Speculation: Disney's "Avengers" endgame for the current round of live-action Fairy Tale Theatre?

What do you get when combine the Wizard of Oz, Alice from Wonderland, the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella?  Disney has announced plans to produce a "darker" live-action reboot of Beauty and the Beast, currently titled "The Beast".  Now putting aside the alleged Guillermo del Toro Beauty and the Beast that was intended to star Emma Watson, this is yet another Disney project that basically takes one of their beloved animated films or (in the case of Oz: The Great and Powerful) a beloved family classic and make a Disney live-action franchise-starter out of it.  We've seen movement on a Kenneth Branagh-helmed Cinderella, which ironically was supposed to star Emma Watson until she dropped out over the last couple days.  Filming is underway on Robert Stromberg's Maleficent, which will star Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning in a villain-centric retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  Disney tried to do something with Snow White before bowing out due to the two other 2012 adaptations, but it may try again.  So what is the point, in the long-run, of these fairy-tale revamps?

Review: Torn between being a stand-alone drama and an all-encompassing history lesson, Angelina Jolie's ambitious In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) is the very definition of a noble failure.

In The Land of Blood and Honey

2011
127 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

Angelina Jolie's director debut is caught between two very specific goals.  On one hand, it wants to be a thoughtful, adult romantic drama that happens to be set during a period of rather ghastly civil war.  On the other, because there really hasn't been a major motion picture set during the Bosnian war that raged primarily from 1992-1995, writer/director Jolie feels a need to craft a somewhat definitive account of the conflict. As a result, much of the picture feels like a glorified book report, with characters ham-fistedly explaining the nature of the conflict, the living conditions of the victims, and character arcs.  The film constantly violates the 'show-don't-tell' rule, with lead characters explicitly stating their emotions and their character arc.   Like Atom Egoyan's Ararat (which dealt with the 1915 Armenian genocide), the film spends much time feeling less like a movie and more like a verbal power-point presentation.  The film earns kudos for revealing a bit of somewhat forgotten history, and it deserves plaudits for telling its story from the point of view of actual participants, rather than 'an outsider looking in'.  But no matter how noble its intentions, the film fails as a history lesson and a stand-alone drama.

Waited for DVD: The Tourist (2010)

This is the first of a periodic feature of sorts, wherein I basically comment on a film that I didn't get around to seeing in theaters for one reason or another (the biggest reason is usually that my wife wants to see it, but it's not worth the hassle of arranging a sitter). Unlike my theatrical reviews, these will be a bit less formal and may or may not discuss the critical and commercial reaction to a given film. Yes, this section will arguably grow a bit come June when my second child is born, so I'm testing the waters right now. The first installment is a mini-review of The Tourist.

While the film was tagged as a box office flop, The Tourist actually grossed $274 million worldwide. That's Johnny Depp's sixth-biggest grosser, and his top grosser for a film that wasn't a Pirates of the Caribbean film or a Tim Burton fantasy. It's Angelina Jolie's seventh-biggest film yet, and fifth if you discount her animated cameos in A Shark Tale ($367 million) and Kung Fu Panda ($631 million). It's actually $19 million behind the $293 million worldwide take for Salt, which is likely getting a sequel on a generally similar budget ($100 million for The Tourist vs. $110 million for Salt). Sure the film made over $200 million of its grosses overseas, but money is money is money. So The Tourist was not a flop in any traditional sense, but is it any good? Uh... no.

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...

When a film 'flops', always blame the actress. If a film doesn't flop, call it a flop and blame the actress. If a film is a hit, blame the actor.

The Huffington Post linked to the AP box office analysis piece yesterday with their own headline, titled simply 'Gwyneth flops'. It wasn't a surprise, as Huff Post (which I of course contribute to) and other entertainment websites and publications never miss a chance to trash any given actress for anything whatsoever. Never mind that Country Strong was a $15 million picture that opened with $7.3 million in the first three days, guaranteeing long-term profitability. Never mind that the opening weekend of Country Strong was nearly double the single-largest weekend ($4.2 million) for last year's Crazy Heart. It's no fun to merely report that Paltrow's small picture had a modest opening that was relatively successful in regards to its budget and Paltrow's long untested drawing power. It's so much easier (and more fun) to just proclaim the film a flop and take the bitch down a peg or two. Because it's always the girl's fault, even when there is no fault to be had.

What may keep me out of theaters in 2011? Instant 'Extended' DVD versions.

The Wolfman, Salt, Knight and Day, The A-Team, and The Town. What do these films have in common? Not too much, except I saw all of them in theaters, all on my own dime and (more importantly) on my own time. I enjoyed The A-Team and kinda-sorta liked Knight and Day and Salt. But the one constant is that they all came to DVD/Blu Ray with extensive 'Extended Edition/Director's Cut' versions. The whole 'unrated/extended cut' thing has been around since the beginning of DVD. Usually it amounts to an R-rated comedy (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, The Hangover, Role Models, etc) or horror film (every single Saw picture) tossing in three minutes of 'extreme' material that could have allegedly gotten the film an NC-17. But this recent wave is different. These are old-fashioned action pictures and star-vehicles, the kind that are allegedly struggling to find an audience, yet they are consistently mocking their theatrical audiences by unleashing more substantial versions on the home video platform just months after theatrical release.

Weekend Box Office (12/18/10): Tron: Legacy opens just okay, Yogi Bear and How Do You Know underperform, Black Swan and The Fighter expand.

Opening following a flurry of advance press and geek-frenzy spanning back three years, Tron: Legacy scored an okay $43 million in its opening weekend. Regardless of my feelings on the film (REVIEW), this is a good but not great for a film that was a big question mark. Would the film play to general audiences, or would it become a super-budgeted version of Kick-Ass or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, playing only to the hardcore geek audience? Tracking had the film opening as low as $30 million, which for the allegedly $200 million+ production would have been a disaster. But at least approaching the $45 million mark allows Disney to save some face. Yes that includes the usual 3D/IMAX ticket-price bump, but it also has a disadvantage of being the kind of film that few would willingly see in a 2D theater (the film played 71% 3D and a whopping 24% IMAX). The film opened with $3.6 million in midnight screenings and a $18 million opening day, before dropping to $15 million on Saturday and $10 million on Sunday. That gives the film a mediocre 2.39x weekend multiplier, implying that it's playing just slightly more like a general audiences genre picture than a hardcore nerd niche-picture that many feared. On most normal weekends, this kind of opening would have been very bad news. But this is the weekend before Christmas...

Weekend Box Office (12/11/10): Voyage of the Dawn Treader crashes, Tourist underwhelms, The Fighter and Black Swan shine in limited release.

It was a gruesome weekend for wide releases, as two sure-fire openers underperformed, which frankly ought to make Disney very nervous for next weekend. Debuting at a somewhat soft number one was The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The picture is the third in the Chronicles of Narnia series, and likely the last. The first two films in the series were financed in a joint venture between Walden Entertainment and Walt Disney. But after the (comparatively) underwhelming domestic performance of the second film in the series, Prince Caspian, Disney cut its losses and 20th Century Fox picked up the popular fantasy franchise. With a $24.5 million opening weekend for a $140 million venture, Fox will likely do the same cutting and running unless overseas numbers astound. This opening weekend is nearly identical to The Golden Compass, which opened with $25 million on this weekend in December 2007. That infamous 'flop' cost $180 million and ended up with just $70 million in the US. Of course, the film grossed $302 million overseas, so Fox has to be praying for a similar result (the worldwide opening was a promising $81 million).

Smoke, but no fire: Bosnian activist group 'Women Victims of War' attacks Angelina Jolie over made-up concerns of her new film.

The headlines scream "Jolie called insensitive to Bosnian rape victims!" and "Angelina Jolie called ignorant by Womens Victims of War". But if you read the story, and read their statement, it becomes quite clear that this group (however noble their work is up to this point) has used the media's obsession with smacking down big celebrities as a way to get their name in the newspapers. The gist is that Jolie is directing a drama set during the Bosnian war, around 1992-1995. It concerns a romantic plot involving a Serbian prison guard and a Bosnian captive, a woman who was once his girlfriend (sounds like the plot of the first 'Sayid episode' in the first season of Lost). This tidbit has been tossed about as 'proof' that Angelina Jolie is making a film about a rape victim who falls in love with her rapist. They have not seen the script and prior attempts by Jolie to set up a meeting with the group have been unsuccessful.

The Tourist introduces Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie with a witty, knowing clip.

'The Tourist' Exclusive Clip

Trailer Park Movies | Myspace Video

I don't generally view clips, let alone post them, but this relatively spoiler-free introduction for The Tourist made me chuckle. For what it's worth, I've had similar conversations with my wife when we discussed traveling by, or sleeping in, trains. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp both seem to be having fun, and this looks like a pleasantly old-fashioned little caper.

Scott Mendelson

Angelina Jolie/Johnny Depp caper The Tourist gets a terrific trailer.

I haven't been following this one at all, knowing its existence only from the occasional paparazzi photos that popped up here and there. But this is a stunningly effective trailer, selling a generally unknown entity smashingly well. Depp seems to relish playing a normal schlub for the first time since, I dunno, Nick of Time in 1995. Jolie is doing her usual vixen shtick, which is effective per usual. The dialogue is quippy and amusing, and Paul Bettany is exuding several kinds of bad-ass. While it may just be canned trailer music, the pulsating dance music that kicks in at 1:26 is surprisingly effective when contrasted with the amusing bit of Depp reporting a crime. The only fault? I didn't spot Rufus Sewell or Timothy Dalton (any film that casts the severely under-appreciated Timothy Dalton gets bonus points). This one comes out on December 10th, and it officially has my interest.

Scott Mendelson

Irony of the day: Video game movies a safe haven for female action stars.

I'm not going to turn this into a long essay about gender roles in genre pictures, but I think it's worth pointing out an oddity. In an era where mainstream blockbusters often shunt women to the sidelines or give them poorly written roles awkwardly inserted into the narrative so that it won't be an all-boys club, there is one genre where women thrive: video game films. While the video game industry has been making inroads with female gamers over the last decade (as of 2009, 40% of gamers are female and 34% are women over 18), the fact remains that video games are inherently geared towards young males and their stereotypical interests. Yet, by accident or by design, quite a few notable video game adaptations, including three full-blown franchises, feature female action leads.

Jan De Bont returns, will direct live-action Mulan with Zhang Ziyi.

Good news for those nostalgic for 1990s action. After a seven year absence, action icon Jan De Bont is returning to the director's chair. He has signed to helm an English-language, live-action version of the Chinese myth Mulan. Independently financed, the alleged $100 million-budgeted project will star Zhang Ziyi as the icon made popular to US audiences by the 1998 Disney animated musical. It's a pleasant return of someone who really had it all for a few years.

In the 'what were they thinking?' department: the Salt soundtrack.

Salt is pretty much what it is advertised as, a mid-to-late 90s throwback, a star-driven action thriller that uses its alleged real-world narratives (including an accidentally topical plot involving Russian spies) to obfuscate its patented absurdity. The picture shines in its first half, but plummets in its second when its plot goes from almost plausible to completely nuts. Simply put, the film would have been far more effective if the stakes were not so 'the whole world is at stake' high. When the plot centers around an attempted assassination of a foreign dignitary and the possible revelation of Russian spies in the CIA, there is a certain real-world plausibility that also helps create suspense. Point being, said foreign national might actually get killed during the course of the picture, but we're pretty sure that (being vague to avoid spoilers) the entire world is not going to be thrown into irreversible chaos, especially at the apparent hands of some pretty big movie stars. This isn't Dr. Strangelove or Fail Safe, it's a $75 million popcorn genre thriller starring one of the last remaining bankable action stars on the planet. But, warts and all, the film remains a pleasantly diverting B-movie. I imagine it will play smashingly on TNT for a Sunday afternoon matinee. But that doesn't excuse one of the most boneheaded soundtracks I've heard in a long time.

Why do we care about, let alone hate, Megan Fox?

News broke yesterday that Megan Fox would in fact not be a part of Transformers 3, which is set to be released on July 3rd, 2011. Before any real details could be articulated, the media at large jumped on the idea that Fox had been fired by Michael Bay in relation for various statements that Fox had made over the last several months that appeared to criticize Mr. Bay. Needless to say, word soon spread, via HitFlix and People, that Fox had actually chosen not to return to the rampaging-robots franchise of her own accord. I have no idea which version is true, and I imagine we'll know in the coming weeks. But the sheer outpouring of joy that greeted the allegation that Fox had been canned for trashing Michael Bay in public was more than a bit obnoxious. The same geeks and entertainment columnists who called co-star Shia LeBeouf honest and gutsy for criticizing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) were basically applauding the idea that Fox had been fired for basically doing the same thing. Why do so many people hate Megan Fox? Who do they even care?