Paranormal Activity tops the freakin’ box office!  Last week it left The Stepfather in the dust.  This week it left a real horror franchise in its wake.  Damn.

A shot at breaking the Blair Witch record for most profitable film in history is starting to look plausible, especially since this one cost half as much to produce (Once you throw in advertising, though, it becomes much more interesting.  It cost Witch $25 million for prints and advertising.  No idea how much Activity has spent so far, but I doubt it’s more.)

10/30

Wide

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT (10/28)

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Doc revolving around rehearsal for the comeback tour that would have been.

WILL IT SUCK?
Not if you’re an MJ fan.  The director of the High School Musicals is on the job, so he should be able capture the spectacle.  This, by the way, is the same guy who’s directing the Footloose remake.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
As you can imagine, there’s not exactly a dearth of interest.  $66mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but have to admit that I’m wondering if they’ll use a Wiz still for the farewell montage since he really wasn’t in all that many movies.

Limited

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Fading star author (Jemaine Clement) plagiarizes student (Michael Angarano) to get back into the spotlight.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is not so hot.  Interested to see what Napoleon Dynamite co-writer/director Jared Hess can bring to the table after Nacho Libre disappointed.  Also, Jemaine!

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Sort of tailor-made for the indie set.  $16mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Am I the only one who would enjoy a Flight of the Conchords-hosted Oscars?  Probably.

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
With a film this cultish, the fact that they made a sequel IS the pitch.

WILL IT SUCK?
I’ll be honest.  Never saw The Boondock Saints.  No idea what the buzz is about.  I’ll tell you one thing about writer/director Troy Duffy, though.  He sure is focused.  This is the only film he’s directed since the original came out ten years ago.  Cast has got me curious: Julie Benz, Clifton Collins Jr., Judd Nelson, Peter Fonda, and Billy Connolly.

By the way, never seen a greater disparity between a film’s Rotten Tomatoes score (17%) and IMDb score (7.9/10) than with the original.  And with that, the early buzz on this one is not so hot.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Often these “long-awaited sequels” aren’t as long-awaited as you think.  $7mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Part of the appeal of a cult film is that it becomes popular long after it’s ineligible for the Academy to ignore it.

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
If a couple offers you a babysitting job in a creepy house in the woods…okay, you shouldn’t need me to finish that sentence.

WILL IT SUCK?
Writer/director Ti West has already established his indie horror cred with The Roost and Trigger Man and his latest is already garnering praise in part for the fact that it’s not only set in the 80′s, but hearkens back to that type of horror film as well.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will be overshadowed by Paranormal Activity.  $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Horror has a hard enough time getting noticed, much less indie horror.

Next week: The nice thing about doing A Christmas Carol with mocap is that Scrooge is supposed to look creepy.

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I’ve been doing movie previews like this since 2002.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon your point of view) they’re really only archived back to 2004, which is when I started syndicating them to FreeWilliamsburg.com.  I have finally gotten around to organizing that archive.  So if you want to see how much I underestimated You Got Served, go nuts.

My Sleep Dealer review is up on Filmcritic.com. One of the interesting details I left out is how cool the closing credits are. It’s a bilingual production, which ties nicely into the globalization theme, and the closing credits have a nifty way of expressing that. Read the review if you need more convincing to check it out.

Wild Things obviously wasn’t too dark for audiences, topping the box office with $32.5 million. But the real story continues to be Paranormal Activity, making 2/3 of its total gross so far in last weekend’s nationwide expansion, making almost as much as Law Abiding Citizen which was a little more pricey and had a couple of slightly more recognizable faces.  Although the far more satisfying figure is the fact.

10/23

SAW VI

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
So that dude who does what Jigsaw used to do continues to do what Jigsaw used to do.

WILL IT SUCK?
So, by now, the Saw franchise is it’s own little apprenticeship.  The current director, Kevin Greutert, a former editor of the series, is taking over for Darren Lynn Bousman who also used to be on the crew.  The co-writers have been doing pen duty since Saw IV, so if you’ve been enjoying them since then, you’re all set.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I criticized Saw V for avoiding the Halloween weekend last year, but now I see the wisdom of that move (see how screwed Zack and Miri was by that timing).  This installment, too, avoids that weekend, and has very little in the way of credible competition.  However, the series has seen diminishing returns ever since Saw II. $47mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
You know, sometimes it’s okay that horror usually gets the shaft at the Oscars.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kid joins the cirus.  Oh, and becomes a vampire.

WILL IT SUCK?
I’m going to give director/co-writer Paul Weitz the same In Good Company/About a Boy benefit of the doubt I gave his brother Chris when he directed Golden Compass – and hope for a very different outcome.  Doesn’t hurt that Brian Helgeland is the other co-writer.

Early buzz is not good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Twilight it ain’t, but it is based on a popular teen novel series.  $53mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
How awesome would it be if Ken Watanabe lost for The Last Samurai but won for playing Mr. Tall?

AMELIA

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
American version of Amelie.  Nah.  Bio-pic of the one Amelia you can think of who’d have a bio-pic.

WILL IT SUCK?
As if Hilary Swank in the lead weren’t enough, you’ve also got Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, and Christopher Eccleston up in here.  Mira Nair directs, and if you haven’t seen The Namesake yet, dude, seriously, wtf?  The writing gives me pause.  Yes Ron Bass wrote Rain Man and Joy Luck Club, but he also had a hand in What Dreams May Come, Swing Vote, and Stepmom. On the other hand, co-writer Anna Hamilton Phelan wrote Gorillas in the Mist, Mask, and Girl, Interrupted, so it might all balance out.

Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Seems like the first true salvo of the awards season, and not another gold chaser in sight.  On the other hand, don’t know how interested people are in dear Amelia.  $42mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
That’s the plan.  Look for Picture, Screenplay, Director, maybe Supporting Actor, and, if nothing else, another credible threat Actress nod for Swank.

ASTRO BOY

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kind of like A.I., but cheerier and based on an old Japanese comic series.

WILL IT SUCK?
Nifty voice cast: Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Charlize Theron, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, and Eugene Levy.  Director did Flushed Away, which was decent enough.  Writer did Space Jam which, frankly, I liked, but he also did Pure Luck and some other films we probably shouldn’t think about too much if we want to have high hopes.

Early buzz is actually pretty good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Cirque du Freak and second frame of Wild Things is a bit of a challenge, but this benefits from being CG and having a soft follow-up weekend.  $78mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Bolt, it probably ain’t.

Limited

ONG-BAK 2: THE BEGINNING

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Origin story for the guy in part one (and no, his name isn’t Ong Bak).

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz sez more kicky-punchy than plotty-talky.  Not sure that will keep me away.  Original was an underseen martial arts gem.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Remember how I said the original was underseen? $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
You know, the Hong Kong film awards have a Best Fight Choreography category.  Just saying.

ANTICHRIST

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Lars von Trier does horror.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good if mixed (shocker – a Lars von Trier film is courting controversy).  Actually got an anti-award from Cannes for misogyny.  Given his track record, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it doesn’t matter because I’m too much of a wuss for torture porn.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The torture porn crowd and the arthouse crowd have little crossover.  $7mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I get the feeling the Academy is over Lars.

MOTHERHOOD

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Trials and tribulations of a West Village mother (Uma Thurman) trying to land a new job and prep her daughter’s sixth birthday party.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed.  Director (Katherine Dieckmann) has an interesting background.  Directed the “Stand” video.  No idea if that has any bearing on this film, but that’s kind of neat, huh?

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Uma comedies have a hard enough time in wide release.  $3mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Don’t think this is the one for her (but damn if she shouldn’t have gotten some  love for Kill Bill).

(UNTITLED)

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Romantic comedy set in the world of contemporary art.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good.  Adam Goldberg stars and Vinnie Jones is up in here outside his genre wheelhouse, which should be interesting.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Quirky comedy comes in a much more brand-recognized form with Gentlemen Broncos the following week.  $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Not especially.

Next Week: That guy who made Napoleon Dynamite is back.  And he brought that guy from Flight of the Conchords with him.

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The highest-grossing film of all time starting with the letter “B” is…

Batman

That would be the Tim Burton 1989 Batman not the awesome Leslie H. Martinson 1966 Batman, whose grosses are surprisingly hard to track down (so who knows, maybe it really is the highest grossing “B”).

Burton’s Batman made $251,188,924.  Less than $10 million ahead of its nearest competition, 2003′s Bruce Almighty, which raked in $242,704,995.  In third comes the recently-defeated-for-highest-grossing-R-rated-comedy Beverly Hills Cop, which made $234,760,478.

Also in the $200 million “B” club: The Bourne Ultimatum – $227,471,070, Back to the Future – $210,609,762, and Batman Begins – $205,343,774.

What’s the highest-grossing film of all time (U.S.) starting with the letter “B”?

Paranormal Activity has now grossed $8.3 million, most of that in last weekend’s expansion from 33 to 160 theaters.  To put that in perspective, Whip It, with all the heft of Drew Barrymore and actual TV commercials, has grossed $8.8 million from over 1,700 theaters.

(More on how I think Paranormal Activity represents a crucial part of the future of distribution here.  I talk about chocodiles, too.)

Oh, and  Zombieland deserves every last dollar it’s making.

10/16

Wide

THE STEPFATHER

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Guy’s mom starts going out with this dude but things get sketchy when the neighbor sees the dude’s picture on America’s Most Wanted and winds up dead.  Seriously?  America’s Most Wanted?  Is anyone even trying anymore?

WILL IT SUCK?
Seems about as useless a remake as the version of The Cars’ “Drive” that opens the trailer.  Or the Prom Night remake the screenwriter penned.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Any real horror fans are will wait for Saw VI next week and any thriller junkies will opt for Law Abiding Citizen.  $19mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
We should have a Remake Awards so this can lose it.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Spike Jonze, meet everyone’s favorite bedtime story.

WILL IT SUCK?
If anyone can pull this off, it’s Jonze.  As if to pile on the indie cred, Dave Eggers co-wrote the screeplay with him.  Author Maurice Sendak has given the adaptation his blessing.  Early buzz is good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Astro Boy and Cirque du Freak next week, but this has the better branding.  $89mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
It’s conceivable.  Jonze has been to the show before.  Screenplay?

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Don’t fuck with Gerard Butler.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director F. Gary Gray sure likes him some wronged folks taking on the system (Set It Off, The Negotiator).  Writer Kurt Wimmer can be innovative (Equilibrium), or pedestrian (The Recruit), or just plain suck (Ultraviolet).  Looks like the combo works here because the early buzz is solid.  Plus, Viola Davis as the Mayor of Philadelphia!

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No real competition.  Biggest other film in the room (Wild Things) appeals to a completely different demo.  $58mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Unless this film takes the premise to Collateral levels of quality, not so much.

Limited

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Whole bunch of short movies that take place in the Big Apple.

WILL IT SUCK?
Concept worked for Paris, je t’aime.  Should work here, too (same producers).  Directors include Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, and Brett Ratner (!), but, surprisingly, no Martin Scorsese or Woody Allen.  Cast includes Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman (not in her own segment), Shia LaBeouf, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, James Caan, Ethan Hawke, John Hurt, Olivia Thirlby, Justin Bartha, Chris Cooper, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, and many, many, more.

I feel like the cast might be more impressive this time but the directorial bench isn’t as deep.  Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Plenty of people have been looking forward to this one. $16mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
The rules of the Academy weren’t built for a film like this.

BLACK DYNAMITE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka but, like, way funnier.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is great.  Trailer is one of the funniest things I’ve seen all year.  Even the ancillary Web site is hilarious.  And who can resist a movie where Arsenio Hall plays a character named Tasty Freeze?

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Good buzz going back to Sundance, but still a fairly niche appeal.  $9mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Seriously, they have to add a Best Trailer category to encourage this kind of thing.

THE MAID

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
A maid who has served the same family for 23 years feels threatened when a younger model steps in.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is strong.  Catalina Saavedra, who plays the maid, is supposed to be fantastic.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not going to be able to stand up to New York.  $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If this were a higher profile (read: English language) film, I could see Saavedra being up for a Best Actress nod.  As it is, could be a Best Foreign contender if Chile (or is it Mexico? Co-production, I think) submits it.

Next Week: The teen vampire novel series installment you’ve been waiting for.  No, the other one.

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Call this a broad overgeneralization, but Paranormal Activity is a defining moment in the history of theatrical film distribution.

Yes, it’s a gimmick.  Paramount very wisely picked this film up at Slamdance and very wisely changed their minds about re-shooting it with a big name cast and a bigger budget.  Paramount very wisely deployed a demand a screening in your hometown online campaign, showing the film in one-off midnight or one weekend only screenings in several cities and then watched that number of cities grow as the film became a trending topic on Twitter.  And, yes, social media was, until the papers picked up the story, the most likely way to hear about the movie. And now they claim that if the film gets a million “demands” it will be released nationwide (they’re about 100,000 shy of that number as I write this).

But the gimmicky aspect of it (or, at least, our innate suspicions every time a major corporation benefits from social media) is really not the point.

I used to think that the future of film distribution would be split into two tiers of release.  Blockbusters – sure-fire, expensive, big investment, big return flicks, your Spider-Man 7‘s – would be the only films guaranteed a theatrical release.  Probably in 3-D.  Anything that cost less than $100 million to make would never see the inside of a movie theater.  Straight-to-DVD or, more likely, iTunes, XBox, and Netflix streaming.

In fact, almost nothing would cost around $100 million.  Most movies would cost way north of that while the rest would probably never go over the golden $20 million mark the Indie Spirit Awards love so much.  That’s because the potential revenue stream from home video would rarely justify that kind of expense.  Bascially, you’d be talking about the end of the “middle class” of pictures (which is already happening).

But now there’s this weird third tier that becomes a possibility, and I’m kind of surprised I didn’t think of it sooner.

What Paramount is facilitating (disingenuously or not, you can decide for yourself if they planned on releasing it nationwide all along or if they really are performing some grand social media experiment) is the idea of customized theatrical release.  Not customized to the filmmaker, which, in a way, is what self-distribution ends up being (you release where and how you can afford).  But customized to the audience.  If only Philadelphia, Tampa, and Phoenix want the movie, only Philadelphia, Tampa, and Phoenix get the movie. And if demand for the film reaches some sort of critical mass, then it gets to play alongside Spider-Man 7 in every theater.

From an economic standpoint this makes perfect sense, provided you tweak the model a bit.  If you can establish enough demand in a given city for a product to pay for the distribution and marketing of that product (only in that city, mind you, which is far cheaper than paying for national advertising) then you can justify showing the film theatrically in that town.  It’s kind of like how chocodiles are only available on the West Coast.

An even safer bet for studios (and let’s not forget for one second that it’s a major studio pulling this stunt, not some small indie like the outfit that released Blair Witch – and let the comparisons end there, thank you very much) would be to get a pledge from consumers to buy a ticket.  A presale.  If the presales don’t meet the magic number for a release in that town, audience members either get their money back, or get an advance copy of the DVD.  And a chocodile.  Those things are delicious.

Is this actually how the future of distribution will pan out?  Probably not.  I’m sure there’s a dozen holes in my theory that I haven’t fully thought through (like is this model even remotely going to pay for the theaters themselves to stay in business).  But does it make a lot of sense right now?  To me, absolutely.  The future of the market of just about anything, especially anything that qualifies as “content”, is on demand.  With virtually every other distribution channel catering to only giving the product to those who want it instead of sending it to everyone and waiting to see who actually takes it, it makes sense that theatrical distribution would find a way to fit the new mold.

As further evidence of my theory, look at the fact that the channel Paramount is using to book these screenings is a Web service that already exists to book music acts in towns based on the same principle.  If enough people ask for it, the town gets the show.

Part of this is simply the technology enabling a process that would have been nightmarishly complicated before.  Before the Web, how exactly were you going to figure out in a reasonable amount of time exactly how many people in every state in the union wanted to see your movie?  Now, it’s easy.

What really excites me about the prospect of this becoming standard operating procedure is the idea that it completely upends the opening-weekend-dependent model that has dominated the past thirty years or so of theatrical release.  This new model would get us back to the old days of the movie gets time to build an audience on its own merits instead of having to justify sticking around in theaters by hitting a home run on its first at bat.  This is a quality issue as well, because usually the only way to hit that home run is to appeal to the lowest common denominator.  That’s not always a bad thing – I love me some common denominator from time to time – but it doesn’t make for a lot of variety of expression.

The other thing that excites me about this is the idea that the theatrical experience gets a chance to stand or fall on its own merits.  Now, if people really want to see a move in the theater, they can vote on it.  And if it turns out the age of the movie theater really is gone and nobody except me and five other dorks want to see movies on the big screen with strangers then that will be the reason they go away, and not because it became too expensive to gamble on whether or not enough people would go see your film.

Saw my sixth U2 concert last Tuesday night.  Went with my friends Liz, Jarriel, and Jessica.  Spoilerrific account follows, so if you’re planning on going and, like me, tried to media blackout beforehand, read only after you go…

So the first challenge was getting to FedExField (yeah, they really run all the words together like that – apparently the stadium is a Web startup in 2007).  Jarriel had a very clever shortcut all worked out.  Unfortunately,  it led to an entrance reserved for emergency vehicles.  We could not convince security that we were an ambulance.  In retrospect, I probably should have tried the Potato Man bit from The Simpsons.

So we waited in traffic like everyone else, turning the car off frequently because we were running out of gas.  We finally got to the parking lot only to realize that it was hell and gone from the actual stadium.  We could see a whole Blair Witch forest’s worth of trees between us and the bright lights of the venue.

Three movies and countless Academy Award nominations later, we arrived at Mordor, I mean FedExField only to find out that our  seats were on the other side of the stadium.  By now we had done missed the opening act, Muse, who I was very curious to see since I’d fallen in love with the two of their songs I knew (both from trailers, as it happens – “Shrinking Universe” from 28 Weeks Later and “Take a Bow” from Watchmen).

We had damn good seats.  We were toward the back of the stage, but very close, and since the band spends most of their time roaming the 360 degree platform, the angle didn’t hurt.  The first thing we saw when we walked in was a massive spiderlike structure that looked like it was going to come to life and kill us all.

Photo by javYliz

Underneath all of that is the stage, which looks like a series of catwalks and platforms from a James Bond villain’s layer.  Very cool.  We had a clear view of what appeared to be the VIP section, or at least where they all came in.  At one point a group came in to a cacophony of cheers and boos (and a couple of thrown drinks) and I asked the person next to me who it was.  “Nancy Pelosi.”  The audience was clearly conflicted about her presence, judging by the equally mixed reaction when Bono mentioned her during the show.  Also in the crowd that night: Patrick Leahy, Josh Bolton, Tom Daschle, Eric Cantor, Cardinal McCarrick, and the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

Finally, Space Oddity came over the speakers and smoke began to billow from the spider.  This is it, I thought, it’s going to eat us like one of those creatures from The Mist.  I regret nothing.

Then the lights went down and everyone lost their shit.  A song came on over the speakers that I did not recognize, and I cursed myself for not paying more attention to the b-sides on this album.  Larry took the stage and started drumming out the complicated 6/8 of “Breathe.”  I was spoiled for this being the opening song, but I didn’t care cos’ it’s my favorite tune on the new album.  Second tour in a row they opened with my favorite tune from the new album (last time out it was “City of Blinding Lights”).

After a couple more tunes from the album (“Magnificent,” which I theorized would be first, and “Get on Your Boots,” which really works live) they abandonned No Line for most of the rest of the show, which was a little disappointing on the one hand since I think it’s one of their strongest albums, but a little understandable since it’s also one of the most unplayable.

As a result, the show had more of an Elevation tour vibe, which had a greatest hits feel, more than a Vertigo tour vibe, which seemed more focused and cohesive.  Some points of interest:

- “Your Blue Room” Out of nowhere.  All cut to some cool astronaut footage ending with an actual astronaut reciting the closing monologue from space!  Wins the totally freaking obscure track award of the night.

- My friend Jamil and I theorized that they might play some Unforgettable Fire on this tour because musically the albums are so similar.  That paid off, but in unexpected ways.  They actually played “Unforgettable Fire” itself, which I’d never seen, ditto “MLK,” which they played in honor of Aung San Suu Kyi, before playing “Walk On,” which they wrote for her.

- It seems there’s always a cause for “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”  On the last tour it was the Mideast.  On this tour it was Iran.  The stage was bathed in green, which is weird because when this song came out the green would have symbolized Ireland.

- Third encore.  Best surprise of  the night.  Bono comes out in the 21st Century versinon of the Mirrorball Man outfit from Zoo TV.  Basically a jacket lined in fiber-optic lasers.  Very cool, weird effect.  Sang  into this steering wheel shaped microphone that hung from the ceiling (that he occasionally hung from).  Went into “(Ultraviolet) Light My Way,” my favorite song off Achtung Baby, which I’d NEVER heard them perform (they had ditched it from the set list by the time I saw Zoo TV).  Fan-fucking-tastic, although I don’t think anyone else went as nuts as I did.

- Speaking of going crazy, I’d heard there was a remix version of “I Know I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” that was somehow related to the show and that night I saw it.  I admired it more in concept than execution.  First off, the original version is great, and I would love to have seen what they would have done with that version live.  There’s just a lot of interesting musical shit that would have been nice to see in a performance.  The remix version doesn’t have any of that.  And while I like the idea of doing a completely different version of a song live, I just didn’t llke this particular version.

- Also disappointed they didn’t play “No Line on the Horizon.”  Feel like that would have rocked live.

- When they played “Mysterious Ways,” I was suddenly struck by the thought that the song is almost 20 years old.  Getting old.

- The closer.  This was an interesting, bold choice.  After “Ultraviolet” they played an as-usual heart-rending, crowd-pleasing ‘With or Without You.”  That would seem the logical choice to stop.  But then they went one step further and pulled out “Moment of Surrender,” a six-minute Eno-fest off the new album that I love, but wouldn’t expect them to close with.  I didn’t think it worked, at least on a crowd-rallying level, until after the show, walking back, when we heard more than one pack of drunken revellers singing the “whoah-hoh-ho-oh-oh-oh” refrains.  Damn.

The set design is the best they’ve had since Zoo TV, what with moving catwalks and a rotating drum set.  They really take advantage of the 360 concept, with all sorts of misdirection making you lose track of the players, but in a good way.  Hey, when did Larry’s drum kit turn around?  Where the hell did Bono go?  How did Adam get over there?   Holy crap, The Edge is sitting right next to me!  It’s like ninja U2.

But what really ties it all together, the Lebowski rug, if you will, is the honeycomb screen.  It’s this massive collection of hexagonal (I think) screens knitted together in a crown shape above the stage.  It’s massive and has the ability to slide up and down above and, here’s the really cool part, expand, with the indivudual hexagons breaking away from each other like a mesh netting of smaller screens.

Photo by javYliz

The fact that it’s this hard to describe should tell you how unique it is.  They use it to great effect, and it’s probably one of the coolest design elements I’ve seen anywhere, much less at a concert.

Cringed a bit when Bono actually thanked the sponsors at the end of the show.  Tried to remember that all the shit I was seeing was mad expensive, but still.

While I wouldn’t rank this as one of the best U2 shows I’ve ever seen (I’ve had some admittedly good fortune in that arena) I still had a great time.

Glad to be wrong, way wrong, about Zombieland.  Probably should have covered Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3-D but, dammit, they were re-releases and I was busy.  Pretty on target with Lying.  Way overestimated Whip It.

10/9

Wide

COUPLES RETREAT

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Three couples think they can tag along on the fourth’s couples retreat and just enjoy the resort, but the therapy is mandatory – and hilarious!

WILL IT SUCK?
Written by Jon Favreau (Swingers, good), Vince Vaughn (story credit on The Breakup, okay), and Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas and The Wedding Date, oh, dear).  Directed by Ralphie from A Christmas Story, though, so it’s got that going for it.  Starring Vaughn, Favreau, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Ken Jeong, Jean Reno, John Michael Higgins, and Faizon Love, but apparently, the one to watch (based on past work) is this guy.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Well, everyone else seems to think it will do well.  No other film dares open against it.  $121mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but a Best Supporting nod for Vaughn in Swingers would have been totally appropriate.

Limited

GOOD HAIR

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Chris Rock doc that takes a look at black hair and how people don’t, you know, like it.  Especially if they’re black.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is fantastic.  Won the Special Jury Prize for docs at Sundance.  Second funniest trailer I’ve seen this year (first comes later in the preview).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Chris Rock alone gives it more star power than most indies this week.  $13mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Sundance win makes it a little more plausible the Academy will take Hair seriously.

AN EDUCATION

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Coming-of-age story with a young woman (Carey Mulligan) going out with an older man (Peter Sarsgaard) in 1960′s London.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is great.  Won the Audience Award at Sundance.  And check out the rest of the cast: Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, and Dominic Cooper.  All this and a screenplay from Nick Hornby.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There are going to be a lot of slices of British history this week.  This one’s probably more of a crowd-pleaser, tho.  $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Give enough of a push by Sony Pictures Classics, you could see Mulligan up for Actress, and a Screenplay nod for Hornby.

ST. TRINIAN’S

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Wacky British school for girls vs. mean education minister (Colin Firth).

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is not so good, even with Rupert Everett in drag (he plays the headmistress).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Did great in Britain, but I don’t think it will translate.  $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No.

BRONSON

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
True life story of a British prisoner who developed an alter ego named Charles Bronson while in solitary.  See the trailer, though, since a synopsis won’t do this justice.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed.  Seriously, though, check out the trailer and I think you’ll have a good idea if the style is drawing you in or not.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Very crowded, and surprisingly British, weekend.  $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Seems like the guy playing Bronson would have a shot, but nobody will know about this film.

THE DAMNED UNITED

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The true story of the guy who took over Leeds United in 1974.  It’s a soccer thing.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is outstanding and why not?  You’ve got Peter Morgan writing dialogue for Michael Sheen for the third time (The Queen, Frost/Nixon).  You’ve also got Timothy Spall and Colm Meany up in here.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Seriously, does anyone else want to release a British period flick this week, cos I think we could use, like, nine more?  $4mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Sheen could have a shot.  We’ll see how hard Sony Pictures Classics pushes seeing as they have An Education (another British period flick) coming out this same week!

TRUCKER

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Truck driver (Michelle Monaghan) suddenly has to raise her 11 year old son on the road.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed.  Nice supporting cast with Joey Lauren Adams, Benjamin Bratt, and Nathan Fillion, who is like indie film helper (see Waitress).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
On a less crowded weekend, better.  $6mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I hear Monaghan does a bang-up job.

FREE STYLE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Dirt bike sports flick.

WILL IT SUCK?
From the director of Harry and the Hendersons.  Early buzz is not so hot, but iff they made a movie about bigfoot in a dirt bike race, I would so be there.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This sort of family friendly fare seems an odd fit for a platform release, although that worked for Kit Kittredge.  This is not Kit Kittredge.  (Although it does have some dude from High School Musical).  $7mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No.

Next Week: Is it possible for a kid’s film to be “hip”?  We’re about to find out.

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