Random curiosity...

Anyone else find it a little odd? This weekend is set to open two would-be mega-blockbusters (relative to cost and expectation). But the MPAA got it wrong on both of them. The Dark Knight is rated PG-13, but it probably deserves an R. Yet Mama Mia! is also rated PG-13, yet it is tame enough to merit a PG, if not a G. Random thought...

Scott Mendelson

Friday Numbers...

The List

Because July 4th fell on a Friday last weekend, the Friday to Friday drops are obscenely small and give us almost no information over how the holdovers will fare over the weekend. Thus we'll concentrate on the newbies and there isn't much to report there either.



Hellboy II pulled in a solid $13.9 million. Assuming moderate frontloading (sequel, genre film), figure this terrifically entertaining film to pull in about the $35 million I called yesterday (I like being right, especially about good movies doing well). Nice work Universal. I was at a Guillermo del Toro Q&A at the Arclight last night, and I can tell you that he is very appreciative of the support he got from Universal compared to Sony (those NBC tie-in ads were brilliant). I can't say where the movie will go from here, as while word of mouth is likely to be terrific, it's obviously going to get hammered by Space Chimps next weekend. Still, this is a terrific number for an offbeat, terrific movie.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth pulled in a solid $6.7 million. If this plays like a regular movie, it'll pull in about $18 million. If it plays like a kids film (with the huge uptick for Saturday and Sunday matinees), expect around $23 million. We'll see. Either way, this is a fine number for a moderately budgeted experiment (is Brendan Fraser the Al Jolson of 3D?).

Meet Dave... at least $15 million? I didn't say that, did I? Oh well. Eddie Murphy's barely advertised family sci-fi comedy was dead on arrival with a pathetic $1.7 million. Even being generous and treating it as a family film, it's best case scenario is $6 million for the weekend. If Murphy caves in and signs on for a Brett Ratner directed, PG-13 rated Beverly Hills Cop IV in the coming weeks, we'll know why.

More when the finals come out on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Scott Mendelson

Yes, ladies and gents, Senator Patrick Leahy is in The Dark Knight...

I was so caught up in the movie last Wednesday night that I didn't realize who this was. But sure enough, not only is Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy in The Dark Knight, but he gets a major moment with The Joker. Leahy is a well-known Batman nut, having appeared in Batman & Robin and voiced a minor character in Batman: The Animated Series (he was the sheriff in the western-flashback Jonah Hex episode - Showdown), and written an introduction to The Dark Knight archives volume 1, a hardcover collection of the first four issues of Batman.

The Leahy clip (not a spoiler in any way)

And because it's actually relevant to the plot of The Dark Knight, here is Patrick Leahy opposing the gutless FISA 'compromise' that allows the Bush administration to continue warrentless spying and gives them retroactive immunity in civil courts for previous illegal eavesdropping. Barack Obama inexplicably caved on this one, but hardcore progressives like Leahy and Russ Feingold did not.

Scott Mendelson

Box Office Bingo...

This weekend is not one I would wager money on, as all three releases are hard to peg. As it is, this is just the calm before the super storm that is next weekend. Next weekend, there is a real possibility that a new opening weekend record will be set. Anticipation is through the roof, the reviews (those who broke the embargo, dammit) are ecstatic, and pre-sales are setting records. I already have my midnight Arclight Dome tickets, and I'm going in full space monkey gear. Yes, Space Chimps is really going to rip the snot out of the box office. But enough about next weekend...

Hellboy II - $35 million. The original opened to $23 million back in April of 2004, so inflation alone would probably get this follow-up to close to $30 million. This may or may not be a case of a small film that grows on video and then the sequel explodes on opening weekend (Terminator 2, Austin Powers 2, The Bourne Supremacy, probably The Dark Knight next weekend). But there are no stars in this sequel that mean anything to the general consumer. There are no catchphrases from the original to use as a lynch pin for an advertising campaign.

The positive reviews will help (I'll see it tonight at the Arclight), but the trailers are perhaps over-selling the fantastical and creepy elements instead of concentrating on the action. So basically expect the same people who turned up for the last one to show up here, with a marginal bump for those who saw and liked the original on video, the more front-loaded nature of movie going compared even to 2004, as well as a random smattering of art house geeks who want to see the next movie by the guy who directed Pans Labyrinth ('Pans Labyrinth 2 - This Time Shit Blows Up!'). Still, Universal (not Sony this time) did break the cardinal rule for sequels - never spend more on your sequel than the original made domestically. Hellboy made $60 million. Hellboy II cost about $75 million. We'll see if the rule applies this weekend.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth - $20 million. Really, this is just throwing darts at a wall. The main appeal (perhaps the only appeal save for die-hard Brendan Fraser fans like myself?) is the 3D imagery, which is supposed to be quite good. The reviews are surprisingly positive and the PG rating will help pull in the youngest action lovers who have been undernourished since Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull 1.5 months ago. The good news is that this one only cost $45 million. The bad news is that while kids films usually print money on DVD, unless they figure out a way to do the 3D effect for BluRay, ala the upcoming Disney Hannah Montana concert film BluRay, I can't imagine this will be a very popular video title (ie - it's theatrical success or death).

After several years more or less out of action, it's great to see Brendan Fraser back in the game with this entry and the upcoming (and allegedly good) Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor. The tricky performances he gives amidst all the green screen chaos, not condescending but not overly reverent, are not to be underestimated. Be it the Mummy series, George Of The Jungle, or Looney Tunes - Back In Action, Fraser does larger than life aww-shucks heroism better than anyone else today. And he bloody-well should have won an Emmy for his guest starring bits on Scrubs back in 2002 and 2004 (of course, everyone involved with that show should have won an Emmy by now, if not a Nobel Peace Prize).

Meet Dave - $15 million. Another tricky one to figure, since the advertising has been relatively low-key (save for the terrifying floating Eddie Murphy head), with most of the ads appearing on kid-friendly stations. Still, Eddie Murphy has done well in the PG family comedy arena in the last ten years (what, you thought that people saw Daddy Daycare for Angelica Huston and Lacey Chabert?).

But the title tells you nothing about the movie, as they should have kept the original title, 'Spaceship Dave'. Perhaps they were avoiding comparisons to Murphy's last sci-fi epic, the record all-time biggest money loser Pluto Nash (at a cost of about $130 million including marketing, it grossed $7.1 million worldwide). Still, it's PG, it's short (90 minutes), and it's Eddie Murphy in a high-concept kid-comedy. Figure it for at least $15 million although I wouldn't be shocked if it did 50% more.


Holdovers -

Hancock - $28 million. Last week's champion rode over vengeful reviews to a $62.6 million three-day take. Word of mouth was mixed, though better than the critical word. The fact that we're coming off a major holiday means that Hancock will drop at least 50%, but 55% is in line with recent July 4th openers. Still, if Hancock holds better and Hellboy II fails to build on its predecessor, Hancock will end up repeating its run at number 1, something that only Iron Man has achieved this summer.

Wall-E - $20 million. Expect a leveling off of its larger-than-expected 47% drop.

Wanted - $8 million. Down another 55%. Good riddance.

I'll update tomorrow when the Friday numbers roll in.

Scott Mendelson

What Wall-E gets wrong about obesity and the enviroment? (Sweet Mother of Mercy... A non-Batman post!!!)

In the category of 'smart, thoughtful articles that you don't have to agree with to appreciate', Slate.com has a terrifically detailed article up now that deals with some of the allegedly simplistic ideas and potential falsehoods found in the latter half of Pixar's Wall-E. I don't agree with every point in the piece, hell I may not agree with the scope of the article, but it's worth a read anyway.

I found the first half of Wall-E visually stimulating, but narratively inert as I didn't get into the robot love story. The second half is thoughtful when it fixates on specific characters (I find the captain's verbal and physical battles with the mother ship to be incredibly compelling), but it also makes broad somewhat stereotypical (and possibly false) statements and tries to pass them off as cutting-edge social satire. Also worth skimming is this heartfelt rebuttal to the 'fat = lazy' message of the second half of the Pixar film.

For a mathematically plausible, genuinely terrifying look at a similar scenario, check out Mike Judge's little seen 2006 comedy Idiocracy. It's disjointed, sloppy, and reeks of studio tinkering, but the central conceit is genuinely disturbing to the point where it works better as a horror film than a comedy.

Now, to be fair, Wall-E is overall a pretty good movie and is another entry in the thesis that permeates most of Pixar's pictures. Safety of survival vs the danger of living.

"I don't want to survive... I want to live!", the captain joyously screams at a key climactic moment. And that is the key dilemma for the Pixar universe.

In Toy Story 2, Woody must choose between living and dying as the favorite toy, or living forever as a collectors item. In Finding Nemo, Nemo's father must learn for his son to truly live, he must be allowed to venture outward and risk the various dangers that life puts in our paths. In The Incredibles, the whole family constantly battles with living in peace in normalcy, or living to their fuel super powered potential with the risks that come with that. Remy the Rat doesn't just want to exist in the world, he wants to contribute, to make it better using his natural gifts as a chef.

Base survival vs. full-blooded contribution and living. It's a fitting moral for a company that constantly challenges itself and has given the world such wonderful and thoughtful entertainment. I'd rather disagree with the a few points here and there of a good movie than suffer through a mediocre movie that has nothing to say.

Scott Mendelson

Batman In The Movies - When BAM, WHAP, POW saved Batman...

Please pardon, as this site may start to resemble the 'all Batman all the time' blog for the next two weeks. I'll do my best to have some variety.

Here is a fun article by Lorenzo Semple Jr. about his memories creating and maintaining the classic 1966-1968 Batman television show. Although the show gets a bad rap from comic fans, there are three things everyone should know...

1) Batman the TV show saved Batman the comic book from cancellation. It was 1966... Batman had not been relevant since 1945 and sales for the comic book were declining and hovering on cancellation. A creative rejuvenation by Julius Schwartz helped a little, going back to earthbound detective stories and bringing back the rogues gallery, in 1964 (in Detective Comics 327, with the 300th issue of Detective Comics featuring the caped crusader). It added the yellow oval and helped bring the title back from almost twenty-years of science fiction, time travel, and harmless nonsense, the books were still not terribly popular (Schwartz also temporarily killed off Alfred and brought in Aunt Harriet, to dispel rumors of Bruce and Dick's homosexuality). Only the explosion in popularity that the series caused during its three-year, 120 episode run, allowed the comic book to stay alive, stay competitive with the newly emerging Marvel, and allow it to hang in there until the 1969 Dark Knight Detective revival by Denny O'Neal and Neal Adams. Without the campy TV show, the Dark Knight likely would have never returned.

2) The TV show was completely faithful to the comics of its period. In fact, many of the episodes of the TV show, especially in the first two seasons, were directly based off of existing comic book adventures. Detractors now decry the show as making a mockery of comic books and making it harder for the characters to be taken seriously, but when the show aired, the Batman comic books were not exactly a place of dark menace and psychological introspection. They were goofy, quirky, well-written detective stories where a happily deputized Batman and Robin did battle with devious but never murderous rogues like The Joker, The Penguin, and Catwoman. If you wanted introspection and human drama in 1966, you were likely reading Spider-Man.

3) The TV show was and remains a pop-culture time capsule and a brilliantly subversive social satire. When you think of visual entertainment in the 1960s, you probably think of Star Trek, The Beatles, and Batman. Visually, the show was one of the first to really use the advancement in color television to its potential. Even today, there has never been anything as creative and joyously buoyant in its use of colors and pop art (the closest modern comparison in this area would be Pushing Daisies). The acting was pitch perfect for the material and only Frank Gorshin ever got the credit he deserved. In terms of writing, the show remains a subtly subversive satire of the overly puritan fifties. In its campy, slyly kid-friendly manner, the entire show sends up the overly authoritarian morals and codes of proper conduct that are now synonymous with the 1950s.

The absolute authority of the police, the chaste nature of the romantic entanglements (in one episode, Bruce invited a woman upstairs for milk and cookies), the complete lack of shading in regards to the villains, the no-harm no-foul manner in which the violence is depicted (no one ever got hurt and with two freak exceptions, no one ever died), the completely 'aw-golly-gee-gosh' morals... these were all things that would have been taken quite seriously in the 1950s. But, now, in the 1960s, these very same concepts and values were being presented as fodder for broad, ridiculing comedy that only young children would take seriously.

The show truly worked as a one-of a kind masterpiece, especially in its first season-and-a half. It may have inspired forty-years of cheap Batman jokes (Pow, Baff, Holy 'whatever' Batman!), but it also was an inspired comic adaptation, a terrific artistic creation, and the vessel which allowed the Batman character to survive and grow for the next forty years. Without Lorenzo Semple Jr and co, we would have no Dark Knight Detective, no Dark Knight Returns, no Batman Returns, no Batman: The Animated Series, and no Batman Begins.

Scott Mendelson

Review: The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight
2008
152 minutes
Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and some menace.)

by Scott Mendelson

The Dark Knight is above all an emotionally and physically draining roller coaster ride and morality play. In most circles, expectations are nothing short of all-time greatness, but writer/director Chris Nolan makes a few tactical blunders that prevent the picture from achieving the mythical status that it so craves. Rare is the movie where declaring that it isn’t a masterpiece almost qualifies as a pan. It’s aspirations are so high that its flaws and concessions to commercialism are that much more apparent. Yet while this obscenely entertaining Batman film is not perfect, but it’s still a towering achievement.

Long Dark Knight's Journey Into Day... (no spoilers)

There is officially an embargo that, although it's being broken left and right, I intend to uphold for the moment. I called in favors to get into tonight's IMAX screening and I don't want to burn bridges. Besides, I need a day or two to digest everything. This is a long, potent, physically draining movie (the IMAX effect is almost overpowering). A full review will come closer to the opening day.

But, know this... The Dark Knight is the worst movie of the year, and the worst comic book movie since Ghost Rider. Heath Ledger gives the worst comic book performance since Halle Berry in Catwoman and I have a newfound appreciation for Superman Returns and Spider-Man 2.

I kid...

It's not perfect. It's too long, and there is much that should be been cut or held until the inevitable third film (two 115 minute films would have been ideal). The habit of Nolan's in Batman Begins to over-expositorize and monologue rears its very ugly head here. The need to combine R-rated content and sensibilities with a PG-13 format leads to an obtuseness to the violence (lots of quick cutting and obscure angles), to the point where it's occasionally difficult to discern what happened. And the voice that Christian Bale uses for Batman sounds cartoonishly menacing, far more so than in Batman Begins. This is fine for uttering quick threats, but Batman has several mini-monologues and the obviousness of his vocal put-on hurts their effectiveness.

As for the million-dollar question - Heath Ledger is terrific and terrifically fun as The Joker, but this Oscar talk is irrelevant unless sentiment overpowers and the Oscar bait movies of fall really underwhelm. Countless actors could have given his read on The Joker, since his performance is pretty similar to the better comics stories (stories which I won't name here since that would constitute spoilers), almost to the point of mimicking.

This is The Joker that Mark Hamill would have played if Batman: The Animated Series aired on HBO at 10pm. And, frankly, in many of his quieter scenes, Ledger reminded me a lot of Jack Nicholson's take back in 1989 (his laugh is almost identical as is his mouth work). THAT was groundbreaking work for its time. Ledger gives a terrific comic book performance, just a notch below Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Willem Dafoe, and completely in service of a very good, morally complex movie. I just don't think it's as overpowering as others seem to, and I believe that the reviews would be more reasonable had Ledger been alive to read them.

Dial your expectations down. This isn't the best movie ever, kids. I'm not even sure if it's better than Batman Begins, or even a proper sequel in the traditional sense. But it is pretty darn great adult entertainment, it's different than any other comic book film every made, and it's a hell of a ride.

Scott Mendelson

Michael Bay presents Batman - good for a chuckle or two...

A satirical look at Michael Bay taking a crack at writing Batman. It's slightly amusing and worth your two minutes or so.

Scott Mendelson

Review: Batman Gotham Knight (2008)

A slight detour in my intended series of essays on the original Batman film series (the first one is here). Since I'm seeing The Dark Knight tomorrow evening, I thought it best to review the direct to DVD anthology film that ties into the sequel before I see said sequel. This review deals only with the quality of the feature and not with the quality of the DVD packages.

Batman: Gotham Knight
2008
75 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

At its core, Batman Gotham Knight is an anime-styled series, with six 12-minute short cartoons dealing with Batman in the world established in Batman Begins. All six stories are underwhelming in the story department and even the art leaves a little to be desired. The animation is more conventionally realistic than Batman: The Animated Series or The Batman, but the caped crusader himself never looks terribly imposing or convincing. The stories do have the thinnest of connecting tissue, but really they work better when viewed as six separate stand-alone tales.

And the voice work leaves much to be desired. Yes, Kevin Conroy was dubbed in at the last second as Bruce Wayne and Batman, but it's downright awkward hearing this fifty-three year old voice actor voice a twenty-seven year old Bruce Wayne, especially when Conroy employs his more arching, over-the-top, and older sounding Batman voice that he started using on Justice League (it's far less effective than his subtler readings from Batman: The Animated Series). Dare I say it, but if they wanted continuity from the animated worlds, they should have gone with Rino Romano, who plays Bruce Wayne on The Batman at the same age as he is presented here (Romano may never be Conroy in his prime, but he steadily improved as the show ran its bumpy course). To be fair, Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker suffered the opposite problem when they were forced to replace Stockard Channing with a much younger Angie Harmon as the voice of fifty-something Barbara Gordon. Harmon did what she could, but she just sounded too young.

The other voice work fails to stand out, despite the use of various voice veterans in the Andrea Romano catalog (Rob Paulson, Cory Burton, George Newbern, Kevin Michael Richardson, etc). Jim Meskimen lacks the gravitas to measure up to previous incarnations of Jim Gordon, be it Gary Oldman, Bob Hastings, or Mitch Pileggi. Much of the voice over suffers from a stilted, unnatural delivery, which seems partially the fault of the stilted visuals. The animation seems to not be completely animated (something like every other frame) and it most resembles the three-season Spawn cartoon that HBO aired back in 1994.

As for the much advertised PG-13 rating, it's purely for the dark and gloomy atmosphere and character models. There is periodic bleeding and occasional fisticuffs, but nothing that wouldn't be out of place in the PG-rated Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm. And this certainly isn't 1/4 as disturbing as Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker (truth be told, I'll be shocked if Heath Ledger does anything approaching as horrifying as what happens in that direct-to-video shocker). Oh, and Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker was rated PG-13 when it was released in its original uncut form in 2004, so the sticker on the Batman: Gotham Knight DVD claiming that its 'the first ever PG-13 rated Batman animated movie' is blatantly false.

Now, onto the actual stories...

1) Have I Got A Story - Very similar the much-heralded Batman: TAS episode 'Legends Of The Dark Knight'. In that episode, two kids told their differing views of Batman, which in turn were presented as different versions of the character over the years (the first segment was modeled after Bill Finger and Dick Sprang of the 1940s and the second was a riff on Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns). At the conclusion, they encounter the real Batman who is a little bit of both versions. This is the same exact concept, except it's closer to the 1973 Batman comic story 'You Shoulda Seen Him'. In this version, the kids tell more surreal versions of Batman (one imagines a Man-Bat, for example) and yes, they eventually encounter the real thing. It's a good idea, but it's easily the third best version of this story, a fact highlighted by the fact that the episode Legends Of The Dark Knight is included on the two-disc DVD and Blu Ray special editions of this title as a supplement (I would have preferred 'Almost Got Im', but that's me).
Grade: C

2) Crossfire - Detectives Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez (not Renee Montoya, no absolutely NOT Renee Montoya) get caught in a gang war while transferring a prisoner to the Narrows. This one, written by Greg Rucka, deals with Allen's resentment of Batman and his issues with trusting a freelance vigilante. Fair enough, but the dialogue is simplistic and Ramirez is forced to play the role of helpless hostage at the climax for no particular reason (since Allen is the one who doubts Batman, shouldn't he be the one in peril?). For what it's worth, this one gives us a preview of just what happened to the Narrows after Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow released their toxin at the climax of Batman Begins. Anna Ramirez is featured in The Dark Knight, and I have no idea why she wasn't named after her comic book counterpart.
Grade: C

3) Field Test - Bruce Wayne tests a new bullet deflection technology with mixed results. This is one of the best segments, with solid dialogue, good interplay between Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox, and a slightly surprising and suspenseful climax.
Grade - B+

4) In Darkness Dwells - Batman encounters Killer Croc in the sewers and gets doused by Scarecrow's fear gas. An entertaining action-filled episode, but it fails to have much of a pay-off.
Grade: B-

5) Working Through The Pain - As Batman struggles to find safety after being seriously wounded, we see flashbacks that show how Bruce Wayne learned to control pain and pain management. An interesting piece of Bruce Wayne's past, but no more than that.
Grade: C+

6) Deadshot - The best episode is saved for last. Written by Alan Burnett (one of the pioneers of Batman: The Animated Series, along with Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski, and Paul Dini), this tale contrasts the sheer obsessive professionalism of Batman alongside master assassin Floyd Lawton (aka - Deadshot). This briefly deals with Wayne's fear of guns and provides a terrific action climax. Batman is at his most bad-ass in this segment.
Grade: A-

Overall, Batman Gotham Knights fails to engage even half as well as lesser episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (or The Batman for that matter). The writing is often simplistic and the action is so stylized that it never gets your adrenaline pumping. In the realm of recent direct-to-DVD DC cartoons, this falls short of silly but fun Superman: Doomsday, the flawed but ambitious New Frontier, and is about even with The Batman Vs Dracula. It is, however, far superior to Superman: Brainiac Attacks (the low-water mark for anything related to DC animation in the last twenty-years). If you're a Batman junkie, it might be worth a purchase just for the documentaries and bonus Batman: TAS episodes included. Otherwise, either rent it or skip it.

Overall Grade: C+

Note – The Extras are actually superior to the feature itself. Included is a crowded cast and crew commentary, and two documentaries running about 35 minutes each. One of them focuses on villains in the Batman canon and the other deals with Batman co-creator Bob Kane. We also have the mentioned four bonus episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (Heart Of Ice, I Am The Night, Over The Edge, and Legends Of The Dark Knight) and a ten-minute preview of the next direct-to-DVD DC comics film, Wonder Woman. It also looks better than this feature.