Box Office Report 08-17-15 (Straight Outta Compton, Man From U.N.C.L.E)

I've decided to try something a little different. I've always been a fan of websites or video channels that report on the box office earnings of movies every week. After listening and watching so many, I've started to find this information on my own and form my own opinions. After doing this independently for many months, I've decided to use this useless knowledge to my advantage and form a new article series. So, without further ado, here is the top 5 for the week of August 17th, 2015!

#5

The Gift - $6.5 Million

In it's second weekend, the Joel Edgerton directed and produced thriller is holding strong at number five, moving two places down the list. Down just over 40%, "The Gift" is already a hit for Blumhouse productions, with a current total of $23.5 million, which more than covers its $5 million budget. It would seem that Blumhouse's strategy of making movies on the cheap is continuing to payoff, after hits like "The Purge" and "Insidious", and lesser but still successful films like "The Lazarus Effect" and "The Gallows".  "The Gift" is also on the short list of non-horror themed releases from the company, joining the likes of Oscar winning "Whiplash". Mixed with its incredible reviews from critics and good word of mouth, "The Gift" will likely stay in the top 10 for a few more weeks, but it may not last through September as bigger releases start to roll in, including Blumhouse's own "Sinister 2".

#4

Fantastic Four - $8.1 Million

What a train wreck this has been. Premiering at number two last week, Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot has only sunken further down the list. Falling 68.2%, which is abysmal for summer blockbusters, this film has been plagued with terrible critical and audience reactions (It currently has 8% critic approval and 22% audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes), which have been blamed for its poor performance. Having only made $42.1 and needing to double $120 million, it's unlikely that even the worldwide box office can save this flop. In the end, "Fantastic Four" was doomed from the start, and it's likely to fall out of the top 10 by the end of month, if not sooner.

#3

The Man From U.N.C.L.E - $13.4 Million

While not as big a disaster as "Fantastic Four", "U.N.C.L.E"'s lack luster opening weekend leaves a lot to be desired. The reboot of the 1960's t.v. series has been in production for decades, but now it would appear to have been a lost cause. Though it has a cast of movie stars in the making, "Man of Steel"'s Henry Cavill and "The Lone Ranger"'s Armie Hammer in the leading roles, this spy film just couldn't catch any heat. With a reported $75 million budget, this film has the possibility of being saved by the foreign release, but that remains to be seen.

#2

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - $17.1 Million

Slightly dropping from its two week rain at number one, the latest "Mission Impossible" sees another profitable weekend in the face of more competition. With a 39.7% drop and a total gross of $138.3 million, the Tom Cruise franchise is shown to still have some legs in the heavy

 blockbuster season. Now that a sequel is most definitely in the works, it looks as if Cruise's rise back to stardom has found its place with "Mission Impossible", but hopefully he can keep the momentum going after three years of solid films. 

 #1

Straight Outta Compton - $60.2 Million

The highly acclaimed bio-pic about 90's rap group N.W.A has shattered previously held predictions of a $40 million opening and is currently the fourth biggest opening of August, right ahead of "Signs" but missing "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" by five million, but at this point who's complaining. The film's success can be attributed to multiple factors; there's the overwhelmingly positive reactions from critics and audiences, who all came out of the theater with glowing praise. Another is the appeal to multiple generations, those being the youth of the early 90's who lived through this and the youth of today who know the names (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre) but not the origins. There's also the timely issues of police brutality and the worth of black lives, which are central themes of not only the film but N.W.A's music. While it's not a surprise that "Compton" was a hit, no one expected it to be as big a hit as it is, especially with an R rating and cast of unknown actors. 

Next Week's Predictions

There are three big releases this weekend, "Hitman: Agent 47", "Sinister 2" and "American Ultra". "Sinister" is expected to be the biggest earner, while "American Ultra" will find a comfortable spot somewhere in the middle. "Hitman" will be the black sheep, probably bombing hard in the next few days. Yet, none of them will top "Straight Outta Compton", which is expected to hold its throne for a least one more week. 

   

 

"The Gift" Review

I find that every year there are a few of those movies that catch me off guard. The one’s that I’ve never heard of suddenly getting recognition, the one’s I’d forgotten about that leap onto the scene. And then there are the ones like “The Gift”. Produced by Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious), this film looked like your standard suburban thriller, one that we had seen thousands of times before. Yet, the movie intrigued me with its casting choices, specifically of Jason Bateman as the husband and Joel Edgerton as the supposed awkward antagonist. Once I heard the good word of mouth this movie was receiving, I knew I had to check it out.

                “The Gift” follows married couple Simon (Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) who have just moved from Chicago to the upper suburbs of California. Things are looking good for them, Simon has a good job that can lead to a promotion, and Robyn has the opportunity to start up another business. A few days into their move, a strange man walks up to Simon in a furniture store saying he knows him from high school After some awkward banter, the man reveals himself to be Gordon (Edgerton), or “Gordo” as he used to be known in high school. Simon recognizes him and reveals that they used to be friends in high school. After this encounter, Gordo starts to leave gifts in front of their house, slowly edging his way into their life. Yet, the closer Gordo gets, the less likely it is that he may be nefarious and it becomes more obvious who the real villain is in the group.

                One of the best things I can say about “The Gift”, out of the many things it does right, is that it does a fantastic job at messing with the audiences expectations. At the beginning, everyone can see where it’s going, we’ve all seen it a million times before. Gordo will try to get close, the couple will shoo him away, he’ll get angry and try to get revenge as it’s revealed he’s insane and a murderer.  Yet, halfway through the film it becomes obvious that this is not your average thriller. It starts to take sharp story turns and flip the characters on their heads, fleshing them out as it goes. At this point, I thought I had the movie figured out, even if the initial twist was clever. Then, it flips the film again and goes places I would never expect. By the end, I was stunned and excited by how effectively the movie had messed with me.

                What carries this twisty story are the actors, especially Joel Edgerton, who has triple duty as director, writer, and actor. Obviously this has been something he’s been wanting to do for a while, because Gordo is at once unnerving and sympathetic, which are not two emotions one usually associates with Edgerton. Bateman and Hall give great performances as well, walking the fine line of their characters quite well. Yet, they still don’t hold a candle to Edgerton. 

                Also surprising is how effective Edgerton is behind the camera. While nothing earth-shattering, the cinematography is unique and fits the tone of the film overall. There are even a few interesting camera tricks and uses which show that he knows his way around a set. One interesting touch is that early on in the film before Gordo is introduced, he can be seen in the background simply standing and staring at Bateman and Hall, yet he blends in so well that it’s hard to notice at first. The script is nothing to sneeze at either, rarely becoming melodramatic or unnatural.

                “The Gift” is a welcome surprise during this already solid summer season. A film that has the courage to not only be different, but to trust its audience enough to go along with it. By the end, viewers will either be on board with what it’s trying to accomplish or will feel cheated, and will be lesser for it. If you want thrills on a smaller scale after all the blockbusters, “The Gift” is certainly worth your time.

"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" Review

Spanning five films and almost twenty years, the Mission Impossible franchise has had its up and downs. Starting in 1996, the films have been varied in quality, with the last one, “Ghost Protocol”, being by far the best. With its focus on teamwork, death-defying stunts, and general fun, that film become one of my favorites of 2011. Now, four years later we have “Rogue Nation”, a film that touts itself as having not only impressive stunts, but real ones that Tom Cruise performed himself. Going in, I had high expectations not only from the quality of the last film but also from the overwhelmingly positive critical response it has received. The only question is, did it live up to the hype?

                Picking up years after “Ghost Protocol”, Ethan Hunt is still with the IMF and is still active in crazy missions. For over a year, Hunt has investigated into a conspiracy involving an agency made up of missing or presumed dead agents named the Syndicate. They seem to be involved in major deaths and events across the globe all involving political figures. Before Hunt can fully reveal his findings, he is kidnapped by the Syndicate. At the same time, the IMF is shut down by the CIA, leaving Hunt alone and on the run. After six months of silence, Ethan Hunt returns to recruit his old IMF buddies to finally take down the Syndicate.

 

                Just like the last film, the plot of “Rogue Nation” is overly complicated and nonsensical. There were many points where I had no idea what was going on or why the team had to do certain things. Yet, it’s obvious that story was not the main focus of the film and is made up in the characters and parts of the script. Everyone has a funny line or good banter with each other, Jeremy Renner and Ving Rhames especially. Simon Pegg is also funny as always, yet they do feel somewhat useless. Pegg is utilized multiple times, but Renner and Rhames are only there to spout some lines of dialogue and tag along for Cruise to shine in his action scenes. In the end, I’m still glad they were included, since they give the film a comedic edge that makes it seem like the filmmakers are in on the joke with audience, that being that “Rogue Nation” is a silly movie at heart and should not be taken seriously.

                While the story is lackluster, the action is anything but. As I stated earlier, Cruise did most of his own stunts, included the scene where he hangs off the plane as it takes off. 

Yes, that was real. 

Many of the set pieces are a step down in scale and sheer insanity from “Ghost Protocol”, but they are made impressive by the fact that they were done on set with very little CGI utilized. There is a scene that requires Cruise to be underwater with no oxygen tank for three minutes. In order to shoot the scene, he learned how to hold his breath for six minutes. That kind of crazy dedication elevates these scenes from a downgrade to probably more impressive than the last film. It cannot be ignored though that many moments are implausible and ridiculous. Cruise wipes out while flying at high speeds on a motorcycle, yet he immediately gets up and acts as if nothing has happened. He should be dead, or at the very least have giant wounds on his entire body. While the film has a somewhat silly tone, that does not excuse the lack of logic, even if it does lead to cool and exciting action sequences. 

                Yet, something feels lost in the transition from “Protocol” to “Nation”. There is less focus on the team and instead returns to being the Tom Cruise show. While not a huge issue, it is sad to see many of the side characters reduced to background props when they could have bigger roles. Also, there seemed to be less tension in the action scenes. While they are still impressive, they never left me on the edge of my seat or gave my panic attacks like “Protocol” or even this year’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” did. The action has a better behind the scenes story then an actual bearing on the plot. 

                “Rogue Nation” is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it’s up there as one of the better Mission Impossible movies. Yet, it cannot be ignored that it is a step down from its predecessor and is an above average summer blockbuster when taken on its own merits. I do recommend “Rogue Nation”, as it stands out from many other offerings in this waning summer season, just go in with lowered expectations.