Sad sad news fellas. The Phony Express today reported that the maverick entrepreneur known only as Willo had decided on a whim to scrap up and close up shop in America and peddle his cinematic goods in Africa after realizing that he hadn't been number 1 against his thought of "mediocre competitors." As such, there are now only three big distributors in the U.S. headed by GoS, Castle, and Wannabe respectively. Although angry at the loss suffered under the summer season, Willo vowed before stepping onto his cushy Lufthansa flight, "Fear not Americans, I will soon return and restore the quality to your entertainment and then you will come to know me and love me more than yourselves." After which he boarded the flight, sold his studio to the Bank of America, and flew to create Africa to create the first Masai run film studio. Analysts are currently scratching their heads at this decision, but since he is an eccentric magnate, they figure it'll blow over in a couple of months and his return is assured. With the blockbuster season drawing to a close, the three leftover studios have turned their head to the coming Fall which is when typically they release the films they financed but were flops due to being poorly done. So lets see now what schlock these studios plan to unleash upon us for the coming season and what analysts think of each studios chances of doing well.
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE 41 5 3 8.1
2 ACROSS THE UNIVERSE 45 3 6 6.8
3 DARJEELING LIMITED 22 3 0 7.2
4 SHOOT EM UP 39 1 4 6.4
5 THE NANNY DIARIES 66 4 8 6.1
6 PENELOPE 11.1 2 0 7.5
7 HALLOWEEN 33 4 6 5.6
8 THE INVASION 60 3 5 5.6
GoS
1 STARDUST 71 3 6 7
2 THE KINGDOM 55 5 7 7
3 THE HEARTBREAK KID 125 6 11 7
4 IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH 31 3 5 7.7
5 THE 11TH HOUR 23 11 0 7.7
6 MICHAEL CLAYTON 37 4 4 7.4
7 RESIDENT EVIL EXTINCTION 41.5 4 6 6.3
8 IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON 3.1 6 0 8.1
WANNABE
1 SUPERBAD 55 2 6 6.7
2 RUSH HOUR 3 60 2 5 5.2
3 3:10 TO YUMA 31 1 3 6.7
4 HIT MAN 51 6 7 7
5 THE DARK IS RISING 16 0 0 4.2
6 30 DAYS OF NIGHT 22.5 3 5 5.5
7 KING OF KONG:A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS 1.1 0 0 6.9
8 THE ASSASINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD 49 2 4 5.9
BO RANKINGS
GOS 386.6 3
CASTLE 317.1 2
WANNABE 285.6 1
PTA RANKINGS
GOS 42 3
CASTLE 25 2
WANNABE 16 1
TOP 5
GOS 39 3
CASTLE 32 2
WANNABE 30 1
IMDB
GOS 7.275 3
CASTLE 6.6625 2
WANNABE 6.0125 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 2 2 2 2 8 2
GOS 3 3 3 3 12 1
WANNABE 1 1 1 1 4 3
Well, John. I have to say that currently, Wannabe's studio is simply not looking so hot. However, he does seem to have the best spanned out schedule for release. Currently GOS has a great lineup and Castle has some great picks too, but everyone has at least one or two stinkers on my list. Who knows this season? Maybe they know something that we don't! Either way, I know my enthusiasm for this year has just taken an abrupt turn. And now for the weather...
Monday, August 6, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Simpsons Movie
'The Ultimate Simpsons Movie!'
Most, if not all of America knows of the Simpsons existence. I'm betting that even the Amish are out in the fields discussing the raucous nature of the long running cartoon comedy show. Created by Matt Groening back in the 80's and then followed with Futurama, which was eventually canceled, the Simpsons have seen a lot of ups and downs. It reenergized interest in traditional animation back in the day before Pixar showed up and it provided a breeding ground for many other series to come. Family Guy, The Tick, and many other cartoon shows would never have happened without the initial breakthrough of The Simpsons. Years later and the show is still going strong, albeit not quite like it used to do. Also, their first movie was just released after years of protesting the idea of making a movie saying if they did they would want the movie to be a great movie and appropriate for the big screen. Well, they succeeded and this is how.
Now, I actually spent a good portion of my summer trying to get more in touch with my inner Simpson. As a child, I was definately a fan of Bart, but I quickly tired of the show. So for most of June and July I borrowed and watched all of seasons 2,3,4, and 6. Yes, I realize I skipped two seasons, but its not like it is a very sequential show to begin with. 18 years later and how old is Bart? Exactly. And honestly, there are a couple of episodes but it inspires as much interest in me as most of the terrible Family Guy episodes now do since it is back. So, I am still not a huge fan of the show and from what I hear age hasn't helped the recent seasons. The film has eleven writers which normally tips me off that this is going to be a terrible film, however, it only has 1 director and this might be the saving point of the film.
The film is obviously directed by 1 very zany, clever, and funny man. I admit that the film does do what I had feared which is riff off of tons of other movies before it, but instead of doing it in a silly manner, it is obvious that the reason why it has eleven writers is so that each of the jokes are perfect. I don't think there was one joke I didn't catch nor one that didn't at least make me chuckle. I especially loved the references to Disney and the fun Silverman had mocking them. The other incredibly nice thing about the film that Family Guy and the Simpsons forgot about in later seasons, is emotion. True, the show is about a highly dysfunctional family that are constantly screwing up everything, but in order for you to care and share in the small triumphs of life with the characters, emotion and relationships between them is important, not the jokes. This film fills up every second with a well-timed joke that leads to a plot point and then another joke and occassionally hitting upon poignant moments between the crumbling family and town of Springfield. The film focuses on The Simpsons, as it should, and discusses the idea of what it means to be a real father. The traditional 2-D animation is augmented by some 3-d CG sometimes and the new characters are quite amusing and fun to watch. As for Spider-Pig...I want the song as a ringtone. In the end the film is excellent and is just the right size proportionately for the big screen. The story pokes fun at everyone and everything in a lighthearted manner that always elicits laughs. And the film feels like a great family film except for one or two curse words. (One uttered by Marge! I know!) I highly recommend this film as a great chapter in the Simpsons world and just to get some great laughs in. Congratulations David Silverman, Matt Groening, James Brooks, and the thousand writers on creating one of the best cartoon movies of this decade so far and on making a great big screen version of your show come to life.
4.6 out of 5
Wannabe
Most, if not all of America knows of the Simpsons existence. I'm betting that even the Amish are out in the fields discussing the raucous nature of the long running cartoon comedy show. Created by Matt Groening back in the 80's and then followed with Futurama, which was eventually canceled, the Simpsons have seen a lot of ups and downs. It reenergized interest in traditional animation back in the day before Pixar showed up and it provided a breeding ground for many other series to come. Family Guy, The Tick, and many other cartoon shows would never have happened without the initial breakthrough of The Simpsons. Years later and the show is still going strong, albeit not quite like it used to do. Also, their first movie was just released after years of protesting the idea of making a movie saying if they did they would want the movie to be a great movie and appropriate for the big screen. Well, they succeeded and this is how.
Now, I actually spent a good portion of my summer trying to get more in touch with my inner Simpson. As a child, I was definately a fan of Bart, but I quickly tired of the show. So for most of June and July I borrowed and watched all of seasons 2,3,4, and 6. Yes, I realize I skipped two seasons, but its not like it is a very sequential show to begin with. 18 years later and how old is Bart? Exactly. And honestly, there are a couple of episodes but it inspires as much interest in me as most of the terrible Family Guy episodes now do since it is back. So, I am still not a huge fan of the show and from what I hear age hasn't helped the recent seasons. The film has eleven writers which normally tips me off that this is going to be a terrible film, however, it only has 1 director and this might be the saving point of the film.
The film is obviously directed by 1 very zany, clever, and funny man. I admit that the film does do what I had feared which is riff off of tons of other movies before it, but instead of doing it in a silly manner, it is obvious that the reason why it has eleven writers is so that each of the jokes are perfect. I don't think there was one joke I didn't catch nor one that didn't at least make me chuckle. I especially loved the references to Disney and the fun Silverman had mocking them. The other incredibly nice thing about the film that Family Guy and the Simpsons forgot about in later seasons, is emotion. True, the show is about a highly dysfunctional family that are constantly screwing up everything, but in order for you to care and share in the small triumphs of life with the characters, emotion and relationships between them is important, not the jokes. This film fills up every second with a well-timed joke that leads to a plot point and then another joke and occassionally hitting upon poignant moments between the crumbling family and town of Springfield. The film focuses on The Simpsons, as it should, and discusses the idea of what it means to be a real father. The traditional 2-D animation is augmented by some 3-d CG sometimes and the new characters are quite amusing and fun to watch. As for Spider-Pig...I want the song as a ringtone. In the end the film is excellent and is just the right size proportionately for the big screen. The story pokes fun at everyone and everything in a lighthearted manner that always elicits laughs. And the film feels like a great family film except for one or two curse words. (One uttered by Marge! I know!) I highly recommend this film as a great chapter in the Simpsons world and just to get some great laughs in. Congratulations David Silverman, Matt Groening, James Brooks, and the thousand writers on creating one of the best cartoon movies of this decade so far and on making a great big screen version of your show come to life.
4.6 out of 5
Wannabe
Monday, July 30, 2007
Fanatix Indie League FINALE!!!
Alright fellas, well we've had some fun guessing and I've had some fun writing stories for each of you. Unfortunately, the time had come for this league to end. It was supposed to end July 30th and so it shall. With that in mind, here is the most recent up to date standings. Also, know that I will soon be sending invites today probably for a new season to start next week, so be vigilant and quick so that I might further your hallows of glory!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 179.68 5 13 8.5
2 $PAPRIKA 0.73 4 0 7.9
3 $NO RESERVATIONS 11.75 0 1 6.5
4 $SIMPSONS 71.85 5 5 8.6
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.43 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 6 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.2 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 284.5 4 11 7.9
2 $EVENING 12.4 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.7 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.82 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.5
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.3 0 0 7.3
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 145.1 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.3 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 3 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 71.6 5 9 6.4
7 $SICKO 21.5 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 96.2 3 9 5.9
2 $HP5 241.7 6 12 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 59.3 2 5 8.1
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 125.1 3 9 7.9
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.57 0 0 4.8
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.2 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 570.81 4
GOS 437.282 3
WANNABE 427.66 2
CASTLE 277.64 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 33 4
CASTLE 26 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 37 4
WANNABE 32 3
GOS 22 2
CASTLE 21 1
IMDB
CASTLE 7.65 4
WANNABE 7.4 3
GOS 7.025 2
WILLO 6.825 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 1 4 9 3
GOS 3 1.5 2 2 8.5 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 3 12 1
WILLO 4 1.5 4 1 10.5 2
Well, as you can see from the rankings, I win! And GOS barely loses to Castle by .5 points since GOS and WILLO tied in PTA. I credit my ability to stay alive to I now pronounce you chuck and larry since it gave me excellent PTA, TOP 5, and BO right toward the end before the IMDB score could drop too low. Castle's simpsons is doing and will do well...but it was a little late and No Reservations is a flop. Harry Potter keeps on going as well as Hairpsray! So there you are gents, Send me the top 20 list for the next season and I shall set it up to start on next monday after the draft on Sunday! Peace!
Wannabe
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 179.68 5 13 8.5
2 $PAPRIKA 0.73 4 0 7.9
3 $NO RESERVATIONS 11.75 0 1 6.5
4 $SIMPSONS 71.85 5 5 8.6
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.43 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 6 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.2 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 284.5 4 11 7.9
2 $EVENING 12.4 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.7 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.82 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.5
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.3 0 0 7.3
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 145.1 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.3 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 3 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 71.6 5 9 6.4
7 $SICKO 21.5 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 96.2 3 9 5.9
2 $HP5 241.7 6 12 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 59.3 2 5 8.1
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 125.1 3 9 7.9
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.57 0 0 4.8
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.2 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 570.81 4
GOS 437.282 3
WANNABE 427.66 2
CASTLE 277.64 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 33 4
CASTLE 26 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 37 4
WANNABE 32 3
GOS 22 2
CASTLE 21 1
IMDB
CASTLE 7.65 4
WANNABE 7.4 3
GOS 7.025 2
WILLO 6.825 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 1 4 9 3
GOS 3 1.5 2 2 8.5 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 3 12 1
WILLO 4 1.5 4 1 10.5 2
Well, as you can see from the rankings, I win! And GOS barely loses to Castle by .5 points since GOS and WILLO tied in PTA. I credit my ability to stay alive to I now pronounce you chuck and larry since it gave me excellent PTA, TOP 5, and BO right toward the end before the IMDB score could drop too low. Castle's simpsons is doing and will do well...but it was a little late and No Reservations is a flop. Harry Potter keeps on going as well as Hairpsray! So there you are gents, Send me the top 20 list for the next season and I shall set it up to start on next monday after the draft on Sunday! Peace!
Wannabe
Monday, July 23, 2007
Ghost Rider
'Ghost Story Rides Away With Itself'
When Ghost Rider first came out, I wasn't sure what to do. The comic books were never the most outstanding things ever, but the concept of Ghost Rider is the friggin coolest and most badass concept ever. The bounty hunter of Satan who turns against him to save the innocent and tick off Satan. He rides a bike and uses a chain and has a flaming skull. This opens up all sorts of AWESOME ideas for storylines and what all. plus creates a badass looking character. Then again, no one has been able to get his origin story down well. So with this lense I will destroy this movie.
Mark Steven Johnson was the first tip off. The guy directed Daredevil which I wasn't too afraid of, but then he wrote Elektra which made me choke on my phlegm and bile a little. I hear he's currently working on the Preacher series for HBO...which I hope is completely false or his best work to date. Ghost Rider, however, was written by him as well and there are some good things to say about it. Like the fact that the Ghost Rider gets a pretty good origin tale in it that should function as his tale. Unfortunately, the dialogue is terrifyingly stilted and the situations in which the actors are supposed to draw a line for continuity are badly set and the characters actions make no sense. Yes, I'm looking at Eva Mendes and her character who comes to Cage's apartment after having been stood up twice by the love of her life and then telling him he has one last chance. WHAT? Seriously, I have respect for women and I would like to think that even the dumbest woman would have enough dignity to not go a-begging like that. I did like the touch of the four elements, horsemen of the apocalypse that work with Blackheart the main bad guy as it forced the Rider to get creative and it brought a certain literary aspect to the picture that was quietly amusing. For the rest though, its about as good as roasted poo on a stick. Sure it might look cooler and cling more, but damn its stench reeks.
The CG for the film is AWFUL. I understand that fire and flaming skulls are hard to do convincingly, but man it looked like an 80's character. Thankfuly the motorbike is awesome and I want it. The elementals were very eh, and felt incredibly jobberish. The main two villains of Blackheart and Satan are played well but the choice to have Blackheart look human I'm still out on. And that whole bit with Mark Slade was completely foreseeable. Sure some of the cinematic choices were dynamic in a very Michael Bay fashion, but even that can't save a crappy film. Neither could Cage's honest attempt at portraying Johnny Blaze help. Cage does really well for his part though. Eva Mendes, not so much. In the end, the film stinks but its great for some laughs if you want to recapture some of the cheesy 80's feel with some 60's dialogue. Trust me, its a funny combination.
1.8 out of 5
Wannabe
When Ghost Rider first came out, I wasn't sure what to do. The comic books were never the most outstanding things ever, but the concept of Ghost Rider is the friggin coolest and most badass concept ever. The bounty hunter of Satan who turns against him to save the innocent and tick off Satan. He rides a bike and uses a chain and has a flaming skull. This opens up all sorts of AWESOME ideas for storylines and what all. plus creates a badass looking character. Then again, no one has been able to get his origin story down well. So with this lense I will destroy this movie.
Mark Steven Johnson was the first tip off. The guy directed Daredevil which I wasn't too afraid of, but then he wrote Elektra which made me choke on my phlegm and bile a little. I hear he's currently working on the Preacher series for HBO...which I hope is completely false or his best work to date. Ghost Rider, however, was written by him as well and there are some good things to say about it. Like the fact that the Ghost Rider gets a pretty good origin tale in it that should function as his tale. Unfortunately, the dialogue is terrifyingly stilted and the situations in which the actors are supposed to draw a line for continuity are badly set and the characters actions make no sense. Yes, I'm looking at Eva Mendes and her character who comes to Cage's apartment after having been stood up twice by the love of her life and then telling him he has one last chance. WHAT? Seriously, I have respect for women and I would like to think that even the dumbest woman would have enough dignity to not go a-begging like that. I did like the touch of the four elements, horsemen of the apocalypse that work with Blackheart the main bad guy as it forced the Rider to get creative and it brought a certain literary aspect to the picture that was quietly amusing. For the rest though, its about as good as roasted poo on a stick. Sure it might look cooler and cling more, but damn its stench reeks.
The CG for the film is AWFUL. I understand that fire and flaming skulls are hard to do convincingly, but man it looked like an 80's character. Thankfuly the motorbike is awesome and I want it. The elementals were very eh, and felt incredibly jobberish. The main two villains of Blackheart and Satan are played well but the choice to have Blackheart look human I'm still out on. And that whole bit with Mark Slade was completely foreseeable. Sure some of the cinematic choices were dynamic in a very Michael Bay fashion, but even that can't save a crappy film. Neither could Cage's honest attempt at portraying Johnny Blaze help. Cage does really well for his part though. Eva Mendes, not so much. In the end, the film stinks but its great for some laughs if you want to recapture some of the cheesy 80's feel with some 60's dialogue. Trust me, its a funny combination.
1.8 out of 5
Wannabe
Fanatix Indie League Update
Coming close to the finish line!!!! Don't forget, the competition ends on the 30th of this month. I will be sending out invites for a new league draft/round soonish. I hope you have enjoyed the small anecdotal stories and I look forward to hopefully continuing them into the next part of the Fanatix season. Here's how everything is looking so far!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 165.6 5 13 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.7 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 5.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.17 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 263 4 11 8
2 $EVENING 12 0 0 7
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.4 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.74 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.7
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.25 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 142.7 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.1 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 1.1 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 34.7 4 5 6.7
7 $SICKO 19.1 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 93.5 3 9 6
2 $HP5 207.5 6 9 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 27.8 2 3 8
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 116.5 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.5
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.4 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 493.54 4
GOS 414.952 3
WANNABE 383.86 2
CASTLE 317.32 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 32 4
WANNABE 28 3
CASTLE 25 2
GOS 22 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.4375 4
CASTLE 7.3875 3
GOS 7.0625 2
WILLO 6.8375 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 3
GOS 3 2 1 2 8 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 4 13 1
WILLO 4 1 4 1 10 2
So, I am still in the lead and barely hanging on. I doubt I'll be able to recoup my losses in the BO rank before the end of the season. Castle surely won't be able to since he has two new movies coming out just days before the end of the season. My IMDB score might suffer some due to Chuck and Larry which might give some points to Castle from my spot. However, with the popularity of Sandler, I can probably expect to hang on to more top 5 points next week and maybe some PTA. Ian's Introducing the Dwights is a pretty big flop, however he is making up for everything with Transformers which might or might not be around for more top 5 and PTA next week. I'm betting Castle's Simpsons movie grabs some top 5 and maybe some PTA. Unfortunately for Willo, the outlook of his recent release Hairspray isn't looking too good and it might be safe to say that he is probably done earning PTA and Top 5 points on everything except Potter. As this season comes to a close, the flexibility in the ranking becomes more rigid, however, the scores have also become much more closer. Cheers gentlemen and I will talk to you soon next week!
Wannabe
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 165.6 5 13 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.7 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.8
7 $ONCE 5.5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.17 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 263 4 11 8
2 $EVENING 12 0 0 7
3 $OCEAN'S 13 114.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.4 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.74 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 7.7
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.25 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 142.7 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 57.1 0 3 7.2
3 $FF4 128.8 5 9 6.3
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.06 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 1.1 7 0 8.6
6 $I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 34.7 4 5 6.7
7 $SICKO 19.1 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 93.5 3 9 6
2 $HP5 207.5 6 9 7.8
3 $HAIRSPRAY 27.8 2 3 8
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 116.5 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.5
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 2.4 0 0 4.9
8 $*MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WILLO 493.54 4
GOS 414.952 3
WANNABE 383.86 2
CASTLE 317.32 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 32 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 14 1
TOP 5
WILLO 32 4
WANNABE 28 3
CASTLE 25 2
GOS 22 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.4375 4
CASTLE 7.3875 3
GOS 7.0625 2
WILLO 6.8375 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 3
GOS 3 2 1 2 8 4
WANNABE 2 4 3 4 13 1
WILLO 4 1 4 1 10 2
So, I am still in the lead and barely hanging on. I doubt I'll be able to recoup my losses in the BO rank before the end of the season. Castle surely won't be able to since he has two new movies coming out just days before the end of the season. My IMDB score might suffer some due to Chuck and Larry which might give some points to Castle from my spot. However, with the popularity of Sandler, I can probably expect to hang on to more top 5 points next week and maybe some PTA. Ian's Introducing the Dwights is a pretty big flop, however he is making up for everything with Transformers which might or might not be around for more top 5 and PTA next week. I'm betting Castle's Simpsons movie grabs some top 5 and maybe some PTA. Unfortunately for Willo, the outlook of his recent release Hairspray isn't looking too good and it might be safe to say that he is probably done earning PTA and Top 5 points on everything except Potter. As this season comes to a close, the flexibility in the ranking becomes more rigid, however, the scores have also become much more closer. Cheers gentlemen and I will talk to you soon next week!
Wannabe
Monday, July 16, 2007
Fanatix Indie League Update
Here you go fellas. With all the competition I'm currently on top but with the last few weeks coming to a close, I can guarantee I will fall mightily once my last predicted film has to become a reality. Sad. Here we are!
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 142.9 5 12 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.68 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.16 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 224 4 9 8
2 $EVENING 10.8 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 112.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.1 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.7 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.14 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 138.2 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 56.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 127.2 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.05 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.6 7 0 8.7
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 15.8 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 87.7 3 9 6
2 $HP5 139.7 5 5 8.1
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 103.3 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 1.4 0 0 5.1
8 $MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WANNABE 463.95 4
WILLO 437.94 3
GOS 372.302 2
CASTLE 294.09 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 34 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 13 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 29 3
CASTLE 24 2
GOS 20 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.5 4
CASTLE 7.4 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.65 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 2
GOS 2 2 1 2 7 4
WANNABE 4 4 4 4 16 1
WILLO 3 1 3 1 8 3
INDIE LEAGUE BO PTA TOP 5 IMDB
CASTLE
1 $RATATOUILLE 142.9 5 12 8.6
2 $PAPRIKA 0.68 4 0 7.9
3 NO RESERVATIONS 38 0 1 6
4 SIMPSONS 100 4 9 6.9
5 $*DAY WATCH 0.35 1 0 7.1
6 $*BUG 7 0 2 6.9
7 $ONCE 5 8 0 8.6
8 $EAGLE VS. SHARK 0.16 3 0 7.2
GoS
1 $TRANSFORMERS 224 4 9 8
2 $EVENING 10.8 0 0 7.1
3 $OCEAN'S 13 112.5 4 11 7.3
4 $NANCY DREW 24.1 0 0 6
5 $GOLDEN DOOR 0.7 6 0 7.2
6 $*YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME 0.002 0 0 8
7 $INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS 0.14 0 0 7.4
8 $*EVEN MONEY 0.06 0 0 5.9
WANNABE
1 $KNOCKED UP 138.2 7 11 8.1
2 $SURF'S UP 56.8 0 3 7.3
3 $FF4 127.2 5 9 6.4
4 $BLACK SHEEP 0.05 0 0 6.6
5 $RESCUE DAWN 0.6 7 0 8.7
6 I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY 125 6 9 6.9
7 $SICKO 15.8 9 0 8.5
8 $*FIDO 0.3 0 0 7.5
WILLO
1 $EVAN ALMIGHTY 87.7 3 9 6
2 $HP5 139.7 5 5 8.1
3 HAIRSPRAY 60 2 4 5.9
4 $LIVE FREE OF DIE HARD 103.3 3 9 8
5 $*HOSTEL II 17.6 0 0 5.6
6 $*SEVERANCE 0.14 0 0 6.8
7 $CAPTIVITY 1.4 0 0 5.1
8 $MR. BROOKS 28.1 0 2 7.7
BO RANKINGS
WANNABE 463.95 4
WILLO 437.94 3
GOS 372.302 2
CASTLE 294.09 1
PTA RANKINGS
WANNABE 34 4
CASTLE 25 3
GOS 14 2
WILLO 13 1
TOP 5
WANNABE 32 4
WILLO 29 3
CASTLE 24 2
GOS 20 1
IMDB
WANNABE 7.5 4
CASTLE 7.4 3
GOS 7.1125 2
WILLO 6.65 1
BO PTA TOP IMDB TOTAL RANK
CASTLE 1 3 2 3 9 2
GOS 2 2 1 2 7 4
WANNABE 4 4 4 4 16 1
WILLO 3 1 3 1 8 3
Friday, July 13, 2007
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
'Harry Potter and the Order of Emoting'
Before I rant and rave a bit, know that one the way back I was completely rebuked by the people who I saw this with who thought this movie was excellent...however, they also strongly disliked Harry Potter 3 and 4 for reasons that sounded bizarre and completely contrary to my views on the films. So, let me delve in.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in my opinion, is the worst of all the films so far. The visual style is lacking for the most part in originality. The dialogue is stilted and delivered a bit too obviously. Oh, and the whole Harry angst whiney thing that he ALWAYS does, which was heavily prevalent in the book, comes out well enough for me to despise it. I liked the book for being darker than the last one but honestly, all the crap with Harry Potter as a maturing teen going through angst ticks me off since he can never do much more than whine and feel mistrusted. I understand that each novel is a different lesson in growing up and I have actually come to appreciate the structure and intelligence of the novels, although it did take me a while. However, I was informed that not enough of Harry's angst was in the film, which I completely disagree with since I could barely stand to watch the screen whenever he felt "alone". Harry is the weakest protagonist I have ever seen. Each book he requires others to insure that he learns a lesson which he is unable to learn quickly and easily on his own. Just not my taste.
Anyhow, the film. The film starts off promising with some great visuals and editing, somewhat disorienting, but really promising and well done. But soon after Harry leaves the normal world and comes to Hogwarts, the story becomes a bit too...angsty for my taste. The style soon becomes a very obvious continuance of the style employed in the fourth film to make everything seem darker. Thankfully, Yates seems to understand how to make some great beautiful moments, however they are so far apart and the main three actors have such a hard time holding their own without overdoing everything. Radcliffe has come far, but still struggles and the editing is lazy at best. Rupert Grint has a lesser role and as such can't let his natural charm come across as much and when it does, the laughing moments aren't usually funny seeing as how they seem like a complete rehash of previous Ronald Weasley "moments" from other films. Hermione is simply overdone. Most of the beautiful moments in this film come from practically everyone else but the three main characters and the beginning, the ending, and the bit with the destruction of the O.W.L.s comes to mind of particular great visualization. Also, the Black estate is well done if scantily used. I must say, that although I had a very different vision of the death in the novel, I must applaud Yates subtle and great handling of it. The best part of the movie though belongs to Dolores Umbridge played with panache by Dolores Umbridge and Sirius Black who is otherwise known as Gary Oldman. Oldman makes the scenes work that he is in and a better choice for Sirius Black could never have been found. Also well done is Michael Gambon's Albert Dumbeldore who really steps up his game in this film and convinces me that Dumbeldore should be in control of Hogwarts. Alan Rickman as Snape is always a pleasure. Even the Weasley brothers and Luna Lovegoode are excellently handled.
Conclusion:
To be fair, the story is told with some flashes of brilliance occassionally and the rest at a low hum. A lot of the effects, settings, and plot works well enough. Most of the actors are great to watch with some standing out more than others due to the script from newcomer Michael Goldenberg. However, I think maybe I just didn't like the story as much in this one. I honestly am terribly uncomfortable and dislike teen angst stories usually. The main actors didn't impress me and could be seen as taking a step back in some cases in acting styles. However, I highly doubt that my tale of discouragement and dislike of this film will stop the Potterites and influence any of them. No one will ever agree with me on this point, which is fine. Unfortunately, now I am stuck with at least one more film of Potter and Yates. Hopefully Yates will surprise me and the dialogue won't be so bloody obvious about EVERYTHING thanks to the return of Steve Kloves as scripter. One last chance Yates, one last one.
3.3 out of 5
Wannabe
Before I rant and rave a bit, know that one the way back I was completely rebuked by the people who I saw this with who thought this movie was excellent...however, they also strongly disliked Harry Potter 3 and 4 for reasons that sounded bizarre and completely contrary to my views on the films. So, let me delve in.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in my opinion, is the worst of all the films so far. The visual style is lacking for the most part in originality. The dialogue is stilted and delivered a bit too obviously. Oh, and the whole Harry angst whiney thing that he ALWAYS does, which was heavily prevalent in the book, comes out well enough for me to despise it. I liked the book for being darker than the last one but honestly, all the crap with Harry Potter as a maturing teen going through angst ticks me off since he can never do much more than whine and feel mistrusted. I understand that each novel is a different lesson in growing up and I have actually come to appreciate the structure and intelligence of the novels, although it did take me a while. However, I was informed that not enough of Harry's angst was in the film, which I completely disagree with since I could barely stand to watch the screen whenever he felt "alone". Harry is the weakest protagonist I have ever seen. Each book he requires others to insure that he learns a lesson which he is unable to learn quickly and easily on his own. Just not my taste.
Anyhow, the film. The film starts off promising with some great visuals and editing, somewhat disorienting, but really promising and well done. But soon after Harry leaves the normal world and comes to Hogwarts, the story becomes a bit too...angsty for my taste. The style soon becomes a very obvious continuance of the style employed in the fourth film to make everything seem darker. Thankfully, Yates seems to understand how to make some great beautiful moments, however they are so far apart and the main three actors have such a hard time holding their own without overdoing everything. Radcliffe has come far, but still struggles and the editing is lazy at best. Rupert Grint has a lesser role and as such can't let his natural charm come across as much and when it does, the laughing moments aren't usually funny seeing as how they seem like a complete rehash of previous Ronald Weasley "moments" from other films. Hermione is simply overdone. Most of the beautiful moments in this film come from practically everyone else but the three main characters and the beginning, the ending, and the bit with the destruction of the O.W.L.s comes to mind of particular great visualization. Also, the Black estate is well done if scantily used. I must say, that although I had a very different vision of the death in the novel, I must applaud Yates subtle and great handling of it. The best part of the movie though belongs to Dolores Umbridge played with panache by Dolores Umbridge and Sirius Black who is otherwise known as Gary Oldman. Oldman makes the scenes work that he is in and a better choice for Sirius Black could never have been found. Also well done is Michael Gambon's Albert Dumbeldore who really steps up his game in this film and convinces me that Dumbeldore should be in control of Hogwarts. Alan Rickman as Snape is always a pleasure. Even the Weasley brothers and Luna Lovegoode are excellently handled.
Conclusion:
To be fair, the story is told with some flashes of brilliance occassionally and the rest at a low hum. A lot of the effects, settings, and plot works well enough. Most of the actors are great to watch with some standing out more than others due to the script from newcomer Michael Goldenberg. However, I think maybe I just didn't like the story as much in this one. I honestly am terribly uncomfortable and dislike teen angst stories usually. The main actors didn't impress me and could be seen as taking a step back in some cases in acting styles. However, I highly doubt that my tale of discouragement and dislike of this film will stop the Potterites and influence any of them. No one will ever agree with me on this point, which is fine. Unfortunately, now I am stuck with at least one more film of Potter and Yates. Hopefully Yates will surprise me and the dialogue won't be so bloody obvious about EVERYTHING thanks to the return of Steve Kloves as scripter. One last chance Yates, one last one.
3.3 out of 5
Wannabe
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