Box Office Predictions – September 2016

Box Office Prediction

NORTH AMERICAN OPENING WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:

  • Blair Witch – Lionsgate – September 16th, 2016 – $15-25 million
  • The Magnificent Seven – Sony/Columbia – September 23rd, 2016 – $40-50 million
  • Storks – Warner Bros. – September 23rd, 2016 – $15-25 million
  • Deepwater Horizon – Lionsgate/Summit – September 30th, 2016 – $25-30 million
  • Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Fox – September 30th, 2016 – $20-30 million

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REVIEW: The Night Of (2016 – Mini-Series)

The Night Of Reviewed

The following review of HBO’s Limited Series ‘The Night Of’ contains spoilers for the entire series.

The Night Of is about the murder of a young woman named Andrea Cornish (played by Sofia Black D’Elia). Andrea was killed on an October night, after having slept with Nasir ‘Naz’ Khan (played by Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American college student, who took her for a ride in a ‘stolen’ cab car, before returning to her home to spend the night.

Naz flees from the scene of the crime, but is apprehended later the same night. The protagonist of The Night Of soon makes an appearance, as John Stone (played by John Turturro), a lawyer, decides to take on Naz’s case. Soon Stone and Khan must prove that Naz didn’t murder Andrea Cornish, while the show highlights what is wrong with the system.
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UPDATED REVIEW: Midnight Special (2016)

Jaeden Lieberher in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This is an updated review of Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The original review, which can be found here, was updated in June of 2023. Most of the review was rewritten and the score was upped.

Jeff Nichols is one of the most promising young directors out there. His first feature film – Shotgun Stories – was an excellent low-budget revenge tale about brotherhood. His two other films – Take Shelter & Mud – put him on worldwide critics’ radar as they were some of the best films of the years in which they were released. That early filmography highlights an impressive and talented filmmaker who clearly has it within himself to be more than merely an indie darling. With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols made his first film that is placed squarely in the science-fiction genre, and, back when it was released, it was one of my most anticipated films of that year. To me, this felt like the right moment for Nichols to make a film that could really get his name out there, but, while I did like it when I first saw it, it didn’t immediately live up to the expectations that I had for it. Having now, years later, had the chance to watch it over and over again, I can say that it has only gotten better with each and every rewatch. Midnight Special is an exceptional film that I think I understand much better now.

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REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)

Film Poster - The Weinstein Company
Film Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a review of John Carney’s Sing Street.

Sing Street did not get a theatrical release in Denmark, as far as I am aware. So, back when every reviewer was talking about how great Sing Street was, I found out that I had to wait for the Blu-Ray release. I had only heard great things about the film, so I was really interested in it.

Sing Street was never on my list of most anticipated films of the year – even though I really enjoyed John Carney’s last film (Begin Again) – but when people were praising this film as one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of the year, I started to worry that maybe I would be let down when I finally got to see it. Well, now I’ve seen it, and it turns out that it is better than I thought it would be. Sing Street is a wonderful film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)”

9 Masterpieces – The Collection #8

Lawrence of Arabia - Collection

  • Rear Window (1954) – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
  • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) – Directed by David Lean.
  • The Godfather (1972) – Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
  • Taxi Driver (1976) – Directed by Martin Scorsese.
  • Toy Story (1995) – Directed by John Lasseter.
  • The Pianist (2002) – Directed by Roman Polanski.
  • Toy Story 3 (2010) – Directed by Lee Unkrich.
  • Jagten (2012) – Directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
  • Inside Out (2015) – Directed by Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen.
    Continue reading “9 Masterpieces – The Collection #8”

Box Office Predictions – August 2016

Box Office Prediction

NORTH AMERICAN OPENING WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:

  • Suicide Squad – Warner Bros. – August 5th, 2016 – $120-130 million
  • Pete’s Dragon – Buena Vista – August 12th, 2016 – $32-37 million
  • Sausage Party – Sony/Columbia – August 12th, 2016 – $25-30 million
  • Ben-Hur – Paramount – August 19th, 2016 – $15-18 million

Why Suicide Squad will make more money in its opening weekend than Guardians of the Galaxy did:

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REVIEW: Captain Fantastic (2016)

Captain Fantastic Poster - Blue
Release Poster – Bleecker Street

The following is a review of Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic.

“Power to the people. Stick it to the man.” – In Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic, Ben Cash (played by Viggo Mortensen), who lives in a forest with his wife and their six children, gets the news that his wife has taken her own life while she was at a hospital. Ben’s father-in-law (played by Frank Langella) is upset with Ben, and he feels that Ben is to blame for the loss of his daughter.

Despite warnings that his father-in-law will have him arrested, and seek custody of the children, if Ben attends his wife’s funeral, the Cash-family go on a road trip to New Mexico for the funeral. On their way, Ben’s children learn what it’s like to live in the real world, while the actions of their father are brought into question.
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REVIEW: Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond Poster
Promotional Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Star Trek Beyond.

Hold on to something! Star Trek is back. While the ‘Abramsverse,’ meaning the universe created or rebooted after J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot started making Star Trek, has gotten a lot of criticism from fans of the original films and series, you cannot deny, though, that Abrams got the franchise back into the public memory with the excellent Star Trek from 2009 and Star Trek Into Darkness, a solid action sequel, from 2013.
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Resolving the Undecided, and the New Categories – IJR Awards

Awards Talk

We are less than six months away from the 4th annual I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards! Around this time last year, I announced the frontrunners for a couple of categories. That’s not how I’m doing it this time around, however. Today, I’ll change an undecided announcement from 2013. Plus, I’ll reveal the new categories for 2016!
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