Box Office Prophets: Box Office Database, Movie Reviews, Movie Trailers, Up-to-the-Minute Release Schedule, Box Office Analysis

You Should See This
1. Detention
    A straight to dvd movie that is part self-aware horror satire (like Scream), part high school throwback, part time travel movie. I haven't loved a movie this much since Black Dynamite.
2. 10 Years
    I liked this reunion movie a lot, especially since Kate Mara is adorable. (plus it's chock full of 'that guy!' cast members). This is what American Pie movies should have been.
3. Flight
    Denzel does a great job, and the shot of the bottle being swiped from the top of the hotel fridge is one of the best of the year.
4. The Avengers
    This was a solid, very good movie, but I still think Iron Man is the best of the bunch, and the best moments of the X-Men series are better than the best moments of The Avengers.
5. 21 Jump Street
    There were a bunch of laugh out loud moments, especially the drug deal shootout.
6. Lincoln
    DDL really makes Lincoln into a human being with lots of humor and storytelling. Interesting history lesson via Tommy Lee Jones' character.
7. Ted
    The funny is great, but the multiple 80s touches, particularly the inclusion of Sam Jones, make this movie awesome.
8. Liberal Arts
    Elizabeth Olsen was perfect for the romance in this, but her story wasn't in it enough. As is, the movie plays out more like a novel. Still it's a great alternate college movie.
9. Safety Not Guaranteed
    I loved Aubrey Plaza in this. It's fun and quirky.
10. Jack Reacher
    The trailer was one of my most anticipated of the year, but the movie let me down because the music let the movie down. The character is great, I'd like to see a sequel.
11. Take This Waltz
    It must be the great fear of newlyweds: what if this is all there is, and then you meet someone better than your spouse? The 'tell me what you'd do to me' scene is one of my favorites of the year.
12. Silver Linings Playbook
    Cooper's rants didn't ring completely true at first but he grew on me. Jennifer Lawrence was fantastic. This is a great alternative holiday movie.
13. Argo
    Naturally there are slow moments - they're stuck in a house after all - but the ending has great suspense. Affleck is doing well as a director.
14. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
    I laughed more at this than the previous two. I've always liked the tactical penguins, and the bear on the bike cracked me up every time.
15. Pitch Perfect
    I'm not going to say the music knocked my socks off, but Kendrick is good when she's not prim and proper, Snow and Camp are gorgeous, and Rebel Wilson hilariously steals the show.
16. Django Unchained
    O Brother Where Art Thou does some of the southern comedy a little better. I did appreciate the brutality as a reminder for what really was.
17. Goon
    If you liked The Fighter you should like this. You still see Seann William Scott, but he's much more subtle than his Stifler/Road Trip personas.
18. The Hunger Games
    I was most impressed with Lawrence and Hutcherson, and I think the characters were better on screen than in the book. Too much quick cuts and camera movement, not enough score.
19. The Bourne Legacy
    Renner is perfectly cast for this. I liked that it runs concurrently with The Bourne Ultimatum
20. Skyfall
    Craig's growing on me as Bond though I still prefer Dalton the most, and I loved the Bond lore here. But there were some terrible tactical decisions.

Worth A Look
21. The Grey
    I was pleasantly surprised - Neeson managed to squeeze every poignant drop from what should have just been a typical action movie.
22. Quartet
    What a pleasant surprise, this falls perfectly between the depressing reality of Amour and the travel brochure fluff of Marigold Hotel. Tom Courtenay gives my new favorite performance of 2012's movi
23. End of Watch
    A great day-in-the-life of cops. The chemistry between all the actors is really good.
24. The Cabin in the Woods
    Not quite as good as I'd hoped, but this is still inventive and funny. The dancing in the cabin and control room is among my favorite scenes this year.
25. Wanderlust
    Count this among the more funny of Paul Rudd's comedies. Justin Theroux was great as the commune leader.
26. Arbitrage
    Just the right tone between thriller and drama, and you really want to see if Gere's character can squeeze out of his jam.
27. The Impossible
    All the acting, including the kids, is great. I haven't heard this many sniffles in a theater since I saw My Life about 20 years ago.
28. Brave
    It's a pretty film. Nice, tidy, and amusing, not disappointing but not amazing. I loved Merida's hair.
29. Five-Year Engagement
    This was cute.
30. The Watch
    I laughed a couple times at the alien photo session and some of the throwaway lines, plus Crudup's ambiguously sexual character.
31. Looper
    Why mobsters wouldn't send back dead bodies that can't run boggles me, but I liked the movie. Great visual effects in the second half, and the kid is perfectly cast.
32. Your Sister's Sister
    When I thought of describing this movie I came up with 'horribly good.' It's a touch too stageplayish, but I liked the drama.
33. Zero Dark Thirty
    Very good movie, but the lame music left the ending a little flat. This is more research like All The King's Men than action like The Kingdom.
34. The Sessions
    By spreading basically one sex act over a whole movie, it achieves the goal of making you contemplate the human body. This is a sweet story.
35. Moonrise Kingdom
    This was cute and exactly the type of adventure I might have taken at that age. Tenenbaums and Rushmore are still WA's best.
36. Get the Gringo
    A straight to dvd movie starring Mel Gibson in a Mexican prison, with a tone very similar to Payback.
37. The Campaign
    Like Step Brothers but at lower volume. There's a bunch of funny stuff here. Katherine LaNasa is great as Ferrell's pragmatic wife.
38. Safe House
    Good pace. If you didn't know any better, you'd think it was written and directed by the guys who did The Bourne Identity because of similar scenes.
39. Taken 2
    Like the Bourne movies, this pretty much replicates the first movie. Some tense moments again but I think the first movie has the edge. There's a big lapse in realism when he goes to the embassy.
40. Here Comes the Boom
    I think it really takes Kevin James to pull off a movie like this. I was almost cheering at the end.
41. Celeste and Jesse Forever
    Samberg and Jones have good chemistry together. This is a good bittersweet romance.
42. The Dark Knight Rises
    I *hated* the audio mix in this - the music was too loud too often, drowning out the dialogue. And Hardy was more physically menacing in Warrior. The complicated climax was better than in Avengers.
43. Life of Pi
    The 3D and image quality is exceptionally crisp, so it's worth it for that. But I liked Cast Away more. This is a genre movie like Atonement and Sarah's Key.
44. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
    I thought this was painfully sweet, but I do have a bias for Knightley. Nice to see a casual end of the world for once.
45. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
    I liked Wilkinson's storyline, and Ronald Pickup was a lot of fun.
46. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
    The movie is often as reserved as McGregor's character and then comes alive when Kristin Scott Thomas comes on screen. Pretty landscapes.
47. Hotel Transylvania
    There isn't much unpredictable here, and it's not as good as Toy Story for showing off the collection of characters, but I laughed a bunch due to quick editing for comedic effect.
48. Seven Psycopaths
    I wasn't impressed at the beginning but Walken and Rockwell deliver fantastic performances as the movie goes on.
49. Hit and Run
    The flirting between real life couple Dax and Bell at the beginning of this movie is downright adorable. I also liked the cars.
50. People Like Us
    It dawned on me that this is the type of roll Tom Cruise would have been in in the mid 90s. Scenes with Pine and Banks were great.
51. Hope Springs
    I thought this was just going to be pandering to retirees. It's much more sincere than that. Like The Sessions, it gradually works through the intimacy issue.
52. This Means War
    A poor start shattered my belief that Hardy wasn't capable of poor acting, but I recovered a little by letting go and just eating the popcorn. Still, this could have been better popcorn.
53. Bernie
    The acting is good, but the actual townspeople who are interviewed as part of the film make for the best moments.
54. Killer Joe
    McConaughey's over the top portrayal by the end of the movie is great, but I was rooting for him to kill the noisy Emile Hirsch.
55. Wreck-It Ralph
    I'm a big fan of throw-back movies like this and Toy Story. My favorite moments were when Vanellope was learning to race. I loved the determination on her face.
56. Dredd
    You might shy away if you're squeamish because of detailed wounds, but they're oddly not as gruesome as Django. Great soundtrack, solid action.
57. Frankenweenie
    This isn't my style of animation, but I'd give it an Oscar for set design. I got bored after the first half hour though.
58. Prometheus
    Visually, especially in IMAX 3D, this movie has some great moments. But I was irritated to the point of frustration by stupid characters and stupid exposition.
59. Rock of Ages
    Mostly awful because of very flat amateur vocals, but Julianne Hough is good, and you have to see it for Tom Cruise's performance.
60. No
    Kind of predictable - censorship, nervewracking vote counts - watched it with one eye on mute and was able to follow along.
61. Les Miserables (2012)
    Visually this movie is very impressive. It's just too much singing.

If You've Got the Time
62. Lockout
    I like Luc Besson a lot, and it's great to see Guy Pearce in a more physical, snarky role, but man this movie is stuck in the 80s.
63. Friends with Kids
    Hamm's character storyline is particularly interesting. Westfeldt is lovely but the pairing with Adam Scott seems odd.
64. Red Dawn
    This is a decent action piece and remake, but nothing beats a classic.
65. The Girl
    I might be typically disengaged because of the subtitles, but Cornish was good.
66. Battleship
    Worth it if only to see the USS Missouri firing its guns, but I'd rather see a reality-based battleship movie set in WWII.
67. Deadfall
    Bana is a pretty good bad guy.
68. The Paperboy
    I wouldn't say Kidman's performance is *good*, but I'd say it certainly makes an impression. (The first time she meets Cusack in jail). I think the message here was 'don't help convicts.'
69. Hyde Park on the Hudson
    This would have been a better movie about the private life of FDR and his relationship with the royals without the Linney character. Her presence seems selfish.
70. The Raid: Redemption
    An Indonesian martial arts movie with some of the best fighting sequences since Ong Bak. Yayan Ruhian is great.
71. The Expendables 2
    This is unfortunately really paint-by-numbers (Hemsworth might as well have worn a red shirt) but how can I dis the 80s action dream team?
72. Barrymore
    This is the most animated I've ever seen Plummer. The movie is surprisingly entertaining for one man on a stage, but can also be corny and self-interested.
73. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
    I loved how insane Michael Sheen was, and have to admit the ending gives a great sense of epic nostalgia about the series, but it's just not for me.
74. Stand Up Guys
    Alan Arkin stole the scenes he was in, while Lucy Punch was a letdown. Walken looks impressive in a double breasted suit.
75. Haywire
    This isn't the action movie you'd expect; it's a lot more cat and mouse, like Dr. No and From Russia With Love. Gina Carano rocks.
76. A Royal Affair
    Mikkelsen is far more interesting (and far less sweaty) to watch in this than in Casino Royale. I liked learning about the history.
77. Parental Guidance
    Mildly amusing, the type of stuff that's good for family viewing. Fans of Crystal and Midler get to see them do a song and dance, and the baseball element is nice.
78. Act of Valor
    Good action, stiff dialogue delivery (except for the guy who played Senior, he was great). Charlie Sheen's Navy SEALs is more entertaining.
79. The Master
    The dialogue between Phoenix and Hoffman is excellent but the music makes the movie almost unbearable. Shot in 70mm, this is some of the prettiest cinematography I've ever seen.
80. Won't Back Down
    I'm for what the characters are doing, but watching them do it feels too preachy and busy-body.
81. Lay the Favorite
    You won't believe this is Rebecca Hall even after many scenes - she looks and sounds very different. She's cute, and the relationship with Bruce Willis is nice.
82. Resident Evil: Retribution
    I'll give RE this: Glen MacPherson's cinematography produces some great screen images. But the endless and arbitrary gunplay is just senseless.
83. Nobody Walks
    The tense taboo feeling caused by the sexual attraction between characters is good, but unfortunately it's absent between the husband and wife.
84. Chronicle
    It's interesting how dark this movie gets. It's an edgier treatment than Hancock, and an interesting twist on high school movies.
85. Chasing Mavericks
    I always like a good big wave action drama.
86. Robot & Frank
    I had low expectations for this being just about a grumpy old man, but it manages a nicely bittersweet ending.
87. Premium Rush
    I didn't care for the CSI-slo-mo routes around traffic. Decent character but the movie feels far from original.
88. Promised Land
    Predictable. McDormand is funny.
89. Tonight You're Mine
    I wouldn't mind being handcuffed to Natalia Tena. The footage almost feels as chaotic as a music festival would, but it pays off by the end.
90. Rust and Bone
    Cotillard is very good, and it's a decent drama, but I wouldn't rush to see it.
91. The Good Doctor
    There are a lot of 'I can't believe he's doing this' moments but you can't still believe the character's actions.
92. To Rome With Love
    Allen seems to think that adultery is no big deal and that you're somehow not a wannabe intellectual by name-dropping intellectuals. Ugh.
93. Safe
    Statham performs some of his best hand-to-hand combat scenes since The Transporter. There are some interesting camera angles here for a generic action flick.
94. Hitchcock
    Interesting to see how the moviemaking happened, but I thought the hallucination device was cheap. Chaplin was better at this kind of biopic.
95. The Man With the Iron Fists
    There's some nifty action but it's not quite as fun as some other movies of its kind.
96. Damsels in Distress
    The deliberate dialogue in this movie is almost Woody Allen-ish, and sometimes very funny. Also, Analeigh Tipton is very sexy.
97. Lawless
    I like Hardy but he plays the 'bah-humbug' up too much, Chastain plays the anxiety up too much, and LeBeouf plays the eagerness up too much.
98. This is 40
    This was depressing. I would hate to be married to Leslie Mann's character, who I saw taking very little responsibility and blaming her husband unfairly.
99. Man on a Ledge
    If you have any nervousness about heights you'll react to a moment or two in this movie, but as a heist it's too easy. Other movies have done this better.
100. The Guilt Trip
    This movie is pleasant enough, if predictable.
101. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    I disliked this. It's like a prequel to St. Elmo's Fire that should have been in college but was kids playing adults.
102. Paranormal Activity 4
    There's a nifty camera effect and a couple spooky moments, but I think the first movie is still the one that makes you jump the most.
103. Killing Them Softly
    The backdrop of Obama/Bush/financial crisis was really annoying, there's a lot of boring talk, and then it just ends. Pitt is kind of cool as a hitman but he really doesn't get to do anything with
104. Trouble With the Curve
    I liked the pure baseball moment at the end, but despite the contrary approach, just rent Moneyball instead.
105. Men in Black III
    Brolin is perfect casting for young Tommy Lee Jones, Clement was a good choice for villain, and there's a nice tie-in with the series at the end.
106. Rise of the Guardians
    Some people really liked this - I really didn't. I thought the cgi was cheap, Pine's voice didn't fit, and there was no story. It might be too dark for some kids too.
107. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    I can see the attempt to create an ethos, but I wouldn't consider anything about this movie Oscar-worthy.
108. ParaNorman
    Great visual style, but I was just bored... to death. The ending is pretty dark too for a kid-friendly movie.
109. Savages
    I like Blake Lively but hated her naturalist, naive, character, which ruined the movie. Hayek's character was interesting.
110. Ruby Sparks
    A lot like Lars and the Real Girl meets Stranger Than Fiction. I liked Chris Messina as PD's brother.
111. Casa de mi Padre
    There are some amusing moments (the disclaimer over the fake lion scene cracked me up) and Ferrell is in his low-volume mode, but it's not *really* funny.
112. Compliance
    I'll admit, I wanted to see Dreama Walker naked, but not like this. The whole thing is creepy.
113. The Words
    I had very little interest in this based on the trailer but did warm to it a bit. Still, self indulgent movies about writers are self indulgent.
114. The Amazing Spider-Man
    I actually liked Garfield as Spider-man more than I had expected to, but I still don't see why they felt the need to make this movie.
115. Mirror Mirror
    I think it was smart that the actors didn't take this too seriously, since it provided a light mood. Still, it looked like a very made-for-ABC-Family-Channel production.
116. Playing For Keeps
    Standard romcom drama.
117. Hysteria
    I like history lessons like this, and I always like Maggie Gyllenhall.
118. Contraband
    This is a weak shadow to Gone in 60 Seconds, which isn't that great but at least has great cars.
119. American Reunion
    There's a laugh or two here. Good that they got the entire cast back.
120. Cloud Atlas
    I disliked this greatly. The accents were very annoying, but so was the touchy-feely philosophical angle to the story.
121. The Lucky One
    Rent People Like Us instead.
122. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    This starts out like a Broadway musical and then just turns into an imitation of LOTR. Other than the Gollum scene, I felt this movie could be skipped entirely.

Not Worth Your Time
123. Step Up Revolution
    More of the same, maybe a little more group focused than guy-girl; you either like this or it's just some dance movie.
124. Anna Karenina
    Wow this movie is full of itself. I couldn't stand the character. I just think I don't have a taste for Russian novels.
125. Think Like a Man
    I'd like to see a movie called Think For Yourself, but then people would be following my advice and that's not what I want. (Union and Good are gorgeous in this.)
126. Red Lights
    De Niro makes for an intimidating psychic. Weaver is out of the movie too soon. The twist ending would have been a better full story than coda.
127. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
    I think you like this movie if you believe in fate, and dismiss it as pointless if you don't.
128. The Three Stooges
    I wouldn't recommend this movie per se, but I did laugh a lot at the naive launching of an arrow straight into the air. It's the impending chaos that causes nervous laughter.
129. The Dictator
    The double was funnier than the dictator, and some of his insults were funny, but this pales in comparison to Cohen's better work.
130. That's My Boy
    Vanilla Ice was funny, and I love that Sandler brings back these old performers. Otherwise you either like Adam Sandler doing his usual thing, or you don't.
131. John Carter
    The film drags a bit, but I maintained interest by wikipediing related subjects, and by falling in love with Lynn Collins repeatedly in every scene she was in.
132. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
    I thought the kid's motor scooter was neat, but otherwise the movie didn't stick with me.
133. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
    Movies filmed for 3D end up looking silly in 2D.
134. Lola Versus
    I like Great Gerwig but she can be very depressing sometimes.
135. What to Expect When You're Expecting
    Same old tropes about pregnancy, and even when they're supposed to look rough they look great. Kendrick's story was the most real.
136. The Raven
    I should have liked this for the historical era, but it's mostly just Cusack at high volume.
137. Joyful Noise
    Keke Palmer provides some good singing. Dolly Parton does too, but when she comes in in the medley, her segment almost kills the momentum.
138. The Cold Light of Day
    Bruce Willis is in this but it's more Sigourney Weaver doing Abduction again, but with worse dialogue.
139. Magic Mike
    Why is there all this bending over in front of the camera? Do women find that hot? This is a very poor-man's Boogie Nights.
140. Girl in Progress
    Eva Mendes does a decent job but doesn't seem right for the role here.
141. Ice Age: Continental Drift
    The family/friends/teammwork message is good for kids, that's fine, but there's very little novel or interesting about the movie.
142. Dark Shadows
    Heathcote is a lovely, slight version of Heather Graham but has little impact. Depp and the atmosphere is set up right, but it's just...dull.
143. Project X
    The found-footage video style ruined the movie. On the other hand it's really just another party genre movie.
144. Big Miracle
    Safe for broad family viewing. Nice to see the real life news clips of the event. I laughed though when the eskimos pointed out that this was a natural occurence that happens every year.
145. Being Flynn
    Reinforced: I hate indulgent movies about writers.
146. Rampart
    If this is supposed to highlight a real era of corruption, it's not effective. It's also not as dramatic as Training Day and others.
147. Red Tails
    I was shocked at how made-for-basic-cable the production looked, especially coming from Lucasfilm. Oyelowo was good, but otherwise the subject deserved a better movie.
148. Piranha 3DD
    I think over-the-top is the way to go with these movies, but it's a double edged sword because it's predictable.
149. Total Recall
    However cheesy Schwarzenegger's version was, it was entertaining. There's no chemistry and no mystery in this version, and elements like the hover car chase were done better in other movies.
150. The Vow
    I can understand Tatum's character's frustration, but there's better chemistry between McAdams and Speedman. The Time Traveler's Wife was better.
151. A Novel Romance
    A straight to dvd movie about a writer who falls for the gorgeous Milena Govich. I'll look forward to more of her in the future.
152. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
    I liked Dominic Cooper as Lincoln's mentor, but ultimately this is Nic-Cage quality: noisy and action packed and nothing.
153. A Thousand Words
    It's too bad - Murphy is competent...if he were trying to impress a toddler. Plus he gets to cheat the rules.

What the Crap?
154. A Christmas Story 2
    Yes, a sequel. The first was an of-that-time classic. This has some of the production qualities of a Lifetime channel movie.
155. Meeting Evil
    A straight to dvd thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson. Leslie Bibb has a great bit of dialogue giving a female cop the business.
156. Wrath of the Titans
    Like the first Titans, it has great visuals but is a mess of a movie to follow.
157. High School
    A very limited summer release about high school kids accidentally getting their entire class stoned, with Adrien Brody and a few others. Its tone is too hot and cold to be fun.
158. One for the Money
    The dialogue/delivery is actually familiar to me as a child of New Jersey, but the plot feels like something Kathleen Turner would have done in the early 1990s.
159. Age of the Dragons
    A straight to dvd movie starring Danny Glover about a captain and crew hunting dragons, based closely on Moby Dick. It's better than SyFy fare because of the dialogue, but it drags because of it too
160. Gone
    Seyfried's character demonstrates some good sleuthing skills, but the movie is just there and gone.
161. Underworld 4: Awakening
    I like lore and backstory, but I've lost interest to care about the series other than the crisp cinematography.
162. Chernobyl Diaries
    If this had been Youtube video of some amateur's outdoor haunted house, I might have been impressed.
163. The Details
    I like the idea of characters digging themselves deeper into trouble, but this was a touch too melodramatic for my taste.
164. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
    So much noise.
165. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
    Boring, annoying, tedious - I couldn't stand either Stewart or Theron. Aside from some nifty visual effects, this isn't worth watching.
166. The Apparition
    Wow - boring, not scary, predictable, and unexplained. Grab a Paranormal Activity movie instead.
167. Silent House
    Home invasion is always scary... until you add a Big Twist that reduces it to a psychological conceit.
168. Branded
    Someone got a manifesto in their head and decided it would make a good movie. It does not. So bad, even the narrator's explanations don't save it.
169. The Devil Inside
    We're, what, four decades past The Exorcist? How was this supposed to be shocking or unpredictable at all?

RELEASED BUT HAVEN'T SEEN
170. Smashed
171. This Must Be the Place
172. Not Fade Away
173. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
174. The Oranges
175. 2 Days in New York
176. Detachment
177. The Eye of the Storm
178. For the Love of Money
179. Francine
180. Fun Size
181. Here
182. Holy Motors
183. Little Birds
184. LUV
185. The Magic of Belle Isle
186. The House at the End of the Street
187. Mighty Fine
188. Middle of Nowhere
189. The Odd Life of Timothy Green
190. The Trouble With the Truth
191. Thin Ice
192. Sleepwalk With Me
193. Struck By Lightning
194. Sparkle
195. Alex Cross
196. Bully
197. Chimpanzee
198. Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away
199. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
200. Good Deeds
201. Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap
202. Union Square
203. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection
204. The Woman in Black
205. Sinister



     


 
 

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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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