See what I did there with that title? Yes you did. A trick alliteration. Pew pew.

But in seriousness, the two sequels hitting theaters this week, “High School Musical 3″ and “Saw V,” so vastly outperformed their competition this weekend that it deserved linguistic accent. In first place (with a commanding lead) is HSM 3 with 42 million dollars. Loads of cash, although if you average that out amongst all three films (the first two which were essentially distributed for free) that figure seems about right. Somewhat ironically, some consensus floating around is that this film, despite its larger scale, is actually a bit less creative and charming than the first two, as the plot gimmick overlaid on top of the musical foundation is one of the most hackneyed. The “high school sweethearts going separate ways” idea is so universal that it is fully inadequate to support a movie that is already wearing out the grass with its repetitive, pacing arcs.

Catchy tunes though and syrupy sweet, regardless. In his book “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs,” Chuck Klosterman argues (using “Saved By the Bell”) that the most universal and human truths are inevitably cliche. It is our common, subconscious understanding of the rules of love that make them universal (obviously), and that familiarity makes any realization, or manifestation of these rules in any sort of storytelling form seem unoriginal. This, Klosterman says, is not a bad thing. It reassures us, being able to predict where the story goes. It shows us we’re still loosely connected as people. (Click here to read more…)

What a packed weekend. I hope you all had fun and relaxing ones. But this is Cal. Of course you didn’t. You didn’t have time to go see a movie. I barely have time to see movies. So here’s what happened when you were locked deep in Moffit:

“Max Payne” took the gold this weekend, making an impressive $18 million in its opening. A straightforward neo-noir action film twice removed from classic Hong-Kong action (it’s based on a game that was stylized after the films of John Woo). Add a two-inch layer of Norse nomenclature and you’ve got “Max Payne.” Not the most cerebral but damn good looking.

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” was finally usurped, sitting pretty in second place with $11.2 million, running total of $69.1 million dollars. I can’t find the appeal, but it would be small-minded of me to deny anyone else the right to enjoy it. Not my thing.

In third, “The Secret Life of Bees,” with $11.1 million. I didn’t talk about this one on Friday. Based on the bestselling historical fiction novel by Sue Monk Kidd, “Bees” is a warm story of a young girl, Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) and the close-knit group of women who help raise her. $11.1 million.

Fourth, “W.” With $10.6 million dollars, it made less than I wanted but a still-respectable amount. I’ll admit, despite the delicious notion of the film, it gave in to the extraordinary appeal to take potshots and the cabinet. For a film that was supposed to be a dramatic and tasteful treatment of George W., it gave itself a few liberties. Even if, in relative terms, “W.” was extremely sober, in absolute terms the film is still caricature.

Ah me.

I have been ridiculously excited for “W.” since I first saw the trailer two weeks ago. It might have been the casting of Josh Brolin (Llewelyn in “No Country for Old Men”) as the titular president, or the use of a Talking Heads song (”Once in a Lifetime”) as the background music. Either way, it worked—something about the idea of an (arguably) respectful, dramatic treatment of the life and presidency of George W. Bush was immensely appealing to me. The idea is compounded by the fact that his presidency hasn’t ended yet. Usually these things come a decade, two, after they cede their power. This seems rather prescient. I’m super psyched. Go see it.

(Click here to read more…)