Rate The Last Movie You Saw.

[Mattrick]

That's because Asian's love Tom Cruise. Not a racist statement so much as fact...I've seen it.

[frik]

This hundred million is mainly from European and South American markets - just two million from Asia, where it has only opened in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Guess Tom Cruise is liked world-wide, except for North America??

sk

[DoctorDodge]

Interestingly, the film has been successful internationally (according to this link, it raked in $82M: http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/intl...in-china-more/), and it was no. 1 in the UK. It's a shame it hasn't made as much in the US, though, as it is pretty much the key market. There might be more of a market for these kind of films internationally, perhaps - Dredd was number 1 at the UK box office during its opening weekend, but we all know how it fared US wise (although in that case, I still put a tiny portion of the blame on Rob Schneider).

[Mattrick]

This hundred million is mainly from European and South American markets - just two million from Asia, where it has only opened in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Guess Tom Cruise is liked world-wide, except for North America??

sk

Japan loves him for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhQjUiQYeak

[Heather19]

Cruises's name carries more negative cache than positive I'm afraid...this is why films like Valkyrie and others didn't do very well. I'd be curious to see what his last starring role outside the Mission Impossible to make over 100 million was, probably War of the Worlds. He's a very underrated actor for some reason.

You could be onto something. I can't stand Tom Cruise (never was a fan in the first place) but after that whole Scientology and Katie Holmes thing, I was especially turned off from him. I'm also not a fan of big blockbuster action films, which is what he normally stars in, but if he does a regular movie I wouldn't be thrilled to watch it if he was in it.

[thegunslinger41]

Recently watched 2 movies, both pretty emotionally heavy.


Labor Day
The Secret Life of Walter Smitty


Both great!


G

[Still Servant]

Cruises's name carries more negative cache than positive I'm afraid...this is why films like Valkyrie and others didn't do very well. I'd be curious to see what his last starring role outside the Mission Impossible to make over 100 million was, probably War of the Worlds. He's a very underrated actor for some reason.

I understand what you are saying about Cruise, but you also argued against yourself. Mission Impossible did over 200 million dollars at the US box office and that was released in December. This plays perfectly into what I wanted to talk about because Mission Impossible has name recognition. Jack Reacher doesn't have name recognition and it bombs.

A few of you also made good points about Edge of Tomorrow's international box office. It's very strong and it has nothing to do with Asian people liking Tom Cruise. The fact of the matter is that they are more open to new things. That and the fact that that market is currently blowing up over there.

Edge of Tomorrow is a PG-13 movie, with a strong trailer catering to video game style themes. There's no reason why it should do poorly. Add in the fact that it's getting good reviews and you would think you have a hit on your hands. Now, the reviews mean nothing because the people who go to the movies in droves don't care about reviews.

Somebody is going to have to figure out how to appeal to a mass audience without using Transformers or superheroes. I'm starting to lose hope with mainstream American moviegoers. They will give nothing a chance unless it's a sequel or reboot. The exception is horror films, which people seem to flock to the theater for regardless of its quality.

I haven't seen Edge of Tomorrow, but it doesn't deserve to be bombing the way it is, despite what people think about Tom Cruise. I firmly believe that if they had named Edge of Tomorrow Groundhog Day 2, they would be #1 at the box office.

[Mattrick]

That was my point with saying outside Mission Impossible as that series itself has a fanbase and name recognition. When you look abroad, Tom Cruise's appeal hasn't been tarnished as heavily when it comes to scientology, dirt sheets, personal life and stupid stuff like jumping on Oprah's couch...I don't know why American's couldn't get over him jumping on her couch. In many parts of the world Cruise is still beloved and is still the movie star he once was over here. His lack of drawing power over here has nothing to do with his acting abilities or his resume (which aside from a couple average films the past few years is still very strong), it's all opinion and perception. It's not as if you can point to any specific movie and say, 'that's what did it' with Tom Cruise. People just simply don't like him in the U.S and I'm sure those that don't have their reasons that has little if anything%

[Still Servant]

I don't want this to turn into a Tom Cruise problem. It extends far beyond his films. There are countless examples of films that have failed at the box office without Tom Cruise. Some of them also had star power. For example, Elysium last year. Pacific Rim is another one. I'm not saying Pacific Rim is great, but the differences between that film and Godzilla are really not many, yet Pacific Rim did a fraction of the box office.

I just don't want to focus solely on Cruise. I don't think this is just a Tom Cruise problem. This is an American problem. Notice I didn't say it was a Hollywood problem because Hollywood is more than happy to keep feeding us the same shit over and over again.

You're right about District 9. It's the one film that was the exception. I'm not quite sure how it broke the mold. As for the Hangover, I think comedies sometimes are immune. Especially ones that are geared for older audiences. I guess I'm mainly talking about action films or blockbusters.

[Mattrick]

Cloverfield managed to break through as well but that was because of it's marketting strategy...smaller films should look at what Bad Robot did bring people into the theatres, intrigue them with the trailers and make people invested before release. I'm sure that piracy definitely plays a role in that people will go out and see Godzilla or X-Men but a movie they are unsure of, that they aren't hyped due to a lack of history and fandom, and people are more likely to find a copy or wait for DVD/Blu-Ray release or to hear people's opinions before going to see it. You're right that the problem is beyond Cruise but I think when it comes to Cruise he's definitely more prejudiced against for various reasons than most A-list actors are. I am curious to see how Edge of Tomorrow would have fared without Cruise in the role, perhaps a relative unknown like Sharlto Copely was in District 9. I am curious to see if word of mouth helps get those in theatres who were cautious about seeing it. I don't think the strong chick flick opening same weekend helped it as I am sure many men who would rather of seen Edge of Tomorrow were dragged into a different theatre lol. I wouldn't be surprised to see it maintain a steady box office for the next two weeks though. I know I'm more willing to see it after hearing a lot of positive things.

[Still Servant]

I agree with you, Cruise is definitely more hated than any other A-list actor. I don't really understand it. I think he's one of the more dependable actors working today. A Few Good Men is still one of my favorite movies of all time.

I actually just got back from Edge of Tomorrow. I've been working so much, I decided to treat myself. Got off work at 9pm after working since 8am and decided to catch the 10pm showing. Even though I was tired, I was instantly rejuvenated by the film. I can't really go into at the moment, but I thought the story was pretty tight and it never felt like it lagged. Even though certain scenes were played multiple times, it still felt fresh.

Anyway, the big test is going to be Guardians of the Galaxy. It fits the superhero category, but it's not as well known. If people don't turn out for it, it will kind of tell an interesting story about mainstream audiences. Only time will tell. I personally think it will do pretty well.

[Mattrick]

Guardians of the Galaxy seems like it isn't going to take itself seriously in the least...I mean, a racoon is one of it's main characters, and I would rather see it than say Avengers 2.

[webstar1000]

Edge of Tomorrow... great movie but forgettable. A lot of fun in 3d though...

[fernandito]

Guardians of the Galaxy seems like it isn't going to take itself seriously in the least...I mean, a racoon is one of it's main characters, and I would rather see it than say Avengers 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy is the very essence of 'not taking yourself seriously'. There's a lot of slapstick, self deprecating humor in the comics. Check out a Vol. before the film is released, it'll give you a better idea of what to expect.

Also, Guardians and Avengers will end up crossing over at some point, it happens frequently in the comics.

[pathoftheturtle]

Open secret of Marvel Comics, actually: it started as pop art. Quite self-aware and essentially light-hearted. The Thing was at once the tragic character / tough guy of the Fantastic Four and the team's comic relief with off-the-wall dialogue & down-to-earth viewpoint directly in contrast to the, er… fantastic… superscience and bizarre threats. Then the most famous wisecracking superhero of all -- your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. This movie will be right within tradition. But there might be parts that are still just dumb. Some of the related films have already gone too far on occasion. I'm not real thrilled about the "infinity stones" revelation from the Thor 2 after credit sequence; the mega-crossover involving that concept in comics was to me a definitive example of indeed taking self too seriously.

[fernandito]

I read this really interesting article on how it's actually a good thing that Marvel does not have the film rights to X-Men and Spiderman because then projects like GotG would probably never have gotten off the ground. If I can find it I'll send it to you, Path.

[Still Servant]

Not to change the subject, but I can't help but think that a movie or series of movies featuring a combination of The Avengers, Spiderman and X-Men would be anything but lucrative for all parties involved. I know there is tons of red tape and legal mumbo jumbo, but it's in the best interest of all involved to work something out. The money everybody would make would be ridiculous. It would literally be like printing money.

I'm shocked they can't come to some kind of compromise. I'm sure there is also more to it than I am aware of.

[Mattrick]

I would think such a project would be too clogged to possibly be any good but that's just me. X-Men is it's own universe itself. I could see Spider-man teaming with someone but that's only because I've lost interest in that brand of films now.

[pathoftheturtle]

I don't know... the same people who go to every Marvel movie would probably be extra-excited about an ultra-big crossover film, but do you really think that would automatically equal extra-big profits?

I read this really interesting article on how it's actually a good thing that Marvel does not have the film rights to X-Men and Spiderman because then projects like GotG would probably never have gotten off the ground. If I can find it I'll send it to you, Path.

Sure; that would be great. I don't know if it much bears on what I was just saying, but if you found it interesting, it certainly sounds like something I'd like to read. And that is what I was talking about on the av thread, isn't it? Ironically enough, if TCF hadn't gotten Singer for the first X-Men film, then there might never have been confidence and interest enough for Iron Man and all the rest to get off the ground anyhow.

[DoctorDodge]

Godzilla

Well I must admit, I was rather disappointed by this one, mostly by the "human drama" part of the plot, as it seems to be the typical stock plot of "man seperated from his family while disaster happens" that I've seen in a lot of blockbusters. If any film screams "movie Jean would seriously fucking hate" (more so than a lot of blockbuster films I enjoy), this is it.

On the other hand, I found the actual monsters of the film rather impressive, especially Godzilla itself. I also liked the new backstory to the monster itself, and there were some cool epic scenes. But I can't help but feel the wrong story - human wise - was told here. At the very least, it wasn't told well enough. Instead of making me root for the characters, I couldn't help but feel I had seen it all before. Mattrick pointed out that Cloverfield was a much better monster movie, and I more than heartily agree. Compared to that and the seriously fun Pacific Rim, this is simply a disappointment, imo. 5/10

[Ricky]

A 5? Wow. But I do agree with a lot of your points. It could've been a lot better.

[Randall Flagg]

22 Jump Street.
Very funny. Exactly what I wanted and expected, but a bit more. So happy they didn't "kid it down" (make it PG-13). Raunchy, politically incorrect, but unfortunately little to no nakedness.
Love before/as the credits run they did the funny cuts on future sequels.

Spoiler:

Funniest part was Capt. Dickson (Ice Cube) finding out that Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was banging his daughter. The ensuing mayhem was fantastic.

5/6 Beers on the RFSRS. Would have received 6 if there were at least 3 boobs shown.

[Merlin1958]

Edge of Tomorrow, an interesting Sci Fi concept, well done with loads of action. I really enjoyed it!!!

[Mattrick]

Dear Mr. Watterson is a must watch for any Calvin and Hobbes fan but I can't see it offering too much to people who don't love the comic strip.

Funny People is such an underappreciated film, even I wasn't a big fan of it the first time as it felt over long and even the stuff with Eric Bana felt overlong and tacked on but I didn't feel that way the second time through. It's a very well acted comedy and very well written and it shows what Apatow can do on the directorial end of filmmaking. Sandler is such a great actor who doesn't allow himself to be one for whatever reason. Rogen plays a very different character for him as well as he both isn't his old characters yet at the same time he still is, it's odd to describe.

[fernandito]

Has anyone here seen Snowpiercer? Mike, I seem to recall you mentioning it...

I've seen it mentioned more and more lately, often to polarizing reviews. IGN (which granted, isn't exactly the most prestigious film site) gave it a stunning 9.2/10 and I wanted to see if the hype was warranted. It certainly has my attention.