Liam Neeson Delivers Another Box Office Beatdown

Jean Grey, mysteriously having lost all of her mutant powers, relies on Liam Neeson for rescueLiam Neeson's surprising late career popularity continues. People love to see him putting the vicious beat down on evil types. Even if the film is as generically titled and redundantly plotted (from what I hear) as Taken 2. I wonder when we'll Neeson working a softer side again onscreen like he did in Nell, Husbands and Wives or Kinsey. Well I suppose he was more cerebral than soft in Kinsey, but the point stands. Kinsey was only 8 years ago but it seems like a different lifetime ago. It must be all those dead bodies he's left behind him onscreen since!

Box Office Dozen
01 TAKEN 2  $50 *NEW IN WIDE RELEASE*
02 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA  $26.3 (cum. $76)
03 PITCH PERFECT $14.7 *EXPANDING* (cum. $21.6)
04 LOOPER $12.2 (cum. $40.3) review
05 FRANKENWEENIE $11.5 *NEW IN WIDE RELEASE* on the original short

06 END OF WATCH  $4 (cum $32.8)
07 TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE $3.8 (cum. $29.7)
08 HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET $3.6 (cum. $27.5)
08 THE MASTER $1.8 (cum. $12.3) Team Experience
09 FINDING NEMO 3-D $1.5 (cum. $38.9 this time around) 

I'm sad that the surprisingly worthwhile and funny Frankenweenie didn't seem to connect with ticket buyers. It's Tim Burton's best since Corpse Bride. (Maybe he should stick to animation for awhile?).

This weekend I went to Pitch Perfect with my two besties. The movie wasn't quite Aca-mazing -- I wish the filmmaking itself had been stronger -- but it was definitely a good time. Our favorites were Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) who the marketing campaign is forcing has chosen as everyone's favorite, and Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) who trusted that if you missed her barely audible punchlines, they were still funny. She was right.

I have to set fire to things to feel joy"

What did you see this weekend?

Review: "Dark Shadows"

This article was originally published at Towleroad in my weekly column

Chloë Grace Moretz is judging you!

With the world too busy seeing The Avengers (reviewed) for a second time last weekend, Dark Shadows premiered to considerably less fanfare and bank than Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaborations are generally greeted with. So who will even notice that we're one week late to the ball? Young Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz) will -- she's so smugly superior -- but she prefers the word "happening". She's quick to school her out-of-time vampire uncle Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) that no one throws "balls" anymore.  

Actually, Carolyn, Tim Burton does...

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Their Best "Edward" Shots

"Post Me."
"I Can't."

Real life has this horrible way of intruding on fantasy. Though I'd much rather be spending exorbitant amounts of time with Avon lady Dianne, Gepetto-esque Vincent, dancing Winona, and Johnny's first truly brilliant performance in my favorite Tim film (I feel so close to this movie I'm totally on a first name basis with it) I couldn't work it out tonight. My post will be up on... Friday evening. Yes, let's go with that. But until then there's plenty of Edward Scissorhands love from these fine blogs joining in the Hit Me With Your Best Shot spirit. Go and read them!

I really suggest you do. My favorite thing about this series is reading the other pieces and learning from them. Films are communal but we all see them through different eyes.

Sometimes you can still catch them dancing in it...
Antagony & Ecstasy - on the ideal metaphor for Burton's aesthetic. 
Being Norma Jean - "I'm not finished" wonderful look at Edward's hands and how they precede him.
Cinesnatch -loves Dianne Wiest and Burton's use of Vincent Price.  
Film Actually - "Isn't it wild?"
The Film's The Thing -cynical adulthood / childlike wonder
Missemamm - when that suburban costume isn't working for you anymore
Paraphrased Kulchar - let it be known that Kathy Baker is a hot bitch 

Curio: Tim Burton Terrariums

Alexa here.  I, like the rest of the world, saw The Avengers instead of Dark Shadows last weekend. My hopes for Joss Whedon's big budget career weren't dashed, as I presume they would have been if I'd seen Dark Shadows and hoped for any of Tim Burton's glorious whimsy of yore. Speaking of, I recently became enchanted with these terrariums created by Rachel Bishop. Rachel sculpted models out of wax and used moss, roots and other natural materials to create these tiny sustainable ecosystems in tribute to Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. They make me wonder what other film universes I'd want to see living under glass; perhaps the Wilcox family home from Howard's End? Or the shire from Lord of the Rings? You can see more of Rachel's terrariums here.

Burtonjuice: Thoughts on Frankenweenie (The Original)

BURTONJUICE... on Thursday nights we're looking at Tim Burton films chronologically. Previously we covered his early shorts including the perfect goth calling card in Vincent (1982).

a boy and his dog. til death do they part

As you may have heard Tim Burton is currently rethinking Frankenweenie as a feature film. The Frankenstein story is so familiar as a myth that its ripe for either riffing on and spoofing in. But the short film is so successful at 29 minutes that it's strange to imagine it padded with another hour of footage. I thought I'd type up "things I didn't remember about the original Frankenweenie" but realized that the list would be far far too long as I didn't remember a single thing beyond the premise, that it was in black and white, and that particular boy (Barret Oliver, a major child star in the 80s. What became of him?) and his dead doggie. More after the jump...

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