film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
Just a quick look at last weekend’s number as we head into the long holiday stretch, which will, in effect, be one long “weekend” starting tomorrow, Christmas Day, and running through Sunday, January 4: 1. Yes Man: $18.2 million (NEW) 2. Seven Pounds: $14.9 million (NEW) 3. The Tale of Despereaux: $10 million (NEW) 4. … more…
As in the U.S., the U.K. debut of The Day the Earth Stood Still looks good at first glance, but it pales next to, say, last week’s bow of Madagascar 2… or even this second weekend of that animated flick, even after it took a big drop: 1. The Day the Earth Stood Still: £2.8 … more…
It looks kinda like a big number for the Keanu Reeves sci-fi flick, but it kinda ain’t: 1. The Day the Earth Stood Still: $30.4 million (NEW) 2. Four Christmases: $13 million (3rd week; drops 22%) 3. Twilight: $7.9 million (4th week; drops 39%) 4. Bolt: $7.5 million (4th week; drop 24%) 5. Australia: $4.2 … more…
When the aliens come, and they want to blow us out of the galaxy for being such a waste of organic chemistry, this movie will be among their evidence against us.
I mentioned in comments here how December for film critics is so insanely busy it feels like there’s no time to sleep. A week like this is what makes me feel this way. Today’s not so bad, as far as being jam-packed with screenings goes, except that today my first screening was at 10am, and … more…
All this weekend! 5 movies I’m psyched for in December and 5 reasons why. No. 2: The Day the Earth Stood Still [opens in the U.S. and the U.K. on December 12]. 1. I’m feeling kinda starved for grownup science fiction lately. There’s been a few films this year that are arguably SF: Iron Man … more…
Late this week. This is what I get for deciding I’d rather be right than first with the box office numbers — which means waiting till Monday afternoon when the actual numbers come in rather than jumping in as soon as the weekend estimates appear on Sunday. Which means if I’m totally otherwise occupied with … more…
Take a break from work: watch a movie trailer… Much darker than that first trailer. I said, back when I discussed that first trailer, that I imagined that this global-warming-is-bad update would deal with the mysterious why? of aliens caring about whether we humans destroy our environment, and there’s a hint of how that’s going … more…
obsession: Doctor Who (I just spent an obscene amount of money buying a bunch of DVDs of the old show, and I’m gonna start reviewing those — stay tuned) boyfriend: Lee Pace in Pushing Daisies (cuz he’s just the cutest thing ever) psyched: The Day the Earth Stood Still (stop it — I like Keanu, … more…
Take a break from work: watch a movie trailer… [watch it here; I deleted the embedded Quicktime player because it was causing problems for some readers] (Go here for other sizes.) If someone told me they were remaking the classic 1950s flick and asked me who would be the best actor working today to play … more…
