In a 'trash your last movie' era, why I'm glad that Pixar is defending Cars 2...

As a result of director Andrew Stanton and the various producers of John Carter are making the junket rounds this week, there has been opportunity to discuss what many pundits and critics feel was a rare Pixar whiff in Cars 2.  Producer Lindsey Collins, while speaking to Movieline's Jen Yamato, discussed both the film's critical reception and the fact that it was the first Pixar film not to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature since the inception of that category in 2001.  Without simply laying out the quotes (hence the link), she correctly states that there were a number of really solid animated films this year, that she believes that Cars 2 suffered from a kind of anti-Pixar backlash, and that director John Lasseter still loves the film.  I don't know if the film suffered from an anti-Pixar backlash (although expectations were that the film would be mediocre prior to press screenings), and I am personally not a fan of Cars 2.  But I personally am darn-happy to see the Pixar gang defending it against the critical onslaught.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II is officially the top-grosser of 2011!

As of yesterday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II is the highest-grossing film of 2011, both worldwide and domestically.  On the domestic front, it surpass Transformers: Dark of the Moon and now sits at $344 million in just over a month of national release.  On the worldwide front, the Harry Potter series finale is now the highest-grossing film of all-time not directed by James Cameron.  Second only to Titanic ($1.8 billion) and Avatar ($2.7 billion), the eighth and final Harry Potter adventure now sits at $1.13 billion, surpassing the $1.119 billion gross of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.  Yes, we can discuss the 3D bump and the inflation argument, but Frodo's big record (the biggest-grossing film not helmed by James Cameron) has held steady for nearly eight years as several films joined the $1 billion club but couldn't get that extra $120 million needed to get over the hump.  While it sits $7 million below Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in terms of pure overseas grosses, that will be surpassed in the next day or two, leaving the film as the third-biggest overseas grosser as well.  All in just over a month of worldwide release.

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - A 2D 35mm Experience

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
2011
137 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is arguably the movie most of us thought we were getting back in summer 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.  It is a weightless, thoughtless, undisciplined, and juvenile bore.  It replaces plot and character with non-stop frantic action that provides little entertainment value because there are no clear stakes.  Unlike the first picture, it gives us no characters worth caring about and no story worth following.  Unlike the bloated but surreal, challenging, and ambitious sequels, it lacks any kind of cinematic life, feeling less like a big-screen extension of the mythology than a made-for-TV pilot reboot.  It is the very definition of half-assed cash-in.  Eight summers ago, the initial exploits of Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Jack Sparrow surprised us by being a real film that happened to be based on a Disney theme-park ride.  This fourth installment can't even hold a candle to The Haunted Mansion or The Country Bears.

Random footnote as we head into the opening weekend for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

For what it's worth, the $114.7 million Fri-Sun opening for the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End still holds the record for the biggest Fri-Sun opening for a film with a long weekend. It did $25 million on Memorial Day Monday and $13 million worth of 8pm-12am Thursday sneaks.  It actually did $153 million in its first 4.25 days.  Out of eighteen the films that have pulled down $100m Fri-Sun weekends (seventeen if you don't count Iron Man, which had $3.5 million worth of advance-night Thursday screenings for its $102 million 3.25 day total), only eleven of them actually came from standalone Fri-Sun three day weekends.  Six of them (a third) pulled in $100 million despite having extra opened days to pull moviegoers away from the Fri-Sun prime real estate.  For the record, they are the above-mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($114.7m Fri-Sun/$153m 4.25 day total), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($108.9m/$200m 5-day total), Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith ($108.4m/$158.4m 4-day total), Shrek 2 ($108m/$128.9 5-day total), X-Men: The Last Stand ($102.7m/$122.8m 4-day total), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($100.1m/$151.9m 5-day total).  I have no real wisdom to offer here, I just wanted to play around with the numbers.

Scott Mendelson

See it first or don't see it at all part II: Robert Redford's The Conspirator gone from 16-screen theater in just 14 days.

I made a comment in the box office review two weekends ago regarding the decent per-screen average for Robert Redford's The Conspirator. Basically, my wife wants to see the picture, but we had decided to wait until our preschool's monthly 'babysitting night'. Babysitting night is indeed this evening, just two weekends since The Conspirator opened on about 700 screens to moderate success. Not good enough it seems, as the picture is already gone from the AMC Promenade 16. Now we're not quite out of luck. We are lucky enough to live within driving distance of a Laemmle theater (an arthouse theater), which is still playing the picture this evening. Still, this moderately successful character-driven historical drama, with a relatively high-toned cast and a major director at the helm, is gone from art least a healthy chunk of its theaters in just two weekends. This is the price for the infusion of 3D and IMAX product on a regular basis. With every major tentpole this summer taking advantage of either IMAX and/or 3D ticket prices, many megaplexes will have no choice but to offer such films on that many more screens to offer the various options. When Thor, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens over the next month, they will be on at least three screens in the biggest theaters: 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. It will be the smaller 2D films that lose their precious screens that much faster as the summer progresses.

Scott Mendelson

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a (slightly improved) final trailer.

We're two months out from start-date on this one, so Disney has unleashed a final and more plot-centric trailer. I know I've been bagging on this picture since the start, but I'm going to try to accentuate the positive for the moment. The trailer clearly lays out the journey (to find the fountain of youth) and the core character relationships, including the 'not Will Turner and not Elizabeth Swann' in the guise of a young sailer and the imperiled mermaid he falls for (Sam Cleflin and Gemma Ward). I wouldn't be surprised to see some TV spots that highlight these two above Sparrow and the gang, and the trailer earns major points for not being all-Jack Sparrow for the entire 2.25 minutes. The action does look refreshingly practical and the scale seems to be a decent mix of epic adventure and boots-on-the-ground plausibility. So even if the film seems to lack the grand ambitions of Gore Verbinski's original trilogy, one can hope that it will still be a solid good time. But, it must be said, the trailer loses a point or two for repeating the phrase 'fountain of youth' as if its a new vocabulary word. Still, this one will surely hit pretty huge on May 20th. While I theoretically could get into an early press screening, I may just wait until opening night as it falls on 'preschool babysitting night'. Should I choose that route, I shall be faced with a difficult decision. I don't care much for live-action 3D, but I do so love IMAX. Decisions, decisions...

Scott Mendelson

Remember when the Pirates of the Caribbean series was about an ensemble? On Stranger Tides gets a Jack Sparrow-only poster.

Looks like Disney is selling the only trump card it has. And, personal annoyances aside, I can't really blame them. They sold Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as "The Mad Hatter Movie" and made $1 billion worldwide. Still, it is a little depressing considering how the prior series posters remembered to highlight the actual main characters (Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner) alongside the scene-stealing supporting character that is Mr. Jack Sparrow. I'll gladly walk the plank if Rob Marshall actually makes his first-ever good film, but this feels more like a cash-grab with every additional piece of marketing. We'll see soon enough, on May 20th. Thanks to IGN for the 'get'.

Scott Mendelson

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a Super Bowl ad, another mediocre tease for an unnecessary franchise continuation..

I'm not going to do a rundown of every single Super Bowl movie ad, primarily because there were just too many of them. I'm trying not to walk into this with my nose held, but this just doesn't look like very much fun. It lacks the surprise of the first picture, and the dense plotting of the underrated sequels. What it contains is forced whimsy and the unnatural sight of supporting foil Jack Sparrow somehow becoming a leading man. At least we get a reveal of how 'not Will Turner' and 'not Elizabeth Swan' fit into the picture. I just don't get why everyone thinks that the director of Memoirs Of a Geisha and Nine is somehow going to revamp the franchise. I'll be the first to eat crow if it's at least as good as the third picture, but as always, we'll see.

Scott Mendelson

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a mediocre teaser.

Alas, my timbers remain unshivered. While it's nice that the film seems to be returning to the lighter tone of Curse of the Black Pearl, the film is desperately missing interesting leading characters. I've said this a thousand times, but Jack Sparrow is not a leading man, he's a colorful supporting character. The dramatic weight of the original trilogy fell on Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, which allowed Johnny Depp to do his devil-may-care shtick without harming the seriousness of the overriding narrative. Alas, since Sparrow is in the lead this time around, why should we care about the outcome if he so obviously doesn't? The obvious comparison is a Shrek sequel which makes Donkey the lead character and writes Shrek and Fiona out of the story. Penelope Cruz seems entirely defined by her romantic entanglements with Sparrow, although making Geoffrey Rush's Barbosa into a servant of the British army is an interesting idea. There seems to be a token young couple in danger, glimpsed at 1:23 and 1:59 (Sam Cleflin and Gemma Ward, I believe), but I frankly have no idea who they are in terms of the story. Some of the action beats are neat (1:14 and 1:38), but this feels like a completely unnecessary cash grab. This one comes out May 20th, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. As always, we'll see...

Scott Mendelson

For those are care: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets first-look photos from Yahoo and USA Today.

These all came from USA Today and Yahoo. Enjoy. The trailer debuts on Monday.

First look at Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Friends don't let friends debut the first footage of their movie on Entertainment Tonight.

If you watch this on 'MUTE', it actually looks okay. There seems to be a token amount of real stunt work and it feels a bit more earthbound than the sequels. The trailer premieres on Monday, December 13th after which it will be attached to Tron: Legacy (which I will be seeing on December 13th; waiting for the IMAX screening). Anyway, you know my feelings on Entertainment Tonight, but if you want it, here you go.

Scott Mendelson

As Pirates of the Caribbean 5 and 6 are more-or-less confirmed, a moment of appreciation for Gore Verbinski's original trilogy.

About a week before the debut of the first real trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, work has come out from the always dependable HitFix that Disney plans to build a whole new trilogy around Rob Marshall's fourth Jack Sparrow adventure. No word on details (Depp's schedule is awfully crowded these days), but at the very least it is a sign that the Mouse House is pleased with Marshall's upcoming entry in the long-running franchise. And yes, the plan is to shoot parts 5 and 6 back-to-back, because that went over so well with the cast and crew of the original series. Having said that, let me step up and defend Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. While they lacked the simplicity and whimsy of Curse of the Black Pearl, they were heavily character-driven, pleasantly complicated, and weirdly amoral tales of piracy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides gets a strangely metallic poster. Please no robot pirates...

I'll refrain from any 'kingdom of the Crystal Skull' jokes. I merely hope that the metallic sheen is merely an artistic choice and not a hint that the film involves robot pirates. Because no live-action PG-13 picture should have battles with robots. Robots are for kid-friendly films and cartoons that have to split the difference between being action-packed without being overtly violent. I'm willing to give this film a fair shake, as I genuinely liked all three of the previous ones and Rob Marshall seems to be making some interesting decisions. But seriously... no robots allowed.

Scott Mendelson