Movie Monday: Iron Hood
Did you really think that a handful of arrows would be enough to puncture the greatest suit of armor ever? Robin Hood opened this weekend boasting two Oscar-winning stars, a $225 million budget and an enviable Hollywood pedigree. But its $37.1 million weekend take wasn’t nearly enough to poke holes in the high-flying Iron Man […]
Movie Monday: Iron Man 2
Don’t mess with a guy in a metal suit. Iron Man 2 clanked to the top of the box office this weekend, blasting its way to a $133.6 million take and humiliating arch-villains and opposing moviemakers alike. Iron Man‘s closest competition was Freddy from the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. But the burned-and-bladed […]
When Ratings Creep
Think films are getting more violent? If so, you’re not alone. Some researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center think so, too, and they have a whole bunch of sciency stuff to back it up. The folks at Annenberg (part of the University of Pennsylvania) studied films from 1950 to 2006 and discovered that, since […]
Christian Film: Beautiful or Banal?
Working for Plugged In has its perks. Take today, for instance. We had the chance to listen and talk with screenwriter/professor/Christian Barbara Nicolosi, perhaps one of Christianity’s most eloquent, most provocative voices when it comes to faith and film. Adam Holz had a chance to interview Nicolosi for an upcoming story and podcast, so I […]
Game Over?
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments as to whether California can ban the sale of violent video games to children under the age of 18. I’ll be interested to hear what it decides. California actually passed the bill five years ago, but it was blocked by lower courts and never went […]
Movie Monday: The Back-up Plan
Looks like Jennifer Lopez could use a backup plan of her own. J. Lo’s new romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan, couldn’t topple DreamWorks’ charming springtime smash How to Train Your Dragon this weekend: Plan raked in an estimated $12.3 million, about $2.7 million less than the tireless Dragon. Another newcomer, The Losers, lived up to […]
Movie Monday: Kick Something
We just knew a certain unmentionable film was going to rule the box office come Monday. We just assumed that Kick-A– and its band of R-rated superheroes was going to charge into theaters and win the weekend. I mean, really: Who wants to tangle with a profane, purple-wigged, 11-year-old death jockey? Turns out, though, Hit-Girl […]
Psst. Wanna Know a Secret?
Tonight, the Peacock Network will air Secrets of the Mountain—maybe the safest and riskiest show we’ve seen in a while. Television programming doesn’t get much safer. Secrets (which will be released on DVD in Walmart stores on Saturday) is a G-rated affair—like what I would’ve watched on The Wonderful World of Disney way back in […]
Masked Maroons
I wanted to be a superhero. No, really. When I was about 7, it was my career ambition. While other kids were playing baseball or other such nonsense, I would wear a cape, fling webs (my mother’s hair net) at evildoers (stuffed animals) and come up with clever catchphrases. If I had been looking for […]
Movie Monday: Date Night
A couple of comedians trounced an army of gods and monsters to triumph at the box office this weekend. Date Night, starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey, made $27.1 million to nudge past rapidly falling Clash of the Titans ($26.9 million). How to Train Your Dragon—the film I took my own family to this weekend—finished […]