Wall Street moves up

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works." These lines uttered by the business mastermind, Gorden Gekko, 23 years back still continue to stir a thought whenever you hear them. And Michael Douglas has reprised his role with some aplomb in the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps that has taken the US box office top spot for the weekend with $19 million. While the sequel should go on to earn more than the original that grossed $43 million in US, the more-than-two decade timeline between the movies hardly warrants a comparison. The second spot was taken by the high flying owls of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The movie did not stir the box office much despite being a family-centric film released in 3D (surprised people not that interested in talking owls!). Ben Affleck's The Town continued an impressive second week with only 34% decline in weekend results. It will be grossing $50 million at the US box office soon. And catch the trailer for The King's Speech starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter. Hilarious, mixed with the right amount of drama!

Will the Hobbits return?

The production of the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, continues to remain shrouded in as much mystery and drama as the Middle Earth itself created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his books of the same name. Between the period from 1937 to 1949, Tolkien created one of the greatest literary creations of the century that was later brought to life on the silver screen by Peter Jackson. As the release dates for The Hobbit series continues to allude, it is time to go back in history and relive the impact that the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy created.

The phenomenon began in the year 2001. On a production budget of $110 million, LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring introduced the world to the Middle Earth and its creatures, the hobbits, the wizards, the dwarfs, the elves, the orcs and many more. The humble Shire of the hobbits, the grandeur of the wizard Gandalf, the dark Nazguls and their allegiance to their Lord, Sauron, the beautiful land of Rivendell where the Fellowship is formed, all combined well to stir more than a mere liking for the film. It created a sensation across the globe! The movie grossed $869 million in worldwide revenues, won 4 Oscars of the 13 categories it was nominated in, and set the roadpath for the next two sequels to follow.

Exactly an year later, the much anticipated LOTR: The Two Towers followed. And it lived upto the reputation set by its predecessor. As the disbanded Fellowship continued on their separate journeys to achieve the sole quest of destroying the One Ring, the audience followed them loyally all the way. The movie grossed $926 million worldwide, more than its predecessor, and won 2 Oscars of the 6 categories it was nominated in. But it was the final movie of the trilogy, released in 2003, that set the stage on fire! LOTR: The Return of the King followed the journey of Frodo and Sam to Mount Doom as Sauron's forces arrived at the lands of Gondor to claim Middle Earth. The finale of the trilogy broke the $1 billion barrier (previously achieved only by Titanic) and swept in $1,133 million in worldwide revenues (all-time #3, after Avatar and Titanic). As if that was not enough, the movie then went on to grab all the 11 Oscars that it had been nominated for. Sauron's forces had been vanquished and Middle Earth had been saved!

It came as no surprise then when the movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit was announced. Published in 1937, the story acts as a prequel to the happenings of LOTR, showcasing Bilbo Baggins' journey with the dwarves to battle the dragon Smaug and more importantly, his encounter with Gollum that leads him to the possession of the most coveted Ring. Peter Jackson was initially supposed to serve as executive producer and co-writer while Guillermo Del Toro (of Pan's Labyrinth fame) was brought in as the director. The movie is planned to be broken into two parts. The making of the film has been however hardly anything but smooth. The initially announced release date of December 2011 for the first film has already been pushed back with the aim to start shooting by January 2011. The on-going financial problems of MGM who holds large portion of the rights to the movie, has been another reason for the drama surrounding the movie. The casting has not been completed yet though it is expected that many actors from the LOTR series would be reprising their roles (would love to see Gandalf back!). More importantly, the movie has no director as of now, with Del Toro walking out in May 2010 after working for two years on pre-production, due to the delays in filming. It appears that it would be upto Peter Jackson once again to weave his magic. We can only hope that the issues are resloved soon and we are taken back to Middle Earth to accompany the brave Bilbo Baggins on his adventures, especially his chance meeting with Gollum and the game of riddles that follow which brings the mysterious ring in Bilbo's possession. Fingers crossed!

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."

It is a 100 for Stallone!

When one is 64 years old, one thinks about retiring to the golden beaches of Hawaii or to the breezy lands of the Savannah. One does not think of jumping onto moving airplanes or riding bikes through blazing warehouses! But if someone does that, he better be good. Sylvester Stallone has proven that he better than good... he is one of the best when it comes to making adrenaline-pumping intense action films. In the past week, Stallone's The Expendables crossed $100 million at the US box office and has become the second biggest hit ever for its distributor, Lionsgate (after Fahrenheit 9/11). This surprise hit has raked in $240 million in worldwide revenues so far, showing that brute force at times does work!

The past weekend saw another actor-turned-director perform well at the box office. Ben Affleck's The Town earned a respectable $24 million in the first weekend in the US. Pretty solid, considering Affleck's directorial debut Gone Baby Gone had roped in $20 million in the US in its entire theatrical run. Easy A bagged the second spot while The Devil had a slightly disappointing opening weekend with third place. Jovovich's run with Resident Evil seems to be coming to a sharp end as the revenues fell by 62% in its second weekend. It is still on course to become the highest grossing movie of the series. And finally, check out the trailer for The Fighter. With a cast including Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, this one seems to be a must watch. Too early to say, but looking at the trailer I wonder if... Oscar buzz for Christian Bale?

Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp... aha!

The two names mentioned in the title of the post are enough to attract the attention of even the naivest of movie fans. But before we venture into that, there is a whole long list of movies releasing this weekend. In wide releases, the list is Easy A starring Emma Stone, Ben Affleck directed The Town, M. Shyamalan written (but not directed) Devil and the animated Alpha & Omega. None of these is likely to turn the box-office on its head. Devil is the one that catches my attention with a typical Shyamalan-ic plot about a group of people trapped in an elevator who realise that one amongst them is the devil! Cool.. but is it cool enough to get the audience inside the theatres... we will have to see... There are a few interesting limited releases as well, Never Let Me Go starring Keira Knightely and Jack Goes Boating, the directorial debut of Philip Hoffmann.

Now to the main event. Put Angelina Jolie in a movie. Heads will turn. Put Johnny Depp in a movie. Heads will turn. Put them both in a movie. Heads will spin wildly! That is what will happen on December 10, when The Tourist starring the two mega-stars (for the first time ever) is released in the US. The trailer for the film is out and it does live upto the expectations. Charisma and style galore! The opening lines from the trailer... just to pique your interest...

Jolie: I am Elise.

Depp: I am Frank.

Jolie: That's a terrible name.

Depp: Haha. It's the only one I've got.

Jolie: Maybe we can find you another.

Depp: Okay!

Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iXHDFqI7qk

Zombies rule while Eastwood shoots...

People still love a tough looking girl pick up the guns and teach badly dressed zombies some manners! Resident Evil: Afterlife predictably took the top spot during the weekend at the US box office with the higher ticket prices for its 3D format helping the movie gross $27 million in the US and $73 million worldwide, making it the best opening weekend in the Resident Evil franchise. Resident Evil 5 is definitely on the cards and I, for certain, am not complaining. The other movies saw big dips in their earnings as Takers moved to second spot and Clooney's The American slipped to third.

For Clint Eastwood fans, the legend is back! Not in front of the camera, but behind it once again as the trailer for his new flick Hereafter starring Matt Damon has been released. A supernatural thriller, the movie is slated for an October release this year. If you are wondering what all the gungho about, well for starters because he is Clint Eastwood! And his directorial CV appears something like this (hold your breath!) : Invictus (nominated for 2 Oscars and 3 Golden Globes), Gran Torino (nominated for 1 Golden Globe), Changeling (nominated for 3 Oscars and 2 Golden Globes), Letters from Two Jima (won 1 Oscar & 1 Golden Globe, also nominated for 3 Oscars and 1 Golden Globe), Flags of Our Fathers (nominated for 2 Oscars and 1 Golden Globe), Mystic River (won 2 Oscars and 2 Golden Globes, also nominated for 4 Oscars and 3 Golden Globes) and on and on and on.... To quote his line from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, "You see in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns and those who dig." Eastwood is the one with the loaded guns!

Superheroes that walk amongst us...

From the beauty to the geek, a superhero captures the imagination of all demographics. The alter-egoes, the super cool powers, the desire to uphold justice, are some of the many traits that everyone fantasises about, dreams to achieve. Aunt May's message in Spiderman 2 'I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride', sinks in each one of us. Asking you to search for the hero within you. And that is why a superhero movie is never simply a movie. It is another world altogether, another dimension that you want to reach out to. The characters are legends, timeless heroes, living across generations, relentless in their pursuits. And no wonder then that a superhero movie, or call it movies based on comic characters, live ages, appeal to the masses, and also earn the "big bucks".

The turn of the century gradually saw the reemergence of the comic book heroes. It began with X-Men releasing in July 2000 to a fine reception from the audience and the critics. The movie earned $335 million in worldwide ticket sales, propelled Hugh Jackman into stardom as the 'less-talk more-action' hero Wolverine, and ushered in three more films of the franchise, each of which performed better than the original on the box-office. But it was in 2002 that a comic book hero really took centre-stage. None other than the web-slinging, 'friendly neighbourhood' Spiderman. The character that Stan Lee created in 1962, had a smashing movie debut 40 years later as it took the world by storm, leaving everyone gushing for more. The two sequels that came later were hardly disappointing and the franchise collected a whooping $2.5 billion in worldwide revenues. As of now, the three Spiderman movies are ranked in the top 20 list in terms of their US box-office revenue collections.

In comparison to Spiderman's mind boggling numbers, release of Hulk in 2003 with Eric Bana as the lead, paled. The movie collected only $245 million in worldwide revenues, causing the production house to reboot the series in 2008 with release of The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton as the angry green guy. The movie could however perform only marginally better than the original.

It was not before 2005 that one of the greatest ever comic characters saw his reel rebirth. A series that many had lost hope for. A character few believed would ever emerge back from the darkness. Batman! The previous century had seen four Batman films hit the screens, and while 1989's Batman starring Michael Keaton had been a huge success, little said about the other three that followed, the better. After the disastrous Batman & Robin of 1997, it took Christopher Nolan's genius to revive a lost cause and give the world a treat to savour. Batman Begins was released in 2005 and as the name suggested, it revisited the beginnings of the superhero. The movie earned a respectable $372 million, enough to push for a sequel, and established Christian Bale as a star. What followed next is what you will define as the best possible mix of creative story-telling and superlative performances, so engrossing that one loses touch with everything else around him. That was the wonder called The Dark Knight! As Batman took on his greatest nemesis Joker in this sequel, a performance that landed Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar, the producers laughed all the way to the bank as audiences piled on and on. The Dark Knight earned nothing short of $533 million at the US box-office (#3) and $1.2 billion worldwide (#7) making it the biggest superhero blockbuster of all time.

While Batman had a smashing return to the big screen, the same was not the case for an equally popular superhero, Superman. Chrisptopher Reeve had made the Superman franchise a popular series during the period 1978 - 1987. There were attempts in the past to revive the series but it was not until 2006 that the next Superman movie hit the screens starring Brandon Routh as the famous Kryptonian. While the movie earned $391 million worldwide, higher than the earnings of Batman Begins, the studio termed it as disappointing due to the much higher production budget on which the movie was made and so no sequel was immediately followed. As of now, the Dark Knight has outdone the Man of Steel!

In 2008, it was a not-so-famous superhero that would resurrect an actor's career back in the A-list and revolutionise a comic book franchise. Not many were in awe of The Iron Man prior to Robery Downey Jr.'s depiction of the superhero in the movie with the same name. But the quick-talking and science-loving character created quite a first impression on the big screen earning $582 million worldwide and about $620 million in its sequel released earlier this year, making it one of the most successful superhero franchises of all time. The success of the movie has also paved the path to bring together any fan's dream team 'The Avengers' - Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor.

While the past decade has been exciting , the next two years should be grander when these superheroes will walk amongst us once again. The X-Men series has disintegrated with focus towards spin-offs and prequels. X-Men: First Class is slated to be released in 2011 that would focus on the earlier years of Magneto and Xavier. The sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine is also underway and shooting for the movie is expected in 2011. The hugely successful Spiderman series will also see a reboot with Tobey Maguire not reprising his role as the famous web-crawler. The fourth movie is scheduled to be released in July 2012 with a new director and new cast. If anyone was worried whether the Batman series will suffer the same fate, then have no fears. Christopher Nolan is back at the realm of things for his final instalment of the franchise while Bale would be back in the guise of the Dark Knight. The movie is also slated for a July 2012 release. Christopher Nolan will also be involved in reworking on the Superman series though not in the capacity of a director. The next Superman movie may come out in late 2012.

While some great superheroes will return in 2012, the year 2011 is going to have its mouth savoring moments too. June 2011 will bringforth the Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds as the superhero carrying the power ring and reciting the famous oath 'In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight, Let those who worship evil's night, Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!' Before that we will be introduced to one of the Avengers, the hammer-yielding God banished to Earth, Thor, releasing in the month of May (remember the appearance of Thor's hammer in the post-credits scene of Iron Man 2). The First Avenger, Captain America, will make his appearance in the month of July completing the Avengers list. The grand meeting of these superheroes in Avengers is slated for a May 2012 release. So mortals, be ready to fall in awe... The Superheroes are coming...

Alice's back... and she's bringing a few of her friends...

This is the tagline for the fourth movie of the Resident Evil franchise releasing this weekend. Not the best tagline in the world. But if you are a fan of Milla Jovovich shooting bullets across the hall as she takes on rabid dogs and deadly zombies, then you would be glad to see Alice (Jovovich's character in the series) back in action. The fact that this movie is in 3D adds to the fun. The previously released three movies have been steady box office performers, each earning about $50 million in the US market while revenues in the international market have grown with each flick (Resident Evil 3 grossed $146 million worldwide). 'Resident Evil 4: Afterlife' should not do any worse, especially with no other big release hitting the theatres this weekend. So do not expect too much from the storyline, grab a cone of popcorn alongwith a cold drink and enjoy the bullets whizzing by!

Mr. Clooney, you can do better...

If you are asked whether you want to watch a George Clooney flick, the chances are pretty high that you will agree without thinking twice (though you may enquire whether he is playing Batman again). With a stellar performance in his last movie, the Oscar nominated 'Up In the Air', I had hoped that Clooney would move on to something bigger. But The American released last weekend does not seem to fit the bill. A story line around an assassin on his final job does not sound something fresh. While the movie topped the weekend US box office, it will not be making the $100 million cut. Surprisingly, it has been three years since Clooney has had a film cross the $100 million mark in the US, with Ocean's Thirteen achieving this feat in 2007. But you still gotta love his style!

No other exciting news this week... Shooting for Spiderman 4 to begin from December. And casting for the remake of Judge Dredd is going on, with Karl Urban (remember him as Dr. McCoy from Star Trek) to fill Stallone's big shoes.