It is with great joy that I write this segment of Juice today.
As of 1-29-10 Avatar has grossed a total of $ 1,900,514,732 worldwide making it the top grossing movie of ALL TIME!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)))))))
That's right folks, thanks to your help Avatar has blown Titanic out of the water and has ascended to its rightful place in film history.
For Domestic (U.S) Gross though it is still behind Titanic
Avatar: $564,472,387
Titanic: $600,788,188
But in a few weeks all that may change as well...once again it is up to you...the American movie-go-er. We did it once (TOP GROSSING FILM WORLDWIDE OF ALL-TIME YAHOOO!!!) and we can do it again.
Till then I'm Beetlejuice and you've just been bugged
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
BEETLE'S BUG JUICE: AVATAR COULD BEAT TITANIC
As of January 25 2010 Avatar is the number 2 top grossing film of all time. What's beating it, you ask?? Titanic...a film that is in my personal opinion highly overrated.
So, If you want to see Titanic lose it's crown and be dethrowned by a film that actually deserves this title forget about seeing Legion (Review coming later), The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones, or any other big film coming out soon...instead opt to spend a few extra bucks for a good cause and see Avatar in 3-D, your money will help it beat Titanic and you'll have a bloody good time.
Grosses as of 1-25-10
Titanic: 1,842,879,955
Avatar: 1,838,802,321
Till then I'm Beetlejuice and you've just been bugged
So, If you want to see Titanic lose it's crown and be dethrowned by a film that actually deserves this title forget about seeing Legion (Review coming later), The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones, or any other big film coming out soon...instead opt to spend a few extra bucks for a good cause and see Avatar in 3-D, your money will help it beat Titanic and you'll have a bloody good time.
Grosses as of 1-25-10
Titanic: 1,842,879,955
Avatar: 1,838,802,321
Till then I'm Beetlejuice and you've just been bugged
Thursday, January 7, 2010
RETRO REVIEW: DAWN OF THE DEAD
"When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth."
Dawn Of The Dead is arguably the definitive zombie movie. It's the movie that all zombie movies aspire to be when they grow up. Dawn Of The Dead follows 4 survivors as they hole themselves up in a shopping mall while the world outside effectively goes to hell. There's Peter: The hardened National guardsman with a heart of gold, Roger: The sharpshooter and all around cowboy, Steven: The everyday police officer, and Francine: The newswoman who is arguably the toughest character in the group. They plan to fortify the mall as a stronghold until the zombie crisis ends but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry which they do to entertaining and tragic effects here.
Dawn Of The Dead abandons the grainy and surrealistic black and white of the former Night Of The Living Dead for a wider range of color (All The better for you to see the blood with , my dear). Aided by the superb special effects by Tom Savini the buckets of blood and gore gush freely before our horrified eyes.
Dawn Of the Dead addresses just about every theme ever seen in a zombie movie from human nature to the question of who the real monsters are. There is so much crammed into the 127 minute run time that it's just about impossible to pick up on every little detail and subplot making 2nd and 3rd viewings just about a guarantee. This time around George A. Romero places the zombies right in the foreground as the center focus of the movie, but also introduces several intriguing themes about society, greed, and human nature. This makes for an excellent mixture of fun, bad-assedness, and emotion that all come together to form the best Zombie movie I've seen so far.
From it's chaotic opening in a newsroom gone mad to its final closing scene at the shopping mall that has been run over with hoardes of zombies, Dawn Of The Dead consistently proves why it has been often praised as the best zombie movie out there. In fact, Dawn was so good that a successful remake was made in 2004. While the remake is good for different reasons (Better special effects, more action, cooler looking zombies), if given the choice between the 2 I'd have to say go with the 1978 version anytime.
While Night Of The Living Dead is more important to the zombie genre than Dawn, Dawn did pave the way for the contemporary zombie films we know and love today, giving this one an importance all its own. Dawn Of The Dead is a fun thrill ride through the depths of Hell that only George A. Romero could create. It all makes for another must-see film for any die-hard zombie buff.
4 Stars/ 5 Stars
Dawn Of The Dead is arguably the definitive zombie movie. It's the movie that all zombie movies aspire to be when they grow up. Dawn Of The Dead follows 4 survivors as they hole themselves up in a shopping mall while the world outside effectively goes to hell. There's Peter: The hardened National guardsman with a heart of gold, Roger: The sharpshooter and all around cowboy, Steven: The everyday police officer, and Francine: The newswoman who is arguably the toughest character in the group. They plan to fortify the mall as a stronghold until the zombie crisis ends but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry which they do to entertaining and tragic effects here.
Dawn Of The Dead abandons the grainy and surrealistic black and white of the former Night Of The Living Dead for a wider range of color (All The better for you to see the blood with , my dear). Aided by the superb special effects by Tom Savini the buckets of blood and gore gush freely before our horrified eyes.
Dawn Of the Dead addresses just about every theme ever seen in a zombie movie from human nature to the question of who the real monsters are. There is so much crammed into the 127 minute run time that it's just about impossible to pick up on every little detail and subplot making 2nd and 3rd viewings just about a guarantee. This time around George A. Romero places the zombies right in the foreground as the center focus of the movie, but also introduces several intriguing themes about society, greed, and human nature. This makes for an excellent mixture of fun, bad-assedness, and emotion that all come together to form the best Zombie movie I've seen so far.
From it's chaotic opening in a newsroom gone mad to its final closing scene at the shopping mall that has been run over with hoardes of zombies, Dawn Of The Dead consistently proves why it has been often praised as the best zombie movie out there. In fact, Dawn was so good that a successful remake was made in 2004. While the remake is good for different reasons (Better special effects, more action, cooler looking zombies), if given the choice between the 2 I'd have to say go with the 1978 version anytime.
While Night Of The Living Dead is more important to the zombie genre than Dawn, Dawn did pave the way for the contemporary zombie films we know and love today, giving this one an importance all its own. Dawn Of The Dead is a fun thrill ride through the depths of Hell that only George A. Romero could create. It all makes for another must-see film for any die-hard zombie buff.
4 Stars/ 5 Stars
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
RETRO REVIEW: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
Night Of The Living Dead was the film that sparked the whole zombie genre, yet interestingly enough the word "Zombie" is never used in it. Instead, you only hear them referred to as Ghouls at rare moments. For most of the film the undead antagonists are unnamed, and the reason for their reanimation is never fully explained thus allowing the audience to direct their full attention to the characters. Night Of The Living Dead also is responsible for creating most of the stereotypes we associate with Zombies: The idea that shooting a zombie in its head will kill it, The idea that zombies eat the flesh of the living, heck,even the moans they make can kind of be traced back to Night Of The Living Dead.
Night Of thge Living dead was filmed in 1968 and made with a budget of $114,000. It was filmed in black and white partially due to the low budget, but also to accentuate that the film is going to deal with race relations.The plot is extremely simple: A group of people board themselves up in an abandoned house when the dead rise. The group is made up of 2 white men, 2 white women, 1 white little girl, and 1 black man named Ben. Of course there are several power struggles between black and white which get progressively nastier and more intense during the film.
Night Of The Living Dead was made in the late 60's bordering on the early 70's. During this time there was segregation and problems between blacks and whites. George A. Romero made an interesting choice for his film. During the first 30-40 minutes of the film we are introduced to 2 possible hero's. First is Johnny who is promptly left for dead by the next assumed hero, his sister Barbara. She eventually runs into the films real hero, the black man named Ben. Casting a black man as the film's hero was a controversial choice for the time, but it ended up paying back in the long run. Throughout the film Ben tries to get everyone working together but; since each are from different social classes and walks of life; Bens efforts go unrewarded.
Despite it's low budget, Night Of The Living Dead is expertly crafted and filmed. Let's take Barbara's mad dash into the house as an example. The zombie chasing her is laughably silly, but the way the whole scene is filmed with its low ground shots and tilted camera angles helps the audience share her sense of fear and panic. Night Of The Living Dead is 42 years old this year, but it still holds the capacity to make even the most hardened viewer cringe. A good example of this is the scene in which the sickened little girl rises up and turns on her mother to horrifying effect.
Another interesting thing about the film is that; even though the zombies are not seen a lot; we can constantly feel their prescence outside the house. We can hear their moans throughout most of the movie, reminding us that even though it may be safe for the moment it will never stay that way for very long.Even the characters themselves are interesting. Not one of them has an established backstory, this leaves the viewer to draw their own assumptions about said character, in this way the film challanges our preconceived notions about the stereotyoes associated with each. By the end of the film the audience does not want to really see anyone die, a rare feat in modern cinema.
Even with a low budget, Night Of The Living Dead ended up becoming a classic film with quite a cult following, inspiring several other directors to make their own version of the dead rising. No matter how many times you will view Night Of the Living Dead it will never get old or boring, the social commentary is just as rich as the day it was made. Night of the Living Dead is a horror classic that is a must-see for any true movie buff.
4 stars/5 stars
Night Of thge Living dead was filmed in 1968 and made with a budget of $114,000. It was filmed in black and white partially due to the low budget, but also to accentuate that the film is going to deal with race relations.The plot is extremely simple: A group of people board themselves up in an abandoned house when the dead rise. The group is made up of 2 white men, 2 white women, 1 white little girl, and 1 black man named Ben. Of course there are several power struggles between black and white which get progressively nastier and more intense during the film.
Night Of The Living Dead was made in the late 60's bordering on the early 70's. During this time there was segregation and problems between blacks and whites. George A. Romero made an interesting choice for his film. During the first 30-40 minutes of the film we are introduced to 2 possible hero's. First is Johnny who is promptly left for dead by the next assumed hero, his sister Barbara. She eventually runs into the films real hero, the black man named Ben. Casting a black man as the film's hero was a controversial choice for the time, but it ended up paying back in the long run. Throughout the film Ben tries to get everyone working together but; since each are from different social classes and walks of life; Bens efforts go unrewarded.
Despite it's low budget, Night Of The Living Dead is expertly crafted and filmed. Let's take Barbara's mad dash into the house as an example. The zombie chasing her is laughably silly, but the way the whole scene is filmed with its low ground shots and tilted camera angles helps the audience share her sense of fear and panic. Night Of The Living Dead is 42 years old this year, but it still holds the capacity to make even the most hardened viewer cringe. A good example of this is the scene in which the sickened little girl rises up and turns on her mother to horrifying effect.
Another interesting thing about the film is that; even though the zombies are not seen a lot; we can constantly feel their prescence outside the house. We can hear their moans throughout most of the movie, reminding us that even though it may be safe for the moment it will never stay that way for very long.Even the characters themselves are interesting. Not one of them has an established backstory, this leaves the viewer to draw their own assumptions about said character, in this way the film challanges our preconceived notions about the stereotyoes associated with each. By the end of the film the audience does not want to really see anyone die, a rare feat in modern cinema.
Even with a low budget, Night Of The Living Dead ended up becoming a classic film with quite a cult following, inspiring several other directors to make their own version of the dead rising. No matter how many times you will view Night Of the Living Dead it will never get old or boring, the social commentary is just as rich as the day it was made. Night of the Living Dead is a horror classic that is a must-see for any true movie buff.
4 stars/5 stars
Monday, January 4, 2010
BEETLE REVIEWS THE MOTION PICTURE EPIC: AVATAR
Avatar's plot is simplistic and fairly unimposing. It is made up of a bunch of familiar story elements that have been mixed together. James Cameron drew inspiration for the film from some of his favorite sci-fi stories such as John Carter Of Mars. Though the plot is mainly borrowed from other films, it's handled in such a way that it comes across as unique, the same can be said about the characters. There's the hero torn between two worlds, the geeky friend, the hard yet sympathetic scientest, and the love interest from another world. Even though we have seen all these characters before we spend enough quality time with them that we are able to care about them during the film.
The Story of Avatar is about crippled ex-marine Jake Sully who is recruited into the Avatar program on the distant planet Pandora. Pandora holds a rare substance that is worth alot of money, which is why a corporation and the military have set up camp on Pandora. The only way to retrieve said mineral is to move the native aliens that inhabit Pandora: the Nav'ii. There's only one problem though: The Nav'ii are refusing to cooperate and have begun to fight back. In desperation, the humans develop the Avatar program in which human DNA is mixed with Nav'ii DNA to create an "Avatar" that the controller will focus his consciousness into. It's all done in the hope of discovering a motive that will get the Nav'ii to cooperate and behave. Of Course, Jake falls in love with a female Nav'ii and soon finds himself torn between two worlds.
Many people are claiming that Avatar is going to revolutionize film itself. In order to correctly address this claim I'm going to take a look at the technology put into making this film. The Nav'ii in the film that inhabit the planet Pandora; which is where the film is set; are all created by the use of motion capture technology. Mo-cap is the same technology used in films such as Beowulf, The Polar Express, Monster House, and A Christmas Carol. Unlike previous use of mo-cap, Avatar, for the first time ever, uses it in the RIGHT way. You WILL believe that these Nav'ii live and breathe. Their so realistic that it's impossible to tell that they are CGI characters. When watching the film you will believe that these nav'ii are real actors...actors that you can touch and interact with. This is the most realistic use of mo-cap that I have ever seen.
The planet Pandora is another beautiful piece of art made all the more real by the use of 3-D technology. The animals, plants, and Nav'ii that inhabit the planet subtly extend out of the screen and into the theatre, entrancing the audiences eyes with a fantastic explosion of color and design. The animals that inhabit the planet are dangerous yet fascinating, the plant life breathtaking and mesmerizing. There are floating mountains that have waterfalls cascading down off them, there are amazing dinosaur-type things that fly through the air taking our hero and the theatre on breathtaking flights around the planet, and so much more. The whole planet is just amazing, beautiful, deadly, and breathtaking in all the right ways. The effort, time and technology that went into designing and bringing Pandora to life were time and money well spent. The Filmmakers even created their own REAl language that the Nav'ii speak. If there was a Pandora I'd be boooking a flight there ASAP.
The 3-D technology is also quite astounding. As I said before The plants, animals, and settings of Pandora subtly extend into the theatre. None of the effects are directly in-your-face, but are subtly used to extend the environment so that the viewer is truely immersed in the fantastic world of Pandora and Avatar. This is the best 3-D movie I have ever seen and probably will EVER see. Yes, I believe that if filmmakers were smart that they would pay attention to Avatar and use it as an example for mo-cap and 3-D from now on. Avatar has the potential to usher in a new age of movie-making technology that will forever change film as we know it...but only if filmmakers are smart enough to recognize Avatar as the marvel that it truely is.
Though the story and characters of Avatar are borrowed and inspired from other works, they come across as original and captivating nonetheless. The film itself is enhanced by a superior knowledge and use of 3-D technology. The statement that "Avatar is not the best film of the year because if you take away the 3-D it is just another boring film" is made null and void by the fact that the film was made to be seen in 3-D, thats how they filmed it. The filmmakers later went back and REVERTED it to 2-D for audiences after the fact. Make no mistake, Avatar not only is the BEST film of 2009, but it's also THE film of 2009. It's a breathtaking, mesmerizing, mind-blowing, exhilarating thrill ride of a movie that will leave you begging for more.
5 stars/ 5 stars
The Story of Avatar is about crippled ex-marine Jake Sully who is recruited into the Avatar program on the distant planet Pandora. Pandora holds a rare substance that is worth alot of money, which is why a corporation and the military have set up camp on Pandora. The only way to retrieve said mineral is to move the native aliens that inhabit Pandora: the Nav'ii. There's only one problem though: The Nav'ii are refusing to cooperate and have begun to fight back. In desperation, the humans develop the Avatar program in which human DNA is mixed with Nav'ii DNA to create an "Avatar" that the controller will focus his consciousness into. It's all done in the hope of discovering a motive that will get the Nav'ii to cooperate and behave. Of Course, Jake falls in love with a female Nav'ii and soon finds himself torn between two worlds.
Many people are claiming that Avatar is going to revolutionize film itself. In order to correctly address this claim I'm going to take a look at the technology put into making this film. The Nav'ii in the film that inhabit the planet Pandora; which is where the film is set; are all created by the use of motion capture technology. Mo-cap is the same technology used in films such as Beowulf, The Polar Express, Monster House, and A Christmas Carol. Unlike previous use of mo-cap, Avatar, for the first time ever, uses it in the RIGHT way. You WILL believe that these Nav'ii live and breathe. Their so realistic that it's impossible to tell that they are CGI characters. When watching the film you will believe that these nav'ii are real actors...actors that you can touch and interact with. This is the most realistic use of mo-cap that I have ever seen.
The planet Pandora is another beautiful piece of art made all the more real by the use of 3-D technology. The animals, plants, and Nav'ii that inhabit the planet subtly extend out of the screen and into the theatre, entrancing the audiences eyes with a fantastic explosion of color and design. The animals that inhabit the planet are dangerous yet fascinating, the plant life breathtaking and mesmerizing. There are floating mountains that have waterfalls cascading down off them, there are amazing dinosaur-type things that fly through the air taking our hero and the theatre on breathtaking flights around the planet, and so much more. The whole planet is just amazing, beautiful, deadly, and breathtaking in all the right ways. The effort, time and technology that went into designing and bringing Pandora to life were time and money well spent. The Filmmakers even created their own REAl language that the Nav'ii speak. If there was a Pandora I'd be boooking a flight there ASAP.
The 3-D technology is also quite astounding. As I said before The plants, animals, and settings of Pandora subtly extend into the theatre. None of the effects are directly in-your-face, but are subtly used to extend the environment so that the viewer is truely immersed in the fantastic world of Pandora and Avatar. This is the best 3-D movie I have ever seen and probably will EVER see. Yes, I believe that if filmmakers were smart that they would pay attention to Avatar and use it as an example for mo-cap and 3-D from now on. Avatar has the potential to usher in a new age of movie-making technology that will forever change film as we know it...but only if filmmakers are smart enough to recognize Avatar as the marvel that it truely is.
Though the story and characters of Avatar are borrowed and inspired from other works, they come across as original and captivating nonetheless. The film itself is enhanced by a superior knowledge and use of 3-D technology. The statement that "Avatar is not the best film of the year because if you take away the 3-D it is just another boring film" is made null and void by the fact that the film was made to be seen in 3-D, thats how they filmed it. The filmmakers later went back and REVERTED it to 2-D for audiences after the fact. Make no mistake, Avatar not only is the BEST film of 2009, but it's also THE film of 2009. It's a breathtaking, mesmerizing, mind-blowing, exhilarating thrill ride of a movie that will leave you begging for more.
5 stars/ 5 stars
Retro Review: DAY OF THE DEAD
Day Of The Dead was George A. Romero's 3rd zombie flick ever created. It was the 3rd film in his suppossed Living Dead Trilogy, though he's created so many more Zombie films I don't think that this could reasonably be called a "Trilogy" any longer.
For those of you who do not know who George A. Romero is why don't you crawl out from under the rock you've been living under for the past few decades and see the light. He single-handedly sparked the zombie genre with his hit film Night Of The Living Dead in 1968 and is the unrivaled KING of the Zombie films.
Romero sees Zombies as two things: as a source for good scares, and as a vehicle to explore society and all of its weaknesses. In Night Of The Living Dead he explored race differences, in Dawn Of The Dead he commented on consumerism, and in Day Of The Dead he has quite a few things to say about military might and the effects that a zombie takeover would have on a small group of people.
Day Of The Dead is a fairly unexciting step in the Zombie Genre. In the film, zombies take backstage to the issues that a small group of military soldiers, ordinary citvilians, and doctors have with each other. By the time the film starts, the small society that this group has created in an underground military bunker in Florida has already started to crumble. The cast of characters includes a mad doctor that is obsessed with finding a way to domesticate zombies, an insane military leader that has lost all sense of reason, and a smart, strong female that just wants out.
Most of the characters are dull and fail to convince the audience to care about them what-so-ever. The message about the extreme amounts of stress and tension that a zombie pandemic would have on society is also fairly weak, luckily the message is strengthened in later films that were inspiried by Day Of The Dead.
Really, the only things that make Day Of The Dead notable is that it was the first film to ever explore said message, it's unusual Florida setting, and the prescence of the first ever "smart" zombie in movie history: Bub. It is never said how Bub was discovered, but through a series of tests it is revealed that he is indeed the smartest zombie around. He somewhat remembers the events of his past life, has ceased to view humans as prey, is able to use some elements of critical thinking, and even knows how to load and use a gun. It is not surprising that when the tables are finally turned, the audience is easily able to root for Bub over the crazed members of the military. Not only is he the first intelligent zombie, but he is also easily one of the most sympathetic zombies you're liable to come across in the zombie genre.
Day Of The Dead is one of the few films where the individual pieces are greater than the film itself. It is recommended viewing for any die-hard zombie fan.
3 Stars/ 5 Stars
For those of you who do not know who George A. Romero is why don't you crawl out from under the rock you've been living under for the past few decades and see the light. He single-handedly sparked the zombie genre with his hit film Night Of The Living Dead in 1968 and is the unrivaled KING of the Zombie films.
Romero sees Zombies as two things: as a source for good scares, and as a vehicle to explore society and all of its weaknesses. In Night Of The Living Dead he explored race differences, in Dawn Of The Dead he commented on consumerism, and in Day Of The Dead he has quite a few things to say about military might and the effects that a zombie takeover would have on a small group of people.
Day Of The Dead is a fairly unexciting step in the Zombie Genre. In the film, zombies take backstage to the issues that a small group of military soldiers, ordinary citvilians, and doctors have with each other. By the time the film starts, the small society that this group has created in an underground military bunker in Florida has already started to crumble. The cast of characters includes a mad doctor that is obsessed with finding a way to domesticate zombies, an insane military leader that has lost all sense of reason, and a smart, strong female that just wants out.
Most of the characters are dull and fail to convince the audience to care about them what-so-ever. The message about the extreme amounts of stress and tension that a zombie pandemic would have on society is also fairly weak, luckily the message is strengthened in later films that were inspiried by Day Of The Dead.
Really, the only things that make Day Of The Dead notable is that it was the first film to ever explore said message, it's unusual Florida setting, and the prescence of the first ever "smart" zombie in movie history: Bub. It is never said how Bub was discovered, but through a series of tests it is revealed that he is indeed the smartest zombie around. He somewhat remembers the events of his past life, has ceased to view humans as prey, is able to use some elements of critical thinking, and even knows how to load and use a gun. It is not surprising that when the tables are finally turned, the audience is easily able to root for Bub over the crazed members of the military. Not only is he the first intelligent zombie, but he is also easily one of the most sympathetic zombies you're liable to come across in the zombie genre.
Day Of The Dead is one of the few films where the individual pieces are greater than the film itself. It is recommended viewing for any die-hard zombie fan.
3 Stars/ 5 Stars
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)