By Jeff Rosz | August 29th, 2012  Since the Aurora shootings, I suppose I could have easily been one of the 20% or so that questioned the safety of going to a theater. Several unrelated events have occurred in the past month that displayed questionable judgment by moviegoers worried for their own safety, so that definitely did not help my conscious memory of The Dark Knight Rises tragedy subside even though probability was greatly in my favor.
Nonetheless, covering film and television for this blog is more than a job. It is also a hobby. That said, I still went to a large number of nationwide August openings as Hollywood put out a long line of actioners (and a comedy) that seemed to target people exactly like me–someone who wants a little beyond late summer television. The movies I compare today is a list comprised of Total Recall, The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign, The Expendables, Lawless, and Premium Rush. Hit the jump for my order to see if you agree with my personal rankings. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 6th, 2012  Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot took center stage for the latest edition of Kevin Smith’s Spoilers. The group was for the most part split on the film, but pretty much their audience’s reaction mirrored the critical response to the $125-million actioner which divided fans of the original and those open to a fresh take on the franchise devoid of mutants or Mars.
The week’s guest was Malin Akerman whose screen credits include Rock of Ages, Watchmen, and Wanderlust. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 5th, 2012  Not much has changed since Friday in regards to the weekend box office rankings for August 3-5. The Dark Knight Rises won the period easily over Total Recall ($36.4 million versus $26.0 million) and Wimpy Kid 3 came in third with a franchise worst opening ($14.7 million.) The story mostly resides with Recall which cost Sony $125 million to produce, but there of course is an extra nod to The Dark Knight Rises for finally showcasing some week-to-week retention.
We begin today’s look at the results by concluding that the Total Recall reboot was more than likely a big mistake on Sony’s part. The first weekend barely edged out the debut of its predecessor over two decades ago despite a bigger budget and the benefits of advanced special effects work. The studio believed that they could attach Colin Farrell to the project and possibly drive up a strong international box office haul to pay for their $125 million production budget, but that remains to be seen. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 4th, 2012  Friday featured the domestic debut of Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot which many expected to be handily beaten by The Dark Knight Rises (now in its third week.) Strangely enough, it did not go down that way at all as the remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic made a few more waves than originally anticipated.
The $125 million-actioner managed to gross $9.2 million compared to Batman’s $10.4 million on the day. Anything close to eight figures for Recall was considered a win as many perceived this one to be a dud and therefore a big write-off for Sony who backed the Colin Farrell-led effort. This will no longer be the case assuming the reason the studio accepted the actor for the lead pays off–his international bankability. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 4th, 2012  I must confess, I had to amend quite a few Total Recall posts earlier today as the production budget for this blockbuster was not $200 million as initially reported. In fact, it came out this week that the film actually cost $125 million to make and that since-debunked figure that has been circulating since February courtesy of THR likely included distribution and marketing costs as well. The reason we care? This picture can still make money under those conditions! Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 3rd, 2012  Jessica Biel went on The Daily Show last night to wrap up promotion for Total Recall ahead of the film’s release. The actress chatted with Jon Stewart about the film’s hover cars at length and also addressed her unemployed status. This is a bit discerning because we heard the actress was set to sign on for The Wolverine as Viper before turning around and walking out due to a scheduling problem. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 2nd, 2012  Moviefone’s Unscripted series had the benefit of having three of the four stars from Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot on this week. The trio composed of Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel answered fan questions in regards to a whole bunch of useless junk that has nothing to do with the movie; however, a few of the topics did bring up the big budget blockbuster so there is that. Even if you do not intend on seeing the film, this video might supply some mild entertainment especially when they discuss Farrell’s method acting. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | August 2nd, 2012  The early reviews for Total Recall are trickling out as Sony’s embargo has been lifted. We all kind of knew that the movie was not up to snuff because critics were silenced until about a day before the film’s release, but this is very disappointing to say the least. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the movie at 18% after 22 reviews. While this is still less than the 30-or-so it takes to solidify a rating, the number is south enough to throw in the towel and call this one as a classic stinker.
The problems being mentioned though do not sound too bad for those of you who really just want to see an action movie. Chief complaints are centered on the assertion that there is too much happening. Yes, you heard that right. Too much. It may sound ridiculous, but the problem with that is that there is not enough character development for the audience to actually care about what happens to the film’s stars. By one critic’s estimates, the film is 75% Colin Farrell running or jumping. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 31st, 2012 Later this week, Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot will hit theaters nationwide with some pretty spectacular special effects. The guy behind the cheaply produced Underworld franchise and Live Free or Die Hard did a lot with a little on his previous efforts which is making a lot of us wonder just how much dough Sony threw at the Colin Farrell-led effort. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 31st, 2012 Out promoting Total Recall, Colin Farrell was on Conan last night. The actor has been around the talk circuit these past two weeks to get the word out for the Len Wiseman-directed reboot. Hollywood expects the movie to flop, but the reviews are not even out yet so really Friday’s performance will be a mystery. In other words, it is a good thing the movie’s stars (Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale included) have all put in time to get the word out about the $125 million film.
Topics of conversation included Irish folk dancing and the actor’s new film in which he kissed the director’s wife. Total Recall releases into theaters nationwide on August 3. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 30th, 2012  This week’s edition of Kevin Smith’s Spoilers had the unfortunate task of reviewing The Watch. Surprisingly, many people were on the fence about this movie which has received some of the worst reviews all year; however, there were still many people perfectly willing to set the record straight. One of those people was Smith himself who definitely did not like the film, but he was nice about it by blaming his own high standards for the way he felt.
Beyond that, this week’s episode featured an interview with Total Recall director Len Wiseman who Kevin Smith worked with on Live Free or Die Hard. Many of you might recall that Smith filled the role of comic relief via his hacker character ‘The Warlock’ with many great lines including a reference to his mom’s basement as a ‘command center.’ Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 29th, 2012 Next weekend’s new nationwide arrivals in theaters are very much of the franchise variety. In one corner you have an R-rated action flick reborn as a PG-13 wannabe blockbuster and in the other you have a family offering in the form of the third Diary of a Wimpy Kid film. Since the latter is largely done on the cheap and is perceived to be predictable, all eyes will be on the performance of Total Recall as this will be the first major blockbuster release since the Aurora shootings which has certainly had a negative (but immeasurable) effect these past ten days on the box office.
On top of that, Sony spent $125 million on bringing the Len Wiseman-directed film to the big screen. The man is responsible for helping launch the Underworld franchise, but most moviegoers will know him best as the guy who made a fourth Die Hard movie which was pretty damn good despite its aging (and over-used) star Bruce Willis. Essentially, the pressure is on for Wiseman to have his best performing film to date as anything under $40 million in its first three days of release will likely be regarded as a disappointment. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 27th, 2012 Colin Farrell’s Fright Night follow-up is a big one. The pressure is on this week and next for a good Total Recall press tour as Sony spent $125 million to reboot the classic sci-fi actioner. There is not a whole lot of positive box office tracking news for the film, but that is probably due to awareness as The Dark Knight Rises has completely dominated theatergoers minds all summer long.
Perhaps an appearance on The Tonight Show this week will help out as that is where Farrell went after getting back in town following his Uncle’s passing. While on the show, he talked about a whole bunch of things before capping things off with discussion about Total Recall’s setup. There is also a new clip at the end of the interview. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 27th, 2012 Jimmy Kimmel had on Jessica Biel last night who is out promoting Total Recall. The Len Wiseman-directed film has her playing Melina, the love interest of Colin Farrell’s Douglas Quaid. The movie looks pretty great and we heard in other interviews from the actress that the reboot turned out exactly how she thought it would which is always a good sign.
Nonetheless, Biel has still been on the talk show circuit as her most recent appearance follows one from just the other day via The Tonight Show. Topics of conversation this time around included the actress’ engagement to Justin Timberlake, the Hottie Body Hump Club, and her new film. Continue Reading
By Jeff Rosz | July 26th, 2012  Kate Beckinsale plays one of the central villains in this year’s Total Recall reboot in which she kicks a lot of ass. She has her husband director Len Wiseman to thank for the role, but it almost was not to be. Apparently, the actress was originally the front runner to play the three-breasted woman (played by Kaitlyn Leeb) which has gone viral. Of course, that was the main topic of conversation when she visited Conan last night to promote her new film. Continue Reading
|
|
