Cinematical

Brendan Fraser's third outing as a mummy wrangler did OK, but not well enough to unseat The Dark Knight which has held the number one sport for three weeks now. Here's the top five:

1. The Dark Knight: $42.6 million
2. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: $40.5 million
3. Step Brothers: $16.5 million
4. Mamma Mia!: $12.6 million
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $6.6 million

We've got two new releases this week, both of which are arriving in theaters today in hopes of building buzz for the coming weekend (and to avoid the start of the Olympics). Also, neither of them is directly targeting the same audience as The Dark Knight, which, even in its fourth week of release, is still the one to beat.

Pineapple Express
What's It All About: A stoner (Seth Rogen) and his dealer (James Franco) find themselves on the run after seeing a cop commit murder. Rogen wrote the script with Evan Goldberg, and this is the writing team behind Superbad.
Why It Might Do Well: Judd Apatow isn't directing, but he's on board as producer and he's got a story credit, so hopefully his magic touch will be in evidence. Also, most theaters provide comfortable seating with easy access to snacks, so the stoner crowd should feel right at home.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The aforementioned stoners might be saving their money for the recently announced Cheech and Chong reunion.
Number of Theaters: 3,072
Prediction: $24 million

When I saw that there was a new Island of Lost Souls coming I mistakenly assumed this was yet another remake of the 1932 film of the same name which starred Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi. That film was remade in 1977 and 1996 as The Island of Dr. Moreau, and I chalked this up to the usual remake madness. Once I actually read the Variety article in question, though, I realized this film is something else entirely. This Island of Lost Souls is a remake of a 2007 Danish film called De fortabte sjaeles, which deals with a teenage girl whose younger brother has been possessed by the benevolent spirit of an 18th century magician and finds herself caught up in a centuries old battle between good and evil. This sounds tailor made to cash in on the Harry Potter audience.

The new film is being directed by Nicolaj Arcel who co-wrote and directed the award-winning original which was heavy on special effects and was one of the highest grossing films in Denmark last year. The new screenplay will be written by Jennifer Okieffe. Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce via their Strike Entertainment banner.

Every generation has its rebellious teen years, so a remake of 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School, a movie about school kids fighting back against an oppressive school administration, doesn't seem entirely off the wall. Still, the movie pretty much existed as an excuse to put punk rock pioneers The Ramones on the big screen, so I'm wondering how this will work without them. According to an article in Variety, radio personality Howard Stern (who I always thought shared a common hairdo with The Ramones) will be producing the remake along with Larry Levinson. This makes two projects the pair are jointly working on, the other being a remake of 1982's Porky's.

The new Rock 'n" Roll High School will be scripted by Alex Winter, the same Alex Winter who joined Keanu Reeves for a couple of "excellent adventures" as Bill S. Preston Esq., and got staked by Cory Feldman in The Lost Boys. Winter still works as an actor (he had a recurring role on Adult Swim's Saul of the Mole Men), but he's primarily a writer/director these days, having directed music videos, commercials and the made-for-TV movie Ben 10: Race Against Time as well as a feature about Napster and its creator Shawn Fanning.

The original film was produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush, with additional uncredited direction from Joe Dante and Jerry Zucker. The movie starred P.J. Soles as Riff Randell, the girl who is bound and determined to get The Ramones to play at the school dance. The cast also featured several Corman regulars including Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller and Clint Howard. It's been years since I've seen this one, but I remember it as a fun bit of fluff from the drive-in era. What do you say, readers, will this translate well into the twenty-first century?

It's a good time to be a cinematic super hero, and Jules Verne proved that his work still has legs 103 years after his death, but Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave died a thousand deaths pulling in a mere $5.2 million and not even making the top five. Here are the totals:

1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army: $34.5 million
2. Hancock: $32 million
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth: $21 million
4. Wall-E: $18.7 million
5. Wanted: $11.9 million

Three new releases this week, and in the very broadest of terms we have one for the guys, one for the gals and one for the kids.

The Dark Knight
What's It All About: Do I really need to explain this one? Christian Bale returns to the role of Batman in the sequel to the series rebooting Batman Begins, with Christopher Nolan once again in the director's chair. There's a new crime boss in Gotham City and he's called The Joker (Heath Ledger). The two clash, things blow up, awesomeness ensues.
Why It Might Do Well: This will be the movie to beat this Summer. Batman is so ingrained into American pop culture that he's bonded to our collective DNA. Batman Begins grossed $205 million domestically and $371 million worldwide. The Dark Knight is scoring 88% over at Rottentomatoes.com and Cinematical's own James Rocchi had some good things to say about it.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There remains the possibility that people with a fear of bats will join forces with those with a fear of clowns and boycott the film, which of course means more popcorn for the rest of us.
Number of Theaters: 4,300
Prediction: $125 million

With The Dark Knight making its debut this Friday, I thought the time was right to take a look back at this jaw-dropping Batman parody from 1966. Rat Pfink A Boo Boo was the brainchild of Ray Dennis Steckler, the B-movie auteur behind The Thrill Killers, The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters and The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (the latter of which would have me muttering "cha-ching" right about now if I was paid by the word). Released in 1966, the same year the Batman TV series debuted, the film actually doesn't focus on costumed hero buffoonery until nearly the half-way mark. Apparently Steckler decided that the earnest but incompetent crime thriller he had been making wasn't working out, so he decided to do his own take on Batman, a character he had long admired. The resulting film is a disjointed mess unlike anything you've ever seen before, making this the Plan 9 From Outer Space of super hero films, and if you're the type who can find enjoyment in amazingly bad cinema then you just have to see this.

Sometimes I enjoy films with multi-layered stories and intricate characters, and then there are times when I just want to see people blowing sh*t up. I blame the testosterone. This week we've got five trailers that are all about the action.

Hell Ride
No, he's not directing, but Quentin Tarantino is producing this one which should turn a few heads, as will the fact that this is a red band trailer that earns its crimson hue. Three bad ass biker types played by writer/director Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen, and Eric Balfour are out for revenge against a rival gang for killing one of their bros. Dennis Hopper and David Carradine are in their too. The trailer embraces its b-movie action roots, not even caring that the shot of three figures nonchalantly walking away as a building blows up behind them has become something of a cliche. In his review of the film, Cinematical's Eric Snider makes the point that grindhouse style cinema is a niche market that appeals to a restricted number of people. True enough, though on a purely personal level, I'm a big fan of the old school grindhouse flicks and this looks like it's going to be pretty awesome.

Once again the Independence Day holiday proved successful for Will Smith. Hancock launched on Tuesday night, had a total of $103.9 million by weekend's end and provided Smith with his eighth consecutive film to open at number one. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, which went into wider release last weekend, finished in eighth place. Here's the top five:

1. Hancock $62.6 million
2. Wall-E $32.5 million
3. Wanted $20 million
4. Get Smart $11.1 million
5. Kung Fu Panda $7.3 million

Three new ones this week with (surprise) yet another superhero flick gunning for the top spot.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
What's It All About: Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy, a demon employed by the U.S. government to do battle against the things that go bump in the night. Denizens of a mystical world of supernatural creatures are about to wage war upon humanity, and Hellboy, the scarlet skinned scourge of evil, must stop them. Also returning are Doug Jones as the aquatic Abe Sapien (voicing the character himself this time, and not being dubbed by David Hyde Pierce) and Selma Blair as the pyrokinetic Liz.
Why It Might Do Well: In a nutshell: Guillermo del Toro. The man behind the original Hellboy film is back. In addition to being rejoined by the original cast, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola collaborated on the script. Also, we're talking 90% from Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Who's going to go see a movie based on a comic book? Oh, wait...
Number of Theaters: 2,900
Prediction: $42 million

I've always felt there was something oddly compelling about public access television. Essentially, the FCC requires cable companies to provide training, equipment and air time for pretty much anyone (Wikipedia has an in-depth explanation of the practice here). I guess I just like the idea of a medium that has practically no standards. With everyones expectations set at zero, things can only improve, right?

T.V. The Movie is a low budget indie that appears to have grown out of The Adam Bomb Show -- a public access program inspired by The Tom Green Show featuring interviews, comedy sketches and local bands -- which broadcasts on Comcast Channel 25 in Santa Maria, CA. The film is so below the radar that, as of this writing, it doesn't even have an entry on IMDB. I'm unclear on what Rapscallion Films hopes to do with this movie, whether they're looking for a distributor or perhaps hoping to market the film themselves. I think the former might be a bit difficult as they use a guy dressed like Sesame Street's Elmo throughout the film, and at one point he brandishes a gun during a drug store robbery. I can see where that might turn distributors off. Further complicating matters is the fact that T.V. The Movie is also the name of a completely different 2006 movie starring Steve-O from Jackass.

They say truth is stranger than fiction. To that I say "you obviously haven't seen Naked Lunch," but reality is certainly a fertile ground for film makers and today we've got five trailers for films based, to varying degrees, on real events.

The Perfect Game
I've never enjoyed watching sports so baseball movies usually leave me cold, but this one has a couple of things going for it: a true tale of a bunch of kids rising up from poverty to become world champions, and former drug culture icon Cheech Marin playing a priest. Based on true events, a former coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (Clifton Collins Jr.) takes a group of poor Mexican kids under his wing and teaches them the fine art of baseball, which ultimately leads them to the 1957 Little League World Series. There are the usual sports metaphors: "Love ain't like baseball," says Collins' character. "Yes it is," replies one of his bright eyed proteges. I'm teetering between cute and cringe-inducing on that one, but this kind of rags to riches story is pretty appealing and the period setting is pretty cool. The Perfect Game hits theaters on August 8.

It was a good weekend at the box office for both of last week's newbies, marking the first time in history that two films opening on the same weekend pulled in over $50 million each. Here's the top five:

1. Wall-E: $63 million
2. Wanted: $50.9 million
3. Get Smart: $20.2 million
4. Kung Fu Panda: $11.7 million
5. The Incredible Hulk: $9.6 million

Only one major release this week, but we've also got one going into wider release.

Hancock
What's It All About: Will Smith plays Hancock, a hard drinking anti-social superhero, and a PR agent played by Jason Bateman sets out to repair Hancock's public image.
Why It Might Do Well: Will Smith may not always have the Midas touch (I Am Legend left me cold) but he's got quite a few successful blockbusters under his belt, and people are loving the superhero flicks these days. I've liked Bateman's work a lot since Arrested Development, and I'm always glad to see him. Also, Cinematical's own Kim Voynar has given the film her seal of approval.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Unlike most big-budget superhero movies, this one doesn't originate from another media like comic books, so it doesn't come with the core fanbase of an Iron Man or an Incredible Hulk. Also, the 36% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com is not encouraging.
Number of Theaters: 3,900
Prediction: $45 million

And going into wider release this week...