Entertainment Today and Beyond

Never Met a Zombi I Didn’t Like…

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS coming to town, MUMMY franchise in dire straights and TRANFORMERS production schedule reworked!

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS currently has a 57% positive review rating over at RottenTomatoes. The stoner action comedy produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) will be a big test for the box-office potency of its lead, Seth Rogen (Super Bad), when it hits theaters on Friday. I’m still not totally sold that this is going to be a big hit with the masses. Going by my gut, I still feel TROPIC THUNDER will be the new movie of choice for most film goers this month.

One has to wonder if the poor reviews and generally weak word of mouth will end Universal’s MUMMY franchise. I say YES! This is not the type of property that will be re-cast and reinvented a few years down the road. On the upside, it certainly has banked some serious coin for Brendan Fraser who got a gift when the studio gave a green light to this third entry seven years after the second installment.

According to Variety, the production schedule for TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN has been thrown off course do to the severe hand injury its star, Shia LeBeouf, suffered in a car accident last week. The actor, who was also charged with DUI, won’t be back on set for a month which has caused major reshuffling of its filming schedule but overall won’t delay things by more than a few days. Transformers 2 will be Paramount’s big tent pole release next summer and I’m really looking forward to it. Transformers received sort of a love it/hate it reaction but I was in the camp that thought it was a highly entertaining popcorn film and it appears that director Michael Bay and the studio are 100% behind creating a follow up that is both bigger and better! Hey, since Megan Fox co-stars once again, at worst it will be visually appealing!

August 4, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | , , , | Leave a Comment

THE DARK KNIGHT holds the TOP spot at the nations Box-Office for the third straight weekend!

For the third consecutive weekend THE DARK KNIGHT was the nation’s most popular movie as Chris Nolan’s critically acclaimed superhero film pulled in another 43.8 mill in business for a whopping 17 day total of 394.9 million. It narrowly beat out Universal’s The MUMMY: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor which did a somewhat disappointing 42.4 mill to place second in its first weekend in release. The film’s budget was a reported 175 mill. The Dark Knight has clearly hit a nerve with movie goers, attracting not only a vast demographic but getting sizable repeat viewings, putting it on track to become the second highest grossing movie of all time. Personally, I think director Nolan created the perfect movie for a mass audience in search of a hero in our post 9/11 world. The story realistically captures a true feeling of hopelessness and compels the watcher to root for Batman. This is one of those rare examples of the right movie being released at the right time – a formula for mammoth ticket sales.

MAMMA MIA continues its solid run producing 13.1 mill this weekend to give it a three week total of 87.9, well on its way to the 100 million mark. Other box-office news of interest: Kevin Costner’s new political comedy SWING VOTE failed to find an audience as the film barely registered, grossing an anemic 6.3 mill in its first weekend, placing sixth overall. Wall-E passed the 200 mill mark in its sixth week of release, pulling in 4.7 to give it a total of 204.6 mill to date.  HERE’S a COMPLETE List of the Weekend’s TOP TEN

August 4, 2008 Posted by | And Beyond - Trailers & News | Leave a Comment

   

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