Dec 22 2008 Jim Carrey Better Than Will Smith... For Now

These movies made money this weekend. DID YOU?

1. Yes Man - $18.2 million. Speculation is already starting about the loss of Jim Carrey's star power. Good to focus on that, rather than the logic of re-writing Liar Liar with a slightly different gimmick.

2. Seven Pounds - $16 million. Same here--the issue is definitely Will Smith losing his box office dominance, not that absolutely nothing about the film seemed in any way intriguing to anyone.

3. The Tale of Despereaux - $10.5 million. Is Matthew Broderick's voice losing its star power???

4. The Day the Earth Stood Still - $10.2 million. It turns out "the day the earth stood still" does not refer to the birth of baby Jesus. Just some kind of alien thing not at all relevant to Christmas.

5. Four Christmases - $7.7 million. On the other hand, this film was almost exclusively relevant to Christmases. Essentially, it was a movie composed of four distinct Christmases.

Weekend Box Office [Box Office Mojo]

Nov 6 2008 New 'Tale of Despereaux' Trailer Bans Soup, Rats

Here's the new trailer for Tale of Despereaux, the animated movie involving difficult-to-spell CGI rodents and soup that isn't Ratataouille. Summary!

Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, laughter aplenty and gallons of mouthwatering soup. But an accident left the King broken-hearted, the Princess filled with longing and the townsfolk without their soup. Sunlight disappeared. The world became gray. All hope was lost in this land…until Despereaux Tilling was born.

A modern fairy tale from visionary filmmaker Gary Ross, together with directors Sam Fell & Rob Stevenhagen, The Tale of Desperaux tells the story of several unlikely heroes: Despereaux (Matthew Broderick), a brave mouse banished to the dungeon for speaking with a human; Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), a good-hearted rat who loves light and soup, but is exiled to darkness; Pea (Emma Watson), a Princess in a gloomy castle who is prisoner to her father’s grief; and Mig (Tracey Ullman), a servant girl who longs to be a Princess, but is forced to serve the jailer (Robbie Coltrane).

My issue with this movie is that, if you watch the trailer, you see its entire plot hinges on the king banning rats and soup from his kingdom, which makes no sense. How do you ban rats? Tell them they're banned? Make little "no rats" signs? There's no way to ban rats. As far as I'm concerned, rats have always been banned. I have never willfully accepted co-habitating with rats. For me, a rat ban does not work as a plot device.

And don't even get me started on banning soup. No legitimate king would ever ban soup. Monarchies are too historically rooted in Panera Bread franchises to ever allow that kind of drastic change.

Continue Reading " New 'Tale of Despereaux' Trailer Bans Soup, Rats "

Aug 4 2008 'Tale of Despereaux' Poster Misses Opportunity for Hilarious 'Tail' Pun

Would you look at those big ol' floppy ears, that charmingly bold pose? This adorable little fella might just be my favorite cartoon mouse after Mickey, Minnie, Jerry, Fievel, Mighty Mouse, Ratatouille, Danger Mouse, Speedy Gonzales, Pinky, The Brain, Ignatz, Itchy, Gadget Hackwrench, Mouser, The Rescuers (and Rescuers Down Under), Chuck E. Cheese, all of the mice in ABC's Capitol Critters, and Splinter. Just above Stuart Little.

The Tale of Despereaux Poste [IMPA]