Despite having less than a 30% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Suicide Squad set a record for best August opening by any movie in the history of forever by earning $135.1 million in North America. But ticket sales of less than $40 million on Saturday were a huge drop-off compared to its strong Friday opening, indication that the movie might not have a very long box office life.
Can a movie that sets a box office record ultimately be considered a bomb? Time will tell. One thing we do know for sure is that any movie looks better in comparison when its opening weekend competition stars Kevin Spacey as a cat.
Films on trial for crimes against humanity, decency, and general good taste.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Vile
Year released: 2012
THE CHARGE: I dunno. Is it a crime to be vile? How about icky? Is it a crime to be icky?
THE EVIDENCE: Vile opens with a stark, high-def scene of a man on an operating table, bound and gagged. As the opening credits appear, a great slacker-rock soundtrack in the background provides a nice counterpoint to the visual of this man getting his chest cut open and salt rubbed into the open wound. Meanwhile, liquid drips through tubes in the back of his head, which is collected, centrifuged and infused into pharmaceutical ingredients. Watching this, I sat back with a grin, enjoying the wickedly black comedy that doubled as a scathing indictment of the drug industry.
Friday, August 5, 2016
You Can't Kill Stephen King
Year released: 2012
THE CHARGE: Cinematic con artistry in an attempt to cash in on the reputation of someone who had NOTHING to do with making the film.
THE EVIDENCE: When you discover a film with an incredibly awesome title like You Can’t Kill Stephen King, one hopes the imagination that led to the creation of that title will be equally displayed throughout the film. One is frequently disappointed. Here, once again, we have a movie that falls short of the hopeful aspirations raised by its title... but somewhat surprisingly, it doesn't fall short by much.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
One Eyed Monster
Year released: 2008
THE CHARGE: Indecent exposure, indecent acting, pretty much indecent everything.
THE EVIDENCE: Since you’re on the internet, you’ve no doubt seen the joke about replacing the word “wand” in the Harry Potter novels with “wang”. One-Eyed Monster is the cinematic equivalent, taking the “killer” in any horror flick and replacing it with... well, “wang”.
Monday, August 1, 2016
Scream Bloody Murder
Year released: 1973
THE CHARGE: Noise pollution. The bloody murder I can take, but enough with the screaming already!
THE EVIDENCE: The 70s were a classic era of cinema, providing countless gems like Jaws, A Clockwork Orange, Rocky, Star Wars, The Godfather, Chinatown, The Exorcist... the list can go on and on. But it was also the era that gave us films like Night of the Lepus, Satan's Cheerleaders, The Blood Waters of Dr. Z and Exorcist II: The Heretic. I'll bet you can guess which side of the fence Scream Bloody Murder impales itself on.
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