More Quick Take Movie Reviews~ The Fighter, Country Strong, True Grit, etc.

As 2010 winds down to a close, I’ve caught up on a bunch of movies and awards contenders. In fact there are really only two big movies I need to see to complete my list of likely Oscar nominees  (127 Hours, Rabbit Hole) and I’m planning on seeing them this week…. So, here are a few quick snippet reviews on some of the rest of the films I’ve seen this season… Oh, and yes, The Social Network and The King’s Speech are still the best movies of the year.

The Fighter: in this true life rocking boxing drama, Mark Wahlberg gives one of his best performances to date as an up and coming fighter in the early 90′s saddled with an overbearing mother (the amazing Melissa Leo), a gaggle of big bad hair sisters and the shadow of his once promising prize-winning boxer brother who has since fallen into drug addiction (Christian Bale who is simply astonishing). Add in Amy Adams as a sexy tough love interest (unlike any role you’ve ever seen her in) and you have a strong entertaining film. The direction gets a little wonky at times and the script is nothing new, but the performances are so good, you can’t help but really enjoy the film. Also look for Oscar noms for Picture, Supporting Actress (Adams and Leo~ who could win), Supporting Actor (Bale who will win) and Editing, plus possible nods for Screenplay and Direction. And if they gave a hairdo Oscar, this film would win hands down for the ghastly and totally appropriate ‘dos worn by the ladies in the film. Grade: A-

Tron Legacy: Oh what a mess! Jeff Bridges returns for this sequel to the video game sci-fi film from 1982. Unfortunately, like the first one, this one has a horrible script that makes no sense. Add to it unexciting visuals (no need for 3D~ Tangled was more exciting in 3D with its floating butterflies), stilted lame action, cardboard characters and moments of utter boredom, and you have a big ole bust of an event film. At least the soundtrack by Daft Punk is awesome. Grade: C-/D+

I Love You Phillip Morris: Jim Carrey is fantastic in this true story about a con man who kept breaking out of prison for love. It’s a hilarious and fascinating look at the lengths to which one man will go to achieve the life he wants and the ingenious things he does to make it happen. Plus, Ewan MacGregor is utterly adorable as his love interest. The movie will move you and make you bust a gut laughing at the same time. Grade: A

Morning Glory: Lucky for this generic comedy that it possessed two incredibly strong weapons in its arsenal in the form of Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams as a veteran news man and his fledgling morning show producer. Both actors are at the top of their game and help the film rise above its simple (Devil Wears Prada in a news room) script. It’s breezy, funny and utterly predictable. Nonetheless, it’s enjoyable and Diane Keaton (as a fellow veteran morning show host) is at her goofy best. Grade: B

Made in Dagenham: Sally Hawkins shines in this true story of a group of female Ford factory workers who fight for equal rights and equal pay in England in the 60′s. It’s an inspiring film that moves you to laughter and tears and features some great supporting work by Rosamund Pike and Miranda Richardson. Grade: A-

True Grit: This movie is a lot of things~ It’s a western, but it’s also a story about a young girl (Halee Steinfeld in a wondrous debut performance) searching for revenge for her slain father. Plus it has the wacky touch of the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men, Fargo) as writers and directors. So, you would think it could be quite an interesting fun ride. Well, you’re half right. It’s interesting, but it’s not that fun…. What’s good: Steinfeld’s Oscar worthy performance and the gorgeous cinematography. What’s bad: it gets boring, a horribly miscast Matt Damon and an odd turn by Josh Brolin who both don’t really fit in the film with their contemporary styles and Jeff Bridges basically just does a more mush mouthed Crazy Heart part 2 performance that is certainly not award worthy… Despite, all the things that bothered me about it, I still found it decent in this year of a lot of crap. Grade: B

Another Year: in his latest super talky British independent film, director/writer Mike Leigh bores you to tears with his take of one long-lasting couple (Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen) and the lonely people who inhabit their lives. The film moves at a glacial pace, nothing happens, and you get the theme of the film in the first 5 minutes (in a great cameo by Imelda Staunton). The thing that raises the grade of the film by leaps and bounds is the extraordinarily good performance of Lesley Manville as one of those lonely souls~ an incredibly desperate and boozy middle-aged woman hanging on to her fading looks and delusions of the past. I found myself begging for Manville to be in every scene. Unfortunately, she wasn’t and I had to pound some more Diet Coke to stay awake. Grade: C-

Country Strong: in this surprisingly good music movie, Gwyneth Paltrow is an alcoholic and drug addled country superstar trying to make a comeback at the behest of her manager/husband Tim McGraw. She goes on tour with an upstart young beauty queen (Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester) and her rehab buddy/love interest/aspiring singer (Tron Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund who is like the second coming of Brad Pitt here). This quadrangle, loves, fights, sings, cries and reels you in. While the direction and script are pedestrian at times, the performances by all four actors are impressive as are the vocals of Paltrow, Hedlund and Meester. (Interestingly, Grammy winning country superstar McGraw’s character doesn’t sing in the film, but he does his best acting to date). If you like good music and good acting, I recommend this one. Grade: B+

Oh, and I caught up on 2 dvds as well…

The Other Guys: this awful cop buddy comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell is neither fun nor funny. It’s stupid, offensive and homophobic at times and a wasted opportunity. Grade: D

Wall Street 2~ Money Never Sleeps: this sequel to the 80′s film is a bit slow and pedantic at times, but it’s relevant and Michael Douglas and Carey Mulligan are quite good. Unfortunately, Shia LeBeouf is completely unconvincing in his central role of an upcoming Wall Street trader dealing with deceit, financial fallouts, familial upheaval and romantic relationship problems (with Mulligan’s character who’s also the daughter of Douglas’s Gordon Gecko~ the role that won him an Oscar in 1988). Overall, it’s a decent film, but at the end leaves you a little empty. Grade: B-

Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg are the “Guys” at the top of the Box Office

Will Ferrell returned to his former box office glory this weekend with his new comedy co starring Mark Wahlberg, The Other Guys, taking in a hefty $35.6 million. That’s a nice rebound after last year’s disastrous Land of the Lost bomb. It also gives Wahlberg two hit comedies in a row following this spring’s Date Night. With the success of Sony’s latest comedy Guys, that meant a big audience drop for last week’s topper Dinner with Schmucks tumbled by 55% for $10.5 million as it landed in 5th place behind Inception, Salt and the debut of Step Up 3D which danced its way to 3rd pulling in $15.5 million. The top 10 also welcomed Oscar contender and indie darling The Kids are Alright for the first time in 10th place. For all your box office needs, head to BoxOfficeMojo here. And check out this weekend’s top 10 below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Other Guys Sony $35,600,000 – 3,651 – $9,751 $35,600,000 $100 1
2 1 Inception WB $18,600,000 -32.3% 3,418 -127 $5,442 $227,732,000 $160 4
3 N Step Up 3-D BV $15,500,000 – 2,435 – $6,366 $15,500,000 $30 1
4 3 Salt Sony $11,100,000 -43.0% 3,317 -295 $3,346 $91,980,000 $110 3
5 2 Dinner for Schmucks P/DW $10,500,000 -55.4% 3,004 +93 $3,495 $46,746,000 $69 2
6 4 Despicable Me Uni. $9,400,000 -39.4% 3,413 -189 $2,754 $209,400,000 $69 5
7 6 Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore WB $6,910,000 -43.7% 3,705 – $1,865 $26,436,000 $85 2
8 5 Charlie St. Cloud Uni. $4,700,000 -62.0% 2,725 +7 $1,725 $23,500,000 $44 2
9 7 Toy Story 3 BV $3,048,000 -40.5% 1,714 -391 $1,778 $396,317,000 $200 8
10 12 The Kids Are All Right Focus $2,606,000 -26.1% 994 +147 $2,622 $14,011,000 $4 5

Box Office Breakdown~ People like “Schmucks” but still love “Inception”

Looks like Steve Carrell may have his third big hit film of the year with Dinner For Schmucks opening to a good if not great $23 million. That follows the big grosses for his spring hit Date Night which totalled $95 million and Despicable Me which is currently at $190 million. We’ll see if Schmucks holds up next week though as another big-ticket comedy, The Other Guys featuring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, hits theatres. Despite a decent opening for the comedy, it still couldn’t hit the top spot as the brilliant smash Inception took in another $27.5 million for three weeks on top and $193 million total. Also opening to slightly disappointing results were Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore with $12.5 mill and Zac Efron’s drama Charlie St. Cloud with $12.1. Check BoxOfficeMojo for all your box office needs and see this weekend’s top 10 below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Inception WB $27,520,000 -35.6% 3,545 -247 $7,763 $193,348,000 $160 3
2 N Dinner for Schmucks P/DW $23,300,000 – 2,911 – $8,004 $23,300,000 $69 1
3 2 Salt Sony $19,250,000 -46.5% 3,612 – $5,329 $70,800,000 $110 2
4 3 Despicable Me Uni. $15,543,000 -34.4% 3,602 +2 $4,315 $190,349,000 $69 4
5 N Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore WB $12,525,000 – 3,705 – $3,381 $12,525,000 $85 1
6 N Charlie St. Cloud Uni. $12,136,000 – 2,718 – $4,465 $12,136,000 $44 1
7 5 Toy Story 3 BV $5,035,000 -43.5% 2,105 -661 $2,392 $389,674,000 $200 7
8 7 Grown Ups Sony $4,500,000 -39.4% 2,269 -590 $1,983 $150,713,000 $80 6
9 4 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice BV $4,320,000 -55.2% 2,524 -980 $1,712 $51,881,000 $150 3
10 8 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Sum. $3,965,000 -44.8% 2,334 -787 $1,699 $288,200,000 $68 5

Some Summer Movies I Might Actually Want to See!

I don’t know about you, but this year’s crop of summer movies seems a bit less exciting than usual. Sure I’m looking forward to Sex and the City 2, Iron Man 2 and maybe even Robin Hood, but then I have to wait til August for Eat Pray Love… So is there anything exciting in the interim? Well, I found a few that I think a lot of us might be able to agree on. Check out the trailers for these summer movies hitting theatres in June and July.

Toy Story 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FfHA5whXc

Salt

The Other Guys

Inception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3XzUYd6nrU

The Kids are Alright (hello, this could be an Oscar contender)

Dinner with Shmucks

On Your Mark!

“C’mon Feel It, Feel It” urged Marky Mark in his smash 90′s single “Good Vibrations” along with his group the Funky Bunch. Little did we know this rapper would soon transform into an underwear model and someday an Oscar nominated actor (The Departed). Now Mark Wahlberg is back with a hilarious new hit film, Date Night, and several more projects on tap. This summer he stars in the wacky cop comedy The Other Guys with Will Ferrell, and later this year will be in the Oscar bait film The Fighter alongside Christian Bale and fellow Oscar nominees Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. This biopic tackles the life of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and could bring Wahlberg and his costars even more kudos. So, all of this had me thinking, whatever happened to that shirtless rapper we all fell in love with? Will we ever get new music from Marky? … I doubt it. However, we do get a lot of shirtless Mark in Date Night. I guess you take what you can. So, now I pose this question to you: which Mark do you prefer? “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch” Mark or “Oscar Nominated Actor” Mark. Check out the photos below for a little assistance with your choice and let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Also check out the trailer for The Other Guys and the video for “Good Vibrations”.

“Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch” Mark:

VS.

“Oscar Nominated Actor” Mark Wahlberg:

The Other Guys trailer:

“Good Vibrations” video: