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New DVD Releases: Sucker Punch, Season of the Witch, Beastly

Andrew Payne — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:55:29 +0000

With so many movies that, er, struggled with quality being released on DVD this week, I thought it prudent to blow out the format and play a little game in this week’s DVD picks column.

It’s quite simple. We will list ten DVD’s coming out this week along with a description from the manufacturer of what the movie is about, complete with some of the cast. It’s up to you to decipher which of these movies went straight to DVD and which actually premiered in a theater! (Hint: Seven bowed at a theater and three made the humiliating journey straight to DVD)

You may be able to get three of them, but I think you’ll find it pretty tough to get the other three. It’s just sort of that week in DVD land.

Ready? Let’s get started!

Beastly

Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) thinks he is God’s gift at his high school. He plays a prank on a fellow high school student, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) who, unbeknown to him is a witch. Kendra teaches him a lesson by putting a curse on him making him as beastly on the outside as he is on the inside. He has one year to find someone to fall in love with him or stay like that forever.

Click Here to Buy Beastly on DVD.

Bloodworth

The lush greens of Tennessee frame the Southern Gothic tale of Bloodworth. An aging honky-tonk musician named E.F. Bloodworth (Kris Kristofferson) returns home after decades to the lost and aimless sons he left behind: Warren (Val Kilmer), a smooth-talking womanizer and gadabout; Brady (W. Earl Brown, who also adapted the screenplay from a novel by William Gay), a bitter would-be psychic who looks after their disconnected mother (Frances Conroy); and Boyd (country singer Dwight Yoakam), whose deep subterranean anger drove away his wife, the mother of Fleming (Reece Thompson of Rocket Science), an aspiring writer.

Click Here to Buy Bloodworth on DVD.

Guilty Hearts

Follow the lives of nine strangers (including Charlie Sheen, Julie Delpy, Anna Faris, Kathy Bates, Eva Mendes and Gerard Butler) living worlds apart as they look for love, happiness, success, and friendship against all odds. Carrying the burden of guilt, they must escape their pasts before they can move forward.

Click Here to Buy Guilty Hearts on DVD.

Lebanon, PA

Will (Josh Hopkins), a charming 35-year-old Philadelphia ad man, heads to Lebanon, Pa. to bury his recently deceased father. He forms an unexpected friendship with CJ (Rachel Kitson), his bright, newly pregnant 17-year-old cousin. As Will becomes interested in CJ’s married teacher (Samantha Mathis) and CJ confronts her conflicted father, both struggle with formidable decisions about the path their lives will take. Can we vault our differences and meet in the middle? This bittersweet comic drama tenderly explores the cultural divide in America through the lives of one extended family.

Click Here to Buy Lebanon, PA on DVD.

The Perfect Man

Russell (Christian Keys) and Bailey (Jazsmin Lewis) Thomas’ marriage fell apart years ago but they agreed to stay together until their son Justin left home for college. When Justin leaves, so does Russell, but he soon realizes this was a mistake when his ex starts dating Jason, a deceptively handsome and charming new man. Now Russell must win his wife back from a new man who is not as perfect as he seems.

Click Here to Buy The Perfect Man on DVD.

Season of the Witch

A medieval knight undertakes a mission pitting him against a devious witch and making him the last hope for the world against an ancient and dark force. While searching for food and supplies at the Palace at Marburg, Behmen and his trusted companion, Felson are apprehended and ordered by the dying Cardinal to deliver a young peasant girl – believed to be the witch responsible for the Plague – to a remote abbey where her powers can be destroyed. He agrees to the assignment but only if the peasant girl gets a fair trial. As he and five others set off on this dangerous journey, they realize with mounting dread that the cunning girl is no ordinary human, and that their mission will pit them against an evil that even in these dark times they never could have imagined.

Click Here to Buy Season of the Witch on DVD.

Sucker Punch

Born from the creative vision of filmmaker Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), this epic action fantasy launches from the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Locked away against her will, Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four fellow captives – outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) – to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorki (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm).

Click Here to Buy Sucker Punch on DVD.

The Warrior’s Way

After a lifetime of training in martial arts and swordsmanship, Yang has eliminated all but one of his clan’s enemies-an infant whose smile instantly melts his heart. Unwilling to kill her and unable to protect her from his own deadly tribe, Yang takes the baby girl and flees, planning to seek refuge with an old friend living in Lode, a frontier town in the American West.

Click Here to Buy The Warrior’s Way on DVD.

Wild Cherry

Three hot high school seniors are shocked to discover their names in a legendary book that pairs the school’s virgins with football players. Outraged, the girls are determined to show the guys who’s really running the game of love and launch a series of hilarious, humiliating pranks to get back at the baffled boys in a hysterical battle of the sexes. Rumer Willis (90210), Tania Raymonde (Lost) and Kristin Cavallari (The Hills) star with Rob Schneider (Saturday Night Live) as an overprotective father reluctant to let his daughter grow up.

Click Here to Buy Wild Cherry on DVD.

Winnebago Man

What began as one of funniest videos of all time is now the acclaimed indie comedy hit of the year! Type The Angriest Man in the World; into any search engine and one name appears Jack Rebney (a.k.a. The Winnebago Man), an 80s RV salesman whose hilarious, profanity-strewn, on-the-job meltdown was captured on video and passed around on VHS tapes, before exploding into an Internet phenomenon seen by millions. When a young filmmaker goes in search of the legendary man who disappeared 20 years ago, he finds Rebney living alone on a mountain top, as sharp-tongued as ever, but more intelligent and lovable than anyone could have imagined.

Click Here to Buy Winnebago Man on DVD.

So there you have it. Give up? Can’t figure out which of the three movies never made it into theaters?

Well, we know you can eliminate Beastly, Season of the Witch and Sucker Punch. Those movies got big wide releases even though in a vacuum they sound like the three worst movies of the week.

You probably remember some hype over the Winnebago Man documentary and might’ve seen a trailer or two for The Warrior’s Way, so we’ll scratch them off the list.

So that leaves five. Figure it out yet? Here’s the answer: The two movies that were released in theaters are…Bloodworth and Lebanon, PA! These films, according to Box Office Mojo, grossed $12,791 and $48,381, respectively.

So ya see, it’s not always that easy to spot the Straight-to-DVD movies.

Weekend Box Office: Hop Leaps To The Top

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:29:44 +0000

Flocks of people rushed to see the new family film Hop this weekend. The live-action/animation film pulled in over $38 million on its opening weekend, and knocked last weekend’s family favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, to No. 4 (we underestimated Hop’s income and overestimated Wimpy Kid’s success). Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Source Code also opened this weekend, but it was no competition for Hop. The sci-fi thriller might’ve made the top two, but grossed a weak $15 million.

Also at the top was the horror film Insidious, which honestly is a surprise, seeing as both Wimpy Kid and Sucker Punch did well last week. Audiences must be aching for terror.

Check out the numbers below…

Hop | NEW | Universal | Weekend Gross $38,118,000 | Average Per Theater $10,650 | Total Gross $38,118,000 | Film’s Budget – $63 | Week 1
Source Code | NEW | Summit Entertainment| Weekend Gross $15,053,000 | Average Per Theater $5,605 | Total Gross $15,053,000 | Film’s Budget – $32 | Week 1
Insidious | NEW | Film District | Weekend Gross $13,496,000 | Average Per Theater $5,605 | $13,496,000 | Film’s Budget – N/A | Week 1
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | Last Week #1 | Fox | Weekend Gross $10,200,000 | Average Per Theater $3,219 | Total Gross $38,355,000 | Film’s Budget – $21 | Week 2
Limitless | Last Week #3 | Relativity | Weekend Gross $9,402,000 | Average Per Theater $3,313 | Total Gross $55,604,000 | Film’s Budget – $27 | Week 3
The Lincoln Lawyer | Last Week #4 | Lionsgate | Weekend Gross $7,050,000 | Average Per Theater $2,604 | Total Gross $39,637,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 3
Sucker Punch | Last Week #2 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $6,085,000 | Average Per Theater $2,006 | Total Gross $29,876,000 | Film’s Budget – $82 | Week 2
Rango | Last Week #5 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $4,560,000 | Average Per Theater $1,455 | Total Gross $113,783,000 | Film’s Budget – $135 | Week 5
Paul | Last Week #6 | Universal | Weekend Gross $4,335,000 | Average Per Theater $1,700 | Total Gross $31,934,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 3
Battle: Los Angeles | Last Week #3 | Sony | Weekend Gross $3,500,000 | Average Per Theater $1,547 | Total Gross $78,466,000 | Film’s Budget – $70 | Week 4

And what about Sucker Punch? Last week’s No. 2 film dropped all the way down to No. 7. Ouch! Aren’t sexy women a main attraction for audiences? Zach Snyder‘s recipe for success failed terribly this time.

What did you watch this weekend?

Weekend Box Office: Wimpy Kid Rules Over Snyder’s Sucker Punch

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:29:19 +0000

Close but no cigar. Despite having five hot women as the main attraction, Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch fell short this weekend, to a kid’s movie. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. It might’ve seemed obvious that the big sci-fi chick-flick would be No. 1, especially because of the bump in ticket prizes (audiences had the option of seeing the film in IMAX), but that wasn’t the case. The film came in second grossing $19 million while Diary of a Wimpy Kid grossed $24 million.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrink Rules | NEW | Fox | Weekend Gross $24,400,000 | Average Per Theater $7,704 | Total Gross $24,400,000 | Film’s Budget – $21 | Week 1
Sucker Punch | NEW | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $19,015,000 | Average Per Theater $6,269 | Total Gross $19,015,000 | Film’s Budget – $82 | Week 1
Limitless | Last Week #1 | Relativity | Weekend Gross $15,225,000 | Average Per Theater $5,428 | Total Gross $41,281,000 | Film’s Budget – $27 | Week 2
The Lincoln Lawyer | Last Week #4 | Lionsgate | Weekend Gross $11,000,000 | Average Per Theater $4,064 | Total Gross $28,967,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 2
Rango | Last Week #2 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $9,800,000 | Average Per Theater $2,689 | Total Gross $106,363,000 | Film’s Budget – $135 | Week 4
Battle: Los Angeles | Last Week #3 | Sony | Weekend Gross $7,600,000 | Average Per Theater $2,437 | Total Gross $72,580,000 | Film’s Budget – $70 | Week 3
Paul | Last Week #5 | Universal | Weekend Gross $7,506,000 | Average Per Theater $2,675 | Total Gross $24,610,000 | Film’s Budget – $40 | Week 2
Red Riding Hood | Last Week #6 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $4,340,000 | Average Per Theater $1,599 | Total Gross $32,453,000 | Film’s Budget – $42 | Week 3
The Adjustment Bureau | Last Week #7 | Universal | Weekend Gross $4,245,000 | Average Per Theater $1,860 | Total Gross $54,871,000 | Film’s Budget – $50.2 | Week 4
Mars Needs Moms | Last Week #8 | Buena Vista| Weekend Gross $2,186,000 | Average Per Theater $1,007 | Total Gross $19,152,000 | Film’s Budget – $150 | Week 3

The Lincoln Lawyer maintained its No. 4 spot this weekend, but again stayed behind Limitless. Also, Battle: Los Angeles had a big drop this weekend, going from the top half to the bottom half.

What did you watch this weekend?

Sucker Punch: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:30:57 +0000

This week director Zack Snyder’s bad-ass, chick-action-flick, Sucker Punch hits theaters with a bang. Snyder described the film as “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns” and there definitely is an aspect of that to the film. This is a dark, imaginative film that journey’s into the mind a young girl who needs to escape — but unlike Alice, Babyboll has a lot bigger threats than just growing up, she has to escape a mental institution before it’s too late. Sadly the film itself doesn’t follow through in terms of story, but it does manage some pretty impressive ideas. Check out our review below…

The Players:

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder (story and screenplay) and Steve Shibuya (screenplay)
Actors: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn
Original Music by: Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries
Cinematography by: Larry Fong

The Plot:

A young girl gets caught accidentally commiting some crimes and is institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. In order to escape her fate, she retreats into her imagination and envisions a plan which will help her and her new found companions escape.

The Good:

The Look: From the flawless skin on all the girls, to the costumes, to the sets and the special effects; this film has a very distinctive look and it’s impressive. One has come to expect this from Snyder and he doesn’t disappoint on visual — though some may not like his videogame-esq special effects, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on.
All Out: I always prefer a film that takes risks and this film does. It’s great to see a director take an original idea and follow it through 100%. There’s no doubt that Snyder did that here. There is an attempt at a lot of interesting concepts in this film and there are some beautiful moments that really show you how talented Snyder is. Sadly, the whole film doesn’t hold up and that’s mainly do to the story BUT it’s hard not to appreciate and respect the effort.
The Opening: When the film hit the screen it immediately sent a wave over the audience and I couldn’t help but think “this is going to be awesome!” The start of this film, the idea, the premise, how it sets himself up is beautiful, dark, interesting — this is one of the best starts to a film. Sadly, before we can even finish the first act, things begin to fade.

The Bad:

The Story: Snyder takes a lot of risks in this film and unfortunately they don’t always add up or mean anything. You’re given this great premise and a lot of metaphorical ideas that at first seem really fascinating; but then you realize that they’re not all adding up, that things aren’t really making sense, then slowly the story starts to fall apart and you’re felt with some pretty images, and that’s about all.
The Repetitiveness: The film begins with one awesome trick and then repeats it 5 BIG times. Now this isn’t always a problem, films can repeat themselves if they’re clever about it. Sadly, unlike it’s competitor Source Code, which actually repeats itself eight times, this film doesn’t find the differences that keep you engaged while watching the same thing over and over. You need variation, in the characters, their motivation, and in tone in order to keep the story moving and give us something new to watch. The characters never really changed, only the settings. As a result it kept using the same gag just with a slightly different enemy to fight each time. It felt like five of the same short films playing back to back — mix it up!
Unbelievable Responses: The characters don’t respond like they’re human. Even under the most insane circumstances if there is not something relatable or tangible for us to hold onto, it’s hard to stay invested in the character story. The actors did their best to justify it, but even the greatest actors can’t solve plot holes that big. (Also unbelievable were the eye-lashes — I get the long lashes and excessive make-up in the brothel, but why everywhere else? This is like America’s Next Top Insane Asylum)
Casting Hamm: Though one can not get enough Hamm, he was probably the worst person in the world to cast as an evil villain that girls don’t want to have sex with. SPOILER When it’s revealed that he’s the “High Roller,” the one coming to take the young Babydoll’s virginity, one can’t help but think that women all over the country would line up for that spot. Now maybe if he was more evil or allowed to really play the villain it would work, but we barely see him in the start and in the end, he’s really not all that bad. If all we get is a sexy Jon Hamm, it’s hard to see what problem is, and if there is not problem, there’s no film.

Overall:

I can’t tell anyone not to go to this, because there are some really great aspects to this and it’s hard not to appreciate such a unique and interesting idea. That being said, it was not as enjoyable as it sound be and it definitely is no “Alice in Wonderland” story. The visuals were good, but not Snyder’s best. It’s a fun idea that’s never fully accomplished on screen.

Rating: 5/10

Sucker Punch is in theaters March 25, 2011.

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

Interview: Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning for Sucker Punch

Mali Elfman — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:46:24 +0000

This week in theater, the two gorgeous, bad-ass, blondies, Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish will be leading the way and battling their demons (literally) in Zack Snyder‘s (read interview) latest action-adventure, Sucker Punch. In a film filled with women, you’d expect there to be some cattiness, but not with these fine ladies, there was more likely to be group wolf cries than bitchiness. Not only did they take their roles seriously, but also their bond with one another and it shows on screen.

We sat down with them to talk about bringing their deep-seeded characters to the big screen, working with Snyder and the other ladies, and some of the interesting on set special effects, which includes poor Emily Browning trying not to laugh when she was battling a “dragon” that she states below looked more like a “giant green dildo.” Find out the details below…

It’s nice to see so many women on screen and cattiness not be an issue especially consider the young teenage women who will see this film. Can you talk about the importance of that message?

Emily Browning: That was a huge role for me because even in the original version of the script I was just so impressed by the fact that these girls love one another and they’re fighting together. When our characters sort of butt heads at the beginning, it’s not over anything petty. It never becomes bitchy or catty, it’s kind of, the just genuinely disagreeing of something, and the fact that they sort it out, I think is fantastic.

I’m not really a fan of that culture of girl hate and that idea that women can’t get along, I think that’s completely bullshit to be honest and I think that’s, I don’t want to get too psycho-feminist on everybody and say that it’s just something that’s perpetuated by a fellow-centric society to make us not able to band together but anyway, that’s just something that I, I don’t know, I really like that about this film and I think that’s important, and something hopefully that we can see more of.

And even when it comes to us as actors, everyone is sort of assumes, oh five girls working together, you must’ve hated each other, and honestly, it couldn’t be further from the truth. We had the best time and have become like family. I can talk about that question for an hour…

And Abbie, how about your character that has to fight with the other girls?

Abbie Cornish:I felt like I had a hard role to play in regards to that because all of us did bond so fast and we all love and cared for each other so much from the very beginning. I had the one character that is the opposing side to this whole excitement about freedom and getting out. I had to play this kind of tough hardcore role, that stood up and said, “No this is not a good idea, I don’t think we should do this.” I was a Sweet Pea in regards to a sister — very controlling. This fear, this feeling that something bad might happen. So, we’re all there having an awesome time in between takes and then I have to go and be tough old Sweet Pea, you know. It all comes from a good place. That was actually, where I found it, where it came from. This kind of love and care for Rocket; the intensity of what this means, and what’s going to happen.

….And then I just had to make a decision. This is the direction I’m going to go in. This is how I’ve got to play this character in order to really work because if I sit and try to mix all the sensitivities of the real world in with this, I’m going to be confused as an actor when I walk on set. So that was a journey for me with Sweet Pea, and I just had to trust too the bookends of the film that you do get moments as an audience member to see her in her most rawest, pure, real state even though the film goes off into a fantasy and it goes off into a dream world, that there’s glimpses of it in there but you also get a good taste of what that is.

One of the interesting things that I find about your characters is that with Baby Doll, she’s finding strength in her vulnerability, and with Sweet Pea, she’s finding vulnerability in her strength. Could you talk about the journey towards uncovering that in your characters?

EB: Yeah I haven’t thought about in that way before, that’s certainly cool –

AC: The mirror thing too because the two characters, it’s interesting, the very beginning of the film, when they look at each other from across the room. Sweet Pea is up on the stage, Baby Doll is there, for me that was incredibly important moment in regards to the story line between them. It’s not long after that when she shifting to a different world and what that connection meant and what those reflections were within each other.

EB: I think there’s sort of two sides of the one coin, so it’s interesting that you say it’s sort of the reversal because that’s how we wanted to play it. I think that’s kind of made obvious in the film to some degree. When Sweet Pea takes off the wig, I think that you can see that they’re the reversal of one another… I kind of see all of the characters as different projections from Baby Doll’s mind. It’s her fighting against herself, in a strange way…

AC: Definitely, I was fascinated by that journey. Sweet Pea’s journey, really was. It’s such a wonderful journey. I think both of them actually. It’s interesting both of those journeys were beautiful ones to explore.

Earlier this week I spoke with Neil Burger about Limitless and he said that you were a natural athlete. He was really impressed with your athletic ability. What was the training like this for you? Was it a challenge of natural for you?

AC: I loved it. I think of course it’s going to be a challenge because there’s things that I was doing that I’ve never done before. I totally embraced it. For a while I actually wanted to do a film where I could train, a film where I could be very physical in a role. I was waiting for one to come along, and then this one came along and it’s so perfect because I had that, but there was also really solid storyline and a really interesting different film there. I hope to do more films where I get to run around and jump and you know train, and climb things.

When it comes to working on set, we had Hudgens, Malone, and Chung earlier and they were talking about, they are describing the set with Snyder as kind of like this nice change in temperature. He knew how to set everything right so you guys could get right into that mind set, no matter what fantasy world you were in, could you talk a bit more about that?

EB: I feel like when we were doing the action scenes it was pretty, obviously we had to remain in character but they were pretty purely physical scenes. And what was most important in those scenes, and what was most important in those scenes — cause you know we had our choreography down, we knew what we had to do — what was most important was that we were in the moment, in that mood. So when we were filming the action Zack Snyder was just in a great mood and he was like, he was always in a great mood, I’ve never seen him in a bad mood in my life, but he was just very playful and we’ll be like throwing the football around and being silly, and just warming ourselves up. We would be all of us, particularly Jena [Malone] would be doing like wolf cries in the corner and like speed push ups to try amp ourselves up.

AC: He’s such an aware director. So responsive. He has the mind of a genius, I really do. It’s kind of incredible. He — as a director, as a filmmaker, as a technical filmmaker, as a human being, as a storyteller, it’s a wonderful mix to have in a director and as an actor, it’s incredible to work in that environment.

EB: The fact that he’s also one of the loveliest people in the universe is really helpful. It makes you want to work even harder for him. Not only is his vision so amazing and cool and you love his work, he’s also a really, cool, sweet person.

We were talking about the use of real scenery and the special effects that they had to bring in. They told us the dragon was actually a golf cart?

AC: The dragon, the one they wheeled in there, the big one. Oh my gosh, that thing! We had giggle fits for a while when we first walked on set.

EB: The baby dragon was even funnier. It looked like this giant green dildo. I had to like ride it and we just thought, this is the stupidest thing. We were just like laughing, bursting into laughter when we were doing it. Thankfully it doesn’t look like that in the actual film, but…

Do we get to see more of you guys dancing? I love the end credits. I want to see that whole sequence thought.

AC: Yeah that will be one the DVD.

Check out the ladies in Sucker Punch starting March 25th!

Box Office Predictions: Sucker Punch To Win Weekend

scottschachter — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:19:51 +0000

After last weekends upset at the box office, Limitless will see competition from Zach Synder’s Sucker Punch and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick rules, while holdovers Paul, and The Lincoln Lawyer attempt to stay in the top five. In all, it should be a fun weekend at the box office. And now for our predictions….

#1 Sucker Punch

This weekend Zach Synder attempt’s to make it three $1oom grossing movies in a row with the female action oriented Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch follows the Synder formula of action packed, highly stylized pop culture influenced films all of whom have seen solid opening weekend grosses. As Battle: Los Angeles showed, there is a hunger amongst movie goers for action oriented films and Sucker Punch should fill that void. Opening in over 3,000 theaters, look for Sucker Punch to open in the #1 spot.

Our Prediction: $26-30M Opening Weekend Box Office

# 2 Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Hoping to achieve the same success as it’s predecessor comes Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Kid oriented flicks have either opened well or flat out flopped over the past weeks, and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid hopes to open well. With a solid fan base, solid marketing, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid should open in the #2 spot..

Our Prediction:$21-24M Opening Weekend Box Office

#3 Limitless

After a surprise #1 opening last weekend, the Bradly Cooper/ Robert De Niro adult thriller attempts to continue it’s solid box office run. Solid word of mouth, decent weekday numbers, should help keep Limitless in the top 5 and land at the # 3 spot this weekend.

Our Prediction: $12-13M Weekend Box Office

#4: Rango

After weeks of solid box office returns, strong weekend to weekend holds, Rango looks to finally cross the $100M at the box office and become another blockbuster for star Johnny Depp. Rango, should take a slightly larger than normal dip this weekend due to Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, but should manage a modest hold and come in at the #4 spot.

Our Prediction: $10M Weekend Box Office

#5 The Lincoln Lawyer

While not opening as strong as Limitless last weekend, The Lincoln Lawyer opened to solid results, reviews and word of mouth. Look for the Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillpe film to hold on somewhat strong this weekend and round out the top 5.

Our Prediction: $8-9M Weekend Box Office

the Rest Of The Top Ten:

#6 Paul

Our Prediction: $7M Box Office Weekend

#7 Battle: los Angeles

Our Prediction:$6M

#8 Red Riding Hood

Our Prediction: $4M Box Office Weekend

#9: The Adjustment Bureau

Our Prediction: $3.5M Box Office Weekend

#10 Beastly

Our Prediction $2M Box Office Weekend

Interview: Zack Snyder for Sucker Punch

Mali Elfman — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:04:45 +0000

This week in theaters, Zack Snyder the master of slow-motion special effects is back with Sucker Punch, another kick-ass action film for you to feast your eyes on. There’s no doubt that Sucker Punch once again sets a new bar for the genre in terms of style and look and that’s all thanks to the brilliantly imaginative mind of director.

“No matter what — however the movie comes out, or whether everyone in the world sees it 100 times or only one person sees it, really the journey to get there with these kinds of people, it’s amazing.” – Zack Snyder.

We had a chance to sit down to a small roundtable to speak with the director himself and talk to him about finally being able to take on a film that’s all his own. Speaking to him you realize that he’s very much the kind of filmmaker that is willing to take risks because he loves to process and enjoys doing something new and exciting, even at the risk of not being widely accepted.

Bringing your own ideas to the big screen is much different than recreating someone elses, it’s easier because it’s closer to your heart, but it’s harder because of the pressure. There’s not doubt he’s feeling the pressure right now, but one thing is for sure, he’s followed through on his Sucker Punch dream.

Find out what the journey was like for Snyder to make the film he’s been wanting to make for years and why he may be the only director this year to say that unless they do 3D right, it’s better not to do it at all. Find out more below…

Is it nice to know that literally, your entire team, all that they say is you use the word “awesome”, you’re very fun on set, and you have more energy than anybody else?

Zack Snyder: And those are all good things, apparently?

I would hope so.

ZS: I’ve got the best job in the world, there’s no two ways about it. It’s ridiculous that they let us do this. So for me, it’s everyday I wake up and I’m like, “This is awesome.” It’s hard to be in – I would say that if you have this job and you’re grumpy, then what are you going to do? What are you going to do to be happy? ‘Cause I don’t know. You better start taking drugs or something because it’s just not going to work out for you, in the happiness area. Maybe that’s not a priority so that’s fine.

I heard that this whole project has been in development for years, and I heard is was originally off of a short story?

ZS: Yes, all correct, so far. Awesome.

Can you talk about finally lifting this off the ground?

ZS: Yeah. It’s been really fun to visualize the film and get it to be real. That’s the whole struggle that [Deborah Snyder] and I sort of, it’s – I said it was fun and I meant that, but it also does have its challenges. I think for Debbie and I the challenges –you create this idea and you sell it to the studio and maybe they say, “Okay, that sounds cool, let’s make that!” In some ways the hardest part is when they say, “Yeah you should make that and be sure it’s cool and awesome and fun and all the things and on budget.” It is quite undertaking. It’s like waging a small artistic war of some kind.

I like to think that in the end, when you do arrive on set and everyone is there, and these amazing actors and Debbie’s there and everyone is like martial all their abilities to get you there and say, “Okay, make it cool.” For me, it’s incredibly rewarding, it’s an amazing honor that these people care to help me. I guess, the struggle, whether it’s a struggle or not — or whether it’s just what it is — it’s always worth it though in the end. No
matter what — however the movie comes out, or whether everyone in the world sees it 100 times or only one person sees it, really the journey to get there with these kinds of people, it’s amazing.

Could you talk a bit more about the fantasy/action sequences? At times it felt like you were playing an actual video game not watching a movie…

ZS: I guess, for me, the sort of mass media aspect of the movie whether it be an inditement or in-praise of, that’s up to you to decide whether I’m criticizing or praising the media from which you draw that reference. Whether you watch it and say, “that reminds me of this thing,” I wonder if that’s good or bad and I think that’s all part of the way we made the movie. But yeah, I’m a gamer. I play video games. In someways, this movie — it’s weird, I feel like the movie is, it’s, the action sequence, in their structure, are similar to a video game. I would say the video game structure is a structure that was borrowed from Joseph Campbell or from some sort of classic heroes Boone’s story, like, “Go collect the talisman and then come back and then you show Mary the Queen.” That’s like — it couldn’t be more classic.

Anytime you’re dealing with a point system or a graduation system, it’s like college in some ways too, the video game structure, like “Past these tests and you will get a degree in Zombie killing or whatever the thing is.” The point is that yes that exists within the film and it’s conscious but it also, in addition to the video game sort of layer of the movie, there’s like a gillion other similar media and/or mythological elements that are layered on top of it. Does that make sense?

I was just talking about the music too and the idea of taking songs we know and then re-imagining them. When using such famous songs, the audience automatically connects to them in one way or another and has a feeling about them — but then you twist that up. Why use songs we know? Were you trying to tap into certain pre-disposed emotions?

ZS: I think that that for me was — I’ve always felt that music had a real knack and powerful ability to conjure images and it always meaning. I also think that music, when you lay music on top of a picture, suddenly the picture, its meaning can change through the images that are placed — the songs that are placed on top of it. And so that evolution of, for me, knowing that the pictures I wanted to create, whether it’s WW1 or whatever, and say like, “White rabbit, like psychedelic white rabbit, that’s correct for WW1,” for me that’s right. Because it’s just like, you’re already on a trip at this point and like, what the fuck is this and the white rabbit, to me, is a song about that. In some way, the actual idea gets deeper, the whole — all the iconology and all the world gets bigger when you lay the right music on top of it.

It’s a great soundtrack…

ZS: I was always mad that they didn’t do like soundtrack for Dawn of the Dead because that’s probably the best music of any movie I’ve ever made.

You’re always on the cutting edge of technology, how does this film push the boundaries yet again? What tricks did you use?

ZS: We’re at this point of making movies where — and I don’t know if it’s going to happen anytime soon, and that’s what were getting kind of good at right now is being able to really have the actors work within a virtual environment but not get too fast and loose with the real actors, so that — cause we are at a point where digital doubles are like a real option and I think, we use them a lot but we use them really trickily and carefully, in the movie.

For instance there’s a sequence where Ann is being fighting the giant Samurai and she’ getting knocked around the beginning and she gets knocked
out like 30 feet away, and then rolls and gets back up and then gets knocked another 30 feet… and it’s clearly not digital, but like all the links, every time that we would use her for real, we’d pull her out and get her dressed up just so her face is out of frame, and then there would be a digital take over and then she could fly. We were sure to use her for real in the structure of the scene.

To make the scene make sense and be real, you had to use the real actor. You had to learn the fight. You couldn’t use a double. You couldn’t use a digital double when it was actually going to be on the. That was the trick that to me is like a real — it’s like a lesson in technology. You can have people tell you, “Oh no we’re at this point you can just make a CG person and no one will ever know.” That’s just not true in the sense that if you want to link the person to it’s moment you got to get him in there for real.

Along those lines, there’s been a lot going on in the past couple of weeks regarding 3D and the box office failure of Mars Needs Moms, was there a lot of pressure from the studio to go 3D?

ZS: They understood that when I said I was afraid what it would be, they were like, “Okay if you’re afraid, then we’re afraid too.” I think part of it was we were working on Guardians at the time and I was doing 3D on that movie, it’s a CG 3D animated movie, so I was like, “we were in a real 3D movie, as good as you can do it.” And so I was like, when I was seeing my 3D shots coming for Guardians, I was thinking, “man we’re never going to get shots this cool for Sucker Punch, we’re going to like be hating ourselves.” Especially now that we’re exposed to this process and how to do it, and how to do it kind of right. So I think that was part of it too.

Check out Snyder’s film in theaters March 25th!

Sucker Punch’s Animated Short Film: The Trenches

Mali Elfman — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:24:14 +0000

I love it when a promotional plan comes together. Warner Brothers is coming up with a variety of interesting materials for Zack Snyder‘s film Sucker Punch. The more they show, the more they entice, both with action, graphics and creative ideas — their latest, a series of animated shorts that allow you to experience the world in a different way. Who says only Pixar gets to make short films to go with their features? I personally love it when they show shorts before films, if done right they’re the perfect palate cleanser to get your prepared for what you’re about to experience, especially when you may need an emotional or visual go-between, between the real world and complete fantasy.

Be prepared for your cinematic amuse bouche “The Trenches”…

“The Trenches” is one a numerous animated short films made by animator Ben Hibon in collaboration with Splastk that were inspired by Snyder’s upcoming film, Sucker Punch.

“It made sense to me to not only approach the worlds from an original direction in terms of story and focus,” says Snyder, “but also to really push the visual style in a different direction as well. Having seen his contribution to the latest Harry Potter film and looking at some of his other recent work, Ben’s talent was obvious and his aesthetic felt like a perfect fit. His work is graphic and visually arresting.”

Though this is obviously a part of the film and not a separate animation entirely (like Pixar would do), I love that they took the time to make such a well thought out, interesting piece and their use of animations and effects are stunning.

The style is simple and yet widely detailed. The dirty haze effect that is over the entire piece takes it away from feeling “mainstream” and more raw — if this is a taste of what the film has to offer, they’ve definitely wet my appetite. Apparently Hibon’s had no trouble drawing inspiration from the film…

“Zack is one of the most exciting and original directors working in Hollywood today. Sucker Punch is nothing short of pure visual madness.”

What do you think of the short film?

Sucker Punch Sountrack Features Emily Browning and Carla Gugino

Mali Elfman — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:55:33 +0000

Time for some kick-ass chick music to and support the estrogen bad-assery of Zach Snyder’s upcoming film Sucker Punch. The director boosts that the film is like “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns” – big shoes to fill… I like it! We already know the man knows his way around some hefty, slow-mo action shots and he’s successfully made one of the most visually stunning, all male action films of the past decade (300), so it’s about time he shows everyone that when it comes to hard-core action, sometimes it’s just better with women and the same thing goes for the music…

The soundtrack for Sucker Punch is being called more than just a soundtrack but “the audio companion” to the film. One can therefore guess that the songs will come into play during the film, though we’ll have to see if they break into song (wouldn’t that be interesting) or if since it seems as if they characters are escaping into their own minds, they’ll also be escaping into their own songs.

The soundtrack mixes a number of classic songs with what one can only imagine is a wild re-imagining of them. And who better to do that than the film stars? Featured on the album are two of the stars of the film Emily Browning (she’s so cute) and Carla Gugino (she’s so hot) with fellow kick-ass female musicians Bjork, Alison Mosshart, Emiliana Torrini and more.

“Sucker Punch: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Track Listing:

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” – Emily Browning
“Army Of Me (Sucker Punch Remix)” – Björk featuring Skunk Anansie
“White Rabbit” – Emiliana Torrini
“I Want It All”/”We Will Rock You” Mash-Up – Queen w/ Armageddon Aka Geddy
“Search And Destroy” – Skunk Anansie
“Tomorrow Never Knows” – Alison Mosshart and Carla Azar
“Where Is My Mind?” – Yoav featuring Emily Browning
“Asleep” – Emily Browning
“Love Is The Drug” – Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac

You can listen to the “Search & Destroy” by Skunk Anansie on PopEater now.

Here is some more info from the press release on the making of the music for the film and album:

Snyder collaborated with Grammy-nominated composer and music director Marius de Vries (Moulin Rouge!) and composer Tyler Bates (Watchmen, Californication) to create this collection that Artist Direct raves “is not only one of the best soundtracks this year, it’s also bound to be remembered as a classic. The film’s star Emily Browning lends a noir-ish croon to Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” that could send a chill up Marilyn Manson’s spine … The way that Snyder manipulates colors, visuals, and cinematic intensity is similar to the mash-up of “We Will Rock You” and “I Want It All” … Then Skunk Anansies’ interpretation of “Search And Destroy” ravages and roars with a nearly feline ferocity … This is the kind of soundtrack that needs to be listened to from front to back, and if it’s any indication, the film is destined to be one of the most mind-blowing and magnificent screen event this year, perhaps even the decade.”

The Sucker Punch Soundtrack will be released this coming Tuesday, March 22nd directly before the release of the film on March 25th!

Are you excited to sing along?

Sucker Punch Pin Up Posters

Krystal Clark — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:03:18 +0000

A set of five new posters have been released in promotion of Warner Bros’ Sucker Punch. Zack Snyder’s latest film is an all girl kick-ass fest that’s filled with action, special effects, and vintage horror elements. Everything comes together to create something that we’ve never seen before. Check out the latest posters…

Sucker Punch is a strange mix of futuristic and past elements. The women are dressed like they’re from the 1940s, but their weaponry looks like it was developed more recently. That contrast works surprisingly well. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the film has to offer when it opens next month.

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man.

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011.

What do you think of the latest Sucker Punch posters?

Source: Kino Gallery

Five New Sucker Punch Character Posters

Krystal Clark — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:24:36 +0000

Warner Bros has just released a set of five posters that highlight the kick-ass characters in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. The female driven action flick is led by a group of up and comers as well as some veterans and you’ve never seen them like this before. Check out the character posters below…

Out of this group, our favorite poster is of Babydoll. She has a gun and a sword so she can take you out with either one. If you want to die quick, she can hit you with a bullet, but if you’re itching for visceral pain, the blade can deliver. She has variety and we like that!

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011.

What do you think of the character posters for Sucker Punch?

Source: Coming Soon

New Sucker Punch Poster – You Will Be Unprepared

Krystal Clark — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:38:50 +0000

Warner Bros has premiered a new poster for Zack Snyder’s upcoming action flick Sucker Punch. The movie is about a bunch of repressed girls who finally take control of their lives. They’re handing out ass-kickings and lollipops and they’re all out of lollipops. Over at Yahoo, they’ve debuted the new one sheet that exclaims, “You will be unprepared.” Be warned there’s violence waiting below…

This poster is nothing to write home about, but we feel that it gets the point across. The girls are front and center ready for battle, which is essentially what the film’s about. We also like the title design and we think it will look great in 3D, with the military planes and all.

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011.

What do you think of the new poster for Sucker Punch?

ScreenCrave.com » sucker punch

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