Christmas Weekend Thread | Avatar 95.6m, PiB 20.05m, Babylon 4.85m 4 days

[CaptNathanBrittles]

16 minutes ago, Krissykins said:

Since you said “herself”: The Other Woman and Bad Teacher.

 

It’s not often people are the sole draw when they tend to rom coms. After all,it wouldn’t be very romantic with just one actor lol.

 

She did the heavy lifting on Knight & Day too, but Tom Cruise was too busy being a certified weirdo at that time, so it flopped. 

 

KNIGHT AND DAY would have been completely unwatchable if not for Cruise, who is easily the best thing about it.

[Pinacolada]

22 minutes ago, excel1 said:

 

1) What films did Cameron Diaz herself carry to success? Love her but you think she is the reason her hit films were hits...?

2) Robbie is the reason the DC films sank? GTFO with that BS 

Even just most recently for her, Bad Teacher, Sex Tape, and The Other Woman were all pretty big hits, and she was absolutely the reason they did well

[excel1]

3 minutes ago, Pinacolada said:

Even just most recently for her, Bad Teacher, Sex Tape, and The Other Woman were all pretty big hits, and she was absolutely the reason they did well

Those were small hits following her big hits with SHREK, CHARLIES ANGELS, THE MASK, HOLIDAY and SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, which she was a supporting player ofc. 

 

Diaz was HOT AF and had great comedic timing though. She would be an AMAZING Harley Quinn or Daisy Buchanon. 

Edited December 24, 2022 by excel1

[Eric Prime]

Just now, excel1 said:

 

Also...they fucked up the title. Shoulda just been named WHITNEY.  Where has KEVIN COSTNER been with the promo tour?

This is arguably the real culprit to Whitney's underperformance. The biggest of these biopics are big names active in Hollywood who were promoting the movie like crazy (Elton John, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre) or they had A-list people closely associated with them who were actively promoting the movie (Priscilla Presley, Brian May, Adam Lambert. Elvis also had Eminem and Doja Cat and Kacey Musgraves on the soundtrack).

 

Whitney doesn't really have that. Bobby Brown sucks and his biggest claim to fame apart from his legal troubles was being on The Masked Singer, a fate worse than death. Closest thing is Kevin Costner, but he only did one thing with Whitney and is busy with Yellowstone promotion. Which like...I don't blame him, since they only did the one thing, but it does put this movie at a disadvantage in getting the fanbase all riled up and excited and aware.

[grey ghost]

49 minutes ago, excel1 said:

Margot Robbie is Cameron Diaz in the 2020s. She's absolutely a draw in the right role, but that's about it. Robbie was 100% part of the reason Suicide Squad blew up in 2016 despite pathetic reviews. The character is a bit played out at this point, though. Anyone think BARBIE has the buzz it has if CAREY MULLIGAN was cast in the lead? Everyone knows Robbie should have been cast as Daisy Buchanon in GATSBY 2013 too. 

 

I also think, frankly, she struggles from being perfect looking. Many moviegoers have a hard time taking the truly perfect-looking people seriously. She is hardly the first person to struggle with this. Many actresses in the past struggled with this, and actors too. Some overcome it, and some don't. 

 

There is such a difference between being "good looking & dolled up for Hollywood" ala Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise etc and then legit. having a super-model type of face ala Margot Robbie, Megan Fox, Henry Cavill, Josh Hartnett, Rob Lowe. Brad Pitt is one of the only people to truly overcome this and it took him forever to do so. 

 

I think Fight Club, 12 Monkeys and Se7en made people take Pitt seriously as an actor. Dark, weird roles.

 

Stuff like Meet Joe Black was taking him nowhere.

[StreamBO]

10 minutes ago, wildphantom said:

Banshees was fantastic. How in the hell was that boring prestige Oscar bait? Are you kidding me? 
 

I haven’t seen Tar or Fabelmans yet, and I cannot wait for the latter.
 

As for Babylon, I couldn’t care less about the box office as it looks like they’ve let Chazelle go crazy, kitchen sink with it. Again, does not look like cookie-cutter Oscar bait. It looks like a major filmmaker trying something wild. Whether Paramount should have given him so much money to make it is another debate, but I don’t base box office performance on quality. It’s had a mixed critical reaction sure,  but there are absolute raves from some quarters.  It looks like something to see alright! 

There were good movies this year:

-Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

-RRR

-KGF part 2

-TÁR

-Women Talking

-Decision to Leave

-She said

-Aftersun

-Everything Everywhere All At Once

-The Quiet Girl

Edited December 24, 2022 by StreamBO

[Ipickthiswhiterose]

22 minutes ago, PenguinHyphy said:

 

The Fabelmans, Babylon, Banshees, and Tar are exactly that 

 

I haven't seen 3 of these and for all I know they may be right or wrong (Babylon looks awful to me, but not exactly boring), but calling Banshees "Boring Predictable Oscar bait" is possibly the biggest L I've seen in the history of my time on this forum.

[M37]

16 minutes ago, TwoMisfits said:

 

Honestly, I also find the whole idea depressing.  I mean, as someone said, we know what happened after she became a star - she got chewed up and spit out and didn't recover.  That's not heartwarming Christmas feelings.

 

Whoever said they should have used all the music to make a Mama Mia equivalent had it right - that would sell, b/c we all want to relive the best memories of Whitney - her absolutely phenomenal music - without having to be dragged down by the rest.  We want to celebrate her greatness.

Don’t disagree, but also not much different than the life of Freddy Mercury and story arc of Bohemian Rhapsody 

 

I think the biggest difference is that’s it’s still too soon, where the loss is still felt. This biopic should have been made 10-15 years later, when it was more of celebration and less of a downer, while also a new experience/introduction for the younger generation (hello nostalgia gap - see also Elvis, Rocket Man)

Edited December 24, 2022 by M37

[excel1]

1 minute ago, grey ghost said:

 

I think Fight Club, 12 Monkeys and Se7en made people take Pitt seriously as an actor. Dark, weird roles.

 

Stuff like Meet Joe Black was taking him nowhere.

 

Pitt has come along way for an actor with has such a restrained midwestern vibe. I mean, 90% of his roles have the exact same vibe throughout with very minor changes. But still, dabbling into dry humor helped him a lot too.

[Maggie]

The Fabelmans is ok, pretty boring, but Tar is very good and Banshees is a masterpiece

[Grebacio]

24 minutes ago, ThePrinceIsOnFire said:

Someone here is delusional!

Let's remember the LONG list of Timothee's flops as a leading actor:

- Beautiful boy

- A rainy day in New York

- The King

- The French dispatch (he wasn't the main lead there, but arguably the face of the promotional tour).

- Bones and all

 

That's worse than Margot Robbie's list.

 

[Krissykins]

11 minutes ago, TwoMisfits said:

 

Sure they can - Mamma Mia had nothing to do with ABBA - it just used all the music.

 

People love Whitney's music.  A completely new musical about some light pithy plot which just uses the music would sell.

 

Edit to Add:  I mean, instant Rom Com plot just through song - I wanna dance with somebody, One moment in time, I will always love you, Greatest love of all, Run to you...I can keep going...

Oh I would hate that lol, but I see your point they could’ve gone that route, but it sounds cheesy. 

7 minutes ago, CaptNathanBrittles said:

 

KNIGHT AND DAY would have been completely unwatchable if not for Cruise, who is easily the best thing about it.

It bombed because of Cruise, and the way he was acting in public at that time. 
 

3 minutes ago, excel1 said:

Those were small hits following her big hits with SHREK, CHARLIES ANGELS, THE MASK, HOLIDAY and SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, which she was a supporting player ofc. 

 

Diaz was HOT AF and had great comedic timing though. She would be an AMAZING Harley Quinn or Daisy Buchanon. 

But The Othet Woman and Bad Teacher were bigger financial hits than The Holiday… 

 

The Mask was her debut, she wasn’t drawing because no one knew her. Shriek is animated. I think the comparisons here have gone wonky. 

[StreamBO]

TÁR is good movie. 

[grey ghost]

People bashed Lightyear for "flopping" but it's hard to winover kids these days. 

 

You basically need to go viral for certain audiences to succeed in certain genres.

 

Boomers, kids, and DC fans aren't showing up en mass for most of the stuff marketed towards them these days.

[Eric Prime]

3 minutes ago, Ipickthiswhiterose said:

 

I haven't seen 3 of these and for all I know they may be right or wrong (Babylon looks awful to me, but not exactly boring), but calling Banshees "Boring Predictable Oscar bait" is possibly the biggest L I've seen in the history of my time on this forum.

"Oscar bait" is frankly the most tiring buzzword in film discussion. Not just because of how it's liberally thrown around for everything, even movies that frankly wouldn't appeal to the average Academy voter, but it's frankly an annoying pejorative that only exists so people can mock decent-to-good dramas, all to sound like you're above those "snooty elites". As if making a good movie that could win accolades and gives good directors and actors a chance to tell compelling and important stories is somehow a bad thing. Give me a break. 🙄

[Maggie]

17 minutes ago, grey ghost said:

Nobody wants a sanitized version of Whitney Houston's life. They want the tea.

Wasn't Bohemian Rahpsody a sanitized version of events? I remember Sacha Baren Cohen had to drop out from the project because he wanted to go in hard .

 

I think that for the movie to be a big hit, a sanitized version is a must. If you wanna go art house and flop big, go in detail about the life of the person.

 

Whitney flopped because there was too much content about her life. A biopic of Britney Spears at this time would flop too

Edited December 24, 2022 by Maggie

[Nero]

9 minutes ago, StreamBO said:

There were good movies this year:

-Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

-RRR

-KGF part 2

-TÁR

-Women Talking

-Decision to Leave

-She said

-Aftersun

-Everything Everywhere All At Once

-The Quiet Girl

Agree with everything except kgf 2

[Maggie]

Cameron Diaz was/is a big star. She had BO hits and it's not only about hits. She was one of the few women who headlined movies. THey were sold on her name. Also, her media presence and her light and sunny personality were a plus.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Maggie

[John Marston]

Good for Avatar but it’s clearly playing more like Rogue One and not like James Cameron’s last two films

[IronJimbo]

Just now, John Marston said:

Good for Avatar but it’s clearly playing more like Rogue One and not like James Cameron’s last two films

$135m second weekend if not for snowstorm