WEEKEND PIC - June 1 - 3, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

a) SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (fantasy adventure with Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Eddie Marsan) Rated * * * (3 stars): With the classic Grimm tale set more in Mordor and Game Of Thrones territories than Disneyland, this version seems to be aimed at the young adults rather than family. The sets, landscapes and costumes are spectacular; the subplots are a bit derivative (of LOTR and Princess Mononoke) and there is a little love triangle to interest the females in the audience. However, Stewart's acting (or rather non-acting) is distracting as well as annoying. On the whole, this alternate version is still watchable. (Reviewed below)

b) PIRANHA 3DD (horror movie spoof with Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, Chris Zylka, David Koechner, David Hasselhoff, Katrina Bowden, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Meagan Tandy, Paul James Jordan, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, Paul Scheer and Gary Busey) Rating * 1/2 (1.5 stars): If you think that the Piranha movie franchise is about those pesky little flesh-eating fish, you probably have not seen any of the films. The franchise is an unabashed frat-boy's lure with boobs, bikinis and bloody mayhem as bait. This one, arguably the third in the series, offers more of the same in 3D. Well, throw in Ving Rhames and The Hoff and we get some inside-Hollywood jokes that not all that funny. Expect some raunchy scenes to be cut.

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MEN IN BLACK 3 (sci-fi comedy with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger) Rated * * * (3 stars): Returning after going MiA for 10 years, this third MiB instalment does not offer anything new in terms of plot. In fact it takes us Back To The Future - with Agent J (Smith) travelling back to the Sixties to rescue Agent K (Jones and Brolin as his younger version) and saving the world from a mad alien called Boris The Animal (Clement). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld at US$215-million, this halted production is still fun and funny at times. (Reviewed below)

2. DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell) Rated * * * (3 stars): Tim Burton's re-imagination of the Sixties TV series is both inventive and entertaining. Depp is delightful as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who finds himself 'resurrected' in the hip Seventies. He is supported by Eva Green's sexy witch Angelique as well as the Burton regular, Carter. Indeed, Depp and Green spice up the Gothic-styled love triangle with a violent tryst that forms the highlight of the film. (Reviewed below)

3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING (comedy with Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker and Anna Kendrick) Rated * * (2 stars): Despite its cast of A-list stars, this 'mom-com' is largely uninspired and unfunny. The characters are stereotypical and often blandly portrayed. A better way to put it is 'Don't Expect Too Much From This Expectant Moms' Film'.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (fantasy adventure)
Cast: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone and Eddie Marsan 
Director: Rupert Sanders
Screenplay: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock
Time: 125 mins
Rating:  *  *  * (out of 4)

Hemsworth and Stewart as the Huntsman and Snow White

PREAMBLE: We have two Snow White flicks this year but the two are as different as day and night. While Mirror Mirror is a comedy spoof aimed at families, Snow White and The Huntsman is a darker fantasy for young adults, sans the adult-type visuals and humour.

Director Rupert Sanders, making his feature debut on a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and John Lee Hancock, maintains a murky and gritty narrative that stretches over more than two numbing hours. Yes, it's somewhat like taking the Grimm tale into Game Of Thrones territory, complete with lofty cliffs and expansive snowy locales.

Charlize Theron as the Queen and her fluid mirror

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?  This alternate version set in medieval Europe has a witch named Ravenna (Charlize Theron) as the evil stepmother who kills the king on their wedding night, seizes the throne and imprisons Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in a tower dungeon. Somehow, Snow White manages to escape not to the woods but to the Dark Forest where the queen's magic has no effect.

To get Snow White back, the queen and her beloved brother (Sam Spruell) 'hire' a nameless Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to track her down. Meanwhile, Snow White's former childhood playmate (Sam Clafin as William) is also looking for her, setting up the love triangle that Stewart of the Twilight Saga is so famous for. What about the Dwarfs? you ask. Well, they come in rather late in the movie - and none are whistling while they work. They do sing, surprisingly.

HITS & MISSES: First, the hits. I like the breath-taking landscapes and fantasy sets that remind us of those in Lord Of The Rings and Princess Mononoke. These help to ground the fantasy with a touch of credulity besides enhancing the movie's eye-candy value. Ditto that for the fabulous costumes by Colleen Atwood.

I also like the way the dwarfs (eight here, not just seven) are being portrayed by top British stars the likes of Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson and Toby Jones who are computer-digitized to look half their size. They provide comic relief and a touch of rough humour in an otherwise solemn and brooding film.

As for the misses, the most outstanding is Miss Stewart whose range of expressions alternates between pouting petulance and silent rage. In other words, she is still playing Bella here. Well, one can easily argue that her Snow White probably gets that attitude after being shut up in the dungeon for so many years. I am inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, having seen her play the audacious teen rocker Joan Jett in The Runaways. I believe she can act better if directed to do so. Theron tends to overact, bursting into her evil rages ever so often; while Hemsworth provides the beefcake moments.

The other gripe is the overstretched length of the film in which the film-makers try their utmost to provide the character psycho-analyses for the evil Queen and even the Huntsman. This is unnecessary in a popular fairy tale and it just cramps the movie with too much baggage. 

THE LOWDOWN: Derivative but highly watchable fare.

The Huntsman and the Dwarfs

Was That Cannes Kiss Staged or What?

MAY 28, 2012 - They show movies at the Cannes Film Festival and red carpet pictures of stars are being posted regularly. However, the most sensational picture (below, from E! Online) is one of Robert Pattinson smooching Kristen Stewart on the balcony last Wednesday night.

This locking of lips between the Twilight co-stars was the kiss that was heard around the world, says E! Online. The kiss should end speculation among fans on whether K.Stew and R.Pattz are an item.

But for me, there's the nagging feeling that the smooch might have been staged to whip up interest on Breaking Dawn Part 2, scheduled to open in the US and elsewhere on November 16.  

Anyway, it has also been reported that Stewart has admitted to the relationship, if indirectly.

MIB 3 Zaps Avengers Off US B-O Perch

MAY 28, 2012 - The Men In Black finally got the job done, dethroning mega-blockbuster The Avengers over the Memorial Day weekend in the US. Chernobyl Diaries also opened, although it barely made a blip on the radar, while Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom had one of the best limited debuts ever. For the three-day weekend the Top 12 earned an estimated US$147.5 million, which is off 32 percent from last year when The Hangover Part II and Kung Fu Panda 2 ruled.

MIB 3 opened to an estimated US$55 million over the weekend, which is Will Smith's third-highest Friday-Sunday debut ever behind I Am Legend (US$77.2 million) and Hancock (US$62.6 million). That's not really an apples-to-apples statistic, though, given how many of Smith's bigger movies didn't opened on Friday. For example, Men in Black II opened on a Wednesday and earned US$54.9 million through its first three days in cinemas. Adjusting for 10 years of ticket price inflation and 3D ticket prices, MIB 3's initial attendance was significantly lower than that of Men in Black II.

While it had to settle for second place, The Avengers was still very impressive. The superhero team-up eased 34 percent to an estimated US$37 million, which is the second-highest fourth weekend ever behind Avatar's US$50.3 million. On Saturday, the movie set a new record by crossing the US$500 million mark in just 23 days. Through Sunday, The Avengers has earned US$513.7 million, and will pass The Dark Knight (US$533.3 million) by Friday to move in to third place on the all-time domestic chart.

Battleship crashed in its second outing, falling 58 percent to an estimated US$10.8 million for the three-day weekend. It's now made US$44.3 million, which is a fraction of recent Hasbro adaptations and is even off from star Taylor Kitsch's John Carter (US$53.2 million) through the same point. The Dictator fared a bit better, dipping 45 percent to an estimated US$9.6 million but that doesn't portend a lengthy box office run for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, which has now earned US$41.4 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for May 25-27, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (-) Men In Black 3 (Sony) $55.0 million ($55.0 million) 1

2. (1) Marvel's The Avengers (BV) $36.9 million ($513.6 million) 4

3. (2) Battleship (Uni.) $10.8 million ($44.3 million) 2

4. (3) The Dictator (Par.) $9.6 million    ($41.4 million) 2

5. (-) Chernobyl Diaries (WB) $8.0 million ($8.0 million) 1

Character Posters From Breaking Dawn Pt 2

MAY 25, 2012 - Nasuntara Edaran Filem, the local distributor of Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn Part 2, has distributed character posters of its top three stars.

Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Taylor Lautner (Jacob) are featured in the trio of images that focus on the colour of their eyes. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Jacob’s signature brown eyes shine bright in his poster, as the werewolf dons a classic grey T-shirt. As for the new Mr and Mrs Cullen -- Edward’s eyes are a light shade of honey, indicating a satiated appetite, while Bella’s burn red, a sign that she is hungry for blood. Edward wears what appears to be a simple grey coat, while Bella is sporting a sexy leather jacket. 

Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 hits most cineplexes on November 16. It opens in Malaysia on Nov 22.

WEEKEND PIC - May 25-27, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

The French Film Festival 2012 at GSC cineplexes offer us a chance to catch Oscar films like The Artist and A Cat In Paris. Check out the sites for their showtimes at http://www.gsc.com.my/News/fff12pklshowtimes.htm and http://www.gsc.com.my/News/fff12mvshowtimes.htm.

a) MEN IN BLACK 3 (sci-fi comedy with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger) Rated * * * (3 stars): Returning after going MiA for 10 years, this third MiB instalment does not offer anything new in terms of plot. In fact it takes us Back To The Future - with Agent J (Smith) travelling back to the Sixties to rescue Agent K (Jones and Brolin as his younger version) and saving the world from a mad alien called Boris The Animal (Clement). Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld at US$215-million, this halted production is still fun and funny at times. (Reviewed below)

b) THE ARTIST (romantic comedy with Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, James Cromwell, Missi Pyle, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, Beau Nelson, Ben Kurland, Jean Dujardin and Stuart Pankin) Rated * * * * (4 stars): This French-made black-and-white silent movie takes us back to the era of Hollywood when sound began to invade the movies. The new 'fad' puts popular silent film star George Valentin (Dujardin) in a quandary. However, his friendship with starlet Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and his beloved canine sidekick Jack (played by Uggy) help to save him from the depths of despair. (Click here for the review)

c) A CAT IN PARIS (animated suspense comedy with Dominique Blanc, Bernadette Lafont, Jean Benguigui, Bruno Salomone, Oriane Zani) Rated * * * (3 stars): An old fashioned animated flick about a young Parisian girl who discovers that her cat spends its nights helping a genial thief burgle some of the city’s wealthiest homes. Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol, this is a charming and visually sparkling Parisian fantasy with a dark edge. Too bad, it slips into a cops-and-robbers tale at the end.

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (sci-fi fantasy with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): I take it that by now, every movie-goer worth his salted popcorn would have watched this much-awaited blockbuster of 2012. If you have not, you are credited with much will-power.  What you get here is six superheroes for the price of one cinema ticket. My favourite is The Hulk and Black Widow.  (Reviewed below)

2. DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell) Rated * * * (3 stars): Tim Burton's re-imagination of the Sixties TV series is both inventive and entertaining. Depp is delightful as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who finds himself 'resurrected' in the hip Seventies. He is supported by Eva Green's sexy witch Angelique as well as the Burton regular, Carter. Indeed, Depp and Green spice up the Gothic-styled love triangle with a violent tryst that forms the highlight of the film. (Reviewed below)

3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING (comedy with Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker and Anna Kendrick) Rated * * (2 stars): Despite its cast of A-list stars, this 'mom-com' is largely uninspired and unfunny. The characters are stereotypical and often blandly portrayed. A better way to put it is 'Don't Expect Too Much From This Expectant Moms' Tale'. 


4. GHOST BUDDIES (comedy in Mandarin and Hokkien with Mark Lee, Maggie Shiu Mei Kei, Vivian Tok, Lim Ching Miau, Wee Kheng Ming and Chow Kee Moo) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): It takes an experienced director and a couple of accomplished actors to pull off a dark comedy involving morticians, ghosts and unrequited love. Alas, Mark Cheng and Maggie Shiu do not fit the bill and neither does Hong Kong director Simon Sek. What we get here is an unfunny comedy not unlike the hastily-concocted campfire sketches put up by the kids. Okay, some kids may laugh at some of the gags but I did not hear anyone laughing at the media screening in KL. (Reviewed below)

Avengers Outguns Battleship at US Weekend B-O

MAY 21, 2012 - The Avengers held on firmly to the Number One spot over the weekend in North America, breaking more records in the process. Audiences were not very excited about the new releases as the big-budget actioner Battleship suffered a poor opening in second place. Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy, The Dictator, failed to match the raunchy funny man's past performances, and the all-star pregnancy comedy, What to Expect When You're Expecting, debuted in fifth with weak results.

It was the first time in 14 years that the normally-busy weekend before the Memorial Day holiday frame failed to deliver any US$35-million+ openings causing the top ten to fall below both last year's and 2010's levels.

Overseas, The Avengers banked another US$56 million in its fourth round for a $111.1 million global weekend. The international gross has rocketed to US$723.3 million, bringing the worldwide tally to a staggering US$1.18 billion. This puts The Avengers at Number 4 on the all-time global list right behind Avatar, Titanic, and the final Harry Potter sequel. In another week or so, The Avengers will beat the Hogwarts clan and settle into what should be its final resting place with a bronze box office medal.

Meanwhile, Universal suffered a pricey misfire with the big-budget Battleship which just didn't connect with moviegoers. Costing at least US$209 million to produce, with no other studios sharing the financial risk, the naval adventure opened to only US$25.4 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for May 18-20, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (1) Marvel's The Avengers (BV) $55.0 million ($457.0 million) 3

2. (-) Battleship (Uni.) $25.3 million ($25.3 million) 1

3. (-) The Dictator (Par.) $17.4 million ($24.4 million) 1

4. (2) Dark Shadows (WB) $12.7 million ($50.9 million) 2

5. (-) What to Expect When You're Expecting (LGF) $10.5 million ($10.5 million) 1

MEN IN BLACK 3 - Agents J & K Still Gets The 'L'

MEN IN BLACK III (sci-fi comedy in 3D & IMAX)
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve and Nicole Scherzinger
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Screenplay: Etan Cohen, David Koepp, Jeff Nathanson, Michael Soccio and Lowell Cunningham (comics).  
Time: 105 mins
Rating:  *  *  * (out of 4)

Brolin and Smith in MiB 3

PREAMBLE: Well, whaddaya know, the MiB have gone MiA for 10 years already! No wonder many of us have forgotten about them as the Men In Cape and bodysuits (aka The Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, et al) hog the cinemas while the Men In Black go missing-in-action. No matter, they are still a barrel of fun in this third outing that comes as more of a surprise than a treat that we have been waiting for.

And with Barry Sonnenfeld back at the helm of this US$215-million production, it is a nostalgic film in more ways than one.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as agents J and K of the secret Men in Black organisation that monitors alien activity on Earth. The 'odd-couple' have their work cut out for them when extra-terrestrial serial killer Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from his maximum security prison on the moon and travels back in time to kill K.

Since only J remembers K's existence, it’s up to him to travel through time, look for a young K (now played by Josh Brolin) and stop Boris from destroying the world once and for all. 

Nicole Scherzinger as Boris' girlfriend

HITS & MISSES: I have never been a fan of time-travel plots and I still don't like them here. However, the time-travel subplot here is just to provide the Back To The Future fantasy to the MiB franchise. The narrative, as well as the mood and tone of the movie, are light-hearted, fun and always on the outer limits of credibility. Again, it is nice to see how a deadpan face like Jones' can generate so much mirth. The Smith & Jones pairing is augmented by Brolin who gives a good representation of how K would be in the Sixties, with most of the sequences accompanied by popular Sixties hits on the soundtrack. 

One of the staple jokes of the MiB series is the celebrity cameos that suggest alien origins. In MiB3, we have a 'twist' that suggests a certain pop art personality is an undercover MiB agent! Still, the mainstay of the MiB series is Rick Baker's creature designs and make-up. Rendered in 3D, the 'monster show' does not disappoint, especially that of a huge fish that attacks diners at a Chinese restaurant. Oh yes, there are also a couple of cool vehicles like the giant wheel hover-bikes (pic, below) used by Agents J and K.

THE LOWDOWN: Agents J and K still provide the L!

IMDb's 10 Most Anticipated Summer Hits of 2012

MAY 17, 2012 - After Marvel's The Avengers, what's next for this 'summer cinema'? you may be asking. Well, IMDb has released a list of the most anticipated not-yet-released-in-America movies of summer 2012 as determined by page views on IMDb.

Expectedly, The Dark Knight Rises (above) tops the list. The rest are as follows (with their release dates in brackets):

1.     The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

2.      Prometheus (June 8)

3.      The Amazing Spider-Man (July 3)

4.      Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1)

5.      Battleship (May 18, in US)

6.      Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22)

7.     The Expendables 2 (June 17)

8.     The Bourne Legacy (August 3)

9.     G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29)

10.   Men In Black III (May 25)

* The rankings are determined by page views on IMDb since January 1, 2012 for all upcoming wide releases scheduled to appear in cinemas between May 18 and August 31, 2012.

WEEKEND PIC - May 18-20, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

Sorry, I have not been able to catch any of the New Movies this week. However, my pick for the week is as follows:

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (sci-fi fantasy with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): I take it that by now, every movie-goer worth his salted popcorn would have watched this much-awaited blockbuster of 2012. If you have not, you are credited with much will-power.  What you get here is six superheroes for the price of one cinema ticket. My favourite is The Hulk and Black Widow.  (Reviewed below)

2. DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell) Rated * * * (3 stars): Tim Burton's re-imagination of the Sixties TV series is both inventive and entertaining. Depp is delightful as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who finds himself 'resurrected' in the hip Seventies. He is supported by Eva Green's sexy witch Angelique as well as the Burton regular, Carter. Indeed, Depp and Green spice up the Gothic-styled love triangle with a violent tryst that forms the highlight of the film. (Reviewed below)

3. THE LADY (biodrama with Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonathan Woodhouse, Benedict Wong and Susan Wooldridge) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Just like The Iron Lady, this biopic on Aung San Suu Kyi (directed by Luc Besson) is flawed. It skips a huge chunk of her earlier life and youth - and takes us to the part of her life that has been well documented. Still, we get excellent performances from Michele Yeoh as Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her loving and long-suffering husband. I would recommend it just for Yeoh's effort and fans of the Myanmar activist. (Reviewed below)

4. SAFE (crime thriller with Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee, Danny Hoch and James Hong) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Strictly for Statham fans. The plot is a tad ludicrous and everything is over-the-top. Other than Statham's anti-hero and the little Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) whom he rescues, everyone is a baddie and deserves to be shot. Thus the movie builds up to a predictable and bloody mayhem. (Reviewed below)

5. GONE (psychological thriller with Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter, Sebastian Stan, Wes Bentley, Michael Paré) Rating * * (2 stars): It is obvious that wide-eyed beauty Seyfried is the main reason to catch this film but after half-an-hour of this badly-written script, even Seyfried cannot save this hapless movie from banality. Seyfried plays a woman with a history of paranoia who goes berserk when her sister disappears mysteriously. After watching this, Silence of the Lambs looks like total Oscar material.

6. GHOST BUDDIES (comedy in Mandarin and Hokkien with Mark Lee, Maggie Shiu Mei Kei, Vivian Tok, Lim Ching Miau, Wee Kheng Ming and Chow Kee Moo) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): It takes an experienced director and a couple of accomplished actors to pull off a dark comedy involving morticians, ghosts and unrequited love. Alas, Mark Cheng and Maggie Shiu do not fit the bill and neither does Hong Kong director Simon Sek. What we get here is an unfunny comedy not unlike the hastily-concocted campfire sketches put up by the kids. Okay, some kids may laugh at some of the gags but I did not hear anyone laughing at the media screening in KL. (Reviewed below)

Avengers Shatters More B-O Records

MAY 14, 2012 - With Dark Shadows providing little competition, The Avengers had no trouble extending its stranglehold on the box office over the weekend. Marvel's superhero team-up fell 50 percent to an estimated US$103.2 million, which is by far the best second weekend ever ahead of Avatar's US$75.6 million. It also topped The Dark Knight for best second weekend hold for a movie that opened to more than US$120 million. Other new records include fastest movie to reach US$300 million and US$350 million, and highest eight-day, nine-day, and 10-day grosses.


Through Sunday, The Avengers is estimated to have earned US$373.2 million, which ranks 18th on the all-time domestic chart. It's now inevitable that the movie will finish above US$500 million, and it should also claim third place on the all-time chart ahead of The Dark Knight (US$533.3 million).

Worldwide, The Avengers has collected over US$1 billion, with the overseas estimates adding US$628 to the total.

As expected, Dark Shadows couldn't hold a candle to The Avengers, though its estimated US$28.8 million opening is still a bit of a disappointment. Among recent Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaborations, that's a tiny fraction of Alice in Wonderland's US$116.1 million and around half of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's US$56.2 million. Those were both colourful, fun, recognizable properties, and Dark Shadows is much closer to Sweeney Todd and Sleepy Hollow. It significantly out-grossed Sweeney Todd (US$9.3 million at 1,249 locations) but was a bit off from Sleepy Hollow (US$30.1 million).

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for May 11-13, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)


1. (1) Marvel's The Avengers (BV) $103.1 million ($373.1 million) 2

2. (-) Dark Shadows (WB) $28.8 million ($28.8 million) 1

3. (2) Think Like a Man (SGem) $6.3 million ($81.9 million) 4

4. (3) The Hunger Games (LGF) $4.4 million ($386.9 million) 8

5. (5) The Lucky One (WB) $4.0 million ($53.7 million) 4

'Avengers' Kicks Up A Storm In China

MAY 10, 2012 - Marvel's The Avengers picked up 120 million yuan (about US$20 million or RM59.55 million) on its opening weekend, according to China Film Biz. This marks the third highest opening for the film in any region, coming in behind the United States (US$200 million) and the United Kingdom (US$25.4 million).

The Avengers shrugged off the challenge of Peter Berg’s Battleship in China, although the 70 million yuan that the film picked up over the past week still lifted its takings to total 268 million yuan, which is the most ever for a Universal Pictures production in that country.

There are more blockbusters in store for Chinese cinema-goers soon, with the announcement that the worldwide smash hit The Hunger Games has been approved for release early in June and — a little further down the track — the Marvel comic machine that was behind The Avengers will head into the country as it shoots Iron Man 3 with the help of local production company DMG Entertainment. (From AFP)

WEEKEND PIC - May 11-13, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

a) DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell) Rated * * * (3 stars): Tim Burton's re-imagination of the Sixties TV series is both inventive and entertaining. Depp is delightful as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who finds himself 'resurrected' in the hip Seventies. He is supported by Eva Green's sexy witch Angelique as well as the Burton regular, Carter. Indeed, Depp and Green spice up the Gothic-styled love triangle with a violent tryst that forms the highlight of the film. (Reviewed below)


b) GONE (psychological thriller with Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter, Sebastian Stan, Wes Bentley, Michael Paré) Rating * * (2 stars): It is obvious that wide-eyed beauty Seyfried is the main reason to catch this film but after half-an-hour of this badly-written script, even Seyfried cannot save this hapless movie from banality. Seyfried plays a woman with a history of paranoia who goes berserk when her sister disappears mysteriously. After watching this, Silence of the Lambs looks like Oscar material.

c) GHOST BUDDIES (comedy in Mandarin and Hokkien with Mark Lee, Maggie Shiu Mei Kei, Vivian Tok, Lim Ching Miau, Wee Kheng Ming and Chow Kee Moo) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars): It takes an experienced director and a couple of accomplished actors to pull off a dark comedy involving morticians, ghosts and unrequited love. Alas, Mark Cheng and Maggie Shiu do not fit the bill and neither does Hong Kong director Simon Sek. What we get here is an unfunny comedy not unlike the hastily-concocted campfire sketches put up by the kids. Okay, some kids may laugh at some of the gags but I did not hear anyone laughing at the media screening in KL. (Reviewed below)

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (sci-fi fantasy with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): I take it that by now, you would have watched this much-awaited blockbuster of 2012. If you have not, better do so soon or you are going to feel real blur at tea-time chats at the mamak stall.  What you get is six superheroes for the price of one cinema ticket. My favourite is The Hulk and Black Widow. What's yours? (Reviewed below)

2. THE LADY (biodrama with Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonathan Woodhouse, Benedict Wong and Susan Wooldridge) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Just like The Iron Lady, this biopic on Aung San Suu Kyi (directed by Luc Besson) is flawed. It skips a huge chunk of her earlier life and youth - and takes us to the part of her life that has been well documented. Still, we get excellent performances from Michele Yeoh as Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her loving and long-suffering husband. I would recommend it just for Yeoh's effort. (Reviewed below)

3. SAFE (crime thriller with Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee, Danny Hoch and James Hong) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Strictly for Statham fans. The plot is a tad ludicrous and everything is way over-the-top just like in any Statham actioner. Other than Statham's anti-hero and the little Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) whom he rescues, everyone is a baddie and deserves to be shot. Thus the movie builds up to a predictable bloody mayhem. (Reviewed below)

DARK SHADOWS - Nice Change From Twilight Films

DARK SHADOWS (comedy spoof)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiffer and Thomas McDonell
Director: Tim Burton
Screenplay: Seth Grahame-Smith, based on the TV series created by Dan Curtis
Time: 112 mins
Rating:  *  *  * (out of 4)

Bonham Carter, Moretz, Green, Gulliver McGrath, Heathcote, Depp, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller and Michele Pfeiffer

PREAMBLE: Back in 1966, decades before True Blood and Buffy and Angel, Americans had a supernatural TV series called Dark Shadows. This series, which ran up to 1971, was centred on Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire played by Jonathan Frid (who died after this movie was filmed). Curiously, this campy series had such an influence on director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp that they decided to make a modern version of it.

The result is this lavish production that has Depp playing Barnabas Collins as a 200-year-old vampire who wakes up in 1972 and is forced to navigate an era of hippies, pot, disco and free love. With its clock set in the Seventies, I suspect the movie will relate better with the older viewers than the youngsters.

Depp and Eva Green at the start of their love tryst

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? A voice-over prologue relates how the Collins family moved from decadent Liverpool to Maine, in the New World, circa 1795. The family set up a fishing industry in a town named after themselves: Collinwood. Just when the future seemed bright for Barnabas (Depp), a love triangle involving a witch (Eva Green as Angelique), and Barnabas' girlfriend Josette (Bella Heathcote) turned tragic - sending Josette to her watery grave and turning Barnabas into a vampire. Angelique then set the townsfolks on Barnabas who was captured and buried alive.

Fast-forward to 1972 and we find young Victoria Winters (Heathcote again) arriving at Collinwood Mansion to take up a position as governess to David Collins (Gully McGrath), nephew of matriarch Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer). Also staying at the mansion are Elizabeth's brother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller); her impudent teen daughter, Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz) and child psychiatrist Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter). Meanwhile, construction workers unearth Barnabas' coffin and resurrects him...  

HITS & MISSES: Dark Shadows is certainly not among the best of Burton's films and neither is it among Depp's greatest efforts. However, the weird and offbeat Burtonesque ambience and tone are evident and coupled with notable performances by the cast, it is an entertaining effort. The gags that sent our preview audience into laughter and guffaws involve Barnabas' view of the 'modern' world of the Seventies. The vampire is intrigued by lava lamps and the songs of Karen Carpenter, whom he thinks also deals in woodwork. And yes, he also thinks Alice Cooper is the ugliest woman he has ever seen. 

Burton puts the Seventies hit songs to good use, evoking nostalgia and a sense of campiness among the audience. One of the pleasures of watching a Burton movie is seeing Depp in his deadpan, tongue-in-cheek role, setting a jocular mood to the proceedings. His violent love tryst with Eva Green's sexy Angelique is a  highlight of the movie.

Another delight is Chloe Moretz who delivers some of the juiciest lines. Among the flaws are Barnabas' inconsistent reactions to sunlight and other vampire cliches which I prefer to overlook. 

THE LOWDOWN: A mild, escapist fantasy and a nice change from the Twilight flicks.

Depp and Green at the end of their violent love scene

GHOST BUDDIES - Pathetic Excuse for a Comedy

GHOST BUDDIES (comedy in Hokkien and Mandarin)
Cast: Mark Lee, Maggie Shiu Mei Kei, Vivian Tok, Lim Ching Miau, Wee Kheng Ming and Chow Kee Moo
Director: Simon Sek
Screenplay: NA
Time: 95 mins
Rating:  *  1/2 (out of 4)

Maggie Shiu and Mark Cheng in Ghost Buddies

PREAMBLE: Where is Jack Neo when we need him? The Singapore film-maker and director works best with Mark Cheng and Henry Thia in comedies dealing with 'kiasu' Singapore and Malaysia. As the main star of Ghost Buddies, a pathetic spoof shot entirely in the Klang Valley, Mark Cheng looks lost and ineffective. Very few of the gags work - and there was nary a laugh among viewers at the media screening in KL.

Indeed, this one is the pits, even for die-hard fans of Cheng and his Hong Kong co-star Maggie Shiu who is largely wasted in this unfunny film.

Lim Ching Miau and Maggie Shiu

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Cheng plays geeky loser Ah Hui, a funeral parlour assistant who lives with his sister (Vivian Tok) and her family. At work, Ah Hui is secretly in love with his boss Bao Zhu (or Pearl, played by Maggie Shiu) but she has the hots for handsome salesman Chao Ren (Wee Kheng Ming). One day, out of the blue, Ah Hui finds himself communicating with his 'clients' - the dead people.

What is worse is that these stiffs - a suicide lass named Miao Miao (Lim Ching Miau), gambling addict Ah Hu (Lenny Ooi) and sentimental old Uncle Wang (Chow Kee Moo) - all have unfinished business in the living world and they want Ah Hui to help them with their quests. 

A graveyard scene

HITS & MISSES: As the title suggests, Ghost Buddies is supposed to be a dark comedy but it turns out to be neither scary nor funny. In fact the movie's tone seems to have been set in an opening scene at a restaurant which has Ah Hui explaining his work as a mortician to a couple of queasy women and sends them leaving hastily without touching the food. Similarly, Ghost Buddies is a put-off because its gags are utterly childish and silly.

No one has been named as writer of the screenplay in the production notes and I can only guess that the predictable and inane script is done by a 'committee' that rehashes ideas and gags from other comedies. From this film it is obvious that Mark Cheng is unable to carry or sustain a film and Maggie Shiu's talents and experience as an actress are sinfully underutilised. She has a scene where she is supposed to do a sexy pole dance to seduce a guy. That scene is as seductive as a dead fish!    

THE LOWDOWN: Lame, tame and what a shame!

It's Confirmed: Disney's Making 'Avengers' Sequel

MAY 9, 2012 - It's like saying the sun is going to rise again tomorrow but now it is official! Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger said its Marvel Entertainment group is already making a sequel to The Avengers.

The blockbuster movie, featuring a slew of stars including Robert Downey Jr., raked in US$207 (RM621) million in its first three days of release in the United States, bringing its global box office to around US$702 million.

"It's a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much - great characters, great storytelling and a wonderful ability for them to bring their characters and stories to the big screen so effectively," Iger said yesterday during the company's quarterly earnings call.

Disney is aggressively mining Marvel's library of comic-book characters, who were the key attraction when the Burbank entertainment giant acquired Marvel for US$4 billion in 2009. Disney plans to release "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2" next year, Iger said, with a sequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger" due out in 2014.

Iger also said that Disney's parks and resorts planning group, known as the "Imagineers," have been working on ways to incorporate Marvel into the company's theme parks, beyond Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where Universal Studios holds the rights to the characters.

The success of The Avengers is propelling merchandise sales. In many cases, products are sold out, prompting the global licensing team to work with licensees and retailers to restock shelves as quickly as possible. Even Marvel's big green monster, the Hulk (pictured above), is getting love from consumers, thanks to Mark Ruffalo's portrayal of Bruce Banner and his powerful alter ego.

'Avengers' Breaks B-O Records with US$200mil Gross

MAY 7, 2012 - It's been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a huge box office success, although few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented US$200.3 million start this weekend, smashing the previous all-time weekend record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer (US$169.2 million).

While it fell short of setting a new opening day record (that still belongs to Potter), The Avengers was responsible for new high marks in most other major categories. It was the fastest movie ever to reach US$100 million, US$150 million, and US$200 million, and it set new records for Saturday (US$69.7 million) and Sunday (US$50.1 million) grosses. It also had the highest per-cinema average ever for a nationwide release with US$46,057.

Through its first three days, The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor (US$181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger (US$176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk (US$134.8 million). It's still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (US$318.4 million and US$312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend. The big question is how high The Avengers can go — it will obviously hit US$400 million, and with exceptional word-of-mouth (rare "A+" CinemaScore) the movie could even be in line for a US$500 million total.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for May 4-6, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)


1. (-) Marvel's The Avengers (BV) $200.3 million ($200.3 million) 1

2. (1) Think Like a Man (SGem) $8.0 million ($73.0 million) 3

3. (3) The Hunger Games (LGF) $5.7 million ($380.7 million) 7

4. (4) The Lucky One (WB) $5.5 million ($47.9 million) 3

5. (2) The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Sony) $5.4 million ($18.5 million) 2

Avengers Opens With US$80mil Gross

MAY 5, 2012 - It didn't break the opening day record, but Marvel's The Avengers still got off to one of the best starts ever on Friday. The movie earned US$80.5 million, which is the second-highest opening day ever behind last Summer's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (US$91.1 million). More impressively, when you take midnight grosses out The Avengers scored US$61.8 million during the day on Friday, which obliterates Spider-Man 3's previous record of US$49.8 million.

In Malaysia, The Avengers collected US$3.3 million (or RM9.9 million) during its opening weekend from April 26-29.

The Avengers started flexing its muscles in U.S. and Canadian midnight screenings on Friday, earning US$18.7 million and starting Hollywood's summer season with a bang. The movie, from Walt Disney Co. unit Marvel Studios, staked its claim to the second-highest midnight debut for a non-sequel film, coming in about US$1 million shy of the March 2012 total for The Hunger Games at US$19.74 million, according to industry tracker Hollywood.com.

The Avengers, in which Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Black Widow, among others, team up to combat evil on earth, landed at No. 8 on the list of all-time best midnight openings behind several "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" franchise films.

The best midnight debut belongs to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the final movie in that series that conjured up US$43.5 million in its midnight debut last year.

The Avengers accounted for over 80 percent of ticket sales on Friday, but there were other movies in the market as well. Think Like a Man fell 51 percent to an estimated US$2.68 million, which was good for second place.

The Avengers kicks off four months of movie-going filled with effects-laden flicks, adventure, science-fiction, comedy and big-name Hollywood stars meant to lure mostly younger audiences that are out of school for the summer. The season can bring in as much as 40 percent of annual movie ticket sales in the US and Canada.

Already, The Avengers has leveraged its superhero status to a massive box office in international markets after just nine days in cinemas. As of Friday morning, ticket sales reached US$304 million, Disney said, surpassing total overseas receipts for Captain America, the first Iron Man and Thor.

WEEKEND PIC - May 4 - 6, 2012

YOUR GUIDE TO THE WEEKEND MOVIES

NEW THIS WEEK:

a) THE LADY (biodrama with Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonathan Woodhouse, Benedict Wong and Susan Wooldridge) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Just like The Iron Lady, this biopic on Aung San Suu Kyi (directed by Luc Besson) is flawed. It skips a huge chunk of her earlier life and youth - and takes us to the part of her life that has been well documented. Still, we get excellent performances from Michele Yeoh as Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her loving and long-suffering husband. I would recommend it just for Yeoh's effort. (Reviewed below)

b) SAFE (crime thriller with Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee, Danny Hoch and James Hong) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Strictly for Statham fans. The plot is a tad ludicrous and everything is over-the-top. Other than Statham's anti-hero and the little Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) whom he rescues, everyone is a baddie and deserves to be shot. Thus the movie builds up to a predictable bloody mayhem. (Reviewed below)

STILL GOING STRONG:

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (sci-fi fantasy with Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany) Rated * * * 1/2 (3.5 stars): I take it that by now, you would have watched this much-awaited blockbuster of 2012. If you have not,  better do so soon or you are going to feel blur at the tea-time chats at mamak stalls.  What you get is six superheroes for the price of one cinema ticket. My favourite is The Hulk and Black Widow. What's yours? (Reviewed below)

2. THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (horror thriller with Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Sigourney Weaver) Rating: * * * (3 stars): Two girls and three men venture deep into the woods for a weekend break. This is all you need to know about this 'offbeat' horror thriller that messes about with the genre and its archetypes. Written by first-time director Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon (of The Avengers fame), this one boasts a highly inventive script although not all of its 'inventions' work. Should be a blast for horror-comedy fans.

3. BATTLESHIP (sci-fi adventure with Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Jesse Plemons, Tadanobu Asano, Peter MacNicol and Rihanna) Rated * * * (3 stars): Typical summer action blockbuster in the Transformers and Independence Day mould. Okay, the action set pieces are not as awesome of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon but the storyline, centred around a reluctant hero (Kitsch) and his shapely girlfriend (Decker) is more engaging. We need to leave logic aside in order to enjoy the action, though. (Reviewed below)

4. A BETTER LIFE (drama with Demián Bichir, José Julián, Dolores Heredia, Joaquin Cosio and Nancy Lenehan) Rated * * * (3 stars): The reason A Better Life finds its release in Malaysia is because of Demian Bichir's nomination for the Best Actor Oscar. And this is also the main reason for cinema fans to catch this touching story about how a Mexican gardener (Bichir), working illegally in Los Angeles, tries his utmost to provide a better future for his American-born son (Julian). (Reviewed below)