What did you see this weekend?
Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 12:15PM With only Krampus as a new wide release this weekend was a repeat of Thanksgiving weekend with The Hunger Games, The Good Dinosaur and Creed leading the way at the multiplex and Oscar hopefuls like Carol doing good business on a miniscule amount of screens. Spotlight and Brooklyn -- which are both looking lockish for Best Picture nominations -- continue to reap the benefits of great word-of-mouth audience response.
"Um, why am I in Krampus?" -Toni Collette to her agent, probably.
BOX OFFICE
(Dec 4th-6th)
01 Hunger Games 4 $18.6 (cum. $227) Hunger Games & Oscar
02 Krampus $16 *new*
03 Creed $15.5 (cum. $65.1) Review & Oscar Possibilities
04 Good Dinosaur $15.5 (cum $75.9) Review
05 Spectre $5.4 (cum. $184.5) Review
06 The Night Before $4.9 (cum. $31.9)
07 The Peanuts Movie $3.5 (cum. $121.4)
08 Spotlight $2.9 (cum. $16.6) First Impression & SAG Ensemble Predix
09 Brooklyn $2.4 (cum. $11.2) Review, Saoirse & Best Actress
10 Secret in Their Eyes $1.9 (cum. $17.2)
With BFCA's "Critic's Choice" ballots going out tomorrow and a handful of critics organizations voting this weekend, I've been struggling to catch up / wrap up but in truth I am always quite behind at this point. And I get distracted by my pets... like seeing Carol twice this weekend. Oops. By my count there are 27 titles that I had hoped to see that I still have to squeeze in during the busiest month of the year and of course the rewatches I'd hoped to do before drawing up the top ten list. If I get to half of this by Christmas it'll have to be considered an enormous success. The Glut! The Glut!
What did you see this weekend? Are you struggling to keep up?
Reader Comments (21)
Last night I caught up with "Clouds of Sils Maria" which was too theoretical, too remote, too intellectual. Stewart is a stand-out because she brought some life into the proceedings, but otherwise it was very hard to find an access point. I even felt like I understood it, it just wasn't dramatized in a compelling way.
This week/end: Macbeth, Tangerine. Now that's more like it. Flawed perhaps, but both thrilling.
45 Years tomorrow. Can't wait!
Saw Krampus last night and it was so much fun. It had that fun Gremlins feel, and since I am a big fan of Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat, it was right up my alley.
*Steve Jobs - yes, it's really good; electricity flying all around, wonderful performances, brilliant Social Network-esque writing and directing. I guess the script just forces everybody to be quick. Having said all of that I think Fassbender's performance in Macbeth is the more powerful and unique showcase. Kate Winslet impressed me!
*The Secret in Their Eyes - had to watch it, it's Nicole and Julia in the same film. Julia gets the juicier role. Chiwetel is wonderful in his role and the screen-time lead. Good ending.
*Irrational Man - Parker Posey must play Katharine Hepburn as soon as possible! She totally looks like her in this film. I was amazed! Really enjoyed the film and laughed during the second death scene. I feel like the critics are cynical toward Woody Allen films for some reason.
Toni collete❤️ love her So much she's the most underrated actress ever
Saw Brooklyn and thought it was an outstanding movie... so simple yet so very real
The entire production was first class.
Saoirse Ronan ws amazing and luminous throughout... so far from what I have seen, she is my BA actress choice.. Anxious to see Brie Larson in Room.
Saw Spotlight and although it was well done... it really left me with no emotion and it went
more documentary... don't see all the acting attention... all were good but not noteworthy.
I saw Brooklyn again and I was moved by the performances of Saiorse Ronan and Emory Cohen. Julie Walters is quite funny (reminded me of a Thelma Ritter performance, but can't remember which one),
Struggling to keep up doesn't even come close! Finally saw Brooklyn, loved every frame of it.
I saw The Hateful Eight! JJ Leigh is dynamite in it and I expect her to be nominated and wouldn't be surprised if she wins. she attended the screening and said she had talked to Mare Winningham after winning the role of Daisy which brought me fond memories of Georgia.
I saw The Hunger Games
Yesterday was my b-day so I went to see Room (Brie Larson for Best Actress) and Spotlight (great film).
"Creed," which is truly impressive, vigorous filmmaking, and "The Good Dinosaur," which is both Pixar's most narratively slim feature and its most visually awe-inspiring.
KRAMPUS WAS SO MUCH FUN -- It will become, amongst the reasonable, a new holiday classic right alongside Gremlins. And all the actors have more to do than you're giving the movie credit for, Nat -- I wasn't surprised since she can do anything but I got to learn that Toni Collette can totally nail FREAKED THE FUCK OUT like gangbusters. Plus Allison Tolman gets a scene to KICK TOTAL ASS -- it's a blast.
"Chiraq" - going to take a while for me to decide on this one, but for now I'll say fascinating and flawed, full of ideas and scenes that don't quite connect. I think the "Lysistrata" riff was actually a poor fit for what is ultimately a much more serious and complicated issue, not that the movie claims to have all the answers.
I watched Blue Jasmine again. It was on TV. I am using Cate's filmography to stave of madness while I wait for Carol. Thanks goodness Notes on a Scandal is on TV next Saturday.
The Man from UNCLE. With such a fantastic score, amazing production design, amusing dialogue, three impossibly beautiful leads and one very tall, bewitching supporting actress, plus car chases, I loved every minute. Why wasn't this more popular? And you guys are correct--Vikander WAS in a hundred movies this year, and great in all of them.
Also Love and Mercy, which was much better than I expected. Paul Giamatti is so good playing a jerk.
I saw Carol, which I thought was superb. Probably my favorite film I've seen this year so far.
Yi Yi - After finally watching this, I can confidently say I do not understand the rapturous acclaim this film has received since it was released. A simple, by-the-numbers drama with no standout qualities (other than its above average direction).
The Fly - God this creeped the hell out of me. The makeup was beyond impressive; a movie like that would be all CGI of it was released today. Great performance from Jeff Goldblum and great pacing throughout. I'm glad I watched it as an adult because if I had watched it as a kid I'd be scarred for life.
Close-Up - Other than Certified Copy, I'm not a fan of Kiarostami's work, but thought I'd give this one a shot since it's considered to be his magnum opus...but I'm sorry to say I was underwhelmed again. I don't get why they didn't have more scenes between Sabzian and the family acting out his deception. The last third in the courtroom dragged on a well; a terrific idea but didn't have the best execution.
A Very Murray Christmas - not nearly as funny as I had hoped. Mostly songs, but Murray doesn't have a strong enough voice to carry all those tunes; disappointing. I will single out Chris Rock for having the best scene in the special.
I saw CREED. Sylvester Stallone will get his Oscar nod - that locker-room scene is such an Oscar clip! - and Coogler and Jordan are a great partnership. That one-take fight was impressive, and I like that Coogler cast a real Liverpool boxer as the villain (even it meant his 'acting' left something to be desired). I loved Tessa Thompson and wish there was more of Phylicia Rashad. But I also thought it was overlong, dragged in the middle and it was a bit too corny and sentimental for my taste. I don't see it being a big Oscar player beyond Supporting Actor and maybe Editing, but we'll see.
I saw Youth, which I thought was exasperating in its pretentiousness and which I felt crossed the line into ridiculousness several times.
I also saw The Danish Girl, which I surprisingly enjoyed, though the production design/costumes far exceeded the film as a whole.
In addition to watching some Hallmark Channel Christmas movies (don't judge me!), I saw a few films at the EU Film Festival at the AFI:
1. The Here After - A Swedish film that was really good. It might be one of the best movies I have seen all year. Of course, it will never see the inside of the US theater again. Ugh.
2. Royal Night Out - It's a terrible movie, but that Bel Powley is highly entertaining.
3. Lady in the Van - Borderline insufferable. I realize it looked suspect from the beginning ... but WTF has happened to Maggie Smith's career?
Tonight: Son of Saul
Tomorrow: Dheepan
Wednesday: The High Sun
Thursday: 45 Years
Friday, Mediterranea