WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: In Your Face, Jonas Brothers!

Last year around this time, a certain teen queen unleashed her “Best of Both Worlds” concert to theatres in 3D. Having been billed as an exclusive one-week engagement, little girls everywhere came out in droves to catch Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus do her split personality thing up on screen to the tune of over $30 million. A year has passed and the smart folks at Disney decided to get another teen sensation back on the screen in 3D, only to find that audiences would opt to watch a man in grandma drag go to jail instead.


No, THE JONAS BROTHERS: 3D CONCERT EXPERIENCE could not topple TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL at the box office this weekend. This is even after Perry’s most successful film to date suffered a 60% drop over last week. Worse yet, the young Jonas siblings opened on almost twice the screens as Montana/Cyrus did and made less than half the cash. There was no urgency to catch the show opening weekend with some looming empty threat that the film would only be playing for a week, mind you. (It should be noted that as soon as Montana brought in the green last year, the one-week engagement was extended indefinitely.) It was a solid showing but it seems to me that there must have been a lot of little girls who just decided to stay home. Besides, the Jonas Brothers that big and in your face, 3D styles, would be pretty frightening, I think. For a boy band, they’re really not that cute … or profitable apparently.


Last week’s winner of 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, saw its already impressive gross improve another 45% this week. Albeit not my pick for Best Picture of the year, this is clearly the people’s favorite. In its 16th week in theatres, it shows no signs of stopping. It is Fox Searchlight’s first Best Picture winner and it is now their widest release to date. The Danny Boyle film has plenty more market internationally to conquer, home video sales still ahead and it will certainly surpass THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON to become the highest grossing Best Picture nominee from this year.


A couple of other big Oscar winners saw serious gains this week too. Both added hundreds of screens to capitalize on their Oscar visibility and both saw promising results well into their domestic runs. Audience favorite, Kate Winslet, took home the Best Actress Oscar for THE READER and the Weinstein Company sleeper hit saw its grosses increase 10% over last week for a grand total of just over $27 million. Not bad for a movie that seemed doomed to fall away into obscurity until it garnered five surprise Oscar nods. Focus Features’ MILK earned Oscars for Best Original Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black) and Best Actor (Sean Penn) did even better, increasing 37% over last week and bringing its cume over $30 million 14 weeks into its domestic run. Both other Best Picture nominees, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON and FROST/NIXON saw its returns dwindle this week as neither garnered any serious screen time during the telecast.


You don’t have to be an Oscar winner to perform well in limited release though. Foreign Language Oscar losers, THE CLASS and WALTZ WITH BASHIR continued to see their grosses grow despite missing out on the crown. And in completely non-Oscar related news, Joaquin Phoenix’s supposedly last film, TWO LOVERS, tacked on about 60 screens and soared over 500% and critical darling, GOMORRA, improved over 140% over last week with an average that would rival any title in the Top 10. You don’t want to mess with the GORMORRA boys.

NEXT WEEK: Everyone will be watching to see if THE WATCHMEN is worth all of this overblown hype as it opens on over 3500 screens. Given that there are no other wide releases expected next weekend, I guess people think it’s going to be big. The question now is how big but my question is rather why anyone cares at all.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Black Sheep @ The Oscars: BEST DIRECTOR & BEST PICTURE

For only the fifth time in Oscar history, the five nominees for Best Director are exactly in line with the five films nominated for Best Picture. It would seem silly not to focus on both in the same posting. Otherwise, the two separate postings would sound pretty similar. Besides, I’m fairly certain the same film will win in each category anyway.

Two of this year’s nominees for Best Director are here for the first time and they are here with the two films that stand the most chance of winning. And so, congratulations go out to Danny Boyle and David Fincher for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, respectively. Gus Van Sant and Ron Howard make their second plays for the top prize. Van Sant tried and failed in 1998 with GOOD WILL HUNTING but certainly stands a decent chance with MILK. Meanwhile, Howard already has an Oscar in this category for 2002’s A BEAUTIFUL MIND and is hopeful to repeat his success with FROST/NIXON. Oddly enough, the least known name amongst the bunch, Stephen Daldry, actually holds the most nominations with three total, including nods for BILLY ELLIOTT, THE HOURS and now for THE READER.

Here’s what the five nominees have going for and against them …

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Directed by David Fincher


Fincher has done what so many have tried to do for years now; he has successfully adapted a story to the screen that was thought to be an impossible tale to tell. The visual demands of following a character that ages in reverse were supposed to prove to laborious to be effective and convincing. Somehow, he managed to find a team who could make it happen. This epic sentimental tale is also completely removed from the dark work Fincher is famous for (ZODIAC, FIGHT CLUB, SE7EN), but yet he makes this work too without abandoning his visual sensibilities. The buzz throughout the year was that this gargantuan masterwork was the film to beat and while it has wowed many and is the top earner amongst the nominees, it did not impress across the board. Its detractors call it Fincher’s FORREST GUMP and consider it cold and empty. The lack of warmth, I feel, will ultimately leave it out in the cold come Oscar night.



FROST/NIXON
Directed by Ron Howard


I am not a Ron Howard fan. In fact, I was severely disappointed when he won his first Oscar for A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Howard makes very conventional and safe films that often feel heavier than necessary as they don’t have the insight to warrant the tone. There is something distinctly different about his work in FROST/NIXON though. It almost feels like Howard is having fun while he is working. His playful tone lends a breeziness to an intense game between interviewer and interviewee that could have otherwise played out in similar fashion to his previous heavy-handed work. The light tone though does nothing to detract from the seriousness of the task at hand and still keeps us guessing right through to the interviews defining moments. It is by far the best Howard film I’ve seen in ages but having already won one these guys, I doubt he’ll be returning this year to the podium.



MILK
Directed by Gus Van Sant


Van Sant is often hit or miss but he is almost always pushing himself in different directions. He does not often play towards the masses and does not seem to be the least bit concerned about doing so. And while I’ve heard the argument that he is doing just that with MILK, I cannot disagree more with the statement. MILK is not a plea to the straight masses to accept the gay and marginalized. It is the story of a man plead with humanity to embrace all as their brothers and sisters. It is a time in history that is being told at another time in history in order to learn from the errors of our past. And aside from being such an important film, it is also a beautiful and tender experience. Van Sant brought together a cast of contemporaries and infused them all with a sense of history that brought about the best ensemble performance of the year. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I loved BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN for what it gave to gay cinema. I can honestly say, as far as the genre goes, if you can call it that, MILK is a very close second to the cowboys. My sensitive heart is pulling for a MILK upset.



THE READER
Directed by Stephen Daldry


Daldry is certainly the surprise guest at this party. I don’t think people expected him to edge out Christopher Nolan for THE DARK KNIGHT but here we are. Obviously, some people put Daldry’s name down otherwise he wouldn’t be here. And the simple truth is that he definitely deserves to be here. In fact, with this nod, Daldry is now the first director in Oscar history to earn directing honours for his first three films. His work here continues to exhibit his strengths as a sensitive filmmaker with a deep understanding for his characters and their plights. He is not overly sympathetic but rather direct and forgiving. In that sense, given that THE READER focuses on Germans understanding how to forgive previous generations for their atrocious acts, Daldry was the perfect man for the job and the only one who could get it done as succinctly. Still, Daldry is the dark horse here, despite having the force known as Harvey Weinstein championing its campaign. A win for THE READER is certainly the least likely to happen in either category.



SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Directed by Danny Boyle


I think I’ve said enough about how I feel SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is not deserving of the top Oscars. Why not focus now on why it is still a pleasure to see it racking up all of these prestigious accolades. Boyle felt trapped after completing his last project, SUNSHINE, having filmed the entire thing on a space ship set. He wanted to get outside and paint a bigger, brighter picture and that is exactly what he did. Only, after he finished this work, the company that was due to distribute it, Warner Independent, folded., and Boyle & co. found themselves homeless and eventually hopeless as it seemed that, considering Warner Bros. did not know what to do with the film, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was headed straight for DVD. Boyle managed to convince somebody to submit it to a couple of festivals in the fall and the audience reaction was practically palpable. And so goes the story of how a little movie almost went nowhere at all but ended up being the front-runner for the Best Picture Oscar.


There you have it, the big five. And despite the recent backlash in India upon the release of the film, Black Sheep still believes, even though he doesn’t want to, that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE will take both Best Director and Best Picture. That said, I bet you didn’t need me to fill in those two categories on your Oscar poll.

Enjoy the Oscars and be sure to check out the winners of the 2008 MOUTON D’OR AWARDS this coming Saturday, February 21. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE isn’t even nominated there so it’s anyone’s game.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: For Love and Horror

You would never know there was an economic crisis going on if you just looked at this year’s box office results. For the second week in a row, the highest drop off was just over 30% and that wasn’t even for the critically lambasted PINK PANTHER 2. No, there was plenty to celebrate this weekend with Valentine’s Day falling on the biggest date night of the week and FRIDAY THE 13TH returning to theatres just in time to have the release day coincide with the film’s title.


When the original FRIDAY THE 13TH opened in 1980, it cumed about $6 million and went on to take in a total of just under $40 million. This was big back then. Oh how far we have come as this latest relaunch of a franchise has amassed more than that in just one weekend. I’m sure once you take inflation into consideration, the original still has a lead but it won’t for long. Not only did this new installment debut on Friday the 13th to the best opening day of the year, it also had the added benefit of coming out in time for Valentine’s Day. Horror and comedy are the top favorite genres of couple on dates so it is no shocker to see this kind of response.


Keeping that in mind, it is also no surprise to see last week’s champ, HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, hold on so strongly with just a 29% decline. In fact, its hold could account for the mediocre debut of CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC. The “Shopaholic” series by author, Sophie Kinsella, is immensely popular, much more so that the “He’s Just Not That Into You” book, but yet could not compete with the latter’s star power. Also, it might have hurt its chances given that spending irresponsibly is really not the direction the country is going in.


Tom Tykwer’s bid at the mainstream, THE INTERNATIONAL, had to settle for a 7th place start. Tykwer, famous for his cult classic, RUN LOLA RUN, put together a stylish thriller with top-notch actors (Clive Owen and Naomi Watts) but an overcomplicated plot bogged it down. Also, viewers might want to deal with the idea of corrupt banks just as much as foolish shopping habits. No, what viewers want these days is leftovers as both CORALINE and TAKEN saw declines under 10%. This kind of staying power is practically unheard of.


It’s the week before Oscar and all through the house, not creature was stirring except for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. The front-runner for Best Picture is the only one out of the five nominees to place in the Top 10 this year. Clearly people are clamoring to see it before the big event as they assume it will inevitably be crowned king dog. The rest of the nominees fall in the following order: THE READER ($2 million, down 10%), THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON ($1.6 million, down 30%), MILK ($816K, down 27.5%) and FROST/NIXON ($473K, down 39%). Meanwhile, Oscar hopeful in the Foreign Language category, THE CLASS, continued to play well in limited release, pulling in $222K, for an increase of 23.5% over last week.

NEXT WEEK: I highly recommend you catch up on your Oscar pics as there certainly isn’t anything worth seeing in first run. Well, if you like teen comedies about jocks joining the cheerleading squad to score, you could see FIRED UP. Or if you like men in grandmother drag placed in awkward scenarios, you could check out TYLER PERRY’S MADEA GOES TO JAIL. I told you you’d want to stay home.

Black Sheep @ The Oscars: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Original Screenplay category is certainly aptly named this year. This is by far the freshest and most unexpected category in the bunch. There was not one, not two, but three surprise nominations in this category. Three surprises meant no room for Writers Guild nominees, BURN AFTER READING by the Coen Brothers (winners in the Adapted Screenplay category last year for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN), VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA by Academy favorite, Woody Allen, or the underappreciated and subtle screenplays for THE WRESTLER or THE VISITOR. Still, the WGA winner for Original Screenplay is here so who knows whether all the surprises will actually lead to an original winner come Oscar night.

And the nominees for Best Original Screenplay are …

FROZEN RIVER
Written by Courtney Hunt


Ray: I’m not taking them over the border. That’s a crime.
Lila: There’s no border here. This is free trade between nations.
Ray: This isn’t a nation.

It has finally happened. I have seen FROZEN RIVER. I have seen it and can now honestly say that I think it is overrated. Melissa Leo certainly deserves her nod for Best Actress but any one of the overlooked scripts I mentioned above would have made a better competitor here. I do commend Hunt for telling her tale honestly and frankly; this is certainly a bleak tale told by a brave soul. Its setting though is far more compelling than its actual plot. In the end, it doesn’t add up to much more than two women smuggling immigrants across a river again and again so that they can both afford better lives. Perhaps I’m just angry that they portrayed Montreal (the city I live in) with a run down shack of a strip club in a forest somewhere. Montreal certainly has its share of strip clubs but they’re in the middle of a cosmopolitan city, not the woods.


HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Written by Mike Leigh


Scott: Bear with me.
Poppy: Is there? Where is he?

What I like best about Mike Leigh’s boisterous script for HAPPY-GO-LUCKY is that is as unapologetic as its unforgettable heroine, Poppy (Sally Hawkins). Within the first few minutes, the viewer is instantly challenged to the point where you question whether or not you can make it through this film. It isn’t too gruesome or disturbing. In fact, it is entirely the opposite. Leigh kills you with kindness through Poppy. The woman is seemingly impervious to the world’s incessant negativity and instead of celebrating her, you want to shake her until she sees that the world is a horrible place. That’s pretty much the time when you realize that you see the world as such a horrible place and you begin to wonder why you can’t be more like Poppy.


IN BRUGES
Written by Martin McDonagh


Ken: Your girlfriend’s pretty.
Jimmy: She ain’t my girlfriend. She’s a prostitute I just picked up.
Ken: Well, you’ve picked up a very pretty prostitute then.
Jimmy: Thank you.

This is only Martin McDonagh’s second screenplay but it carries itself with a weight that typically comes with experience and maturity. It was billed as a comedy and though it does make for some good laughs, it was certainly one of the most tragic comedies I’ve ever seen. When two hit men find themselves literally in the little town of Bruges while they await further instruction from their boss, they have no idea what’s in store. They expect a fairly uneventful few days of site seeing but find that even the most seemingly quaint of places has an underbelly. Ordinarily, they would fit in just fine but they both come face to face with accountability instead. When in Bruges …


MILK
Written by Dustin Lance Black


Dan White: Society can’t exist without the family.
Harvey Milk: We’re not against that.
Dan White: Can two men reproduce?
Harvey Milk: No, but God knows we keep trying.

Dustin Lance Black may not have adapted any particular source material to tell Harvey Milk’s life story but he definitely had a plenty of inspiration to draw from. Harvey Milk was quintessentially original. His spirit was infectious; his ambitions and pride, boundless. Still, as larger than life as his particular life was, it was grounded in a harsh reality and Black balances both of these extremes seamlessly. Black gives us Milk, the politician, the humanitarian and the lover. Basically, he gives us Milk, the man, and then we watch that man be built up only to be taken down by hatred and ignorance so disturbing that we can only find solace in the fact that that was then and this is now. Only according to Black, now is still then.

WALL-E
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon
Original Story by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter


Blue-lit eyes.
Female.
Eve.
Wall-E is transfixed..
Inches closer.
Watches EVE from behind the device.
Tilts his head.
Time stops.
She’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Dialogue? Who needs it? Certainly not this writing team. WALL-E director, Andrew Stanton, along with Pixar mainstay Pete Docter and relative newcomer, Jim Reardon, shattered the conventions of animated film with this endearing and enduring love story. Sure, it has to be colorful to keep the kids happy but I had my doubts that kids my age would be able to sit through a relatively silent film, let alone the young kids Disney was banking on to make the film a hit. The beauty of WALL-E though is that so many deeply felt emotions are communicated not only without the use of words but through two non-gender specific robots. That little computer generated robot knew love when he saw and he knew how important and precious it was that he was even feeling it. We humans could learn a lot from that guy.

Despite the surprises amongst the nominations, I would have to say the WGA winner, MILK, should follow through as the expected winner. I certainly wouldn't mind a WALL-E upset.

Black Sheep @ The Oscars: BEST ACTOR

This past spring, I caught Thomas McCarthy’s THE VISITOR and found myself unexpectedly taken with Richard Jenkins. I had only known him as the infamous Nathaniel Fisher on “Six Feet Under” and suddenly felt as though I had never seen him before. In October, I caught a press screening of FROST/NIXON and thought Frank Langella had it locked after his pitch perfect incarnation of Richard Nixon. Then I saw Sean Penn in MILK. I’m not a huge Penn fan but, as soon as I was through weeping, I was consumed with how transformative his performance was. I couldn’t imagine it getting any better but then I saw THE WRESTLER. Aside from being completely floored by Mickey Rourke’s comeback performance, I was most excited to know that the Best Actor race at the Oscars would be the most exciting race around. Oh wait, I forgot about Brad. This is probably because I found him and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON fairly forgettable.

Richard Jenkins in THE VISITOR

For five years, all anyone knew of Richard Jenkins was that he was one of the coolest dead guys around and that he certainly did a number on his adopted television family. In THE VISITOR, Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a widow who hasn’t lived a day since his wife passed. It isn’t until he meets visitors from foreign lands in a home that is supposed to be his own, that he realizes that he is a visitor in his own life.

Jenkins was always a dark horse to get the nomination in this category and this is certainly a case where the nomination will be the ultimate honour. The nod will open plenty of doors though and Jenkins will walk right through them. We may hear his name here again before very long.

Frank Langella in FROST/NIXON

Langella’s Nixon is a tricky one indeed. He is always on top of whatever game is being played. He always has his sights on a grand return to the public eye, one that he never doubts he is fully entitled to. It is the moments where he finds himself alone though that reveal the most surprising aspects of a very guarded personality – fear and uncertainty. Langella makes Nixon human.

Langella originated this role on the stage and has been in Nixon’s skin long enough to make everything look so easy. He was the early favorite this year, with the added sympathy bonus for missing out last year on a nod for STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING, but this race comes down to only two horses really.

Sean Penn in MILK

Penn is considered to be one of the most prolific living actors of his generation. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not always sold on this. As Harvey Milk though, he embodies the spirit of progress, equality and life, all of which made the real Harvey Milk so incredibly charismatic and convincing. Penn’s portrayal of the first openly gay man elected to American public office is no caricature; it is tender and human.

Unfortunately, Penn won the Oscar a few years ago for MYSTIC RIVER, a performance I never felt was that impressive in a film that I always felt was horribly overrated. Having one statue already on his mantle or his toilet (I don’t know where he keeps these things), puts him at a disadvantage here as voters might choose to reward someone who has never won before. That said, he just picked up the SAG award and that has a lot of sway.

Brad Pitt in THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Pitt is hit or miss most of the time. He definitely hit it in David Fincher’s 13 times nominated epic but was it really him who hit it? Pitt’s facial expressions were captured using CG and subsequently graphed onto a number of other actors’ faces and bodies to show the character’s transition from old and dying to young and new. Personally, I never felt like I truly ever came to know Benjamin Button despite the technical marvel.

Pitt may have gotten swept up in Benjamin Button buzz here because he is way out of his league considering the competition. That’s saying a lot considering the gravitas of this particular superstar. Still, many have argued that Pitt’s performance is a collective collaboration with a handful of other actors, all of which had Pitt’s face pasted on theirs.

Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER

It only takes about five minutes of watching Darren Aronofsky’s return to form, THE WRESTLER, before you are amazed by how perfect Rourke is as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an aging professional wrestler who still has to play in order to pay for his lackluster life. Rourke’s performance inspires such intense sympathy but remains authentic and realistic. It is no exaggeration when people say Rourke was born to play this part.

After picking up the Golden Globe for this performance, it pretty much comes down, in my opinion, to a final death match between Rourke and Penn. Rourke’s recent announcement that he will be fighting in a legitimate WWE wrestling match a few months from now is a little odd but Rourke still has one major advantage over Penn, the comeback vote. Who doesn’t love a comeback … especially when it is this damn good?

All in all, this a very hard one to call. I’m going to have to flip a coin now and make the big decision at the last second. Heads, it’s Penn; tails, it’s Rourke … And Rourke it is!

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Mall Cop vs. The Oscars

Alright, yes, PAUL BLART: MALL COP held on to the number one spot this weekend with a very narrow decline. And yes, UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS opened in second place with respectable numbers considering Kate Beckinsale did not return for this third outing. None of this matters though because this past Thursday, the 81st Annual Academy Award nominations were announced and it’s time to check in on the top nominee to see how they fared now that the highest honours have been bestowed upon them.


Two out of the five nominees for Best Picture find themselves in the Top 10. Re-entering in ninth place this weekend is the nominee leader with a whopping 13 nods, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. The film has been playing in wide release now for six weeks but still managed an 8% increase. With a total of $111 million, it is by far the most successful of the five nominees. It may have come in second place in the overall tally but SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is the top box office performer this weekend amongst the nominees. The film entered its first wide release frame this weekend and moved up five spots to reach the number five position, a new high in its lengthy 11 week run. The film has nabbed up over $55 million already and judging from the reception and accolades that keep lining up for it, the Danny Boyle success is almost certainly destined to top $100 million.


SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE was not the only Oscar hopeful that planned its wide release expansion for this weekend to coincide with expected nominations. Best Picture nominee, FROST/NIXON added a hefty 946 screens to see its take increase over 350% from last weekend. While it may sound impressive, its average was under $3K, which is nothing compared to the averages it was pulling down in limited release. THE WRESTLER only managed to earn two Oscar nods (Springsteen was robbed!) but that didn’t stop it from increasing over 115% after adding 422 screens this last week. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD came up short at the Oscars, earning only three nominations but it had already planned to add 887 screens so what can you do. The film saw its returns increase by 195% and just missed the Top 10 so hopefully that will make up for the Academy not giving the love to Winslet’s disheartening performance. Lastly, THE DARK KNIGHT reentered IMAX theatres this weekend in hopes of capitalizing on its nominations and crossing the $1 billion mark internationally. Sadly, it missed the nominations in all the major categories, save for Heath Ledger’s supporting turn, and Warner Bros. has not released its projected earnings so I can’t even tell you if it lost out there too.


The remaining two nominees for Best Picture did nothing this weekend to take advantage of their recognition. Still, both MILK and THE READER saw their earnings increase by 10% each. MILK is essentially finishing its run while THE READER will expand next weekend.

NEXT WEEK: There will be no box office report as Black Sheep will be on a beach somewhere.

Black Sheep's Top 10 of 2008

I will always remember 2008 as the year I stopped sleeping. Oddly enough, from day one, I developed some very erratic but very effective insomnia. I am still dealing with it to this day but I can feel it falling away with every passing night. Many people offered advice – warm milk, booze before bed, meditation. My favorite trick though was to lie still and think back on the day that had just ended. I would lie there and stare up at the ceiling and recall all the blessings, no matter how small, that I had been fortunate enough to encounter throughout my day. And so, as 2008 enters its final hours, I would like to lie back on my pillow and remember 10 of the best film experiences I had this last year. When I’m done, I will say goodnight.

In alphabetical order, here is Black Sheep’s Top 10 of 2008 …

THE DARK KNIGHT

If you’re going to be big, you have to think big from the start. Director Christopher Nolan did just that with his second Batman picture. It is grand to behold and exhilarating to experience. Aside from laying claim to Heath Ledger’s unforgettable last performance, THE DARK KNIGHT can also assert itself as the most accomplished superhero movie of all time.

THE DUCHESS

Saul Dibb’s little seen film may have been dismissed as just another period piece where a woman is sold off by her family for financial gain and stature but I assure you there is so much more to see here. The Duchess of Devonshire endured many a hardship behind her castle walls and Dibb, along with the lovely Keira Knightly, strip the period drama of its binding costume to show the naked person barely breathing underneath.

ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS)

Director, Laurent Cantet, along with screenwriter and star, Francois Bégaudeau, invite us to take our seats in this year’s winner of the Palmes d’Or at Cannes. Shot like a documentary, THE CLASS is an important lesson about the state of today’s classroom. Sure, we all know the situation isn’t great but Bégaudeau wants us to feel the reality of what it means to have a seat at the back of the class. Pay attention because the test will follow immediately after.

MAN ON WIRE

In 1974, Philippe Petit crossed New York’s twin towers across a tight rope eight times. Documentary filmmaker, James Marsh, was not there to capture it. And so a new style of documentary is born where all the players from back in the day are on board to tell their stories while actors reenact the events of 34 years ago. Pieced together as though it were a narrative piece, the story itself is a caper that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat as though it were one of the towers.

MILK

This is Gus Van Sant’s masterpiece. It is a soft and tender piece about bravery and strength, that had me enraged one moment, laughing the next and crying practically throughout. Harvey Milk fought for the simple human rights of gay men and women in California as the first openly gay man to be elected to public office and he was killed for this. Telling his story today is heartbreaking as gay men and women are still fighting for these same rights some 30 years later.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

When I first saw this movie, I left the theatre and felt entirely disoriented. Rachel had just gotten married and I felt as though I were a guest at this event. The weekend was tumultuous but gorgeous and filled with deep love and all the hardship that comes with this kind of intimacy. The entire cast is so genuine that you feel as though they have known each other for as long as they would have had they been real. This is a true testament to Jenny Lumet’s subtle screenplay and Jonathan Demme’s beautifully spontaneous direction.

THE READER

Stephen Daldry is a very sumptuous filmmaker. He tells his stories with conviction and without apology for their nature. THE READER is a complicated, multi-layered work that may have missed its mark in someone else’s hand. Daldry forces us to face this tale of passion, betrayal and healing and asks us to go through our own personal interaction with these emotions. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes are there to hold our hands along the way.

THE VISITOR

Simple, understated and effective are just a few words that can be thrown at Thomas McCarthy’s second film and Richard Jenkins’ breakout performance. This unique story about a widower who walks around his own life as though it weren’t his own unspools in such an unexpected fashion that one feels like visiting again and again.

WALL•E

It only takes about four minutes to fall completely in love with WALL•E. No matter how many times I’ve seen this film (and I assure you, I’ve seen it a few times already), I am always in awe of what Pixar was able to accomplish. Not only did they manage to put out an eco-friendly film that criticizes humanity’s disposable habits and our growing reliance on conglomerate control but they also crafted one of the most endearing love stories in recent history. To create a genuine love between genderless, animated robots is what places Pixar out of this world compared with all their imitators.

THE WRESTLER

Darren Aronofsky should feel very good about this one. THE WRESTLER is not just his best film but it is also the best American film of the year. Like P.T. Anderson did last year with THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Aronofsky has reinvented himself as an American storyteller who understands its people and their convictions. It is a dirty, gritty experience that mirrors the hardships of so many and it never stops fighting.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to get all the details on Black Sheep's Best of 2008 contest. Happy New Year!

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: The Day the Box Office Stood Still

Aliens may have descended upon the box office this weekend but it was the art house and wards contenders that brought on the major invasion. Of the three wide releases this weekend, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is the only entry that hit the ball into outer space. Meanwhile, three smaller shining stars expanded their runs into bigger galaxies to stellar results and five brand new limited releases shone brighter than most of the big boys.


Opening THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, a sci-fi remake, in the middle of December reminds me of last year when I AM LEGEND was released. I’m sure the good people at Fox were hoping for somewhere near the $70 million that I AM LEGEND opened too but Keanu Reeves is not Will Smith. Oh, and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is certainly not I AM LEGEND. And while $31 million is more than half as much, the film still opened to another $39 million internationally this weekend, putting it just $10 million away from it’s reported $80 million budget. Granted, these preliminary figures have not taken into account grosses from space, where Fox beamed the movie this past weekend as the first film in history to be beamed in its entirety to another solar system. (No, I’m not making this up). Of course, it will take about 4 billion light years to get these figures back so we’ll just stick with earth grosses for now.


Calling the next entry notable is a bit of a stretch but it’s a mega smash when you compare it to the third wide release. NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS could not draw audiences away from FOUR CHRISTMASES (which saw a scant 20%) and opened to a very mild $3.5 million. Meanwhile, Freestyle Releasing’s animated DELGO, opened to a per screen average of just $424 on over 2100 screens. DELGO’s biggest competitor, BOLT, held nicely in fourth place with a 23% decline.


Where do we start with all these amazing art house performances? How about we start the holdovers? I would ordinarily go with the new but art house hits can hit hard one weekend and disappear the next so strong holds and growth are always a testament to the strength of the film. Despite only scoring one Golden Globe nomination for its lead, Sean Penn, MILK jumped back into the Top 10 in its third week. Its aggressive expansion of 229 additional screens proved successful as the film managed the second highest per screen average in the Top 10. Meanwhile, just below the Top 10, as is always seemingly the case for this entry, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Golden Globe nominee for Best Picture (drama), added 91 screens and brought in another per screen in the teens this weekend, settling again for the number 11 position. And finally, FROST/NIXON, added 36 key markets and saw its gross rise almost 250%. Nothing frosty about that! (Ugh.)


As the December 31 deadline for Oscar contention draws near, the prestige pictures are being unloaded in droves. The good news is that they all seem to be finding their own audiences. The most impressive showing this week goes to Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TURINO. Opening on 6 screens, the film nailed a $47K per screen average. Next on the list is the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, DOUBT. DOUBT earned an average of $35K on 15 screens. Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour epic, CHE, is playing in New York and L.A. just this week to attempt sneaking Benicio del Toro into the Best Actor race. On 2 screens, the film average just over $30K. Best Picture contender, THE READER, from Stephen Daldry, premiered on 9 screens this weekend to an average of $21K. And last but not least, WENDY & LUCY, starring Michelle Williams in a very stark performance, opened to an average of nearly $11K on just 2 screens. As previously mentioned, the true test will come when the expansion follows.


NEXT WEEK: With only one week to go before the big holiday, studios will cram more big names on to your wish list while they still can. Will Smith goes dark and hopes for gold with SEVEN POUNDS. He’ll have a lot of competition with Jim Carrey’s YES MAN though. I have a feeling people might opt for a positing Jim Carrey over a morose Will Smith. Or maybe both will be sent home by a little mouse that isn’t afraid of anything, THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Meanwhile, Darren Aronofsky’s much buzzed about THE WRESTLER, opens on four screens before expanding in the new year.