Top 15 Films of the New Millennium

Using reader scores, IMDB ranked their top 15 films produced since 2000. Other than “The Departed,” which along with “Mystic River,” “Crash,” “Crash,” and “Crash,” ranks in the top 5 over-rated films of ever, there’s little to quibble over. Taste is a subjective thing.

My personal Top 15 are ranked as my favorites always are — based on nothing more than re-watchability. “Rocky Balboa” might not be better written, photographed or acted than any number of films not on this list, but I’m going to watch it a helluva lot more, that’s for sure.  

1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) – Ever since the lights came up after that first screening, like a drug this lyrical, gorgeously photographed piece of myth-making has tugged me back for another taste. This isn’t easy to admit, but I think I admire Andrew Dominik’s directorial debut even more than John Ford’s “Young Mister Lincoln” (1939), which it resembles in so many ways. Were this also a listing of the greatest performances of the new millennium, Casey Affleck’s portrayal of Robert Ford would rank #1, as well.

2. The Passion of the Christ (2004) – Easily, the purest and rawest emotional cinematic experience I’ve ever had. The Left’s bigoted, venomous attacks combined with the film’s eventual blockbuster success were almost as satisfying as the re-election of George W. Bush. (more…)

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Tags: 28 Weeks Later, 300, A.I., Amelie, Assassination of Jesse James
Posted Aug 19th 2009 at 12:12 pm in Classic Hollywood, Featured Story, Reviews, Top 5 | 207866220 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/08/19/top-15-films-of-the-new-millennium/Top+15+Films+of+the+New+Millennium2009-08-19+19%3A12%3A10John+Nolte

‘Watchmen’: Tough on Liberal Sensibilities

There has been a lot written about vigilantism and conservatism in film lately. My friend David Swindle wrote a piece for American Thinker “What’s So Conservative About Vigilantism?” Big Hollywood contributor John T. Simpson wrote “Story and the Power of Conservative Themes in Film” and I wrote about vigilantism for Parcbench.com.

Conservative’s favorite vigilantes know that no justice system is perfect just like “Dirty Harry” Callahan knows there is no time for due process when people’s lives are at stake. These heroes always draw a distinct line between good and evil, and we trust them to do the right thing.

Watchmen, which was recently released on DVD, gives us a darker view of our heroes. It suggests that maybe we shouldn’t trust them, and takes a very cynical view of the fight of good versus evil. The characters are pitched as superheroes but most of them are as human as any of us.

The film takes place in a fictional 1985 where Richard Nixon is still the president. Over the years, “watchmen” had been working with the government to keep the world a safe place but eventually became outlawed. While President Nixon is trying to avoid nuclear warfare with the soviets, some “watchmen” see a world that is not worth saving anymore while others continue to operate as vigilantes. (more…)

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Tags: Dirty Harry, Rorschach, Terrorism, the comedian, vigilante
Posted Aug 7th 2009 at 6:03 pm in Film, Politics | 19904647 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cyogerst/2009/08/07/watchmen-tough-on-liberal-sensibilities/%27Watchmen%27%3A+Tough+on+Liberal+Sensibilities2009-08-08+01%3A03%3A34Chris+Yogerst

FAST & FURIOUS Opens With a Scalding $30M Friday & Could Speed to $70M by Monday, Surpassing CARS as the All-time Biggest Opening for an Auto Racing Movie!

With 400,000 Americans showing up every year at the Indy 500 and 200,000 more buying tickets to see NASCAR’s premiere event The Daytona 500, you would think that the most creative minds in Hollywood would be looking for a way to cash in with more movies about car racing and car culture. NASCAR has an estimated 75 million fans, and it is second only to the National Football League in terms of television ratings, so where are all the good racing movies?

Jordana Brewster is reunited with Vin, Paul and Michelle in FAST & FURIOUS

Universal seems to have answered that question by getting its successful street racing franchise back into the fast lane this weekend with Fast & Furious. The movie, which reunites Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez for the first time since 2001’s original surprise blockbuster, has exploded to a high octane $30.11M or so on Friday and that could mean a $70M opening weekend. That would make it the all-time #1 opening for a car racing movie.

(more…)

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Tags: 12 rounds, 2 fast 2 furious, 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take
Posted Apr 3rd 2009 at 10:32 pm in Entertainment, Steve Mason's Box Office | 971669 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/04/03/estimates43/FAST+%26amp%3B+FURIOUS+Opens+With+a+Scalding+%2430M+Friday+%26amp%3B+Could+Speed+to+%2470M+by+Monday%2C+Surpassing+CARS+as+the+All-time+Biggest+Opening+for+an+Auto+Racing+Movie%212009-04-04+05%3A32%3A48Steve+Mason

FAST & FURIOUS may “race” to $48M opening weekend with MONSTERS VS. ALIENS holding strong at $35M!

Universal’s Fast & Furious will be “burning rubber” this weekend at America’s multiplexes as the original street-racing cast reunites after some sub-par chapters of the franchise.

The original The Fast & The Furious hit theatres in 2001 under the direction of Rob Cohen who had shown a knack for action with Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story ($35M US cume) and Sly Stallone’s Daylight ($33M US cume) and a savvy feel for bigger-than-life characters in his Golden Globe winning biopic The Rat Pack (which, if you’ve never seen you should put in your Netflix cue and prepare to be amazed by Don Cheadle’s turn as Sammy Davis, Jr.). In tow, he had a 34-year-old Vin Diesel in only his second starring role following the surprise low budget hit Pitch Black ($39M cume) and 28-year-old Paul Walker, who had just starred in Cohen’s forgettable The Skulls. Also in the cast was Jordana Brewster (As the World Turns) and a pre-Lost Michelle Rodriguez, whose most notable credit was a gritty little indie called Girlfight.

Vin Diesel returns for FAST & FURIOUS

The result was box office jet fuel. Seemingly out of nowhere, The Fast & The Furious scored a scalding $40M opening weekend and reached $144.5M domestic and over $200M worldwide. But Diesel, whose signature line in the original movie is “I live my life one quarter of a mile at a time,” didn’t like the script for the sequel (or they wouldn’t pay his asking price depending on who you ask). That led to the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious directed by Academy Award nominee John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) starring Walker along with rapper Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mendes. Despite Diesel’s conspicuous absence, 2 Fast still delivered $127M in the US. (more…)

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Tags: 12 rounds, 2 fast 2 furious, 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 7:24 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 961308 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/04/02/tracking43/FAST+%26amp%3B+FURIOUS+may+%22race%22+to+%2448M+opening+weekend+with+MONSTERS+VS.+ALIENS+holding+strong+at+%2435M%212009-04-03+02%3A24%3A21Steve+Mason

3-D returns in a MONSTER way! MONSTERS VS. ALIENS with $16.7M Friday & a possible $58M opening weekend!

It is an excellent weekend for Dreamworks Animation. Although the credit crunch prevented financing that would allow exhibitors to undertake the digital conversion of more of its theatres, Monsters vs. Aliens is benefiting spectacularly from the 2,075 or so standard Digital 3-D engagements and the added 143 Digital IMAX runs. The audaciously ambitious animated send-up of 50’s B-movies has used the “bleeding edge” of technology to milk an estimated $16.7M in opening day ticket sales. The which could translate to $58M or so for the 3-day weekend.

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS towers over previous 3-D releases from Hollywood

If that number holds, and, if anything, they could drift higher as family audiences flood America’s multiplexes, Monsters vs. Aliens will be the all-time third-best opening in the month of March.

(more…)

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Tags: 12 rounds, 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, 300
Posted Mar 27th 2009 at 11:02 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 907822 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/27/estimates3-27/3-D+returns+in+a+MONSTER+way%21+MONSTERS+VS.+ALIENS+with+%2416.7M+Friday+%26amp%3B+a+possible+%2458M+opening+weekend%212009-03-28+06%3A02%3A58Steve+Mason

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS is the widest non-summer release ever with over 7,000 screens! Katzenberg’s 3-D bet could pay off with $60M opening!

Jeffrey Katzenberg has been the film industry’s strongest proponent of 3-D over the past few years, and this weekend his advocacy will start paying dividends for Dreamworks Amimation. Monsters Vs. Aliens will debut with 4,104 playdates. That makes it the 13th-widest release in modern film history, and it becomes the biggest non-summer debut of all-time.

Jeffrey Katzenberg - The Pied Piper for Digital 3-D

ALL-TIME WIDEST NON-SUMMER RELEASES
- with summer defined as May 1 – August 30 -
1. 3/27/09 – Monsters Vs. Aliens – 4,104 playdates
2. 11/07/08 – Madagascar 2 – 4,056 playdates
3. 10/01/04 – Shark Tale – 4,016
4. 3/31/06 – Ice Age: The Meltdown – 3,964
5. 3/14/08 – Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears A Who – 3,954

(more…)

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Tags: 12 rounds, 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, alan moore
Posted Mar 26th 2009 at 9:30 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 89914No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/26/finaltracking-3/MONSTERS+VS.+ALIENS+is+the+widest+non-summer+release+ever+with+over+7%2C000+screens%21+Katzenberg%27s+3-D+bet+could+pay+off+with+%2460M+opening%212009-03-27+04%3A30%3A07Steve+Mason

Summit scores a nice hit with KNOWING, which could reach $60M domestic, while I LOVE YOU, MAN has a shot at $70M in the US!

It was another good weekend for Summit Entertainment. The distributor behind last year’s meteoric hit Twilight has scored a solid hit with the Alex Proyas-directed Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage. Despite shaky word-of-mouth and negative reviews, the sci-fi thriller got a solid 9% bump on Saturday for a $9.7M second day, and it will likely finish its opening weekend with a possible $24.8M.

As a production company, Summit is responsible for some monster hits, including commercially and/or artistically successful films like Once (Oscar nominee for Best Picture), American Pie ($102..5M domestic), Memento (Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay: Chris Nolan), Mr. & Mrs. Smith ($186.3M domestic) and In the Valley of Ellah (Tommy Lee Jones nominated for Best Actor). But as a distributor, they got off to a slow start. (more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 22nd 2009 at 11:33 am in Entertainment, Steve Mason's Box Office | 8666210 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/22/studioestimates-2/Summit+scores+a+nice+hit+with+KNOWING%2C+which+could+reach+%2460M+domestic%2C+while+I+LOVE+YOU%2C+MAN+has+a+shot+at+%2470M+in+the+US%212009-03-22+18%3A33%3A54Steve+Mason

KNOWING grabs $8.95M Friday & targets $23.2M weekend, but word-of-mouth may push I LOVE YOU, MAN to $70M domestic; DUPLICITY gets a only a C from CinemaScore!

Early box office returns are pointing to a weekend win for Knowing from Summit, but I will put my money on I Love You, Man (Dreamworks/Paramount) to generate more in US ticket sales over the long haul. The Nicolas Cage sci-fi thriller has grabbed an estimated $8.95M to start the weekend, and it will likely finish at $24M or so. That is, unless word-of-mouth catches up to it first.

Will reviews and word-of-mouth catch up to KNOWING?

Reviews for Knowing, written and directed by Alex Proyas, the inventive filmmaker behind the visually striking 1998 film Dark City and the 2004 Will Smith mega-hit I, Robot, has received overwhelmingly negative reviews (25% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), but thanks to Twitter, real-time movie-goer reactions spread like wildfire. Here are some Tweets I just grabbed off the social networking platform.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 20th 2009 at 10:30 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 8596218 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/20/estimates-9/KNOWING+grabs+%248.95M+Friday+%26amp%3B+targets+%2423.2M+weekend%2C+but+word-of-mouth+may+push+I+LOVE+YOU%2C+MAN+to+%2470M+domestic%3B+DUPLICITY+gets+a+only+a+C+from+CinemaScore%212009-03-21+05%3A30%3A27Steve+Mason

KNOWING is favored to win the weekend, but is I LOVE YOU, MAN poised for an upset?

For the last few weeks, Summit’s Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, has appeared to be the likely winner of the upcoming box office weekend. But, my sources tell me that I Love You, Man, the new comedy starring Paul Rudd (Role Models) and Jason Segal (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) has surged in the latest pre-release industry tracking.

In the spirit of March Madness, I’m calling for the upset. I Love You, Man may not actually be a Judd Apatow movie, but it sure does look like one in trailers and commercials. The movie reportedly “rocked the house” at the South By South West Festival last week, and the buzz is very positive. I am calling for $21.5M, which would be above industry expectations.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 19th 2009 at 5:39 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 8503027 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/19/tracking-3/KNOWING+is+favored+to+win+the+weekend%2C+but+is+I+LOVE+YOU%2C+MAN++poised+for+an+upset%3F2009-03-20+00%3A39%3A04Steve+Mason

Audiences RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN on Saturday as The Rock’s new family film targets $25M start & $85M domestic, but WATCHMEN is now headed for no more than $110M in the US!

As expected Disney’s Race To Witch Mountain enjoyed a huge Saturday surge for just over $11M in tickets sold, and the reboot of the 70’s franchise will finish with about $25M for the 3-day. Overall, Race posted the year’s seventh-best Saturday performance.

TOP 10 SATURDAY GROSSES IN 2009
1. March 7 – Watchmen – $18.3M
2. February 21 – Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail – $16.6M
3. February 14 – Friday the Thirteenth – $14.3M
4. January 17 – Paul Blart: Mall Cop – $13.2M
5. January 10 – Gran Torino – $12.1M
6. January 31 – Taken – $11.65M
7. March 14 - Race To Witch Mountain – $11M (estimated)
8. February 7 – He’s Just Not That Into You – $10.9M
9. January 17 – Paul Blart: Mall Cop – $10M
10. January 17 – Gran Torino – $10M
(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 15th 2009 at 12:02 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 802822 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/15/studio-estimates/Audiences+RACE+TO+WITCH+MOUNTAIN+on+Saturday+as+The+Rock%27s+new+family+film+targets+%2425M+start+%26amp%3B+%2485M+domestic%2C+but+WATCHMEN+is+now+headed+for+no+more+than+%24110M+in+the+US%21+2009-03-15+19%3A02%3A03Steve+Mason

Watch Your Pants

Watch Your Pants.

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Tags: watchmen
Posted Mar 15th 2009 at 11:38 am in Entertainment, Political Humor | 8018210 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cmuir/2009/03/15/watch-your-pants/Watch+Your+Pants2009-03-15+18%3A38%3A00Chris+Muir

Wrestler-turned-movie star Dwayne Johnson leads RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN to a $24.25M opening, while WATCHMEN plummets 71%!

As Watchmen (Warner Bros) falls, “The Rock” appears to be racing to a weekend win. Disney’s Race To Witch Mountain, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is off to a solid start with $6.8M or so on opening day, and, with its expected surge in family matinee audiences on Saturday and Sunday, it will likely triumph with a possible $24.25M.

Meanwhile last weekend’s winner Watchmen staggered to a second Friday of only $5.4M or so, and I am projecting only $15.75M for the 3-day. That marks a 71% drop. Anything over $20M would have been acceptable, but the bottom has fallen out of this movie, and it will now struggle to reach $100M domestic. When the foreign and DVD are added, it may make a small profit, but it will likely be negligible. The superstitious might suggest that Watchmen writer Alan Moore’s alleged curse may be to blame, but the reality is that word-of-mouth has been more negative than for any movie in recent memory.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 13th 2009 at 10:46 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7964662 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/13/estimates-8/Wrestler-turned-movie+star+Dwayne+Johnson+leads+RACE+TO+WITCH+MOUNTAIN+to+a+%2424.25M+opening%2C+while+WATCHMEN+plummets+71%25%212009-03-14+05%3A46%3A03Steve+Mason

WITCH MOUNTAIN could “Rock” WATCHMEN for surprising weekend win!

One of the coolest ways to use the social networking platform Twitter is to find out what people are thinking, saying and Twittering about in real time. Here’s a small sampling of Tweets from the opening weekend of Watchmen (Warner Bros).

The Watchmen = Epic fail!

If you haven’t seen The Watchmen yet, I’d urge you to read the graphic novel first. Well, actually, I’d urge you to JUST read the GN. lol.

Watchmen.undecided,confused as superhero film with

very little superhero action.Convoluted story,but overall watchable. My opinion only

I was bored while watching Watchmen

Just got out of Watchmen…. Ouch, would spend the 9 quid on – can’t even find the humour, brain switched off 1 hour into the 3- BIG YAWN (more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 3-day take, a.r. rachman, academy awards
Posted Mar 11th 2009 at 9:53 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Reviews, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7804642 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/11/final-tracking-2/WITCH+MOUNTAIN+could+%E2%80%9CRock%E2%80%9D+WATCHMEN+for+surprising+weekend+win%212009-03-12+04%3A53%3A12Steve+Mason

WATCHMEN down 24% Saturday to a likely $55.65M 3-day; Is word-of-mouth “killing the masks?”

According to studio estimates, Watchmen (Warner Bros) will finish the weekend with an estimated $55.65M. After seizing $4.5M in Thursday midnight business, there were rumblings about $29M on opening day and an opening weekend of $70M+. When the picture scored a lesser but still good $25.2M Friday, weekend estimates were revised downward. As of Saturday morning, my projection was for $57M, and Watchmen came in even lower than that.

Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore’s densely written graphic novel tumbled 24% from Friday to Saturday. Granted, midnight shows took a lot of steam out of the movie, but that’s a pretty significant fall given that the Males 25 Plus demo – a key one for this film – were not likely part of the Thursday fanboy crowd and, despite the current unemployment rate, were working on Friday.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 300, a.r. rachman, adam sandler
Posted Mar 8th 2009 at 11:14 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7521075 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/08/studioestimates/WATCHMEN+down+24%25+Saturday+to+a+likely+%2455.65M+3-day%3B+Is+word-of-mouth+%22killing+the+masks%3F%222009-03-08+19%3A14%3A15Steve+Mason

WATCHMEN with $25.2M opening day, but “ticking downward,” now targeting $57M 3-day & $145M domestic!

“Who is watching the Watchmen?” Just about everyone…or so it seems.

The brand new film adaptation of the classic graphic comic Watchmen is a hit of monstrous proportions on its opening weekend, but not everyone loves it. In fact, not only is there a prominent character named Rohrschach (played by Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley), the film itself is serving as a Rohrschach Test for critics, fanboys and the broader public.

The Zack Snyder-directed $120M epic started with $4.5M in Thursday midnight business which is outstanding. There was no way for Watchmen to approach the $18.5M midnight start for lat summer’s The Dark Knight. First off, it is March and not the middle of summer blockbuster season. Kids have school. People are working. These are not the lazy days of July when it is easier for many to see a movie at midnight on Thursday, and hit the office late on Friday. The other factor is the movie’s rating. This is an R-rated movie, not PG-13 like The Dark Knight. (more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 300, a.r. rahman, academy awards
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 10:32 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Media Criticism, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7469826 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/06/estimates-7/WATCHMEN+with+%2425.2M+opening+day%2C+but+%22ticking+downward%2C%22+now+targeting+%2457M+3-day+%26amp%3B+%24145M+domestic%212009-03-07+06%3A32%3A56Steve+Mason

Review: Watchmen

In Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” there’s a scene which plays out on separate ferry boats where a group of hardened prisoners and a group of everyday citizens are told they must blow the other up in order to survive. The choice both sides make to sacrifice themselves is a rare (for Hollywood, at least) look at the worthy side of our human nature. Zack Snyder’s mostly successful adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel “Watchmen,” is a much harsher judge of humanity. In the “Watchmen” world both groups would have eagerly blown the others up and maybe done so with glee. This begs the question: at our very worst are we worth saving? This theme drives “Watchmen” along with an examination of how far one should go in order to save us – and burning a village to save a village doesn’t begin to cover it.

Because this theme is both timeless and universal, the story setting in a kind of alt-universe America, circa 1985, where Richard Nixon’s into his fifth term and the Cold War still rages, isn’t a disadvantage. In fact, by removing itself from our world this allows ideas to be explored outside of the purely political. If “Watchmen” has a political point I missed it, and while its dark view of humanity might be unfair it’s a necessary and compelling way to ask and answer the questions of human worth. “Watchmen’s” world may be nihilistic, but the ideas are not. (more…)

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Tags: 300, Nixon, watchmen, Watchmen review, Zack Snyder
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 4:56 pm in Featured Story, Reviews | 74334117 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/03/06/review-watchmen/Review%3A+Watchmen2009-03-07+00%3A56%3A15John+Nolte

Watchmen: Lots to Like, Little to Love

I don’t judge movies by their source material, so I won’t judge “Watchmen” by the amazing graphic novel from which it comes. When we pay our 12 bucks to see a movie, nobody hands us a book to go along with it, so the moral contract between consumer and story-teller is that the story has to hold up on its own.

“Watchmen” works as a dark, post-modern, revisionist middle finger to the icons of our optimistic past. The plot isn’t its strong suit, the characters are what make “Watchmen” an impressive experience. Dr. Manhattan is a being who lost his unique electric field in a lab accident. He didn’t keep his hair, but he kept his blue penis, which is useful in revealing that he’s not Jewish. A Materialist god, Dr. Manhattan is losing his grasp on what it means to be human, even as he gains the ability to see life one molecule at a time. (more…)

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Tags: 300, abortion, alan moore, bush, Carter
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 4:07 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics, Reviews | 7424242 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dtennapel/2009/03/06/watchmen-has-lots-to-like-little-to-love/Watchmen%3A+Lots+to+Like%2C+Little+to+Love2009-03-07+00%3A07%3A01Doug+TenNapel

WATCHMEN scores $4.5M in Thursday midnight previews!

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen, with domestic distribution rights owned by Warner Bros and international distribution rights being handled by Paramount ( oh, and by the way, Fox also has skin in this game thanks to its recent litigation), is off to a blazing start. With well-promoted Thursday midnight and after midnight screenings (1,600 or so), the film adaptation of the classic graphic novel seized an estimated $4.5M.

That is almost double what 2007’s 300 and November’s Quantum of Solace delivered in their Thursday midnight showings. I am being told that, based on that start, my 3-day prediction of $63M is low. That kind of midnight start for a 2 hour, 41 minute movie could equate to a $30M opening day, which could possible translate to an opening weekend in the low $70M’s.

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Tags: alan moore, alex tse, billy crudup, box office, Carla gugino
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 10:02 am in Steve Mason's Box Office | 739747 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/06/watchmen-scores-45m-in-thursday-midnight-previews/WATCHMEN+scores+%244.5M+in+Thursday+midnight+previews%212009-03-06+18%3A02%3A03Steve+Mason

Joining the ‘endless parade of crazed right-wing culture critics…’

My wife and I argue about once a year. It comes from nowhere and starts for no reason. It’s a cleansing of sorts where we burst into a litany of long held grievances: You live in the bathroom! You leave dirty dishes in the sink! You have the TV too loud at night! You drive too fast…! Anyone listening to this little rock throwing contest would think we were crazy, and this kind of “crazy” is what came to mind while reading the L.A. Times own Patrick Goldstein’s burst into a fit of rock throwing at Debbie Schlussel. (more…)

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Tags: Debbie Schlussel, L.A. Times, Patrick Goldstein, watchmen
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 8:39 am in Media Criticism, Politics | 73802153 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/03/06/joining-the-endless-parade-of-crazed-right-wing-culture-critics/Joining+the+%27endless+parade+of+crazed+right-wing+culture+critics...%27+2009-03-06+16%3A39%3A51John+Nolte

Watchmen: Great Art Doesn’t Preach, It Makes You Think

“Watchmen” opens Friday and we’ll see how well it performs in the theaters, but the graphic novel has been a best seller for DC Comics since its inception in 1985. And not without surprise. It’s been voted the best graphic novel of all time by many people. It even showed up in Time Magazine as one of the best literary novels of the 20th century. The only comic to make that list. Personally, I don’t care much for lists or other popularity contests. They seem too high school to me. A lot of stuff on “best ever” lists tends to be crap. It’s all someone’s opinion, after all. But “Watchmen” is definitely a work of art. One that will stand the test of time and already has.

‘Watchmen’ creator Alan Moore

What makes it an important story isn’t its garish colors or dark and gritty milieu. What makes it so good is that it’s a kind of literary pound cake. The original kind, made from a pound of flour, eggs, sugar, butter, etc. It’s a dense and rich story. One you can read over and over again and pick up new insights from. Whether or not you can accept the idea of superheroes or alternate histories, or even relate to the early 80’s cold war setting, the story has plenty of universal themes running through it. The story is elevated by original takes on the superhero genre that were fresh then and now. (more…)

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Tags: alan moore, comics, watchmen
Posted Mar 5th 2009 at 3:23 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story | 7345486 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jhudnall/2009/03/05/watchmen-the-graphic-novel/Watchmen%3A+Great+Art+Doesn%27t+Preach%2C+It+Makes+You+Think2009-03-05+23%3A23%3A49James+Hudnall

A Few Watchmen-Eve Predictions

Prepare for the ‘Gunga Diner’ lawsuit.

I’m not certain I have anything of worth to say about “Watchmen,” prior to actually seeing it tomorrow, when the rest of the world also gets its chance, but since I was very politely asked (as a comics books industry insider, albeit one who doesn’t rate an invitation to one of the six thousand, or so, advance screenings) to post something on Watchmen Eve, and since, as a professional writer, waiting until I actually had something of worth to share would be career suicide, I’ll venture a few predictions about the movie and how it will alter the American entertainment world in its wake. (more…)

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Tags: alan moore, Dark comics, Fantastic Four, Superman returns, watchmen
Posted Mar 5th 2009 at 11:42 am in Entertainment, Politics | 7324246 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bwillingham/2009/03/05/a-few-predictions-about-watchmen/A+Few+Watchmen-Eve+Predictions+2009-03-05+19%3A42%3A03Bill+Willingham

Watch Out For ‘Watchmen’

Editor’s Note: This piece was originally published Jan. 7th. It returns today for obvious reasons, but also for the benefit of new readers. The original post and comments can be found here.  

Last summer, Joss Whedon (yes, he’s my master now), caused a minor sensation with his Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. One of the reasons the musical comedy about a would-be super-villain’s miserable love life was so successful — other than Whedon’s pact with Satan whereby he traded his soul, his mint condition Giant Size X-Men # 1 and a lifetime supply of HoHos in exchange for mystical word-talent – was that Whedon was standing on the shoulders of Alan Moore, the author of the landmark comic book Watchmen. More than anyone else, Moore is credited with “deconstructing” the comic book super-hero, and he probably deserves that credit. Though like with all great artistic innovators, Moore had his influences in this regard. Every artist has in his background a mob of ghostly helpers bigger than the crowd of phone technicians in that Verizon commercial. For instance, Marvel Comics (where my first loyalties lie, for the record) had already broken considerable ground in humanizing its heroes long before Moore started writing. Peter Parker, after all, was a terrible dork. (more…)

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Tags: alan moore, cold war, JFK, Nixon, Reagan
Posted Mar 5th 2009 at 7:45 am in Entertainment, Politics | 7305845 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jgoldberg/2009/03/05/watch-out-for-%e2%80%98watchmen%e2%80%99/Watch+Out+For+%E2%80%98Watchmen%E2%80%992009-03-05+15%3A45%3A56Jonah+Goldberg

It will take more than WATCHMEN writer Moore’s curse to keep Zack Snyder’s adaptation from topping $60M!

Watchmen (Warner Bros) has followed a long and winding road, passing through the hands of some remarkable directors like Terry Gilliam (The Fisher King), Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) and Paul Greengrass (United 93), before landing in the lap of the mastermind behind 2004’s stunning re-imagining of Dawn of the Dead and 2007’s March blockbuster 300. From the moment that the first trailer for Zack Snyder’s $120M comic book adaptation made its debut at midnight screenings of The Dark Knight in July, this has been a sure-fire mega-hit. Now, the big screen version of the 1986 graphic novel will be unleashed on Friday.

WATCHMEN writer Alan Moore has reportedly placed a curse on the movie

The original comic was written by Alan Moore and the lead artist was Dave Gibbons. The collaborators have radically different views of Snyder’s film adaptation.The latter has publicly expressed confidence in Snyder. Gibbons reveals to Wired magazine that at one point Joel Silver owned the film rights to Watchmen and that the producer was insistent that Arnold Schwarzenegger should play Dr. Manhattan. (That would have potentially been an unintentional disaster movie.)

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, 300, academy awards, adam sandler
Posted Mar 4th 2009 at 11:23 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7299852 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/04/watchmen-tracking/It+will+take+more+than+WATCHMEN+writer+Moore%27s+curse+to+keep+Zack+Snyder%27s+adaptation+from+topping+%2460M%212009-03-05+07%3A23%3A11Steve+Mason

RAINING CASH IN HOLLYWOOD!: The stock market is down, but the movie business is up 14% over ‘08 and 23% over ‘07!

Hollywood is off to a staggering, record-breaking start in 2009 led by Clint Eastwood’s most successful wide opening ever, a French action import and a chubby guy on a Segway. Hot on the heels of the biggest January in history with over $1 billion in domestic sales, February has exceeded $750M in the US. The industry’s all-time best January followed by the all-time biggest February on the books puts total domestic box office for the year at almost $1.8 billion.

“Everything is working.” That’s what one studio exec told me today. “With the exception of the Jonas Brothers, it seems like almost every release is out-performing expectations.” January 2009 has gone down as the all-time 8th-best month in modern box office history. It started with excellent holiday holdovers. Six movies, technically released in 2008, did major chunks of their business after New Year’s.

(more…)

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Tags: 2-d, 3-d, adam sandler, alexandre desplat, anthony dod mantle
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 at 12:54 am in Entertainment, News, Steve Mason's Box Office | 7129826 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/03/2009-records/RAINING+CASH+IN+HOLLYWOOD%21%3A+The+stock+market+is+down%2C+but+the+movie+business+is+up+14%25+over+%2708+and+23%25+over+%2707%212009-03-03+08%3A54%3A15Steve+Mason

Who’s Watching the “Watchmen” Reviewers?

This is somewhat anecdotal, but when you look at the Metacritic scores below it boosts my theory that truly awful leftist films frequently get better reviews than deserved while solid, entertaining conservative films (now that the left’s ceded “liberty” to the right) get worse reviews than deserved and films critics didn’t understand were pro-Bush receive fantastic reviews, but once found out, no Oscar nominations. (more…)

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Tags: Metacritic, New Yorker, Rotten Tomatoes, watchmen, Zack Snyder
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 at 2:23 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 71026175 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/03/02/whos-watching-the-watchmen-reviewers/Who%27s+Watching+the+%22Watchmen%22+Reviewers%3F2009-03-02+22%3A23%3A46John+Nolte

Biggest US opening ever for Luc Besson – TAKEN grabs up 24% Saturday and finishes with $24.6M for Super Bowl weekend; PAUL BLART: MALL COP strong at #2 while THE UNINVITED appears headed for 3rd with a possible $10.5M; Zellweger’s NEW IN TOWN may reach $6.75M opening; Not much of an “Oscar bounce” for THE READER and MILK!

Liam Neeson is officially a full-fledged action star. The Irish-born actor has often played heroes, whether it was Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Schindler’s List, the wise Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace or determined sex researcher Alfred Kinsey in 2005’s biopic Kinsey, Neeson has always had a knack for playing the earnest-but-flawed good guy. In his new movie Taken (Fox), writer/producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel have turned him into a Dad with the “mad skills” of a super-spy – think Mike Brady crossed with Jason Bourne.

The result is a well-reviewed (56% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) action film that will help to satisfy blockbuster-hungry audiences waiting for Warner Bros’ Watchmen (due March 6). Taken has scored big on its opening weekend. After grabbing an estimated $9.4M, the movie surged on Saturday to $11.62M (up almost 24% from opening day) and, despite today’s Super Bowl, the film could reach $24.62M according to studio estimates. That will be more than enough to win the Super Bowl 3-day, and positive word-of-mouth could get this one into the $70M-$75M range domestic.

(more…)

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Tags: a tale of two sisters, a.r. rahman, adam sandler, alexandre desplat, alfred kinsey
Posted Jan 31st 2009 at 2:15 pm in Steve Mason's Box Office | 3726234 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/01/31/early-estimates/Biggest+US+opening+ever+for+Luc+Besson+-+TAKEN+grabs+up+24%25+Saturday+and+finishes+with+%2424.6M+for+Super+Bowl+weekend%3B+PAUL+BLART%3A+MALL+COP+strong+at+%232+while+THE+UNINVITED+appears+headed+for+3rd+with+a+possible+%2410.5M%3B+Zellweger%27s+NEW+IN+TOWN+may+reach+%246.75M+opening%3B+Not+much+of+an+%22Oscar+bounce%22+for+THE+READER+and+MILK%21++2009-01-31+22%3A15%3A07Steve+Mason