Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[jvcarroll]

I like weird. Dreamworks does fork over a lot of it. Some works, some doesn't. But all attempts are valid through my Gonzoish lens.

 

[Drtooth]

Dreamworks and Pixar are fine with me. And Like I've said a hundred times before, it's those third party and off brand studios I'm more hit and miss about.

As far as that's concerned, I'm not happy about the extortion Fox is pulling with Ice Age 4. I was all set to ignore that to next Tuesday until the announcement that the second EVER Simpsons theatrical cartoon (a short this time) will accompany the film.

I cannot pass that up. I've been a life long Simpsons fan. And I mean Tracy Ullman short life long. I regret missing the theatrical release of Fever Pitch for the American Dad short just because I didn't want to see that movie... same deal with missing National Treasure 2's Goofy Short. Heck, I'd pay to see that short and leave.

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Whoa, wait! They are having an adult show short before a family film? Does that even make sense? What are they thinking?!

 

[Hayley B]

I heard a little about the Simpsons short. It's just going to have Maggie? Or just about Maggie?

 

[Drtooth]

Whoa, wait! They are having an adult show short before a family film? Does that even make sense? What are they thinking?!

Simpsons has been ruled kid friendly since its inception. I grew up when the Simpsons just started, and all the merchandising was focused mainly on children... Children's size T-shirts, Bart Simpson Juice Boxes... even the comic book series, which was touted in several issues of Disney Adventures.

That said, I'm not really sure I'd call Ice Age a kid's movie anymore. There was that gay joke in the third one that was kinda... eh... not kid appropriate.

 

[jvcarroll]

I finally saw Brave. Meh. It was okay. I'll be skipping the Blu-ray. Here's how I rate the films:

1. Incredibles (Most perfect Pixar film ever. Reinvented the superhero film.) A+
2. Ratatouille (Touching, quieter film saved by Brad Bird.)A+
3. Monsters Inc (Love the monsters. Could have been scarier and more muppety.)B+
4. Finding Nemo (Stunning visuals. Dory keeps the film afloat. Not a lot of repeat viewings.)B
5. Toy Story 2 (Better than the first. Still, none of the toys represent any I had as a kid)B
6. Wall-E (Stellar first act. Goes downhill from there. Preaches more than it inspires.)C+
7. Toy Story (I never quite loved this movie. Jim Henson’s Secret Life of Toys has a better premise.)C+
8. Up (Colorful! Fantastic love story. Loved Kevin the Bird. The rest seemed dull and aimless.)C
9. Toy Story 3 (Noble effort. Great ending. Still, it didn’t really touch me. I didn’t cry.)C
10. Cars (Beautiful period esthetics. Great moral. Little soul.)C
11. Brave (Beautiful. Great heroin. Bland music. Forgettable story.)C-
12. Cars 2 (Scraps any charm from the first. Quick pacing helps. Primarily made to sell toys.)C-
13. Bug’s Life (I liked this film better when it was the Three Amigos. Antz had better writing.)D

 

[Drtooth]

You know... I'm starting to wonder if I really want to see Amazing Spider-Man. I do not like Sally Field as Aunt May (I don't like Sally at all, even in Mrs. Doubtfire... actually, I have to amend that... I HATED her in Mrs. Doubtfire), and I hate to be that guy... but I don't think ANYONE can be as strong a J. Jonah Jameson as the guy who played him in the other film trilogy. I do kinda want to see it, but not half as much as I want to see Dark Knight or even Ted.

I heard a little about the Simpsons short. It's just going to have Maggie? Or just about Maggie?

If it's just about Maggie, then it makes up for the fact the writers seem to forget that she's a member of the family. Mainly because she's the daughter they can't use as a soap box for. She is my second favorite Simpson kid, and third favorite member of the immediate family (fourth favorite when you count Abe).

Seriously... 2 theatrical cartoons in the show's 20+ year history... One actual movie too.

 

[jvcarroll]

You know... I'm starting to wonder if I really want to see Amazing Spider-Man. I do not like Sally Field as Aunt May (I don't like Sally at all, even in Mrs. Doubtfire... actually, I have to amend that... I HATED her in Mrs. Doubtfire), and I hate to be that guy... but I don't think ANYONE can be as strong a J. Jonah Jameson as the guy who played him in the other film trilogy. I do kinda want to see it, but not half as much as I want to see Dark Knight or even Ted.



If it's just about Maggie, then it makes up for the fact the writers seem to forget that she's a member of the family. Mainly because she's the daughter they can't use as a soap box for. She is my second favorite Simpson kid, and third favorite member of the immediate family (fourth favorite when you count Abe).

Seriously... 2 theatrical cartoons in the show's 20+ year history... One actual movie too.

This Spidey takes place in high school where Peter is a photographer for the school paper. They'll have to think of the Daily Bugle and J Jonah Jameson for the next film. I'm not sure how they'll work that out because it appears that print media is dead in this world pretty much like it is in the real one. Good-to-great reviews so far.

Amazingly, Ted and Magic Mike are receiving much higher scores than anyone predicted. This weekend will be interesting. I'm not sure which one will win out or if it will be another Brave weekend.

 

[Drtooth]

This Spidey takes place in high school where Peter is a photographer for the school paper. They'll have to think of the Daily Bugle and J Jonah Jameson for the next film. I'm not sure how they'll work that out because it appears that print media is dead in this world pretty much like it is in the real one. Good-to-great reviews so far.

They'll have a place for him somewhere. I'm sure Marvel found a nice place for the character in the post paper world. I just don't know because I don't follow mainstream comics (they keep killing everyone off and rebooting it and starting the cycle over again... and NO Plastic Man?!?!) It does look like a good movie, and I hope it takes the bad taste of Spidey-3 out... but I'm not going to lose sleep if I accidentally or financially have to miss it. I'll try to see it, though. I'm sort of pumped, I guess. Just not as pumped for Batman. Plus... well... Avengers is still burned in my mind, and that kinda hurts the rest of them. it's a hard act to follow.

Amazingly, Ted and Magic Mike are receiving much higher scores than anyone predicted. This weekend will be interesting. I'm not sure which one will win out or if it will be another Brave weekend.

Ted's clearly got the college crowd and Seth MacFarline fans to see that film. I haven't the money to see it this weekend, unfortunately (hence why I'm torn between that and Spidey... I'll have money then). It does seem like an interesting concept, and I'm glad he decided to make it a movie instead of another TV show (that concept would get old fast, and just become like everything else he's done in time). I almost got the chance to see some of the film being shot, but never was able to get to Gloucester that day...

Side note... I WAS at the very mall they were shooting Paul Blart at. And If I didn't run to KB to look to see if they had something, I would've seen Kevin James...

As for Magic Mike... I'm sure it has a certain audience in mind (50 Shades of a certain Audience). But I can't help think about Who's starring in the film and why he continues to get work. I bet he has those teeth from that episode of Pinky and the Brian.

But for Brave... well, it's only as strong as however strong a family audience is. Spidey will be it's biggest competition, but it's got a whole weekend before then. I don't see the same people who would see either of those other movies adding or subtracting to their potential audience. They're both "R" films, after all.

 

[jvcarroll]

They'll have a place for him somewhere. I'm sure Marvel found a nice place for the character in the post paper world. I just don't know because I don't follow mainstream comics (they keep killing everyone off and rebooting it and starting the cycle over again... and NO Plastic Man?!?!) It does look like a good movie, and I hope it takes the bad taste of Spidey-3 out... but I'm not going to lose sleep if I accidentally or financially have to miss it. I'll try to see it, though. I'm sort of pumped, I guess. Just not as pumped for Batman. Plus... well... Avengers is still burned in my mind, and that kinda hurts the rest of them. it's a hard act to follow.



Ted's clearly got the college crowd and Seth MacFarline fans to see that film. I haven't the money to see it this weekend, unfortunately (hence why I'm torn between that and Spidey... I'll have money then). It does seem like an interesting concept, and I'm glad he decided to make it a movie instead of another TV show (that concept would get old fast, and just become like everything else he's done in time). I almost got the chance to see some of the film being shot, but never was able to get to Gloucester that day...

Side note... I WAS at the very mall they were shooting Paul Blart at. And If I didn't run to KB to look to see if they had something, I would've seen Kevin James...

As for Magic Mike... I'm sure it has a certain audience in mind (50 Shades of a certain Audience). But I can't help think about Who's starring in the film and why he continues to get work. I bet he has those teeth from that episode of Pinky and the Brian.

But for Brave... well, it's only as strong as however strong a family audience is. Spidey will be it's biggest competition, but it's got a whole weekend before then. I don't see the same people who would see either of those other movies adding or subtracting to their potential audience. They're both "R" films, after all.

You're right. I think Brave will stay at number one, but unlike Afro Circus I see drop-off because viewers are less likely to come for repeat viewings.
I predict something like this (give or take a few M)

$29M Brave
$22M Ted
$18M Magic Mike