Scribblings

The Top Ten Next Big Things

Now that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Superman Returns have the box office in a firm grip, and movies like Mission Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand are nothing but a memory, you might think that the fireworks are over for this year. Still, there are plenty of other big movies coming out in the second half of 2006. If you are looking for a heavy dose of popcorn entertainment, you don't have to luck further than these ten blockbusters.

Rising Star: Ellen Page

Ellen Page has left a big impression in the first half of this year. First, the controversial Hard Candy, in which she plays a young girl who gets back at the much older man who seduced her on the web, left audiences divided in camps either loving or hating it. Then came her role as Kitty Pride in the box office behemoth X-Men: The Last Stand, which made her known to a big audience. In both movies, Ellen was one of the highlights, critics showering her with praise, with one critic even saying about Hard Candy that "there's really only one compelling reason to see this film and that is the extraordinary performance by young Ellen Page, a breakout if ever there was one." (Laura Clifford from Reeling Reviews) And for Page, this is clearly only the beginning.

The 20 biggest opening weekends ever

If you've read movie news the last couple of days, you cannot have missed the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest had the biggest opening weekend ever. The movie made more than $ 135 million ($ 135.634.554 to be precise), and bested the old opening record by almost $ 21 million. But which other movies have had openings big enough for movie news sites to break out their biggest possible lettersize so they could break this news?

If you've read movie news the last couple of days, you cannot have missed the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest had the biggest opening weekend ever. The movie made more than $ 135 million ($ 135.634.554 to be precise), and bested the old opening record by almost $ 21 million. But which other movies have had openings big enough for movie news sites to break out their biggest possible lettersize so they could break this news?

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

We should all be very thankful for the fact that Johnny Depp has kids. If he was childless, he wouldn't have had the need to make a movie for them, which in turn would have meant that there would now be no Captain Jack Sparrow. And even though I'm sure the Pirates movies would still be fun without him, they would have missed that extra element that makes them stand out so much. For Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is without a doubt the most fun you will have in a cinema all summer. It may be a bit less epic than something like Superman Returns, but watching Jack and his friends travel all over the world, ending up in one bad situation after another, will no doubt shiver any moviefan's timbers.

Continue reading "Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)" »

We should all be very thankful for the fact that Johnny Depp has kids. If he was childless, he wouldn't have had the need to make a movie for them, which in turn would have meant that there would now be no Captain Jack Sparrow. And even though I'm sure the Pirates movies would still be fun without him, they would have missed that extra element that makes them stand out so much. For Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is without a doubt the most fun you will have in a cinema all summer. It may be a bit less epic than something like Superman Returns, but watching Jack and his friends travel all over the world, ending up in one bad situation after another, will no doubt shiver any moviefan's timbers.

Review: Superman Returns (2006)

It only took until the opening credits started to realize that this was going to be a great movie. From the moment you see the names of all involved zoom over the screen in the style of the old Superman movies, Superman Returns is a great ride, almost unparallelled in the superhero genre in the way it rouses not just your adrenaline glands, but also the hidden romantic inside of you. Superman Returns isn't just a spectacular action movie (and a very funny comedy on the side), but also a movie that will tug at your heartstrings. And it's not just the love between Superman and Lois Lane that gets play here, it's also the love between Superman and the people of the world, who at first think they don't need Supes anymore, but who soon realize how much they have missed the Man of Steel.

Continue reading "Review: Superman Returns (2006)" »

It only took until the opening credits started to realize that this was going to be a great movie. From the moment you see the names of all involved zoom over the screen in the style of the old Superman movies, Superman Returns is a great ride, almost unparallelled in the superhero genre in the way it rouses not just your adrenaline glands, but also the hidden romantic inside of you. Superman Returns isn't just a spectacular action movie (and a very funny comedy on the side), but also a movie that will tug at your heartstrings. And it's not just the love between Superman and Lois Lane that gets play here, it's also the love between Superman and the people of the world, who at first think they don't need Supes anymore, but who soon realize how much they have missed the Man of Steel.

Review: Cars (2006)

While Cars is a very enjoyable, beautifully crafted piece of animation, it also shows the first tiny cracks in the heretofore unstoppable Pixar machine. While many of the previous Pixar-movies shone thanks to their oiginality and freshness, Cars is too predictable. The reason for this is the fact that Cars follows the Pixar formula that we know too well from their previous movies (which in turn was more or less modelled after the tried and tested Disney Formula for Animated Success), meaning the movie never surprises us with unexpected happenings. Before the movie starts, just by looking at the plot, you can map out exactly what is going to happen, and if you would get up during the movie and leave the theater for fifteen minutes, you would be up to speed again the second you sit back in your seat. Luckily though, even a Pixar movie that isn't up there with the best things they have made so far is filled to the brim with scenes, characters and other elements that set it apart from most other animated movies. Compare this with something like Chicken Little or Hoodwinked and you realize that Pixar is operating on a whole different level.

Continue reading "Review: Cars (2006)" »

While Cars is a very enjoyable, beautifully crafted piece of animation, it also shows the first tiny cracks in the heretofore unstoppable Pixar machine. While many of the previous Pixar-movies shone thanks to their oiginality and freshness, Cars is too predictable. The reason for this is the fact that Cars follows the Pixar formula that we know too well from their previous movies (which in turn was more or less modelled after the tried and tested Disney Formula for Animated Success), meaning the movie never surprises us with unexpected happenings. Before the movie starts, just by looking at the plot, you can map out exactly what is going to happen, and if you would get up during the movie and leave the theater for fifteen minutes, you would be up to speed again the second you sit back in your seat. Luckily though, even a Pixar movie that isn't up there with the best things they have made so far is filled to the brim with scenes, characters and other elements that set it apart from most other animated movies. Compare this with something like Chicken Little or Hoodwinked and you realize that Pixar is operating on a whole different level.