Oct 5 2009 Weekend Box Office: Zombies Still Popular Subject Matter
Sorry, Drew Barrymore, no Whip It this week:
1. Zombieland - $25 million. Killing zombies will always be a big crowd pleaser. At least until the zombies populations take over; then we'll probably pander more to them with brain-centric plots.
2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - $16.7 million. As school cafeterias have proven time and time again, even a chance of meatballs is enough to pull in crowds. The chance of a flimsy Mexican pizza is pretty good, too.
3. Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D - $12.5 million. Not too shabby, considering humankind had long ago experienced the Toy Stories.
4. The Invention of Lying - $7.4 million. Lying??? Was this about BUSH/OBAMA??? [Whichever you prefer is] NOT MY PRESIDENT! Political.
5. Surrogates - $7.3 million. Why see a movie about surrogates when you can stay in and explore the world of Azeroth on your noble mount?
Weekend Box Office Results [Box Office Mojo]
Oct 2 2009 NEW! RELEASES!
These movies come out in theaters this weekend. Will YOU see one of them?
The Invention of Lying
Director: Ricky Gervais, Matt Robinson
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Louis CK, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest--all those laff-'em-up types
Good if you want to see: a humorous account of the first person to lie in a world devoid of untruth; The Office co-creator's big screen directing debut; ATHEIST PROPAGANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zombieland
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Good if you want to see: a road buddy comedy mixed with zombie horror; Michael Cera's chief competition for Meek, Awkward Performance of the Decade; zombie killin'.
Whip It
Director: Drew Barrymore the Director
Starring: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Jimmy Fallon, Drew Barrymore the Actress
Good if you want to see: the girl from E.T.'s directorial debut; girls rollerskating and knocking each other down, with a plot; a less sensational Rollerball, with Juno instead of Chris Klein or James Caan.
Sep 22 2009 Karl Pilkington Reviews 'The Invention of Lying'
Make sure to watch part two below the cut to see whether or not Pilkington's spherical head considers the 1991 John Goodman comedy King Ralph better or worse than Ricky Gervais's new film.
Continue Reading " Karl Pilkington Reviews 'The Invention of Lying' "
Jul 14 2009 'Invention of Lying' Poster: Discovery of Lies Makes You Jump High
The Korean Yes Man poster but with the addition of the Fox Trot dad's tie? Sure.
Jun 29 2009 Another 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: See Lying's US-tailored Invention
Remember the Invention of Lying trailer on Friday? Good, because I'd hate having to explain the premise again, and there's now a domestic trailer for the comedy.
I particularly like Louis CK's reaction to Gervais's claim that he's an Eskimo. I thought I was the only one to ever express an unnaturally positive reaction to learning they've accidentally befriended an Inuk:
Continue Reading " Another 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: See Lying's US-tailored Invention "
Jun 26 2009 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: Prepare for ELO to Tell You to Feel Good
Hey, there's a trailer for the high concept, first-man-to-ever-lie comedy, The Invention of Lying. Something of a "We Are the World" of comedies, with appearances by all sort of people you don't expect to see all in one place--including Louis CK, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, Patrick Stewart, Stephen Merchant, Freaks & Geeks's weirdest geek, and more--the film stars Ricky Gervais as the first man to conceive of untruths in a world that's never thought to lie.
I really wanted to like this, but about halfway through, around the time I started wondering why Robin Williams wasn't the star, my worries began. Hopefully this is just a bad, really broad trailer:
Continue Reading " 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: Prepare for ELO to Tell You to Feel Good "
Feb 18 2009 A Couple On-the-Nose Title Changes
If you've been confused about some upcoming movies because their concepts weren't completely spelled out in their titles, I've got some helpful, clarifying news for you. Nottingham, Ridley Scott's cryptically-titled Robin Hood tale, has been re-titled Robin Hood. Not as easy-to-understand as my title choice, The One About Robin Hood, but probably catchier.
Also, it appears Ricky Gervais's comedy about the invention of lying, previously titled This Side of the Truth, appears to have been renamed Invention of Lying and pushed back to an undetermined date in 2010. Hardly a death knell, but hardly a mitzvah.
(Thanks, Kevin.)
