FRIDAY PREVIEW: SEP 2nd, 2011

Here are last weekends top grossing flicks:

First Place: The Help ($14.5 Million)
Second Place: Colombiana ($10.4 Million)
Third Place: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark ($8.9 Million)
Fourth Place: Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($8.5 Million)
Fifth Place: Our Idiot Brother ($7 Million)


For the sixth week in a row, movies are raking in less money than before. Ever since the release of Harry Potter 7.2, no weekend total has exceeded $182 Million, and in fact, hasn't exceeded the previous weekends record (BoxOfficeMojo). The Help remains on top for the second week in a row, despite it's box office sales going down 30%. Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which has had four weeks to rack up $148 Million, fell to fourth place, and is finally falling off the map. The three new wide releases from last week, Colombiana, Don't be Afraid of the Dark, and Our Idiot Brother all did barely $25 Million dollars in revenue, which I'm sure was far below par.

A few new movies are creeping in this week, all with a chance to take home the prize of first place. Hit the jump to check out the latest films for the weekend of September 2nd, 2011...


The Debt
(Released Wednesday, August 31st)

Directed by: John Madden
Written by: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman & Peter Straguhan (Screenplay), Assaf Bernstein & Ido Rosenblum (film: Ha-Hov)
Length: 1hr 54mins
Rated: R
Cast: Sam Worthington, Hellen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas, Jessica Chastain, Ciaran Hinds
Trailer


Synopsis:
In 1965, three young Israeli Mossad agents on a secret mission capture and kill a notorious Nazi war criminal. Now, thirty years later, a man claiming to be the Nazi has surfaced in Ukraine and one of the former agents must go back undercover to seek out the truth. (IMDb)


My Opinion:

Personally, I think The Debt looks like a movie worth seeing. With a veteran director and absolutely impressive cast, I think all of the flaws in the film will fall upon the writing and editing. Sam Worthington has always impressed me, even through some of the lamest movies of the last few years. With Jessica Chastain, Tom Wilkinson, Hellen Mirren and more, I doubt anything bad will come out of this picture. Check it out.




Shark Night 3D

Directed by: David R. Ellis
Written by: Will Hayes, Jesse Studenberg
Length: 1hr 35mins
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Donal Logue
Trailer


Synopsis:
A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to fresh-water shark attacks. (IMDb)


My Opinion:

Haha. The trailer. If you want a good laugh, the last little sequence is pretty funny. So, here's the plot: some hot college friends go to an island house on a lake, start getting eaten by sharks which were introduced by some maniac, panic, try to leave the island, but get picked off one by one. A few of them get pretty far, but they run into the maniac who dropped the sharks into the water. Eventually, one boy and one girl emerge victorious, only to find out that these sharks can now walk on land. Voila, Shark Night 3D 2. It wouldn't even surprise me if that last little bit were true too. Although completely predictable and geared towards the mainstream far too much, I could see Shark Night 3D being surprisingly entertaining. Hot people of both sexes, probably sex between them, sharks, explosions, whatever else, what is there to lose? Keep in mind with it's PG-13 rating, you're only getting one 'F-bomb' out of the movie (at least, in terms of dialogue).




Apollo 18

Directed by: Gonzalo López-Gallego 
Written by: Brian Miller, Cory Goodman
Length: 1hr 30mins
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins
Trailer


Synopsis:
Decades-old found footage from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon. (IMDb)


My Opinion:

The most over-advertised lower-budget movie of the year? Yes. I'd give this one points if it was somewhat original, but the static-camera thriller has been done a few times before with Paranormal Activity. I'm sure that the film is going to shoot for some surprisingly accurate authenticity, but as usual, I won't hold my breath. I do appreciate how all of the trailers don't really show what the antagonist is... Aliens? Monsters? Soviets? Solar flares? You'll have to see to find out. Me? I'm content not knowing.



A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

Directed by: Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck
Written by: Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck
Length: 1hr 35mins
Rated: R
Cast: Jason Sudeikis Tyler Labine, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Will Forte, Martin Starr
Trailer


Synopsis:
A group of 30-year-olds who have been friends since high school attempt to throw an end-of-summer orgy. (IMDb)


My Opinion:

Like I've said before, mainstream comedy in general needs a reboot. Sex jokes are too easy to pull off, and I guarantee A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is chalk full of them. Not worth my time at all.






Saving Private Perez

Directed by: Beto Gómez
Written by: Beto Gómez, Francisco Payó González
Length: 1hr 45mins
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Miguel Rodarte, Jesús Ochoa and Joaquín Cosio
Trailer


Synopsis:
A Mexican crime lord is forced by his mother to plan a suicidal rescue mission to find his lost brother in the most unexpected place on Earth... (IMDb)


My Opinion:

Watch the trailer before you pass any judgement on this one. I thought it sounded pretty dumb before I did, and I'm glad I don't have the luxury to judge a movie by it's poster. I'm reminded of the OSS 117 series, but that's probably only because of the foreign language comedy thing they've got going. Although some of the comedy may be dry and cheesy, I could still see myself watching this one someday.




Conclusion

Red Lights
Apollo 18
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy


Yellow Lights
Shark Night 3D


Green Lights
The Debt
Saving Private Perez