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Eric is Quiet

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    CoolEric's Cool 25: My Most Meaningful Films

    in Archived Lists and Countdowns

    Posted

    #14

    The Witch

    Directed by Robert Eggers

    "Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

    THEWITCH_TEASER_03_halfsize.jpg

    Box Office: $25.1M Domestic, $40.3M WW

    IMDB Summary: A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.

    Why it's so Meaningful to Me: Now this is probably the hardest movie to write about, not only because it came out this year and there are people that haven't seen it, so spoilers are a no-no, but because this is a film that is able to have many different interpretations depending on who you ask. In its message, some found it to be propaganda for Satanism, but what I got out of the film was that it was an attack on religious extremism, and sharing the dangers that it causes to people that follow that route.

     

    For those who don't know, The Witch follows a Puritan family in Massachusetts who are exiled from their hometown and are forced to have their barn be in a secluded forest, far from civilization. In that time, a supernatural force from Satan comes to lay down a terrible curse upon their farm, resulting in the family tearing each other apart, and accusations that the eldest daughter Thomasin, played wonderfully by Anya-Taylor Joy, who I'm sure will quickly become one of the best young actresses working today in a few years, is a witch.

     

    While there are so many admirable things about the film, such as its gorgeous cinematography, its phenomenal acting, and its well-developed script, I feel that what it really tackles best is its themes of religious extremism.

     

    While I myself am not a religious person, and consider myself a Christian in name only, I'm also well aware of its importance to many people, as it has defined history and helps in keeping many people happy and sane. But one problem that I have with all religions is extremism.

     

    Many people consider this film to be a promoter of Satanism, and while that element is found in the film, particularly in its ending, what really grabbed me to this film was its look at a family using their religion as a scapegoat and a way to blame one another. The father in particular goes especially cruel, willing to tear down the relationships he has with his children just to keep himself and his wife safe. And the reason why the father would do this is because of his affiliation with God. The only answer to any problem he has is to pray and believe that all of his actions is what God would want him to do. He refuses to believe in Thomasin's denial, which leads to the entire family going crazier and wilder, leading to a rather unique ending, which I won't spoil for those that have yet to see this feature.

     

    Seeing how the two parents interact with their world and their affiliation with Christianity very much reflects the religious fundamentalism and mass hysteria found in that time period, but oddly enough, it also translates into a rather timeless message. Nowadays, in a world of religious extremists that either take the word of what they follow to absolute extremes and the threats they cause in people's livelihood, whether it be acts of discrimination or flat-out terrorism, it seems fitting that a movie like this is released today, to tell us that we haven't improved from centuries ago, and we should do better in not letting our beliefs and deities cloud us from being respectful and wonderful people. It works even better, as it stigmatizes Christianity, a religion known for its preaching of love and kindness, and supports Satanism, an occult group that supports what is considered the root of all evil, showing how religious followers come in multiple spectrums for any conceivable religion one can think of.

     

    I'm not sure if this was Robert Eggers' intended moral or idea, but that's what I got out of it, and I'm thankful for Eggers' wonderful film, and I can't wait to see what his next film will be.

    • Like 2

    Star Trek Beyond | 7.22.2016 | Not an Oscar winner.

    in Box Office Discussion

    Posted

    Quote

    Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond began charting on the tracking boards yesterday with various sources putting the threequel’s opening range between $48M-$60M when it debuts on July 22.

     

    While that’s not a July record by any means, Star Trek Beyond is bound to be one of the more notable openings out of the 12 live-action wide entries on this month’s schedule, potentially besting Ghostbusters‘ three-day when that Paul Feig title hits marquees on July 16.

    Should Star Trek Beyond open within its current range, it will be the third-best in the Star Trek feature canon. Since rebooting Star Trek for the big screen in 2009, Bad Robot/Skydance propelled the franchise’s debuts and grosses to an upper B.O. stratosphere with Star Trek  ($75.2M opening, domestic $257.7M, global $385.7M) and 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness ($70.2M, domestic $228.8M, global $467.4M).

    Again, these are early forecasts for Star Trek Beyond, and a number of factors and ad spots could spike the threequel’s B.O. power in the weeks ahead. First, that mid-July release date for Star Trek Beyond has historically been a rich period for launching fanboy properties such as the Dark Knight sequels ($158M-$161M FSS), Captain America: The First Avenger ($65M), Ant-Man ($57.2M), and The Wolverine ($53M). So, Paramount has that working in its favor.

    On social, Star Trek Beyond boasts the largest social media universe  (across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) out of the July live-action tentpoles with 166.6M, followed by Ghostbusters (142.5M) and Jason Bourne (67.8M) per RelishMix.

    http://deadline.com/2016/07/star-trek-beyond-box-office-projection-ghostbusters-secret-life-of-pets-1201782223/

    • Like 1

    Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party | July 22, 2016 | Dinesh D'Souza documentary

    in Box Office Discussion

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, The Pandaren said:

    Oh dear... Not this guy again...

     

    He's the worst documentary director working right now.  And yet this will probably make decent box office.

     

    I gave his last two movies Z's if that says anything.  I didn't watch any of his before that.

    Well to be fair, you and your family live in China, so I doubt his movies were meant for you in the first place.

    July 1-4 Weekend Estimates | Dory 50.2m, Tarzan 45.6m, Purge 34.8m, BFG 22.2m, IDR 20.2m

    in Numbers and Data

    Posted

    Quote

    Weekend projections from matinees are in and as we expected, out of the new crop Universal/Blumhouse/Platinum Dunes’  Purge: Election Year is killing it with a No. 2 estimated weekend take of $27.5M over three days and $31.5M over four days at 2,796 runs. Today alone, Purge: Election Year will gross $12M inclusive of its $3.64M Thursday night money.

    Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory is ruling No. 1 with an estimated $42M three-day and $52M four-day at 4,305. The sequel is set to bank $13M today, easily putting it pastMinions ($336M) and by Monday, Dory, will have hands down beat Despicable Me 2’s stateside take of $368M.  

    Disney/Walden Media’s Steven Spielberg movie The BFG and Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s The Legend of Tarzan are wrestling for third.  BFG at 3,357 theaters is looking at an estimated $8M today, Friday-Sunday take of $23M and a four-day of $28M. Tarzan at 3,561 is on track to make $8.5M today, $23M over Friday-Sunday and $27.5M by Monday.

    As we mentioned heading into the weekend, The BFG and Tarzan are cancelling each other out audience wise because their primary targets are families. And that certainly doesn’t help coming in the wake of Finding Dory.

     

    • Like 2
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