July 3rd
Box Office
$83 million opening wknd
$330 million domestic total
$717 million worldwide total
Review: The year 2010 brought audiences two equally entertaining films about animated villains struggling with their own identity. And while the less-popular-than-it-should-have-been Megamind is definitely worth a viewing, it was Despicable Me that really lent itself to a sequel. In Despicable Me 2, Gru is recruited to help take down a new supervillain.
It's pretty much the same plot of the first film, but puts Gru's relationship with his new daughters in the backseat, giving about 30% of their time to a partner Gru doesn't really want and 70% to the Minions, who don't really have much to do with the story at all until the end. All in all, DM2 is really about 30 minutes worth of story, with filler comedy bits. But boy are those moments hilarious. So, although it lacks the inventiveness and drive of its predecessor, this sequel is just as funny as the original.
The Final Word: 3.5/4 - Go buy a ticket.
Box Office
$10 million opening wknd
$32 million domestic total
Review: Stand-up comedian Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man) has been blowing up the past few years. So expectations were high for his new stand-up film, recorded at his sold-out shows at Madison Square Gardens. It is a relatively hilarious set, giving audiences a few more Kevin Hart-isms like "Bum-bump" to add to their collection of "Alright, alright, alriiiight," "Say it with ya chest," and "You gon' learn today!" There are a few bits that don't quite translate from being live to being onscreen, but it's a strong entry in the Kevin Hart stand-up series.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.
Box Office
$29 million opening wknd
$87 million domestic total
$176 million worldwide total
Review: Every summer my brother and I would spend a lot of time at our grandparents house out in the sticks. There wasn't much to do in town, but "Papa" had an admirable selection of Westerns and old t.v. shows. In addition to films like The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and shows like The Three Stooges and The Beverly Hillbillies, a favorite of ours was an old Western t.v. show: The Lone Ranger. A character who's been around in various forms for decades, the Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto have been revived by Disney, attempting to resurrect the Western as they did the Pirate epic with Pirates of the Caribbean.
The problem is, they tried to waaaay too hard to make it PotC. It's the same director, the same writers, the same producers, the same star, but none of the originality (I wonder why?). The film is pretty much crap. The writers thought themselves too clever, forgetting to craft a real human story amongst all their (too obvious) plot twists and quirks, while Johnny Depp continues his unfortunate trend of simply playing a caricature of his own past roles. The Lone Ranger deserved more.
The Final Word: 1/4 - Maybe watch it on t.v. one day if you're bored.
July 5th
Box Office
$3 million opening wknd
$14 million domestic total
Review: A rather typical indie flick, The Way Way Back moves past its own familiarity to create a memorable experience. In the film, socially awkward Duncan struggles to find his place on a vacation with his mother and her boyfriend. The more well known star of the movie is Steve Carell (The Office), but unfortunately he's given a rather static character. Rather, it's the lesser known (but better) Sam Rockwell (Moon) who steals the film as a water park owner who becomes a mentor to Duncan. Nothing particularly crazy happens in the film, but that's not why you watch a movie like this; you watch it because it captures realistic human experiences worthy of empathy and appreciation. The Way Way Back encourages us to do just that so charmingly you can't help but feeling a little happier leaving the theater.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.
July 11th
Box Office
n/a (t.v. premiere)
Review: If you missed SyFy's premiere of Sharknado, you pretty much missed the reason for your existence. Sorry. Luckily it will be coming to theaters soon, apparently, so it's not too late for you to miss all the sharks-falling-from-the-sky action. In the so-over-the-top-it's-fun style of so many in the (usually genetically enhanced) animal-attack genre, Sharknado is a ridiculous thrill ride. The only problem: the promised hailstorm of finned predators really only comes at the end. Your title promised us more, Sharknado! But we'll watch you anyway, cause how could we resist?
The Final Word: 2/4 - Wait to rent it.
July 12th
Box Office
$41 million opening wknd
$118 million domestic total
$140 million worldwide total
Review: Somewhere in the middle of Grown Ups 2, I realized I had never actually sat down to watch all of the first film. If it's anything like the sequel, I think I'll pass. With all its poop and penis and profanity jokes, I'm sure I would have loved the film if I could record my age with one digit. But I can't And I can't take back the two hours of my life that was Grown Ups 2. It had a couple of laughs, sure, but at what cost? The film also had a bizarre problem with tonality. It markets itself as a film for children, and much of the humor is certainly aimed at that demographic, but then there are more mature and dirtier parts that come out of nowhere and really just confused me. Surely you can find something better to do with your time.
The Final Word: 1/4 - Maybe watch it on t.v. one day if you're bored.
Box Office
$37 million opening wknd
$94 million domestic total
$295 million worldwide total
Review: I'm not entirely sure why so many people are saying things like, "It's a shame an original movie like Pacific Rim didn't make more money." Um, Pacific Rim wasn't original. Like, at all. But, that's not to say their comment is completely off the mark. I'd instead say, "It's a shame a movie that's as much fun as Pacific Rim didn't make more money." And I mean it; the film really was a lot of fun. It's a good balance between larger than life action and quality filmmaking. It's like a more serious Sharknado. Maybe... If we built robots to fight the sharks... Ok, not a great comparison, but the general idea is the same. Pacific Rim gives us exactly what it says it will: Gundam-Wing/Power-Rangers/Halo-Spartan/Transformers-looking robots fighting alien monsters. But it does it in a way that doesn't let the action take away from the development of some quite likable characters.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.
July 19th
Box Office
$42 million opening wknd
$111 million domestic total
$140 million worldwide total
Review: Did you even watch the trailer for The Conjuring?!? That alone was terrifying. From the ingenious mind of James Wan (Saw [the original amazing one, not the sequels]), the man who along with Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) is ushering in a new wave of horror filmmakers turning micro-budget films into multi-million dollar events, The Conjuring feels like a classic haunting film of the 70s and 80s, like The Amityville Horror, which makes sense because it chronicles the supernatural dealings of the Warrens, supernatural investigators who inspired both Amityville and Conjuring. (Whew, that was a long sentence!) Although it lacked as many real jump scares as I would have liked, this is a film filled with suspense and a story which actually drives the film, rather than being a vapid vessel for meaningless scares as so many of its contemporaries are.
The Final Word: 3.5/4 - Go buy a ticket.
July 26th
Box Office
$4 million opening wknd
$11 million domestic total
Review: This is a tricky one. Some people have entirely bought into Fruitvale Station, lauding the film as an important voice in the nation's journey towards race reconciliation, showing that "thugs" can't be so easily judged on the surface. Some people have completely bashed Fruitvale Station, criticizing the film as too occupied with manipulating emotions about racial inequality, showing an unrealistic view of victimization. It may be the easy way out, but, as I do so often in political discussions, I find myself somewhere in the middle. Well acted and well directed, the film follows a day in the life of Oscar Grant, a recovering drug dealer; specifically it chronicles the last day of his life before being accidentally murdered by a police officer in the first hours of January 1st, 2009. Oh, and adding fuel to the debate, Fruitvale Station is based on a true story.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.
Box Office
$1 million opening wknd
$3.3 million domestic total
$3.4 million worldwide total
Review: Well now that we've talked about race, let's talk about gender equality! There have been lots of hilarious comedies about the age-old journey to lose one's virginity. The examples are endless: American Pie, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Porky's, Sex Drive, and literally droves of more. It's a very popular genre. And that makes sense, it's an alluring subject. But what do all of the listed examples and almost all other non-listed examples have in common? They all feature a male protagonist thinking he will achieve manhood if he can simply do "it." You could make the argument, and many do, that this approach not only subjugates women, but also assumes the quest for sex is a drive exclusive to men.
The Final Word: 2/4 - Wait to rent it.
Box Office
$53 million opening wknd
$100 million domestic total
$259 million worldwide total
Review: Everyone hated X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It's true. And they should have; I definitely did. But Fox decided Wolverine was worth another shot at a standalone film. The Wolverine is a decent film, filled with some acceptable action. And you could get into a couple of issues with the plot, but the real grievance I'd like to file is not with the story on its own, but with the story as it relates the X-Men series. In The Wolverine, Logan is grieving from his loss of Jean, the woman he loved, in X3; he's abandoned the X-Men and curses his immortality. He's lost anything to live for. By the end of the film, predictably, he overcomes this internal conflict, learns to live again, and finds a reason to fight once more. It's actually a decent amount of character development (although, again I'll say that the story is a bumpy, convoluted ride), but by the end of The Wolverine, the X-Men series hasn't gone anywhere. Yes, Logan returns, but without The Wolverine we never would have known he had run away in the first place. It's an interesting little side story, but it's not necessary. And that's what the film felt like; fun enough, but entirely unnecessary.
The Final Word: 3/4 - Go buy a matinee ticket.
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