Hatebox

On paper, Oscar bait directed by Eastwood starring Leo should threaten 100m - but admittedly I didn't realise its budget was so low.

I haven't followed box office for the past few weeks, but it's interesting to see that J Edgar's take is in line with it's critical reception.

The last scene of Chinatown really shocked me as a teen. Not just what happens, but the almost detached way in which its depicted.

Huh, didn't realise Mulligan is nude in the film too. Another reason to see it.

I liked the book as a teen, but after broadening my literary horizons I realised Easton Ellis is really a bit of a hack who happened to find a niche. David Foster Wallace sums it up:"If what's always distinguished bad writing--flat characters, a narrative world that's clichéd and not recognizably human, etc.--is also a description of today's world, then bad writing becomes an ingenious mimesis of a bad world. If readers simply believe the world is stupid and shallow and mean, then Bret Easton Ellis can write a mean shallow stupid novel that becomes a mordant deadpan commentary on the badness of everything."The film sees the funny side, at least, and Ellis himself has acknowledged it works well as a 'greatest hits' of the novel. It's also still Bale's best performance.

NVM

Chalk up another one for TDKR here. There probably some indies I'm anticipating too (like Shame) but I can't be bothered to make a list right now.

His characters in Drive, Lars, Blue Valentine,Half Nelson and Crazy, Stupid Love were absolutely nothing like one another.

Gosling. He already has a filmography seasoned actors twice his age would kill for.

The only film that comes to mind that I wish had done better was Drive. It wasn't nearly as 'slow' as some said and should have had a ton of mainstream appeal.

It's nice when garbage gets the box office it deserves, although anything over even 10m was too much for this film.