Results tagged “dougpray”

       

Tyler Perry's latest mediocrity I Can Do Bad All By Myself demolished the competition this weekend, debuting to $24M to top the box-office charts. The visually delightful (but narratively generic) 9 came in a distant second, taking in only $10.8M in its opening frame. Inglourious Basterds is proving to be a much-needed and resilient winner for Quentin Tarantino and the Weinstein Company ($6.5M | $104.3M), while the renaissance of Sandra Bullock continues with All About Steve ($5.8M | $21.8M).

                            

Wow! Crowded weekend, huh? I'd say 9 has to be at the top of any list if only for its sumptuous animation. Tyler Perry continues to crank out middling material, though Taraji Henson is almost enough to pull me into I Can Do Bad All by Myself. I've railed against bad horror re-makes so I feel obligated to rail against Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, too. It has a decent pedigree (Peter Hyams directing, Michael Douglas starring), but stop recycling old ideas, Hollywood! Sorority Row may (will) suck but at least it has the stones to go for an R rating and let its gore/nudity flag fly. Whiteout is the new Dominic Sena movie. If you know anything about his earlier work, you'll know to stay away (actually Gone in 60 Seconds was good, dumb fun featuring vintage Cage).

One of the best things about attending a festival isn't the films you get to see, but the industry panels the organizers assemble to give the public a glimpse into the inner workings of show business. On Saturday in Santa Barbara I was lucky enough to attend two dynamite panels. The first featured producers from five of 2008's most lauded films (The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire and Rachel Getting Married. Moderated by Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times, it was a rollicking peek into a largely hidden world.