Has The Office jumped the shark?

I thought the ensemble was strong that it might be able to survive without Michael Scott (Steve Carell), but it occurs to me that it's lost so much more than that. Gone is the byzantine upper management that gave us leaders like Jan and David, gone is the soul-crushing feel of the daily cubicle drudgery. Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) doesn't have the fragile ego that made Michael do impulsive, selfish things. Andy started off as a jerk who had to go to anger management. Now he's a puppy-dog who just wants to please everyone, and all of his co-workers want him to succeed. Where's the comedy in that?
Now with Sabre CEO Robert California (James Spader) I thought we'd get some darkness to rock the boat, but Robert's been hit and miss. This week's episode, where we meet his wife (Maura Tierney) may have been the best use thus far of the potential of this mind-gaming genius. I enjoyed Andy twisting himself into a pretzel trying to do what he thought Robert wanted him to do.

These characters are still fun and funny. Dwight, Jim, Pam, Ryan, Kelly, Toby, Angela, Meredith, Stanley, Creed, Erin, Oscar, Daryl, Phyllis... I just hope the show can find some consistent Michael-free magic. Or maybe they should quit while they're ahead.

Watts & Wright as Grandmothers, Benoit biopic, etc.

- Naomi Watts and Robin Wright have signed on for The Grandmothers, about two lifelong friends who wind up falling for each other's teenage sons.

- SRG Films will be making Crossface, a biopic of pro-wrestler Chris Benoit, who after years of drug use, depression and head trauma, murdered his wife and son before taking his own life.
- Remakes of RoboCop and Total Recall are on their way, and now Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers is getting the remake treatment.


- Speaking of RoboCop, Peter Weller has joined the cast of Star Trek 2 for director JJ Abrams. He joins new cast members Benecio Del Toro and Alice Eve, and the returning seven of Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Anton Yelchin.

- This week's Super Bowl halftime show performer: Madonna.

Breaking Dawn still #1

The box-office for the weekend of December 2-4.

1. Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 - $16.9 million ($247.3) - 3 wks (Sum) -59.5%
. . . 4046 screens / $4177 per screen

2. The Muppets - $11.2 ($56.14) - 2 wks (BV) -61.7%
. . . 3440 / $3256

3. Hugo - $7.63 ($25.19) - 2 wks (Par) -32.9%
. . . 1840 / $4144

4. Arthur Christmas - $7.35 ($25.29) - 2 wks (Sony) -39.1%
. . . 3376 / $2177

5. Happy Feet Two - $6 ($51.79) - 3 wks (WB) -55.2%
. . . 3536 / $1697

6. Jack & Jill - $5.5 ($64.31) - 4 wks (Sony) -45%
. . . 3049 / $1804

7. The Descendants - $5.2 ($18.09) - 3 wks (FS) -29.2%
. . . 574 / $9059

8. Immortals - $4.39 ($75.59) - 4 wks (Rel) -50.5%
. . . 2627 / $1673

9. Tower Heist - $4.1 ($70.8) - 5 wks (U) -42.9%
. . . 2404 / $1705

10. Puss in Boots - $3.05 ($139.52) - 6 wks (DW) -59.4%
. . . 2750 / $1109

First weekend of December tends to be low, but Hugo and Arthur Christmas have to be rethinking their strategy of opening against The Muppets and each other, and just a week after Happy Feet Two. Puss was wise to open Halloween weekend.

Movie Award Season

I saw Beginners the other day.  It was really good, and Christopher Plummer was great in it.  It wasn't exceptional for him; it just showed that if you give him a quality part, he will nail it.  He's a worker.  He'll keep appearing in movies like Priest so he can make a Beginners.  Nevertheless, he has to be the favorite right now to win Best Supporting Actor.

Most of the award-buzzed movies either haven't come out yet, or if they have, it's only on a limited basis.  I want to catch George Clooney in The Descendants as soon as I can, because I get the feeling it may not stick around long.  I'm looking forward to The Artist, The Iron Lady, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, etc., opening at a theater near me.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and War Horse are the other big award-bait ones coming.  I hear Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close will be in the mix, but I can't say its trailer appealed to me.

Oh yeah, and Hugo.  Still gotta catch Hugo.

I missed Drive and The Ides of March.  Hopefully they're at a $1 theater somewhere soon.

Exclusive! San Andreas 3-D movie, Ender's Game, etc.

- New Line is prepping a big-budget earthquake movie for 2012. San Andreas 3-D will be produced by Beau Flynn. Here's the exclusive from the L.A. Times, and here's Deadline Hollywood pretending they have the scoop. (h/t @TheInSneider)

UPDATE: After I commented twice there and they deleted my comments, Deadline has removed the word "Exclusive."

In Other News:

- Kyle Chandler (Super 8) has joined the cast of Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg as a detective hired by the mayor (Russell Crowe) to investigate his wife's lover. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey Wright and Justin Chambers co-star. (VO)

- David Ayer (Training Day) is going write another version of Scarface, and it's said he's studying the 1932 and 1982 versions. (DHD)

- Asa Butterfield (Hugo) will star in Ender's Game for director Gavin Hood (Wolverine). Harrison Ford and Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) are also being sought for roles.

Hugo win NBR's Best Film

The National Board of Review gave out their awards.

Best Film: Hugo
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Best Ensemble: The Help
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)
NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime
NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise – A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)

The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Tree of Life
War Horse

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)

Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)

50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win


Conspicuous by their absense: Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Iron Lady.

After its mixed reviews, I'm surprised J. Edgar made their top ten.

Crazy Stupid Love - DVD Review

lll 1/2

Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, John Carroll Lynch, Beth Littleford and Josh Groban.
Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa.

This "romantic comedy" has more going for it than most. It has a great cast, it has multiple storylines that we don't mind juggling until it comes together in one whole, and it has moments of genuine emotion.

Steve Carell plays Cal, a suburban dad whose wife suddenly asks for a divorce. Turns out she slept with a co-worker. Cal's been out of the dating scene for 25 years, so he goes to bars and gets drunk and makes a fool of himself until ladies-man Jacob (Ryan Gosling) takes pity on him and gives him the Pygmalion treatment.

Everyone here is good. In fact, I thought Marisa Tomei had the biggest laugh of the movie. Okay, Kevin Bacon is wasted. It's as though he saw the cast and said, "I don't care how small my part is. I'm doing this for the good of the Six Degrees game."

P.S. Annoying product-placement watch: One guy says, "Sorry I was late; I had to pick something up at Macy's" and holds up the bag for the camera.

Weekend Box Office

For the weekend of November 25-27.
1. Breaking Dawn - $42 million ($221.3) - 2 wks (Sum) -69.6%
. . . 4066 screens / $10,330 per screen
2. The Muppets - $29.5 ($42) - 1 wk (BV)
. . . 3440 / $8576
3. Happy Feet Two - $13.4 ($43.77) - 2 wks (WB) -36.9%
. . . 3606 / $3716
4. Arthur Christmas - $12.7 ($17) - 1 wk (Sony)
. . . 3376 / $3762
5. Hugo - $11.35 ($15.38) - 1 wk (Par)
. . . 1277 / $8888
6. Jack & Jill - $10.3 ($57.42) - 3 wks (Sony) -12.3%
. . . 3029 / $3400
7. Immortals - $8.8 ($68.63) - 3 wks (Rel) -28.8%
. . . 2677 / $3287
8. Puss in Boots - $7.45 ($135.36) - 5 wks (DW) -31%
. . . 3005 / $2479
9. Tower Heist - $7.32 ($65.38) - 4 wks (U) +3.1%
. . . 2474 / $2960
10. The Descendants - $7.2 ($10.74) - 2 wks (FS) +505%
. . . 433 / $16,628
11. J. Edgar - $4.95 ($28.82) - 3 wks (WB) -16.5%
. . . 1947 / $2542
12. My Week with Marilyn - $1.77 ($2.08) - 1 wk (Wein)
. . . 244 / $7266

The Artist and A Dangerous Method did well on 4 screens apiece.

Thanksgiving weekend is a time for disappointing openers to redeem themselves. Witness the low drop-off for most of the titles.

If Hugo had opened on 1800 screens, it would've been third. On just 1277, it was on-par in per-screen averages with The Muppets.

Breaking Dawn part 1 - Movie Review

l

Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellen Lutz, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Anna Kendrick, Maggie Grace, Sarah Clarke and Michael Sheen.
Directed by Bill Condon.


I really don't mind the Twilight movies. I find them enjoyable enough to see with my wife. But we're supposed to be building toward an epic showdown and this is easily, handily, by far the worst one in the series.

Let's start with the acting. Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have not, to put it politely, improved. Lautner in particular reveals he doesn't really know how to act when he keep his shirt on the whole time. The supporting cast varies with their skills. Most of the Cullens are good at what they do, and Anna Kendrick's a good sport for still popping up, but the scenes with Lautner talking to his fellow werewolves is on part with something you'd see on Canadian TV.

Let's look now at some of the approaches to the story. Where I knew we were doomed was the third time that we're watching Bella brood and another folk-pop song starts playing. Other times the scene may have been suspenseful, but the soundtrack said mournful-melodrama.

There's also the problem with breaking up a book into two parts. The pacing for this is all wrong. Act 1 is the wedding and honeymoon, Act 2 is the pregnancy, and Act 3 is supposed to be a werewolf-vampire showdown that doesn't really pay off.

Maybe when Michael Sheen's vampires re-enter the scene in Breaking Dawn Part 2 it'll all make sense. But if Bill Condon's directing that one too, I have very little hope.

Wednesday's Box Office 11/23/11

For November 23.

1. Breaking Dawn - $12.5 million ($171.48) - 6 days
2. The Muppets - $6.6 - 1 day
3. Happy Feet Two - $2.92 ($28.32) - 6 days
4. Arthur Christmas - $2.4 - 1 day
5. Jack & Jill - $1.93 ($45.23) - 13 days
6. Immortals - $1.81 ($57.91) - 13 days
7. Hugo - $1.67 - 1 day
8. Puss in Boots - $1.64 ($126.62) - 27 days
9. J. Edgar - $.84 ($22.9) - 20 days

Breaking Dawn continues to rule them all. The Muppets has a decent opening and should do well throughout the weekend. In Hugo's defense, it's on one-third of the screens as Arthur Christmas, but it's still a disappointing showing for both.

Dark Knight Rises tidbits, etc.

- Empire magazine has more behind-the-scenes info on The Dark Knight Rises, but the most surprising revelation is that it picks up eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. The first six minutes will also air in front of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in IMAX theaters.


- Reese Witherspoon will star in Wish List. Written by Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda 2), it's about a child who makes ten wishes on a single coin. Unbeknownst to her, the coin never reached the bottom of the magical well. Then 25 years later, the coin jostles free and reaches the ground, and all ten wishes are granted in her adult life.


- ABC has cancelled Pan Am and Man Up.


- Wyatt Knight, who played Tommy in the Porky's movies, has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Family members said he'd been suffering from stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma and decided he was tired of the pain. He was 56.

Terri - DVD Review

lll

Starring Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Bridger Zadina, Creed Bratton and Olivia Crocicchia.
Directed by Azazel Jacobs.

This tiny slice-of-life high-school com-dram has its own small rewards. First is Jacob Wysocki's unique protagonist Terri, who feels much more real than any Glee-k. It conveys nicely the general depressing teen routine of the outcast, with glimpses of hope and insight.

Terri is an overweight student who has to deal with a demented uncle at home and typical bullies at school. He develops a friendship with a cute girl after she's ostracized by her crowd, and he also has an enthusiastic guidance counselor/principal (John C. Reilly) who wants to be down and connect with the kids. It's not done in a condesecnding way; it's done in a believably unhip way.

The Emperor's New Groove quotes

"Why do we ever have that lever?"

"No touchy."

"Ah, how shall I do it? Oh, I know. I'll turn him into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I'll put that flea in a box, and then I'll put that box inside of another box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives...I'll smash it with a hammer! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say! Or, to save on postage, I'll just poison him with this. "

"Reason number two... look what I can do!"

"It's called a 'cruel irony,' like my dependence on you."

"For the last time, we did not order a giant trampouline!"

"Um, I turned into a cow.  Can I go home?"
"You're excused.  Anyone else?"

"Kronk! Why did I think you could do this? This one simple thing! It's like I'm talking to a monkey.  A really, really big stupid monkey named Kronk!"

We bought a VHS copy the other day. Now if I can find a Robin Hood on VHS, I'll be content with our collection.

Breaking Dawn record #1

For Friday November 18.

1. Breaking Dawn Pt I - $72 million - 1 day
2. Happy Feet 2 - $5.9 - 1 day
3. Immortals - $3.82 ($44.55) - 8 days
4. Jack & Jill - $3.5 ($32.53) - 8 days
5. Puss in Boots - $3.42 ($115) - 22 days
6. Tower Heist - $2.1 ($48.6) - 15 days
7. J. Edgar - $1.81 ($16.61) - 10 days
8. A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas - $.92 ($26.35) - 15 days

That's right. $72 million in one day for the latest Twilight movie. Expect $150 million for the weekend, over $300 million domestic, over $600 million worldwide.

Movie Trailers - 11/19/11

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson in THE HUNGER GAMES
- I've read the book and it looks like a faithful adaptation.

Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson and Michael Caine in JOURNEY 2 THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

- This semi-sequel to Journey of the Center of the Earth swaps out Brendan Fraser for The Rock, and it looks like a similar CG 3-D visual dessert buffet.


Julia Roberts, Lily Collins and Nathan Lane in MIRROR MIRROR

- While Snow White and the Huntsman is going for a more serious Lord of the Rings type feel, this is going the comedic route more in the vein of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland or even the live-action 101 Dalmatians. 


...and the Pixar gang returns with BRAVE

- Reminded me a lot of How to Train Your Dragon, but it's nice that Pixar's finally made a movie with a female protagonist.

Tower Heist - Movie Review

lll

Starring Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Michael Pena, Tea Leoni, Judd Hirsch and Gabourey Sidibe. Directed by Brett Ratner.

The heist movie can be a fun genre. Look at The Town, The Bank Job, Ocean's 11, Inside Man, or the brilliant opening sequence of The Dark Knight. There's the suspense of whether or not the plan will be executed as designed. Will they actually get away with it?

This movie makes itself relevant by centering on a Bernie Madoff-type mogul under house arrest in his penthouse suite. That he's played by Alan Alda is a stroke of genius. He's a kind old man who connects with everyone else. Of course he's successful. Why should we suspect he's achieved this through ill-gotten means?

Unfortunately for the hotel staff at which he resides, all of their pensions were lost in his Ponzi scheme. They were initally put there by Josh (Ben Stiller), the manager of the hotel. But he gets a tip that millions in cash may be hidden in the suite somewhere. Josh and some of the staff, with their knowledge of the hotel's security system, determine that can sneak in there and find it themselves.

But none of them are criminals, and that's a nice take on the genre. These are ordinary people driven to desperate measures. They need help. Josh enlists his old pre-school friend Slide (Eddie Murphy), now a career thief, to help train them on the art of stealing.

Murphy is the highlight of the movie and gives his funniest performance in about a decade. It's a return to form for him, and I hope he sticks with it. (I'm hoping A Thousand Words is his mute Liar Liar, but we'll see.)

There are some nice twists along the way, and most of the actors get their moments. Gabourey Sidibe's Jamaican accent is ill-advised, but I liked Matthew Broderick as a suicidal former Merrill Lynch employee now squatting in the building.

Brett Ratner's reviled industry-wide for his lack of skill, and I think part of that is because of his success. He's not bad, he's just workmanlike. His directing here is stronger in the comedic scenes than the action. The third-act finale might have been better had it been smaller. (Does it really need to happen during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?)

I will say somewhere along the way, some key story elements must have been edited out. There's one event that happened where we're informed it was part of the plan, and I had to think about it. "Wait a minute. How did they do it?" Like there was a plot device someone put a pin in so they could get to the section of the story and they never revisited it.

Contrivances aside, it's a decent comedy which made me chuckle a few times. Glad I saw it.

Puss in Boots - Movie Review

lll

Starring the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zack Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris.  Directed by Chris Miller.

Shrek is nowhere in sight, and the movie is better off for it. I don't know if it's a sequel or a prequel, but it's nice to see Puss, the best thing about the Shrek sequels, get his own movie.

Antonio Banderas owns the movie as this feline Zorro. He's always staying one step ahead of the law, but he's reunited with his former friend Humpty Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis). Theres was a bitter falling-out, but with the aid of gato burglar Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), they aim for the big score: the magic beans that will grow the beanstalk to the Giant's castle in the sky.

The movie plays with pop culture and fairy-tale expectations as them Shrek movies do, but it's not near as intrusive about it. The soundtrack features stirring southern guitar strings, rather than radio's biggest hits from five years ago. I would take Puss 2 over Shrek 5 any day.

Meek's Cutoff - DVD Review

**

Starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson and Rod Rondeaux. 
Directed by Kelly Reichardt.

This has all the trappings of a critically-praised low-budget indie, and I'm as big a fan of low-budget indies as the next guy. Good acting, beautiful cinematography, a stripped-down story. This does a very good job of conveying what it must feel like to be part of a pioneer wagon train in 1845. Tedious and repetitive, with long stretches where nothing happens.

The movie is from the viewpoint of the female characters. If only the men are talking, we can only hear as much as the closest woman can. They're all following their guide Stephen Meek, who claims to know a shortcut to Oregon, but it becomes quickly apparent he has no idea where they are.

This movie most reminded me of Gus Van Sant's Gerry, which was about two guys who get lost in the desert, and nothing really happens. I hated that movie. This one at least has more people.

Director Kelly Reichardt also worked with Michelle Williams on the equally minimalist Wendy & Lucy.  That movie conveyed the despair of being poor in a rich country and made me feel for its heroine. We never get close enough to anyone here to care.