X-Men: Days of Future Past delivered superbly, definitely the best film since X-Men 2 and it did a great job of combining the two different actor groups together. For those concerned that it's another Wolverine outing, he serves as a bridge, but once McAvoy, Fassbender and Lawrence enter the fray, the focus rightfully goes back to them. There's good pacing, plenty of action and story to get involved with and definitely an X-Men film to be proud of for the franchise. If it's not No. 1 this weekend, I won't be surprised.
What does surprise me is, despite the hype, Maleficent has been heavily panned by the critics, which puts me off of seeing it. It was a film I was really looking forward to, but when a new trailer came out, my interest waned. The reviews seem to indicate that Jolie performed superbly, but the film should have been better. I'm actually choosing to skip this one and wait to rent it. I think it will have a decent opening, but I don't think it will do well against X-Men.
Next week sees the release of The Fault in Our Stars, while I expect the film to be ok (like a 7/10), I think it will have a good weekend opening due to John Green having a big fan base. I don't think it will take the #1 spot for next weekend, I can imagine it will open well.
Here are the current highest grossing films of 2014....
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$709,276,550
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$690,035,902
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$500,151,201
4. The Lego Movie
$461,836,997
5. Rio 2
$457,420,737
6. Godzilla
$374,439,686
7. Noah
$345,451,886
8. 300: Rise of an Empire
$330,880,051
9. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
$267,336,699
10. Divergent
$266,969,373
X-Men in the top tier is no surprise. Spiderman 2 is catching up to Captain America. Whether it be X-Men or Spiderman 2, I expect to see a new film in the #1 spot next week. Godzilla making it to #6 is not much of a surprise either. The Fault in Our Stars is the film being released this week. What I'm really interested in though is How to Train Your Dragon 2 which comes out on the 13th, but I'll talk more about that next week.
Phoenix hit the nail on the head with his post for X-Men: Days Of Future Past. I loved every second of it, easily the best superhero film of 2014 so far.
There's a good chance for Edge Of Tomorrow grabbing the #1 spot, but it wouldn't surprise me if Maleficent pulled off two weeks in row at the top spot. The reviews are positive so far, but after Oblivion (not a terrible sci-fi action film, but it's average at best) it's hard to get your hopes up for Cruise in the leading role for another sci-fi action film.
On top of that, the trailers don't do anything for me. I get the point behind the "Live. Die. Repeat." tagline, but the trailers feel repetitive with the same material over and over again, and I don't see anything that's capable of pulling a "I have to see this movie in theaters" feeling out of me, because I don't have a big problem with waiting for Edge Of Tomorrow at home.
Here is the updated list of highest grossing films of 2014 so far....
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$709,863,996
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$698,278,239
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$610,056,080
4. Rio 2
$466,082,392
5. The Lego Movie
$462,255,932
6. Godzilla
$393,914,185
7. Noah
$345,626,965
8. Maleficent
$336,275,232
9. 300: Rise of an Empire
$330,880,051
10. Mr. Peabody & Sherman
$267,627,241
It's nice to see Maleficent make it into the top 10, it probably won't get into the top 5 though. Spiderman 2 is slowly catching up to Captain America. Not much else of note going on last week. This week though, we have How to Train Your Dragon 2 being released. I loved the original so I can't wait for the sequel. I expect it to do well. Top 4 for sure. 22 Jump Street will also be released this week.
Upcoming Releases:
6/13: How to Train Your Dragon 2
6/13: 22 Jump Street
I'm surprised Rise of an Empire is still high up there, it really wasn't that great of a movie. But I guess it just takes seeing it yourself to figure it out. I am not surprised, however, that comic book based movies are high. They've been getting up there since the last Spiderman trilogy, if not longer. And as much as being a comic book fan is considered nerdy, I don't see much of a change coming.
Well, The Fault in our Stars delivered in a big way by topping over Edge of Tomorrow and Maleficent for the past weekend, for a film that was made with just a $12 million budget and hasn't even had full international release, that is pretty awesome. I saw it yesterday and honestly, it was a great film, they adapted the book very faithfully, and while some things were dropped or adjusted (which happens with any adaptation), it did not disappoint. The audience I was with had a very similar response, people crying, praising the film, even clapping when the credits rolled, the latter is something I don't often see happen in cinemas.
What really does give TFIOS an edge is that it's fresh for YA adaptations and summer films, with the post-apocalyptic themed films starting to fizzle out (I was completely 'meh' to the trailer for The Maze Runner). As a film, it felt more than a story, it felt real and touching. This is no doubt why Fox wanted to grab the rights to another of Green's novels, Paper Towns, a few months ago because they had a lot of faith in TFIOS, and their judgement was not misplaced.
As for Edge of Tomorrow, I think Hollywood needs to wake up and know that Cruise, while he had critic praise for EoT, is not a leading actor any more. They should have realised that him and sci-fi don't work well since Minority Report, but nope. I'm sure he'll still a few leads, but he just hasn't have the IT factor for a long time now.
That's true. I'm pretty sure the next Mission Impossible film will draw good numbers, but they're going off the reputation of the franchise for success. If we're tracing the "that's it" point for the overall downfall of Cruise's aura as a big star, we can go back to Valkyrie and Knight & Day. Knight & Day was just awful, and Valkyrie couldn't live up to the big expectations.
What's strange about all of this is Edge Of Tomorrow is not a terrible film. It's slightly better than Oblivion, but in the grand scheme of things, that's nothing to brag about. My main problem with the live, die, repeat stuff is the formula feels horribly repetitive and tedious after thirty-five minutes or so.
You get the point of Cruise constantly reliving the same battles and his death(s), because he needs to find new clues, routes, and formulate different strategies to defeat the aliens (and the "Omega"), and they try to change POVs after Cruise's deaths, but it's kind of hard to laugh and marvel at the deja vu, when you're watching the same sequences over and over again. And the big twist at the end is disappointing (similar to Oblivion), because you're expecting something genuinely shocking after the big ambush at the end.
A Million Ways To Die In The West is not as bad as a lot of people are making it out to be. I'd give it a 5/10 for Neil Patrick Harris and Sarah Silverman, but they ruined a great moment after they gave away the Doc Brown's Back To The Future III cameo in the trailers. Still, I got a good chuckle out of Christopher Lloyd shouting "Great Scott!"
I completely forgot about and underestimated The Fault In Our Stars, so I didn't expect an opening weekend at #1. How To Train Your Dragon 2 has to be #1 this week. 22 Jump Street should do good, but HTTYD2 has a 92% on RT, and if we're comparing highly anticipated sequels, I'll give a decisive edge to HTTYD2 over 22 Jump Street, because HTTYD2 will appeal to a bigger audience. You can't say the same thing about an R-rated comedy.
Also, and I'm probably the only one on here, who knows about this, but I'm looking froward to All Cheerleaders Die. It's a little horror film with a very, VERY limited release (theatrically and VOD), but the trailer shows a lot of bloody mayhem, gore, and chaotic horror comedy fun.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$710,334,467
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$701,691,221
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$662,056,610
4. Rio 2
$468,666,670
5. The Lego Movie
$462,744,435
6. Godzilla
$439,757,194
7. Maleficent
$435,921,529
8. Noah
$352,160,529
9. 300: Rise of an Empire
$330,880,051
10. Divergent
$267,950,093
I am very surprised to see that How To Train Your Dragon 2 didn't even make the list yet. By this time next week it will have to have made it into the top 10. The first was really good and I figured the new one would be popular enough to do better than it has, but next week may show something different. Jersey Boys and Think Like a Man Too will be released this week. I'm not interested in either one of them and doubt that they will make the to 10 if How To Train Your Dragon 2 didn't.
Upcoming Releases:
6/20: Jersey Boys
6.20: Think Like a Man Too
Kind of surprised 22 Jump Street beat How To Train Your Dragon 2 for the #1 spot, but I'm not shocked. 22 Jump Street is hilarious from start to finish, and it's a top contender for the best comedy in 2014 so far.
All Cheerleaders Die delivered the goods for me, and I really enjoyed it. I don't have any major complaints, but they go back and forth with a few jarring tones in certain points of the film with silly, mindless fun and heavy handed serious moments. Still, it's a fun and inventive little horror comedy overall, with lots of blood and gore, but don't expect anything spectacular with the special effects, because it's a low budget film. And the cliffhanger at the end is perfect.
Think Like A Man Too has to be the front runner for #1 this week, but it's a one and done week at #1 for the sequel, because the new Transformers film will take a commanding lead next weekend. Clint Eastwood is a master behind the camera, but the trailers for Jersey Boys are too boring for me.
Here are the current highest grossing films of 2014....
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$710,690,000
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$702,782,000
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$692,066,000
4. Maleficent
$521,580,000
5. Godzilla
$477,315,000
6. Rio 2
$469,373,000
7. The Lego Movie
$467,009,000
8. Noah
$356,200,044
9. 300: Rise of an Empire
$331,114,051
10. Edge of Tomorrow
$292,811,000
I'm genuinely shocked that How To Train Your Dragon 2 still didn't make it into the top 10. Maleficent getting to the #4 spot was cool to see though. The Lego Movie has fallen down to below the top 5 now. We have a big release coming this week in Transformers: Age of Extinction. I have no interest in seeing it whatsoever myself, but I do not doubt that it will draw good numbers. Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie will also be released this week.
Upcoming Releases:
6/23: Transformers: Age of Extinction
6/23: Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie
No new movies for me this week, but it's all about Transformers on Friday. Maybe I'm the only one, who feels this way, but I don't feel the force from a massive hype train or the crazed frenzy behind Transformers: Age Of Extinction. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but usually, with another Transformers film coming up, you'll see the usual "Michael Bay is shit" or "I hate Michael Bay" uproar across the internet. Of course, you'll see comments hoping for a flop, but I don't see any real venom and outrage anywhere. Maybe people are just burnt on Transformers films and Transformers hate for now, or they don't care anymore.
Again, maybe it's just me, but the marketing campaign feels weak. I see the commercials on TV, I see the trailers at the movie theater, and I know Age Of Extinction is coming out on Friday, but I get the feeling they're planning to coast off of Transformers reputation as a massive cash cow for a big opening weekend. Where's all the hoopla? The Excitement? I don't see or feel it.
As far as the movie itself goes, I don't have high hopes. I take my fair share of shots at Michael Bay on here, but the 2007 film was a fun popcorn flick for me. Although, Revenge Of The Fallen was fucking terrible, and Dark Of The Moon was WAY too long. I know it's the highest grossing film in the franchise, but the movie just drags and drags with a series of tiresome EPIC battles, and the runtime feels like an exhausting 4+ hours.
Age Of Extinction should hit the $100 million mark for a big opening weekend, but it wouldn't shock me if a lot of people are burnt on Transformers film. Age Of Extinction should open at #1 with no real problems or competition, but we're on the fourth film film since 2007 now, so you have to consider the possibility of a lukewarm opening.
They're all limited releases, but I'm also looking forward to Snowpiercer and Begin Again this week. And Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler are starring together in They Came Together. I like Poehler, and I'm a fan of Rudd, but the trailers are too dull for me.
This is the current list of highest grossing films of 2014....
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$712,676,000
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$711,205,000
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$703,664,064
4. Maleficent
$585,571,000
5. Godzilla
$488,085,000
6. Rio 2
$470,178,000
7. The Lego Movie
$467,153,726
8. Noah
$359,200,044
9. 300: Rise of an Empire
$331,114,051
10. Edge of Tomorrow
$318,655,000
Ladies and gentlemen we have a new highest grossing film of 2014. X-Men: Days of Future Past! I figured it would have happened sooner, and I am also genuinely shocked that How To Train Your Dragon 2 is still not in the top 10. This week we will have a few more releases coming out. Deliver Us from Evil, Earth to Echo, and Tammy each will be released on the 2nd. I don't expect any of them to make the list, but then again I've been wrong about How to Train Your Dragon 2 for several weeks now. We'll see what happens.
Upcoming releases:
7/2: Deliver Us from Evil
7/2: Earth to Echo
7/2: Tammy
I enjoyed Maleficent, but it's a forgettable film without Angelina Jolie in the leading role. Jolie is the anchor for Maleficent, and she's the only reason to have any interest in a potential sequel, if she decides to reprise the role.
I'm in no rush to see it, and I'm sure the new Transformers film is garbage, but Age Of Extinction dominating the box office with a $100,038,390 domestic opening and a $300,000,000 worldwide opening weekend shouldn't surprise anyone. It's the biggest opening weekend of 2014 so far, and Age Of Extinction is on track to grab the #1 overall spot on the highest grossing films list for 2014.
It's a tricky week for picks with Tammy and Deliver Us From Evil coming up in a few days. It wouldn't surprise me if Deliver Us From Evil flopped hard. I want to have high hopes for it, but I just see another generic horror possession film in the new TV spots and trailers.
Earth To Echo? Maybe it'll land in the top five somewhere, because I don't see anything special in the promotional material. Melissa McCarthy has a solid fan following, but I'll go with a #2 spot for Tammy with Transformers holding on at #1 two weeks in a row, with the new Planet Of The Apes film grabbing the #1 spot next weekend.
Here is the current list of highest grossing films of 2014....
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$724,698,000
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$711,225,897
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$704,164,652
4. Maleficent
$630,182,000
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction
$575,646,000
6. Godzilla
$488,378,517
7. Rio 2
$474,865,707
8. The Lego Movie
$467,392,045
9. Noah
$359,200,044
10. Edge of Tomorrow
$339,470,000
Not really surprised to see Transformers already at a spot further up on the list. I hope it doesn't make it to the #1 spot though. X-Men, Spiderman, and Captain America all deserve to be in the top three spots. I'm not interested in the Transformers films whatsoever, mainly due to my dislike of Bay. I was never a big fan of the franchise in general (including the old cartoons or the toys) although with a different director the films would have been more tolerable to me. On a brighter note we have a huge release coming this week.... Dawn of the Planet of the Apes! The prequel was much better than I expected it to be, so I'll be looking forward to this one.
Upcoming releases:
7/11: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Mixed feelings on Jersey Boys. Eastwood delivers again with a solid cast, but the movie falls into a tedious "rise and fall" slump after a while. Jersey Boys was on the right track to be something great, but the writers settled for another middle-of-the road biopic/docudrama, and it's painfully obvious after the step by step rise to fame series of events.
Transformers holding on to the #1 spot for two weeks in a row is no real surprise, but Dawn Of The Planet Apes should take the #1 spot this weekend.
And I haven't seen it yet, but Earth To Echo opened at #6. Technically, Earth To Echo is not a complete failure at the box office. With a reported budget of $13,000,000, Earth To Echo opened at $13,567,557. Still, an opening at #6 looks bad. The more I think about, I honestly have no idea, who they were trying to appeal to in the trailers and TV spots. The promotional material and the trailers were too misguided for young kids, and I have a hard time believing in adults paying to see a movie about a group of kids bonding with an alien/robot.
Also, going by some reviews I read earlier, a lot of critics slammed Earth To Echo for being a cheap and lazy E.T. knock-off, and the main movie poster is a dead giveaway:
Here are the highest grossing films so far of 2014:
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
$752,531,000
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$731,373,000
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$712,361,754
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$704,977,039
5. Maleficent
$668,994,000
6. Godzilla
$489,608,951
7. Rio 2
$487,000,000
8. The Lego Movie
$467,557,169
9. Noah
$359,200,044
10. Edge of Tomorrow
$350,550,000
Extremely disappointed that Transformers has already taken the #1 spot. It doesn't deserve it and this is further proof that the better films do not always make the most money. X-Men, Captain America, Spiderman, and even Maleficent should have all remained in their spots. Planet Of the Apes did not make the top 10 surprisingly, maybe by next week. This week has 4 releases, none are huge but they are still worth mentioning.
Upcoming releases:
7/18: Planes: Fire & Rescue
7/18: The Purge: Anarchy
7/18: Persecuted
7/18: Sex Tape
Tammy is Melissa McCarthy's worst film to date BY FAR, and you can see everything coming after the first ten minutes of the movie. Tammy's an irresponsible jerk, who refuses to take responsibility for her actions, but she realizes she needs to change and turn her life around.
A few laughs here and there, but overall, Tammy is a jumbled mess of a film with too many confusing and erratic tonal shifts. At times, Tammy is laborious and depressing, and McCarthy needs to tweak her stale routine, because McCarthy playing the same character over and over again with the same routine feels tiresome now.
Also, there's a glaring problem with McCarthy's films: she can't carry a film on her own with the leading role. In Bridesmaids, she needed Rose Byrne, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, and others (not including Kristen Wiig, because she's unbearably annoying in Bridesmaids). In Identity Thief, she needed Jason Bateman. In The Heat, she needed Sandra Bullock, and in Tammy she needs Susan Sarandon. Sarandon's performance as this eccentric alcoholic/loose cannon is the main highlight in Tammy. Kathy Bates his hilarious also, but she doesn't appear until the tail end of the movie. I'd give Tammy a 4/10 or 3/10, and that's being generous for Bates and Sarandon.
Deliver Us From Evil
Scott Derrickson is one of my favorite horror directors, and he did good job of creating a genuinely spooky atmosphere for Deliver Us From Evil, but he relied on one too many jump scares for my taste here.
Also, don't let the based on real life events promo ads fool you, because the story concludes with a predictable solution at the end.......
It's an exorcism.
On top of that, Deliver Us From Evil follows a pattern with familiar exorcism horror tropes ("Tell me your name demon!"). Eric Bana is a man, who lost his faith in God, but the priest convinces him to believe again, and together they team up to fight the demons.
Still, Deliver Us From Evil is a solid horror flick overall. Lots of hardcore bloody gore, Eric Bana is a solid leading man, and the exorcism finale is intense and nasty.
Begin Again
It's predictable and tedious at times, but Begin Again is a satisfying and heartfelt comedy/drama with a good performance from Mark Ruffalo, as this struggling alcoholic/trainwreck, who's trying to pull his life together. The ups and downs in Ruffalo and Keira Knightley's artist and manager relationship/friendship is the driving force behind Begin Again, and it really works, because they share great chemistry together.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes taking #1 with a strong opening is no surprise, and with the way things are going now, I can't imagine another film catching Transformers: Age Of Extinction for the #1 overall spot in 2014.
I'm going with The Purge: Anarchy at #1 this week. The big problem with the first film is they never took the time to explore the carnage outside of the house, and The Purge eventually devolved into another run-of-the-mill home invasion horror film, but things are different this time around.
I'm not sold on Sex Tape. I'm a Jason Segel fan, but I don't see the appeal in Segel and Cameron Diaz as this struggling married couple trying to find the spark again. Sex Tape looks like a "wait for it at home" film, so I'll go with a #3 spot with Apes falling to #2.
I'm not looking forward to the movie, but the moronic complaints about a lack of sex appeal for Cameron Diaz are annoying. The shot of Diaz on roller skates sparks the vast majority of complaints. "She's not hot anymore!" or "I miss The Mask Cameron Diaz!" is a common complaint. The Mask was released in 1994. Diaz is 41 now, and she's still in great shape. It's called aging over the years.
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$712,908,352
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$706,204,650
5. Maleficent
$700,563,874
6. Godzilla
$491,090,849
7. Rio 2
$487,648,373
8. The Lego Movie
$467,797,614
9. How to Train Your Dragon 2
$388,685,821
10. Noah
$359,200,044
Transformers remains in the #1 spot and may become the first film this year to reach the $1,000,000,000 mark.... On a happier note, How To Train Your Dragon 2 finally made it into the top 10. Better late than never! Maleficent is catching up to Spiderman 2, it would be interesting if it passed it. A lot of new releases coming on the 25th.... Lucy looks the best out of all of them. I wouldn't be surprised if it knocks Noah out of the top 10.
Upcoming releases:
7/25: Hercules
7/25: Lucy
7/25: Magic in the Moonlight
7/25: And So It Goes
7/25: The Fluffy Movie
So we're just going throw around the "it's this generation's The Empire Strikes Back" praise every time a good sequel pops up? Yeah, I get it. The Empire Strikes Back is the gold standard/benchmark for sci-fi/action sequels, but this is getting ridiculous now. First Catching Fire, and for Apes, I can't count the number of reviews, articles, or posts I've read, where they're heaping on the Empire Strikes Back praise.
It's a good sequel, better than Rise Of Planet Of The Apes, easily, and I really enjoyed the movie. But let's not get ahead of ourselves with comparing and contrasting Star Wars. We're only two films into the Planet Of The Apes reboot, so you have to wait until you get to a Return Of The Jedi point first before you consider Star Wars and The Empire Strikes.
Also, I'm a little bit surprised (but not shocked) Apes held on at #1 for two consecutive weeks. I had high hopes for Anarchy, but Anarchy fell short at $29,816,675, with Apes at $36,254,310 in the top spot.
Transformers: Age Of Extinction
Michael Bay has been making the same damn movie since 2007. I have no shame in saying I enjoyed the 2007 film as a fun summer blockbuster/popcorn flick, but the formula is tiresome now. Nicola Peltz falls into the same category as Megan Fox and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as eye candy (i.e. the close up, tight shot of Peltz wearing shorts....from the back), and Peltz is not alone for female eye candy here. Trust me, you'll notice the other women, because they're not hard to miss. And of course the movie ends with another big battle in a city, with the humans struggling to help the Transformers. Mark Wahlberg is okay in the leading (definitely not one of his best performances) role, and I caught a few glimpses of The Happening Mark Wahlberg at times.....
Honestly, the entire movie feels like one long battle scene, and the big showdown at the end doesn't feel special, because Bay tries so hard to produce epic battles throughout the movie.
And I rolled my eyes at Kelsey Grammer's character. Basically, he's the cliched and delusional patriot, who will do anything to protect America, and he's not afraid to cross any lines of morality. The single father/daughter relationship between Wahlberg and Peltz is annoying and cliched. Wahlberg is the strict and overbearing father, and Peltz wants to be the wild and rebellious daughter, with a a rebel boyfriend. Stanley Tucci is good for a few laughs, as this pushy dick, and John Goodman is hilarious as the voice of the fat Transformer, but........
they killed off T.J. Miller in the early stages of the movie. Great move. Another guy, who can provide some decent comic relief, and you kill him off in the first 15-20 minutes of the movie.
Jack Reynor (he plays Peltz's boyfriend in the movie) is supposed to be this bad ass and fearless race car driver, but he inexplicably turns into a wimpy coward/whining bitch during the rescue mission on the spaceship?
And how many times are they going to revisit the tired "we can't trust the Transformers anymore!" or "we don't need the Transformers anymore" storyline? It's predictable as predictable can be, because guess what happens in the end (again)? The humans are forced into a position, where they have to trust and rely on the Transformers for protection and survival.
The storyline with Lockdown helping the humans exterminate the Transformers as a bounty hunter had some promise. Lockdown hunting the Transformers could've been something different, but Age Of Extinction is loaded with too many nonsensical and erratic plot twists. To make matters worse, they changed the course of the story about three or four times towards the end. And.......
as the audience, we're supposed to show excitement for the return of a reincarnated Megatron (via Galvatron)? Seriously?
Although, if you look at the numbers Dagger posted, it's easy to see why Bay and the Transformers crew stick to the same formula (BIG explosions, noisy battle scenes, provocative women wearing skimpy clothing, ending the movie with a monologue from Optimus Prime). The films are loaded with cliches, but the Transformers series is a proven cash cow, people will pack the theaters to watch the films, and as the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And strap yourself in for a long movie, because you will feel every minute (during the last 40 minutes of the movie, I pulled out my phone three or four times to check the time) of the 2hr. 37 min. runtime.
But I didn't add to Age Of Extinction's box office profits. I cheated, because I used a free movie ticket from the rewards program at my local theater, so I didn't pay the $10.00
The Purge: Anarchy
A noticeable upgrade over the first film. Taking the time explore the bloody and brutal carnage on the outside helps, because you actually see The Purge happening as it unfolds this time. Frank Grillo nailed the main character in the leading role, and he's fun to watch throughout the movie.
IF a third film happens (they tease it at the end), I hope we'll see a conclusion with the government trying to put an end to The Purge, but devoted Purge followers refuse and revolt, and the series concludes with a chaotic and vicious bloodbath between Purge enthusiasts and those, who refuse to participate, but they're forced into a position, where they have to fight back and save their own asses.
We know what The Purge is about now, and we've seen the chaos on the outside now, and we know how everyone feels about The Purge, so it's time to take the story to another level. James DeMonaco (the writer/director) scratched the surface with the introduction of organized death squads murdering the poor to continue The Purge, because of an increase in Americans, who refuse to participate.
But I'm not sure we'll get a part three. The reviews are still mixed, and the numbers are down from the first film with Anarchy's seven day total adding up to $41,376,145 VS the original's seven day total adding up to $43,644,850. On top of that, Anarchy opened at #2 with a heavy marketing campaign, while Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes held on to the #1 spot two weeks in row.
July 25-27 stuff
It's a big weekend for The Rock. Hoping Hercules opens at #1, but I wouldn't bet against Lucy. According to early reports from Box Office Mojo.com, Lucy is poised to take the #1 spot with ease over Hercules, putting Rock's big starring role in 2014 at #2.
At this point in his career, I don't have any faith in Luc Besson (one too many shit films over the years as a writer & director, or when he's sticking to writing the screenplay), but Lucy features a more alluring premise with a seductive Scarlett Johansson as this lethal ass-kicker. Although, I've read reviews slamming Lucy for being ridiculous, preposterous, silly, and a film that's loaded with major plot holes.
And you can't forget about the other Hercules film released earlier this year. The Legend Of Hercules bombed at the box office with a barrage of negative reviews (still holding a 3% Rotten Tomatoes), and The Rock is a bigger star than Kellan Lutz, but there's a chance of Rock and Ratner's version of Hercules having a lot of trouble overcoming the stigma from the January film.
The fourth installment in the series, Transformers: Age of Extinction, with a budget of over $210 million, Paramount Pictures' parent company Viacom expects it to "smash box office records." At the very least it seems guaranteed to generate another huge surge of merchandising money for both Paramount and Hasbro.
A noticeable upgrade over the first film. Taking the time explore the bloody and brutal carnage on the outside helps, because you actually see The Purge happening as it unfolds this time. Frank Grillo nailed the main character in the leading role, and he's fun to watch throughout the movie.
IF a third film happens (they tease it at the end), I hope we'll see a conclusion with the government trying to put an end to The Purge, but devoted Purge followers refuse and revolt, and the series concludes with a chaotic and vicious bloodbath between Purge enthusiasts and those, who refuse to participate, but they're forced into a position, where they have to fight back and save their own asses.
We know what The Purge is about now, and we've seen the chaos on the outside now, and we know how everyone feels about The Purge, so it's time to take the story to another level. James DeMonaco (the writer/director) scratched the surface with the introduction of organized death squads murdering the poor to continue The Purge, because of an increase in Americans, who refuse to participate.
But I'm not sure we'll get a part three. The reviews are still mixed, and the numbers are down from the first film with Anarchy's seven day total adding up to $41,376,145 VS the original's seven day total adding up to $43,644,850. On top of that, Anarchy opened at #2 with a heavy marketing campaign, while Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes held on to the #1 spot two weeks in row.
I'm pretty certain there'll be a sequel. The first film had a $3 million budget while Anarchy had a $9 million production budge. As of yesterday, Anarchy has made $60.1 million worldwide, $53.4 million of that here in the USA. The original took in $89.3 million worldwide as its final total and the sequel is on track to do about the same, possibly exceeding the total. So far, The two Purge films cost a combined $12 million to produce and have made a combined $149.4 million worldwide thus far. That's a helluva return, plus that's not counting what it'll take in from DVD sales and rentals upon release. Critics weren't all that wild about the original, but they seem to prefer the sequel as it has a 57% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.com vs. 38% for the original. Hardly universal acclaim, but most view it as a significant improvement over the original movie. But the studios and executives don't give a crap whether the critics love it or hate it, it's making far too much money for them not to wanna bleed it for every dime they can.
I'm not at all surprised Apes held onto the top spot against it because of the sheer scope and popularity of the franchise compared to The Purge. During the summer, people come in droves to watch big budget movies like Apes, even if they suck. There's no other way to explain the commercial success of Transformers: Age of Extinction. By the way, does anybody else think that Michael Bay is an undiagnosed pyrophilliac? Everything from cars to buildings to grass blows up or is set on fire in the Transformers movies every few minutes. Everyone I've asked about it says it sucks and critics have anally raped it with a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire. I haven't seen it, nor have I seen the 3rd one. I saw the 2nd one because I'd hoped it'd be an improvement over the original. I guess people just see it as a good way of turning their brains off for a while. There've been several extremely strong, big budget flicks released this 3 or 4 months that critics and fans have flat out loved. I'm a little surprised by that really. Rotten Tomatoes.com has Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at a 91% approval rating, X-Men: Days of Future Past has a 92% approval rating and Captain America: The Winter Soldier is at 89%.
I'm pretty certain there'll be a sequel. The first film had a $3 million budget while Anarchy had a $9 million production budge. As of yesterday, Anarchy has made $60.1 million worldwide, $53.4 million of that here in the USA. The original took in $89.3 million worldwide as its final total and the sequel is on track to do about the same, possibly exceeding the total. So far, The two Purge films cost a combined $12 million to produce and have made a combined $149.4 million worldwide thus far. That's a helluva return, plus that's not counting what it'll take in from DVD sales and rentals upon release. Critics weren't all that wild about the original, but they seem to prefer the sequel as it has a 57% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.com vs. 38% for the original. Hardly universal acclaim, but most view it as a significant improvement over the original movie. But the studios and executives don't give a crap whether the critics love it or hate it, it's making far too much money for them not to wanna bleed it for every dime they can.
That's something I didn't think about. Usually, I'm just focused on the weekend numbers, so I don't take the time to look at the big picture. I just hope they won't go beyond a fourth film, if they go that far. It's true they can milk the premise for another sequel or two, but you're really pushing the limits with five films for a horror-esque franchise
There's no other way to explain the commercial success of Transformers: Age of Extinction. By the way, does anybody else think that Michael Bay is an undiagnosed pyrophilliac? Everything from cars to buildings to grass blows up or is set on fire in the Transformers movies every few minutes.
It's safe to say the answer is yes. During the early stages Age Of Extinction, there's a shot of Wahlberg, T.J. Miller, Peltz, and Reynor running from Lockdown with a series of fiery explosions in the background. Funny thing about this scene is, it's eerily similar to a sequence from Revenge Of The Fallen with Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf running in the desert..... and they're running with a series of fiery explosions in the background. Bay repeats the same sequences in the Transformers film, and I don't know if I'm one of the few, who noticed this, but every Transformers film features a battle on some expressway.
Also, there's a recent interview with T.J. Miller, and he talks about Age Of Extinction. Miller describes working with Bay as a "bipolar experience," because one minute, Bay would tear him apart for being unfunny, but he would offer him sushi and drinks after the cameras stopped rolling. That's strange, because when I think about poor attempts at humor in Transformers films, you're reminded of a Transformers' swinging scrotum, the little mini Transformer humping Megan Fox's leg, and a close up shot of John Turturro's ass in a pair of revealing underwear.
Here are the current highest grossing films of 2014....
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
$967,124,208
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$739,531,687
3. Maleficent
$715,074,422
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$713,165,387
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$706,666,005
6. Godzilla
$498,704,025
7. Rio 2
$490,237,897
8. The Lego Movie
$467,910,453
9. How to Train Your Dragon 2
$424,163,799
10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
$364,843,269
Transformers remains at #1 and will probably pass the $1,000,000,000 mark by next week.... I am glad to see Maleficent make it up to #3. That is a nice surprise. So is How to Train Your Dragon 2 making #9. I had expected to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes make it further up, but there is still time for that to happen. We have a release this week that I've been looking forward to in Guardians of the Galaxy. I expect it to do pretty well. Get On Up will also see its release on the 1st.
Upcoming releases:
8/1: Get On Up
8/1: Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy was a really fun movie. The best thing about it is it doesn't take itself seriously at all which has been a welcome relief after this summer's batch of uber serious films. I loved Planet of the Apes but this was a nice change of pace is all I'm saying. Chris Pratt, who's one of my favorite actors, was the perfect choice for the lead role. He's funny and goofy and manages to not be overwhelmed by his cartoonish and hilarious supporting cast. The big names were cast perfectly. Bradly Cooper was great as the Raccoon with a chip on his shoulder.
Batista, who I'm sure everyone here is wondering about, did a fine job. Drax was a man of muscles but not brains which fit Batista perfectly. Him taking metaphorical lines literally was very funny. This is easily the Marvel Phase 2 movie I enjoyed the most.
Ugh. This is what happens, when I give Luc Besson another chance.
Lucy is beyond ridiculous and preposterous. I know you have to have suspension of disbelief, when you sit down and watch a movie, but Luc Besson pushes things too far. As far as directing goes, Lucy is a jumbled mess, and it feels like you're watching an action/sci-fi film mixed with a special from the Discovery Channel or National Geographic (i.e. the RANDOM clips of nature, animals, natural disasters, etc.).
Another big problem is Lucy is too invincible. She's a genius, is capable of learning an entire language overnight, she can't feel pain, Lucy possesses telekinesis as one of her powers, she's capable of time travel, somehow, Lucy can see everything behind closed doors, if she's in another location, and I'll wrap this one in a spoiler tag, because it happens during the finale.....
Lucy loses her body at 100%, because she transforms into a supercomputer, and she leaves a flash drive for Dr. Norman (Morgan Freeman).
In the 20%-30% range, Lucy is virtually unstoppable (the scene(s) in the trailers, where she escapes from the chair to go to the hospital), so throughout the movie, you have no reason to believe in the protagonists having a realistic chance to stop Lucy, as the drug spreads through her body.
The "action" sequences (one decent car chase scene, but that's about it) are boring and repetitive, because no one stands a chance against Lucy, so it's a hard to ignore a "what's the point?" feeling after Lucy hits 70%. And the primary protagonist is supposed to be this sadistic and ruthless bad ass, but he's just an insignificant pest against Super Lucy.
Also, there's a massive gap in logic for the drug that gives Lucy her powers. The crime boss and his associates never connect the dots for the reasons behind Lucy's powers? And the crime boss is desperate to recover the drugs from the other mules after Lucy escapes? Why would you sell a drug that's capable of giving people superpowers?
To make matters worse, the grand finale is anticlimactic, and Lucy features one too many eye rolling scenes. One that pops out in my mind is Lucy taking a casual stroll through the hospital, so she can force her way into the surgery room. Yeah, I'm supposed to believe no one notices this bloody woman carrying a gun in a hospital.
Hercules
Hercules is too self-aware at times. Brett Ratner delivers some fun action sequences here and there, but nothing mind blowing. Rock is solid in the leading role, but you could make a case for Ian McShane upstaging him, as the primary source of comic relief here.
A disappointing opening for Hercules at #2 with a domestic haul of $29,800,263 off of a reported $100,000,000 budget. Lucy on the other hand took the #1 spot with $43,899,340 (the more recent total hit $61,287,385 on July 31). I had my doubts about Hercules at #1, but I expected a tighter race for the top spot. Instead, Lucy opened with a decisive and commanding lead.
Guardians Of The Galaxy opened with $11.2 million on Thursday. GOTG at #1 this week is a foregone conclusion, and it'll be interesting to see if they hit the $100 million mark, with a real chance of challenging Transformers: Age Of Extinction for the biggest opening weekend in 2014.
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