:: Guy in a Suit Productions ::

Monday 4.29.02 - 9:36pm PST

Well, The Scorpion King cleaned up again over the weekend, taking the number 1 spot and further securing a strong career for young Dwayne Johnson. I think that's good. We need a big action hero. Arnold and Sly are old, and Vin Diesel isn't big in a comic book way. I think Vin Diesel is really good, and I really liked what he did in Pitch Black. But he does not have the size of big Dwayne. He has to lose the moniker of The Rock, though. The Rock is just another character he plays. Unless he wants to go down the road of other wrestlers and end up in Suburban Commando 2, he needs to carry his fame under his own name. Here are the preliminary numbers for the weekend. Jason X did not do as well as I had hoped. Probably because it has the same core audience as The Scorpion King. That is probably why...

1. The Scorpion King - $17.6M, $60.8M since opening
2. Changing Lanes - $9.0M, $44.5M since opening
3. Life or Something Like It - $6.6M, $6.6M since opening
4. Jason X - $6.5M, $6.5M since opening
5. Murder by Numbers - $6.3M, $18.3M since opening
6. The Rookie - $5.4M, $60.6M since opening
7. Ice Age - $4.6M, $165.4M since opening
8. Panic Room - $4.2M, $87.7M since opening
9. High Crimes - $3.0M, $34.9M since opening
10. The Sweetest Thing - $2.9M, $21.2M since opening

I also read today that they are re-releasing Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in the theater, along with 12 other movies of his. Among them are The Hidden Fortress, High and Low, and Yojimbo. Surprisingly, Ran was absent from the list of releases. I'm hoping this was just an oversight. All of his movies will be worth seeing in the theater.

Seven Samurai was later remade as a western called The Magnificent Seven by John Sturges. It starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn. It is one of the classic westerns and has one of the more memorable themes ever written. It is not strange that a western was made from Seven Samurai, because Kurosawa was heavily influenced by American westerns himself. If you have not seen any of his movies, you should do yourself a favor and see some of them in the theater while they are available.

Sunday 4.28.02 - 12:47pm PST

Kim and I went to see Jason X yesterday and were very pleased with the outcome. Something we were not so pleased with was the number of children under 10 years old in the theater. Some woman came in carrying a very small child, maybe 2 or 3 years old, and leading a 5 or 6 year old behind her. She wasn't even with anyone else, just taking the kids to a nice family movie, I guess. I was almost driven to the point where I was going to say something to some of these imbecile parents. But, I remembered that it is none of my business what other people do with their kids. It is no wonder Kim and her little organization are so concerned with what is on TV at 8:00pm. There are some stupid sons of bitches out there who will let their kids watch anything, I guess.

Despite these minor setbacks, we enjoyed the movie. Here is my declaration: If you go to see Jason X on purpose, with full knowledge of what it is you are seeing, and then you don't like it, you are stupid. That's all. All these critics who are giving it such a hard time...are stupid. You know, I don't buy tickets for a ballet, and then come out of it angry because there were not vampire ninjas in it. I don't, because I should not expect to see vampire ninjas in a ballet...not any that I've ever heard of anyway. So, if you take time out of your day, drive to the theater, buy a ticket, all with the intent of sitting and watching Jason X, then you must know what to expect...or you are stupid. Jason X delivers exactly what it says it is going to deliver: that being Jason in space. The ending is way over the top. It isn't exactly a surprise ending, and most of the people reading this page have no intention of seeing the movie, so I'll just say that the ending involves a guy in a space suit 'riding' Jason down through the atmosphere from orbit, where he crashes into a lake near a campground. It is perfect.

Here is the reason you go to see these movies the opening weekend, so you can get the fans. After one of Jason's early and more creative kills, the audience applauded. It was nice.

Thursday 4.25.02 - 9:08 pm PST

I found a new poster for Minority Report today. It is strikingly similar to the poster for M:I-2. I guess that is Tom Cruise's good side. I'm looking forward to Minority Report, because I like Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. I'm not terribly familiar with Philip K. Dick's work. I've never read any of it. I like Blade Runner and Total Recall, and I was mildly interested in Imposter, but not enough to see it in a theater. I like that Dick was pretty much insane. That must make for some interesting reading.

Also, I've read rumors that a teaser for the Hulk movie is going to be included with every print of Spider-Man. Not much happening in movies today.

Tuesday 4.23.02 - 9:31 PST

I bought the soundtrack for Episode II from Target today, so I got the one with the extra track. I was not able to get any books yet, but I think I'll order those from Amazon. I need to order the DVD for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (Uncut Version), so I'll toss in some books to round out the order. But back to the soundtrack...I have not gotten to listen to a lot of it yet. I think the love theme is very good and shows up in some of the other tracks. I was not able to find anything that rivaled "Duel of the Fates" yet, but there is a few bars of "The Imperial March" near the end of the CD that might come off very well in the movie. Still, I was hoping for something like "Duel of the Fates". That is just a fantastic piece of music. I'll comment more when I've given the album a good, hard listening to.

I also picked up a copy of the Time magazine with Yoda on the cover. I read a lot of the article online, but there are a lot of good pictures and some sidebars that did not make the website. However, if you are looking to avoid THE BIG SPOILER of the movie, then DO NOT READ THE ARTICLE. It subtly gives away one of the bigger events of the movie. Something I already knew about, but I think it will be the big shocker for the passive audience. If you know about the story and don't mind to be spoiled a little, then go ahead and pick this one up.

Kim and I bought some DVDs at Best Buy today. It was retro-cartoon day in my head or something, because I bought G.I. Joe: The Movie - Special Collector's Edition, the first volume of The Tranformers Season One, and I would have bought The Secret of Nimh, but they were all labeled standard as opposed to widescreen. There probably isn't a widescreen version, but I'll wait none the less. We also picked up Mulholland Dr., The Usual Suspects Special Edition, and the DTS version of The Thin Red Line (which might be the best directed movie I've ever seen).

Monday 4.22.02 - 12:30 PST

I found out today where Terminator 3 is shooting in LA this week. Kim and I may try to drive by the set and see what they are doing. If we are able to get any pictures, I'll post them up here. After my successful stint as an extra on Spider-Man, I felt sure I could get a job as an extra on T3. Sadly, I never got a callback. Here is the headshot, I sent them. It says, "Pick me! I'm very serious!"

Well, despite really bad reviews, the people went out to see The Scorpion King in droves. It took the No. 1 seat at the box office over the weekend, beating a record previously set by The Matrix for biggest April release. Kim and I did not go to see it, but we'll probably rent it. I expect the sales to drop off pretty significantly next weekend and even more the next. I don't think this will be a runaway success. As a side note, the guy who wrote the script is the same guy that George Lucas hired to help him with the script for Episode II.

If it does well the next weekend, though, you can bet you'll be seeing more of this character. And why not, there is no reason to hate this movie. It's just a modern Conan-style story. The Rock, although I wish he would use his real name, already has another project lined up called Helldorado. I think he is a bounty hunter or something.

Weekend Box Office for April 19th - April 21th

The Scorpion King - $36.2M, $36.2M since opening
Changing Lanes - $11.1M, $32.8M since opening
Murder by Numbers - $9.5M, $9.5M since opening
The Rookie - $6.3M, $53.7M since opening
Panic Room - $6.2M, $82.2M since opening
Ice Age - $5.7M, $159.5M since opening
The Sweetest Thing - $5.2M, $17.0M since opening
High Crimes - $3.8M, $30.8M since opening
Clockstoppers - $2.9M, $31.9M since opening
NL's Van Wilder - $2.3M, $17.3M since opening

4.20.02 - 10:35pm PST

Kim and I just got done watching the Akira LE DVD(2 disc...metal case...lovely). I felt like watching it again after hearing this story about Warner Bros. and Stephen Norrington (director of Blade) doing a live action version of Akira. After Kim finally admitted that she had not, in fact, ever seen Akira we watched it. I'm not sure if this is going to work live action, or in America as a Hollywood movie. Take the name for example, Akira. Would you go see a movie named Steve...or Jim? It just doesn't seem like it carries the same weight. Although, after watching a movie about a guy named Steve who almost destroyed the world and became a god, it might.

Also, they'll more than likely move the setting from Neo-Tokyo to Neo-Somewhere in America. I don't know, maybe it will be really good. I hope so. They'll need a lot of money to do it up right. Casting will be crucial, and the music will need to be right. I suspect it will carry some heavy techno themes as opposed to orchestra. I hope it works, but I am skeptical.

Support indie film, rent Donnie Darko

Instead of wasting your money on The Scorpion King this weekend, head to Blockbuster and rent Donnie Darko or Mulholland Dr. Both are very good and well worth your time.

Donnie Darko is a comic-book type story featuring an 80s setting, time travel, alternate realities, and the end of the world. It was written and directed by first timer Richard Kelly, 26. Kim and I saw it in the theater here in LA, but recently watched it on DVD again. I'm a big fan, can't recommend it enough.

If this film has a problem, it is that the story is very bizarre. You'll have to do a lot of supplemental reading on the DVD to understand it all. Also, listening to the director's commentary won't hurt. I have a pretty good grip on what happens, and I think it is a very creative story.

Mulholland Dr. from David Lynch will give you severe nosebleeds. I got lucky and figured out what I think is happening when we saw it in the theater. I have not watched it again yet, but it is on DVD, and I plan to buy it. I've bounced my idea of the story off other people who have seen it, and either they liked my theory or could not come up with one that is better.

If you rent this movie, just keep in mind that Lynch does some things just to make your head hurt. So, if something happens that does not make sense...just throw it out. Do not try to connect it to the story. You might have hallucinated it.

Naomi Watts is superhot in this. I have to admit, I spent a lot of the movie waiting for her and the brunette to kiss. Thankfully, they do have a great scene together, so I was able to focus more on the plot after that. Let me know what you think if you rent this, or if you want to hear my explanation.