Last Week in Movie News (11/18)

Weekend Box Office Results:

Spot	Title	Weekend Gross	Total Gross	Week
1	Dumb and Dumber To	$36,111,775	$36,111,775	1
2	Big Hero 6	$34,662,707	$110,306,598	2
3	Interstellar	$28,307,626	$96,927,481	2
4	Beyond the Lights	$6,200,284	$6,200,284	1
5	Gone Girl	$4,561,432	$152,635,317	7

'Dumb and Dumber' is regarded as one of the greatest comedies of all time, and the sequel is finally here. Twenty years later, 'Dumb and Dumber To' was released and had itself a pretty good opening weekend. I had felt it lost some momentum leading up to it's premiere and I personally did not think the trailers were that great. However, it seems the love for the original still drove the audiences to the theaters. I did not expect it to win the box office, but I'm glad it did. As expected, Big Hero 6 and Interstellar have another solid weekend. While Gone Girl once again stays in the top five in it's 7th week. An R rated movie making this kind of money is very impressive, and not to mention the Oscar attention it will get as well.

TOP STORIES

1. Matt Damon to reprise role as Jason Bourne

This had been rumored for a while, but now it has officially been confirmed. After a somewhat critically disappointing fourth installment of the franchise, staring Jeremy Renner, Damon will return to hopefully rejuvenate this successful franchise. I feel this where Damon feels comfortable, and after a small drought, this is where he can be put back into the limelight. 

2. Margot Robbie will portray Harley Quinn in 'Suicide Squad'

There have been rumors surrounding the cast of this movie, but only one confirmation so far, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Not a bad start for a pretty unknown property. That is what this movie will need, star power. This will be DC's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' in a way. The Suicide Squad isn't well known among the general movie going audience, so to gain interest, the cast announcements will be very important. Obviously Margot Robbie is a stunningly beautiful women, but I thought she did a great job in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' as well. You saw a little crazy in her in that film, and she will need that to portray the psychiatrist gone insane, Harley Quinn. For those who don't know, Harley Quinn was first introduced in Batman: The Animated series. She was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who became fascinated with a certain patient there, The Joker. After many sessions with the Clown Prince of crime, she had become obsessed with the Super villain. She decided to adopt her own alter ego, and help him with his mischievous endeavors. This film will follow the highly anticipated 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' in the DC Cinematic Universe, which will hopefully gain momentum for the rest of the movies to come. 

3. Christoph Waltz Rumored to play next Bond villain (Bond 24)

It is being reported that Oscar winner Christoph Waltz will play the next villain in the 24th installment of the James Bond franchise. I really hope this is true, because I think this would be great. He was amazing as the villain in 'Inglorious Bastards', and is amazing in pretty much everything he does. I am really enjoying where they are taking these Daniel Craig Bond films. They are a little more serious, darker and psychologically thrilling. I thought Javier Bardem did great in Skyfall, but I think Waltz can take it to an even higher level.

4. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart to star in 'Central Intelligence'

The plot of this movie could be be "two men sit down and build a birdhouse", and I would still see it. I love The Rock. I especially love him in his comedic roles, which it seems this movie is leaning towards. Also, Kevin Hart has not gotten old to me yet. That day might come, but his schtick still makes me laugh. The plot actually reads "The story begins with a class reunion approaching, as a former high school sports star turned accountant (Hart) is contacted by a classmate (Johnson) who was bullied and humiliated back in the day. The “loser” that the accountant remembers is now a CIA contract killer who ropes him into helping foil a plot to sell classified military secrets." I think these two will play well off of each other, and should be a good chemistry.

5. Rocky spin-off CREED readies to shoot 

This seems to have the makings of a good movie. A Rocky spin-off revolving around Apollo Creed's Grandson, starring Michael B. Jordan. Sly Stallone, Rocky himself will also play a part in the movie. I don't know much about this film yet, but i'm glad things are about to start. It's a solid idea with a solid actor, not a bad start.

IN OTHER MOVIE NEWS

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is coming

The Conjuring 2 sets a new release date of June 10, 2016

New Trailers Released

Avengers: Age of Ultron (Extended Trailer)

50 Shades of Grey trailer #2

Last Week in Movie News (11/10)

Weekend Box Office Results:

Spot	Title	Weekend Gross	Total Gross	Week
1	Big Hero 6	$56,215,889	$56,215,889	1
2	Interstellar	$49,661,813	$49,661,813	1
3	Gone Girl	$6,207,4180	$145,535,841	6
4	Ouija	$5,870,170	$43,325,255	3
5	Fury	$5,628,450	$69,396,679	4

This was a big weekend at the box office thanks to two highly anticipated movies premiering, Interstellar and Big Hero 6. Big Hero 6 was projected to do well, but I don't think anyone saw it beating out Interstellar. Since it is an animated film and from the same studio as 'Frozen' and 'Wreck-it Ralph', it was undoubtably going to grab the kid (plus parents) demographic. Yet I think word of mouth really helped this movie, and it coincidently did the opposite for Interstellar. This movie had been on people's radars for a long time, but I think the luke warm reviews (plus almost a 3 hour run time) deterred some people from going out and seeing it. However, I believe this movie will have legs and stay in the top 5 for a while. Even though some reviews aren't great, this is a movie everyone is talking about and saying you need to see (which I agree). Gone Girl still going strong in it's 6th week, now totaling a impressive $145,535,841. This was a great weekend for film. Not only because the box office did well (top two films grossing $105,877,702), but the quality of films that are in the top 5 right now are very high. Not including Ouija, the other four films average a rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is a good time to be a film fan. 

1. Star Wars Episode VII has finished principal photography and has received a title

It's real... Star Wars Episode VII has finished filming and now will be in post-production until it's release next December. This is a big deal because it means everything is in the can and it gives us reassurance that this is actually happening. In other big Star Wars news, Episode VII finally got it's subtitle: 'The Force Awakens'. Even though this is a fairly ambiguous title, fan's everywhere will now be speculating what this tells us about the plot. I don't think it's anything to go crazy about, but I think it fits nicely within the other titles of the franchise and makes sense.

2. Toy Story 4 is coming

Last week Disney/Pixar announced that they are moving forward with a fourth installment to their beloved franchise, 'Toy Story'. The movie will be released June 16th, 2017 and will be directed John Lasseter (director of the first two movies). This is one of the best trilogies of all time, so I feel conflicted with this news. I thought Toy Story3 ended on such a good note, that I don't want to possibly mess with that. However, if there's one company you trust, it's Pixar. Their track record is unbelievable, and I have no doubt Toy Story 4 will be just as good as the first three. 

3. Christian Bale drops out of Steve Jobs Biopic

Another big actor has left this film, and I am trying to figure out why. Reportedly, Leonardo DiCaprio was originally asked to play the famous CEO of Apple, but he backed out. Then Christian Bale accepted the job, and eventually backed out as well. The script is being written by Aaron Sorkin (Social Network, Moneyball) and the movie is being Directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours). That is some pretty good talent attached to this movie, so it's interesting to see these A-list actors dropping out. The movie should be interesting as it will only be take place in the moments before three big Apple product announcements. Michael Fassbender is now rumored to be in talks to lead the film. 

4. Idris Elba spills the beans that he and Tom Hiddleston will make an appearance in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

I think Idris Elba received a pretty angry phone call from Marvel right after he broke this news. I don't believe this will be anything more than a cameo, however Marvel likes to keep everything close to the chest. Reports are saying that their cameo will only serve to set up the next Thor movie, but that possibly means a post-credit scene. I really enjoy both of these characters (especially Loki), and as long as it's just a cameo, I'm glad we will see them in the next Avengers. 

5. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg will team up again in a new comedy 'Daddy's Home'

IMDB's description says "When a divorced guy's ex-wife re-marries someone way more uptight, he re-enters her life and wreaks havoc" I can only assume Wahlberg will be playing the character who wreaks havoc, while Ferrell is the uptight new husband. Sean Anders will direct which gives me pause because he is responsible for 'That's My Boy'. However he has directed a personal favorite 'Hot Tub Machine', so I will give him a clean slate. I think this plot sounds okay, but adding these two guys to the mix immediately gets me excited. I enjoyed 'The Other Guys', and if they have that same kind of chemistry, I think this could work. 

In Other News...

Channing Tatum has been cast as Gambit in the X-Men franchise. Gambit will make an appearance in the next X-Men film 'X-Men: Apocalypse', as well as receive his own stand-alone film. 

Fox pushes a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for Andy Serkis' portrayal of Caesar in the movie 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'. If nominated, this would be the first time an actor has been nominated when using motion capture technology. Serkis is also famous for portraying Gollum in the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies. 

New Trailers to check out

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Furious 7 

The Gambler