Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
December 13, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Jonah Hill's final movie as a funny fat man, The Sitter, opened to $9.9 million. Is this more, less or about what you expected for the R-rated comedy?
Bruce Hall: I don't want to be too hard on Jonah Hill. If I had famous friends, I'd probably accept roles in their movies, too. But I can't be the only one tired of seeing his face on one movie poster after another wearing the same vacant stare. I can't be the only one who is tired of seeing him play similar characters in one film after another. And I also can't be the only one who thinks he's not really that funny.
I'm not ready to diagnose America with a full blown case of Jonah Hill Fatigue (although MY bones are rife with it), but someone could at least quit slapping the same dumb facial expression on every one of his movie posters. Pixar can get away with it because they're Pixar. Jonah hill is probably a nice guy and I'm sure his parents love him very much. But he ain't no Pixar.
Brett Beach: It is not often I say this, and I am simply a test case of one, but I saw no trailers or ads for this anywhere, and I saw one poster at the mall last weekend when the wife and I went to see The Muppets. I was aware it was coming out on Friday and that it was opening "wide," but when I couldn't find an accurate screen count until late Friday, I figured it was being dumped. 2,800 screens is hardly being dumped, and in that respect, this is pitiful. But in the context of New Year's Day's opening, and that this came closer than anyone could have imagined to being #1 (kind of like The Gate almost unseating Ishtar way back in the day), this opening is a victory and then some, even if it tumbles out of the top 10 by Christmas Day.
And on a final note: David Gordon Green - please give the R-rated stoner comedies a rest for a while. Those of us who still swoon over George Washington, All the Real Girls, and Undertow would appreciate it. End of rant.
Max Braden: It's not up to Bad Teacher's numbers ($31 million opening weekend in June), but I'd say Diaz is a bigger name and has a *little* more sex appeal. I'm trying to think of another star who could have replaced Hill to have pushed this any higher and I can't think of one that would have worked. If Hill took the Bad Babysitter so The Rock wouldn't have to, that's possibly a win for everyone. There was never any chance that this was going to be better than Adventures in Babysitting or Uncle Buck anyway.
Jim Van Nest: I'm with Brett. I've never heard of this movie. I still haven't seen a trailer or commercial for it and I haven't even seen a poster. I guess the answer to "If a movie opens and no one's heard of it, will hey still go?" is a resounding "No."
Edwin Davies: There weren't any posters, adverts or trailers out there to promote this, and of the few people who did manage to see them, most of them thought that they made the movie look terrible. The reviews bear that impression out. Everything about the advertising for this felt confused; the adverts played up the kids and the softer-edged humour, yet it's R-rated, so it seemed to be aiming itself at an audience that would never be allowed to watch it. It also can't help that David Gordon Green is still tainted by the fetid stink of Your Highness, which ate up a lot of the goodwill he had earned from Pineapple Express. Seriously, that guy needs to get back to making heartbreaking and beautiful art, not whatever this thing is.
David Mumpower: I remember the look I exchanged with my wife when we heard that this film was rated R. I found myself envisioning the type of filthy lyrics Elisabeth Shue would have had to sing in Adventures in Babysitting to make that possible. Candidly speaking, this project always reminded me of Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead and if ever there were a movie that does not make for a good comparison, it's that one (other than the still quotable "The dishes are DONE!" I'm the only one who remembers that, aren't I?). I'm happy for Jonah Hill that he's prioritized his health and is interested in moving up from plucky comic relief since that shtick was old and tired years ago. Still, I am not sure what else he can bring to the table if he doesn't have fat jokes. Thus far, it's his distinguishing characteristic. As an aside, is it still acceptable to ask him about his wiener or is that tacky now that he's thin?
Hey everybody, it's movie time!
Kim Hollis: What movies did you see the past few weekends, and what did you think?
Edwin Davies: I saw The Artist at a screening last week and it is, hands down, one of the best films I've seen this year. It's a funny, moving and gorgeous tribute to silent cinema that is filled with such a joyous sense of fun and adventure that I had a massive grin on my face the whole time, with the possible exception of one almost unbearable sweet and moving scene (for those who have seen it, it's the moment with the roll of film) that I was on the verge of tears. It's a really splendid piece of work that deserves a big audience since, despite the affected style, it's primarily a hugely entertaining and uplifting work.
I also saw Moneyball which, even as someone who doesn't care for baseball (I'm English, it's allowed) and hates math, I found to be very, very entertaining. It manages to impart a lot of complex information in a way which is accessible and fun whilst also working as a fun caper, of sorts. My one problem is that, a few stunning sequences aside (specifically the 20th game the A's play in their streak), the direction is kind of lackluster. It does the job, but Bennett Miller doesn't manage to match the dynamism of the script. Apart from that, it's a real pleasure.
Tim Briody: If The Muppets doesn't move you, you have absolutely no soul. It's not perfect filmmaking by any means (the very end is botched, in my opinion), but the throwaway jokes and fourth wall breaking all worked for me. I had a smile on my face for virtually the entire film.
Matthew Huntley: I saw The Descendants, The Muppets and Hugo. All three are recommendable, with The Descendants and Hugo being about equal and The Muppets coming in a relatively close second. The Descendants is the kind of film you'll think is very good when you see it but it end up growing on you the more you think about it. It's heartrending and intelligently written. Hugo is exciting, imaginative and incredibly moving in the end. I rarely cry at the movies, but this one had me on the verge of tears. The Muppets keeps the spirit of the original show and earlier films intact and is just plain jolly all around. It could be called a one-joke wonder at times, but it has some inspired moments scattered throughout.
Samuel Hoelker: My heart may be hardening in my old age, but I couldn't quite get myself as swept away with Hugo and The Muppets as everyone else. I can understand my less-than-thrilled reaction to the Muppets, not growing up with them (but hey, the movie's still fun), but considering my one tattoo is from Trip to the Moon, I expected more from Hugo. The sentimental side of me loved it, but the side of me that still holds it to the same standards as every movie found many faults with it.
I also saw the NC-17 Shame yesterday. While the acting is excellent, it seems disinterested with the characters and fails to really make them interesting outside of their faults. Michael Fassbender and (especially) Carey Mulligan do what they can, but it's not quite enough. Also (although this may be the ultra-liberal side of me speaking) it should not have been NC-17. A 16-year-old has seen much more explicit exploits.
Wow, this makes me seem grumpy. I love lots of movies, I swear!
Max Braden: Dan Krovich and I did a double header of Shame and Martha Marcy May Marlene this weekend. Parking difficulties made me late to Shame, and when I finally took my seat, Dan whispered, "You missed all the penis!" which he said just amounted to someone walking around in the nude at home. There was penis at the end of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and my assumption is that it was the lengthy hip-on-hip thrusting that gave this the NC-17 rating. But it's barely more than is in Basic Instinct, and Shame is hardly gratuitous; the vigorous sex does actually depict the desperate loneliness of Fassbender's character. I wasn't really clicking with Fassbender during the movie because he sounds like he's struggling to hide his accent (a lot like Christian Bale) and in both this and X-Men seems uncomfortable in his own skin. But his last sequence in the movie really makes it work, and I will still automatically seek out any movie he's cast in.
I liked Martha Marcy May Marlene more than Shame, because Elizabeth Olsen is excellent (and beautiful. But no, really: excellent actress). She does a great job of depicting PTSD and paranoia after separating herself from a cult, and the ending is vague enough that you could interpret what she's seeing as either imagined or real. Olsen too gets a season pass on my movie watch list. I'd say it was my second favorite performance by an actress this year, after Elle Fanning in Super 8.
The movie I most want to see next is The Artist because I really enjoyed Dujardin in the OSS 117 movies.