North American box office: ‘Up’ up and away

Pixar triumphs again. Is there anything they can’t sell us? 1. Up: $68.1 million (NEW) 2. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $24.4 million (2nd week; drops 55%) 3. Terminator Salvation: $16.4 million (2nd week; drops 61%) 4. Drag Me to Hell: $15.8 million (NEW) 5. Star Trek: $12.6 million (4th week; drops … more…

Death to Smoochy and Panic Room (review)

A movie is never more of a crushing disappointment than when you’ve gotten your hopes up, when against your better judgment you’ve bought into the hype and the advertising and the how-can-it-miss high concept. Imagine how sad the entire geek community is going to be if Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man sucks. (But it can’t suck, right? Right? I mean, it’s Sam Raimi. It’s Spider-Man. Please, whatever movie gods there are, don’t make it suck. Don’t do that to us.)