Discland
edited by Jonathan Doyle
Classe tous risques (The Criterion Collection, 6.17.2008) Claude Sautet is best known for subtle interpretations of French bourgeois life in such films as Un coeur en hiver and Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud. Yet the director began his career with genre films. Classe Tous Risques, released in 1960, is considered the best of his early work and it's a fascinating companion to similar crime movies made around the same time by Jean-Pierre Melville. (continued)

Upcoming


July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Mad Detective

Mamma Mia!

Space Chimps

Take

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A




 

Weekend numbers

Night at the Museum, the four-day weekend's #1 film, will end up with about $44,898,000 on Monday night (1.1.07), for an overall cume of $124 million...pretty good for a piece of CG shit. The Pursuit of Happyness, the #2 film, will have $24,200,000 as of Monday night, and a cume of $103,200,000. Dreamgirls, playing in 862 theatres, will end up with $17 million for the holiday weekend (i.e., not a bad haul), which makes it the #3 film.

The Good Shepherd (#4) will end up with 14,226,000 by Monday night. Charlotte's Web (#5) will hit $14.091,000. Rocky Balboa (#6), $13,899,000. Eragon (#7), $10,448,000. We Are Marshall (#8), $10,228,000. Happy Feet (#9), $8,846,000. The Holiday (#10), $8,346,000.

None of the limited opening films are knockin' em down: Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Notes on a Sandal and Letters From Iwo Jima are all puttering along...nothing earth-shaking or dish-rattling. Iwo Jima is dying, in fact -- it did about $28,000 in 6 theatres last night, and will end up Monday night with about $110,000. Perfume, playing in only three theatres, did about $13,000 yesterday and should do about $52,000 for the four-day weekend. Miss Potter did $3000 in two theatres, and will end up with about $12,000 on Monday night. The Dead Girl died in two theatres -- $2000 earnings last night, a projected $9000 for the holiday weekend.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 30, 2006 at 10:20 AM

comment #1

Dixon Steele [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

Just back from NOTES ON A SCANDAL, good, nasty fun, great performances from Dench, Blanchett (very sexy) and Nighy.

Less enamored of MISS POTTER, maybe better than the last Zellweger/McGregor romantic pairing (the deadly DOWN WITH LOVE) but not much. Not one genuine, honest moment in the movie...yawn.

Posted by Dixon Steele [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 10:59 AM

comment #2

kmoore [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

I going to check out "Notes on a Scandal" 2day. It just looks like nasty fun to me. I can't wait.

Posted by kmoore [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 11:25 AM

comment #3

jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

You know, as annoying as Wells frequently is, at least he's more honest and open about his personality and likes/dislikes than several other movie blogateers that I could name, not pretending to some font of ultimate knowledge.

Posted by jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 11:34 AM

comment #4

vansmith [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

"We have the United States, the rest of you are just visiting." Matt Damon explaining what WASP do to Joe Pesci in the Good Shepard, see this movie! It's interesting how the russians and americans traded scientist in berlin after the war, these people really had an understanding of what was at stake regarding the future. Also...fear equals money!!

Posted by vansmith [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 12:20 PM

comment #5

actionman [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

the good shephered was one of the best movies of the year (my personal #2 behind The Departed) and a majority of american critics should be ashamed of themselves for not supporting a bold, stylish, literate, and serious adult-minded entertainment. between this film, Munich, The Insider, Forrest Gump, Ali, and countless others, it's clear that Eric Roth is one of the most underappreciated writers working in the biz. despicable really. utterly foolish.

Posted by actionman [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 03:22 PM

comment #6

jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

I agree, The Good Shepherd is a complex and fascinating piece of work with great work from the entire cast, especially Matt Damon, and typically beautiful Robert Richardson cinematography.

Posted by jeffmcm [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 03:28 PM

comment #7

T. S. Idiot [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

I can only say that the reviewers must have been suffering from end-of-year burnout to undervalue the quality of The Good Shepherd so thoroughly. A wonderful, bracingly complex film. Long? Try Dreamgirls. The women in the restroom afterward, my lovely wife reports, complained about the length and the repetition. They said, rightly, that it makes the same points over and over. In addition to being trite and poorly paced, the performances, other than Murphy's, are not much. Hudson has a big voice, but that's all. She can't act at all. The performance is all sassy-black-woman cliches. Then there are the factual errors. White singers remade the songs of black performers in the 50s, not the time depicted here.
When guest acts performed on American Bandstand, the kids sat, not danced. George Martin did not become Sir George until 1996. We see the Detroit riots of 1967 before we see a sign announcing an upcoming New York's Eve 1966 performance. Etc. Did no one with the remotest sense of history participate in this movie?

Posted by T. S. Idiot [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 03:51 PM

comment #8

Dixon Steele [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

Can't agree enough with the last three posts.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD is one of the best pictures of the year, literate, adult, riveting.

It's amazing that this picture is being overlooked as it is, especially in a year that's acknowledged as weak by everyone.

Don't miss it!

P.S. My parents just came back from seeing it and HATED it. To paraphrase Pete Townsend, don't trust anyone over ...70.

Posted by Dixon Steele [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 05:46 PM

comment #9

fnt [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

How exactly is Oscar winning and A-list writer Eric Roth under-appreciated?

Posted by fnt [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 10:51 PM

comment #10

Matthew Lucas [TypeKey Profile Page] says ...

I agree whole-heartedly about "The Good Shepherd." I was utterly blown away by how good it is. It has an aethetic that hasn't been seen much since the 70s. It was liking stepping into a time warp...in a very good way.

But I liked "Dreamgirls" too. Rousing fun. But "The Good Shepherd" deserves a Best Picture nomination that it sadly will not get.

Posted by Matthew Lucas [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 30, 2006 11:30 PM

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