2015 In Film

[Dagger Dias]

Want to talk about the movies in 2015? Come on in.

This thread, much like the 2014 In Film topic will be for discussing the various movies of the year. Ever since Avatar broke the record as the highest grossing film of all time a few years back, I have been fascinated with how much money movies make, and which ones end up more financially successful than others. We'll look at how they are doing financially, thoughts on upcoming releases that are about to be released the theaters, and you're also welcome to reviewing films in here or general discussion on them as long as they are films released in 2015 in order to remain on topic.

As an example of how my weekly updates will look, here are the highest grossing films of 2014 as of 12/29/2014 in the spoiler tag below.

Spoiler

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
$1,087,404,500

2. Guardians of the Galaxy
$772,349,244

3. Maleficent
$757,752,378

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
$746,045,700

5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
$714,083,572

6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$708,982,323

7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
$708,299,389

8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
$669,656,000

9. Interstellar
$641,348,000

10. How to Train Your Dragon 2
$618,909,935

So.... have a seat. Grab a box of popcorn, candy, a slice of pizza, or whatever you enjoy to eat and drink as you watch movies. We'll see our first major release on January 2nd in "The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death". It will take a while before we have a top 10, but after few weeks when more films are available for analysis it gets very interesting to see how the films are doing in terms of making a profit.


Upcoming releases:
1/2: The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death


Any thoughts on this film or others coming out later on this upcoming year? Do you have predictions on what will make the most money or any predictions of failures this year in film? As more films get released thoughts on the updates to the list of highest grossing titles are welcome. Reviews and general thoughts on the films as they see releases in theaters this year are also highly encouraged. In order to be on topic with the thread subject matter though, this thread is limited to only 2015's movies.

Discuss!

 

[Dagger Dias]

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death was the first major film release of 2015, thus it by default is the highest grossing film of the year so far. It has made just over $15 million. The next major release will be Taken 3. I never saw the first two and I won't see films out of order, so I doubt I'll be watching that anytime soon. I do predict Taken 3 will take the #1 spot and hold onto it for a bit though.


Upcoming releases:
1/9: Taken 3

 

[Mitch Henessey]

2015 is a big year that's LOADED with high profiled releases, and there's a rumor going around for plans to split Batman VS Superman: Dawn Of Justice into two parts with Part I hitting theaters on October 25th of this year.

My thoughts on a few films I'm interested in this year:

The Avengers: Age Of Ultron- While I believe it'll be impossible to recapture the magic from the first film, there's still a good chance we're looking at The Empire Strikes Back in the series. There's a darker tone in the trailer, and James Spader's voice sounds genuinely intimidating ("there are no strings on me...") and creepy.

Terminator: Genisys- I try to remain optimistic about Terminator's future, but T2 (1991) was the last good or great Terminator film. Every film after after T2 has been a major disappointment, an embarrassment, or a mediocre effort at best. Sorry, but the full trailer for Genisys gives off the impression of another forgettable Terminator film, so I'm setting a low bar for expectations.

Insidious: Chapter 3- Chapter 2 was pure dogshit, so I don't have high hopes for this. Putting the nail in the coffin for The Lambert Family was the right move, because let's be honest, they're out of places to go with their story. Still, the trailer is underwhelming, and I have bad feeling we're looking at the next Saw franchise here (although, Insidious 2010 is a MUCH better film compared to Saw 2004).

There's a good chance Chapter 3 will turn a nice profit, and if that happens, we're looking at the realistic possibility for the Insidious franchise devolving into a mess of mediocre and terrible sequels with Chapters 4, 5, and 6.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension- I'll give credit where credit is due, because The Marked Ones was a solid spin-off. The problem is, Paranormal Activity 4 was an atrocious film (easily the worst in the series), it killed the momentum for the series going forward, and it's a bad sign, because there's a chance we're reaching a point where horror fans and PA fans are just burnt out on the series altogether.

IF they switch up the setting, and IF they actually take a real chance to progress the story without all the runaround bullshit, there's a good chance for Ghost Dimension breathing some new life into the series.

The Marked Ones worked as a refreshing film, because they introduced a new setting and a new set of characters. But if they stick to the worn out formula with too much shaky cam garbage, a boring film with ten to fifteen minutes of consistent tension, 35-45 minutes (ballpark numbers) of security camera footage (I don't need to know what's going on in your empty kitchen or your empty pool at three o'clock in the morning), predictable jump scares, and another lame "shocking!" return from Katie, we're back to a disappointing square one stage for the Paranormal Activity franchise.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens- Star Wars will have a triumphant return to the big screen, and the movie should break numerous box office records. Also, it's safe to say we're looking at a strong contender for the #1 movie on the overall top ten highest grossing films list for 2015.

January 2-4 & The Upcoming Weekend

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies capped off a three-peat at #1 in the week to week charts to bring the the current worldwide total to $744,482,487, with Into The Woods in the #2 spot and Unbroken holding the #3 spot.

Meanwhile, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death opened at #4, with a current overall total of $17,509,105. The 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe was an average jump scare horror film at best, and going by the trailers, Angel Of Death looks like more of the same, so the underwhelming opening weekend doesn't surprise me.

Box Office Mojo.com's weekend predictions have Taken 3 debuting at #1 to knock off The Hobbit. Taken 3 currently holds a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, the vast majority of reviews for the movie are negative with no real middle ground, but you'll find a few guilty pleasure pass reviews here and there.

The original Taken was a fun action film, 2 was beyond preposterous and over the top, with a cliched revenge storyline, but the first sequel had its moments. Bottom line, three films for Taken is just too much. Taken should've been a one and done deal, but they milked two sequels out of the first film, because the 2009 original wrapped up its box office run with an overall worldwide gross of $226,830,568 off of a reported production budget of $25,000,000.

Also, Selma opens on a wider release this week after a successful run on a limited release. Selma currently holds a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes with a lot Oscar buzz surrounding the movie, but I'm not sure if I'll take a chance on it in theaters right now.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Current figures for two films are in so far. The two highest grossing films so far for 2015 are....


1. Taken 3
$91,800,000

2. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
$22,334,000


We won't have a full top ten until the end of the month, but there are a few more titles seeing release this week. By this time next week we should have our first top 5 of the year. I'd expect Taken 3 to remain #1 for now.


Upcoming releases:
1/16: Blackhat
1/16: Spare Parts
1/16: The Wedding Ringer

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death

Gets a 4/10 from me.

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is a frustrating film for a number of reasons. First of all (and I knew this was coming after watching the trailers), but for the love of all things holy, did they have to rely on so many jump scares? I say that, because there's a good amount of depth to the story, and the cast is solid enough.

But the story is a catch-22 here. It's loaded with depth, but at the same time, poor execution ruins everything. They tried to cram way too many sub-plots into the storyline, and everything just unravels into a jumbled mess towards the end.

A few extra bonus points for creepy and spooky atmospherics, but it's not enough. To add to that, Angel Of Death is excruciatingly boring, and the movie really drags during Eve's (the main character) investigation. Also, this is not a standalone #2 sequel, where you don't have to watch the original to fully understand the story. They don't make a real effort to explain The Woman In Black's backstory, so if you're not familiar with the 2012 film, you have to figure things out for yourself.

I actually had some hope for this, with a few positive reviews praising Angel Of Death as satisfying throwback to old school Hammer horror films, but Angel Of Death is just another forgettable PG-13 horror ghost story with too many unnecessary jump scares.

Box Office Mojo.com has American Sniper easily taking the #1 spot in its first weekend on a wide release, and it's not a real surprise, when you consider the recent Oscar nominations and the hype behind the movie. BOM has The Wedding Ringer coming in at #2, with Paddignton opening at #3, while Taken 3 slides into the #4 spot.

And it looks like we might have our first real flop of 2015 with Blackhat. Blackhat currently holds a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, and BOM is predicting an opening weekend at #8, with the current box office total sitting at $1.4 million. That's not a good sign at all for Blackhat, a film with a reported production budget of $70,000,000.

I'm still interested in Blackhat, and I plan on watching it in theaters, but a flop is not a big surprise. The movie has reported runtime of 2hr. and 13min., and the plot doesn't sound too enticing on the surface. I guess a distant tie-in with real life events and cyberterrorism wasn't enough to draw people to theaters with a realism hook. Let's not forget Michael Mann's last film (Public Enemies) received a pretty lukewarm overall reception, and without the Marvel name, Chris Hemsworth is not a real draw.

Personally, I have no real interest in The Wedding Ringer, and I've only seen one or two of his recent films, but I'm kind of burnt out on Kevin Hart at the moment. I still have to catch up with Taken 3, and maybe Paddington in a few weeks.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the four highest grossing films so far of 2015....


1. Taken 3
$160,479,000

2. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
$24,834,000

3. The Wedding Ringer
$21,000,000

4. Blackhat
$6,230,000



Taken 3 is getting a larger gap ahead of the rest. Three more films will be released this week. Any of them could end up taking the #2 spot, especially Mortdecai and Strange Magic. We should be seeing a top 7 by this time next week and it looks as though the end of January is when we will have our first full top 10.



Upcoming releases:
1/23: Mortdecai
1/23: Strange Magic
1/23: The Boy Next Door

 

[Mitch Henessey]

No new movies for me, but American Sniper took the #1 spot for the week to week charts to bring its current worldwide gross to $154,615,621. Paddington is in the #2 spot with a current worldwide total of $156,596,356, and The Wedding Ringer opened at #3 with $26,901,319 (domestic only). And Blackhat tanked with a disappointing opening, failing to open with a spot in the top ten with a debut at #11.

Box Office Mojo.com is predicting an easy repeat for American Sniper at #1 for the upcoming weekend, and it looks like The Boy Next Door will debut at #2.

As far as The Boy Next Door goes, I have no doubts it'll be a paint-by-the-numbers erotic thriller, ending with some showdown between Lopez and the stalker, while the stalker holds Lopez's son and ex-husband hostage. They're really pushing Lopez's sex appeal in the trailers and TV spots to help sell the movie, but in the end, that's a recipe for disaster.

I'm a big fan of Johnny Depp, but the fact of the matter is, he's currently stuck in a slump with a string of atrocious films (to be fair, The Lone Ranger is a decent enough film), with Transcendence as the most recent example. The vast majority of reviews for Mortdecai are negative, and the film currently holds a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. I plan on watching Mortdecai in theaters, but I'm uneasy about it.

Black Sea starring Jude Law opens on a limited release, but I have no interest in watching it in a theater. Also, Cake opens on a wider release this week. Jennifer Aniston's name was a popular choice for Oscar snubs this year, and a lot of the buzz surrounding Cake fizzled out, but the positive side to all of this is Aniston continuing the trend for stepping outside of her comfort zone (i.e. average, mediocre, or forgettable romantic comedies).

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the current highest grossing films of 2015....


1. Taken 3
$225,951,000

2, The Wedding Ringer
$41,277,000

3. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
$25,889,000

4. The Boy Next Door
$15,001,000

5. Blackhat
$11,373,000

6. Mortdecai
$9,325,000

7. Strange Magic
$5,534,000

8. Spare Parts
$2,707,000

9. Ex Machina
$2,000,000



Two new titles will be released this week, and one week from now we should have our first full top 10 for the year. Neither of this week's releases look all that interesting to me.


Upcoming Releases:
1/30: Project Almanac
1/30: Wild Card

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Taken 3

I didn't hate Taken 3, but one of my main complaints about the movie is, Taken 3 doesn't feel like a grand finale. They really pushed the "It ends here" tagline for this one, but in the end, Taken 3 just feels like another film in the series, because 3's not good enough to stand out.

Bad directing is another popular complaint, but the schizophrenic and choppy editing during the highway chase is the only scene, where I noticed a real problem.

All in all, Taken 3 is worth a try (6/10 for me), if you're a fan of the series. A few high octane action sequences, some decent twists and turns towards the end, a thrilling finale, and Liam Neeson delivers as usual, but it's not worth getting your hopes up for some grand send-off.

Also, it wouldn't shock me if we get a Taken 4 somewhere down the line. Taken 3 was supposed to be the "end," but 3 is another big box office success, and I remember reading an interview, where Neeson said he wouldn't have a problem reprising his role as Bryan Mills if 4 happens. To add to that, Taken 3 doesn't feel like a true finale, so there's more than enough room to milk the series for a fourth film:

Spoiler

Bryan spared Stuart's life at the end. Long story short, for those, who don't know, Stuart is/was Lenore's (Famke Janssen) husband, so of course you have some friction between a divorced Bryan and Stuart. Stuart orchestrated a plan to kill Lenore with help from a Russian mobster's gang, so he could use the insurance money ($12,000,000) from Lenore's death to pay off Oleg Malankov (the leader).

And to kill two birds with one stone (his jealousy towards Bryan for the possibility of a second chance with Lenore), Stuart sabotaged Bryan's phone with fake text messages to frame him as Lenore's murderer.

At the end of the movie, Neeson said something along the lines of "Stuart, when you get out of jail, I'll be waiting for you. And we both know what's going to happen..."

Oh, and Kim (Bryan and Lenore's daughter) is pregnant.

Blackhat

Eh, mixed feelings on this.

Blackhat has a few sporadic thrills, but overall it's a boring action/thriller. Chris Hemsworth? He's capable in the leading role, but he's not the type of a guy, who can carry a film. Viola Davis is solid in her role, but outside of Davis, I can't think of one noteworthy (the hacker's screen time is limited) performance.

After the explosion to open the movie, you're just sitting around and waiting for something BIG to happen, as the hacker prepares to launch the "real hit," but Blackhat devolves into an hour plus of a tedious cat-and-mouse game between Hemsworth and the good guys and the hacker and his team. Throughout the movie, they constantly tease the disastrous fallout from this apocalyptic master plan, but there's no real pay-off to justify the slow burn build and the long wait, and the final battle between Hemsworth and the hacker feels anticlimactic.

A 4/10 for this, because I don't believe Blackhat is as bad as the majority of the critics are making it out to be, but man it's a chore to sit through in certain parts.

January 23-25 & The Upcoming weekend

American Sniper easily took the #1 spot for a repeat in its second week on a wide release with $64,628,304 to bring the overall worldwide total to $247,900,417, and The Boy Next Door opened at #2 with $14,910,105 (domestic only).

It's another big flop for Johnny Depp with Mortdecai. Mortdecai opened in the #9 spot with an overall worldwide total of $9,400,586 off of a reported production budget of $60,000,000. To add to that, Mortdecai currently holds an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes.

As far as new releases go, Jason Statham is a reliable name for a an entertaining action flick more often than not, so I'll give Wild Card a chance. Wild Card currently holds a 0% on RT, but it's still early, and it's only a total of seven reviews counted.

Project Almanac? The more I see of the movie in new trailers and commercials, the more I'm convinced Project Almanac will be another generic and formulaic time travel film with a cliched plot.

Depending on how they use and rely on it, the found-footage POV could help separate PA from other time travel films as a unique feature, but I'm not sold on it right now. That, and the vast majority of films from Michael Bay and his production company Platinum Dunes are mediocre or terrible.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The current highest grossing films of 2015 are....



1. Taken 3
$244,053,000

2. The Wedding Ringer
$51,300,000

3. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
$34,850,324

4. The Boy Next Door
$25,266,918

5. Blackhat
$14,528,000

6. Mortdecai
$12,044,000

7. Project Almanac
$10,400,000

8. Strange Magic
$9,899,000

9. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
$8,000,000

10. Kingsman: The Secret Service
$7,243,000



We have our first top 10 of the year. There are a couple more films being released this week although neither look all that interesting. Expect Taken 3 to keep its #1 spot again. Jupiter Ascending might make it further up in the list to 2nd or 3rd.


Upcoming releases:
2/6: Jupiter Ascending
2/6: Shaun the Sheep Movie

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Taken 3 was fun, just like the others... It was a little less fun but that's the diminishing returns you always get with a threquel.

They got it pitched just about right, the peril was there, his friends "stepping in" but being "ghosts" themselves and the cop not wanting the shit storm of arresting them etc made a lot of sense. But in a few bits it was literally The Fugitive, complete with an "I don't care" speech and dive into water from height...

Forest's lazy eye shared billing with Liam here... and his ADD/must have something in my hands...

But it was logical and fun... the first established the character and his skills, the 2nd you got to see how he did it and 3 you get to see his "shit hits the fan plan" in action... 4 if they ever go there has to be the kidnapped baby but would seem contrived...

Once the big movies hit this year it'll be dominated by them... personally I want to see Tusk...

 

[Mitch Henessey]

4 if they ever go there has to be the kidnapped baby but would seem contrived...

That's why I'm hoping they'll avoid a kidnapped grandchild storyline. After the ending to 3, it'll be to obvious and predictable, with Stuart going after Bryan and Kim for another through the motions revenge plot. Also, they're running out of ideas to torture and terrorize the Mills Family, and Lenore is dead.

If they go with a fourth film, I think it's time to bring Bryan out of retirement. Stop all the on and off teasing, because we already know he's more than capable of handling himself, without any real restraints.

Mortdecai

Mortdecai is better than Transcendence. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a big compliment, because Transcendence was a pretty lousy film, but at the same time, Mortdecai is not as terrible as the critics are making it out to be.

It's a hit-and-miss comedy, with some good laughs, and some cringeworthy misfires. The exchange between Depp and the concierge stands out as one of the true highlights in the movie:

Spoiler

Concierge: Do you need help with your bags?

Mortdecai: No, I do not need help with my bags. I have a fucking man servant.

Depp's facial expressions and body language pull everything together, and the look an Bettany's face

My big pet peeve for Mortdecai is the running joke for the mustache. After the first fifteen minutes of the movie, they go on and on with the constant jabs at Mortdecai's mustache and Gwyneth Paltrow's dry-heaving (she hates the mustache), and it's just annoying.

Depp is hilarious, and the chemistry between Depp and Paul Bettany really works, with Depp playing the wimpy and clumsy buffoon, and Bettany playing Mortdecai's invincible bodyguard.

Mortdecai is not awful, but it's a mediocre comedy (going with a 4/10) at best, and the finale is too convoluted. It's a shame, because Mortdecai has the right cast, but Depp needs another quality film soon, because he can't climb out of his deep hole with a so-so comedy.

January 30-February 1

It's a three-peat for American Sniper at #1, with Project Almanac taking the #2 spot ( $10,795,161 for the current overall worldwide total). After watching the trailer, I have no interest in Black Or White, but the movie opened at #4 with a total of $6,731,184 (domestic only), and The Loft opened at #10 with $2,997,321.

Jupiter Ascending is the big release for Friday, but I'm still not sold on it yet. The delay raises too many red flags, and you have too many question marks with Mila Kunis, as the lead star in a big action blockbuster. To add to that, I have a bad feeling JA will devolve into another cliched and predictable storyline about the chosen one/underdog overcoming the odds to defeat a seemingly unstoppable evil power.

We're probably looking at a short one week run at #1 with Jupiter Ascending, but JA needs to knock American Sniper out of the #1 spot now, because you have Kingsman and Fifty Shades Of Grey coming up next week.

Seventh Son? Eh, I want to see it, but I'm setting the bar low for expectations, and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water should squeeze into the top three.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The current highest grossing films of 2015 are....


1. Taken 3
$267,078,000

2. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
$82,800,000

3. The Wedding Ringer
$58,300,000

4. Jupiter Ascending
$51,500,000

5. The Boy Next Door
$32,411,074

6. The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
$26,270,100

7. Mortdecai
$19,100,410

8. Kingsman: The Secret Service
$17,685,000

9. Project Almanac
$17,659,000

10. Blackhat
$16,589,395



Taken still has a bit of a gap on the others. While I don't think Spongebob will pass it, I could see it getting a lot closer by next week. I predict that Fifty Shades of Grey will instead be the one to take the #1 spot, it is next week's major release.


Upcoming releases:
2/13: Fifty Shades of Grey

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The Boy Next Door

A mediocre erotic thriller at best. But I will say this, I can see the logic behind the story of a young high school kid losing his mind after a one-night stand with Jennifer Lopez. She's 45, but she's still an attractive woman, who's in good shape, so you can understand why Noah's (the crazy kid) head is stuck in the clouds after one night with Claire (Lopez).

But it's a double-edged sword and a big problem, because Lopez's sex appeal and her semi-nude scene are the main attractions here. The story is predictable and cliched, and you can see the ending coming from a mile away

Spoiler

I alluded to this in one of my earlier posts, but the movie ends with some big showdown in a farmhouse, with Noah holding Kevin (Claire's son) and Garrett (Claire's ex-husband) hostage. Of course, Claire gains the upper hand in the fight with Noah after she stabs him in the eye with a syringe, Claire uses a switch to crush Noah with an engine, and the wounded Peterson family escapes the burning farmhouse.

A few bonus points for gore (Claire uses her fingers to squish Noah's good eye into goo. Nasty stuff), but I never believed in the possibility of Noah murdering Claire, Kevin, or Garrett for one second. You knew Claire would find some way to make a miraculous comeback and kill Noah, and she did.

Lopez is competent in the leading role, but Ryan Guzman's Noah is all over the place. At times, you get the impression his character is well written, as the creepy and obsessive stalker with a bad temper, but some of Noah's over the top tirades crossed a too comical line for me.

The Loft

Why should I feel any sympathy for the main characters? I ask this question, because during the whole whodunnit finger pointing fiasco, you see a bunch of teary-eyed and panicky married men losing their minds, because they're terrified at the thought of their wives knowing the secrets behind their double lifestyles and The Loft.

Eh, they willingly cheated on their wives, the majority of the group brag about their affairs to each other, and Phillip (one of the men in the group) is a drug addict, a rapist, and he beats women, so why should I care, if the murder exposes their secret? And that's another big problem with The Loft. They belittle the significance of someone's death, because "Oh no! We're cheating on our wives, and they might divorce us!"

Spoiler

To add to that, it's hard to feel sympathy for the women here. Towards the very end, they throw in a twist for Karl Urban's character. Apparently, Urban secretly used The Loft to seduce and have sex with Marty's (one of the men in the group) wife, Phillip's sister, and Chris's (James Marsden) lover. Long story short, Marsden falls in love with her (keep in my mind we're talking about his lover, not his wife), but the woman rejects him, because she's a prostitute, and she refuses to cross the line for mixing her work with her personal life.

Honestly, I didn't care about the big reveal for the identity of the murderer. The guessing game for the identity of the killer is intriguing at first, but the movie drags after the first half, and The Loft bored me death towards the end. It's a tedious and dull erotic thriller, with one too many out of left field twists, the acting is sub-par at best, and the explanation behind the murder is too convoluted.

Upcoming weekend

"Jupiter Ascending Crushed By Super SpongeBob"

That's the headline on Box Office Mojo.com. Well, I horribly underestimated SpongeBob, because the movie debuted in the #1 spot with a current worldwide total of $82,165,012 ($55,365,012 domestic), and American Sniper dropped to the #2 spot to bring the worldwide total to $281,389,352.

Jupiter Ascending debuted in the #3 spot for another flop. JA raked in a total of $50,872,372 ($18,372,372 domestic) off of a reported production budget of $176,000,000, and it's not a big surprise. Mila Kunis is entertaining in romantic comedies, but in a leading role as an action heroine? I just can't see it. And Channing Tatum looks ridiculous in the trailers. The delay was a bad sign, and it looks like The Wachowskis are stuck in a slump now.

And Seventh Son opened at #4 with $7,217,640 (domestic). Although, the current worldwide gross sits at $90,817,640 ($83,600,000 foreign), because Seventh Son received a late December release overseas in 2014.

Barring some freak occurrence, Fifty Shades Of Grey should open at #1. It's Valentine's Day weekend, and the book is a worldwide best-seller, so you can count on a strong fan following.

 

[Dave]

50 Shades of Grey

Yeah, I went to see it. Blame Saint Valentine.

Before I went to see this movie I had heard absolute horror stories about its plot and lack of, well, "action". And I must say that, having not read the books, I have to agree. Everyone knows that this movie is part of a bugger trilogy but to that doesn't excuse this film of being a poor standalone effort. It also doesn't excuse the movie for being completely devoid of a plot of any kind.

It's the story of girl meets sadistic boy and not much else actually. Most of the film is spent deliberating whether to put herself into a relationship with Mr Grey and it just does nothing to entertain the viewer outside of that. Don't get me wrong, I did chuckle at one or two moments but I'm not even entirely sure that it was intentional. In fact I'm not sure whether I was laughing at the cringe worthy lack of emotion from the actors or just trying to make the most of a bad situation.

I didn't feel as though there was any stand out performances or great directing actually. I just think, in all honesty, that it was a terrible movie that will thrive more on name than actual quality. The movie was packed yesterday for an afternoon showing, so I'm pretty sure that it will do very well at the box office, deservedly or not.

1/5

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the ten highest grossing films so far of 2015....



1. Taken 3
$277,250,000

2. Fifty Shades of Grey
$239,670,000

3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
$139,973,000

4. Jupiter Ascending
$91,451,000

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service
$79,400,000

6. The Wedding Ringer
$62,943,000

7. The Boy Next Door
$36,163,185

8. Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter
$31,650,000

9. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death
$26,353,600

10. Mortdecai
$23,955,658



Not much of a surprise to see how much Fifty Shades of Grey made. I have no interest in seeing it myself, however I would predict it takes the #1 spot next week. Three films will be released this week with the big one being Hot Tub Time Machine 2. I liked the first so I'll probably see this one.


Upcoming releases:
2/20: Hot Tub Time Machine 2
2/20: McFarland, USA
2/20: The Duff

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Project Almanac

I said this about TMNT 2014, but are we sure Michael Bay had absolutely nothing to do with the directing here? Project Almanac is a Platinum Dunes production (Bay's production company), and you can clearly see his fingerprints all over this one (i.e. the obvious product placement).

Anyway, I'll go with a reluctant 5/10 for this. Project Almanac isn't terrible, but when you strip the movie down to the core, it's just another formulaic time travel film with a found-footage POV. To add to that, the story is loaded with a mound of familiar cliches.

David (the main character) is the shy nerd, who's attracted to Jessie (she's seemingly unobtainable). OF COURSE, David breaks his own time travel rules (every member of the group has to travel through time together at all times, so using the time machine without the entire group is a big no-no) to take advantage of a missed opportunity with Jessie.

After David corrects his mistake with time travel, Jessie and David are a happy couple, when David returns to the present. BUT David's solo time travel mission sets off a disastrous chain of events, and David makes everything worse, when he repeatedly uses the time machine (alone ) to fix the problem(s).

Spoiler

So what's David's big plan to fix everything? Destroy the time machine! After he FINALLY realizes destroying the time machine is the only surefire solution, David burns the time machine after a brief reunion with his father in the past. Long story short, David's father mysteriously disappeared during his birthday party as a child, so David took advantage of the opportunity for a proper farewell.

David destroying the time machine as the only solution is painfully obvious, as the story progresses, but PA deserves some credit for a thrilling finale. Towards the end, David has to break into his high school, because he needs more resources to fix the time machine. The police are chasing David, because he's the prime suspect in Jessie's kidnapping. Of course, David did not kidnap Jessie. Instead, he actually did something far worse: he erased Jessie from existence after another botched time travel mission.

Also, I laughed at the outbreak of panic (excluding David, although I rolled my eyes at his explanation for keeping the time machine) for possibly destroying the time machine to prevent all the chaos:

"What? You mean we can't go back in time, win the lottery, and blow millions of dollars on cars, clothes, and food? NOOOOOOO!!!!"


Jupiter Ascending (in 3D!)


It's visually impressive, there's no denying that, but the story feels forced and contrived. Mila Kunis as "The Chosen One," the twists and turns throughout the movie, and the love story between Channing Tatum and Kunis. I'm sorry, but the chemistry is not there, and you just get feeling Kunis and Tatum are reading lines to each other, with blank stares on their faces.

As far as Kunis in the leading role goes, I don't have any real complaints about her performance. She gave it her best shot, but I had a real hard time buying into the "unlikely heroine" routine.

Another big problem with the story is, it's a big mess. Eddie Redmayne is supposed to be the main villain, but they waste so much time trying to explain the backstories and the motivations for the members of the evil royal family, so Redmayne is just an afterthought, when the big showdown with Kunis rolls around. And that's another problem: the final fight between Kunis and Redmayne is anticlimactic.

Honestly, Jupiter Ascending could've been a better film as a full-blown sci-fi/action comedy. There's nothing wrong with the comical side of JA, but more often than not, JA falls flat as an epic sci-fi/action blockbuster.

Upcoming Weekend

Box Office Mojo.com is predicting a repeat at number one for Fifty Shades Of Grey, while Kingsman holds on to the #2 spot. The current worldwide total for Fifty Shades Of Grey sits at $315,902,510, and while BOM predicts a noticeable drop after the opening weekend, it'll be more than enough to hold on to the top spot.

The DUFF looks like another forgettable coming-of-age teen film, and MacFarnland USA could be a nice inspirational sports drama with a feel good story, but I'm on the fence about taking a chance on it in theaters.

As far as Hot Tub Time Machine 2 goes, BOM is predicting another flop, with HTM2 opening in the #5 spot. HTTM2 currently holds a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, but I still plan on watching the movie, because I'm a fan of the original.

 

[Dave]

1 Fifty Shades of Grey Universal Studios / Focus Features $315,902,510

2 Taken 3 20th Century Fox $279,404,985

3 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Paramount Pictures $155,971,834

4 Kingsman: The Secret Service 20th Century Fox $112,442,949

5 Jupiter Ascending Warner Bros. $98,356,979

6 Running Man Wanda Media $68,450,000

7 The Wedding Ringer Sony Pictures / Screen Gems $63,896,393

8 20 Once Again CJ E&M Film Division $59,060,000

9 Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter Mr. Cartoon Pictures / Pearl River Pictures $40,130,000

10 Somewhere Only We Know Beijing Kaila Pictures $37,810,000

Not trying to steal Dagger's thunder at all here, it's worth saying.

That said, I thought I would post this as it leads into my next point. 20 Shades of Grey has taken over $300 dollars in two weeks! That's insane. For a film that is so devoid of everything good, barring a splendid soundtrack, I find it increasingly hard to believe that this movie has done so well. I know, I know, it came into the fold with a huge wave of momentum and most women were absolutely dying to see that; I totally get it.

But so many better films have done so much worse than this movie and it is really starting to bother me. How can it be justified, in an age that prides itself on delivering thought-provoking and entertaining movies, how can such a movie like this be doing so well? It really is a sad state of affairs.

Does any else agree?

 

[Dagger Dias]

so many better films have done so much worse than this movie and it is really starting to bother me. How can it be justified, in an age that prides itself on delivering thought-provoking and entertaining movies, how can such a movie like this be doing so well? It really is a sad state of affairs.

Does any else agree?

That's part of why I made this thread series in the first place. I keep doing another each year so situations like the very one you just mentioned can be analyzed. I never thought Titanic deserved to be the highest grossing film of all time, thus I was ecstatic when Avatar broke that record, which was my inspiration for this thread series to begin with. Seeing what films make more money than others and sharing our thoughts on them. This is how I felt about Transformer last year. It did NOT deserve to be the top film of the year and I lost interest in that series ages ago. The Hobbit reached 2nd place but I felt it deserved to be #1.

Back on topic.... I don't think Fifty Shades of Grey deserves to be #1 either. I haven't read the book and don't ever plan to given what I've heard about it. Same goes for the film. It may hold onto #1 for a while, but by the time Furious 7 and Avengers: Age of Ultron get released, I fully expect one of those two to defeat it. Then again, I thought The Hobbit would dethrone Transformers so we won't truly know until the financial figures are in.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Meh. I'm pretty sure Fifty Shades Of Grey's success will be an afterthought before we reach the end of 2015, and I'll be shocked if the planned sequel recaptures the same spark at the box office. The book has a big fan following, they released Fifty Shades Of Grey on Valentine's Day weekend, and the movie had no real competition for the first two weeks. A short and successful run at the box office was inevitable, but it's nothing to worry about.

There's a very good chance Fifty Shades Of Grey will fall out of the top ten altogether this year, because 2015 is loaded with too many big name releases. Star Wars, Terminator, Jurassic World, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Fantastic Four, Mission Impossible 5, Mad Max, Furious 7, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2. Plus, you can't forget about the possibility of Pan and Tomorrowland sliding into the top ten.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

9/10. A fun action/comedy film with good humor, stylish and inventive action sequences, and lots of bloody violence. It's a shame Kingsman opened on the same weekend with Fifty Shades Of Grey. Give Kingsman a different opening weekend, and I'm pretty sure we're talking about a number one film.

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

After fifteen minutes or so, I was burnt out on all the dick jokes. The original film was a nice surprise, but HTTM2 is another mediocre and forgettable sequel. In the 2010 film, the story was about a group of losers, who wanted to turn their lives around after they realized and accepted the mistakes and failures that lead to their downward spirals in the past.

HTTM 2 eventually devolves into a another generic time travel film (they just had to throw in the cliched alternate timeline sub-plot ), with a convoluted story. Also, HTTM 2 is too self-aware at times, and they crossed an overkill line with one too many breaking the fourth wall winks.

I'll admit, I laughed a few times (the "nerd" song for Clarke Duke's character), but overall, the humor and the jokes are too hit-and-miss. I had some hope for HTTM 2, but Bianca Haase's topless (watch the trailer. She's the woman walking towards Clark Duke in slow motion at the end) scene is one of the major highlights in the movie, so that should tell you all you need to know about HTTM 2.

February 20-22 & the upcoming weekend

It's no real surprise, but Fifty Shades Of Grey grabbed the #1 spot again for a repeat. The worldwide total sits at $415,546,070, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 opened in the #7 spot with a total of $7,477,818 off of a reported production budget of $14,000,000.

Box Office Mojo.com is predicting an easy opening weekend at #1 for Focus, with Kingsman holding on to the #2 spot, while Fifty Shades Of Grey drops to #5.

Will Smith is a surefire box office draw, but his momentum took a real hit with After Earth (one of the worst cases of nepotism you'll ever see), and I haven't seen the movie, but Smith has a cameo in Winter's Tale (a big box office bomb). If I'm using the reviews as a sign of things to come, the cameo is laughable, and I don't know about anyone else, but I have a hard time picturing Will Smith of all people portraying Lucifer.

Focus currently holds a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, and I have a few doubts about this one. I'm sure Smith will deliver a good performance, and Margot Robbie should be a good fit for the deceitful seductress, but I don't see anything special in the trailers.

The Lazarus Effect features an intriguing story, but I have a bad feeling we're looking at another forgettable supernatural horror film with too many predictable jump scares. That, and I'm uneasy about Olivia Wilde in the leading role.

Upcoming releases:

2/27: Focus
2/27: The Lazarus Effect
2/27: The Salvation (limited release)
2/27: '71 (limited release)
2/27: Maps To The Stars (limited release)

 

[Dagger Dias]

Here are the top ten highest grossing films so far of 2015....


1. Fifty Shades of Grey
$486,873,840

2. Taken 3
$285,904,282

3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
$236,622,000

4. Kingsman: The Secret Service
$209,823,000

5. Jupiter Ascending
$116,507,495

6. Dragon Blade
$72,100,000

7. The Wedding Ringer
$70,325,019

8. Running Man
$68,510,000

9. From Vegas to Macau II
$66,600,000

10. 20 Once Again
$59,070,000


A lot of changes from this week and last week compared to two weeks ago. Fifty Shades of Grey continues to expand its lead on the rest. Three new films will be released this friday. Unifinished Business is the only one I predict will make the top ten. We'll see what happens.


Upcoming Releases:
3/6: Chappie
3/6: Faults
3/6: Unfinished Business

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Still Alice

Technically, Still Alice received a limited release in December, but February 27 was the official date for the wide release, so I'll drop this in here.

A bit contrived and tedious at times, but I'll go with an 8/10. I still need to see the other Oscar nominated films, but Julianne Moore was outstanding, easily the main highlight in this film. The fear, the denial, the anger, and the impending sense of dread, when Alice (Moore) realizes she can't stop or control the inevitable. Moore did a fantastic job of conveying Alice's emotions, and what's more impressive is Moore's ability to constantly take her performance to the next level, as the story progresses.

The Lazarus Effect

4/10.

Another frustrating horror film, and it's a real shame. Olivia Wilde deserves credit for a strong effort, BUT evil Zoe (Wilde) was too hit-and-miss for me. At times, Wilde is believable, as this sinister psychopath, but over the top screaming Zoe with bulging black eyes brought one too many unintentional laughs out of me. The supporting cast was decent enough (Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, and I forgot the camerawoman's name), and it's not spoiler, because they gave it away in the trailers, but Donald Glover's character is the first to go here.

Spoiler

Zoe's explanation for hell is the main reason why I'll stick with a 4/10. Throughout the movie, you'll see a reoccurring flashback with Zoe as a child in a burning building, and the mystery behind Zoe's nightmare is revealed during the finale: Zoe was playing around with matches as a child, and she started a fire. The fire killed a group of her next door neighbors. Of course, the accident haunted and tormented Zoe for the rest of her life.

When Zoe is restructured as evil/supernatural Zoe, she describes her experience in hell. In hell, you relive the most tragic or traumatizing event/moment (for Zoe, it's the fire) in your life over and over again on a continuous loop for all eternity. The petrified body language and the look on Wilde's face during Zoe's explanation is spot on, and it's easily the main highlight in the movie.

Zoe's descent into hell sparked her killing spree for two main reasons. Obviously, she's possessed by evil spirits, and Zoe was furious after the resurrection, because she dedicated her life to changing and trying to do the right thing after the fire. I can't remember what she said word for word, but Zoe said something along the lines of "I go to hell for that one mistake? ONE MISTAKE! I spent my entire life trying to make up for that mistake, and this is the thanks I get? Are you kidding me???"

Still, The Lazarus Effect effect relies on too many predictable jump scares (the eye rolling fiasco with the resurrected dog stalking and toying with Evan Peters in the lab), and the flickering lights trick is just annoying after the first time you see it. I'll give a few bonus points for the genuinely surprising swerve at the end, but The Lazarus Effect squanders a promising and intriguing story to produce another formulaic and generic horror film.

February 27-March 1 & the upcoming weekend

Focus easily grabbed the #1 spot to bring the current worldwide total to $36,753,496, while The Lazarus Effect opened in the #5 spot, and the current total for TLE sits at $12,300,316.

As far as Focus opening at #1 goes, it's really nothing to brag about in the grand scheme of things. The movie took the number one spot over a film that's been around since February 13 (Kingsman), and Focus had a reported production budget of $50,000,000. I think it's time to consider the realistic possibility of Will Smith losing some of his mystique as a powerhouse draw at the box office.

Box Office Mojo.com is predicting an easy debut at #1 for Chappie, so it'll be a one and done week at #1 for Focus. Chappie currently holds a 30% on RT, but I'm still pumped for the movie.

Although, with all the buzz surrounding a new Alien film, Blomkamp could use some positive momentum, because District 9 (I guess I'm one of the few people, who actually enjoyed Elysium) was released back in 2009.

Also, BOM predicts another flop with Unfinished Business. I don't have a problem with Vince Vaughn in reduced roles (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), or when he sticks to the sidekick/bumbling friend routine (Wedding Crashers, The Internship), but his shtick is just tiresome in leading roles. Honestly, the trailers for Unfinished Business are pretty dull, and you get the feeling it's just another run-of-the-mill Vince Vaughn comedy with the same old routine.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Kingsman: The Secret Service - 7.5/10: Kingsman was a surprisingly fun & entertaining film filled with amazing action sequences that are pretty much worth the price of admission all on their own. Colin Firth is excellent, Samuel L. Jackson is entertaining as usual & the young lead was unexpectedly good as well. The only actor/actress I didn't care for was the women who plays the lead's mom, she was pretty awful & overacted most of the time. I also had a few issues with the story at times & what characters/plot points the director chose to spend time on but overall I'd say it's definitely worth a watch.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The top 10 highest grossing films so far of 2015 are....


1. Fifty Shades of Grey
$527,705,915

2. Taken 3
$287,605,079

3. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
$259,423,000

4. Kingsman: The Secret Service
$248,325,000

5. Jupiter Ascending
$152,054,000

6. From Vegas to Macau II
$113,710,000

7. Dragon Blade
$101,580,000

8. Wolf Totem
$80,090,000

9. The Wedding Ringer
$73,991,034

10. Focus
$71,573,000



The top 5 kept their places this week but From Vegas to Macau II made it up to #6. Wolf Totem and Focus both made the top 10 as well. Fifty Shades of Grey already breaking the $500,000,000+ mark is impressive. Two new films will be released this week. I expect Cinderella to make the top ten easily given how popular the Disney cartoon it's based off is.


Upcoming releases:
3/13: Cinderella
3/13: Run All Night

 

[Dave]

The Wedding Ringer

Having seen this movie a couple of days ago, I really had to have a think about what I wanted to write a short review about. And now that I've had a think, I want to say that I actually enjoyed this movie. As much as I like Kevin Hart, I have to see past my bias for his work and be objective. And objectively speaking, this movie was everything that it set out to be. And everything that I expected it to be, honestly. Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't going to win Oscars, or really any awards. But when it set out to be a heartfelt buddy comedy, I have to think that it accomplished that goal.

Kevin Hart might have been the star of the show but Josh Gad was by far the most entertaining. I hadn't seen him anything, other than Frozen, and I really liked him. I was sympathetic to his plight and lifted when everything started to go his way. And of course the ending is one of the most played out and cliché endings in cinema but it didn't matter to me. Any other ending would have been cruel and nonsensical.

Let me be clear, this movie is just fun. It has enough laugh out loud moments to get you laughing and a feel good factor throughout. If you're looking for a fine piece of cinematography, then this movie isn't for you. But if you want to relax and laugh for an hour and half, then I can't really recommend it any more.

Rating: 6.5 / 10