Roger Ebert Is Again Battling Cancer
If we could grant two huge "thumbs down" to this news, we would: We're saddened to report that Roger Ebert is facing yet another battle with cancer.
If we could grant two huge "thumbs down" to this news, we would: We're saddened to report that Roger Ebert is facing yet another battle with cancer.
Like any holiday that sees families congregating together and then desperately seeking activities where they don't have to talk to each other for two hours, this Easter weekend saw a strong bump at the box office thanks to a few new contenders and a handful of holdovers with some surprising staying power.
British actor Richard Griffiths, best known for his role as the magic-hating Uncle Vernon in the 'Harry Potter' series, died on Thursday, March 28 from complications following heart surgery. He was 65.
Hitting theaters this weekend are the second entry in a toy-based action franchise, the latest adaptation of a Stephenie ('Twilight') Meyer novel, and a Madea-free Tyler Perry tale.
It's a busy weekend at the movies. Comedy, action, animated fare for the kids—a solid mix for a good range of audiences, those of you who aren't sitting in front of the TV watching March Madness, that is.
Opening this weekend are 1) a star-studded comedy about dueling magicians in Las Vegas, and 2) a thriller about a kidnapped girl and a killer on the loose.
After a series of increasingly dire weeks at the box office, 'Oz the Great and Powerful' arrived and shook things up in a major way, earning the first truly massive opening weekend of 2013 and setting the table for all kinds of Oz-related content in the near future. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is something that we'll let you judge.
The recent 'Amazing Spider-Man' and the upcoming 'Man of Steel' seem to get all the attention regarding studios' attempt to "reboot" franchises, but that's pretty much the same thing as what's going on with 'Oz the Great and Powerful.' If it succeeds at the box office, we may end up with a new version of 'The Wizard of Oz' at some point very soon, even though the producers have said that's not their goal.
Also opening this week is a dark tale of blackmail and revenge.
"I don't want to be a good man; I want to be a great one." So says Oscar, a humble (read: crummy) magician in a traveling circus circa 1905, just before a magical tornado sweeps him and his hot air balloon away to a land that just so happens to share his nickname: Oz. In 'Oz the Great and Powerful,' Oscar (James Franco) finds exactly what his heart desires; the chance to be a great man, wealthy and powerful, the ruler of a beautiful kingdom. And the kingdom does look damn good, and most of Oz's adventures in it are pretty entertaining as well.
'Jack the Giant Slayer' may have taken the number one spot at the box office, but no one is celebrating -- it may sit at the top, but it sits at the top of one of the weakest box office weekends since, well, last weekend.
The third row of an IMAX screen is a sufficiently disadvantageous perspective to give you a taste of the way the hero of 'Jack the Giant Slayer' sees the world. From that angle, even regular-sized humans loom ominously overhead; you can imagine how big the giants look. But that's about as impressive as the surprisingly crummy 'Jack' gets.
This week we have four new releases, covering four different genres and targeting four different audiences: fairy-tale action epic, a coming-of-age (21) comedy, supernatural horror, and a submarine thriller.