New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Brett Beach: Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr.? Yay! Jude Law? Woo-hoo! Rachel McAdams? Tah-rah! Guy Ritchie with the biggest flipping budget of his 15 year career? Very, very scary. I think it could be a roaring big spectacle full of fun and wit and action or a complete mess with some redeeming features. The trailers so far offer me no indication to cast a deciding opinion. Best case scenario: a triple feature of this and It's Complicated and Up in the Air (along with some fortified eggnog) could be just what the doctor ordered on Christmas Day.

David Mumpower: I wish I got the Pirates of the Caribbean vibe from the trailer. I love Guy Ritchie, I love Robert Downey Jr. and I love Rachel McAdams. I have been fired up about this project from the moment it was announced in spite of the presence of Jude Law. That's why I was so surprised to find myself disappointed by the trailer, which felt like that Three Musketeers re-make Tim Roth and Stephen Rea did in 2001. From talking with other people, I seem to have a minority opinion here, so I feel comfortable saying this will be a box office blockbuster. As a movie fan, I am very worried that the quality may be lacking here although it's possible that the best parts aren't easily encapsulated in a trailer.

The thrill of a nothing-nothing tie...

Kim Hollis: Up-and-comer Clint Eastwood had the most successful film of his career at the tender age of 78 with Gran Torino. Now he follows that up with a movie that looks like a combination of Victory (an underrated Sylvester Stallone film) and Remember the Titans but is in reality a Nelson Mandela biopic starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Do you think this is another $100 million film for Eastwood? And is he about to take home his 75th Oscar nomination?





Josh Spiegel: I think it's a double yes; granted, the box office question is a bit more nebulous, but I will be shocked if Invictus doesn't get Picture and Director nods at the Oscars, if only because Eastwood's still working. Frankly, by starting out with advertising the film during the World Series, Warner Bros. is aiming at mass audiences, some of whom might not be aware of the movie, even with Jason Bourne being one of the stars. This is easily one of my most anticipated movies of the upcoming season, and considering that I disliked and hated Eastwood's last two films, respectively (Changeling and Gran Torino), it proves how interesting a filmmaker Dirty Harry can be. Warner Bros. most likely has a big winner here.

Max Braden: I think no on the $100 million box office. Gran Torino appeared to offer more action than something like Mystic River and featured a cast of young actors in addition to himself. But the audience that relates to what they saw in Gran Torino are probably too young to have much Mandela awareness. The title "Invictus" isn't going to draw anyone in. I'd expect a total box office in the range (under $40 million) of projects like Milk, Frost/Nixon, and The Last King of Scotland, maybe more if Warner Bros. expands the release from limited to wide release. Chances of Oscar nominations are pretty high though, I think.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5