This Weekend @ the Boxoffice: 2009.Feb.09

[Brown Jenkin]

Movies with large (known) casts can attract a wider audience, too.

That's not a polite thing to say about Kevin James and his fans.

 

[Dog Moon]

I saw Taken, Inkheart, and Underworld 3 last week. Taken was excellent, the other two not so much. U3 needed more fighting and whatnot. It's like a crappy goth lovestory or something with a rare, mediocre fight. Inkheart was okay, but it raised too many questions in my mind as to how exactly the Silvertongue's abilities truly work. I overanalyzed, but I couldn't help it.

I'll probably see Push during the weekday this week or next. Nicer, and cheaper, that way. 5$ weekday with less people or 10$ weekend and crowded. Hrm, which would I choose?

 

[Mistwell]

As a reward for finishing a bunch of school projects this past weekend, I told my 11 year old daughter that we'd treat her to Coraline next weekend.

She says she wants to go see the new Pink Panther movie instead. So much for that gothy image she's worked so hard to maintain.

I thought Coraline was fantastic.

here was my review at CM:

We both thought it was wonderful. Really imaginative. It combines the "interesting to watch" aspects of MirrorMask (also written by Gaiman) with the "Compelling Story" elements of movies like Nightmare Before Christmas (also directed by Selick).

The 3d effect is put to good use in this film. It isn't the sort of "wee, I am going to shock you with something popping out at your face" type. Instead, it's used to make colors come alive, objects float better, and beautiful art takes on an even more luminous and special look to it. It is a more subtle use of 3d effects, but I think I like it better than the usual use. And, it definitely does not make one queasy to look at.

My wife read the book, and she said she felt the book was scarier, and that this movie is fairly kid-safe. I agree, and there were plenty of kids in the audience who seemed to like it and were rapidly chatting about it afterward. One little girl said before the movie "I have not seen a 3d movie in a loooong time." The boy beside her responded "But you saw the Hanna Montana movie in 3d", and she replied "Yeah, but that was back when I was in Kindergarten!". Both of those kids liked it, so I guess that kinda shows the age range it can appeal to, though it is technically rated PG (probably for some scarier scenes - though I didn't hear any "scared" sounds from the kids in our theater). But, adults will appreciate it as well (or at least us two adults did).

Also, surprisingly every single review at CircvsMaximvs is positive so far.