The Möbius strip: Bond stays on top

With yet another extraordinarily weak crop of new releases, Spectre predictably held the top spot this weekend- Box Office Mojo

While it wasn’t a particularly spectacular scene, the detonation of Blofeld’s base in Spectre has now officially set the Guiness world record for largest explosion in a movie. The shot took 73 pounds of explosives and 2,224 gallons of fuel- Indiewire

Though James Bond has adapted successfully to several action movie zeitgeists over the decades, the new one — Marvel’s episodic opera — may finally push the character into outdated territory- Rolling Stone

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Peanuts delightful, but only the first time

The Peanuts Movie has a weird relationship with Snoopy. On the one hand, it’s a lot like the Despicable Me series in which the filler material is a lot more fun than the main story, but in this, it’s too obvious that it’s filler and there’s too big a shift between the Snoopy sequences and the main sequences. It really feels like we’re alternating between two completely different movies in these scenes. Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox.

Who could dislike The Peanuts Movie? It’s The Peanuts! It’s a classic! But the more this new movie wears on, the more you realize how little you’d get from watching it again.

You all know the plot. It’s The Peanuts! Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) pines after the little red-haired girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi) and Snoopy fantasizes about being a World War I fighter pilot. It’s The Peanuts!

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The Möbius strip: Bond, Brown finally crash The Martian’s party

In a predictable weekend box office race, popular newcomers Spectre and The Peanuts Movie took first and second place with $73 million and $45 million. The Martian dropped below second place for just the first time in its six-week run with $9.3 million- Box Office Mojo

Star Daniel Craig has made a lot of noise about being fed up with the 007 series, but few actors have fared well after holstering the Walther- Variety

As many scribes scrambled to rank all the previous 007 movies in the runup to Spectre’s American release, Christopher Campbell remarks on how hard even that has become- Film School Rejects

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Applying chaos theory: The new Warcraft trailer is so bad

World of Warcraft is the Wal Mart of gaming, but Blizzard has a long history of excellent promotional shorts. Their best work is this haunting Wrath of the Lich King cinematic, with dynamic visuals, great music and several thick layers of irony, or this fantastic short that was part of a series leading up to the Warlords of Draenor launch. As if to drive the point home, still months from launch, Blizzard released the cinematic for their next expansion the same day Universal released the theatrical trailer.

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Spectre an odd, somber Bond film

Spectre also features Monica Bellucci in a limited role as the oldest Bond Girl ever, aged 50 during production. While there were some consent concerns about a scene in Skyfall, there is definitely a weird vibe in this scene, though the lady again does not protest. Photos courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Pictures.

Spectre may be one of the most self-hating movies ever made. It’s still an action adventure, it’s still 007, but it doesn’t really enjoy being that way — and somehow, it’s not a bad thing.

The 24th 007 movie sees James Bond (Daniel Craig) again on the run from MI6 after an unauthorized skirmish in Mexico City. With under-the-table help from Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw), Bond sets off after Spectre, the mysterious organization that seems to be behind Quantum from Craig’s first two movies, and also Skyfall because of retconning.

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