"54 Million opening weekend! We passed!!!"

Ok, let's talk film. Let's go back to Tommy Boy. Remember the great and funny and super talented comedian of late, Chris Farley. If you remember the beginning scene where is in school, getting ready to graduate and he is awaiting his grades to be posted on the wall. When he walks up to the wall as the grades are posted he looks at his grade, gets a happy face on, and yells "A D-plus. I passed!" Or something to that effect. Today I think of that very funny scene from that very funny actor because Marvel Execs are having the exact same reaction to their mediocre numbers over the weekend for The Incredible Hulk. Hulk's ending numbers were 54 mil. 54 million is compared to a D -Plus! So that compared with the other numbers other films did, this summer and last summer, its about a D Plus. So Marvel execs looked at the numbers this morning and said, "54 Mil, We passed!!!" There is a chance for a sequel. Haha. Yes a D plus will get you a sequel these days.

AND I predicted higher. Just goes to show you how much I know about numbers. Nothing. Haha. Well I was off by twelve mil. That's not much. I don't think. Well the Marvel execs...Well before we get into this. Let me say that I did see the Incredible Hulk with my friend Carlos over the weekend who incidentally had to pay for my ass because I thought my Costco movie pass worked for AMC. I swore it did. Anyway a written thank you to Carlos here for everyone to see.

So!! I like the Hulk. My predictions for how it would turn out were accurate. Read what I said on Friday and I think the same EXCEPT! I forgot the ominous trance Edward Norton puts on me when I see him on screen. He is and has always been an amazing actor. The first hour of the Hulk is a great piece of work. I really really was blown away by its honesty and empathy it builds for David Banner, obviously played to the hilt by Norton. So many great actors skimp when they play in big Hollywood Blockbusters.

John Malkovich in Con Air for example. An amazing actor who played it down to have fun in a blockbuster. No love lost there though. Still a cool performance. So, I half expected Ed Norton to pay it down also to have a good time acting in a Blockbuster. I look at it as a vacation for them in a sense. He's not doing A Fincher's fight club or Primal Fear. He's doing a fun action film. But, Norton still brings it to the screen. Liv Tyler is not bad either. Watching their connection and the sadness of Banner's self imposed, very understandable exile is just that..It's sad. I felt bad for him. It was honest and very compelling. His love for Tyler's character was heartbreaking.

What happened the second hour? Well my Filmfans. Marvel happened the second hour. The whole second hour you have Tim Roth, another great actor though he mumbles every line he has ever spoken on film, even opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencranz and Guilderstern are Dead. Roth is written in as the Antagonist who seems very forced to make the last half of the plot here. The film could have easily stayed dramatic and compelling, yet does not, It goes into action overload. The action is not bad by any means, but after the "Fugitive" style of the first act, you feel cheated by the slam bang ending.

So point here...The first hour surprised me, It was very good. The second hour was exactly how I predicted, a trailer for a maga cross pollination Super Hero film, complete with Robert Downey, Tony Stark at the end. NOW. I don't want to be taken wrong here. I am also excited for a cross pollinating film. BUT my ARGUMENT is simple. Why does SOME of these films, namely The Hulk, have to sacrifice a really good cliffhanger. I said this last week. Why is the only cliffhanger a Tony Stark cameo? Why can't we have a real character driven cliffhanger. How cool would that be? We want something to talk about around the water cooler thing. Like "How I want to see if she lied or died?" Something like that!

I don't think its too much to ask for that. That is the bare bones of what I was writing last week. I know I said Emotional pull, honesty, personal story, yada...We all know that, Hollywood is hit or miss on that. But, at least try. Give us a reason
to get excited besides having Tobey Maguire, Robert Downey, Ed Norton and Christian Bale on screen together. That's all I plead for.

Moving on. Enough Super Hero talk till Dark Knight. Done with Super Heroes for now. Lets put that behind us. Horrible loss in Hollywood. As I am typing this I see that Stan Winston has passed today. He died of skin cancer. Ah, he did so much FX work for Film. Good God. He designed the ALIEN of ALIEN and ALIENS. That was his design. He designed the Terminator. Look at his IMDB and be amazed at his work. Hollywood has lost a mega star today. Its is a great loss. Luckily his work has inspired many to follow in his footsteps, like any great auteur, many will try to duplicate his work in a very good way. God Keep him. Bless his family.

Great Mind, Great Loss





SO Larry Kasdan is back writing screenplays again. If you don't recognize his name he has a great resume. He wrote, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Big Chill. Sure his Blockbusters were stories by George Lucas, but still a great writer. He has been asked to pen Robotech, an 80's cartoon series that I thought was very good. Even at my young age at the time. So we look forward to that.

Well that's all to comment on today. There is a lot of movie news out there today. Read it Rotten tomatoes.com. I only like to write about stuff I can really talk about. If you haven't guessed already.

Until tomorrow, let's talk film!