film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
UPDATED 11.30: Just cuz it’s awards season doesn’t mean there isn’t crap to be found… UPDATED 10.16: When will someone make a horror movie that can stand up to the critics? UPDATED 9.21: Another horror movie, not screening for critics… UPDATED 9.09: Two more not-at-all surprising additions to the list… UPDATED 8.21: Shocking news! End-of-August … more…
It’s the end of the world as we know it, but the multiplex is fine: 1. Knowing: $24.6 million (NEW) 2. I Love You, Man: $17.8 million (NEW) 3. Duplicity: $13.9 million (NEW) 4. Race to Witch Mountain: $12.8 million (2nd week; drops 48%) 5. Watchmen: $6.8 million (3rd week; drops 62%) actual numbers, not … more…
Aliens rule, superheroes drool: 1. Race to Witch Mountain: $24.4 million 2. Watchmen: $17.8 million (2nd week; drops 68%) 3. The Last House on the Left: $14 million (NEW) 4. Taken: $6.6 million 5. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail: $5.1 million (4th week; drops 40%) actual numbers, not estimates Ouch, but that drop for … more…
The box office has been going so gangbusters lately that it hardly seems necessary, but some multiplexes have been thinking long and hard about how to get more butts into their seats. As The Hollywood Reporter reported recently, the Carmike Cinemas chain is tryinng to draw more attendees on what is traditionally slow night: The … more…
Shocking news! Comic book movie dominates at the box office: 1. Watchmen: $55.2 million (NEW) 2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail: $8.5 million (3rd week; drops 47%) 3. Taken: $7.3 million 4. Slumdog Millionaire: $6.8 million 5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop: $4.1 million actual numbers, not estimates Watchmen is down a bit from the … more…
This is bittersweet to me: the evangelical boy “rockers” lose out on the weekend of their movie debut, but that means Tyler Perry in a fatsuit gets to win again: 1. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail: $16.2 million (2nd week; drops 61%) 2. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience: $12.5 million (NEW) 3. Slumdog … more…
Take a break from work: watch a movie trailer… Remember when our hero Joel Robinson riffed off an old SNL “commercial,” cracking about how the really bad movie he and the bots were watching was “a dessert topping and a floor wax”? I wish Joel were still around to crack wise at Tyler Perry movies… … more…
