Anyone who had the unfortunate experience of sitting through "The Hangover Part II" can tell you that it was little more than a regurgitation of the script from "The Hangover," set in Thailand and therefore featuring more racist stereotypes about Asian people. Like the "Sex and the City" movies, one desperately hoped that the producers would thank their lucky stars that they were able to pull the wool over movie-going audiences' eyes enough to get them to show up to this ridiculous sequel, then pocket the cash and run.
Say it Ain't So: There's Talk of Another 'Hangover' Movie
Fancy Face Fray: Ryan Gosling VS Bradley Cooper
The land is in a sexy frenzy following today's shocking news that Bradley Cooper - not Ryan Gosling - has been dubbed People's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive. Recounts have been demanded, tears have been shed and BuzzFeed has launched a Change.org petition.
'The Hangover Part II' Breaks Comedy Debut Record in Opening Weekend
Those of us who like our movies recycled will be happy to hear that "The Hangover Part II," the movie which unabashedly rips off the plot, pretty much point by point, of its predecessor "The Hangover" swept the box office this weekend. Bloomberg reports that "The Hangover Part II" raked in $86.5 million, breaking the record for best comedy debut which had been held by "The Simpsons Movie," which brought in $74 million when it opened in 2007.
Weekend Movie Guide 05/27: Blockbusters For The Family, Frat-House & The Arthouse
Summer blockbuster season is officially in full force! Memorial Day weekend is traditionally Hollywood's highest-grossing (long) weekend. This year brings two highly anticipated sequels, one for the family & one for the frat-house. Even snobs will delight at the big names appearing at the arthouse.
Box Office Review: Bad Movie Beats Worse Movie
While it was expected that The Karate Kid and The A-Team would tussle for the weekend box office crown, the reality is that it was no contest. The pointless remake of the seminal 80s hit waxed on to the tune of $56M to easily dispatch the middling TV show reboot ($26M). Shrek Forever After continued to do better than anyone expected ($15.8M | $210M) while Get Him to the Greek ($10.1M $36.5M) and Killers ($8.1M | $30.6M) enjoyed reasonably good holds in their second weekends.
Weekend Movie Guide: Crappy Re-Make or Crappy Re-Boot?
While transitioning a moderately bad TV show like The A-Team to the big screen is little more than a lazy idea, re-making The Karate Kid is just downright awful and evil and pathetic. I can't remember the last time I was rooting so hard for a movie to utterly fail. Okay, maybe Sex and the City 2 a few weeks ago, but still! Winter's Bone was one of the breakout hits from this past year's Sundance Film Festival. Mark it down -- Jennifer Lawrence is going to be a star. Another movie about Coco Chanel? Wasn't one enough? Reviews have been middling for Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky so I think I'll pass. On the other hand, notices for Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work have been superb. She's still the funniest female comedian I've ever seen. See it!
DVD Tuesday: I Already Write Around the Clock!
I enjoyed everything about Invictus -- the cast, the story, the filmmaker -- except the actual movie. Frankly, it was just dull. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I am very angry at Americans right now for throwing good money at the vile Valentine's Day. You know what happens now, right? They're going to make another "themed" movie like this -- New Year's Eve. And then another one. And another. When will you people ever learn? You suck. Extraordinary Measures felt more like a movie of the week than something that needed to be seen in theaters, but it did give us, "I already work around the clock!!!" Will that awful line reading supplant this beauty? The Messenger is quality filmmaking, but get ready to be depressed upon watching it.
Box Office Review: Valentine's Day Sucks!
A trio of newcomers stormed the box-office this weekend, thoroughly knocking down the mighty Avatar from its lofty aerie. The rancid and cynical Valentine's Day led the pack with a well undeserved $52.4M. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Very Long Title pulled in a solid $31.1M to edge out the better-than-expected The Wolfman ($30.6M). After that it was the aforementioned Avatar ($22M | $659.6M) and the moronic Dear John ($15.3M | $53.1M).
Weekend Movie Guide: Bite Me, Valentine's Day!
Sure the reviews haven't exactly been stellar, but I'm really looking forward to The Wolfman. Benicio + Tony + Emily + (most importantly) Rick Baker = my ass in the seat opening weekend! Thank God it is rated R for "bloody horror violence and gore." I'm sick and tired of these PG-13 horror flicks. Some might say that Valentine's Day is a cynical attempt to cash in on an all-star cast even though the underlying film is, in fact, awful. Oh wait, I would be saying that. Please avoid this film, America!
DVD Tuesday: You Basterd!*
Sure, it may not have received the near-universal acclaim of Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, but I thought Inglourious Basterds was a welcome return to form for Tarantino after the over-long Kill Bill diptych and the dull Death Proof. I really dug The Hangover the first time I saw it, but a second viewing wasn't nearly as satisfying (contrast that with, say, Anchorman which I found far funnier on the tenth screening.) More than any other movie, The Goods suffered from all the Hangover success since it seemed mild in comparison. It's worth a look on DVD, though. The same guys for Taking Woodstock. I was apparently the only one in the world who loved it, but how can you not love Ang Lee? The Mel Brooks Collection on Blu-Ray = perfect gift for Dad.
Box Office Review: Meh...
The Labor Day weekend is typically a slow time for the movie business as everyone makes one final attempt to catch some elusive summer magic (e.g. sleep with unattainable lust object). As such, The Final Destination was the best of a weak bunch as it nabbed $12.4M ($47.5M) to top the weekend box office. Terrible newcomer All About Steve finished a reasonably close second ($11.2M) just ahead of the steady Inglourious Basterds ($10.8M | $91M). Gamer disappointed in its debut ($9M) as audiences showed a rare flash of sound judgment.
Weekend Movie Guide: New Mike Judge!
Is it just me or is there a surprising lack of public excitement about the release of Extract? I mean, Mike Judge and Jason Bateman working together on a film? Either one of these guys pulls me into a theater, but both together-- that's nirvana. On the other hand, is anyone looking forward to Gamer? Gerard Butler is rapidly squandering the capital he earned back when he was just a working actor. If you don't know what I mean, watch how great he was in Dear Frankie. Hell, he was even good in Timeline and that movie blew!
Box Office Review: Still Got a Hangover
Raunchy bachelor-party comedy The Hangover topped the box office for a surprising second straight weekend as it dropped only 26% from its strong debut ($33.4M/$105.3M). Pixar's delightful Up presented a strong challenge in its third week to finish a close second ($30.5M/$187.1M) while superb newcomer The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 finished third with a slightly underwhelming $25M. After that, it was the dreadful Night of the Museum 2: Jesus, We Suck ($9.6M/$143.4M), the reasonably funny Land of the Lost ($9.1M/$34.9M) and Eddie Murphy's epic shitfest Imagine That ($5.7M). Someone, please stop Eddie Murphy.
Weekend Movie Guide: I Have a Hangover! Get Lost!
Buzz on the The Hangover is so hot that Warner Brothers is already moving ahead on a sequel before the film is even released. Every summer a comedy breaks out of nowhere to be a huge hit. Will this be the one? It probably won't be Land of the Lost. By most accounts, it's a Bewitched Will Ferrell flick instead of an Anchorman one. Away We Go will not work for everyone since it's so amazingly precious. Then again, what else would you expect from the hipster triumvirate of Dave Eggers | Sam Mendes | John Krasinski?
Box Office Review: America is Into You
An all-star cast was enough to propel newcomer He Only Wants To Sleep with You to the top of the weekend box-office. The generic romantic comedy tallied an impressive $27.4M to easily beat last week's champ Taken ($20.3/$53.3M). The superb Coraline managed to snag $16.3M worth of kiddie dollars as parents weren't scared away by the film's dark themes. After that it was the unnecessary and dreadful The Pink Panther 2 ($12M) followed by the equally boorish Paul Blart: Pathetic Fatso ($11M/$97M).
Box Office Review: No! Yes!
In a down weekend due to bad weather across the country, middling Jim Carrey "comedy" continued to hang around like a drunken slut ($7.7M/$100.1M).

