Movie Monday: G.I. Joe Retaliates
Oh, those Joes. The president may have disavowed this super-elite, sharp-dressed cadre of soldiers. But the American public didn’t desert the G.I. Joe franchise, proving once again that buying a movie ticket is half the battle. G.I. Joe: Retaliation muscled its way to an estimated $41.2 million opening to claim the weekend’s box office crown. […]
The Religion of Entertainment
It’s Good Friday as I post this, perhaps the most somber holy day on the Christian calendar. In two days, we’ll celebrate Easter—the day we commemorate the crux of our faith, Jesus’ resurrection. Even nominally Christian folks who hardly ever go to church find time to go on Easter. Or, at least, they used to. […]
Movie Monday: The Croods
If there’s one thing the Croods know, it’s how to bash things—their dinners, their surroundings and especially each other. Should it really surprise us that their namesake movie is such a … hit? DreamWorks’ The Croods smashed and crashed its way to the top of the box office this weekend, squeezing an estimated $44.7 million […]
Invasion of the Creepy Conspiracy Show
Ah, home. Most of us have one. Mine is located in westside Colorado Springs—a nice little house surrounded by other nice little houses. A park with a baseball diamond and swingset is a couple blocks away. Walgreens and the local pizza joint are just down the hill. My neighbors and I shovel snow in the […]
Movie Monday: Oz Still Greatly Powerful
Go ahead … pay attention to the man behind the curtain just this once. Oz may not be much of a wizard, but he sure can pull some serious cash out of his hat. Oz the Great and Powerful took the weekend box office crown for the second straight week, collecting an estimated $42.2 million […]
Movie Monday: Oz the Great and Powerful
You’d think giants would’ve held up a bit better against a fraudulent wizard. But no. Maybe the balloon freaked ’em out. In a box office showdown pitting Oz the Great and Powerful against Jack the Giant Slayer, it was Oz proving his powerful greatness. Across North America, moviegoers skipped down their respective yellow brick roads […]
A Lot of Barking Over Norwegian Wood
Controversial television? Sure, we think we know controversy here in the states, what with our Oscar telecasts, nudity-laden HBO fantasy dramas and our crass broadcast comedies. But if we want to learn what a real media controversy looks like, we need to spend some time in Norway. There, outrage takes on an entirely different timbre. Or, […]
Movie Monday: Jack the Giant Slayer
“Fee! Fi! Fo! Fums! Brothers Warner could use a Tums!” That’s what I imagine the studio’s bevy of giants are chanting right about now, their growly poetry reverberating in Warner Bros. back lots. Oh, the studio’s PG-13 fairy tale, Jack the Giant Slayer, did manage to win the weekend box office tourney. It did muster […]
Movie Monday: Identity Thief Steals Another
Wouldn’t you know it. Just as Hollywood’s attention was distracted by Jennifer Lawrence tripping the step fantastic and Shirley Bassey’s ageless set of pipes, Identity Thief sneaked its way into the box office penthouse again. Not that the office was tightly locked down, mind you. If the weekend’s two big new releases—Snitch and Dark Skies—were supposed […]
Oscar Nominees: Uncomfortable Ethics
Nine movies. Nine movies nominated for the Academy Awards’ Best Picture. On the surface, they couldn’t be more different, really: They swing from romantic dramedies (Silver Linings Playbook) to sweeping musicals (Les Misérables) to gritty war pics (Zero Dark Thirty). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences praised youth (Quvenzhané Wallis of Beasts of […]
