time, he's agreed with Warner Brothers to star in Unaccompanied Minors, a comedy set in a fictional airport. In the movie, a group of middle school students from broken homes find themselves stranded at the airport, and take the opportunity to "create a makeshift holiday." Hmm. Does anyone else see a problem here? The report says that Valderrama is going to star, but the thought of having the guy who is going to play Ponch pretend to be in middle school is more than a little laughable. So far, his costars are Brett Kelly (he's 13) and Tyler James Williams the star of Everybody Hates Chris who, quite reasonably, is also 13. Valderrama? 26.

At the moment, we're just going to have to fervently hope that the movie's "star" turns out to be an adult, for some reason. If it's not, all actors under 20 need to write nasty letters to the casting people at Warner's, because I'm sure at least one of them could match Valderrama's acting *cough* chops. Oh God, wait - do you think  Valderrama's character has been held back 13 times, or something? Is that really funny or really dumb? It's so hard to decide.