ROTTEN TOMATOES: Box Office Guru Wrapup: Harry Potter Has Magical Opening Comments

Box Office Guru Wrapup: Harry Potter Has Magical Opening

by Gitesh Pandya | July 19, 2009

Summary

This weekend the wait was over for Hogwarts fans who rushed out to theaters around the world to see the much-anticipated Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince powering the wizard sequel to a strong number one opening and the largest worldwide debut for any film ever. In North America, the PG-rated fantasy pic grossed an estimated $79.5M over the Friday-to-Sunday span and a colossal $159.7M since its debut on Wednesday. Prince beat out the opening of the last installment of the franchise, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which also bowed on a Wednesday in July generating $77.1M on the weekend and $139.7M across the same five-day Wednesday-to-Sunday span. That put Prince 14% ahead in grosses and 7% ahead in admissions. Back to Article

(1-84 of 84 posts) | Reply

tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 19 2009 04:51 PM

I love Zooey Deschanel so much, I bought her record (She and Him), so if possible, I'll see (500) Days of Summer.

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Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 19 2009 04:51 PM

Wow, that's a rough one for Bruno. Is it really that bad? Most seem to have decided like me to wait for video. Potter is kicking butt, but seems to be the only show in town for now.

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RE4P3R writes:
on Jul 19 2009 04:51 PM

Expected.

Next week will be much more interesting - will audiences go for Disney fare (G-Force), typical romcom (The Ugly Truth), or generic horror (Orphan)? Either way, I hardly care for the box office until August 3.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 19 2009 04:56 PM

I pray G-Force dies a quick death.

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De4ective Detectiv3 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:10 PM

Bruno is beyond gay. It brings new meaning to the term scared straight. Honestly, I never considered myself a homophobe, but there were things in Bruno I couldn't believe didn't give the movie an NC-17 rating. Like the part he starts flapping his penis around, and then they animate his pee-hole to make it seem like its talking. I can understand why people are staying away from it.

Honestly though, this summer movie season was disappointing to me. The best movies came out in the beginning. Didn't bother going to Transformers, and Harry Potter has never appealed to me - I can't sit through more than 15min of a Potter movie. Oh well, if Avatar is all that its cracked up to be, that will make up for a less than stellar summer.

(Reply to this)

D Effin W writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:16 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528759)
When I saw Bruno, some couple brought their under 10 year old kids to the theater. So when the flapping/talking penis scene came on... I think I was laughing more at that family then I was the movie. I'm sure they had some explaining to do!!!

(Reply to this)

planetawesome writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:19 PM

I hope 500 Days does well in wide release. It deserves it.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:27 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528758)
Consider it dead.

And against all odds Harry Potter is number one! Amazing!

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Geoff O. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:28 PM

I hope Potter finally cracks 300M again. If it keeps with the percentage drops of Phoenix, it should manage.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528764)
Thanks ledawg,

What does G-Force stand for anyway, Gerbil Force? What is this, Richard Gere's wet dream?

(Reply to this)

Geoff O. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:42 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528767)
Says the man that has Space Monkeys for his picture... :)

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Logan A. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 05:49 PM

Ill prolly see Potter again this week having just reread Deathly Hallows, I wanna see how they can match everything up. But I'm just going to wait for Funny People before I see anything new!

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Glenn W. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 06:00 PM

no big shocks this week, aside from Bruno's gigantic decline. as for next week, i don't know whether G-Force will crash and burn or will be this year's Beverly Hills Chihuhua. ::shudders::

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man in the water writes:
on Jul 19 2009 06:06 PM

I'm definitely seeing HP6 this week sometime. I saw 500 Days of Summer, and I absolutely Loved it!!! Its a great film, and could become a breakout indie hit. It's funny and sweet, but honest. I also saw the Watchmen Director's Cut in Hollywood, and now that was AMAZING!!! Check it out on DVD on tuesday. The new footage made the film better, and I liked the Director's Cut more than the original cut. Still have to see Bruno, I'll decide for myself whether or not I like it or if its any good. Moon and Hurt Locker are still on my list. Glad to see Potter on the top and 500 Days doing very very well

(Reply to this)

frankdozier writes:
on Jul 19 2009 06:41 PM

Why is this Transformers movie still making money? Is this the "End of Days" they keep talking about? There can be no other explanation.

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Confounded writes:
on Jul 19 2009 06:57 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528779)
No, that was an Arnold movie. And it was better than Transformers. Transformers is worse than the apocalypse.

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Chris B. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:14 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528768)
that's Space Chimps to you buddy. lol.

glad to see Harry Potter doing well as usual. I was gonna see Bruno but now I'm afraid to. I'll most likely rent it though. Nothing I'm wanting to see until Funny People comes out.

G-Force can die a slow, painful death.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:14 PM

500 Days of Summer is really good, will probably make a good chunk of cash. I expected a huge drop off for Bruno, some people just cant deal with all the nudity in it and they miss the satire part. I'm still feel dumb founded by how much Transformers 2 is making, I expected it too make that much, but its just sad how much money its making. Harry Potter is great and deserves the money its making.

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Superzone writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:20 PM

I hope to God Half-Blood Prince takes down Transvestites: Revenge of the Fallen at the box office. I would like nothing more than to see that crapfest lose the number one summer movie. It doesn't deserve that money in any shape or form. Screw you, Michael Bay.

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achmed writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:30 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528786)
I agree with ur comment a hundred percent

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Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:32 PM

I love losers like Superzone. Remember all you bitching and crying does not matter, Bay is laughing his way to the bank and millions of people are happy. So **** off. Plus like i said before the top three movies of the year were going to be Transformers 2, Harry Potter and Star Trek.

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Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:48 PM

So achmed are you still mad that your parents wont let you see Transformers 2? I understand that is why you are a such a fa.g and you continue to attack a movie that millions love. Get over it, you did not like it that does not make it a ****ty movie.

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Brad S. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 07:48 PM

I for one enjoyed Transformers and am glad that it is doing well. As for Bruno, I am not at all surprised that it took a colossal nose dive this week. The range of viewers is not that wide for a movie like that. Harry Potter, does it have staying power? I'm going to say no. The fan base is huge, but that fan base probably won't use up their allowance to see the movie twice. IMO

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:02 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528788)
Your argument is "If it makes money, it's great!" Tool. And for the last time, millions SAW "TF2", but only about half liked it. I have to be careful though. If you disagree with The Captain of Team Loyalty, he'll piss himself so pretty it wwill make your skin crawl.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:07 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528793)
I also love, how the Cap-i-tan, says "Just because you don't like it, dosen't mean it's bad." Yet he ATTAKED people for saying Scaha Baron Cohen is funny. But he's only half as funny as the crap Michael Bay dishes out.

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arendr writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:14 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528793)
Michael Bay's target audience resorts to 7th grade homophobic insults once again.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:18 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528799)
EXCELLENT! I could learn insults from you. Then again, offending THe Captain is as easy as eating a certain way. DON'T EAT WITH YOUR LEFT HAND DOUCHE!

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Mr. Bo Ziffer writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:24 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528799)
"I understand that is why you are a such a fa.g and you continue to attack a movie that millions love."

The same could be said for you, Dark Knight-hater.

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Voldemort writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:24 PM

I totally agrees with superzone!

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:29 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528802)
OH! DAMN! This is would be more exciting, except the poor Captain can't make any good insults to come back with. He'll just use his pathetic and predictable schtick.

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achmed writes:
on Jul 19 2009 08:36 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528793)
back for some more? I already saw that piece of **** u call transformers two!!!!! OK, i see u didn't get my friend request that i gave u. Fine i really don't care! Do u think that i really honestly care? no, and plus, do you get a portion of the money transformers makes? Cuz if you do then i guess u can make an argument, but to be honest i don't think that u do. So why keep at it and why didn't u read the nice reply that i gave u on the other Post? I can keep at this forever. did i ever tell u that u make my day with ur comments? Plus, i dont continue to attack it i have the right to place my coments on a certain subject and it has nothing to do with u. Oh and um, why do u insist on saying that millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions love transformers? And for the last time u ignorant trash i am not living with my parents!!!!! Lose the act

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Salty Gritts writes:
on Jul 19 2009 09:09 PM

Glad to see Potter do well, but it's really not any kind of surprise that it did, all of those films have been solid and it has a huge fanbase. Also it should hold over well since the next 2 weeks don't have much in the way of big event films.

I expected a significant drop off for Bruno but I was not expecting such a huge drop. But 73%, damn. Bad word-of-mouth has definintely been a problem for it. Most people I talk to that have seen it have all said that it just tries too hard to be shocking and in-your-face, and I couldn't agree more. It's like SBC and company just forgot to make it funny, figuring that if the shock value was high enough it would sell well. Its a comedy that really isn't funny, and no matter what the subject matter is, if it aint funny it isn't going to sell well to anyone.

Poor Universial, this and last summer have seen so much money making and broken records, and no matter what they do, they can't seem to get any of it. No $100M yet this summer and not many more than that last summer. That sucks.

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 19 2009 09:14 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528788)
ive never seen a person soooooooooooooooo obsessed with one damn movie. It shocks me that you are so insanely in love with this movie and because i really want to see u reply i am writing this comment. Did u know that Christopher Nolan laughed his *** off all the damn way to the bank just like bay is laughing his way to the bank? Now what do you have to say to That? come on now, it can wait until the afternoon or nighttime that u reply i really don't care, AT ALL!!!!!! Oh and transformers 2 hasn't had the large profit that a movie as oh say shrek two has had!!!! Why? because transformers 2 has such a large budget and it is losing it sheen at the box office thanks to a fickle summer audience and some big gunned competition from hp. It makes me happy to know that this comment will make u come back on ur computer lazing with fury that i insulted ur favorite film. come on ill be back, i promise u!!!

(Reply to this)

JettaJameson writes:
on Jul 19 2009 09:41 PM

I'm very happy to see Harry Potter do so well. It was pretty dang good. I'm really excited to see it in IMAX in a couple of weeks. Bruno Is getting such a bad was shocking, yes(Being part of the gay community myself, there were parts of it that even I couldn't believe I was seeing), but It was also very funny. I thought it was funnier than Borat, actually. But for the average person, I'd say wait it out and rent it.

(Reply to this)

JettaJameson writes:
on Jul 19 2009 09:50 PM

Oops. That should have read:

**Bruno is getting such an bad reputation. It was shocking, yes......

(Reply to this)

Tyrant writes:
on Jul 19 2009 10:06 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528758)
I hope they suffer the fate of Lemmiwinks, the gerbil king.

Glad Potter is doing great, it was pretty good.

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MadMan23 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 10:10 PM

G-Force looks terrible but out of the movies that should die a long painful death, I am hoping it is The Orphan. I'm really sick and tired of these trashy omen remakes, as if the omen wasn't trashy in the first place. If there is a movie where a possessed kid gets hit in the face with a baseball bat, I'll be there. What the hell Skarsgaard? Fire your ****ty agent already. I mean Flight Plan, the Golden ****, and now this, after your turns in Kinsey, Garden State, Shattered Glass, what the hell, your better than this and those "horror movies" didn't even make that much money?

(Reply to this)

David A. writes:
on Jul 19 2009 10:59 PM

"Box Office analysts are now saying that the latest Potter has a chance to make 190-200 million in the first five days."

That **** has sailed out the window, huh?

Yeah, it's going to drop off like Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen. I mean, it'd be lucky to do any kind of repeat business with the negative word of mouth it's getting from "discouraged" fans. Too bad, because it was a great movie, even though it required prior knowledge and isn't a carbon copy of the book. Those flaws are far outweighed by the positives.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 11:03 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528820)
The Orphan dpes look bad. Why are all oprhans angels, or demons?

(Reply to this)

emeraldine087 writes:
on Jul 19 2009 11:06 PM

Yup, you guys summed it up pretty well. Seen the HP6 movie thrice now. And it's magic hasn't run out yet in the cinemas here in the Phils. People are still coming to see it in droves. I do hope it beats out Transformers 2. Saw it, too when it came out but it was too annoying and noisy for my tastes. Michael Bay's definition of funny and annoying are seriously mixed up...

(Reply to this)

MovieMaster writes:
on Jul 19 2009 11:36 PM

Saw Harry Potter and it was great. Can't wait to see the end to this great series. Also I was fortunate enough to see Moon and I have to say that it really blew me away. Sam Rockwell really deserves to get nominated for his performance cause it is spectacular.

(Reply to this)

Paints Hz Shirt Red writes:
on Jul 19 2009 11:48 PM

just saw HP6. and i gotta say it was kind of boring. too many unanswered questions for me. i give it a 5/10. my least favorite yet.

(Reply to this)

Graham T. writes:
on Jul 20 2009 12:25 AM

No surprises really, although I thought Harry Potter would be a bit higher because of its weekday opening, like Transformers did. Not surprised Bruno fell so much; the word of mouth has been so bad. My friends saw it and said it was **** poor. Nothing at all interesting out until Funny People, but I fear G Force may be neck and neck with Harry Potter if the tracking's correct. Also got to see Moon- hope that goes into nationwide expansion, as well as 500 days of Summer and The Hurt Locker.

(Reply to this)

hdbngr63 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 12:39 AM

I'm really disappointed in "Bruno's" drop-off. I thought that movie was flat-out hilarious. Sacha Baron Cohen is one of the most original, satirical geniuses I have seen in a long time. I thought it would be a hit. Well, it looks like Universal is having the rough patch Fox did last year without a $100 mil plus hit. However, they have "Funny People" at the end of July, which I guarantee will make AT LEAST that much.

(Reply to this)

Almost.Famous writes:
on Jul 20 2009 01:33 AM

Can't wait till District 9!

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De4ective Detectiv3 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:30 AM

The thing about Bruno was that it was really short, and they gave away some of the best moments in the trailers. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of times I laughed my *** off, but I don't think it surpassed Borat.

(Reply to this)

Jacob D. writes:
on Jul 20 2009 06:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528784)
Yup, I agree. It's as if Borat was a family comedy, and Bruno is unwatchable trash. Doesn't make much sense to me in that their both genuinely hilarious satires. I thought Bruno would make less because of this country's hate-affair with gays, but I didn't think it would be this distorted. Oh well, I saw it and I loved it. Totally hilarious.

(Reply to this)

Warheart1188 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 07:06 AM

I thought HP would've made a lot more money than that.

(Reply to this)

TehAntiChuckNorris writes:
on Jul 20 2009 09:14 AM

I was actually hoping it wouldn't beat The Dark Knight's record because of how much I adore that movie.....but I guess you can't live in fantasy land forever :]

(Reply to this)

dj Mark writes:
on Jul 20 2009 09:17 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528799)
And he has been reported for violating RT's TOS agreement. Just be on the lookout for a different screen name in about 2 weeks when they ban his *** (yet again).

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 20 2009 09:52 AM

David i hate to tell you but the movie has a very POSITIVE word of mouth, only a select few fans did not like it. Get over yourself.

Ledawg, really only half of the people liked it? Is that why on yahoo, moviephone, fandango, etc. it got a B rating or better? Yeah you are full of **** once again.

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 20 2009 09:54 AM

Oh dj mark did you report yourself? Or Bob S? Or Ledawg? Or all the others? No because you are a dip**** ****ing hypocrite. DJ Mark why are you such a f.ag?

(Reply to this)

dj Mark writes:
on Jul 20 2009 10:10 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528912)
We'll just let RT decide. Cheers.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 10:12 AM

In reply to this comment (#2528912)
See. Pathetic argument.

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jul 20 2009 11:06 AM

*sigh*

it's good to have traditions:

1) Article is posted by RT.
2) Comment from Jokerboy
3) Comment from Ledawg
4) Comment from (insert some other regular post'r, here)
5) homophobic, sub-moronic rant by Myself is Mental*
6) rinse
7) repeat

*Or whatever other whimsically deluded identity this impotent little twit uses

ANYway, back to the issue at hand: Gotta admit, not nearly as pysched to go see 'Bruno' as I was. Still gonna see it, but might do rental. I'm guessing it's falling THIS far short of Borat, though, because it may just be too 'gay' for the masses.

I can't care enough to have a vendetta against Transformers2 but I am glad to see that an exercise in shameless mediocrity is NOT going to take the financial crown from TDK. It's almost sad because I really *liked* the first Transformers and I even bothered to have faith in Bay on this movie. Never again. New Rule: Bay can NEVER direct another sequel (Bad Boys II, Transformers II).

Wow. What a sh#tty summer, over-all. It's like the Anti-Summer of '08. And 'yes' I saw 'Hangover.' 'No' I was not that impressed. 'Yes' I saw Trek, and 'yes' it was pretty good. The vast majority of movies this summer have really let me down, though.

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 20 2009 11:53 AM

This summer was better than last summer, and you talk about me writing moronic posts.

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jul 20 2009 12:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528949)
Yes, I do. And you do. Glad we have that cleared up. Now go outside and play!

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 01:00 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528958)
Gentlmen, and Captain, last summer was the best summer movie season of the decade! Easily. 2009's is solid, but not quite legendary.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 01:19 PM

You know, I liked Bruno, but I honestly don't think it worked as well as a satire as it should have. Scenes like Bruno walking up to the tent naked while camping with the rednecks just seemed contrived and ruined what Cohen was going for in my opinion; after all they handled him pretty well before that point. As a comedy it worked well for me, but I think he tried too hard too often to get a rise out of people and that didn't work for me on the level of satire.

I thought HBP was amazing, the best in the series for me, but I think it's going to suffer because, as JK Rowling has said, HBP and DH are really two pieces of one hole. I think after both parts of DH come out people will look at HBP differently. I think it was a good idea to move it up to July, you don't really want 2 years between HBP and DH really.

It's sad to see Transformers 2 doing so well. Oh well, a lot of people are willing to lower their IQ for a little bit to see some explosion, what can you say?!

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 01:22 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528809)
achmed: Please don't lower yourself to Magic is Might's level. He's been banned under 2 other screen names for his actions, and I'm sure it'll happen again. Just do what the rest of us try to do and ignore him.

I know if I respond to him I prefer to infuriate him by not dropping to his level.

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:02 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528949)
Do you have a beef with everyone? I'm so sick and tired of you calling every person a sad little fa.g. please shut up and stop taking your anger out on more people that u can handle. Ur obsession to revert back to homophobic insults are pathetic, ur incessant belief that transformers was an amazing movie is ridiculous, and lastly can u ever put up a post that A) Does not have a homophobic remark in it, B) Without being involved in an argument, or C) without ridiculing people? Cuz if u cant then i see no reason as to why u keep coming back to this post.
Oh and i see either you have decided to stop arguing with me or u don't have a legit argument to fight for

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528990)
achmed: If you can find any posting from aknddon3 or The Captain of Team Loyalty you'll see that he argues with anyone anytime that they disagree with him. And then when they finally decide to stop arguing with him because he has no idea how to debate properly he claims that he has won even though he never had a valid point in the first place. Please don't lower yourself to his level by arguing with him.

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528979)
Wow, i really wish i read this comment before my last reply thanks for informing me! To everyone, i am sorry u had to read my vulgar comments but i thought that i actually was fighting a person that had common sense.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:07 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528992)
achmed: Don't worry about it, we've all been there at some point. Somehow, despite being an ignorant sad sack, he knows how to draw out the worst in almost everyone!

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:15 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528936)
TombstoneLawDog: I actually did like Bruno as a comedy, but I honestly don't think it worked as a satire. There were quite a few scenes where people were perfectly civil and didn't waiver until he pushed it too far. When he was out in the woods camping with a group of rednecks he tried to mess with them several times and they were perfectly times. He went to a guys tent when he was asleep and the guy just told him to go back to his tent and go to sleep. It wasn't until Bruno came to his tent naked that he snapped.

Sure it's funny, but there were a few points when people were getting upset, or saying something stupid that had nothing to do with the fact that Bruno was a homosexual, but because he was just being annoying. To me that just kind of ruined the satire aspect he was going for about the stupidity of homophobia. Although the scenes with the counselors trying to turn him straight still worked great to that purpose! And the other things he hit on like the vacuousness of the fashion industry, the talk show, the parents of child models, etc worked really well as satire. I just thought the homophobia issue should have been handled differently.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:22 PM

Allow me to jump in and intelligently defend the punching bags for this summer. Transformer's wasn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. We have become the internet equivalent of the Frankenstein villagers here. We won't be satisfied until Micheal Bay is strung up. Someone said only about half the people who paid for Transformers liked it. Even if true, which it very well might be, that's still a butt ton of people and really the people who didn't like it don't have an excuse because Bay makes no secret of the type of movie's he makes. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If you seriously hate Bay this much here's a wacky idea...stop paying to see them and then getting enraged when surprise surprise they don't live up to your expectations. If you do that, guess what will happen his movie's will cease making money and you'll get your wish. If of course your 50% theory is correct. I'm not 100% on that.

Bruno, word of mouth seriously put me off and as a longtime viewer of Sascha Baron Cohen I think I'm a bit ahead of the curve in getting tired of his schtick. He's kinda the comedic equivalent of Michael Moore for me. He leaps on a random hotbutton issue and tries to shock you with how foolish you are and to his credit he makes it funny...for a while, but to be honest I'm at the point where I've seen his penis just one too many times.

G-Force, seems like a fairly harmless kids comedy. Not really aimed at me, but I could see myself enjoying it in an Original Nutty Professor or Dr. Doolittle kinda way. It doesn't scream atrocity to me and to be honest Jerry Bruckheimer usually knows what entertains me. It's not going to be The Great Escape or Lawrence of Arabia, but I'm not going to leave the theater feeling robbed like I did for say Alexander or Battlefield Earth. Depending on how bored I am I might go see it or I might wait for DVD.

Harry Potter, probably won't catch Transformers domestically because of it's limited fanbase which usually peters out just shy of 300 mil. I do think it does have a shot at outgrossing all previous Potter movies based on the lack of competition, good work of mouth and I think it has a legitimate shot at breaking 1 bil worldwide. These are just of course one mans opinions and as always I could be wrong.

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jul 20 2009 02:33 PM

Whitey:

I guess my question is:

Do you recommend it as a theater movie?

If you'll indulge me, I generally only go see four types of movies in theaters:
1) 'Blowds sh#t up' films that use the big screen (and surround sound) to maximize impact or action
Ex: 'Iron Man,' 'Dark Knight' 'Bourne' movies.
2) 'Spectacle' films that use the screen yardage to inspire awe or display a rare or unique environment
Ex: Animated films like 'Up' or Space dramas like '2001'
3) 'Girlfriend-fueled films' which are... well, duh
4) 'Curiosities' which are anything that doesn't fit in the first three categories but I just kinda wanna see in the theater.
Ex: 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' which was just a f#cking cool movie starring RDJr and the perenially-weird but still great Val Kilmer

Anybody with a real opinion can feel free to chime in, here.

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 20 2009 03:16 PM

It is funny you ask for people with real opinions while also asking whitey for help. You two are the same, intellectual lightweights. Except that you are not a ***** like whitey who gets proven wrong then decides to ignore the person who proves him wrong.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Jul 20 2009 03:19 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529011)
You can't call others wrong. You were born wrong ya b.astard.

(Reply to this)

dj Mark writes:
on Jul 20 2009 03:57 PM

"stop paying to see them and then getting enraged when surprise surprise they don't live up to your expectations"

BigBrother, You make an absolutely valid point. I didn't think that I would ever pay to watch another Michael Bay movie after The Island, and then Transformers came along and I had a conundrum: A) Ignore the movie even though I'm a pretty big fan of the 80's franchise or B) Convince myself that Spielberg's involvement could be the saving grace. So I bit the bullet and opted for A.

Sure enough, I found plenty of Bay touches to hate, but I also found a lot to like. So it made me re-evaluate my opinion of him at least as far as the franchise was concerned. Maybe this was a good formula for him.

So for TROTF I hoped that Bay had learned what worked and what didn't from the first movie and would make an even better film.

I will never make that mistake again.

I am definitely taking your advice. And if I get roped in again down the line, I have no one to blame but myself.

(Reply to this)

David A. writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:11 PM

@ CtrlAltDestroy

I agree, man. The summer has really been a bummer.

A lot of people thought Drag Me to Hell and The Hangover were great, whereas I didn't. They were just all right. Only four movies -- Crank: High Voltage, Star Trek, Up, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- were great and worthy of a repeat viewings.

As an aside, I thought Donkey Punch and Wonder Woman (yes, I'm talking about the cartoon) were also very entertaining. In fact, they should've made that Wonder Woman movie live. Man, it would've made a killing.

So anyway, Inglorious Bastards, District and It Might Get Loud are the only summer movies left that interests me. After that, I'm looking forward to the fall and winter months that will be much better.

Here's the fall and winter short list: Gamer, Extract, 9, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Pandorum, Jennifer's Body, The Informant, Surrogates, Fame, Whiteout, The Invention of Lying, Shutter Island, Couple's Retreat, Zombieland, The Road, Where The Wild Things Are, A Christmas Carol, The Wolf Man, 2012, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Planet 51, Old Dogs, The Princess and the Frog, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes.

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:30 PM

In reply to this comment (#2528991)
Well when ur right ur right, i found the box office guru prediction of tdk and he argued with a person that said that iron man was ridiculous. U must be a vey charming guy captain.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:48 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529000)
bigbrother: I don't think the backlash for Transformers 2 is coming from Bay haters, I've talked to quite a few people who liked the first Transformers movie (I am one as well) who thought this one was crap. Personally, I just think they shouldn't have given Bay carte blanche on the movie and it could have been toned down and reeled in during a lot of parts.

I don't know if I agree with you on Sacha Baron Cohen either. The characters he's been using, Borat and Bruno, he's been using for years, I don't think he's been pushing any different buttons than he did during Da Ali G Show and things have changed a bit since then. I think he's ahead of the curve and their just finding more relevance at this moment than they did before.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:52 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529002)
TombstoneLawDog: I think I would recommend it for the theater because it's funny to hear and sometimes see the reactions of other movie goers. This film is a good one to go to for the group surrounding you. Honestly though, I won't own it, I'll get it on Netflix when it comes on DVD to watch it again to see what was cut and to see the special features, but that's all. And it is pretty funny, I don't think it's as funny as Borat, but there were some moments when I was laughing so hard I was crying.

There might not be as many people going to see it now, and I went last Thursday, but even with just a few people you don't know I think is fun. Especially with a movie this outrageous.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 04:54 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529011)
Magic is Might: And when did you prove me wrong? You calling me an intellectual lightweight is like a midget calling Shaq short.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 20 2009 05:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529040)
But if they toned it down would they have run the risk of losing people who went for the pure Bay spectacle of it? For me that was the saving grace. I'm not too proud to admit I can be entertained by massive explosions and an appropriate smattering of female jigglage. I could almost buy what you're saying about it not being about Bay, but it's very rare to hear a criticism of Transformers that doesn't include Bay's name in it. This is a month after the movie came out. When people trash talk Iron Man they say Iron Man sucked it was ridiculous. They rarely say Favreau sucks. Even Alexander they reference by name. They rarely go on and on about how they hate Oliver Stone and how he ruined the movie. I'm sure there are a few who are bashing because as you say they just didn't like the movie, but even those the vast majority bash the very Bay aspects of the film and have no excuse for being surprised that Bay, like Sascha did what he always does. It's not like he's Kubrick and capable of multiple styles. He's got a formula and he's not going to break it. If you don't like it, don't see his movie's it's more productive than railing against Bay over and over for months on end.

I totally agree with your point that SBC isn't pushing any other buttons than he was with Da Ali G show which I loved by the way. That was the point I was trying to make actually. I was watching Da Ali G show from the time it first came out in England and it was fresh back then, but I've just seen him do the same thing for too long that it's lost something and maybe I've grown a little frustrated with people saying how original he is.

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 20 2009 05:38 PM

What movie does IMO stand for? Seen it on a lot of posts and its probably a movie i saw but i just cant think what it is.

(Reply to this)

Mr. Bo Ziffer writes:
on Jul 20 2009 07:17 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529055)
It's not a movie title. It stands for "In My Opinion". If you see IMHO, that means "In My Humble Opinion".

Used in a sentence: "achmed is a better ladykiller than Magic is Might, IMO."

(hehe, two birds, one stone)

(Reply to this)

achmed writes:
on Jul 20 2009 07:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529076)
damn i am one stupid moron, i mean i don't really pay attention to the slang of movies now i feel embarrassed gosh im not posting anything else for a long time thank you and well its been very interesting captain. And dont judge me im not good at slang. Goodbye.

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 20 2009 08:02 PM

IMHO can also me "In my HONEST opinion"

Used in a sentence:"IMHO, Mr. Bo Zypher is pissed that the cows he has been with are nothing compared to the beautiful women i have been with."

(Reply to this)

Mr. Bo Ziffer writes:
on Jul 20 2009 08:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529088)
Ha! Joke's on you! I've never had a girlfriend! Ha ha ha . . . oohhhh.

(Reply to this)

whitey_mcwhite writes:
on Jul 20 2009 08:53 PM

In reply to this comment (#2529052)
Bigbrother: Okay, I get your meaning now. I started off on the "Bay Hate" wagon, but I can say that I have liked three of his movies which is about half his catalog, but I thought this movie was atrocious. Did it have things I liked? Yeah. But the bad outweighed the good in my opinion. I wasn't saying that they should have toned down the spectacle of it, but there were a lot of side plots that could have been cut, characters that could have been cut, etc. that ruined the movie for people like me.

And while SBC is doing the same thing he has been doing for a long time with these characters (which I think he said he's officially done with at this point), I think here in the US they've become more relevant than they were when they were originally shown here in Da Ali G Show.

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Jul 21 2009 07:00 AM

In reply to this comment (#2529101)
As I've said before, my operating theory of Bay is that he simply shouldn't be allowed to make sequels. Bad Boys was a pretty slick film, for summer popcorn entertainment. Bad Boys 2 was mindless, ham-fisted excess and not nearly as cool. Same great slo-mo visuals, but too d@mn corny and bombastic by half.

I felt pretty much the same about Transformers: yes it was loud and simplistic, but I found it to be a lot of fun and even *gasp* subtle in one or two places. Trasnformers 2 was just WAAAAAY too much without any subtlety or regard for why the first one worked.

Obviously, this all depends on one's enjoyment (or lack thereof) of Bay's particular skill set. I happen to like 'Bad Boys', 'The Rock', 'Armageddon' and as a World War II history junkie, I even was able to appreciate (some of) 'Pearl Harbor.'

I think Bay, when reigned in by a good script or meticulous producer, can produce some very cool summer sh#t. Just no follow-ups.

(Reply to this)

Magic is Might writes:
on Jul 21 2009 09:50 AM

Wow Tombstone had a rational idea...good work and in strange way i think you are correct. If Bay has someone pushing him to tone things down a little more he makes better movies. While i like Transformers 2 i think what happened was that he was given the keys to the kingdom and allowed to use whatever ideas he wanted and thus it was a somewhat bloated movie. But unlike dumb****s like Bob S i like many others could still follow it.

(Reply to this)

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