edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Traitor

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Goal II: Living the Dream

I Served the King of England

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"Balls" Wednesday numbers

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Balls of Fury (Rogue, 8.19) opened yesterday on 2810 screens and took in $1,700,000 -- that's $605 a print. If there was any real heat on this film it would have done about double this. Plus it going to start losing to Rob Zombie's Halloween on Friday.

"Atonement" gang<< previous | next >>Thursday tracking

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 30, 2007 at 9:51 AM

comment #1

Josh Massey says ...

Geez, you'd think Eddie Murphy starred in this...

Posted by Josh Massey at August 30, 2007 10:06 AM

comment #2

PerfectTommy says ...

Ball Of Fury vs. Zombie's Halloween remake. The clash of titans.

Posted by PerfectTommy at August 30, 2007 10:13 AM

comment #3

T. Holly says ...

The only way I'd go see a ping-pong movie is if Michael Tully made it, because he's such a honey.

Posted by T. Holly at August 30, 2007 10:21 AM

comment #4

nycfilmguy28 says ...

Slightly off topic, but does anyone know if Lionsgate is now not planning on going wide right away with 3:10 to Yuma? I know it's sneaking this Sunday, and then it was supposed to open wide the following Friday, but I just checked upcoming releases on boxofficemojo.com, and they no longer have it labeled a wide release for 9/7.

Just curious what's up--was looking forward to this one to kick of the fall movie season.

Posted by nycfilmguy28 at August 30, 2007 10:24 AM

comment #5

Don Murphy says ...

The tracking tells the tale
people have no interest in a western

Posted by Don Murphy at August 30, 2007 11:20 AM

comment #6

berg says ...

josh ... remember that moment in Blue Velvet when Laura Dern all doe-eyed and innocent asks "Why are there films like Balls of Fury?" ... Cedric the Entertainer in The Cleaner was actually easier to sit through ... ping pong balls, I thought you said King Kong's balls

Posted by berg at August 30, 2007 11:48 AM

comment #7

christian says ...

even more incredible is the sight of two upcoming hollywood cockbusters with posters mimicing balls w/ peni!

Posted by christian at August 30, 2007 12:04 PM

comment #8

Bocephus says ...

Did anyone see the SNL with the king kong sketch? It was about the people a few stories below Faye Wray. Kong gets excited and a giant ape cock pokes through the window, taking up most of the room. Hijinks ensue.

Off topic, but you can't say "king kong balls" and not evoke that scene.

Posted by Bocephus at August 30, 2007 12:30 PM

comment #9

jeffmcm says ...

Spoken like a true producer, Don.

Posted by jeffmcm at August 30, 2007 12:34 PM

comment #10

thezipper says ...

I was forced to see Balls of Fury for a review. It was significantly worse than both Norbit and Evan Almighty (my previous 2 worst of the years).

Hey Murphy,

Whatever happened to your Vincent Gallo as Charlie Manson thing?

Posted by thezipper at August 30, 2007 2:06 PM

comment #11

D.Z. says ...

Balls was alright, but not 2,500+ screens alright. What the hell was Rogue thinking?

Posted by D.Z. at August 30, 2007 5:46 PM

comment #12

Dixon Steele says ...

Can't recommend it, but with lowered expectations, it was better than HOT ROD, MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY, and maybe even THE NANNY DIARIES.

And I am I the only one who thought SUPERBAD was the biggest disappointment of the summer? What were the critics thinking when they creamed over this one? One good laugh every 30 minutes ain't enough, folks.

God loves Judd Apatow...

Posted by Dixon Steele at August 30, 2007 5:46 PM

comment #13

Dixon Steele says ...

Let me add, as someone suggested before, that Dan Fogler truly is the only one to play Sam Kinison in a biopic.

Posted by Dixon Steele at August 30, 2007 5:48 PM

comment #14

D.Z. says ...

Dixon: I disagree there. Mr Bean was more consistently amusing than Balls. As for Superbad, I still haven't seen Knocked Up, either; but they don't look like must-sees, so...

Posted by D.Z. at August 30, 2007 6:16 PM

comment #15

christian says ...

bean's grinning face makes me physically ill.
i know how those who hate jerry lewis feel.

Posted by christian at August 30, 2007 6:33 PM

comment #16

Noah says ...

D.Z., you don't think that Superbad or Knocked Up are "must-sees", but you saw Mr. Bean and Balls of Fury? Wow.

Posted by Noah at August 30, 2007 7:16 PM

comment #17

D.Z. says ...

Noah: I don't consider the latter two to be must-sees, but they had more original and compelling ads. Knocked Up came off like a sex comedy with a subliminal Christian pro-family message [Yeah, I know that's a contradiction.] while Superbad felt like a teen sitcom with curse words and sexual innuendo.

Posted by D.Z. at August 30, 2007 9:12 PM

comment #18

christian says ...

HALLOWEEN is getting savaged worse on rotten tomatoes than BOF...hopefully zombie will do his own movie next time.

Posted by christian at August 31, 2007 10:03 AM

comment #19

D.Z. says ...

It's funny, because I remember Zombie did an interview where he said, "If you're going to remake something, why not do one which wasn't that great in the first place?"

Posted by D.Z. at August 31, 2007 2:01 PM

comment #20