‘The Butler’ Serves - Box Office Report for August 19

‘The Butler’ Serves - Box Office Report for August 19

Given that I have no desire to see The Butler in large part because Oprah Winfrey is in it, and otherwise because it looks terrible, sappy, cheesy and more, I have not seen it yet. but it’s what is winning the day at the Box Office so maybe I should make time for it.

#1 — Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Budget: $30 M
Totals: $25 M Weekend Gross  and Current Total
Weekend 1

My general rule of thumb is, if Oprah Winfrey is involved I want nothing to do with it. Fair or not, that’s my feeling on the matter. General movie goers seem to disagree however, because this, her latest film, seemed to…

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Woz Doesn’t Care for ‘JOBS’

Woz Doesn’t Care for ‘JOBS’
Greg Gilman - TheWrap.com

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has seen “Jobs,” and his review basically says the Ashton Kutcher movie is, meh, okay.

“I saw ‘Jobs’ tonight. I thought the acting throughout was good,” Wozniak wrote in a blog post for Gizmodo. “I was attentive and entertained but not greatly enough to recommend the movie.”

I find this to be no real surprise myself.

Wozniak believes the biggest problem with the movie was Kutcher’s take on the iconic entrepreneur the film focuses on.

“I suspect a lot of what was wrong with the film came from Ashton’s own image of Jobs,” Wozniak—who is played by Josh Gad…

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Ewan McGregor To Reprise Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Ewan McGregor To Reprise Obi-Wan Kenobi?

In a short clip from Digital Spy, Ewan McGregor discusses the idea of returning to Star Wars as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Of course the thing is that any time we’ve seen force-ghost Obi-Wan, he was played by Sir Alec Guinness who, when he appeared as Obi-Wan, was much older than Ewan McGregor. Now of course, there is that controversial swithceroo in the 2004 DVD version of the original trilogy in which Hayden Christensen replaces the pervious actor as the Anakin Skywalker force ghost so maybe they think they can explain a differing appearance by saying that force ghosts can take on any appearance they…

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Joseph Kosinski to Direct ‘Twilight Zone’ Film

Joseph Kosinski to Direct ‘Twilight Zone’ Film
Kevin Jagernauth - The Playlist

While the anticipated sequel (well, anticipated by nerds) to “Tron: Legacy” remains a thing that might happen atDisney (though we think with their slate full of Marvel movies and “Star Wars” sequels, it’s probably not a big priority), director Joseph Kosinski is looking at some other options for his follow-up to this spring’s sci-fi “Oblivion.” And it looks like he wants to enter another dimension…a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.

THR reports that he’s signing the paperwork to helm the long-brewing “The Twilight Zone” for Warner Bros.

I know, quite…

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Palpatine

Palpatine

TJ takes a look at what’s popular in the box office from the last weekend and how the rankings went down, as well as offering some opinions and short analysis of Elysium. The the question is asked, is the 3D fad over? TJ wants the answer to be yes. ‘Now You See Me’ has another magic trick up its sleeve, and that is that there will be a sequel. This seems highly unwarranted, but there you have it. Was Christian Bale offered $50 Million to reprise Batman? TJ thinks not. Ian McDiarmid is rumored to be returning to play Emperor Palpatine in the upcoming ‘Star Wars Episode VII’. This seems like a mistake unless handled very carefully. Stephanie Meyer thinks critics punished ‘The Host’ because of the ‘Twilight’ series. That may be, but it doesn’t explain the ultra poor reception at the box office. Do ‘Star Trek’ fans hate ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’? If they do, TJ thinks they are stupid. Mark Wahlberg would like a shot at playing ‘Iron Man’. This thought greatly disturbs TJ. And Blomkamp’s next film will be what he’s calling a cross between ‘RoboCop’ and ‘E.T.’, to which TJ says, “no thanks”. And of course, don’t miss what’s coming out in theaters this weekend!

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‘Thor: The Dark World’ Reshoots Will Give Us More Loki

‘Thor: The Dark World’ Reshoots Will Give Us More Loki
Angie Han - /Film

If that thunderous reception in Hall H was any indication, Loki, the villain of Thor and The Avengers, is every bit as popular as any of Marvel’s do-gooders. Unfortunately, since he’s not a hero, there doesn’t seem to be much place for him in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even Tom Hiddleston has admitted that his character has nothing else to “contribute to The Avengers, narratively.”

But Alan Taylor has heard the cries for more Loki, and is happy to fill that need in Thor: The Dark World. The director revealed in a recent interview that the film is now going in for reshoots, not because…

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‘Closed Circuit’ Trailer and Clips

‘Closed Circuit’ Trailer and Clips

I thought for sure I had posted this trailer on the site already, but I can’t locate it. To rectify that, I have it embedded below. This actually looks like the sort of film I could get into if it’s done right. And certainly I think at this particular period of time in our world, the theme of every single thing being recorded, and privacy violations can resonate deeply, even if it’s not the main point or theme of the film. As an underlying story, as part of the whole, I think it will play into people’s feelings and paranoia.

And in any event it looks like there might be a good story to tell…

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Blomkamp says ‘Chappie’ Will Be Hilarious Mix of RoboCop and ‘E.T.’

Blomkamp says ‘Chappie’ Will Be Hilarious Mix of RoboCop and ‘E.T.’
Ben Brock - The Playlist

Neill Blomkamp, the South African director who came to prominence in 2009 with “District 9,” has only just released his new film “Elysium,” but already he’s talking up his next one. The folks over at the LA Times have put together various interviews and press releases to give us an idea of what the project, “Chappie,” will be like: and that idea is, basically, ” ‘RoboCop’ but hilarious.” Tell us more…

“Chappie,” co-scripted by Blomkamp’s wife Terri Tatchell, who also wrote “District 9,” is described by Blomkamp as, “If you mixed ‘RoboCop’ with ‘E.T.’ and it was… funny, that’s what it…

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Steve Jobs Comes to the Theater - What to See This Weekend

Steve Jobs Comes to the Theater - What to See This Weekend

This weekend, we get to see if Ashton Kutcher playing Steve Jobs is any good. I have a slight general dread of the film because I fear, as an Apple Gadget lover and follower of all things Apple that I’m going to hate the film.

There are other things to see this weekend too, though, but I’m thinking JOBS will most certainly be the best one of the lot of new films.

New Films

JOBS — PG-13

There is no doubt that Ashton Kutcher looks like Steve Jobs. In fact, so much so, that in many of these pictures, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was a picture of Jobs himself. From what I’ve…

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Bruce Willis Bored with Action Films

Bruce Willis Bored with Action Films
Angie Han - /Film

Since making the first Die Hard in the ’80s, Bruce Willis has built himself a fine career as an action star. While he occasionally forays into other types of roles from time to time (like in last year’s Moonrise Kingdom), there’s no question that he’s best known for his ass-kicking turns. Heck, this year saw him appearing in three different action sequels — A Good Day to Die HardG.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Red 2.

But Willis claims he’s now growing weary of the same-old same-old. In a recent interview, he declared that he was “a bit bored” of action movies these days. Though to be clear, he…

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