The Screening Log - blogging film

Weekend of November 6 – 8, 2009: Scrooge beats goats, aliens and creepy boxes...

As expected, Walt Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $31 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Robert Zemeckis-directed 3D motion-capture adventure based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale opened at 3,683 locations and scored an average of $8,417 per theater, enough to crush its competition.

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Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire,

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Sunday

01Nov2009

Box Office: 'This Is It' easily wins the race

Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 5:42PM | By

Weekend of Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2009: Michael Jackson film triumphs with $21M

Sony Pictures’ Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” prevailed at the top of the North American box office this weekend with $21.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Kenny Ortega-directed film opened at 3,481 locations Wednesday, bagging $11.1 million in two days. The domestic total of “This Is It” currently stands at a solid $32.5 million.

Most of the film's footage was shot in June 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. It includes scenes drawn from hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant,

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Sunday

18Oct2009

Box Office: 'Wild Things' triumphs with $32M

Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 1:35PM | By

Weekend of October 16 – 17, 2009: New releases help boost box office performance

Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are” easily defeated its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a solid $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book scored a strong average of $8,693 per theater at 3,735 locations. Starring Max Records, the film follows a lonely boy who bonds with a bunch of wild creatures in his imagination.

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Saturday

17Oct2009

The 'Wild Things' rule the box office Friday

Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 1:42PM | By

"Where the Wild Things Are" scores big while "Paranormal Activity" surprises even more!

Spike Jonze's big-screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's book "Where the Wild Things Are" stormed to the top of the North American box office Friday with a solid $11.9 million in ticket sales at 3,735 locations.

The film starring Max Records as a lonely boy escaping into his imagination delivered a superb start, and I'm glad it did. It's a truly wonderful adaptation I can only recommend you see if you haven't already.

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Friday

16Oct2009

Movie Review: “Law Abiding Citizen”

Friday, October 16, 2009 at 7:39PM | By

Seen on: October 16, 2009

The players: Director: F. Gary Gray, Writer: Kurt Wimmer, Cast: Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Colm Meaney, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: After one of the men who killed his family gets a light prison sentence, a desperate widower heads out to fix the justice system.

Our thoughts: F. Gary Gray’s new thriller “Law Abiding Citizen” is a totally crazy film, but it’s not necessarily a disastrous experience. It’s pretty much as over-the-top as a big-screen experience in this genre can get, and while it’s certainly entertaining, it fails to deliver the kind of intense payoff I expected.

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Tuesday

13Oct2009

This week's new movie releases - October 16, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 10:28PM | By

Opening wide this week are Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," F. Gary Gray's "Law Abiding Citizen" with Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler; and "The Stepfather" with Dylan Walsh and Sela Ward.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (by Spike Jonze)

Synopsis: It follows the adventure of Max (Max Records), a mischievous young boy who is sent to his room after rebelling against his mother (Catherine Keener). Max's imagination is free to roam, and it soon transports him to a thriving forest bordering a vast sea.

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Saturday

19Sep2009

Two new clips from 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 4:36PM | By

Two new clips from F. Gary Gray's upcoming thriller "Law Abiding Citizen" debuted online recently, and you can check them out after the jump. The film, which opens Oct. 16, 2009, stars Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler.

After finding out that one of his wife and daughter’s murderers will be set free via a plea bargain, Butler’s character decides to take revenge against those responsible for the murders and the deal.

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Tuesday

18Aug2009

Explosion video from set of 'Law Abiding Citizen'

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 4:32PM | By

Director F. Gary Gray's next thriller "Law Abiding Citizen" will be released Oct. 16, 2009, and the filmmaker and his crew are currently wrapping up some added special effects sequences for the film. Via his Twitter account, Gray recently posted a short video of an explosion he shot on set. Check it out after the jump.

Gray teased his followers with this tweet: "Would you like to see a behind the scenes EXPLOSION from last nights shoot?" The video followed shortly, and while the explosion itself is not among the most spectacular, the footage at least includes a few interesting words from Gray himself.

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Thursday

13Aug2009

'Law Abiding Citizen' gets intense trailer

Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 3:09PM | By

Here's quite the entertaining trailer for F. Gary Gray's upcoming thriller "Law Abiding Citizen," in which Gerard Butler goes really nuts. Check out the vibrant preview after the jump.

Jamie Foxx plays successful assistant D.A. pulled into the middle of the mayhem. Butler's revenge will be explosive, and as you can see in this footage below, he's stopping at nothing to put into place his own system of justice.

F. Gary Gray ("The Italian Job") is directing a script by Kurt Wimmer, whose credits also include "Ultraviolet" and "Equilibrium." Michael Gambon, Viola Davis and Regina Hall co-star. "Citizen" hits Oct. 16, 2009.

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Friday

30Jan2009

Viola Davis boards Law Abiding Citizen

Friday, January 30, 2009 at 5:30AM | By

Oscar-nominee Viola Davis has joined F. Gary Gray's upcoming thriller "Law Abiding Citizen."

The film, which just recently started shooting, follows a successful assistant D.A. who finds himself at the center of a vigilante plot hatched by a traumatized victim of the legal system.

After finding out that one of his wife and daughter’s murderers will be set free via a plea bargain, Butler’s character decides to take revenge against those responsible for the murders and the deal.

Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Michael Gambon, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney and Theresa Randle also on board.

Frank Darabont was originally attached to directed the project, but he bowed out and worked on the script with Kurt Wimmer and David Ayer instead. Sheldon Turner recently boarded the project to do some rewriting.

Davis most recently scored an Oscar nomination for her role in "Doubt." She also recently starred in "Nights in Rodanthe."

Source: Ouverture Films (via ComingSoon)

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