“2012″ destroys box office, “Precious” making a strong push up the charts

The big budget disaster flick “2012″ blows away the competition with $65 million… blowing away last week’s number one “A Christmas Carol” by more than $40 million… but “2012″ has a long way to go to make up its $200 million budget.  

“The Men Who Stare At Goats” was 3rd again, just ahead of “Precious”, the movie with all kinds of Oscar buzz… it has made more than $35 million in just two weeks of limited release – in just 174 theaters.  Overall, the weekend was up 22% from last weekend, raking in $130 million… it also marks the 7th weekend in-a-row of a new number one at the top of the box office.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
 1. “2012″ – $65 million (1st week)

2. “A Christmas Carol” - $22.33 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 26% of audience from last week)

3. “The Men Who Stare At Goats” - $6.20 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 51% from last week)

4. “Precious” – $6.09 million
(2nd week of limited release, was #12 last week, gained 225% more audience from last week, added 156 theaters)

5. “This Is It” - $21.30 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 61% from last week)

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“A Christmas Carol” wins weekend, but didn’t make as much as expected

Disney’s new animated 3D “A Christmas Carol” pulled in $31 million, but some were expecting/predicting clsoer to $40 million.   “The Men Who Stare At Goats” was 3rd behind last week’s number 1 “This Is It”, but had the 2nd highest per theater total (of movies playing in at least 1,000 theaters).

“The Fourth Kind” was 4th, ahead of “Paranormal Activity” in its 7th week, and “The Box” came in 6th.  Overall, the weekend brought in $110 million… a 33% boost from last weekend.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
 1. “A Christmas Carol” - $31.00 million (1st week)

2. “This Is It” - $21.30 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 40% of audience from last week)

3. “The Men Who Stare At Goats” - $13.31 million (1st week)

4. “The Fourth Kind” – $12.52 million (1st week)

5. “Paranormal Activity” – $8.60 million
(7th week of release, was #2 last week, lost 48% from last week)

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I’m not quite ready to call this a new classic, but Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” in 3D is magical and spooky, a faithful re-telling of the classic Dickens’ tale… with a few flaws.

This movie is rated PG and may be scary for younger kids… with the ghosts and spooky images.

(My review is of the 3D version, it contains very minor spoilers – unless you don’t know the basic storyline !!)

Jim Carrey is perfect as Ebenezer Scrooge… grumpy, grouchy, and cheap… a man so offensive, he’s even feared by the dog on the street.   Since the movie is animated that is a credit to both the animators and what Carrey can convey just through his voice.

With great looking animation that is closer to looking real, the story is more convincing, and the characters actually look a little like the actors voicing them.

The biggest challenge after the animation is to tell this story we’ve seen before and make it fresh… and Director/Writer Robert Zemeckis achieves just that, adding in tweaks and leaving the main pillars of the story alone.  Zemeckis tells the story of Scrooge in a slightly different way going back in time when his partner Jacob Marley passes away… the movie also lets a lot of the scenes breathe instead of moving on to the next scene… it allows the moment to be fully conveyed: from Scrooge’s disdain for charity to his terror of seeing his old partner as a ghost.

The movie also succeeds by spending plenty of time (but not too much) showing the audience how much of a grinch Scrooge is before his Christmas eve hauntings… as the story clearly shows his changing outlook during visit from 2nd spirit… and how he is convinced to seek redemption after the visit from the 3rd spirit.

So what was wrong?

I’m a Carrey fan, but his versatility (4 roles) is a little distracting… he nails them, but since he’s essentially talking to himself… it detracts from the experience.

Also, some of the dialogue is unintelligible – I couldn’t make out what the characters said a few times – between the heavy accents and the way they spoke… and the other noise in the scene… also distracting.

The movie balances between being a movie just being 3D for the sake of it (with things coming at you plus flying the camera around and through objects)… and using the 3D effects to tell the story, giving the audience a unique perspective.

THE BOTTOM LINE: (more…)

A very wide vareity of new movies to pick from this week….

New at Theaters (Friday): “The Box”, “A Christmas Carol” (3D & IMAX), “The Fourth Kind”, “The Men Who Stare At Goats”, “More Than A Game” (limited), “Big Fan” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon), “September Issue” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon), “No Impact Man” (UICA in Grand Rapids), “The Way We Get By” (UICA in Grand Rapids)

Limited Release in Grand Rapids market: 
“More Than A Game” (Celebration! North),
“Big Fan” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon),
“September Issue” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon),
“No Impact Man” (UICA in Grand Rapids),
“The Way We Get By” (UICA in Grand Rapids)

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “Whip It”, “Inglorious Basterds”, “Capitalism: A Love Story”, “Shorts”, “Sorority Row”

Best Bet(s): I have not seen any of the new movies in wide release YET…  but at least two of the four are getting moderate-to-average reviews (”A Christmas Carol” and “Men Who Stare at Goats”). “Big Fan” is getting some good response and it plays in Muskegon for a week and then will be at the UICA on 11/20.   And for $4.00, the filmed in Michigan comedy-drama “Whip It”  is more than worth the price of admission… so is “500 Days of Summer”… go see that if you haven’t already for gosh sakes!

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New this Week on DVD: “Aliens in the Attic”, “The Answer Man”, “Food, Inc.”, “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”, “I Love You Beth Cooper”,  “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″, “Command Performance”

Best Bets: The Waterfront Film Festival alum “The Answer Man” is a fun laugh out loud romantic comedy starring Michigan native Jeff Daniels… the thriller remake “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ that I liked but many others weren’t impressed by… and if you were a fan of the 1980s “G.I. Joe” cartoons or like over-the-top action movies  “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” is for you (I liked it for what it was).   You’re on your own for: “Food, Inc.” an eye-opening documentary, “Aliens in the Attic” is a family adventure, fans of Hayden Pannetiere (”Heroes”) might like “I Love You Beth Cooper” which actually got some good reviews, and fans of Dolph Lundgren might consider “Command Performance”.

Next Week at Theaters: “2012″, “Pirate Radio”, “Act of God” (UICA in Grand Rapids), “World’s Greatest Dad” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon)

11/25 – “A Serious Man” (limited)

Next Week on DVD: “Up”, “The Accidental Husband”, “The Merry Gentleman”, “Spread”, “The Ugly Truth”, “Watchmen” (Director’s cut)

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY:  (more…)

ABC Family grabs 5 Disney Films for the future

Variety reports that the ABC Family network has made a deal for two of this year’s Disney movies: Jerry Bruckheimer’s guinea pig action movie “G-Force” and Robert Zemeckis’ animated version of “A Christmas Carol” starring Jim Carrey.

The five-film deal also includes “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” “Bedtime Stories” and “Race to Witch Mountain”.

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is expected to air on ABC Family next year, “G-Force” will air in 2011, while “A Christmas Carol”, “Bedtime Stories”, and “Race to Witch Mountain” will be on the cable network in 2012.   

Carrey’s “A Christmas Carol” is expected to be part of ABC Family’s increasingly popular “25 Days of Christmas” December programming block, like Zemeckis’ “The Polar Express” has the past few holiday seasons.

Comedies, Dramas, and movies for kids, my 10 favorite Christmas movies:

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My Top Five Christmas Movies: 

1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

2. A Christmas Story (1983)

3. Its A Wonderful Life (1946)

4. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (1964)

5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town (1970)

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