I have good news! For those of you who loved Twilight, you're getting a new rendition this weekend called "Warm Bodies". But, more thoughts on that below. Another film hitting theaters is "Bullet to the Head", a new Sylvester Stallone movie where he gets to beat up a lot of bad guys - and I don't mean that in any kind of sarcastic way! And finally, we have "Stand Up Guys", which is getting a smaller release but a release nonetheless. Let's go get a closer look down below.
"Warm Bodies" seems to me that it's going to ride the coattails of the recently ended Twilight series by using some more supernatural love! We follow a zombie wandering around town who comes across a human survivor of the Zombiocalypse and they fall in love at first sight. And somehow, he convinces her that he isn't like all the rest of the undead. So its a version of Twilight where we swap vampires for zombies...great. I am sure it will honestly be much better than it sounds, as it is supposed to have some comedy in there and some decent actors hitting the screen. Plus, if you put Twilight in a zombiocalypse universe, I feel like it automatically gets better. I'm not sure this is a film directed for me, but barring girlfriend persuasion, this appears to be something I'd see over Twilight, at least. I will say though, while it's still very early, Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film reviewed at 82%, which is pretty impressive for a film of this nature. This will probably go down over the weekend, but that is an encouraging start. Maybe there's a bit more than just a Twilight counter-culture film here.
Overall, younger audiences will probably have quite a bit to enjoy here, but I think this could be a better option than most of what else we've seen (or not seen) this past month.
Next is "Bullet to the Head", starring Sylvester Stallone in his most recent beat-em-up action/thriller. Now, based on last week's post where I gave a horrible pre-synopsis for "Parker", you might think I hate this type of mindless action, but it's quite the contrary. I generally tend to love them as long as they are done right. And Stallone does it right, delivering solid one-liners and heart-pounding action time after time. That is the way an action/thriller is supposed to be. This one is going okay amongst critics so far, but it hasn't been spectacular. Hovering in the 50%-60% range on Rotten Tomatoes is pretty good for an action movie though, so I'm happy with that.
Due to my busy schedule, I can't say I will sprint to the theater to check it out, but when I get a chance, you can bet I'll head in for it! In closing, little factoid tidbit for ya: the role that Sung Kang is playing in the film was originally written for Thomas Jane, but the studio changed their minds for marketing reasons. How much more excited would we have been had Jane actually landed the role? I know I'd be trying just a bit harder to make it to the theater. Still, this is probably at the top of the list for me this week, and should be for most of us.
Finally, we have "Stand up Guys", a film about a group of aging ex-con men getting the group back together for one last hurrah before each reaches their end in life. The film looks decent, and the plot only confirms how popular this type of theme in films has been over the past few years, getting these aging actors back together for films like they were doing in throughout our childhood. I have always liked the actors in this movie though - Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin - so I imagine there will at least some fun to be had here. It's not a film I'm running to the theater for, but I'd be happy to check it out! The problem I have is, these crime/gangster movies with these popular 80's actors getting back in the action haven't fared nearly as well as we've seen from some of the straight-action installments (though, the action ones are doing to well these days, either). I have a feeling this one is another that's better in theory than probably execution, but I would still entertain a watch given the cast involved. I'm not sure if this is releasing at a theater near me anyway, but even if it was, I can't see it getting top billing for me.
Last weekend's box office saw "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" catapult to the top of the charts. Considering the terrible reviews it received, I expect big drop-offs this weekend. The film made $19MM(ish), and I think those totals will remain similar at the top of the charts, but the title with that amount will be replaced with "Warm Bodies". Young audiences should help propel this film to the top this weekend."Parker" and "The Last Stand" both made something in the $7MM range in their debuts, and I think "Bullet to the Head" will similarly land in that area. I don't expect much from "Stand Up Guys" considering, if nothing else, its lesser theater count, so this one probably won't factor in much to the bigger picture.
Another weekend in January, and another less-than-exciting lineup of films. Hopefully we're at least moving in the right direction now. And hey, now that February is on the doorstep, at least we only have three more full months until "Iron Man 3"! In terms of what's releasing this weekend though, leave some comments below and let me know what you have interests in or will/did see. I would be excited to hear about it!
Next is "Bullet to the Head", starring Sylvester Stallone in his most recent beat-em-up action/thriller. Now, based on last week's post where I gave a horrible pre-synopsis for "Parker", you might think I hate this type of mindless action, but it's quite the contrary. I generally tend to love them as long as they are done right. And Stallone does it right, delivering solid one-liners and heart-pounding action time after time. That is the way an action/thriller is supposed to be. This one is going okay amongst critics so far, but it hasn't been spectacular. Hovering in the 50%-60% range on Rotten Tomatoes is pretty good for an action movie though, so I'm happy with that.
Due to my busy schedule, I can't say I will sprint to the theater to check it out, but when I get a chance, you can bet I'll head in for it! In closing, little factoid tidbit for ya: the role that Sung Kang is playing in the film was originally written for Thomas Jane, but the studio changed their minds for marketing reasons. How much more excited would we have been had Jane actually landed the role? I know I'd be trying just a bit harder to make it to the theater. Still, this is probably at the top of the list for me this week, and should be for most of us.
Finally, we have "Stand up Guys", a film about a group of aging ex-con men getting the group back together for one last hurrah before each reaches their end in life. The film looks decent, and the plot only confirms how popular this type of theme in films has been over the past few years, getting these aging actors back together for films like they were doing in throughout our childhood. I have always liked the actors in this movie though - Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Alan Arkin - so I imagine there will at least some fun to be had here. It's not a film I'm running to the theater for, but I'd be happy to check it out! The problem I have is, these crime/gangster movies with these popular 80's actors getting back in the action haven't fared nearly as well as we've seen from some of the straight-action installments (though, the action ones are doing to well these days, either). I have a feeling this one is another that's better in theory than probably execution, but I would still entertain a watch given the cast involved. I'm not sure if this is releasing at a theater near me anyway, but even if it was, I can't see it getting top billing for me.
Last weekend's box office saw "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters" catapult to the top of the charts. Considering the terrible reviews it received, I expect big drop-offs this weekend. The film made $19MM(ish), and I think those totals will remain similar at the top of the charts, but the title with that amount will be replaced with "Warm Bodies". Young audiences should help propel this film to the top this weekend."Parker" and "The Last Stand" both made something in the $7MM range in their debuts, and I think "Bullet to the Head" will similarly land in that area. I don't expect much from "Stand Up Guys" considering, if nothing else, its lesser theater count, so this one probably won't factor in much to the bigger picture.
Another weekend in January, and another less-than-exciting lineup of films. Hopefully we're at least moving in the right direction now. And hey, now that February is on the doorstep, at least we only have three more full months until "Iron Man 3"! In terms of what's releasing this weekend though, leave some comments below and let me know what you have interests in or will/did see. I would be excited to hear about it!