Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hobbit Threepeats, Western & Musical Rock

I saw Les Mis and am not a huge fan of the stage show. I thought it was really well done and was able to connect to the film in a way I never was the stage show because of A. The actor's performances and B. Hooper's direction which emphasized a ton of close-ups.

Jan 2 - 06:46 PM

NP H

Looking forward to seeing "Promised Land" when it is released in Australia.

Dec 30 - 02:35 PM

King Crunk

Awesome for Tarantino! Django is by far my favorite film I have seen this year. It was original, engaging, riveting, and a hell of a lot of fun. Foxx, Waltz, DiCaprio, and Jackson all delivered some of the best work of their careers, and my question for the Oscars now is whether they are going to give Best Supporting Actor to DiCaprio or Waltz, because nobody else is even a contender in my eyes (it is a real testament to Waltz as an actor that he can go from playing such a horrible villian in Inglourious Basterds, to playing such a lovable hero here). Django and Dr. Schultz are two of the best heroes of the decade, and there was not a person in the theater that was not rooting for them on their quest. Django is probably my favorite thing that Tarantino has done since Pulp Fiction, and it feels like the epic culmination of the whole artful exploitation thing he has been doing for over a decade now.

Dec 30 - 03:12 PM

Connor Story

could not agree any more, i thought django was phenomenal

Dec 30 - 04:13 PM

Infernal Dude

I need to see it still! After a summer of making my girl see The Avengers, TDKR, The Hobbit, and Prometheus I owed her Les Miserables. Maybe next weekend...

Dec 30 - 08:54 PM

Lenny Monroe

Saw Django Unchained this weekend and I loved every second of it. Definitely one of the top 3 movies of the year in my opinion (I haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty or Argo yet, mind you). It was a pure Quentin Tarantino delight to the core, and definitely a nice way to top off 2012 in film.

But the best feature about the film itself was the cast. I don't know how Tarantino did it, but he managed to bring out the best in damn near every actor. Jamie Foxx did a great job despite me being somewhat iffy on him and some of the films he appears in, Christolph Waltz proved why his Academy Award win from Inglourious Basterds was justified, but the REAL thing I loved the most was for the first time in a long time, this film had bad guys that I hated more than admired. I remember reading somewhere that when Tarantino wrote this movie, he wrote DiCaprio's character as a bad guy that even he couldn't stand and it shows. DiCaprio and Samuel L Jackson were both 2 of the most repulsive antagonists I've seen in a long time. For the first time in my life I actually wanted a character that Samuel L Jackson was playing to be killed, and DiCaprio's swift and cunning antagonist was fantastic. The 2 hour and 46 minute runtime had no dead spots and left you wishing the film would continue. I agree with you, Django is my favorite Tarantino film after Pulp Fiction, and he played every aspect of this film, from the music to the editing to the camerawork to the acting to the pacing perfectly. I can't wait to see this film again and to own in my movie collection.

Dec 31 - 03:23 PM

John Fernelius

I rarely see a movie more than once in theaters, but I will be doing it for this one, for all the reasons that you mentioned. I loved it enough that I even bought the soundtrack. It deserves a Best Picture nomination and Christoph Waltz certainly deserves another Oscar.

Jan 1 - 09:36 AM

Best Supporting Actor award for Samuel Leroy Jackson, please! Personally, acting-wise, I think he cleaned Leo's clock. Jackson should have gotten the Best Actor nomination for "Pulp Fiction" anyway, so by the Oscar-logic of redeeming past snubs, they should give it to him.

Dec 31 - 07:33 PM

Bradly Martin

I'm calling No nomination at all for Samuel L Jackson. I have not seen the film but by Oscar Logic. Support characters fans like do not get nominated at all.

Jan 1 - 11:38 AM

If my answers frighten you, then you should cease asking scary questions.

Jan 1 - 04:09 PM

King Crunk

I would have no problem with the Best Supporting Actor bill this year having three nominations from Django; DiCaprio, Waltz, and Jackson all deserve it. I think this is going to be DiCaprio's year, though, as buzz is already on his side, and he has been nominated numerous times in the past with no win, while Waltz already has his statue, and Jackson seems destined to be in the same league as Gary Oldman with being a great actor who will never get an Oscar.

Jan 1 - 06:22 PM

As Jackson "likes to work" (as he puts it), he'll always be in some terrible movies that will continue to keep many people from taking him seriously as an actor. When he tries, he's awesome, but crap like "XXX", "Formula 51", "Twisted", and, of course "Snakes on a Plane" (a truly awful movie pretending to be a satire of bad movies) will always prevent people from recognizing his talent.

Jan 1 - 07:19 PM

I actually kinda like Formula 51 or The 51st State as it was called when I saw it. I thought Jackson and Robert Carlyle had real chemistry, but I suppose there was a lot of it that was aimed specifically at a British audience and while I'm not Anglo myself I've spent enough time there to get a lot of the Brit-centric inferrences, references and jokes.

Jan 2 - 06:49 PM

Cameron Johnson

Thank you! I saw it today. Definitely thought it was amazing. Not sure if it's my personal favorite of the year, but I hope it wins some awards. Either Tarantino or Ang Lee deserve best director, And YES, Waltz was the best part of the movie! He brought forth one of my favorite characters I've seen in a movie rather incredibly. All the buzz is going for Leo, but I think Waltz deserves consideration, even if it's his second win.

Jan 1 - 05:52 PM

Think a lot of Waltz's hype died when he was in films like Water for Elephants (in which he wasn't actually too bad, but there's still no excuse for trying to help Robert Pattinson), The Green Hornet and The Three Musketeers. I honestly don't know if I've enjoyed him in a non-Tarantino role which begs the question is Waltz really that good an actor or does Tarantino just REALLY know how to write to his strengths.

Jan 2 - 06:51 PM

He was great in "Carnage".

Jan 3 - 07:43 AM

Didn't see that, I'll have to check it out.

Jan 3 - 04:33 PM

Dave J

Could someone explain to me how "Django" was original when some of the scenes shown in it was already been done on previous films? Because on a recent "Entertainment Weekly" magazine, Quentin did speak about his movie influences upon making it!

Jan 2 - 03:11 PM

Connor Story

DJANGO!!!!!!!

Dec 30 - 04:15 PM

Da Nugster Nuguid

there is justice in this world after all. skyfall trouncing breaking dawn pt.2's grosses to make it #4 in the year's top films is indeed sweet. now, if only the hobbit can kick it down further...

Dec 30 - 04:50 PM

Didn't make Skyfall any better for it. Yeah I know the critics loved it but I found it to be mostly boring.

Dec 31 - 07:33 AM

Aakash Kumar

sucks for you. Skyfall is a brilliant essay on espionage as well as a thriller

Dec 31 - 04:55 PM

It was a predictable slog and fairly unmemorable, concluding in a finale that defeated the entire point of the film.

Jan 1 - 03:52 PM

Dave J

I agree with Val, "Skyfall" looked like Mendes had watched Nolans Batman trilogy before making the script for this one! The hidden tunnel, the pre-planned trap by the Javier character are a few similarities to Nolans Batman films!

Some of the existing plotholes was how the main bad guy escaped since it was never showned, and how Bond was able to survive a 30 foot fall after being shot near his heart into what appears to be a stream of water for it must be a pretty big stream of water to fall into!

Jan 2 - 03:34 PM

Andy Baker

Yes the reviews for Parental Guidance were lousy. BUT, it did have a solid A- CinemaScore, not that you bothered to mention that.

Dec 30 - 05:48 PM

Gosh, that must sting like a kick to the groin, huh?

Dec 31 - 06:34 PM

Alexandra Borrero

I already saw Django Unchained two times and I might see it a third time :D Loved everything second of it. Waltz was perfect and the entire cast were really memorable. I wasn't a big fan of The Hobbit. I know I'm in the minority here, but I was not entertain during the entire movie. Definitely sub par to the LotR trilogy.

Dec 31 - 05:53 AM

Did you mean you weren't entertained at all by the Hobbit, or that there were parts where you weren't entertained?

Dec 31 - 07:34 AM

Alexandra Borrero

Almost the entire film in general. Except for the scenes with Gollum. He's always fun to watch.

Dec 31 - 08:34 AM

Bradly Martin

Gollum Stole the show from the Hobbites'ses

Dec 31 - 11:50 AM