Week four 2014 box office totals

1. Ride Along: $21.3 million- This was no surprise as the top film. Last week, this one proved itself and it's star power leads are really helping this.

2. Lone Survivor: $12.9 million- Along with Ride Along, this film continue to make a lot of money because of the names involved and here because it is based off a popular book. This film is going to be making money for a while.

3. The Nut Job: $12.1 million- For what this animation film is, this is not bad. I don't expect it be around much longer in the top ten but it has had a nice little run.

4. Frozen: $9.1 million- This is another animation film and from 2013 that continues to make strong money. It's time is almost up but it still has had a impressive run.

5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit $9.1 million- This was a film that was supposed to make so much money but like last week, it's just sitting in the middle ground. It looks like a film that I don't see many people are interested in due to the fact that the main character time has come and gone.

6. I, Frankenstein $8.6 million- Another January horror bomb. It will make it's money back from the foreign money but you have to question of what's left of the Frankenstein character or if this is just not the right month to release a horror film.

7. American Hustle $7.1 million- This took a small drop after Oscar nominations increased sales last week.

8. August: Osage County $ 5.5 million- One of the lesser known Oscar film that's at the right spot at the bottom of the box office. Wait until home video where it will be interesting to see where it's at.

9. The Wolf of Wall Street $5.0 million- Like American Hustle, it's a heavily Oscar nomination film that has made enough money and it's time is almost up.

10. Devil Due $2.8 million - Like I, Frankenstein, this was expect to make money it hasn't and come next weekend, this will be out of the top ten.

What we have learned: We have learned that people still care about the Oscar films, that they could care less about horror films in January, that the Jack Ryan character is dead and the kiddies still want to see the animation films in the new year.

What's ahead: With it being Super Bowl weekend, the only two big release films next weekend are Labor Day and The Awkward Moment. .

Predictions for next week: I still predict Ride Along to win this weekend only this time in a smaller margin with The Awkward Moment a close second.

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The Poltergeist Curse

My love for horror, and even before the Blair Witch Project, began with Poltergeist. With a pot-smoking scene, sexual undertones and at times strong horror scenes, this movie was probably not made for an elementary kid but I could say that about most films that I watched during my youth. It was a film that used at the time, a difficult concept of involving a family inside a horror plot and in this case a Poltergeist was attacking the family. With the well known Tobe Hooper directing it, Poltergeist made it's mark on the world but had two crappy sequels that later followed.

What makes this series an even more interesting series is what is known as "The Poltergeist Curse". This was a series that produced some crazy real-life incidents and also sadly involved some interesting deaths of actors in the movie, some whom were very young.

Dominique Dunne who played Dana Freeling was strangled to death by her boyfriend in 1982 at the age twenty two. Unfortunately, the boyfriend only served three years in prison before being released.

Julian Beck played the VERY strange Rev. Henry Kane and died from stomach cancer during the production of Poltergeist 2. The remaining scenes involving him were handled by H.R. Giger.

Will Sampson played the Medicine Man and died after the release of Poltergeist 2 from kidney failure at the age of fifty two.

The saddest death of the series was no doubt that of Heather O'Rourke who died from cardiac arrest and septic shock after a misdiagnosis at the age of the twelve. Her ghost is said to haunt Stage 19 at Universal Studios where she shot twelve episodes of the Happy Days television series.

Zelda Rubinstein died at the age of seven six in 2010. She is the only cast member to die at a normal age and from natural causes.

Here are some additional interesting facts.

- Drew Barrymore was originally casted for the lead role of Carol Ann.

                   

                        

-The Poltergeist and E.T. houses both looked the same due to the fact they both were shot in the same area and the films were released just one week apart. The Poltergeist house was also damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

-The famous skeleton scene in the first film did involve real skeletons. JoBeth Williams was so afraid to shoot the scene that Steven Spielberg jumped into the pool with her for support.

 

- O'Rourke died during the production of Poltergeist 3. The director of the film, Gary Sherman wanted to scrap the film altogether but was pressured by the studio to finish it and eventually used a body double for the rest of O'Rourke's scenes. He called the film a disaster because of it.

- The creepy clown scenes involving the character Robbie being choked actually did involve the actor Oliver Robins being choked due to a prop malfunction. As the story is told, Spielberg jumped in and saved the child actor.

For many movie nerds, these are well known facts. Often and sometimes around Halloween, there are articles regarding The Poltergeist Curse. I find The Poltergeist Curse to be fascinating and unlike anything I have seen before.

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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

In every shape and form, the first Anchorman movie from 2004 was very successful. From Paul Rudd to even Will Ferrell, the film put them further on the map as actors even though Ferrell was already  on his way to getting big before. It was a very memorable movie that brought very different vibes and was a comedy unlike any other. Anchorman became a cult film in every way and something I can see living on for quite a while.

Like most sequels, and even more so with this one more than ten years after the first movie, Anchorman 2 is as forced as it gets. It's a film that die-hard fans of the series have been demanding for a while and it likely had one of the biggest promotional budgets ever which raised some questions marks for me. Even though we can still say it's above average, Anchorman 2 is still one of the most disappointing films from 2013 considering it's hype and I think it's a film that never really needed to exist.

Using the theme of everybody getting back together, the old gang of Ron Burgundy (Ferrell), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Rudd) and Champ Kind (David  Koechner) join back together to work for the new New York station GNN, the very first every twenty four hour news station. This new job creates problems for the gang while along the way, they make some new relationships.

As we really expect it and without it wouldn't seem the same, Anchorman 2 also provides some VERY strange behavior.  This worked very well the first time around because in some ways it was really original and kind of a cultural shock for audiences. In Anchorman 2, this craziness is still a positive mark in a way but it is just not as interesting as the first movie. The character behaviors goes in spurts and sometimes is not above average and the cultural shock can't happen this time around because it's a sequel and to my surprise, it can be a leaden thing here.

With a lot homage paid toward CNN, the plot in this new installment is much like the behavior of the characters. The plot seems smarter than first film and for a sequel it's a surprisingly original movie but it suffers from the fact it has a terrible second half. It takes a very strange and questionable turn with the Ron Burgundy character that really makes no much sense. There is also a long fight scene at the end that puts a drag on it's ending and it's such a bad second half that at times you can't figure out what's going on.

Lastly, we really wonder as audience what this film would do to it's returning characters. We knew obviously that it was going to bring that different behavior from them but we didn't know what this new plot what would do with them. Ron Burgundy is a moving character who has some depth but we've already talked about his problems in the second half. The new character that turns into Ron Burgundy love interest, Linda Jackson (Meagan Good) is a new and original character as Burgundy's co-worker at GNN but by the end of the film she is left with nothing to do. Brick Tamland is a  character that enters into a strange but very interesting relationship with a girl named Chani (Kristen Wiig). The biggest disappointments are the characters of Brian Fantana and Champ Kind who bring nothing to the film where as the first one they both did.

      
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a mess of a film with no "rewatchability" factor. It's just a sequel we should just choose to forget. It's a sequel that makes the famous Ron Burgundy character look a different way and in a way that I don't like.

3/5

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Sole Survivor

Sadly, there are many plane crashes in this world. Plane crashes have caused many casualties and destruction and sometimes that makes us question flying but one thing that has come out of some plane crashes are sole survivors. We know through history there have only been a handful of sole survivors from plane crashes and that's what makes it an interesting story. Sole Survivor is the CNN documentary of four people who are sole survivors and their life and effects after surviving their own crashes.

This is a documentary that switches off and on who they are following and because of that, the film is a little uneven at times. Still though, the most interesting stories and people that eventually connected with each other are of George Lamson and Bahia Bakari. In 1985, George Lamson was celebrating Super Bowl Sunday in Reno when he survived a plane crash as he was traveling back to his home state of Minnesota. Bahia Bakari survived a crash in 2009 that left her in the water for nine hours hanging on to part of the plane's wreckage. Both stories connect as Lamson and Bakari lost parent figures in the crash and even though there is a language barrier between them, they meet up eventually and this likely will have a lasting impact on them.

The most different story is from Jim Polehinke who was the co-pilot and only survivor of a crash in Kentucky. His story goes into how the control tower were understaffed, a wrong runway was used and who was to blame for the crash. This is the story that ultimately adds the most variety to the film.

The most famous story is that of Cecelia Cichan, the toddler that survived a crash in the Detroit area that caused 154 casualties. This crash is only twenty five minutes from my house and is a story that connects to me as my aunt knew a person on the flight and it is still something that people talk about in my area close to thirty years after the crash. Even though Cecelia Cichan's story is the most famous of those in the documentary, it is kind of a forced segment and disappears afterwards.

Sole Survivor is a very sad but informational documentary. It is a good film with a unique idea that will likely never be explored again. Sole Survivor proves yet again what great films are being produced by CNN Films.

4/5

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Hit the Road: India

Following around the North American team of Richard Gazarian and Keith King, the documentary, Hit The Road: India follows these racers through the "The Mumbai Xpress", a twelve day journey and race from the cities of Mumbai to Chennai, India all on only rickshaws.

If we look at the world now, we are no doubt in a time where reality television is at it's peak and here to stay. The reality television show The Amazing Race is really similar to this and in a positive way, Hit the Road: India could be described as a reality show. The lead actors could be described as easy going and wanting an adventure and each bringing their own personality to the table, and the most important thing for me is that they are very likable. Like The Amazing Race, the Mumbai Xpress comes with it's problems which include weather, rickshaw breakdowns and just the overall emotional and physical effects that come with this long journey. This adds drama to the story and substance to the film.

Another important thing we learn through this journey is the history of India. From the climate and scenery that seems to change quite a bit, driving conditions that seem well beyond normal, and even just how beef is not served at McDonald's due to Indian religious beliefs, we learn more about India than we knew before. Living in America, most of the things depicted here would not be considered normal to me and that leads to a surreal feeling at times while watching this movie.

Again just like The Amazing Race, Hit The Road: India really does make you consider the world differently than you did before. Here, we are in a world where there are so many new things out there with really so little time to see and appreciate it all. This is a documentary that makes you consider traveling the world regardless of the distance from you and that is an accomplishment. If a film like this is able to grab you in a way and make you think, then no doubt it is a powerful film.

I do question why the film chose not to shoot other contestants in the race and you really can't say this is the most original idea but I still liked this documentary. It is entertaining, direct and to the point and it is a good hidden film from 2013. Hit the road and find it.

3.5/5

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Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Released in 2007 for festival screening and than eventually to limited release in September 2009, Paranormal Activity was a good horror movie. Even though not an original idea, it was a scary film that introduced good new characters and along with "The Blair Witch Project", Paranormal Activity made found footage movies even more mainstream.

Now in 2014 after four sequels and a fifth one due in October, you can't really look at the first Paranormal Activity the same way. The series now seems like a money grab and it's sequels were an up and down thing with the third one being the best. The new spin off film, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is really an even bigger question mark.

The movie is set in a rundown Hispanic community and some would call it the hood. Recent high schools graduates Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and best friend Hector (Jorge Diaz) learn and discover that Jesse's neighbor on the bottom level of their apartment, a very creepy lady, has died mysteriously. After her death, Jesse's life is turned upside down once he learns he has some type of bite mark on arm. The story involves black magic, witches and a possessed Jesse.

What first stands out about this film and what is different than the others, is the cast. Like the other films of the series, this cast is full of unknown actors which make this film seem real. Andrew Jacobs is a fresh lead who is likable and he's works with the others and there is a lot of character development in this movie. Jorge Diaz brings humor to this film which is something we have never seen before in this series. Even the grandmother of the story played by Renee Victor who speaks no English in this film works as being the foreign character and sparks her own laughs. Sure, most all the characters lack substance and most you can't tell the difference between them but they are still fun characters.

The movie is set in a different atmosphere that I like but the story lines follow similar paths. The characters go predictable ways, the kills are typical and besides it's ending, most of the movie is not very scary. The themes and substance which includes witches and black magic are light and really most of those ideas don't have much to them.

  


Who knows what the future holds for this series but I am not seeing how this movie connects to the rest of the series or connects at all just in itself. The ending which has references to the previous movies just looks thrown together and really has no meaning. This is a film that really leaves us in the middle and with a feeling of nowhere to go further. Its seems like it is up to us to figure out  just what is going on or what it means.

In the end, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is kind of a mess and it is hard to get used to but at the same time it's an above average film. It is a very interesting film that I can tell already is going be one of the most different films I am going to review all year long. Just like The Devil Inside from last year, this film is a strange way to start a new year.

3/5

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