You have another chance to see the classic ‘Wizard of Oz’

If you missed it back in September, the 70th Anniversary presentation of “The Wizard Of Oz”, is coming back to more than 300 movie theaters across the country on one night only November 17th.

The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Encore Event will happen on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:30 p.m. in 324 movie theaters.   The remastered movie will be introduced with a taped interview from Robert Osborne, film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies.

In West Michigan, the movie will be at the following theaters, tickets are $10 and available at the box office:

West Columbia 7 - 2500 Columbia Ave W,  Battle Creek, MI, 49015

Holland 7 - 500 S Waverly Rd, Holland, MI, 49423
 
Kalamazoo 10 - 820 Maple Hill Dr, Kalamazoo, MI, 49009

Its also playing at 11 other theaters across Michigan, check theaters for ticket prices: (more…)

Sorry, this is one day late…

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” chich actually got seom good reviews, and fans of Dolph Lundgren might consider “Command Performance”.

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…)

Poll results: Top 50 Scary Movies of All Time
This was an unscientific poll, but pretty telling once all the votes were in, very few surprises… but what is it about the late 1960s and 1970s?  9 of your top 15 scariest movies of all time were made between 1965 and 1979.

#1 “Exorcist” (1973)
#2 “Halloween” (1978)
#3 “The Shining” (1980)
#4 “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974)
#5 “Friday the 13th” (1980)
#6 “28 Days Later” (2002)
#7 “Jaws” (1975)
#8-tie “The Ring” (2002)
#8-tie “House of Wax” (2005)
#10 “The Omen” (1976)
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#11-tie “Amityville Horror” (1979)
#11-tie “Alien” (1979)
#11-tie “The Haunting” (1963)
#11-tie “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
#15 “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
#16 “Psycho” (1960)
#17 “Saw” (2004)
#18 “Carrie” (1976)
#19 “Arachnophobia” (1990)
#20 “The Evil Dead” (1981)
(more…)

“This Is It” wins weekend, extended past two week run… 2nd lowest weekend total of 2009

Sure it opened Wednesday, but just the Friday-Sunday estimated numbers ($21 million) add up to a box office win for “This Is It” the Michael Jackson concert documentary.   “This Is It” dominated the weekend, becoming the highest grossing concert movie.   Sony Pictures announced today that the flick that was orignally scheduled to to play for two weeks, will now play for 4 1/2 weeks …. through the Thanksgiving weekend.

“Paranormal Activity” was the only other movie with more than $10 million ($16 million) this weekend, the horror thriller is now in more than 2,400 theaters, its widest release so far, and again with the highest per theater average of the top 12 movies… which means the movie is making more money/has more people per showing.

Overall, as you could guess with only 2 movies in double-digit millions, it was a down weekend.  The box office saw a 25% decrease from last weekend, and at $79.42 million for the top 12 movies, is the 2nd lowest total of the year (Sept. 11-13 was $76.21 million).  If you’re wondering, last year’s Halloween weekend was also weak, totalling just $73.99 million (a 38% drop from the previous weekend).

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “This Is It” - $21.30 million (1st week)

2. “Paranormal Activity” – $16.54 million
(6th week of release, was #1 last week, lost 22% of audience from last week)

3. “Law Abiding Citizen” – $7.30 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 41% from last week)

4. “Couples Retreat” - $6.10 million
(4th week, was #5 last week, lost 43% from last week)

5. “Saw VI” – $5.56 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 61% from last week)

(more…)

Halloween is here… and there are plenty of options in theaters… or you can check our Top 50 Scary Movies of All Time poll for ideas on what to rent for Halloween… or check out the Michael Jackson concert documentary “This Is It” or the limited release options…

New at Theaters (Friday): “Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” (opened Wednesday), “The Boys Are Back” (limited), ”It Might Get Loud”  (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon)

Limited Release in Grand Rapids market: 
“Halloween II” (Celebration Cinemas Friday & Saturday nights only),
“The Boys Are Back” (Celebration! North, Celebration! Crossroads, Celebration! Carousel Muskegon),
“Tony Manero” (UICA in Grand Rapids through 11/5),
Scarefest 2009 – Saturday at the Harbor Theater in Muskegon,
“Bright Star” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon through 11/5),
“Capitalism: A Love Story” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon through 11/5),
“It Might Get Loud” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon through 11/5)

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “The Final Destination” (3D & 2D), “Pandorum”, “Jennifer’s Body”, “Fame”

Best Bet(s): If you’re a Michael Jackson fan, go see “This Is It” - its scheduled to be in theaters for 2 weeks only… otherwise if you’re looking for something scary for Halloween, there’s “Paranormal Activity”, “Saw VI”, “Halloween II”, “The Stepfather”, “Cirque Du Freak”, “The Final Destination”, “Pandorum”, or “Jennifer’s Body”. 

 CLICK HERE TO FIND A MOVIE SHOWTIME

New on DVD (Tuesday): “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”, “Nothing Like the Holidays”, “Orphan”, “Stan Helsing”, “Whatever Works”

Best Bet(s): You’re on your own with five very different options, none of which I’ve seen yet: the 3rd movie in the popular family franchise “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”… the holiday movie focused on a family ”Nothing Like the Holidays”… the thriller “Orphan”… the spoof “Stan Helsing”… and the Woody Allen romantic comedy “Whatever Works”.

–

Next Week at Theaters: “The Box”, “A Christmas Carol”, “The Fourth Kind”, “Men Who Stare at Goats”, “A Serious Man” (limited), “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)

Next 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″

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

Celebration! Cinema selling tickets for “Twilight” and “New Moon” on same night

Forget how the first one ended?  Just want to see it again?  Never saw it?!!?  Here’s your chance to see “Twilight” and the sequel “New Moon” on the same trip to the theater!!

Tickets are already selling at many Celebration! Cinema locations for Thursday, November 19th when “Twilight”, the first film in the series, will be shown at 9:00pm and then ”New Moon” premieres at midnight Friday, November 20th.

Here’s a look at how tickets are sellling at Celebration locations (as of 8am 10/29/09):

Celebration! Cinema Benton Harbor – 1 “New Moon” show sold out

Celebration! Cinema Crossroads

Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North – 3 “New Moon” shows sold out

Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids South – 2 “Twilight” shows sold out, 1 “New Moon” show sold out

Celebration! Cinema Lansing – 1 “Twilight” show sold out, 1 “New Moon” show sold out

Celebration! Cinema Rivertown – 3 “Twilight” shows sold out, 4 ”New Moon” shows sold out

Cinema Carousel Muskegon – 1 “New Moon” show sold out

Celebration! Cinema Mt. Pleasant – “Twilight” tickets only available at box office, 7 ”New Moon” shows sold out

 Click on this link for more info on buying tickets! (more…)

 ”This Is It” IS the concert the world never got to see.

If you’re a fan of Michael Jackson and his death left you feeling empty and looking for a final performance from the King of Pop, ”This Is It” is an absolute must.

I’m giving three options here because if you were looking forward to this movie, see it, you probably won’t be disappointed… but if you’re just mildly curious, wait and enjoy it when it is released on DVD.
 

(Spoiler-free review)

The very personal look at the making of what was to be MJ’s final concert tour is well done, blending the songs and all the back stage footage as if we the audience were attending a concert, while on stage with the music legend.

“This Is It” is taken from more than 80 hours of rehearsal, soundchecks, and backstage footage over several months as MJ and his team of performers, musicians, and technical crew prepared for his planned shows in London.

The music documentary is riveting, showcasing MJ’s creative, inspiring professionalism.  Its an amazing final performance from MJ, who at 50 years old, looks very healthy and energetic… showing he’s still got the moves and the vocals.

But its also a very personal look at how MJ conducts business with loving determination, pushing the performers and technicians to make it the best show for the audience.   While he’s surrounded himself with some of the best talent in the world, he is still carefully and calmly teaching and leading them with a caring hand to help them shine.   MJ is very hands on, which gains him respect amoung the crew.. but he is the creative force when its all said and done.

Its interesting to see the 50-year-old MJ dancing with and setting the pace for dancers and musicians 20-25 years younger… and watching them try to keep up, while he is just in warm up and rehearsal mode.  Its amazing to think what this concert and MJ would have been like in full speed “live” mode.   The dancers are the supporting cast – as the documentary points out, the dancers are “an extension of Michael” – they even go through regular pillates, ballet, and choreography for the famous ‘grab’ to keep their skills sharp.

As you can imagine, the movie, like a concert, moves from one song to another through different devices like sounchecks, lighting, and choreography.   The song list includes “Beat It”, “Black or White”, “Jam”, “Billie Jean”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”.  Like a throwback to his classic music videos, new scenes were shot for the intro of “Thriller”… and for “Smooth Criminal”, MJ is put into a scene from the 1946 movie “Gilda” to set up the whole gangster motif.   Later, in “Man in the Mirror”, he’s singing with vocalists who grew up singing the song.

He’s a man with a message too – “This Is It” also captures MJ’s environmental concerns that he put into his songs and was planning for the London shows.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

(more…)

31 Best Scary Movies

Last year, I put out my list, but this year I spent a lot more time analyzing my picks and set a standard for myself on how to judge them.   This list is not just simply the scariest movies, its the best scary movies I have seen.

First of all, that means there’s a list of movies you might think are better that I haven’t seen because I can really only convince myself to see one really scary movie a year… and this year it was “Paranormal Activity”. 
Second, to seperate the really good from the just okay, the movies on this list are quality, well made movies and the movie (or a certain part of it) is the kind of frightening, creepy, or scary that stays with you and impacts you: the stuff of adult nightmares. 

So here it is (as of 2009), the 31 Best Scary Movies (that I’ve seen):
 

1. “The Ring” (2002)
2. “The Shining” (1980)
3. “The Exorcist” (1973)
4. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974)
5. “Halloween” (1978)
6. “Psycho” (1960)
7. “Paranormal Activity” (2009)
8. “Saw” (2004)
9. “The Grudge” (2004)
10. “The Sixth Sense” (1999)

(more…)

After weeks of climbing the charts while in limited release, “Paranormal Activity” grabs #1

Wow… “Paranormal Activity” is in its widest release yet this weekend, but still in 1,000 fewer theaters than “Saw VI”, the 6th installment in one of the most successful horror franchises at the box office… despite those odds, ‘Paranormal’ beat out its scary competition by $7 million.

“Where The Wild Things Are” is a close 3rd, and may slide into 2nd place when the final numbers come in.  Other new movies “Astro Boy”, “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”, and “Amelia” all made less than $10 million each and struggled to compete with returning movies.  The other limited release darling “A Serious Man” had the 2nd highest per theater average ($6,415) of the top 12 movies (2nd only to ‘Paranormal’’s $11,311)… “A Serious Man” won’t be in the Grand Rapids market until at least November 6th.

Overall, the weekend ($109.95 million) was down about 14% from last weekend’s huge weekend, but still the 2nd highest box office total of the fall movie season.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Paranormal Activity” – $22.00 million
(5th week of limited release, was #3 last week, gained 12% – added 1,185 theaters from last week)

2. “Saw VI” – $14.80 million (1st week)

3. “Where The Wild Things Are” - $14.42 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 56% of audience from last week)

4. “Law Abiding Citizen” – $12.71 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 40% from last week)

5. “Couples Retreat” - $11.10 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 36% from last week)

(more…)

UPDATE: Schedules shifting for three movies, production to set up shop soon

In case you missed Friday’s eightWest, the Meg Ryan movie “Sleepless Beauty” has been moved from the first of three movies to the last of three movies.  Also, movie producer Randall Emmett told me over the phone Thursday night that they’ll be back in Michigan next week to head to Lansing and the Michigan Film Office to discuss the Michigan Film incentives and get all of their paperwork going.   Emmett also tells me that he and the Director plan to set up their production office in Grand Rapids during the first week of November.

Production schedule:

“The Gun”: Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson and yet to be cast co-star
Scheduled to begin December 20th

“Jekyll and Hyde”: Forest Whitaker and ‘50 Cent’
Scheduled to begin January 17th

“Sleepless Beauty”: Meg Ryan and Ashley Tisdale
Scheduled to begin in late February

( Originally published 10/1/09)

Three more movies coming to Grand Rapids, starring Meg Ryan, Forest Whitaker, Ashley Tisdale, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

Producer Randall Emmett raves about making movies in Grand Rapids

Randall Emmett is back in town scouting locations for three movie productions that  he is bringing to town for back-to-back-to-back movie shoots.    He was in Grand Rapids for the production of “Caught in the Crossfire” earlier this year.

(more…)