The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) - Weitz's YA smash will bore your pants off

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There's no shortage of sexual promise and weird-looking youths on this foggy poster for Chris Weitz's The Twilight Saga: New Moon

 

Bella and Edward are very enthralled in their love of each other, but then he wants her to live a normal life (without a vampire lover) and disappears, and she begins a new intense, platonic love relationship with Indian wolf boy Jacob.

 

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is written by Melissa Rosenberg (Step Up (2006)), adapting Stephenie Meyer's (The Host (2008)) New Moon (2006), and directed by Chris Weitz (Down to Earth (2001)).

Nothing much new under the sun here in the second chapter of the Twilight franchise, which in its long love dialog scenes metaphorically play the strings, boil the sugar and glaze in fat - all at the same time!

Mostly contrary to its predecessor, Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight (2008), New Moon bores tremendously: No one performs well in the unexciting and at times incomprehensible story. Michael Sheen (Dolittle (2020)) is strange as an eagerly staring vampire leader, and the werewolves look about as natural as 1950s sci-fi b-movie monsters. SPOILER The final cliffhanger; Ed wants to get wed! Gasp! 

 

Related posts:

 

The Twilight franchise: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) - Slade brings the popular teen franchise a thin cup of more, slightly better the same

Chris Weitz: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or, Ginny's Fate: A Star Wars Calculation (co-writer)

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

American Pie (1999) or, Losing It Before Prom (producer/uncredited co-director) 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 711 mil. $

=  Mega-hit (returned 14.22 times its cost)

[The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiered 16 November (California) and runs 130 minutes. Production was green-lit and announced the day after Twilight's sensational opening in 2008. Robert Pattinson (Water for Elephants (2011)) was reportedly paid 12 mil. $ for his performance, while Taylor Lautner (Abduction (2011)) was paid 4 mil. $. Shooting took place from March - May 2009 in British Columbia, including in Vancouver, and in Italy. The film opened #1 to a 142.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 another 3 weekends and then stayed in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#2-#4-#5), grossing 296.6 mil. $ (41.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 43.4 mil. $ (6.1 %) and France with 39.2 mil. $ (5.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 1/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. The film sold more than 8.8 mil. home video units in North America alone, totaling 185.1 mil. $ in additional sales. The franchise and stars returned in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010). Weitz returned with A Better Life (2011). Pattinson returned in Remember Me (2010); Kristen Stewart (Seberg (2019)) in Welcome to the Rileys (2010). The Twilight Saga: New Moon is rotten at 28 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Twilight Saga: New Moon? 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) - Good CGI and young actors in strained dose of apocalypse

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An apocalyptic, sandy metropolis and a group of youngsters walking through it, on this poster for Wes Ball's Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

 

Thomas and a group of other boys and one girl, who have eloped the maze, smell something fishy on their new prison guards from WCKD, and they break free to discover a post-apocalyptic world!

 

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is written by T.S. Nowlin (Phoenix Forgotten (2017)), based on the same-titled 2010 novel by James Dashner (The Eye of Minds (2013)), and directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner (2014)). It is the 2nd film in the Maze Runner trilogy.

The young actors look remarkable unaged, despite the film claiming that 4 years has passed since the first film, (only released a year before.) The tone is the same in the teenage-fantasy horror/action/adventure, which is probably hard to connect with for most people who aren't teenagers. Fun or real thrills or surprises are lacking here; and the simple setup of an evil science class of people seems like near-nonsense.

New cast-member Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Godless (2017, miniseries)), returning star Dylan O'Brien (The First Time (2012)) and Co. meet scary zombies in the neat, CGI-driven world, and a depraved nightclub owner who stays open during the day. Whether everything here serves a deeper political meaning is hard to deduce. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is technically well-made but not really a good film.

 

Related post:

 

Wes Ball: The Maze Runner (2014) - O'Brien breakout, well-made YA nonsense

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 61 mil. $

Box office: 312.2 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 5.11 times its cost)

[Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials premiered 1 September (Sao Paolo, Brazil) and runs 131 minutes. Development of the film began before the release of the first Maze Runner in 2014. Shooting lasted 94 days and took place in New Mexico, including Albuquerque, from October 2014 - January 2015. The film opened #1 to a 30.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#3-#5) and grossed 81.6 mil. $ (26.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 29.5 mil. $ (9.4 %) and France with 25.3 mil. $ (8.1 %). A concluding, again successful film was made and released as Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) by Ball, with O'Brien back. This was Ball's next film. O'Brien returned first in Deepwater Horizon (2016). Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is rotten at 46 % with a 5.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials?

The Maze Runner (2014) - O'Brien breakout, well-made YA nonsense

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Oozing of thrilling excitement and atmospheric visuals, a great poster for Wes Ball's The Maze Runner

 

A young man arrives to a mysterious green park ensconced in a giant labyrinth, where a group of boys live in uncertainty.

 

The Maze Runner is written by Noah Oppenheim (Jackie (2016)), Grant Pierce Myers (The Fog (2005, assistant)) and T.S. Nowlin (Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)), adapting the same-titled 2009 best-seller by James Dashner (A Gift of Ice (2004)), and directed by debuting Wes Ball (Time for Change (2002, digital effects artist)).

If you are able to lower your skeptic guards, this Lord of the Flies-reminiscent Young Adult flick is a rather immersive, well-made serving of fantasy/sci-fi nonsense. It presents a successful mix of practical and digital effects as well as an attractive star in Dylan O'Brien (High Road (2011)).

Audiences have to accept that, perhaps in honor of the film's major studio financing parent, the mostly teenage characters have no sexuality, don't ever change clothes or go to the bathroom; but their emotions are conversely maximized. SPOILER The ending of The Maze Runner makes the whole film seem a bit like a pre-credit sequence to the main story.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 34 mil. $

Box office: 348.3 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 10.24 times its cost)

[The Maze Runner premiered 11 September (Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from May - July 2013 in Louisiana. The film opened #1 to a 32.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weeks (#2-#5) and grossed 102.4 mil. $ (29.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 24.6 mil. $ (7.1 %) and China with 23.9 mil. $ (6.9 %). Successful sequels Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) were also with O'Brien, directed by Ball, who took them on as his next projects. O'Brien's next gig was the first sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. Dashner was ditched by his agent and publisher in 2018 following unsubstantiated #MeToo rumors of harassment. The Maze Runner is fresh at 65 % with a 5.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Maze Runner?

Management (2008) - Great star chemistry in under-appreciated romcom

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+ Best On-Screen Couple of the Year: Jennifer Aniston & Steve Zahn

 

 

A lazily clad handsy fellow wanting to grab Jennifer Aniston's butt is the picture used to attract audiences on this questionable poster for Stephen Belber's Management

A man running his parents' Arizona motel without a life partner himself one day has a beautiful businesswoman as guest for a couple of nights, who subsequently drives off with his heart. - But can he score her for the long run?

 

Management is written and directed by debuting Stephen Belber (Tape (2001, writer)).

Steve Zahn (Night Train (2009)) is really natural and funny, which also goes for Jennifer Aniston (The Edge (1992-93)), and the two share real chemistry in this delightful and different romcom. It isn't sugar-coated but it is packed with charm. There's fine supporting performances from James Hiroyuki Liao (Prison Break (2008, TV-series)) as Zahn's Chinese friend Al, and Woody Harrelson (Ellen (1998, TV-series)) swings in a role as an aggressive punk-rocker ex to Aniston.

Management doesn't reach poetic or any unforgettable heights, but it is a damn sympathetic crowd-pleaser.

 

Related post:

 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

 Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 2.5 mil. $

= Uncertain (but likely a box office disaster; projected return of 0.12 times its cost)

[Management premiered 7 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 94 minutes. Shooting took place in Oregon, including Portland, from October - November 2007. Aniston received 8-9 mil. $ for performances in the years around Management, and so likely received something in this neighborhood for the film, which may therefore easily have cost 20-30 mil. $. This would make it a box office disaster. The film opened #17 to a 378k $ first weekend in 212 theaters in North America, where it only diminished from there and grossed 934k $ (37.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Brazil with 483k $ (19.3 %) and Mexico with 295k $ (11.8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The-Numbers asserts that the film made 3.9 mil. $ on home video sales in North America, which, if added into the equation, would change the film's status to that of 'merely' a mega-flop. Belber returned with Match (2014). Aniston returned in 30 Rock (2008, TV-series) and theatrically in Marley & Me (2008); Zahn in Monk (2009, TV-series) and theatrically in Night Train (2009). Management is rotten at 47 % with a 5.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Management?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) - Slade brings the popular teen franchise a thin cup of more, slightly better the same

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Kristen Stewart perfects her vampy look on the poster for David Slade's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Vampire Edward proposes to Bella, but she is also getting courted by Jacob the Indian werewolf, whom she is also fond of. Meanwhile a vampire gang are on the loose in Seattle.

Basically the story doesn't really move anywhere here in the the third Twilight movie. The plot is pretty secondary and often inscrutable, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with an eclipse.
Still, the film is handsomer than its predecessors, more romantic and has scenes with some charm, as well as Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World (2015)) as a welcome, new feature, taking over the part of Victoria from Rachelle Lefevre (The Caller (2011)).
The film is written by Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight (2008)), adapted from Eclipse (2007) by Stephenie Meyers (Twilight (2005), as the third and only Twilight feature from great English director David Slade (Hard Candy (2005)).

Related review:

David Slade: Hard Candy (2005) - A stylish and intense modern thriller classic

Five shirtless guys who are obviously werewolfs of native-American heritage ... ahem ... in David Slade's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 68 mil. $
Box office: 698.4 mil $
= Huge hit
[The Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiered June 24 (LA) and runs 123 minutes. Filming took place August - October 2009 in and around Vancouver with unspecified reshoots taking place later. An early draft of the script was leaked online in January 2010, apparently stemming from one of the cast's minor stars. The film broke many box office records and was a massive hit almost everywhere in the world. It opened #1 with a 64.8 mil. $ first weekend, (but was beat to #2 the next weekend by Despicable Me), in North America, where it grossed 300.5 mil. (43 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 45.7 mil. $ (6.5 %) and Germany with 33 mil. $ (4.7 %). It became the 4th film of the year to break 300 mil. $ domestically. Roger Ebert has given it 2/4 stars, translating to a note harder than this review. The film has made in excess of an additional 164.6 mil. $ from 9.4 mil. DVDs sold in North America alone. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is rotten at 49 % with a 5.5 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse?

Everything Must Go (2010) - Rush and Ferrell's great Carver adaptation

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2 Film Excess nominations:

Best Screenplay: Dan Rush (lost to Christopher Nolan for Inception)
Best Lead Actor: Will Ferrell, also for Megamind (lost to Stephen Dorff for Somewhere)
 
+ Best Adaptation of the Year

Will Ferrell does look a little lost on this poster for Dan Rush's Everything Must Go

Will Ferrell (Stranger than Fiction (2006))  plays a man who loses his job, his wife and his car and deals with these defeats by deciding to move out onto his front lawn and start drinking.

Everything Must Go is a Raymond Carver (Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (1976)) adaptation, based on his short story Why Don't You Dance? (1978), written and directed by Dan Rush as his first and only credit to date. It has just the needed shot of comedy in the shape of Ferrell and some extra warmth in Rush's script, which Carver's story is likely to have be missing.
Ferrell is eminent in the for him rare, more dramatic part, and Rebecca Hall (The Gift (2015)) and Laura Dern (When the Game Stands Tall (2014)) are both good in supporting parts. Everything Must Go is a nice dramedy and a fine film SPOILER with a hopeful ending that is decidedly un-Carveresque.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 2.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Unknown (looks like a huge flop)
[Everything Must Go premiered September 10 (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 97 minutes. Rush's script was featured on the 2008 Blacklist, an online list of the most liked unproduced scripts around. Filming took place in Arizona. The film was only released in half a dozen countries. It opened #15 with 0.7 mil. $ in North America, where it peaked in just 245 theaters. It made under 100k $ in each three of its foreign  markets (South Africa, Brazil and the UK), which are reported. Regrettably, poor distribution and audiences bailing on Ferrell in an attempt at a more serious film seem to have killed the film theatrically. Everything Must Go is certified fresh at 75 % with a 6.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Everything Must Go?