Jun 15 2009 'The Hangover', Like Actual Hangovers, Not Affected by John Travolta
For your copybooks, the weekend top five:
1. The Hangover - $33.4 million, another victory for insobriety repercussion comedy!
2. Up - $30.5 million. Thankfully, few tickets were sold to the elderly, saving the group from getting a false, fleeting sense of hope, whimsy, and adventure.
3. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - Only $25 million. I knew they shouldn't have included the poorly-received twist ending where you find out John Travolta is both the villain and the Denzel Washington.
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - $9.6 million. Now can we stop all this senseless warring over historical exhibit territory?
5. Land of the Lost - $9.2 million, damning Imagine That to 6th place and an afterlife with Meet Dave in an Eddie Murphy Bundle Pack.
Weekend Box Office Results [Box Office Mojo]
Jun 8 2009 'Up' Maintains Dominance in Face of Drunks, Dinosaurs
The top movies in the United States last weekend were:
1. Up - $44.2 million, a startlingly large number considering that what appears to be the DVD is coming out soon enough.
2. The Hangover - $43.3 million. Sounds like this is one Hangover you can look forward to! (I'm trying to get quoted in the newspaper ads.) In the case of this Hangover, laughter is the best medicine!
3. Land of the Lost - $19.5 million. This does not bode well for Jack Black is H.R. Pufnstuf.
4. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - $14.7 million. Do the Tenement Museum next!
5. Star Trek - $8.4 million. I miss the days when this kind of success would warrant a Kirk & Friends Saturday morning cartoon spin-off.
Weekend Box Office Results [Box Office Mojo]
UPDATE: It turns out The Hangover probably made more?
Jun 4 2009 Movies You Can Take Mom to This Weekend
Here are your options:
The Hangover
Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, a baby, Mike Tyson, a tiger.
Good if you want to see: post-debauchery comedy; a fat, bearded man in his underwear; a baby; Mike Tyson; a tiger.
Land of the Lost
Director: Brad Silberling
Starring: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel
Good if you want to see: dinosaurs; nightmarish, dead-eyed lizard men; a campy children's television series from the '70s remade as an insanely expensive film for some reason.
My Life in Ruins
Director: Donald Petrie
Starring: Nia Vadalos, Rachel Dratch, Richard Dreyfuss
Good if you want to see: that those previews you keep noticing for My Big Fat Greek Wedding are actually for an entirely different movie.
Away We Go (limited)
Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph.
Good if you want to see: how hard it is to be a directionless 30-something, you know?
May 28 2009 'Land of the Lost' Has the Laziest Poster
"Poster designer! The new Land of the Lost poster is due in an hour!"
"Whatevs. I'll just cut out a photo of Will Ferrell, slap him into a white nothingness devoid of even shadow, and have the T-rex from the first poster bursting through the paper thin barrier that surrounds this surreal, nebulous space."
"That sounds like a really good poster."
"I know. Thanks."
Feb 6 2009 'Land of the Lost' Trailer Helped Jared Lose Weight
Subway Freshbuzz, the only website that merges affordable foot-long sandwiches and entertainment, has posted a new Land of the Lost trailer. In this version, Will Ferrell says Matt Lauer can "suck it" instead of "eat it", because Subway Freshbuzz is always pushing the boundaries of good taste, just as Subway itself is always pushing the boundaries of tasting good. Oh, sorry, I was getting hypnotized by the Jared's 10th anniversary "Pants Dance" flash game. Anyway, here's the trailer, embedded from YouTube so you won't consider opening starting a Subway franchise:
Continue Reading " 'Land of the Lost' Trailer Helped Jared Lose Weight "
Feb 2 2009 'Land of the Lost' Super Bowl Spot
All within 30 seconds, see Will Ferrell sunbathe with a giant crab, attempt to handshake Matt Lauer, get covered in spiders, and stay motionless at the threat of a Tyrannosaurus Rex with little effect. Is it possible Dr. Sam Neill's advice was wrong?
Dec 22 2008 Will Ferrell Flees from Dinosaur (Artist's Rendering) in 'Land of the Lost' Poster
I don't want this to sound like I'm being disparaging towards dinosaur paintings--I am anything but negative towards dinosaur paintings, having once purchased a Sega Genesis game solely because of its dinosaur painting cover--but I'm not sure a photograph of real people fleeing from what is obviously a dinosaur painting works as a movie poster. Call me old fashioned on the subject of marrying paint and flesh. Either paint the Will Ferrell too or step up the CGI on the dinosaur.
And on the subject of that Dinosaurs for Hire game that was formerly a short-lived comic about 20th century dinosaur mercenaries: you missed an obvious one, Hollywood.
(Thanks, Zyclonis.)
'Land of the Lost' Poster Premiere! [Cinematical]
Aug 26 2008 Hey, It's Enik from 'Land of the Lost'
Over at Collider they have the first look at Land of the Lost's Enik (left). CHUD has provided more details on the character:
A time traveling Altrusian lives in the Land of the Lost, a dude by the name of Enik, who guards a time portal (in the original series, at least). Enik could talk and wear clothes, unlike the degraded, devolved Sleestaks.
Wow. I'm a little weirded out right now because, besides the whole time traveling and guarding a time portal thing, this guy sounds exactly like me.
Apr 29 2008 'Land of the Lost' Sleestaks Are Guys in Suits
Could it be the Will Ferrell remake of Land of the Lost is doing some things right? Possibly. Despite completely overlooking that very few people really want to see yet another movie with Will Ferrell acting like a wacky man-child--be it in a prehistoric lost land, in miniature gym shorts, or while selling Old Spice--Land of the Lost director Brad Silberling appears to have realized at least one way of making his adaptation mildly appealing: keeping the Sleestaks idiotic. Barely updated from their Sid and Marty Krofft days, the lizard men are thankfully still glassy-eyed, mono-horned guys in suits. Hopefully any future film adaptations of Krofft productions will follow suit--mainly because I'm not sure I could psychologically handle seeing the psychedelic head of H.R. Pufnstuf rendered at all realistically.
Kitschy 'Land of the Lost' gets a modern makeover [USA Today]
Mar 26 2008 Will Ferrell on 'Land of the Lost' Set--Being Zany!
Some people have been saying Will Ferrell's shtick is played out--that he just acts wacky while playing sports. Those people have obviously never seen these first shots from the set of Land of the Lost! Ferrell doesn't need the juxtaposition of sporting equipment to be funny; he can be just as hilarious standing beside cement elephants, eating Cheetos! Look at that face! Classic.
Will Ferrell in 'Land of the Lost' [JFX Online]
