SLAM!

I have now updated the title and introductory page to reflect that the release date has been pushed up one week.

July 27th is an excellent choice for a wide release because it can counterprogram with Teen Titans Go and Mission Impossible... plus, as of now, it's the only comedy going wide in July, period.

*looks at the current limited release date (June 29th)* *looks at the poster's date (July)* *assumes that Annapurna wants to release this wide after a limited opening* I think Annapurna has something with this film that they may not have had with their others from 2017: passion. They've made it clear that they love this film, and that trust certainly goes a long way. I'm willing to think that, with everything they learned last year, Annapurna can go full throttle and release this film in a grand fashion that takes advantage of buzz. In terms of social impact, this could be like Get Out, but it's up to Annapurna to market efficiently.

Black Panther is doing very well! That is a very strong hold for a blockbuster! Considering what was against it, such as bad reviews, I'd say A Wrinkle in Time did well this time around, though I think its second weekend will be telling. Distributor Aviron did well to get Strangers: Prey at Night above $10M. Now its total will be driven by how well the horror audience responds in the coming weeks. That's not a preferable hold for Red Sparrow. Game Night had an excellent hold though; that comedy will likely have a little more longevity. I can tell Peter Rabbit was affected by A Wrinkle in Time, but I think it was still able to have a strong hols nonetheless. This will surely pass $100m now. Death Wish is holding on tightly... maybe it can have a total bigger than its production budget. With how close the gross is, I am hoping that Annihilation is able to beat The Hurricane Heist for the weekend. If you had told me three months ago that Jumanji would have stayed in the weekend top ten in its twelth week, I woils have laughed you out of the room. Glad to be proven wrong! As for Gringo... yeowch. Also, The Shape of Water had a nice Best Picture boost, but I'd imagine its boost is nothing like it could've been in years past. At least it's gained three times its budget in America alone. And Thoroughbreds has a higher PTA than half of the new wide releases. I guess that was to be expected given its quality. It'll be interesting to see whar Focus Features does next with the film.

1. Tomb Raider 2. Isle of Dogs 3. I Can Only Imagine 4. Paul, Apostle of Christ 5. Ready Player One 6. Lean on Pete 7. A Quiet Place 8. Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero 9. Journey's End 10. God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

We've seen from The Fate of the Furious (eight Fast film) that Vin Diesel can handle dramatic moments well. I feel like Oscar-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer will be able to work with him for sure. In other words, his script will carry the film.

I think this will make with bad reviews what it would've made with good reviews. A Wrinkle of Time is both a family film (when the last one was Peter Rabbit) and a proponent of diversity (which has been proven to be profitable with Black Panther). Plus, the film is in the 40s on the Tomatometer; next to new releases like Gringo, Hurricane Heist, and Strangers, the film looks like it has a healthy leg up amongst the wide release crowd.

I'll stick with the original special, thanks.

Game Night March 8th, 7:15 PM, 15-20% full Regal Mayfaire Stadium 16 Trailers Venom I Feel Pretty (Laughs) Book Club Blockers (negative comments at the final scene) Love, Simon Ocean's Eight (Murmurs) Life of the Party (Laughs) Laughs and engagement throughout. The audience seemes to have a good time.

That sounds pretty fair... Well, I will admit that there are definitely better ways to tell a caveman epic. I think this film looks gorgeous...

I have some FYCs for some of my favorites and some that I don't think many others will choose:

This is nowhere near my personal best case scenario, no matter how much I want my club to win... I really want Ready Player One to do as well as it can...

With all four wide releases receiving tepid critical responses this weekend, I think Thoroughbreds is in a good position, as a better quality film, to have a solid, if not surprising, limited release. The promise of quality is always a drawing factor for some.

Huh. The more you know... (I have to say, I like your avatar photo; Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid are both cool!)

I don't think review scores are going to matter for this one. The Greatest Showman and Peter Rabbit turned out fine without fresh ratings. The family/general audience is certainly willing to overlook films that are at least not appallingly bad. So if it does happen to flop, I think it will be for a different reason than its quality.

I saw a video essay and read a blog about Christian cinema and I've come to see exactly what is meant when the films are said to be hateful. In the example of God's Not Dead, the omniscient narrator that is the camera is made to portray an overwhelming majority of the atheist characters as villainous. Whether the film is trying to say that 'all atheists are bad people' is something else entirely, but the way atheists are depicted and the way certain crowds react to those characters is telling: while Christians are supposed to hate the actions but not the person, the filmmakers, whether intentionally or not, are making their atheist characters too hateable to bare. I think that comes down to poor, lazy writing. I think that comes down to the treatment of film production as a business rather than an art form. And I don't like that. Hopefully the filmmakers have reexamined what they believe and learned from their mistakes; so far, the trailer is made to seem promising. But if they haven't, we're unfortunately headed towards a disappointing threequel thay is more of the same. Because at the end of the day, the execution of these films needs to be better. Much, much better.

So it doesn't seem like this is getting many theaters but I'm sure there are going to be horror fans that will want to check it out and see what the buzz is all about. If buzz is astronomical, maybe this could even expand to a semi-wide release on May 4th, the expansion-prime date that Avengers left wide open.

I knew it'd be a good idea to look at other people's suggestions for ideas!

Well, The Room is great for a different reason than being great. But I'll be voting for a different 'Room' instead:

My favorite part of this gif is the guy behind the girl who is getting up from the table. In fact, many of the people in the image seem particularly perplexed.

I'm gonna send in a list too. I'll be voting for a lot of great movies (like Citizen Kane, Breathless, Do The Right Thing, etc) and a lot of my personal favorites (Moonrise Kingdom, Les Miserables, Whiplash, Passion of the Christ, etc). I don't expect all of my choices to make the list but I am willing to guarantee that I will take this list very seriously. It also helps that film classes have introduced me to a few classics!

Get Out winning is awesome! That film is a true gem! I hope everyone involved has a fruitful career ahead.

Well, at least The Shape of Water got third...

This is one of the reasons why I think we should've had a Best Animated Feature category...