For some reason (lack of sleep?) I left The Unborn off the new in theaters list… and “Revolutionary Road” is still in limited release and not coming to the Grand Rapids market until January 23rd…. sorry !!!
I also received word that “The Reader” is moving from Celebration! Woodland to Celebration! Rivertown this weekend.

New this week in Theaters (Friday): “Bridewars”, “Not Easily Broken”, “Gran Torino” (Grand Rapids), “The Unborn”

New this week on DVD (Tuesday): “Pineapple Express”, “Righteous Kill”, “Babylon A.D.”, “Bangkok Dangerous”, “Disaster Movie”, “The Wackness”

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MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD: Okay, I know I’m one of the few people who actually liked the Pacino/DeNiro movie “Righteous Kill”, but if you listened to most critics and waited to rent it, now’s the time to see it.

The other five movies I haven’t seen but have varying levels of concern: “Pineapple Express” is a stoner/action/comedy that was well received by some audiences and critics, “Disaster Movie” is another farce by the producers of all those other recent spoof movies, “The Wackness” got some good reviews by the limited audiences that saw it… it also has a *pot* plot.

And then there are the box office stinkers “Babylon A.D.” and “Bangkok Dangerous”, yes the second was #1 the week it opened, but there was nothing else in wide release that week, audiences for both movies dropped signigicantly the 2nd week at the theater and by the way scored very low on most reviews.

Looking for other rentals?   Check out these movies:
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”

- – -

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MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS: 1 Oscar contender, a romantic comedy aimed at the ladies, a romantic drama, and a horror movie.  “Gran Torino” was filmed in Detroit and Clint Eastwood has said its his last acting appearance, although he plans to keep directing, Eastwood has received several nominations for his acting in “Gran Torino”.   “Bridewars” is the light-hearted “date” movie of the bunch about two friends Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway who dream of having their weddings at the same hard-to-book location.     “Not Easily Broken” is a movie I haven’t heard much about, but its about a couple and how a life-changing event tests their relationship.   “The Unborn” is another seemingly formulaic, yet unique horror flick about a girl who discovers her unborn twin is haunting her.

MY REVIEWS OF MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS:

“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5)
“Changeling” (9.5)
“Australia” (7.9)
“Four Christmases” (7.5)
“Marley & Me” (7.5)
“Quantum of Solace” (7.5)
“Role Models” (7.5)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” (7.5)
“Twilight” (7.0)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5)
“What Just Happened” (6.5)

- – -

Next Week at Theaters: “Defiance” (wide release), “Hotel for Dogs”, “Last Chance Harvey” (wide release), “My Bloody Valentine 3-D”, “Notorious”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”

Next Week on DVD: “Appaloosa”, “Brideshead Revisted”, “Mirrors”, ”My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Swing Vote”,  ”Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys”

For some reason (lack of sleep?) I left “The Unborn” off the new in theaters list… and “Revolutionary Road” is still in limited release and not coming to the Grand Rapids market January 23rd…. sorry !!! 
I also received word that “The Reader” is moving from Celebration! Woodland to Celebration! Rivertown this weekend.

New this week in Theaters (Friday): “Bridewars”, “Not Easily Broken”, “Gran Torino” (Grand Rapids), “The Unborn”

New this week on DVD (Tuesday): “Pineapple Express”, “Righteous Kill”, “Babylon A.D.”, “Bangkok Dangerous”, “Disaster Movie”, “The Wackness”

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MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD: Okay, I know I’m one of the few people who actually liked the Pacino/DeNiro movie “Righteous Kill”, but if you listened to most critics and waited to rent it, now’s the time to see it.  

The other five movies I haven’t seen but have varying levels of concern: “Pineapple Express” is a stoner/action/comedy that was well received by some audiences and critics, “Disaster Movie” is another farce by the producers of all those other recent spoof movies, “The Wackness” got some good reviews by the limited audiences that saw it… it also has a *pot* plot.

And then there are the box office stinkers “Babylon A.D.” and “Bangkok Dangerous”, yes the second was #1 the week it opened, but there was nothing else in wide release that week, audiences for both movies dropped signigicantly the 2nd week at the theater and by the way scored very low on most reviews.

Looking for other rentals?   Check out these movies:
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”

- – -

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.

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS: 1 Oscar contender, a romantic comedy aimed at the ladies, a romantic drama, and a horror movie.  “Gran Torino” was filmed in Detroit and Clint Eastwood has said its his last acting appearance, although he plans to keep directing, Eastwood has received several nominations for his acting in “Gran Torino”.   “Bridewars” is the light-hearted “date” movie of the bunch about two friends Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway who dream of having their weddings at the same hard-to-book location.     “Not Easily Broken” is a movie I haven’t heard much about, but its about a couple and how a life-changing event tests their relationship.   “The Unborn” is another seemingly formulaic, yet unique horror flick about a girl who discovers her unborn twin is haunting her.

MY REVIEWS OF MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS: 

“Slumdog Millionaire”  (9.5)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5)
“Changeling”  (9.5)
“Australia”  (7.9)
“Four Christmases”  (7.5)
“Marley & Me” (7.5)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5)
“Role Models”  (7.5)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”  (7.5)
“Twilight”  (7.0)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5)
“What Just Happened”  (6.5)

- – -

Next Week at Theaters: “Defiance” (wide release), “Hotel for Dogs”, “Last Chance Harvey” (wide release), “My Bloody Valentine 3-D”, “Notorious”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”

Next Week on DVD: “Appaloosa”, “Brideshead Revisted”, “Mirrors”, ”My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Swing Vote”,  ”Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys”

The political/conspiracy thriller “Eagle Eye” did not disappoint, but the other new movies this weekend didn’t do as well as I expected: “Nights in Rodanthe” was 2nd, but about $2 million less than my prediction.

I’m really surprised that “Miracle at St. Anna” was #9 and earned only $3.50 million considering the huge marketing push and Academy Award buzz around the movie… but sometimes war movies just don’t do well at the box office. 

The surprise of the week is “Fireproof”… a small budget/independent movie in limited release this week, starring Kirk Cameron, but it had the 2nd highest per screen average, second only to “Eagle Eye”.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (studio estimates):

1. “Eagle Eye” - $29.20 million (1st week)

2. “Nights in Rodanthe” - $13.57 million (1st week)

3. “Lakeview Terrace” - $7.00 million

(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 53% of its audience from last week)

4. “Fireproof” - $6.51 million (1st week)

5. “Burn After Reading” - $6.17 million

(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 44% of its audience from last week)

6. “Igor” - $5.50 million

(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 29% of its audience from last week)

7. “Righteous Kill” - $3.80 million

(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 49% of its audience from last week)

8. “My Best Friend’s Girl” - $3.80 million

(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 54% of its audience from last week)

9. “Miracle at St. Anna” - $3.50 million (1st week)

10. “The Family That Preys” - $3.16 million

(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 56% of its audience from last week)

——–

11. “Ghost Town” - $2.95 million

(2nd week, was #8 last week, lost 41% of its audience from last week)

12. “The Women” - $2.65 million

(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 51% of its audience from last week)

13. “The Dark Knight” – $1.66 million (total gross: $524.46 million)
(11th week, was #9 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

CHASING HISTORY:

“The Dark Knight” may end up falling short of closing the gap between itself ($524.46 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

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Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Eagle Eye” poster courtesy DreamWorks SKG

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

The political/conspiracy thriller “Eagle Eye” did not disappoint, but the other new movies this weekend didn’t do as well as I expected: “Nights in Rodanthe” was 2nd, but about $2 million less than my prediction.

I’m really surprised that “Miracle at St. Anna” was #9 and earned only $3.50 million considering the huge marketing push and Academy Award buzz around the movie… but sometimes war movies just don’t do well at the box office. 

The surprise of the week is “Fireproof”… a small budget/independent movie in limited release this week, starring Kirk Cameron, but it had the 2nd highest per screen average, second only to “Eagle Eye”.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (studio estimates):

1. “Eagle Eye” - $29.20 million (1st week)

2. “Nights in Rodanthe” - $13.57 million (1st week)

3. “Lakeview Terrace” - $7.00 million

(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 53% of its audience from last week)

4. “Fireproof” - $6.51 million (1st week)

5. “Burn After Reading” - $6.17 million

(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 44% of its audience from last week)

6. “Igor” - $5.50 million

(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 29% of its audience from last week)

7. “Righteous Kill” - $3.80 million

(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 49% of its audience from last week)

8. “My Best Friend’s Girl” - $3.80 million

(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 54% of its audience from last week)

9. “Miracle at St. Anna” - $3.50 million (1st week)

10. “The Family That Preys” - $3.16 million

(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 56% of its audience from last week)

——–

11. “Ghost Town” - $2.95 million

(2nd week, was #8 last week, lost 41% of its audience from last week)

12. “The Women” - $2.65 million

(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 51% of its audience from last week)

13. “The Dark Knight” – $1.66 million (total gross: $524.46 million)
(11th week, was #9 last week, lost 43% of its audience from last week)

CHASING HISTORY:

“The Dark Knight” may end up falling short of closing the gap between itself ($524.46 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Eagle Eye” poster courtesy DreamWorks SKG

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

My predictions of the winners and losers at the box office this weekend:

This week, 3 new movies hit theaters in Wide Release on Friday: “Eagle Eye”, “Miracle at St. Anna”, “Nights in Rodanthe”…

…while one of the movies: “Miracle at St. Anna” is likely to get the most Academy Award attention, and “Nights in Rodanthe” is the big date-movie this weekend, the action/thriller “Eagle Eye” will stack ‘em up at the box office this weekend!!!

I also think this is the weekend when “The Dark Knight” could get knocked out of the top 10…

My predictions:

1. “Eagle Eye” – $22 million

2. “Nights in Rodanthe” – $16 million

3. “Miracle at St. Anna” – $12 million

4. ”Burn After Reading” – $10.5 million

5. “Lakeview Terrace” – $10 million

6. “Igor” - $7 million

7. “My Best Friend’s Girl” – $5 million

8. “The Family That Preys” - $3.5 million

9. “Righteous Kill” - $3 million

10. “The Women” - $2 million

——–

11. “The Dark Knight” – $1.5 million

Compare my predicitions to:
Last Week’s Top 10 Weekend Box Office list 9/22/08 (studio estimates):

1. “Lakeview Terrace” - $15.60 million (1st week)

2. “Burn After Reading” - $11.29 million

3. “My Best Friend’s Girl” - $8.60 million (1st week)

4. “Igor” - $8.01 million (1st week)

5. “Righteous Kill” - $7.70 million

6. “The Family That Preys” - $7.50 million

7. “The Women” - $5.31 million

8. “Ghost Town” - $5.17 million (1st week)

9. “The Dark Knight” – $2.95 million (total gross: $521.92 million)

10. “The House Bunny” - $2.80 million

Samuel L. Jackson’s bad cop, bad neighbor thriller “Lakeview Terrace” (an Honorable Mention in my 15 movies to see preview !!) tops this week’s box office report, “My Best Friend’s Girl” was 3rd, the animated “Igor” was a respectful 4th… and as expected “Ghost Town” barely showed up in 8th place.. maybe because they didn’t start promoting it until just a few weeks out.. it also got bad reviews.    “Igor” didn’t need much promotion… it was a animated film… with no current competition… it was bound to do pretty well.

While “Burn After Reading” only fell to 2nd in its second week… its important to note that “Righteous Kill” fell fewer spots in its second week than “The Family That Preys” and “The Women”.

I’m seriously warning everyone about waiting for “Bangkok Dangerous” until it hits DVD… and then maybe even waiting a couple weeks, its gone from #1 to #8 to #16 in 3 weeks… CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED AGAIN!!!

Top 10 Weekend Box Office list this week (studio estimates):

1. “Lakeview Terrace” - $15.60 million (1st week)

2. “Burn After Reading” - $11.29 million

(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 41% of its audience from last week)

3. “My Best Friend’s Girl” - $8.60 million (1st week)

4. “Igor” - $8.01 million (1st week)

5. “Righteous Kill” - $7.70 million

(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 53% of its audience from last week)

6. “The Family That Preys” - $7.50 million

(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 57% of its audience from last week)

7. “The Women” - $5.31 million

(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 47% of its audience from last week)

8. “Ghost Town” - $5.17 million (1st week)

9. “The Dark Knight” – $2.95 million (total gross: $521.92 million)
(10th week, was #7 last week, lost 29% of its audience from last week)

10. “The House Bunny” - $2.80 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, lost 33% of its audience from last week)

—-

11. “Tropic Thunder” - $2.58 million
(6th week, was #6 last week, lost 38% from last week)

Chasing History:

“The Dark Knight” may end up falling short of closing the gap between itself ($521.92 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Although, there are plans to re-release it in January (for Academy Award push and of course.. more $$$$ !!!

.

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Lakeview Terrace” poster courtesy Screen Gems

“The Dark Knight” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

Joel and Ethan Cohen’s new comedy-drama “Burn After Reading” leads a pack of 4 new movies that includes “Righteous Kill”, “The Family That Preys”, and “The Women”…

…as expected “Bangkok Dangerous” drops from #1 to #8 in its 2nd week, following the downward trend of “Babylon A.D.” and its drop from #2 to #6 to #11 in just 3 weeks.   “Tropic Thunder” and “The Dark Knight” are still hanging around, merely pushed down 4 spots by the 4 new movies.

Top 10 Weekend Box Office list this week (stuido estimates):

1. “Burn After Reading” - $19.40 million (1st week)

2. “The Family That Preys” - $18.02 million (1st week)

3. “Righteous Kill” - $16.50 million (1st week)

4. “The Women” - $10.09 million (1st week)

5. “The House Bunny” - $4.30 million
(4th week, was #4 last week, lost 22% of its audience from last week)

6. “Tropic Thunder” - $4.18 million
(5th week, was #2 last week, lost 42% from last week)

7. “The Dark Knight” – $4.02 million (total gross: $517.68 million)
(9th week, was #3 last week, lost 27% of its audience from last week)

8. “Bangkok Dangerous” - $2.40 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 69% from last week)

9. “Traitor” - $2.13 million
(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 50% of its audience from last week)

10. “Death Race” - $2.02 million
(4th week, was #7 last week, lost 46% of its audience from last week)

—

Chasing History:

“The Dark Knight” continues to try to close the gap between itself ($517.68 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Burn After Reading” poster courtesy Focus Features

http://twitter.com/aaronlafferty

The fall trend continues… last weekend, only “Tropic Thunder” made more than $10 million, the week before 4 movies made more than $10 million, now this past weekend none of the movies even came close to that mark, setting up a very interesting weekend ahead…

Top 10 Weekend Box Office list this week (actual results):

1. “Bangkok Dangerous” - $7.78 million (1st week)

2. “Tropic Thunder” - $7.23 million
(4th week, was #1 last week, lost 37% from last week)

3. “The Dark Knight” – $5.52 million (total gross: $511.99 million)
(8th week, was #3 last week, lost 36% of its audience from last week)

4. “The House Bunny” - $5.51 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 33% of its audience from last week)

5. “Traitor” - $4.27 million
(2nd week, was #5 last week, lost 45% of its audience from last week)

6. “Babylon A.D.” - $4.18 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 56% of its audience from last week)

7. “Death Race” - $6.29 million
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 41% of its audience from last week)

8. “Disaster Movie” - $3.03 million
(2nd week, was #7 last week, lost 48% of its audience from last week)

9. “Mamma Mia!” – $2.86 million
(8th week, was #8 last week, lost 32% from last week)

10. “Pineapple Express” - $2.26 million
(5th week, was #9 last week, lost 36% of its audience from last week)

—

Chasing History:

“The Dark Knight” continues to try to close the gap between itself ($511.99 million) and “Titanic” ($600.78 million) for the highest grossing movie ever in the U.S. !!

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

“Bangkok Dangerous” poster courtesy Lionsgate

In Theaters: “Bangkok Dangerous” On DVD: “Married Life”, “The Promotion”, “Then She Found Me”

New in theaters:

“Bangkok Dangerous” starring Nicolas Cage, Charlie Yeung, Shahkrit Yamnarm

Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller

The Plot: A hitman who’s in Bangkok to pull off a series of jobs falls for a local woman and bonds with his errand boy.

My Take: This is one week to hold off at the movies, save your box office money for next week, when there are multiple great offerings!!!

Next Week at Theaters:

“The Women”, “Burn After Reading”, The Family That Preys”, “Righteous Kill”

New on DVD:

“Married Life” starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachael McAdams

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance

The Plot: A 1940s-set drama where an adulterous man plots his wife’s death instead of putting her through the humiliation of a divorce.

—

“The Promotion” starring Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Fred Armisen

Genre: Comedy

The Plot: Two assistant managers of a corporate grocery store vie for a coveted promotion.

—

“Then She Found Me” starring Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

The Plot: A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father of one of her students.

Next Week on DVD:

“Baby Mama”, “The Forbidden Kingdom”, “Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour”