Box Office
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot (59 comments)
The Independence Day holiday frame saw a rare tie for first place as Paramount and Fox both reported a $42.5M estimate for the Friday-to-Sunday span for their summer sequels Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, respectively. Final grosses to be reported on Monday will determine the true box office champ. Universal's gangster drama Public Enemies opened in third with strong results as studios provided many different moviegoing options which ticket buyers were excited to see. The robots of Transformers dropped a steep 61% in the second weekend giving Paramount an eye-popping $293.5M total after just 12 days. That puts Michael Bay's tentpole pic at number 30 on the all-time domestic blockbusters list tied with 1999's The Sixth Sense. Ticket prices, of course, were much lower a decade ago when Haley Joel Osment was seeing dead people. Fallen also leaped past Pixar's Up to become this year's largest grosser and will top the $300M mark on Monday or Tuesday.
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers 2 Generates Explosive Box Office (169 comments)
This weekend Robots ruled the box office as the highly-anticipated action sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen generated the second biggest opening in history with a gargantuan $201.2M in its first five days, according to studio estimates, sending the overall marketplace to its highest gross of the year. The eye-popping figure included $112M over the traditional Friday-to-Sunday period plus an additional $89.2M since its Wednesday launch. Playing ultrawide in 4,234 theaters including 169 IMAX screens, the Paramount release averaged a stunning $26,453 over the Friday-to-Sunday period and a gigantic $47,531 over five days. The only other film to ever gross more in its first five days was last summer's The Dark Knight which hauled in a slightly better $203.8M from 4,366 venues. The first Transformers bowed to $155.4M in 6.5 days and needed 12.5 days to break the double-century mark on its way to a $319.2M finish.
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Can't Refuse Bullock's Proposal. (39 comments)
Sandra Bullock showed North America who's boss with her return to romantic comedy in The Proposal which gave the actress the biggest opening of her career and her first number one hit in over a decade. Rival comedy Year One enjoyed a respectable debut in fourth place while holdover sensations The Hangover and Up continued their amazing runs with small declines once again. Thanks to four funny films topping $20M a piece, the overall marketplace inched ahead of last year's levels for the first time in four weeks putting the industry in a good position with Megan Fox and the Autobots on the horizon. Moviegoers gave a very loud yes to Bullock this weekend as The Proposal powered ahead of expectations to open to an estimated $34.1M to easily lead the box office race. The bow nearly doubled the $17.6M of her 2007 thriller Premonition to set a new record for the actress who since the mid 1990s has routinely opened films in the $13-17M range. It was also the largest opening for any romantic comedy this year beating the $27.8M of February's He's Just Not That Into You which boasted more starpower with Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, and Drew Barrymore. Proposal averaged a scorching $11,163 from 3,056 locations.
RT on DVD
RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed (26 comments)
It's a genre lover's feast this week on DVD, but don't say we didn't warn you about those pesky rotten Tomatometers. First up? Alex Proyas's latest science fiction thriller, starring Nicolas Cage in a doomsday scenario (Knowing). Also new is a would-be franchise about super-powered humans on the lam from shady government types (Push, starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning). David S. Goyer tries his hand at an original story, resulting in silly, PG-13 horror (The Unborn), while one of our favorite '90s rappers gives directing a shot (A Day in The Life, filmed entirely in rhyme!). If all else fails, look backward to a handful of older titles getting a shiny new polish (Beau Geste, The Deep on Blu-ray). Dig in!
RT on DVD: Street Fighter, Transmorphers 2, and Uwe Boll's Tunnel Rats! (36 comments)
It's an interesting week for home video, and here's why; we've got new films from a celebrated cinematographer adapting a video game (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, directed by Andrejz Bartkowiak), a rap-rock front man doing a sensitive coming of age tale (The Education of Charlie Banks, directed by Fred Durst), an action veteran gunning for hire (12 Rounds, directed by Renny Harlin), and, well, Uwe Boll (Tunnel Rats). The week also features a recently unearthed film from comedy director Hal Ashby (Lookin' to Get Out, starring Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie in her first role) and an anthology film dedicated to the city of Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo!, directed by Michel Gondry, Joon-Ho Bong and Leos Carax). Last but not least, The Asylum gives us the highly anticipated sequel to their Transformers knock-off "mockbuster" (Transmorphers: The Fall of Man)!
RT on DVD: Waltz with a Shopaholic Pink Panther in Wonderland (11 comments)
There's something for everyone this week on DVD, starting with an Oscar-nominated animated documentary (Waltz with Bashir), a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced chick flick (Confessions of a Shopaholic), and a disappointing adaptation of a bestselling family fantasy (Inkheart, starring Brendan Fraser). Foreign film fanatics have a well-received import to watch (Alice's House, from Brazil), while an international cast can't save Steve Martin's latest slapstick (The Pink Panther 2). Criterion releases a French New Wave classic conundrum (Last Year at Marienbad on Blu-ray), Elle Fanning gets a star vehicle (Phoebe in Wonderland), we get twice the Crispin Glover than usual (Simon Says, in which he plays twin psychos), and Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman team up to show that "direct-to-DVD" doesn't always equal terrible (The Code, directed by Mimi Leder).
Meet a Critic
Meet a Critic: Nathan Lee Weighs in on Leaving the Village Voice, Why Critics are Ineffective, and What's Next (19 comments)
In Part II of our conversation with former Village Voice critic Nathan Lee, we delve deeper into his recent public break with the Voice and get his thoughts on the future of film criticism...and it doesn't look pretty.
Meet a Critic: Former Village Voice Critic Nathan Lee, Part One (20 comments)
For better or worse, recently departed Village Voice writer Nathan Lee has become something of a poster boy for the disappearance of the film critic. Read on for the first in our two-part interview with the incredibly intelligent, delightfully profane critic in which Lee answers our Meet a Critic questionnaire.
Meet a Critic: Guilty Pleasures and Must-See Movies with MSNBC's Alonso Duralde (17 comments)
MSNBC's Alonso Duralde believes in having informed opinions --so rest assured his recommendations of notorious turkeys like Xanadu and The Apple come well researched. More with the author, film critic, and former Advocate editor inside!
Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh (41 comments)
This week at the movies, we've got Austrian audacity (Bruno, starring Sacha Baron Cohen) and graduation gratification (I Love You, Beth Cooper, starring Hayden Panettiere and Paul Rust). What do the critics have to say? Sacha Baron Cohen has become one of cinema's most daring provocateurs - and astute social critics. Critics say his latest vehicle, Bruno, is at once laugh-out-loud funny, teeth-grittingly awkward, and disarmingly intelligent - though it's a few notches below his last gonzo doc, Borat. I Love You, Beth Cooper attempts the same high-wire act as many wild teen comedies - it promises raunchy laughs, but also tries to something to say about the teenage condition. Unfortunately, the pundits say Beth Cooper fails on both levels.
Critics Consensus: Solid Public Enemies Doesn't Quite Bring The Noise (105 comments)
This week at the movies, we've got crime and punishment (Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale) and prehistoric domesticity (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, with voice work from Ray Romano and Queen Latifah). What do the critics have to say? Public Enemies hits theaters with an impressive pedigree -- it's directed by Michael Mann and stars two of contemporary cinema's biggest names in Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. And although critics say the picture offers plenty to admire, it's strangely muted overall. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the third film in a series that saw its critical fortunes dwindle from the first movie to the second. And the scribes say that this one's not much better.
Critics Consensus: Transformers 2 Is Less Than Meets The Eye (145 comments)
This week at the movies, we've got robots in disguise (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf) and a family in disrepair (My Sister's Keeper, starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin). What do the critics have to say? Most folks like their blockbusters big, loud, and loaded with spectacle. However, the masses also tend to enjoy good characters and some semblance of a plot, two things the pundits say are sorely missing from Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. A lot of movies walk a fine line between being emotionally involving and seeming merely manipulative, and critics are essentially split on which side My Sister's Keeper falls.
Total Recall
Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock (42 comments)
Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career of blurring the lines between reality and fiction. The British-born Cohen gained a cult following in the states with his cult hit Da Ali G Show, then went on to big-screen fame with the gut-busting, wince-inducing gonzo mock doc Borat. This week he's back with another of his alter egos: the flamboyant Austrian fashionista Bruno. And since Bruno toys with narrative while tweaking real life, we at RT decided to run down a brief history of the mockumentary. Here, you'll find classics Like This Is Spinal Tap alongside some lesser-known but still important examples of the genre.
Total Recall: Johnny Depp's Best Movies (97 comments)
He once seemed destined for nothing better or worse than simple teen idolhood, but since escaping from 21 Jump Street in 1990, Johnny Depp has proven himself to be a brave (and mostly pretty astute) chooser of scripts, building an impressive filmography that encompasses everything from black-and-white arthouse fare (Dead Man) to blockbuster Disney trilogies (Pirates of the Caribbean). This weekend, he'll gun his way into theaters as John Dillinger in Michael Mann's Public Enemies, so we thought now would be a fine time to devote an installment of Total Recall to counting down the 10 best-reviewed releases of Depp's 25-year film career. As always, we let the Tomatometer do the heavy lifting, arranging our list according to the reviews written by the film critics we all know and love. With a lifetime Tomatometer rating of 63 percent -- not to mention a tendency to throw himself into some pretty far-flung roles -- there are bound to be some hotly contested omissions, but that's just part of what makes these things interesting, right?
Total Recall: Best Movie Robots (147 comments)
This week's release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen marks the return of the famous "robots in disguise" to the big screen. That got us at RT thinking about movie robots, and specifically, what would be the best robot to actually own? So we've put together a pretty big list of the best robots in movie history. A quick note on our methodology; for the most part, we're sticking to movie robots, so TV stars like Twiki that never made the jump to the big screen are left in the scrap pile. And we've ranked this list by a very subjective measurement we call "awesomeness," which is a combination of fame, utility, physical appearance, and how great it would be to have one of these 'bots in your possession. So, without further ado, let's get mechanical!
Weekly Ketchup
Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development (9 comments)
The film development news leading up to the 4th of July was relatively slow, but this week's Ketchup is overflowing hot news items, including several superhero movies, two TV show adaptations, the requisite relaunch of a 1980s movie, a SNL skit-turned-movie and new projects for Will Smith, George Clooney, Mel Gibson and Jason Statham. #1 T.J. HOOKER TO RIDE A WINDSHIELD RIGHT INTO YOUR LOCAL MOVIE THEATER Although Hollywood is still mostly infatuated with remakes, the industry hasn't forgotten old TV shows, with the latest wave coming mostly from the 1980s (The A-Team, MacGyver, Magnum P.I.), following the previous batch of TV show adaptations that was mostly from the 1970s (Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch, The Dukes of Hazzard). The latest 1980s TV show to get put into development as a movie is the 1982-1986 ABC (and then CBS) cop drama, T.J. Hooker.
Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids (46 comments)
This Week's Ketchup features one of the most bizarre video game adaptation concepts ever announced (Asteroids?), news about Predators and Resident Evil 4, new projects for Seth Rogen and Julianne Moore, a couple of movies based upon interesting sounding books and we take you into the Independence Day weekend with one of the worst ideas for a remake ever, ever, ever announced. #1 UNIVERSAL PICTURES HITS THE THRUST BUTTON FOR ASTEROIDS Sometimes, things are called classic because they are just plain old, but rarely, the title is truly earned. Citizen Kane and Casablanca are classic movies, for example, while I Accuse My Parents is just plain old.
Weekly Ketchup: Adam Sandler joins The Zookeeper, David Fincher joins Facebook (36 comments)
Most of the entertainment media's attention is focused on the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, but there were still interesting film development news this week, including two new video game based projects, a surprising new movie for director David Fincher (Fight Club), an even more surprising remake of a Coen brothers classic, and new movies for Daniel Craig, Adam Sandler and Kevin Spacey. And oh yeah, the Academy is totally changing the way the Oscars works. #1 THE ACADEMY AWARDS DOUBLES THE BEST PICTURE FIELD AND HALVES THEIR IMPORTANCE. In a surprising move, this week the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that they are doubling the number of movies that will be nominated for Best Picture (from five to ten) reverting to the way the awards were nominated back in the 1930s and early 1940s, up until 1943.
What the Hell Happened To...
What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? (86 comments)
This week, Rotten Tomatoes turns its gaze upon the once promising, now perplexing career of a certain boat-tripping, dog-sledding Oscar winner in hopes of pinpointing just where things went wrong. So what the hell happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.?
What The Hell Happened To Shannon Elizabeth? (101 comments)
In our second installment of What The Hell Happened To... we again turn to the Tomatometer to chart the rise and fall of a once-promising Hollywood talent. [To read our inaugural assessment of Wesley Snipes, click here.] What will the Tomatometer tell us, and is there any remedy for Shannon Elizabeth?
What The Hell Happened To Wesley Snipes? (103 comments)
In the first part of a new Rotten Tomatoes feature, we examine the career ups and downs of our favorite fallen celebrities -- as charted by the Tomatometer, of course, and with only the best of intentions in mind.
Five Favorite Films
Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone (19 comments)
If you flick through the celebrity pages of most British newspapers -- particularly the free sheets -- you'll likely recognise Jaime Winstone. As Ray Winstone's daughter she's part of that select set of star children -- think Peaches and Pixie, Lily and Alfie, Kelly and Jack -- with whom the tabloid press seem to have a keen fascination; especially when it comes to photographing them on nights out at hip London hotspots. At 23 years old, it's no surprise Winstone enjoys having a good time of an evening, but it's her daytime activities which are becoming increasingly more interesting. Her five favourite films reveal her passions, her upbringing and the steps that brought her into the industry.
Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow (39 comments)
With her latest film, the critically acclaimed war film The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow has earned the best reviews of her career to date. (At 95 percent, The Hurt Locker is also one of the best-reviewed films of the year.) True to her reputation for balancing muscular action with strong character drama, Bigelow injects moments of riveting tension into her study of volunteer bomb technician soldiers in Iraq. Rotten Tomatoes spoke with Bigelow recently in Los Angeles to learn more about the action-genre specialist's background, why she chose to make The Hurt Locker, based on embedded journalist Mark Boal's observations, and what films and filmmakers she cites among her favorites.
Five Favorite Films with Fred Durst (87 comments)
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said there are no second acts in American lives. Obviously, he never met Fred Durst. Best known as the lead singer for rap/rockers Limp Bizkit, Durst has always had a passion for movies. His debut, The Education of Charlie Banks (out this week on DVD), tells the tale of an uneasy friendship between Charlie (Jesse Eisenberg) and Mick (Jason Ritter), a tough kid from his old neighborhood. When Charlie goes to an elite college, Mick follows him there, and for a while it appears he's smoothed out his rough edges, before old tensions come back to the surface. (Charlie Banks was shot before, but released after, The Longshots, Durst's second film, which starred Ice Cube). Durst (who spoke to RT from Poland while on tour with his band) reflected on five of his favorite films, as well as the differences between making music and making movies, and why he chose The Education of Charlie Banks to be his first film.
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