Crowd Reports Thread

[Andy Stitzer]

You gotta change that scoring system of yours. If it's a "good" movie...then it deserves higher than a C.

A = great

B = good

C = okay/mediocre

D = bad

F = horrible

This is the universal standard.

Feedback is always appreciated, so thank you. By your grading system, my grade for the film is accurate: C, i.e. okay/mediocre.

And anyway, I'm not only grading the movie, I'm grading the whole crowd experience. That's why I post exclusively in the crowd report section vs. the "Review That Movie" threads. I choose to watch movies under the best circumstances possible to maximize the overall experience, because at $10-$18 per ticket I'm paying for an experience. That's why I'd rate Snakes on a Plane opening midnight in theaters an A+ experience, and The Dark Knight four months after release playing at your local dollar theater a less-than-A experience.

Besides, I've received far more praise for my crowd reports than negative feedback, and my current grading system--which was modified beginning January 2012 forward--is the culmination of all feedback from previous crowd reports.

[Safari]

Brave

Saturday 7:00 PM in 2D

Theater was 85% full, mostly adults

Trailers

The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure - No comment

Despicable Me 2 - Got laughs at the end

Ice Age: Continental Drift - Laughs on the funny bits

Hotel Transylvania - Some laughs

The Hobbit - Some chatter

Wreck-It Ralph - Some laughs, jokes went over most of the audience

Finding Nemo 3D - some chatter

Monsters University - Lots of laughs and chatter

Short Film: La Luna, got some chatter at the end. I liked it, it was a very well-animated short that was charming.

The Film: You know I may be biased, but I really loved this film. To me, it was very different. The story is good enough, I think it's the characters and the whole mother-daughter relationship that shine. There were a few things in the film's second act that caught me off guard at first, but it wasn't enough to really stain the movie in any way. That said, I loved it. The crowd loved it too, laughed throughout. Some stayed for the post-credits scene too. A+

[Hiccup]

Brave (3D)

9pm showing in 3D

Theater was 40% full or 120/300. The most shocking thing was that the male to female ratio was 100 to 1. Literally there we almost no girls in my showing. Most guys were between 18-25 years old. I thought at first was I in an Abraham Lincoln 3D showing.

Trailers:

The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure - Sarcastic comments

Hotel Transylvania - Silence

The Hobbit - Dead silence from the epic trailer music and feel. Talk after.

Wreck-It Ralph - Laughs and lots of talk after

Finding Nemo 3D - Silence

Monsters University - Lots of laughs and talk (Best received trailer)

Short: Silence from audience. Remember that it was 9pm at night and the trailer in the music was fantastic and relaxing. It almost put me to sleep. Not the best short from Pixar but damn that music was f***'ing amazing!

Film: Pixar has graced us with another classic. I really liked it. The story is strong and the animation is breath taking. The score is solid although the bagpipes got sort of annoying. Brave was a perfect mix of comedy and drama. The three little boys stole the show and lots of laughs at their pranks. The crowd ate the movie right up and loved it. I definitely can see strong legs for this. The 3D was decent but not a must see.

A+

[MovieGuyKyle17]

Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 3DRegal Arnot Mall 105:15pm Saturday20 to 30 people - lots of older people which was kind of surprising.Trailers: Resident Evil - no reactionHouse At The End of the Street - no reactionRise of the Guardians - This was more WTF reaction because this trailer shouldn't be in a R rated, also the animation looks kind of cheap. The little kids look like something Direct To DVD like. If a company was going to put in a kids movie trailer, it should of been Wreck It Ralph, to me that would appeal to the audience a lot more then this one.Review:The premise is really ridiculous, but its executed so well that its really fun. The 3d is ok, when they use 3D it really works. The guy who plays Abe Lincoln does a great job and to me could actually play Lincoln in a more serious movie. I wish the film had a little more action, the script is bad, and the ending is different from the book. But if u can accept the premise, you should have a lot of fun with this great B movie.B

[Impact]

Well I am planning on seeing Brave sometime this week.

[Incarnadine]

I caught 2 movies this weekend

Brave

Saturday 12:15 showing in 3D. Ticket price 500 Scene points (this is new, first show of the day is 500 points, after that it's 1000 points. I like that it cost the same points for 2D,3D and Ultra AVX). A bit more than half full, 150 people or so.

Trailers-

I got there in time to see the last trailer, Monsters University- Looks very good, crowd loved it.

The movie-

The crowd liked it and seemed entertained, there were a few kids who laughed a lot, almost too much. As it ended I didn't hear any negative comments, mostly mildly positive chatter.

My take is it was good fun, but not very memorable. A day later there aren't many moments that stuck with me.

I give it a respectable 7.5/10, good entertainment but not a classic.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seeking a friend for the end of the world

Sunday 12:20 show. Ticket cost $9.75 (different theater, they don't have the 500 scene point first show). Only about 2 dozen people.

Trailers-

There were 4 but only 2 made enough of an impression to recall

The perks of being a wallflower- Actually seems decent. I never really cared one way or the other for Emma Watson but she looked pretty good in this.

Ruby Sparks- This I might actually see in the theater, assuming it plays here. It just screams limited release but it looks quite good.

The movie-

As I said, there were only about 2 dozen people but there was some audible laughter in a few spots. I can't say exactly why, but I really liked this movie, probably out of proportion to its actual quality. On paper Carell and Knightley make an odd match, but they somehow work, which is a minor miracle since I generally find Knightley kind of unlikeable.

I give it 8/10, but I don't think most people will like it as much as I did.

[Jandrew]

Hahah how do you guys keep getting G/PG animated trailers in fromt of R rated movies, and R rateds in front PG, i laugh everytime i read that! I go to Grand and Regal Cinemas and that never happens, but id love to see the face of parents!

[Impact]

Seeing Brave this week.

[Impact]

Aladdin had a R rated trailer. Hated that it freaked me out too...

[Impact]

I did get Nemo at Matrix Reloaded :lol:And Up was at Watchmen!

[Cmasterclay]

Went to see Ted tonight at midnight. Ted sold out two shows tonight at midnight and Magic Mike sold out one. Madea did solid business too. Gonna be a huge weekend. Absolutely loved Ted and so did the audience.

[Andy Stitzer]

Magic Mike

12:01AM Friday, June 29th

AMC Boston Common 19 & Lie-MAX

Theater Capacity: 300 (50+% full; actually, there were two showings of Magic Mike at AMC tonight because the other one was sold out, which I was pretty stunned to see. Also, this audience was 90% women... it was like going to see Sex and the City in theaters if everyone in the crowd was 15-25 years younger.)

Ticket Price: $12.00

Concessions: small Coke Zero & small popcorn ($0, thank you Stubs Rewards)

TRAILERS:

The Words - good cast led by Bradley Cooper, except this looks like a TV movie (CBS Films, go figure). Weak reaction.

Katy Perry: Part of Me - this was a more elegant trailer than the others I'd seen and got some talking from audience.

Pitch Perfect - at first this looked like Glee: The Movie, but in college. Then I saw Anna Kendrick was the lead, and that caught my attention. Finally, the fat British chick from Bridesmaids ("I didn't know it was your diary; I thought it was a very sad, hand-written book") she stole every scene in the trailer and got a HUGE reaction from the audience. I'm talking loud belly laughs; excellent reaction.

Hope Springs - Meryl Streep. Tommy Lee Jones. Steve Carrell. Comedy. Great reaction; can't wait to see it.

The Apparition - another paranormal horror film that got a few pity laughs, lots of talking, and a Harry Potter fan in the audience who screamed, "IS THAT DRACO?!?!"

The Watch - funny, new trailer. Didn't realize this was a sci-fi comedy, but it looks great. Jonah Hill got the biggest laughs, no surprise there.

The Campaign - this got a good reaction, especially after Will Ferrell punches a baby at the end of the trailer.

THE FILM

Before anyone asks me why I paid to see a movie about male strippers, please let me preface this report with my reasons for checking out Magic Mike (no pun intended) opening midnight. A) After Contagion and the Oceans' movies, anything directed by Steven Soderbergh will get me to the cinema; B] I work a few blocks from the movie theater and my shift ends around 11pm, so for a good crowd experience seeing midnight screenings is really my only option during weekdays; C) I already saw Ted a few weeks ago (excellent comedy, BTW); D) Channing Tatum impressed me in 21 Jump Street, so I officially don't see a problem watching his movies, however risque they may be. Good--now that's out of the way.

Magic Mike is definitely one experience of a film. When you hear it's an R-rated film about male strippers, one of the first questions on everybody's minds is "will there be full frontal male nudity?" The answer is... well, sort of, but not really. Actually, there's equal parts gratuitous female nudity as there is male nudity, yet there is really only one shot in the film that could've made the men watching it squeamish. And the fact is that it's so subtle and humorously done, that most of the women in the audience had a delayed reaction to it. (LOL, you have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about... I wouldn't dare spoil it)

All of the men acting in this film definitely prepared well for their roles. I'm not just talking about ab-workouts and choreography lessons, I mean stepping up their acting chops and giving pretty good performances (who knew stand-up comedian Gabriel Iglesias could act?!?!?!). And thanks to Soderbergh's direction, Magic Mike successfully veers into compelling drama territory more than raunchy chick flick land... stunningly, to the dismay of many of the women in tonight's audience... but only after the first hour. See, right from the get-go, Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer deliver "the goods" much of the audience was hoping for. Women were literally clapping, oohing & awwing at the screen, and one woman even held out some $1 bills in her hands, as if they were there in the strip club. That whole part of the Magic Mike experience we all got a kick out of. But true to the trailers' promise, the story is really about how Tatum's character wants to do something more with his life than the Magic Mike act and the deeper that story develops, the more gradually it lost the interest of some women in the theater (namely the 3 women behind me who provided commentary every 5 minutes). Twenty minutes in, they were like "Yeah, shake it honey! Oooooh." Then an hour later, they realized, "Oh wow! This is like a real movie." And then finally, when it ended, "That was terrible!"

Well, contrary to the thoughts of a few women sitting behind me, I really enjoyed the film. Because, like they realized, Magic Mike is a "real" movie. And I wouldn't expect anything less from Soderbergh and their team. And it's kind of neat how personal a story it is for Channing Tatum, seeing how it's loosely/largely (?) based on his origins as a Tampa stripper... that definitely shows in his performance. I do recommend people--women and men--go see this movie because it is in fact a very good one. I'm really curious to see how the word of mouth and box office perform for this in the coming days/weeks; I don't really have a handle on what everyone's perception of this film is before seeing it, let alone after.

Experience - 27/30 (would've been higher without the over-commentary from the women behind me)

Story/Writing - 16/20

Acting - 14/15

Tech Specs (Cinematography, Editing, Effects) - 7/15 (I think the low budget had a negative impact in these regards, unfortunately)

Direction - 10/10 (Kudos, Steven!)

Music - 9/10

THE VERDICT: 83/100, B

Edited June 29, 2012 by Andy Stitzer

[A Marvel Fanboy]

Great review !

[Impact]

Well I'll be seeing TASM on its OD, and I'll be getting tickets for TDKR.

[BenedictL11]

From Nikki Finke, "FRIDAY 9:30 AM: I’m hearing that the domestic matinees for Magic Mike are “crazy”. This is really reminding me of opening day for the first Sex And The City. (I loved Warner Bros’ marketing line to women for Channing Tatum et al that “on June 29th tell your boyfriend you’re going to the book club”)."

Link to the quote: http://www.deadline....e-2m-midnights/

[Dav]

Both Mike and Ted will be over 35M for the weekend.

[jacquelinejane]

Little nitpick: Rebel Wilson (the fat chick in Bridesmaids) is actually Australian, not British. I love her, glad to see she got such a positive reaction!!

[Dav]

Well went to go see Ted but it was sold out all night. Same with Mike and Perry was all but sold out for the night. Huge huge fridays are in store. Guess I'll try and check Ted out during the weekday.

[iceroll]

Brave 2D

Friday June 29, 9:00PM

Trailers:

Finding Nemo 3D (no response)

Ice Age 4 (some laughs)

Monsters University (laughs)

It was about the quality that I expected. I found the beginning quite boring and generic TBH, and Merida's mother really annoyed me. The second half of the movie

as soon as she turns into a bear was much better

,and there was much more action and emotion. I'm surprised at how scary and dark the bad bear was, but I guess that's why this is rated PG. The animation was good, not spectacular but the one thing that I thought stood out most about the film was Merida's hair. It was so beautifully rendered and awesome looking, throughout the movie I felt like I wanted to touch it and feel the texture.

Overall: B

[Jandrew]

TedRegal Starlight 14 $8.75 95% full 10:25pmPlease let me start by saying i live in a dumbass city. I live within a 5 mile radius of 2 14 screens, and they both originally had 5 showtimes for Ted and MM, but 15 for Madea? Yes, i live in the south and we have a higher AA population, but theyve never done this. Regal added 2 more Ted's tonight, I heard my whole town was at Amstar (my usual theater) and people were parked on the side of the road cuz of no parks. My theaters really have to get it together, i dont even know if TASM will have 15 showtimes, and Amstar's stupid curfew and strict R-rated rules...sorry for that rant, it just makes such a headache when they plan one show at 7:15 and then anther at 10:25? And its a digital theater they can add more. Well, anyways...Hit and Run- mild reactionThe Watch- not as funny as the trailer in front of Prometheus, but laughsThe Campaign- got the most laughs, especially the "goat licked my weiner" lineSavages- extremely small talkBourne Legacy- some talkLooper- small talkDredd- no audible talk, but whispersSo many freaking trailers. Anyways, Ted, what a surpise. I have to give Seth MacFarlane major props on this, to me it was not funnier than 21 Jump Street, but it was a close #2! I dont want to post a review yet or spoil anything, but Mark and Mila and Mark and Ted had great chemistry, and all the supporting characters are useful to the plot and used well, and they were all hilarious, I wont say who they are so it doesnt spoil some plot points. Boston was utilized well, i loved the accents, and almost all the jokes were on point, Ted (obviously) stole the show, but again, every character had their moments. This was a great comedy with such a fluid comedic pace, youll end up laughing at jokes that probably would offend you if you really thought about it. Ted's weekend number will be a big surprise, but these comments about "180M+ and 200M+ total" are not farfetched, with an empty July, Ted will be cuddling up laughs for a while. Full review in my blog by the end of the weekend.