The Wild Things have landed – and it’s a lyrical, beautiful film that also debuted at the top of the box office this past weekend. Pulling in USD $32.7 million, likely because of the parent/children crowds, this film has caused quite a conundrum – parents of children up to 5 years old are actually complaining that the film is too scary, too mature for their toddlers. Well… have to say here that any film that’s PG (not recommended for those under 10) is fair warning to parents, and what disturbs us more are the expectations placed on films that are based on children’s books. Aside from the dark imagery that’s inherent to Maurice Sendak’s original
Where the Wild Things Are
, not every film about children has to be about cutesy animals that do silly things. Or perhaps the marketing for the film was too unclear? Let us know your thoughts here or in our forum!
Meanwhile, we’re being served up fall action flicks (Law Abiding Citizen, #2 at $21 Mil), middling comedies (Couple’s Retreat, #4 17.2 Mil) and sub par remakes (The Stepfather, #5 at 11.6 Mil) – we’re happy to see a film like Paranormal Activity go from a viral phenomenon to a wide release. Pulling in $19.6 Million at the box office this weekend (with a total gross of 33.2 Mil so far), this little movie that could has gotten rave reviews and may be the best film to put you into a Halloween mood. What do we have to look forward to? Well Astro Boy is on our list, as is Amelia, and Ong Bak 2.
In the rumor mill, we hear that there’s been some more casting developments for Little Fockers, the third film in the Meet the Parents Series – Laura Dern has been added as the headmistress of a school. Director Cary Fukunaga, who made a huge splash with his film
Sin Nombre
last year is rumored to be moving on to an adaptation of Jane Eyre. And Ridley Scott’s film about the Gucci empire is throwing names around like DiCaprio and Jolie. A film that’s moving full steam ahead is The Social Network (yes, the film about Facebook) that has added David Strathairn to its cast – did you know that David Fincher is directing? And finally, since it’s almost Halloween, we get to continue the rumor that Wes Craven will be directing Scream IV.
This is definitely the quietest period of the year for the entertainment biz – but DVD releases are pretty hot this week. For those who missed their chance to see
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
or would actually like to discern all the action and imagery this time, the Blu-ray is now available. Otherwise, you choose the new horror movie release you want –
Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead
,
Orphan
, or
Waterworld
(ok, this one not horror, but it’s certainly horrific). What do we recommend this week?
Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition
or
Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Remastered
. Laughing is better than screaming any day, in our book.
See you next week!