Weekly Box Office and Film Discussion Thread

[jvcarroll]

Total Recall was a movie that wasn't that good in the first place, and became a cult hit for being campy and ridiculous and having AhhNold as the star. Why would anyone even try to remake that? The first one managed to capture some unintentional goofball lightning in a bottle. Trying to give something an edgy reboot that doesn't need edge, in fact, can get hurt by edge just proves that Hollywood will run to familiar ideas rather than risk losing money... and TOTALLY losing money in the process. \

Seriously... a serious remake of Total Recall is like making a Rocky Horror Picture Show, removing all the music, playing Dr. Frankenfurter off straight, and just upping the Horror aspect. Which would also be played straight. Makes no sense.

What's next? A gritty reboot of Plan 9 from outer Space?



I'm forcing myself to see that today. It seems less and less likely there will be a Maggie cartoon, since I can no longer find the film in 3-D in theaters. They said that was exclusive. Personally, I'm just a little intrigued by the Gorilla Pirates.

They play the Maggie short in 2D.

 

[Drtooth]

That's a load off my mind (as long as they have it at the theater I'm going to). That's the MAIN reason I wanted to go, being a Simpsons fan since the Tracy Ullman show.

 

[Drtooth]

Just came from it yesterday, and I have to admit, it was pretty good for a franchise Fox and Blue Sky are ramming down everyone's throats. I'm not one to say they get better with each sequel, but their storytelling does. Every segment had a clear, concise narrative, it didn't feel like they had a grand story arc that got abandoned because they didn't have the time to let it flourish, like the last one. Still don't even know why they went to all that length to have that thing about Diego having to "retire" and then not even follow up on it.

I agree completely. Granny stole the show. Wanda Sykes totally made the character even funnier, really selling that thin line between crabbiness and senility. Pirates were fun too. Loved the very expressive animation on Captain Gutt and the elephant seal. And I gotta admit, Jennifer Lopez's character wasn't quite as weak as I thought she'd be. I liked her better than the Jaguar from Madagascar 3. And most of all, I loved Sid's line that lampshaded the entire third movie, "Then we fought Dinosaurs in the Ice Age! That didn't make any sense!' Not to mention the movie ended on a tooth gag. I love tooth gags.

And the Maggie cartoon was precious too. I hope Paste Eating baby gets absorbed into the show. And I loved the call back to "A Streetcar Named Marge" with the Ayn Rand day care center. I think I was the only one in the audience that remembered that one. Heck, I think I was the only one who even laughed at the other Ayn Rand gag too (the pile of Raggedy Ayn Rand dolls that had angry looks on their faces... priceless).

Still, I think Madagascar 3 was my favorite animated movie of the Summer so far... Paranorman comes out in a few weeks.

 

[Oscarfan]

I just saw Hope Springs (not my idea). Needless to say, I certainly wasn't the key demo for this.

 

[charlietheowl]

Part of Hope Springs was filmed in the town to the east of me. I recognized a couple of shop fronts from one of the previews. Despite local pride, I will not be seeing it.

Anyone going to see The Campaign?

 

[Oscarfan]

Part of Hope Springs was filmed in the town to the east of me. I recognized a couple of shop fronts from one of the previews. Despite local pride, I will not be seeing it.

Our cousins' house was the one they used for the couple's, which was the main (and probably only) reason my parents wanted to see it.

 

[Drtooth]

I just saw Hope Springs (not my idea). Needless to say, I certainly wasn't the key demo for this.

It has "quiet respectable comedy that is released just before the Fall" written all over it. I'd say you'd have to be part of an old married couple to really appreciate the film. Same reason why I don't care for "As Time Goes By" and my local PBS was forcibly shoving it down everyone's throats for a while.

Batman still seems to be going steady... I really hope Totally Recalled dives to the bottom quickly (I'm very disappointed that Men in Black 3 fell so fast, being the only movie in May to actually get a number one spot, ahead of The Avengers). But as far as I'm concerned, I just don't care about anything else, except for Paranorman and The Campaign... at least until Finding Nemo's 3-D rerelease, Hotel Transylvania (ONLY because of Genndy) and Frankenweinie.

 

[Oscarfan]

We saw "The Campaign" tonight. When my dad asked if I wanted to, I declined and said "It looks insipid." And it kinda was. It tried to be smart and satirical, but all the vulgarity took away from it. They're not trying to get laughs from the extreme ridiculousness of how it fits into the campaign like a satire WOULD do, but just tried to make it a laugh before of how inappropriate it was. And the ending? When it cut to black, I went "What?"

I have no desire to see any more Will Farrell movies, ever. Zach at least was a character different from ones he's played; Will's is the same type of moron he always plays.

But, how nice that they gave a married Kenneth Parcell a cameo.

 

[jvcarroll]

We saw "The Campaign" tonight. When my dad asked if I wanted to, I declined and said "It looks insipid." And it kinda was. It tried to be smart and satirical, but all the vulgarity took away from it. They're not trying to get laughs from the extreme ridiculousness of how it fits into the campaign like a satire WOULD do, but just tried to make it a laugh before of how inappropriate it was. And the ending? When it cut to black, I went "What?"

I have no desire to see any more Will Farrell movies, ever. Zach at least was a character different from ones he's played; Will's is the same type of moron he always plays.

But, how nice that they gave a married Kenneth Parcell a cameo.

Agreed.

 

[Drtooth]

Anyone else see Paranorman? I think that's my favorite animated film of the year so far. And it had such a distinct look to it, it's so slick it almost looks like CGI, Stop Motion has come quite a way. Not to mention how there's an astounding 3 Stop Motion movies in a single year... Pirates: Band of Misfits, Paranorman, and Frankenweinie. That's absolutely amazing considering how much of a strangle hold CGI has on everything.

But it's a stone cold shame Paranorman was buried in August, so it isn't going to get its due.