This Weekends Movie News – Whats Hot This Weekend, What Happened Last Weekend

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My Paranormal Activity Movie Review

Paranormal Activity... Not So Much

Alright, so I just went and saw Paranormal Activity last night.  Before I go any further and tell you what I thought, I just want to make something clear first.

I think Hollywood has taken horror movies in the wrong direction in terms of how they go about scaring you nowadays.  Scary movies now (for the most part…there are of course some exceptions to what I’m about to say) are all about gore, things “popping up and out” of nowhere and “twists”.

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The gore (you know, some guys abdomen exploding or something) is really more gross than anything.  Somehow, Hollywood is mistaking an audiences wincing at arterial blood spray because it is just plain gross, as wincing because it is scary…it isn’t scary, we just don’t want to puke.

The “things popping up and out” Again, you know this tactic…  Girl takes shower, girl gets out of shower, girl looks in mirror (nothing there), girl opens medicine cabinet mirror, girl closes medicine cabinet mirror…SCARY MONSTER IN MIRROR (insert loud obnoxious sound here).  Now, during a horror movie, everybody enjoys a good “jump out of their seat moment”.  The thing is, when that tactic is used as the sole source of “scariness” it just doesn’t make the movie scary, it just makes you spill your soda.

Lastly, the “twists”, not really a scare tactic so much I guess, but it could be depending on how it is used.

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Why did I bother writing all that?  Because I thought that Paranormal Activity was going to take me back to the good ole’days of scary movies…where you actually feel scared…where you actually feel uncomfortable…where you’re afraid to go home and turn the lights off…

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So, did Paranormal Activity accomplish making me feel scared, uncomfortable and paranoid?  No…not even close…  What it DID accomplish was making me feel as though I would at some point in the future feel scared, uncomfortable and paranoid…but that point never came.  It always seems as though that moment is just around the corner, you know, the moment where you are ACTUALLY scared.  Since it never happens, throughout the whole movie, you find that the only reason you’re even still watching it is because you’re afraid that if you leave you’ll miss the moment that makes the movie good.  Otherwise, you’d either fall asleep or just leave.

Now, there were some “creepy” moments, but they were the kind of creepy moments that should have been built upon and used to truly scare you.  The thing is, the whole movie ended up being comprised of “creepy” moments that weren’t take full advantage of…in fact, they weren’t taken advantage of at all.  There was no leveraging of those creepy moments into full blown terror.  They just fell flat.

The movie was 1/4 “creepy” moments, 1/4 “am I about to actually be scared?” moments (and you aren’t) and 1/2 dialogue (slow boring dialogue…not even dialogue that drives those creepy moments into your psyche for you to develop into “your own terror” so to speak)

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For me, this movie was a repeat of The Blair Witch project (which I didn’t like and was not scared by).  When I went to see The Blair Witch, it was with the sincere feeling that I would be scared while in the theater and upon leaving…however, upon leaving the only feeling I had was on how I could get back my wasted money.

I was left with the same feeling after seeing Paranormal Activity.  The thing is, when you go and see a movie that isn’t really hyped up and it turns out to be a terrible movie, you don’t feel like you’ve had something stolen from you.  You just chalk it up as another crappy movie.

However, when I go and see a movie like Paranormal Activity where the marketing makes it look as though I’m in for the best scary movie I’ve EVER seen and I’m left with NOTHING (and with this movie, you really are left with nothing), I feel like somebody has punched me square in the face and took my money from me.

And yes, I feel like somebody has punched me in the face and stolen my money…this movie is NOT worth paying to see…wait until it comes out on television and you have the option to change the channel…which you will.

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The Top Weekend Movie Honor for This Weekends Movies Goes to…

Where the Wild Things Are Banner

Where the Wild Things Are!!

Spike Jonez who has arguably ceased to ever make a bad film, has continued his legacy.  This weekends movie “Where the Wild Things Are” took this weekends top movie spot bringing in $32.5 million in ticket sales…pretty awesome stuff.  To be honest though, it really isn’t a surprise.  As I said in this post about Where the Wild Things Are, I kind of saw this movie coming out on top.

It just had everything going for it.  I mean, it has the immediate benefit of just plain looking spectacular in the trailers…which draws in the kids.  The real kicker though is this…those same kids who probably didn’t even know this movie is based on a book have parents…parents who have read and remember this book from their childhood.  So the parents wanted to take their kids to see this movie this weekend…and I don’t blame them.  I don’t even have kids and I want to see this movie.

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So, what was a suprise at this weekends movies?  Paranormal Activity.  I guess I shouldn’t say it is a surprise so much as it is just plain awesome.  Why is it awesome?  Alright, I’ll stop with the rhetorical questions.  It is awesome because this movie moved up a spot from last weekend.  Plain old movie buzz and just being a good movie managed to actually take this movie, which finished 4th at the box office last weekend, and bring it up to the number 3 spot for a total haul in of just over $20 million (just this weekend mind you).

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That leaves us with Law Abiding Citizen, which took in just over $21 million this weekend at the box office leaving it in 2nd place.  Now, think about this for a second.  In Law Abiding Citizen you’ve got Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, a ton of advertising and the fact that it is this movies opening weekend (usually the strongest weekend for any movie) and it took it just over $21 million.  Paranormal Activity has NO STARS whatsoever, was shot on an ultra low budget and this weekend was its second weekend at the box office…and it took in almost the same dollar amount as Law Abiding Citizen!

I don’t mean to harp on Paranormal Activity or anything, but as a movie lover, you’ve got to love it when you see a movie do well simply because it is a good movie (although I don’t think anybody can argue that it didn’t have a great advertising campaign…but for it to stick after the movies wide release, the movie must be good).

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Amelia Movie Tagline: Defying The Impossible. Living The Dream.

How Amelia Performed at the Box Office Opening Weekend:  Terribly…that’s how.  Amelia grossed a dismal $4 million opening weekend.  There was simply too much going on at the box office for this movie to even make it into the top 5…in fact, this movie didn’t even make it into the top 10 movies of it’s opening weekend.

Release Date (everywhere): October 23rd, 2009

Their Plot Synopsis: A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.

Starring: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor

My Thoughts: I’m excited about this movie.  I’m not so sure it is going to blow the box office away or anything, but I would like to see this.  It reminds me a bit of the movie “The Aviator” which was a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and was based on the life of Howard Hughes.  It is actually one of my favorite movies.  I’m hoping this movie comes close to it.  Alright, maybe that is my cynical side coming out.  I haven’t seen it and I’m already assuming that it doesn’t have a shot at being better than The Aviator.  So, let me rephrase, I hope this movie makes it into my favorites list.

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Astro Boy Movie Tagline: "Have a Blast"

Astro Boy Opening Weekend Performance: There is bad news and worse news…I’ll give you the bad first.  This movie only took in about $7 million for its total weekend gross.  The worse news?  It cost $65 million to produce it!!  This movie is a verifiable black hole…no money ever comes back from it.

Release Date (everywhere): October 23rd, 2009

Their Plot Synopsis: When a scientist’s young son dies, he secretly creates a powerful robot child to replace him, however the robot uses it’s incredible powers to become a world famous super-hero, and faces his biggest challenge when an alien race threatens Earth

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Charlize Theron and Donald Sutherland

My Thoughts: When I first saw the previews and started writing this post, I thought “Oh, cool, just another kids movie”.  But I dug a bit deeper and found that adults might actually have a pretty good shot at actually enjoying this movie with their kids.  I was reading up on some reviews of those that had seen this movie at some advance screenings, and it looks like the story line has enough “maturity” to it to actually keep an adult interested in the movie.  It certainly has enough star power behind it (which kids won’t care about) to make an adult at least be interested enough in the movie to go with their kids to see it it.

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Tagline: Meet Darren... He's Sixteen Going on Immortal

The Vampires Assistant Has Terrible Opening Weekend Stats…Here They Are: Personally, I never thought for a second this movie was going to do well…turns out I was right.  This movie brought in just over $6 million on its opening weekend debut.  Yes, you read that right…it grossed only about $6 million.  Not too bad though, considering it only cost about $40 million to make it.  (Hopefully the sarcasm has been picked up by you readers)

Release Date (everywhere):  October 23rd, 2009

Their Plot Synopsis:  A young boy named Darren Shan meets a mysterious man at a freak show who turns out to be a Vampire. After a series of events Darren must leave his normal life and go on the road with the Cirque Du Freak and become a Vampire.

Starring: Chris Massoglia, John C Reilly…

My Thoughts:  Alright, I know this movie is based on a book and has nothing to do with Twilight.  In case you didn’t know, this movie is based on the book series “The Saga of Derren Shaun“.  With that being said, I still can’t help but get a feel from the trailer (and its release date) that it is trying to “spoof” Twilight.  Now I’m not saying the book series is spoofing Twilight, I’m saying this movie is trying to.  It is just shot in a very comical style, and you’ve got John C. Reilly starring in it who has been known to star in spoof films before.  I know there will be some who don’t agree…but just think about it.

The Buzz: Some had the opportunity to see this movie in Austin, TX at the “Fantastic Fest film festival” and most seemed to enjoy it.  One viewer even said “it succeeds in being dark without taking itself so seriously, unlike the Potter movies”.   I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong about it being a spoof type movie, but that is just the feel I get from it.

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Saw 6 Tagline: The Game Comes Full Circle

Saw 6’s Opening Weekend Performance is Worse Than Expected: Just a little information for you before we go any further.  No other Saw movie has ever opened to less than a $30 million debut.  So, how did Saw 6 fit into those stats?  It didn’t.  It opened to a disappointing $15 million (just shy of that actually).  That dollar amount was enough to secure a number two spot out of it’s weekend opening movie competition, but that that doesn’t say much.

Release Date (everywhere):  October 23rd, 2009

Their Plot Synopsis:  Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw’s legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw’s grand scheme is finally understood.

Starring: Tobin Bell and Costas Mandylor

My Thoughts:  When I first saw “Saw”, I was hooked.  I haven’t missed a single one of these movies, but I (as many others) have become increasingly annoyed at the movies.  Each one to be released was detracting from the original “feel and appeal” of the first movie.  The idea was so original and was made even better by a great film based on that great idea.  There is no doubt this movie is going to be the top weekend movie at this weekends movies, but I just really hope that it is because it deserves it and not just because this movie has all its previous hype as the driving force.

One last thought about this movie…I can’t wait to see how Tanedra Howard (the girl who got the role in the movie by winning the reality show “Scream Queens”) does in this movie.  I actually watched that reality show and I was gunning for her to win it the whole time.

The Buzz: There is a lot of it…  Seriously though, this movie is being talked about by everybody “What will the twist be” “Is jigsaw really still alive” “Will it be as good as the first one”…so on and so forth.  There aren’t many details about this movie out there, so I guess we’re all just stuck going to have to see it.