FilmCrave Movie Blog 05/2016

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of May 31-June 6

Harley Lond - wrote on 05/31/16 at 04:09 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET:
The films of Roger Corman are often as well-known for their behind-the-scenes stories as they are the ones unfolding on the screen. He famously made "Little Shop of Horrors" in just two days using sets left over from "A Bucket of Blood" and shot "The Terror" over a long weekend because bad weather prevented him from playing tennis. But none of these tales is quite so …

Memorial Day Weekend Box Office: X-Men: Apocalypse Leads a Muted Holiday Weekend

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/29/16 at 09:40 PM CT

Two big-name sequels took center stage over the holiday frame, and both came in under expectations. Even with the deflated openings, the holiday is looking to do better than last year when Memorial Day was a week earlier. Those hoping Disney would continue to make huge waves had to be the most disappointed as Alice: Through the Looking Glass was the biggest loser. Don't worry, Civil War and The …

New in Theaters May 27: X-Men: Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/26/16 at 08:01 AM CT

With Memorial Day Weekend nearly upon us, studios are bringing out the big guns hoping to snare audiences. Disney has had a record-breaking year already, and they are unleashing a seqeul to their popular live-action Alice in Wonderland with the original cast returning. Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox is hoping their superheroes will prove as popular as Marvel as the X-Men return, facing their …

Purge: Election Year, Magnificent Seven, Neon Demon and More in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/25/16 at 12:31 PM CT

Quite a nice mix this week in the ratings releases. Get ready for yet another Purge (sadly not involving any actual candidates), a remake of a classic western that was already a remake of a classic Akira Kurosawa film and yet another head trip from auteur Nicolas Winding Refn. That's just a taste of the full releases, many of which are only coming out in limited release, but that you should …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of May 24-May 30

Harley Lond - wrote on 05/24/16 at 04:44 AM CT

THIS WEEK'S BEST BETS:
The 60s and 70s were a heady time for films; almost every month a new feature from France or Germany or England would invade American theaters with exciting new cinematic adventures, adding new names to the roster of great directors that had so changed cinema. In the 1970s, Wim Wenders was among the first true international breakthrough artists of the revolutionary New …

Weekend Box Office: Get the Flock Out - Angry Birds Tops Captain America: Civil War

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/22/16 at 09:50 PM CT

It was a good weekend for families and a so-so weekend for comedies. Captain America had to take the back seat to some Angry Birds, while Neighbors 2 and The Nice Guys fought over the remaining scraps. All in all, most of the new films had good openings - not too many fireworks, but good enough to avoid the dreaded bomb designation. On the international front, X-Men Apocalypse made waves 10 days …

New in Theaters May 20: Neighbors 2, Angry Birds Movie and The Nice Guys

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/19/16 at 08:04 AM CT

For two weeks Captain America: Civil War has been dominating the box office - and Disney has been dominating the studios. This week three new contenders enter the ring - an animated film based on a popular game, a sequel to a well-received comedy and a duo of popular leading men playing a pair of 70s-era detectives. While the competition certainly looks a bit better than last weekend, Civil War …

Finding Dory, Jason Bourne, The BJG and More in this Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/18/16 at 12:47 PM CT

Either I have fallen behind or the MPAA has decided to up their schedule because there is a double dose of movies this week. You would think that would result in a massive list, but, unsurprisingly, there are really only a few big films even with two weeks worth taken into account. The biggest films are both from Disney: Finding Dory, the next, big Pixar film and The BFG, based on the …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of May 17-May 23

Harley Lond - wrote on 05/17/16 at 01:54 AM CT

FROM THE BIG SCREEN:
The very creepy and frightening "The Witch" is set in New England in the mid 1600s, a time of superstition and fear of witches and witchcraft. A farmer gets cast out of his colonial plantation and moves his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest rumored to be controlled by witches. There's no need to wonder what happens next -- almost immediately, …

Weekend Box Office: Civil War Stays On Top as Money Monster and The Darkness Both Open in Top Five

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/15/16 at 10:11 PM CT

Disney continued to dominate the box office as Captain America: Civil War and The Jungle Book took the top two spots at the box office. Both Money Monster and horror film The Darkness came in ahead of expectations as both films managed to find a spot in the top five. With Civil War continuing its winning streak it pushed the entire Marvel franchise (all the movies since Iron Man) into the $10 …

New in Theaters May 13: Money Monster, The Darkness

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/12/16 at 07:47 AM CT

After a weekend where Captain America: Civil War dominated the box office, we have a couple of new contenders looking to make their own waves in theaters. Though one has plenty of big-name stars and the other is a genre woefully lacking in theaters lately, I have a feeling that the Avengers 2.5 will have no problem once again topping the box office. In fact, I have a pretty good feeling that's …

X-Men: Apocalypse, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and More in The Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/11/16 at 11:15 AM CT

Superheroes are in the air once again. If you haven't gotten your fill with Captain America, don't worry, our favorite mutants are right around the corner. Plus, we have Zac Efron and Adam Devine looking for dates - and getting more than they bargained for with the power party girls played by Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza. Finally, because I hate when ratings cut things so close, we have a …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of May 10-May 16

Harley Lond - wrote on 05/10/16 at 05:00 AM CT

FROM THE BIG SCREEN:
"Deadpool": Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a mercenary with a Special Forces background. After being diagnosed with cancer, he agrees to be part of an experimental project designed to turn him into a super soldier with accelerated healing and drug, toxin and disease resistance. Yet, this rogue experiment does much more: Instead of destroying his cancer, it makes the cells a …

Weekend Box Office: Civil War Erupts and Conquers the Box Office

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/08/16 at 10:39 PM CT

There was pretty much no contest which films was going to be on top of the box office, the only question was just how big it was going to open. Sure, while it didn't break any opening records, it was still a huge opening and Disney became the fastest studio to hit $1 billion domestically at just 128 days, obliterating the record set by Universal last year at 165 days. It was also the fastest …

New in Theaters May 06: Captain America Civil War

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/05/16 at 07:56 AM CT

With the one-two punch of Zootopia and The Jungle Book, Disney has had a banner year. Looking toward the weekend, I would say the studio is poised for yet another monster hit as the Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps on keeping on with the latest Captain America movie. No one dares go up against such competition, so the super hero film will be the only new wide release of the weekend. I have a …

New on DVD and Blu-ray Week of May 3-May 9

Harley Lond - wrote on 05/04/16 at 03:51 AM CT

FROM THE BIG SCREEN:
"Joy": Director David O. Russell taps his company of regulars -- Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper -- to tell the real-life uplifting story of Joy Mangano, a divorced mother with three children in the early 1990s who decided to strike out on her own and invented the Miracle Mop, becoming a millionaire in the process. But first she had to overcome doubting …

Conjuring 2, Mechanic: Resurrection, When the Bough Breaks in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/03/16 at 07:54 PM CT

Last week brought us a rather large list of ratings with a rather low number of actual films that anyone (outside of major cities and critics) will see. This week is a bit better, as the ratio of ratings released vs movies you and I may watch is a lot better. That being said, there are really only three big pictures, two of which are either a sequel or a reboot and the third that looks bananas …

Weekend Box Office: The Jungle Book Reigns Supreme, Keanu Tops Newcomers

Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/01/16 at 09:12 PM CT

With no new wide release films able to top the $10 million mark, The Jungle Book had no problem with keeping its box office crown for the third straight weekend. One could consider this the calm before the storm, as next week Captain America: Civil War will definitely knock The Jungle Book from its perch (perhaps in record fashion - but we'll wait on that). In any case, it was a somewhat …



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