Reel Entropy

The Möbius strip: Mockingjay disappoints, new releases disappoint further

Posted on November 23, 2015 by reelentropy

Part two of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay won the weekend with maybe the first disappointing $100 million opening ever. The film was predicted for north of $120 million. Other new releases, The Night Before and Secret in Their Eyes, also underperformed with just $10.1 million and $6.6 million, respectively- Box Office Mojo

The movie’s $101 million is the lowest opening of the four-part franchise, 17 percent below part one, which released around the same time last year. Critical scores and fan excitement have dwindled as the series progressed- Variety

Already in trouble, Lionsgate stock took another hit today after the disappointing opening- The Hollywood Reporter

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Posted in The Möbius strip | Tagged #charlie chaplin, #charlie sheen, #criterion collection, #david cronenberg, #dustin hoffman, #eastern promises, #eddie redmayne, #HIV, #jennifer lawrence, #lionsgate, #memento, #mockingjay, #paul walker, #peter jackson, #secret in their eyes, #sexism, #the danish girl, #the graduate, #the hobbit, #the hunger games, #the kid, #the night before, #tiger blood | Leave a comment

It’s a good thing they split Mockingjay up

Posted on November 22, 2015 by reelentropy

Also rescued is Johanna Mason (Jena Malone). Among the disappointments, it’s a shame there isn’t more of this wonderfully insane character. Photos courtesy Lionsgate.

The last movie in the Hunger Games series is fantastic — as long as you’re not hoping for an epic blockbuster.

The movie picks up with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) rescued from the Capitol, but with his mind in tatters after a thorough regimen of hallucinogen-enhanced conditioning and memory alteration. Unable to handle being around him, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) seeks to join the front lines in last two battles to overthrow the reigning government, but rebel leader Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) sees her as too valuable as a celebrity to risk. Nevertheless, Everdeen sneaks into the main war camp and is caught, but cannot be sent back because she’s been seen. She is instead surrounded by an elite unit and forced to stay behind the lines and shoot more propaganda pieces, though she aspires to sneak away from her team and assassinate president Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland). The bulk of the movie takes place far from the battle.

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Posted in Entropy | Tagged #Harry potter and the deathly hallows, #hunger games, #i am legend, #jennifer lawrence, #josh hutcherson, #kill bill, #liam hemsworth, #lionsgate, #mockingjay, #part 2, Harry Potter | Leave a comment

Spotlight a masterpiece, the year’s most authentic movie

Posted on November 18, 2015 by reelentropy

A lot of the film’s quality is driven and necessitated by its story. Even 13 years later, the details of the Catholic sex abuse scandal are revolting, and no movie could ever overshadow the real-life work of the Spotlight team, pictured here with their corresponding actors. Photo courtesy The Boston Globe.

Spotlight brings its world to more complex, nuanced life than any movie in recent memory. This movie is deeply personally affecting, in ways that go far beyond the fact that it’s all true.

The film is about the Boston Globe’s 2002 Pulitzer-Prize winning investigation into systemic pedophilia in the Catholic Church, which resulted in criminal charges against five Boston area priests. The dramatization goes through the hiring of new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) and his discovery of the story through its investigation by the Spotlight team, leader Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), Micheal Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James).

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Posted in Entropy | Tagged #boston globe, #catholic church, #liev schrieber, #mark ruffalo, #michael keaton, #pedophilia, #rachel mcadams, #spotlight | 1 Comment

The Möbius strip: Bond stays on top

Posted on November 17, 2015 by reelentropy

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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Posted in The Möbius strip | Tagged #007, #american ultra, #apocalypse now, #bill cosby, #blackfish, #Disney, #ghostbusters, #johnny depp, #lionsgate, #peanuts movie, #robin williams, #room, #seaworld, #sicario, #sony, #spectre, #star wars, #the force awakens, #the last witch hunter, #turmbo, Paul Feig | Leave a comment

Peanuts delightful, but only the first time

Posted on November 11, 2015 by reelentropy

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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Posted in Entropy | Tagged #flo rida, #it's a movie charlie brown, #meghan trainor, #snoopy, #the peanuts, #the peanuts movie, #the red baron | Leave a comment

Reel Entropy

The Möbius strip: Mockingjay disappoints, new releases disappoint further

It’s a good thing they split Mockingjay up

Spotlight a masterpiece, the year’s most authentic movie

The Möbius strip: Bond stays on top

Peanuts delightful, but only the first time

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