It was a milestone for the "Final Destination" franchise. For the first time, one of its entries opened #1 at the box office. So what put this one over the top? No, not the girl having her face removed in the car wash. It was the girl having her face removed in the car wash - IN 3-D! Here's a review from the "Movie Monster." If you were wondering what stunk during your screening (besides the movie), it was probably him.



Once again my predictions were slightly off. Here's how the box office came in:

1. "The Final Destination" - $28.3 million
2. "Inglorious Basterds" - $20 million
3. "Halloween II" - $17.4 million
4. "District 9" - $10.4 million
5. "G.I. Joe" - $8 million

Now let's lose another mortgage and put our money on some returns next week....

Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback 8/31: Stupid....IN 3-D!!!! »

It was the biggest weekend of director Quentin Tarantino's career, or at least the biggest weekend he's likely to remember. "Inglorious Basterds," complete with its improperly spelled title and awesome Brad Pitt southern accent, took a baseball bat to the head of its competition with a $38 million weekend. It's been a good few weeks for the lower budget fare. IB cost only $70 million (how sad is it that I can put the word "only" next to "$70 million"), meaning it made back half of its budget this weekend alone. Congrats to my favorite Spaz of Cinema on the major return. Here's how the rest of the box shaped up.

1. "Inglorious Basterds" - $38 million

2. "District 9" - $18 million

3. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra" - $12 million

4. "The Time Traveler's Wife" - $9 million

5. "Julie & Julia" - $8 million

I've taken a few weeks off the movie blog, counted up all of my losses and settled some debts. Let's predict what's going to happen next weekend... 

Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback 8/24: Heil Misspelleeng! »

Aliens, werewolves, and Michael Moore - oh my! It's a big day for movie fans. Three very anticipated trailers have been unleashed online, some with better results than others. Michael Moore's latest documentary will premiere its trailer tonight at midnight, but as for what's available right now....


"Avatar" - December 18, 2009

James Cameron has had his "Avatar" scripts sitting in a top drawer for a decade, waiting for technology to catch up to his grand vision. It's the 22nd century on a planet called Pandora. The land is populated with Na'Vi, an alien race with blue, shimmery skin and Sloth-like bending earlobes.

To interact with the Na'Vi, humans have created avatars, or Na'Vi bodies that can be controlled with a mental link. Like "The Matrix" or "Total Recall," but real.  Sam Worthington plays a paralyzed marine (I guess they can create mind-controlled, alien body-pods but still can't fix paralysis) who hops on board one of these avatars, and falls in love with an actual alien. Cue "Part of your World" anytime you like.

Here's the teaser trailer released today...




I realize this is just a teaser trailer. I have not read the script and have not subjected my ears to one line of dialogue. But if this is the "game changer" that has been hyped all over the media lately, I'm VERY underwhelmed.

The animation reminds me of something you would see in a video game between levels. You know, that sequence you jam on the start button to skip through? I'm thinking about "District 9" - a movie that cost just over $30 million to make, yet the CG looked so incredibly real. How does a movie like "Avatar," with its well-over $200 million budget, look so fake? I saw this stuff when it was called "Star Wars Episode I." But now it's blue, hopefully not nearly as bad.

I'm trying my best to wait for December 18th to reserve judgment, especially because the 3D is the big "game changing" element people seem to be raving about, but this trailer did nothing to blow me away or even get me excited for "Avatar" day. It looks like one of those films that's too grown-up for kids, yet way too "cartoony" for adults. Hopefully Christmas comes early and knocks my stockings off. Sigh.

As for "The Wolfman".....

Continue reading Holy Trailer Thursday! First looks at "Avatar," "The Wolfman," "Capitalism: A Love Story" hit the internet »

 

At least according to Chicago Magazine it is! In their August "Best-Of" issue, the mag cites the village's great mix of young and old, and it's walkability as strong points. It's pretty neat how chains have managed to converge on the area without forcing out the mom and pop shops. A few of the places we visited:


LaGrange Theatre
80 S. LaGrange Road
(708) 579-2173
www.lagrangetheatre.com

Horton's Ace Hardware
60 S. LaGrange Road
www.hortonshome.com
(708) 352-2110

Knead Marketplace
13 S. LaGrange Road
www.kneadmarketplace.com
(708) 482-7909

So what do you think - does LaGrange have the best downtown in all of suburban Chicagoland? Do you have a favorite downtown that must be seen? Leave a comment and let me know!

Big props to Fry Cook On Venus, quickly becoming one of my favorite stops on the internet. Eclectic Method has put together and amazing, head-bop-inducing tribute to the king of 80's teen angst - the late John Hughes. A perfect way to start your weekend...

Eclectic Method - A John Hughes Production from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

When I walked into work this morning, a colleague asked what I was working on for today.

"I'm going to be LIVE at the Wizard World Comic-Con," I replied.

"You know," he responded. "You have a pretty cool job."

Little did I know that hours later, I would be challenging Lou "The Incredible Hulk" Ferrigno to an arm wrestling match. He let me win (I think), but it's a memory I'll keep forever. The Hulk was a favorite show as a kid, which is why thousands of people flock to these conventions and throw down $20 to get Big Lou to throw his autograph onto a 8x10" glossy.

But back to the matter at hand. The Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con is taking place this Friday-Saturday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The fest features thousands of comic books for sale, some so valuable they're pretty-much just there for show. Unless, of course, you have the coin to throw down to take home the first appearance of Spider-Man. You could buy a house out in Rockford instead.

Single day tickets are available. You can buy them at the Wizard World website here. Other celebs scheduled to make an appearance include Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman, Michelle Rodriguez, Ernie Hudson, Billy Dee Williams, Jake Busey, Margot Kidder, and a few more.

Oh, wait...talk about burrying the lead. There's also this wildly popular "Twilight: New Moon" movie opening this fall. Three stars of the film will be at the convention on Saturday - Alex Meraz (left), Christopher Heyerdahl, and Cameron Bright. Too bad those "Twilight" boys are totally overweight and not good looking at all, right?

I don't expect these three to draw the Rob Pattinson crowd, but you never know. Anything "Twilight" equals chaos. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!

Wizard World has always been good to me. Covering it was one of my first assignments ever, back when I was just getting my TV feet wet with "metromix on CLTV." Adding a Lou Ferrigno arm wrestling battle cements the convo in my memory bank forever. I can't guarantee it'll do the same for you, but it might be worth the try.

And who said the internet is ruining modern movie criticism?! All of the news today is about the Judd Apatow helmed "Funny People" under-performing at the box office. I picked it to finish #2. Instead, the Adam Sandler / Seth Rogen dramedy took the top spot, but with a disappointing $23.5 million.

Q: But Marcus, it was the number one movie, how could you call that disappointing?

A: Well, according to some box office experts, "Funny People" is going to have to cross $100 million to make it a commercial success. With it's long running time and so-so word of mouth, that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

The rest of my top four fell in line, but I completely overlooked the new "Aliens in the Attic," thankfully most of you did as well. Here's how the box office shook out:

1. Funny People - $23.4 million
2. Harry Potter Pt. 782 - $17.7 million
3. G-Force - $17.05 million
4. The Ugly Truth - $13 million
5. Aliens in the Attic - $7.8 million

Now, let's get to next week....

Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback 8/3 - Sorta "Funny People" »

Guinea Pig surprise - sounds like something out of your high school cafeteria, right? Turns out it was the recipe for success at the weekend box office. Yes I was wrong. Like (hopefully) millions of others I had thought "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" would hang on to the top spot for another week. But I was underestimating a few things - 1) The power of the animated animal, and 2) Animated animals in 3-D. I really hope you parents had fun at "G-Force" this weekend, because I foresee more than a few of those trips in the future. Here's how the box office shook out:

1. "G-Force" - $32 million
2. "Harry Potter 73" - $30 million
3. "The Ugly Truth" - $27 million
4. "Orphan" - $12 million
5. "Ice Age 3" - $8 million

Oh, and I dare you to watch that above video all the way through. Now about next week....

Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback 7/27: Guinea Pig Surprise! »

The second-to-last book in the "Harry Potter" series, "The Half Blood Prince," spawned one of the famous viral-videos of all time. It has now spawned the fastest grossing "Potter" movie yet, taking in an impressive $159 million in its first five days. Some were hoping it would pass "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's" near-record 5 day haul, but sadly that wouldn't happen. I say sadly because any movie that makes us forget about "Transformers 2" will be a blessing. And I mean ANY movie. Bring on a "Hannah Montana" sequel or something. So here's how the box office shook out:

1. Harry Potter 73 - $79 million
2. Ice Age 3 - $17
3. Transformers 2 - $13
4. Bruno - $8
5. The Hangover $8

The big story here has to be "Bruno," which took a complete nose dive and dropped 80% of its first weekend gross. Ouch. Even though the film was inexpensive to make, with all the marketing costs and time spent, Universal must be hurting with those numbers. Looks like the movie was a little too much for people to take in twice. We'll see how the DVD sales go.

Now let's get predicting for next week.....
Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback 7/20: Heeeeeloooo, Potter! »

Last night I was sitting on my couch, flipping through the television, and I came across "There's Something About Mary." I remembered how "edgy" that film felt when it came out. But four days after watching "Bruno," I felt like I was watching the Care Bears. How times have changed.

I have no idea how Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" received an R rating. It's as close as a movie can come to an NC-17. There is plenty of full frontal nudity, extreme closeups of all kinds of nether-regions, and the lowest-of-low brow humor we've seen in movies. "Bruno" is offensive, immature, and just plain wrong. That said - I laughed. A lot.
Continue reading Leshock Value Review: "Bruno" 4/10 »

The Monday Movie Quarterback took last week off on account of being embedded at the Taste of Chicago. 100,000 lbs. of BBQ Turkey Leg later, the Quarterback is loaded and ready to go. It was a real barn burner at the holiday box office this weekend. Personally, I had "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" rolling all over "Ice Age 3," but the 3-D toon proved much more popular than I imagined. Here's how the too-close-to-call weekend shaped up:

1 (Tied). Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - $42.5 million
1 (Tied). Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $42.5 million
3. Public Enemies - $26.1 million
4. The Proposal - $12.7 million
5. The Hangover - $10.4 million

Next weekend brings a very interesting predicament. Can Sasha Baron Cohen repeat his "Borat" success and take the #1 spot?
Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback: 7/6/09! »

Continue reading Leshock Value Review: "Public Enemies" 4/10 »

The 3rd Annual Chicago Arabesque festival is back in Daley Plaza - celebrating the finest in Arabic music, cuisine, handicrafts, clothing and more! I'll be checking it out on tonight's WGN Evening news at 5:30. If you're wondering what kind of specific events you'll find at the festival, check out some of these highlights from the program guide....
Continue reading Chicago Arabesque festival hits Daley Plaza! »

If it existed, this one would win the "what in the world were they thinking" category. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced this morning that the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will feature 10 best picture nominees. The reason?

"After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year," said Ganis. "The final outcome, of course, will be the same - one Best Picture winner - but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009."

Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke speculates that Hollywood studios have been pressuring AMPAS to allow more nominees, giving more films award attention to up their February profits.  Plus, I bet AMPAS and ABC wished "The Dark Knight" had received a Best Picture nod, almost certainly leading to more fanboys watching the broadcast and giving it a ratings boost.

Whatever the reason, this absolutely waters down the nomination process. Why tune in at 5 a.m. to hear if you favorite film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar? It's almost a given that most good films are going to get in. Why not start by nominating 10 films, then announcing a few weeks later the final 5? The corrupt documentary category already does this and makes it more interesting.

I'm afraid the answer lies in the almighty $. More films + more attention = more money for everybody! Let's hope it doesn't mean a Best Picture Song & Dance number twice as long. I'm throwing up a little already.

It hurts to come so close, then lose to Ryan Reynolds. Groan. Sandra Bullock bucked the trend and became a box office #1 over the weekend. "The Proposal" took the top spot with $34 million, not too surprising considering it was the only real chick flick out there. I predicted "The Hangover" would hang on to #1, but once again I was wrong, even though every thing else fell perfectly into place! Here's how the Bullock box office busted out:

1. The Proposal - $34 million
2. The Hangover - $28 million
3. Up - $21 million
4. Year One - $20 million
5. The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 - $11 million

Gee, I wonder who will be #1 next week?
Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback: 6/21 »

The stars of the John Dillinger biopic "Public Enemies" will be hitting the red carpet tonight at the AMC River East at 6 p.m. Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and company spent much of last summer filming the movie right here in Chicago. WGN's Dean Richards will be on hand to grab as many interviews as possible. Be sure to watch WGN at 5:30 and 9:00 to get the scoop. As for my brush with directing greatness....


Continue reading Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and my memories of Michael Mann »

Documentarian Michael Moore is readying his latest as-yet-untitled film. Over the weekend he debuted a new teaser trailer. Behold the usual dose of serious to sarcasm:



According to various online reports, in some theaters the lights actually came up and ushers holding "Save Our CEO" cans walked up and down the aisles asking for donations (Aint It Cool News's Capone attended one right here in Chicago).  No word on how much money they were able to collect. The film is scheduled to open on October 2nd.

Well don't I feel stupid. Everything about me knew that "The Hangover" would repeat as #1 at the weekend box office. Yet I allowed myself to be conned by the silly "Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3" - with its aging stars and bloviating title. This one hurts worse than an all-nighter at Ghostbar.

Another major gaffe last week came with Eddie Murphy's "Imagine That," of which I said "I have a feeling this is either going to do great or absolutely tank." Guess what? It ABSOLUTELY TANKED! Failing to crack even the Top 5. This proves my age old theory - unless Eddie Murphy is in a fat suit, he's box office poison. Here's how last weekend's Top 5 broke down:

1. "The Hangover" - $33 million
2. "Up" - $30 million
3. "The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3" - $25 million
4. "Night at the Museum 2" - $9.6 million
5. "Land of the Lost" - $9.1 million

But enough of the negative. Like every compulsive box office gambler, we'll shake off our losses and look forward to next week....
Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback: 6/15 »

*Update: The Monday Movie Quarterback has been changed to reflect the box office actuals. "The Hangover" has taken the #1 spot over "Up" by about $300,000-$400,000. Unless Disney/Pixar demands a recount, consider this official.

Wow, don't I have some dino-egg on my face. We, or I should say I learned a few things at the box office this weekend. If a movie looks childish and perhaps a little stupid, adults aren't going to see it. Even if their favorite comic actor is on the Tonight Show introducing a clip where he pours urine all over himself - people still won't buy a ticket. I guess I misunderestimated America. Won't happen again, sorry about that.

I'm talking about "Land of the Lost," the movie I picked to come in #1 over the weekend. It was absolutely spanked to come in #3. "Lost" is a huge disappointment considering the amount of publicity it received.

On a lighter note, absolutely hilarious "The Hangover" has now been declared the #1 movie in the country, just skipping past Pixar's "Up." Despite a lack of huge stars, the movie benefited from great word of mouth and an even better trailer. Here's how the Top 5 came in.....
Continue reading UPDATE: Monday Movie Quarterback 6/8 »

Once again the Monday Movie Quarterback went 4/5 with his weekend box office predictions. It was a bigger than expected opening for Disney/Pixar's "Up." I never thought it would break the $60's without a cartoon robot like "Wall-E," but I was once again proven wrong. Expectantly the other top earners fell in line, although I had my four and five films mixed up again. I told you not to see "Terminator: Salvation" but you never listen. Good luck getting those two hours of your life back. Here's this week's Top 5 at the box office:

1. "Up" $68.2 million (One of the best films of the year. Can we get the Oscar race started now?)
2. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" $25.5 million (Another big Stiller weekend, even though he was ripped by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the MTV Movie Awards for looking like a monkey.)
3. "Drag Me to Hell" $16.6 million (No, not what I was thinking while watching T4. The only horror fare this weekend did well.
4. "Terminator: Salvation" $16.1 million (Huge drop from opening weekend last week. Wah wah.)
5. "Star Trek" $12.8 million (Best summer blockbuster of '09 thus far. Go see it.)

As for next week.....
.  Continue reading Monday Movie Quarterback: 6/1 »

Three dimensional and scary, with a chance of meltdown. If you caught my prediction in my previous Monday Movie Quarterback, you know that I called last weekend's Hollywood box office 4/5, with stupid "Dance Flick" ruining my perfecta. This week should be a little bit more tricky.

Disney/Pixar's "Up" seems like a lock to take the number one spot, but something about an old man in a house makes me hesitate a little bit. Families and kiddies might be drawn to take another spin with Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum" sequel. But there is one big reason that won't happen.
Continue reading Box Office Forecast: 5/29-5/31 »

In case you haven't heard, New Line Cinema is filming much of its "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remake right here in Chicago. Bloody Disgusting says they're looking for extras (the non-speaking roles in the background) for a party scene they're filming early next week.

They're in need of attractive women between 18-27 who are comfortable working topless (though they're calling the scene "tasteful"). Also they need teens 16-19 for a house party scene somewhere in the suburbs.

It all goes down June 1, 2, and 3 - for more info and an email to extra casting agent Joan Philo, check out BD's post on the matter here.

It's one of the best reviewed movies of 2009 - sounds like Pixar has done it again. I've only seen a rough cut of "Up," which was pretty much complete minus a few minor music changes and an opening/closing credit sequence. I fell in love with this movie. So much so that yes, I even swelled up with tears at a few points. I had a chance to interview the film's director Pete Docter before I left CLTV for WGN. Below you'll find the video from our chat.


Continue reading Pixar's Pete Docter talks "Up" with Marcus Leshock »

He's a fan o' man! Now he'll be killing them softly. The Hollywood Reporter says Al Pacino has singed on to star as Dr. Jack Kevorkian in the HBO biopic "You Don't Know Jack." I do know "Jack" will chronicle the doctor's work in assisted suicide, and more than likely crescendo in a 10-minute monologue on how "I was just helping people live, damn it! Then you took a flame thrower to this place!"

In other (disappointing) movie news, we have a remake of one of those bad movies you used to think was a good movie.....
Continue reading Movie News: Pacino as Dr. Death, 'Navigator' gets compliance »