Never an Absolution: 15 years later, a look at the 5 best films murdered during Titanic's 4-month reign of box office terror.

This winter will of course mark the fifteenth anniversary of the momentous box office run of Titanic.  For over three months, the James Cameron epic dominated the box office in a fashion unseen since E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial during its initial 1982 release.  The film sat atop the box office for an unprecedented fifteen weekends, a record for unbroken domination and the second most weekends at number one on history (E.T. had sixteen weekends atop, but only six of them were in a row).  From December 19th, 1997 until April 3rd, 1998, it caused crushed pretty much everything in its path.  Aside from a few offhand Fridays were a new film temporarily took the top spot (US Marshals, The Man With the Iron Mask and the re-release of Grease during its March run), but the first three months of 1998 were all about Titanic.  But while we must remember this astonishing run of utter and complete domination, which was the last of its kind, we must also take a moment to remember the many many films laid to waste in its path.  Oh there were a few survivors, such as the aforementioned Fugitive spin-off and the Three Musketeers sequel that happened to also star Leonardo DiCaprio, along with Adam Sandler's break-out smash The Wedding Singer (as well as um, Everest IMAX which slowly earned $87 million after opening on March 6th). But otherwise Winter 1998 was merely mass grave.  Ironically, there were actually at least several worthwhile films, now mostly forgotten in the dustbin of history, that bombed during those cold winter months.  So this is a place to remember five worthwhile pictures that were flattened by the mighty ship.  All deserved their moment in the spotlight, some have become cult favorites while others are barely remembered at all.    

Titanic 3D opens with $4.3 million, sails towards likely $20-$25m 5-day total.

The much-hyped 3D-release of James Cameron's Titanic debuted yesterday with a solid $4.3 million.  What's left to do now is merely play with the numbers to estimate where the five-day opening weekend for this 3D release will end come Sunday.  The wild-card for the weekend is that tomorrow is Good Friday, which means that many kids will be out of school for at least part of the day.  On the other hand, Easter Sunday means that families will be spending the day together, and even if a trip to the movies is in order, I can't imagine the entire family agreeing to a 3.5-hour emotionally-draining tragedy that most people own on DVD being the likely pick, especially as families with small children are less likely to shell out for the 3D upgrade.  Anyway, let's presume that Easter Sunday cancels out Good Friday and call it even.

A masterpiece then and now: Why James Cameron's Titanic needs no defense.

This is an expanded and updated version of an essay I wrote on November 11th, 2007.  

It was right at the opening credit sequence. That haunting footage of the various passengers embarking on the ship, with a sorrowful version of the theme playing in the background (a version that inexplicably was never been included on the soundtrack CDs back in 1997/1998) As the cheering crowds gave way to the ship's watery grave and the title unfurled on screen, I leaned over to a friend and whispered "I already love this movie". It was a symbol right there of what made Titanic great and what separated it from the likes of Pearl Harbor or The Day After Tomorrow: the film openly acknowledged that every single life lost on that ship was every bit as tragic and unfair as the eventual fates of our leads. And, as the film played over the next six months, when you asked people what part they cried at, it wasn't anything to do with Jack or Rose. It was the mother reading to her children so that they might be asleep as they drowned in her arms. It was Victor Garber setting the clock just right before the water came pouring in. It was the ship's band leaving and then returning to play it out. For those primal moments, for the brilliant first-act demonstration of exactly how the ship sank so that we understood what was happening two hours later, for James Horner's achingly powerful score, and for any number of reasons that I shouldn't have to reiterate fifteen years later, Titanic is still a splendidly powerful bit of moviemaking, one of the best films of the 1990s, and one of the best pure blockbusters of our time.

Titanic 3D gets a somewhat obnoxious trailer.

I loved Titanic in 1997. I still think the film is an unqualified masterpiece. I can and will defend its artistic reputation any chance I get. But this trailer, with its obnoxious onscreen text ("Take the Journey! Fall In Love! Drown and/or Freeze to Death in the Icy Waters!") and its use of the Celine Deon song over the painfully moving James Horner score, actually makes me not want to revisit the movie.  Oh well.

Scott Mendelson

Thanks to dirty, stinking, good-for-nothing foreigners, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides becomes second-fastest movie to gross $800 million worldwide.

This is one problem for which you cannot blame America.  As of yesterday, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sailed past the $800 million mark in just over 3 weeks.  That's the second fastest such sprint, behind James Cameron's Avatar.  Sadly this means that the really lazy and really terrible sequel will likely cross the $1 billion mark, if not surpass Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($1.119 billion) to become the biggest-grossing film not directed by James Cameron.  Since $614 million of that is from overseas grosses, just who is to blame?  Well, the biggest offenders are Japan ($62 million), Russia ($49 million), and Germany ($46 million), and the United Kingdom ($43 million).  Oh, and don't forget France!  I've long defended France's reputation, since the French people fought off the Nazis long after their government surrendered (and they were pretty right about that whole 'stay out of Vietnam and don't go into Iraq' stuff).  But those 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' have surrendered $36 million to this soulless monstrosity so J'accuse!  But of course, I cannot ignore the biggest contributor.  With a contribution of $192 million thus far, the biggest worldwide offender for this particular film is... oh wait... damn.  Scratch that first sentence.

Scott Mendelson    

Weekend Box Office (02/06/11): Roomate tops slow Super Bowl weekend, Sanctum slightly underwhelms, Oscar films continue to soar.

The Super Bowl weekend is not what anyone would consider prime movie-going real-estate, so it stands to reason that there wouldn't be much on the wide-release circuit this weekend. Screen Gems scored their biggest opening weekend ever last Super Bowl Sunday with the romantic drama Dear John, which opened to $30 million and knocked Avatar off the top spot. But generally speaking, Screen Gems's has had pretty decent success opening teen girl-friendly PG-13 horror pictures, often remakes of R-rated 70s and 80s slasher pics, over the last several years, so they went that route again this year. This year's entry, The Roommate, a film so obviously copied from Single White Female that complaints/summons are probably being drafted as we speak.

Ridley Scott scraps Alien prequel, goes ahead with original Prometheus.

Fascinating stuff, this is. Just days ago, we heard reports that Fox and Ridley Scott were butting heads over whom to cast as the female lead in the upcoming Alien prequel(s). Ridley Scott wanted Noomi Pace (Elizabeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), while 20th Century Fox wanted that box office dynamo Charlize Theron. Well, nevermind to all of that, because Ridley Scott and writer Damon Lindelof are instead going with an original story instead, apparently based on a script by Jon Spaihts. Prometheus will be released on March 9th, 2012. Little is known about the project, except that it will have bits and pieces of what might have been the Alien prequel at an earlier point in time. Noomi Pace has been cast as the main character, with bigger-name actresses (Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, etc) circling around a major supporting role. Fascinating...

Blu Ray review: Avatar: Three-Disc Blu-Ray Extended Collector's Edition

Avatar: 3 Disc Extended Collection
2010
160 min (theatrical), 168 min (special edition re-release), 179 min (extended)
rated PG-13
Available from Fox on Blu Ray on November 16th

My original review of the theatrical cut can be found here. For this review, I watched the 179 minute extended cut. It's still the same movie. Most of the new footage is just little bits and pieces, a bit more action here, a longer flight there. There is a six minute prologue that takes place on Earth, which establishes the environmental damage that the planet has sustained, while also establishing Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as someone who cannot walk away from someone in peril. It's a bit broad, but it gives us a rooting interest in Sully beyond him simply being the lead character. There are extra moments for Grace (Sigourney Weaver), including a more detailed explanation of why her precious school for Na'vi ended up closing. There is a very brief (and non-explicit) sex scene between Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The other big change is a very different finale for Tsu'tey (Laz Alonso). Oh, he still gets his powerful final stand and subsequent death plunge, but... well, you'll have to see for yourself what happens afterward. It's an interesting addition, but I kinda liked the haunting original demise.

James Cameron (Avatar) Vs. Mark Canton (Piranha). That's an easy one...

I could complain that James Cameron is criticizing a movie that he apparently did not see. But I have seen both films being discussed. Piranha was a terrible, an unforgivably hypocritical and misogynistic piece of boring garbage that was made that much worse by the mediocre 3D conversion that turned this trashy matinee picture into a $15-a-ticket eyesore. Avatar was one of the best films of last year and is by-far the highest-grossing film of all time at least partially due to its pure storytelling quality. I don't agree with James Cameron in principal that only certain-level films should be in 3D, but I'll give the win to the man who knows how to actually make 3D work in live-action. Until someone, anyone, can make a live-action picture that looks as good in 3D as Avatar did, Cameron gets to whine all he wants about others cheapening 3D technology.

Scott Mendelson

A masterpiece then and now: Why James Cameron's Titanic needs no defense.

It was right at the opening credit sequence. That haunting footage of the various passengers embarking on the ship, with a sorrowful version of the theme playing in the background. As the cheering crowds gave way to the ship's watery grave and the title unfurled on screen, I leaned over to a friend and whispered "I already love this movie". It was a symbol right there of what made Titanic great and what separated it from the likes of Pearl Harbor or The Day After Tomorrow: the film openly acknowledged that every single life lost on that ship was every bit as tragic and unfair as the eventual fates of our leads. And, as the film played over the next six months, when you asked people what part they cried at, it wasn't anything to do with Jack or Rose. It was the mother reading to her children so that they might be asleep as they drowned in her arms. It was Victor Garber setting the clock just right before the water came pouring in. It was the ship's band leaving and then returning to play it out. But rare is the movie that lets you know that it's going to be an all-time classic within the first sixty seconds.

Scott Mendelson