Monday Morning Quarterback

By BOP Staff

March 1, 2010

To steal a joke from Craig Ferguson, best 2 out of 3?

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Jason Lee: I agree with most of what's been said - Willis will continue to be a popular draw, assuming that he's in a project that plays to his strengths and his appeal. Cop Out, sadly, does neither.

Tom Macy: When you think about it, Bruce Willis' star power has never been that strong. John McClane in the genre-revolutionizing Die Hard franchise is no doubt iconic. But his other most memorable works have less to do with him than they do the auteurs behind the camera, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense and - I hate to say it - Armageddon. He's always been a solid, recognizable movie star. But he never had a real winning streak when everything he touched turned to gold, like say, Sandra Bullock's 2009. I'd say the Cop Out result keeps him at the solid-but-not-super-star status he's been at for the majority of his career.

Calvin Trager: Willis' status is "Transitioning". He's 55-years-old. Nobody under 25 knows him with hair, and nobody under 30 remembers Moonlighting. He's at the age and point in his career where he's not going to topline many more movies, but if he plays his cards right he can be an American Michael Caine and steal scenes in every movie made for the next 20 years. He shares Caine's charisma and versatility already, but he will have to find the humility it takes to accept smaller parts. If he can do that, he possibly has a Best Supporting Actor statue in his future. If he can't, he can look forward to picking his spots a lot more carefully and making hit-or-miss fare like Harrison Ford has in the past 15 years.

David Mumpower: I agree with Mr. Lynderey about the status of his career and Mr. Trager regarding his career trajectory. He's at that point that I call the Sean Connery:Indiana Jones/The Rock phase wherein he is the grizzled veteran who provides wisdom to the action lead rather than being the action lead himself. Live Free Or Die Hard looks to be his last great role as the primary lead in a quality action film. Hopefully, he doesn't stoop into Eddie Murphy territory by continuing to take paycheck roles like Cop Out. I'd prefer to see him avoid that most dreaded of fates.




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Kim Hollis: The Crazies, the latest remake of a classic horror film, opened to $16.1 million. How should Overture Films feel about this result?

Josh Spiegel: All things considered, this result isn't that bad. Overture released The Crazies on fewer screens than Cop Out and managed a solid per-screen average. It's starring an actor who's not a huge star (though Timothy Olyphant really ought to be), and is a remake of a not-very-well-known zombie movie. What with the competition of Shutter Island as a genre piece, Overture should be happy with the solid result.

Michael Lynderey: They should be yelling "Yes!" from the rooftops and pumping their fists in the air. The Crazies was the third horror movie in as many a week, it belonged to a somewhat outspent genre (the zombie, or zombie-esque, film), it had no real stars - but it still pulled in $16 million? Excelsior! The legs probably won't be there, but the act of making something out of nothing should still be commended whenever possible. So, kudos.


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