May 31 2009
"Up" took off at the box office, riding a wave of reviews that reached for superlatives such as masterwork, enchanting and exquisite. Top 10 lists for 2009, here it comes.
The Pixar movie made a reported $68.2 million this weekend. The Associated Press reports that's the third-best opening for a film from Disney-owned Pixar, just behind the $70 million debuts for "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles."
Here's how the box office breaks down, according to hollywood.com:
1. "Up," $68.2 million.
2. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," $25.5 million.
3. "Drag Me to Hell," $16.6 million.
4. "Terminator Salvation," $16.1 million.
5. "Star Trek," $12.8 million.
6. "Angels & Demons," $11.2 million.
7. "Dance Flick," $4.9 million.
8. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," $3.9 million.
9. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $1.9 million.
10. "Obsessed," $665,000.
May 31 2009
Like lots of other folks, I plunked down my $6.50 (matinee price) to see "Drag Me to Hell" on Saturday. Universal Studios did not show us the movie in advance, which is why we had to use a wire review, and I was curious about the Sam Raimi horror picture that earned raves.
It's a darn good little movie with scenes that will make you want to swat at the fly on Alison Lohman's face or cringe at the gallons of fluids poured onto her. She plays a bank loan officer who is cursed by an old woman who begs to stay in her about-to-be foreclosed house and who takes out her false teeth with alarming and frightening frequency. That's nothing compared with the curse she levels on the usually soft-hearted young woman.
"Drag Me" has everything, from suggestions about sacrificing animals to moments where the Earth opens up and drags someone to hell. What it didn't have was enough of those to stop three -- yes three -- people from texting during the movie.
Almost no one talks on the phone but they have no problem with texting. Maybe if someone threatened to drag them to hell. Or perhaps the theater lobby for a reminder about electronic etiquette.
May 28 2009
New publicity pictures of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." Both are by Kimberly French for Summit Entertainment:
Kristen Stewart in the upper photo with -- of course -- Robert Pattinson and, below, with Edi Gathegi. The sequel is due Nov. 20.
May 28 2009
Pittsburgh Film Workers Association is accepting DVD entries for a film festival devoted to independent production. They must be postmarked by June 30 and should be submitted in triplicate. Go to www.pghfwa.com for details and forms.
May 28 2009
Filmmaker Laura Magone will talk about her film, "One Extraordinary Street," after a 6:30 p.m. showing May 30 at the Grand Theatre, 207 Second Ave. in Elizabeth. Admission, $3.
The documentary chronicles the lives and successes of people who grew up on Park Avenue in Monongahela. They include Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana; 31st U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Carl Vuono; Disney Channel founder Jim Jimirro; and former NFL star and Nerf football inventor Fred Cox.
The movie has been enhanced since its premiere and the screening will include a blooper reel. See www.elizabethgrand.com for directions to the theater, roughly 15 miles south of Pittsburgh off Route 51.
May 28 2009
John Ratzenberger, known to legions of "Cheers" fans as postman Cliff Clavin, is Pixar's lucky charm. He is the only actor whose voice can be heard in all 10 Pixar films:
"Toy Story" (1995) - Hamm the piggy bank.
"A Bug's Life" (1998) - P.T. Flea.
"Toy Story 2" (1999) - Hamm.
"Monsters, Inc." (2001) - Yeti the snow monster.
"Finding Nemo" (2003) - A school of moonfish.
"The Incredibles" (2004) - A philosophical character named Underminer.
"Cars" (2006) - A Mac truck.
"Ratatouille" (2007) - Mustafa, head waiter.
"WALL-E" (2008) - John, a human aboard the spaceship Axiom.
"Up" (2009) - Construction foreman Tom, who tries to persuade Carl to sell his home to Tom's boss, a major contractor who has scooped up all the land in sight.
May 28 2009
"Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" are still tops on the Tomatometer score kept by the Rotten Tomatoes website but new movie "Up" holds its own with a 96 percent fresh (or positive) score.
Here is how the Pixar lineup stacks up:
"Toy Story" - 100 percent fresh.
"A Bug's Life" - 91 percent.
"Toy Story 2" - 100 percent.
"Monsters, Inc." - 95 percent.
"Finding Nemo" - 98 percent.
"The Incredibles" - 97 percent.
"Cars" - 75 percent.
"Ratatouille" - 96 percent.
"WALL-E" - 96 percent.
"Up" - 96 percent.
May 26 2009
The other day, a colleague asked where I would rank "Up" among Pixar films. It's a wonderful movie but it won't nudge "Toy Story" or "Finding Nemo" aside for me.
A larger question is what are the top 25 animated movies of all time. Moviefone's editors asked and answered that, leaning heavily on Disney and Pixar releases (before they were one and the same), and here are their picks:
25. Dumbo (1941)
24. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
23. Lady and the Tramp (1955)
22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
21. The Jungle Book (1967)
20. Princess Mononoke (1999)
19. Pinocchio (1940)
18. Toy Story 2 (1999)
17. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
16. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
15. The Iron Giant (1999)
14. Wall-E (2008)
13. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
12. Ratatouille (2007)
11. Finding Nemo (2003)
10. Fantasia (1941)
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
8. Spirited Away (2002)
7. Cinderella (1950)
6. The Little Mermaid (1989)
5. Bambi (1942)
4. The Incredibles (2004)
3. Shrek (2001)
2. The Lion King (1994)
1. Toy Story (1995)
May 24 2009
Box office figures normally reported on Sunday are going to be a day late -- and many dollars more -- this weekend thanks to the Memorial Day holiday.
However, the Associated Press reports that distributor 20th Century Fox estimated "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" took in $53.5 million from Friday to Sunday. Distributor Warner Bros. told the AP that "Terminator Salvation" pulled in $43 million over the same period, plus $13.4 million on opening day Thursday. Its total since debuting is $56.4 million. Shown above is Christian Bale as John Connor in "Terminator."
Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com estimates that the industry's overall take for the first three days of the holiday weekend is running even with last year, when the fourth "Indiana Jones" had a $100 million three-day debut, the wire service says.
May 21 2009
This just in:
Overture Films and Paramount Vantage Set Release of
New Film by Michael Moore
Oscar-winning filmmaker to explore ‘the wonders of capitalism'
(Beverly Hills, CA) May 21, 2009- Overture Films and Paramount Vantage have announced that Oscar-winner Michael Moore's new documentary feature will be released domestically on Oct. 2, 2009. The as-yet-untitled film will explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown and take a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country" - the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.
On this, the 20-year anniversary of his masterpiece Roger & Me, Moore returns to the issue that began his career: the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world. But this time the culprit is much bigger than General Motors, and the crime scene far wider than Flint, Michigan.
Says Moore: "The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn't have enough wealth. They wanted more -- a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money. Now, why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie."
The release date is a year and a day after the United States Senate voted to hand Wall Street a $700 billion bailout.
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