In Contention

Tag: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume II

    Sharlto Copley in District 9As more films have been unleashed, the race for the visual effects Oscar now appears clearer than it did three months ago.  I’m starting to feel the race for the final three will really be down to a handful of films.

    As I explained in August, a shortlist of seven films will be announced in December or January.  After the branch screens the films, the three nominees will be announced on the same day as all the other categories.  We can expect the nominees to be big budget films – and also big hits, which is why how they perform on release is so important.

    Summer titles such as “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” strike me as highly unlikely to survive to the year’s end.  Nor do I believe “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will able to distinguish itself enough from its predecessors, only one of which was nominated here.

    Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” did not have the reliance on visual effects that I thought would be necessary for a nomination and I frankly doubt its chances. “Watchmen,” on the other hand, has slightly more potential in my opinion but still remains almost too innovative for a berth here.

    The two summer films which I do fully expect to be in the running had very different critical reception – though I’m not sure if that will determine their fate in this category.  I felt significantly dumber after watching “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” That said, the box office was nothing short of massive, as were the effects.  It’s certainly still among the top contenders.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘District’ shines

    District 9*All historic figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Internet hype doesn’t always translate into box office success, but “District 9” was able to live up to the buzz and debut with a strong $37 million and the top spot this weekend. For a film that cost a reported $30 million to make, this is obviously a huge win for Sony and one of the bigger surprises of the summer. As a buddy succinctly put it in a tweet: “’District 9’ might be the only movie this year I want to see that I didn’t know I wanted to see six months ago.”

    Credit the fantastic marketing and an interesting/original concept in a summer-friendly genre for the success. The first two weeks of August are typically robust but then the month just dies and only two movies released past the 14th of the month have debuted higher than “District 9” (“Freddy vs. Jason” and “Mortal Kombat”). Audience reception is fantastic so I can see this one sticking around enough to reach $85 million or so. Now, who else is going as Wicus with a prawn arm for Halloween?

    “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” takes second place after a 59% drop to $22.5 million. That actually could have been worse so Paramount will take it. The running total is already $98.8 million and that’s enough to encourage the inevitable sequel. Might I suggest the title “G.I. Joe: The Recasting of Channing Tatum?”

    Third place goes to “The Time Traveler’s Wife” with $19.2 million. I’ve got nothing to say about this because quite frankly, this movie bores me. I like Rachel McAdams so I wish she’d hurry up and make a movie that looks halfway tolerable again.

    “Julie & Julia” dropped a respectable 38% to $12.4 million and that should be the largest drop it experiences during its run. No other direct competition comes into play until “All About Steve” after Labor Day so I expect Meryl and Amy to be the number one choice for adult females for a while.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festivals beckon, ‘District 9’ opens

    Sharlto Copley in District 9• The New York Film Festival unveiled a decidedly foreign lineup, with Alain Resnais and Pedro Almodovar at either end.

    • Speaking of festivals, the long-awaited “The Road” was among the titles added to the Toronto slate this week.

    • With everyone excited about “District 9” this week, we took time to chat to the film’s breakout star Sharlto Copley.

    • Best Film Editing was the subject of this week’s installment of Tech Support.

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  • 8/13 Web Round-up

    Charlyne Yi• Todd Gilchrist talks to “The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard” star Jeremy Piven. [Cinematical]

    • Anthony Breznican has the scoop on Charlyne Yi and “Paper Heart.” [USA Today]

    • Who’s your favorite cinematic psychopath? [Talking Movies]

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  • The Ballad of G.I. Joe

  • 8/11 Web Round-up

    MacGruberApologies for the lateness today.  I’m hammering this out on the plane en route to Los Angeles.  God bless Virgin America/on-board Wi-Fi.

    • Alan Duke talks to the Jewish Eli Roth about his pro-Nazi short “Nation’s Pride.” [CNN]

    • Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader on why a hard R “MacGruber” might work. [Vulture]

    • The top 10 gangster films ever. [Daily Telegraph]

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  • Debating ‘G.I. Joe’ on Attack of the Show

    IC friends David Poland (Movie City News/The Hot Blog) and Robert Sanchez (IESB) appeared on G4’s Attack of the Show today to talk the “G.I. Joe” brouhaha and it was a pretty decent discussion.  I was hoping for more fireworks since I know Sanchez is a fan and Poland, of course, not so much.  But no such luck.

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’

    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

    Okay, so I shelled out the cash last night to see “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” while I’m away in San Francisco.  It’s awful in many ways (most of them beginning with Joseph and ending with Gordon-Levitt, surprisingly enough).  But it was also, I thought, unbelievably enjoyable.  I’m on the tongue-in-cheek bandwagon, I guess. It’s kitsch, certainly not high kitsch, but kitsch nevertheless.  Channing Tatum should never be in another movie, of course, but, well, I had a good time.  Sue me.  But I’d love to hear what the readership thinks, so rifle off your thoughts in the comments section below.

  • Super Movie Friends on ‘G.I. Joe’

    Ray Park in G.I. Joe: The Rise of CobraI haven’t “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” yet.  I wasn’t one of the Paramount chosen and I’ve been moving my girlfriend up to San Francisco this weekend, but at some point, we do plan to dish out our hard-earned cash in town for a look-see.  Color me curious.

    Anyway, David Poland has put together a nice new feature at The Hot Blog called “Super Movie Friends,” collecting a few movie minds to discuss what’s going on at the multiplex.  Below is the excerpt where they discuss “G.I. Joe.”

    indieWIRE’s Anne Thompson and Poland clearly hated the film.  CHUD’s Devin Faraci, God bless him, has the thankless job of defending it.  And KTLA’s Toni Molle hasn’t seen it so she just kind of sits there, listening to Poland call “Speed Racer” sophisticated and Faraci chalk “Joe” up to a 10-year-old boy’s kind of film that you’re “supposed to laugh at,” among other talking points.

    Take a look after the jump.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘G.I.’ dough

    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars

    Paramount secured what is likely to be the last blockbuster opening of the summer with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” this weekend. For a film that was plagued with bad buzz a few months ago and was withheld from most critics, a $56.2 million start is a fantastic result and on par with other kid-friendly action films like “Fantastic Four” and the early August start of “XXX.”

    Of course, legs will be atrocious and a total gross of around $120 million is the likely tipping point, but Paramount will be more than happy to take that to the bank along with solid international grosses. It may not be a “Transformers”-like success, but the studo must have known Stephen Sommers is no Michael Bay. And Marlon Wayans is no Shia LaBeouf.

    Sony’s “Julie & Julia” had a solid bow in the runner-up spot with $20.1 million on nearly half the screens of “G.I. Joe.” To be honest, I thought it would be bigger, but this is a film that could definitely play well through Labor Day. Reviews are good enough and older audiences are the only demographic left who don’t necessarily rush out on opening weekend. “Mamma Mia!” only debuted with $27.8 million en route to a $144.1 million finish, let’s not forget. Forget 3D, perhaps this was the film to usher back smell-o-vision.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Visual Effects — Volume I

    Avatar“How did they do that?”  Movie-goers often ask this in response to spectacular visual effects, one of few elements of a film, apart from acting, directing or story, that a studio might choose to sell a film directly on.

    Not surprisingly, the Academy’s award for Best Visual Effects is definitely the most mainstream-friendly of all of all.  $100 million grosses and higher are the norm.

    This branch also has a somewhat unusual process for choosing the nominees.  A shortlist of seven films will be announced in December or January and members of the branch will screen effects presentation reels of the films from that collective to nominate three contenders announced alongside the rest of the Oscar nominees.

    Probably leading the field this year, sight unseen, is James Cameron’s “Avatar.”  Cameron’s last five films have all been nominated in this category…with four of them winning!  Moreover, “Avatar” seems certain to be, like most Cameron efforts, a showcase for the visual effects.  Of course, the film could also be an unmitigated disaster, but barring that I would be quite surprised if it did not find itself among the nominees.

    On the other hand, we have already seen several films likely to end up in the running.   Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” was absolutely wretched in this viewer’s opinion.  But considering its massive box office take, not to mention the nature of the effects and the success of Bay’s films in this category in the past, I feel a nomination is quite likely.

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  • 8/6 Web Round-up

    Nation's Pride• Nikki Finke takes umbrage with the “Nation’s Pride” trailer being used to promote “Inglourious Basterds.” [Deadline Hollywood Daily]

    • Graeme McRanor sits down with “District 9” composer Clinton Shorter. [Jawbone.tv]

    • Top 10 movie pregnancies. [The Film Experience]

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  • Quote of the day

    Good work Paramount, not screening G.I. Joe got everyone to talk about it (some twice) and you don’t even have to deal with the reviews.

    Twittered by Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon.

  • 8/5 Web Round-up

    G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra• Tom O’Neil wonders whether “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is Razzie-bound. [Gold Derby]

    • Devin Faraci, meanwhile (one of the “easy marks” Paramount screened the film to over the rest of the nation’s critics), comments on the “No ‘Joe’” brouhaha. [CHUD]

    • And Steve Weintraub talks to the film’s screenwriter, Stuart Beattie. [Collider]

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  • 8/4 Web Round-up

    Kate Beckinsale• Kate Beckinsale talks about the gritty new roles peppering her career as of late. [The Times]

    • The top 20 horror films of the last 20 years. [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Recounting “District 9″‘s serendipitous path to the screen. [Los Angeles Times]

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  • 8/3 Web Round-up

    Steven Miessner• Steven Miessner, the Academy’s white-gloved “keeper of the Oscars,” dead at 48. [USA Today]

    • Steve Weintraub talks “The Princess and the Frog” with directors Ron Clements and John Musker (at Comic-Con). [Collider]

    • The unmade films of Stanley Kubrick, including “Foucault’s Pendulum,” “Napoleon” and “Perfume.” [Empire]

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Funny’ money

    Funny People*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It was no laughing matter at the box office this weekend as Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” opened at the top spot with a disappointing $23.4 million. Not only is that lower than both “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but it’s also the lowest figure to top this particular summer weekend since “A Time to Kill” in 1996. Don’t forget that “Virgin” and “Knocked” cost $26 million and $30 million, respectively, while “Funny People” carries a price tag of $70 million.

    Bottom line: this film didn’t perform like an Adam Sandler summer comedy at all. This is a guy who has opened six low-brow comedies in the summer months and had an average debut of $46.0 million. “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” opened with $38.5 million, for Pete’s sake. Even his notorious misfire “Little Nicky” opened to $21.4 million. So no matter how Universal wants to spin this, it’s not pretty. It dropped from Friday to Saturday, indicating that fanboy rush and word of mouth is not going to be great enough to keep it in theaters much longer than Labor Day.

    I think a $65 million finish is the best-case scenario and Apatow has officially lost his “cancer subplot” and “two-hour-plus running time” privileges. And you can kiss those Best Original Screenplay chances goodbye.

    “G-Force” fell 46% to third place and $17.1 million. The guinea pigs already have $66.5 million in the bank so go ahead and mark your calendars for “G-Force 2” in July 2011. And just to reiterate, no matter how bad or good you think “Funny People” is, it’s a filmmaker with a distinct voice trying something a little different and people soundly rejected it in favor of films like this.

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  • 7/31 Web Round-up

    Rose Byrne• Rose Byrne, leading lady at last. [Daily Telegraph]

    • More on the story that won’t go away as the “Moneyball” drama spills into the pages of Vanity Fair. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Stephanie Zacharek wonders whether the “Judd Apatow moment” might be over. [Salon]

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