Posts Tagged ‘Cameron Diaz’

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SALTY COMMENTARY

by Tom on July 26th, 2010
16 votes, average: 6.88 out of 10
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SALTY COMMENTARY

Originally I was going to do a comic about San Diego Comic-Con. But at this point, I think if I read one more tweet, blog post or status update about Panel "X" or Celebrity Sighting "Y" I'm going to scream.

Good job, internet. You've covered San Diego Comic-Con so thoroughly I have no interest in talking about it with anyone else.

Salt hit theaters this weekend and raked in $36 million at the box office. Certainly a very respectable opening. But the big story is that Inception only slid 31% in its second week, earning $43 million in ticket sales. For a cerebral thriller like Inception to have that kind of staying power in its second week is a testament to how good the film is and how strong word of mouth was.

The reviews for Salt have been 50/50. Critical reaction to Knight and Day was practically the same.

This kind of surprised me because I don't know anyone who saw Knight and Day. Meanwhile, I have several friends that went to see Salt and raved about it. I'd had heard it favorably compared to The Bourne Supremacy and films of that ilk This left me with the assumption that Cruise picked the wrong horse.

I suppose the only way to be sure is to wait around a couple of weeks and see if anyone is still talking about Salt. Although, if it couldn't unseat Inception in its second week, I find the prospects of that unlikely.

Then again, with Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore as Salt's only competition this weekend, maybe it's got a chance!

What do you guys think? Did you see Salt this weekend? Was it any good? How many of you went back for a second helping of Inception? Leave your comments below!

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LEMME FINISH

by Tom on November 4th, 2009
12 votes, average: 7.67 out of 10
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LEMME FINISH

The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden comes out this weekend and the plot is built around a delicious ethical dilemma. If someone said they would give you $1,000,000 and the only repercussion is the death of a stranger, would you take it? Strangers die all the time, right? What's one more?

Of course, in science fiction morality plays like this one, things never end up as tidy as one might hope for. Usually in these scenarios, the button-presser ends up killing an automobile driver mid-journey. His car hops the curb and crushes their only son. Or they end up inadvertently killing the person who had just figured out a way to cure cancer.

The Box is based off an episode of The Twilight Zone from 1986 called "Button, Button." I won't tell you how that one ends because I don't know how closely the movie follows the plot. I know it deviates somewhat - it has to if it's going to support a longer running time. But I don't know how much of the original story it uses as a springboard.

All I know is that I can't imagine a reference to The Twilight Zone without thinking of the parody Futurama made of it with their similarly eerie show-within-a-show "The Scary Door." Invariably, every episode Fry or Bender watched would end with the zinger "IT WAS MAN!"

My question about The Box is why they chose to set it in the mid 70's? That doesn't appear to be an era any filmmaker wants to revist anymore - even ironically. Aside from Zodiac, I can't think of a recent movie that tried to do a period piece in the 70's.

It's not like The Box's story is time-sensitive, or anything. It's a morality play. A representation of human weakness. It could be told in ANY time period?

I dunno. Studios always seem transfixed on modernizing everything (if the litany of remakes is any indication). Seems like a bizarre choice to set things up during a time of bad hair and bell bottom pants.

We talked about The Box a little bit on Monday's Triple Feature. Joe is excited for it because it's directed by Richard Kelly - the same guy who directed Donnie Darko and Southland Tales - and Joe is a fan.

I don't know if Kelly's directorial history is enough to get me in the theaters this weekend, but I admit to being curious about the film. It'll probably be a rental for me.

What about the rest of you? Are you curious to see what happens after the button is pressed? Who here is seeing The Box this weekend and what is attracting you to the movie? Leave your comments below!

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