Well, as Walt Disney used to say, if you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. Worked with George Lucas and Jim Henson, anyway! Can't argue with success! And so, Disney says, screw the 90s. Nobody wants animation anymore. The Little Mermaid? Aladdin? The Lion King? They had their moments. But this Maleficent and stuff? I think we've got something here. Hence the new Cinderella. And director Kenneth Branagh continues the Second Act of his career, already light years ahead of wherever Laurence Olivier ever was at this point in his life. Maybe think of Branagh's appearance in that Danny Boyle Olympics thing as his version of a revamped The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond. Oh, they both do the occasional kitsch! As for Cate Blanchett, well... somehow it makes me a little sad. I don't know why. But it's not the punch in the gut that Glenn Close in 101 Dalmations was. Or maybe it was the sequel I was thinking of. Did that one go directly to video?
Meanwile, at #2, it's the latest Liam Neeson / Jaume Collet-Serra collaboration called Run All Night. Well, you can't work with Spielberg all the time. Once is typically all you get. The title, "run all night," is, of course, a veiled reference to directors and their work schedules. I've heard that they have to make about ten thousand decisions per day when working on a movie. Maybe that's hyperbole. If you're lucky, you get to outsource the stuff to the second units that doesn't require the actual actors: car chases, some close-ups, what have you... save yourself a little wear and tear. I keep forgetting that Liam's in the AARP. That's just how good he is, but I'll bet he's getting a little tired of running all night. Actually, D-Day and Ed Harris probably are too! All part of God's plan.
Well, those are all the debuts this week, but I would like to point out that Kingsmen: The Secret Service is hanging tough, this week at #3. What's it gotta do to earn some respect around here? ...wait. It's only made $107 million? Hmm. Better get to $150 as soon as you can. I guess we can't expect $200. Meanwhile, at the other end, it's The DUFF, almost gone at #10, but $30 mill in the bank! Of course, there were a lot of walk-outs by disappointed male customers who thought they were going to see Pants-Off Dance-Off: The Motion Picture.
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