Box Office Report for August

I've been busy with holidays and being ill but am back with a vengeance now and have just posted a box office report for Tastic Film for the month of August. Using the mighty Box Office Mojo as a source all things film and finance, I wrap up what's been hot, what's been not and what has been storming the charts in the past week.

We're the Millers is the big surprise of the past month but Lee Daniels' The Butler looks all set to do big business over the next few weeks.

We're the Winners!

Here is a teaser of the box office report but please head over to Tastic Film to check out the full report.

"Surprise comedy hit of the summer We’re the Millers is still hanging on to number 2 in the box office charts this week after three weeks on release and taking nearly $120 million across the globe. The raunchy comedy about a pot smuggling fake family stars Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston and has had very mixed reviews but has proved a hit with audiences, particularly in America. Over the past month it has taken even more than sci-fi spectacular Elysium on home turf, though the Matt Damon and Jodie Foster starring action flick has pulled in more punters in international territories..."

I then go on to discuss the box office performance of other big hits 2 Guns, Planes, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Kick-Ass 2.

What did you think of the box office winners and losers this month? Any surprises?

Check out my reviews of 2 Guns and We're the Millers by clicking the titles.

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

You're Next Review

We're the Millers Review

Lovelace Review

2 Guns Review

The Lone Ranger Review

The Lone Ranger: Too Dark for Disney?

The Lone Ranger is a Disney movie with a bit of a difference. Like Pirates of the Caribbean before it, The Lone Ranger gets away with some pretty harsh scenes of violence due to its 12 rating. Disney used to mean princesses, knights, enchanted castles and charming romances. It does not mean murder, revenge and slaughter. And yet The Lone Ranger reaches beyond your typical Disney moments of darkness and includes the gunning down of lawmen, a terrifying villain in William Fichtner and the slaughter of the Comanche by the United States army.

The Lone Ranger sees the titular lawmen turn outlaw after teaming up with more-than-just-a-sidekick, Native American Tonto. After his brother is brutally murdered (and has his heart cut out... see kids it's full of fun!) John Reid turns vigilante with the help of new spirit horse (eventually named Silver) and damaged Indian Tonto played wild and weird by Johnny Depp. Seeking the men responsible and their leader Butch Cavendish (freaky Fichtner) The Lone Ranger takes to wearing a mask and must get to the bottom of why the Comanche are being blamed for attacking settlers before a war (or just plain old genocide of the Natives) breaks out. With the trans-continental train track being built as a back drop, the quest for revenge and justice sees the mismatched pair uncovering corruption at every turn.

Armie Hammer nails the stoic hero while Depp tones down the Jack Sparrow excess while still making Tonto memorable, noble and fun. Hans Zimmer's score is brooding, dark and occasionally mournful until the glorious final set piece unleashes the William Tell Overture to rousing effect. Verbinski mounts a hell of an action packed set piece with trains, horses and plenty of characters to throw around but it's all a bit too ridiculous at times and as a result has to frequently rely on grating CG visual effects. However after sitting through two hours of nearly as much talk as action, kids and adults alike will undoubtedly be relieved to see some spectacle.

The Lone Ranger is bloated. Some scenes feel unnecessary and one late in the game character reversal is so obvious that it feels like a long wait for the revelation. Helenha Bonham Carter is completely sidelined but makes the most of very limited screen time while the slaughter of the Comanche is talked about but barely shown. After all no matter how dark and violent this gets, it is still a Disney film. The film is admirable for flipping the old Western traits on its head and showing a hugely sympathetic side of the Native Americans while also relegating their representation to the odd, amusing but also wise Tonto. It's no Dances with Wolves but it goes some way to showing the dreadful treatment of the Indians at the hands of settlers, particularly for a big dumb fun summer blockbuster.

According to Box Office Mojo, The Lone Ranger may have only just managed to scrape back it's over $200 million budget with a particularly poor domestic take. It looks likely that instead of becoming a Pirates size franchise, this might be the Standalone Ranger after all.

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

You're Next Review

We're the Millers Review

Lovelace Review

2 Guns Review

Monsters University Review

Man of Steel Review

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Iron Man 3 Review

More Fast and Furious 7 articles at Yahoo Movies

In my continuing quest to be the go-to guy for Fast and Furious movie news at Yahoo Movies, I have written another couple of articles inspired by my extensive trawling through the land of the interweb. Yesterday I came across the stories that the casting agent is looking at Bollywood actresses and also that an unnamed big blockbuster movie seems to be setting up camp in a very interesting location with lots of cars and stuff being brought to the peak of a wicked looking mountain!

None of this news is concrete at this stage but I hope that it excites Fast and Furious fans nonetheless. Yahoo have also asked me to include a little bio at the bottom of my stories about how much I love the franchise. I can't lie. I'm not the BIGGEST fan so check out my bio at the bottom of the stories and I hope it might make you chuckle.

I recently also had a feature published on the best stunts in the franchise so please feel free to take a peek at that article too. Every time you visit these pages, my bank balance goes up by a couple of pennies so I appreciate you taking the time to check out any of the stories I write for Yahoo.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more Fast and Furious 7 news and features on the fast car franchise.

Pikes Peak set for dizzying action scenes in Fast and Furious 7?

Will Fast and Furious 7 get a taste of Bollywood?

Fast and Furious: The fastest most furious stunts of the franchise

 What do you think of these bits of news and the feature? Anything excite you?

FrightFest 2013

FrightFest is an annual horror movie festival held in Leicester Square in London. On Sunday 25th August 2013, I got to attend the festival for the day and help out James from Tastic Film by conducting on camera interviews with the stars and directors in attendance. I also managed to sneak in a quick screening of a film called Dark Tourist but I was so knackered that I could barely stay awake for most of it I'm afraid.

First the stars and director of In Fear showed up. I'd heard a bit about this film and that it might be one of the best in the Fest so I read a bit about it before coming up with some questions for director Jeremy Lovering and stars Alice Englert and Allen Leech. Lovering has done all sorts of stuff in TV, most notably a recent episode of Sherlock and Alice Englert is from the recent Beautiful Creatures, while Leech is from Downton Abbey. Check out the video below this picture for the full interview:

Very poor pic of Alice Englert and Allen Leech

After that Anthony Di Blasi, the director of Missionary came and chatted for a while. Though I haven't seen his film, it sounds very interesting and Di Blasi was great fun to talk to.

Anthony Di Blasi (R) and his producer (L)

Next up I got to question Dark Tourist director Suri Krishnamma and lead actor Michael Cudlitz (from TV's Southland). This was the film I managed to sneak in to see and though it had a very intriguing premise about grief tourism and a guy who wants to visits locations where serial killers did their deeds, it didn't really grab me.

Suri Krishnamma and Michael Cudlitz

Finally it was time to interview the judges and winner of the 666 Short Cuts to Hell competition. Entrants were given a whole list of restrictions in which to make their own horror short film and I also managed to get to watch the six finalists on the big screen at Empire Leicester Square. All the finalists I saw were incredible; brilliantly crafted and often packing some hilarious punchlines. The judges included Tom Six, the director of the Human Centipede trilogy and Rosie Fletcher, the associate editor of Total Film magazine. Tom Six was too busy editing HC3 to be there so he sent star of HC2 Laurence R. Harvey. So the highlights of my day were asking Harvey about HC3 and also bugging Rosie Fletcher with loads of questions about how I get myself into Total Film one day!

Competition winner and judges

Here is a video I shot of Laurence R. Harvey talking about HC3 in front of the packed FrightFest audience. All the interviews will be up on Tastic Film soon and I will post links to them as soon as they are up.



Anyone else attend FrightFest 2013? What were your picks of the Fest?

More on past FrightFests from I Love That Film:

Tower Block Trailer Shoots to Kill

Where are the Dead?

Zombies Attack London! 

Holiday Reading 2013: Books for Movie Buffs

Wondering what books are worth reading at the moment? Here's what I read on holiday in Thailand and my brief thoughts on each book. All are movie related in some way so please read on if you are a movie buff that needs some books to read.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Devil's Advocates) by James Rose

This is one of the latest of the Devil's Advocates series that critically analyse classic horror films. I'm writing the Devil's Advocate book on The Blair Witch Project as we speak so thought I'd give this a read for inspiration. I've also read Benjamin Poole's Devil's Advocate book on Saw and both are insanely detailed and wonderful to read. I studied TTCSM as part of my dissertation and there was still plenty of material that I found fascinating in Rose's lively, detailed and thoughtful analysis of the film. Highly recommended for fans of the film or anyone with an academic interest in horror. It's a quick read too if you like little books!

Are You Talking to Me? A Life Through the Movies by John Walsh

This was much more biography than I expected with Walsh detailing his youth in London as he was growing up and the films that helped him make it through to adulthood. It's full of the the stuff of youth which should be terribly boring such as Walsh's first kiss but the author mostly keeps it lively and entertaining and he has made me want to watch all the films he discusses in the book from Cabaret to Mutiny on the Bounty. It reminded me a bit of The Film Club which I read on holiday last year but that book was much more emotional. However both made me want to seek out old films that I have not yet seen.

Green Zone: Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekran

Meticulously researched account of the first year after the (mostly) Americans occupied Baghdad and tried to rebuild it in their image. Made into a film starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, this book is all non-fiction and therefore is filled with facts, figures, names and places being recited by an author who clearly did his research. For the most part it does not overwhelm in detail and Chandrasekran has found a way to tell his story fluently and clearly. People call it a black comedy but I often failed to see the funny side. It made me frustrated and angry mainly despite not being completely unsympathetic to the occasionally noble causes of the Americans flown in to sort out the new Iraq. Still, a depressing look at what happened tainted by the infrequent promise of what could have been.

 

A Game of Thrones

I never thought I was going to get through the above 3 books but I did with about a week of holiday left so I wandered into a used book shop on the island of Ko Lanta and found they had weathered copies of the first two books of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series so I snapped them both up despite them adding an enormous amount of weight to my already stuffed backpack. But boy was I glad I did. I got gastroenteritis towards the end of the holiday and so spent even more time sitting around the pool or on the beach reading. Despite the fact I have already seen series 1 of HBO's Game of Thrones, I loved every minute of this book which covers the same ground. The dialogue is so brilliantly written that I found myself wanting to talk like the characters all the time. I swear the writers of the show must have it pretty damn easy as the book is so well written with the characters being so clear from their wonderfully crafted dialogue. I'm now about 100 pages into the second book A Clash of Kings and will soon be catching up with where I am in the TV show. I can't wait to get ahead so I won't have to worry about spoilers any longer!

What have you been reading recently? Any recommendations for a fellow film buff?

More book reviews from I Love That Film:

Holiday Reading: Mark Kermode, Film Club, Robopocalypse

Book Review: THE ART OF EPIC - Starburst

Boy Nobody Book Review - Filmoria

You're Next Review

You know what you're getting into with a title like You're Next. Simplistic slasher thrills as a killer tears through a collection of nubile teens? Blood, guts, knives and other sharp implements and probably a showdown between a buxom blonde and the masked killer. You're Next offers a home invasion at a wealthy family's retreat as the siblings gather around the aging parents for a wedding anniversary celebration. Crossbow wielding psychos in animal masks show up and the bloody writing is soon all over the walls as the family members start getting picked off one by one.

You're Next is indebted to the slashers of the 80s it frequently alludes to. The music, the slow build stalking sequences and the bloody kills are all present and correct but things are slightly out of sync with this slasher. The victims are a family, not the half naked teens of some summer camp. The kills stack up quickly and the final girl doesn't start out meek and learn to man up slowly as people die around her.

In fact Aussie stunner Sharni Vinson is the biggest reason to watch You're Next and her character Erin is quick to fight back when the masked men come a-knocking. She is endlessly resourceful, smart, strong and sexy and you will root for her right to the vicious end. As the body count surges and spikes, Vinson's Erin is forced into action; not just action but brilliantly brutal violence. The other victims might be infrequently sympathetic but screaming and shouting at each other does provide some darkly comic moments.

There are plenty of suspenseful build ups, some shocking scares and a twist or two in the tale to watch out for but You're Next never quite fully delivers on the terror of the set up or the promise of the premise. The use of music is often inventive and occasionally bold and makes some sequences stand out from the rest. The problem is you can never quite forget that wonderful trailer for the film that promised so much and was scored to Lou Reed's Perfect Day (see below if you haven't seen it).

The mystery behind who is attacking the family becomes clearer mid way through the film and from there the suspense drops noticeably but there are still some thrills to be had as You're Next delivers it's next surprises. The comparisons to Scream and the touting of You're Next as the future of horror are forced and not fair to Scream or this film. While it shows some great potential and has some beautifully scored moments, it will be even more interesting to see what director Adam Wingard has in store for us next.

Watch the trailer here:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

We're the Millers Review

Lovelace Review

2 Guns Review

Monsters University Review

Man of Steel Review

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

We're the Millers Review

There is a fine line between characters that are funny and characters that are just plain selfish, obnoxious or stupid. We're the Millers treads the fine line deftly with some scummy characters that never stray far from sweet and endearing despite what they are up to. Identity Thief is an example of a recent film that had a character that was just too damn hard to warm to and therefore even the hilarious Melissa McCarthy couldn't make her funny.

We're the Millers has a rag tag group of misfits come together to pretend to be a normal nuclear family in order to smuggle a tonne of dope over the Mexican-American border. There is selfish small time weed dealer David (Jason Sudeikis), stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), homeless runaway teen Casey (Emma Roberts) and sweet and innocent virgin Kenny (Will Poulter). David assembles his makeshift 'family' to help him shift the pot over the border as he thinks a happy family in an RV will not arouse as much suspicion in the eyes of border patrol as if he tried to do it himself. But these four make for less than a simple happy family and crossing the border is the least of their problems when they realise a pissed off drug lord is on their tail.

We're the Millers is a riotous road trip that might be lacking in surprises but makes up for this with some laugh out loud moments that are rude, occasionally raunchy and frequently uncomfortable. It is a measure of the kind of comedy in this film that the funniest moment in the film plays on what could be perceived as incestuous snogging between a boy and his Mum and his sister. If that doesn't sound like you're kind of humour then best to avoid We're the Millers.

Both the script and performances keep things zippy and appealing even if the characters should occasionally be appalling. Jason Sudeikis is eminently likeable despite the selfish character, Aniston is still a gifted comedienne (and looks stunning in her underwear!), Roberts reveals layers beneath the hard exterior of Casey and Will Poulter while only getting a fairly one note character proves that he has comic timing, can do an American accent and is destined to be a very big star one day soon.

We're the Millers may not break boundaries in its border crossing but it is a road trip fueled by excellent comedic performances and a few side splitting scenes; a comedy about a family that is definitely not suitable for the whole family.

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film: 

Lovelace Review

2 Guns Review

Monsters University Review

Man of Steel Review

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

July Movie Reviews and Round up

Lovelace Review

Deep Throat is probably not a film best known for its astounding performances. Lovelace on the other hand, which is the biographical story of the star of the notorious skin flick, is packed with perfect performances from a brilliant cast. Amanda Seyfried takes centre stage as Linda Lovelace, the good girl gone bad as she becomes a celebrity after the phenomenal success of history's most profitable porn film.

Unsurprisingly Lovelace is not a film full of fun and games, harmless bed filled romps and unnecessarily thorough blow jobs. It is a story of manipulation, domestic abuse, sexual slavery and one woman finding the courage to just say no. Linda Lovelace may have appeared to enjoy the limelight at the height of her fame but she later spoke out against pornography and told a far different story than what the smiles had previously suggested.

The majority of the film dwells on the (relative) highs of Linda's relationship with husband and prime manipulator and abuser Chuck Traynor, only hinting slightly at the darkness that lurked beneath. Finally Lovelace decides to reveal the full story and the sordid details of her relationship with the repulsive Chuck, perfectly played by a never more seedy Peter Sarsgaard. The film then flashes back and fills in the stuff we weren't seeing before; the beatings, the forced prostitution and coercion and the misery that Linda was feeling.

Seyfried is excellent but the surrounding cast also shine with Sharon Stone (virtually unrecognisable) and Robert Patrick as Linda's parents particularly making an impression. Their concerns, advice, reactions and coping with Linda's new found celebrity and the subsequent fall out are the most tragic elements of the story and Stone and Patrick are fantastic in their limited scenes. The pair of performances and the empathetic script make Lovelace's parents both monstrous and deeply sympathetic.

Where Lovelace fails to fully penetrate greatness is that it never feels complete. The story feels half told and therefore fails to have the full impact that it could. Even though it tells its story and then flashes back to re-tell it some more with added details, so much seems missed and the worst excesses of what Linda went through feel skipped over and shied away from. Perhaps directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman desired restraint but I imagine Lovelace's own book Ordeal didn't hold back when it came to her suffering at the hands of Traynor and other men.

Lovelace fails to fully penetrate the dark heart of the story despite some hard core performances from an excellent cast. It is however an eye opening look at an industry that I suspect is only getting more vicious and more worrying as time goes on.

Watch the trailer:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film:

2 Guns Review

Monsters University Review

Man of Steel Review

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

July Movie Reviews and Round up

2 Guns Review

Some films think they can get by on star swagger and a bit of witty banter. Throw in plenty of alpha male machismo, gunfights and explosions, a single sexy siren to gawp at and the plot can be as ridiculous as you like; apparently young men will lap it up for sure. 2 Guns has Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in a plot so ludicrous that you wouldn't want to dare take a moment to stop and think about it or you might just be tempted to walk out the cinema.

Washington is Bobby Trench involved in dealing drugs and dodgy passports to cartels with his partner Wahlberg's quick shot, quick witted Stig. Sounds simple. Then it turns out Washington is an undercover cop and Wahlberg is working undercover for the Navy. Neither knows this until the shit hits the fan and then it gets even sillier. After robbing a bank full of what they thought was cartel money, it turns out the corrupt CIA have a stake in what they stole and now Bill Paxton's sadistic CIA bigwig is on their tail and Washington and Wahlberg are being double crossed and chased by everyone else in the film. Will their 2 Guns be enough to take down the cartels and the CIA?

More to the point, will the undoubtedly appealing double act of Washington and Wahlberg on fine swaggering form be enough to paper over the cracks in such a silly set up? The dialogue has occasional dashes of wit and the story moves quickly enough to drag you along without too many questions niggling at your logic sensors. However it doesn't matter how cool the stars think they are if the script never gives them anything memorable to say. Bill Paxton is very welcome (where's he been?) and gets the stand out villain character but he would have made more of an impact in a different film, one that didn't try to veer so wildly between comedic moments and attempts at some real threat and danger.

For an action comedy, 2 Guns delivers plenty of shoot outs and a healthy dose of exploding stuff but the script is weaker when it comes to the comedy. Without the charisma of Washington and Wahlberg, it is easy to assume this might have gone straight to DVD. It's quite fun while it lasts but you certainly don't want to spend any time afterwards pondering the plot. 2 Guns is neither Washington nor Wahlberg's best but it's still worth a shot, just probably not 2.

On a side note, I got to interview Denzel Washington at the Flight premiere and I asked him about 2 Guns. Read the red carpet report here. Watch the trailer for 2 Guns below:

Recent reviews at I Love That Film:

Monsters University Review

Man of Steel Review

This is the End Review 

Fast and Furious 6 Review

21 & Over Review

Iron Man 3 Review

Olympus Has Fallen Review

July Movie Reviews and Round up