My take on the Summer Blockbusters

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Director: Shawn Levy

Theatre visits: 1

What’s it about: The museum night watchman starts a new company and moves on with the good money. But the news of his friends being packed off to the Smithsonian Museum makes him put on the watchman’s uniform again to bring them back to where they belong. To make that job a ride through hell, an ancient Egyptian ruler resurrects (courtesy: the magical slab) with plans to take over the world. Watchman puts together a team of new friends from the Smithsonian Museum to spoil the party and to save us all from doom.

Whistles: Bigger with the Smithsonian Museum as its backdrop, the funny men brigade, the laughs, bubbly Amy Adams.

Boos: Gets a bit boring after a while. Stiller looks tired of the role.

Verdict: A clean family entertainer. Got the laughs and the gags. Kids will love it.

Sequel suggestions: Ask Stiller whether he is interested; let’s not have the story revolving around that magical life-giving gold slab and try not to make it look like a reworked script of the first and second movies.

My take on the Summer Blockbusters

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Director: Gavin Hood

Theatre visits: 1

What’s it about: The past of the claw wielding Wolverine which was not clearly explored in the X-Men movies. It’s about his troubled relationship with his brother Sabretooth, the betrayal that he faced from the woman he loved, his involvement in the Weapon X programme and how he got the Adamandium claws from the one person who he hates the most – Col. William Stryker.

Whistles: Hugh Jackman, the last fight with Deadpool, Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth, Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, the action sequences, visual effects in some parts.

Boos: Visual effects in some sections, not gripping enough, not in X2 league

Verdict: Good watch. Needs a sequel with tighter script.

Sequel suggestions: We don’t need the sequel to be too dark, but do give Wolverine the intensity that his character demands. Trace his history on how he continued his journey before he reached that cage fight in X-men. Hire a CGI team who can blend the effects seamlessly with the real footage.

Mayhem in May - T4 disappoints, Museum receives more vistors

Am I disappointed today? Of course I am. What was hailed and screamed from the rooftops as one of the biggies of the year, surrendering to a "does-anyone-really-care" fantasy comedy - just what I needed. :(

If the opening weekend estimates are anything to go by, Terminator Salvation received something more than a kick on the butt. A dismal $43 million is all that it had on its first weekend. Lower than expectations, lower than its unimpressive predecessor and lower than its current opponent, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Museum had a fine start at $53 million. Not so bad a performance, during these times. But the shock which T4 has given me and the number-crunchers still persists. If Fast and Furious (non-brainer) and Wolverine (some-brainer) could get a sumptuous opening then why didn't T4 manage a similar feat?

Mayhem in May – Angels and Demons not in Da Vinci league

Two good reasons why Angels and Demons didn’t have an opening weekend run similar to its predecessor. One, the book on which it’s based was not as controversial as The Da Vince Code. Two, the response of the church was rather cold than its hot-headed approach last time. Thanks to these, Ron Howard’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s book has garnered a rather ordinary $46 million in its first week. In the international markets it fared much better. A $102 million collection in the foreign markets once again confirms the fact that the movie will be performing like The Da Vinci Code.

We are speaking about ratios here and not necessarily about numbers. The Da Vinci Code made $217 million in the U.S and $540 million in the international box office. A whopping $758 million in total. A&D will sell in the foreign markets at a higher rate than in the U.S just like the Holy Grail escapade of 2006. It may not be able to match the numbers of the Code.

New releases and the strong ones which are settled and building in the box office are posing a major threat to A&D. Though Wolverine is losing strength, Star Trek is holding strong and that’s a huge threat to A&D. May is getting tighter with more release lined up. Next up are two biggies - Night at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian and Terminator Salvation. Now the Angels and the Demons will need a lot of faith or divine intervention for a box office sweep.

Mayhem in May - Star Trek lifts off

To be totally honest, I have a very bare-basic idea on Star Trek, be it the series or the movie franchise. The less operatic version of Star Wars, that’s my take on the series. No offence intended to the followers of the ever popular space adventure.

So except for the fact that the 11th movie comes in the action packed summer season, there isn’t much which makes the latest Star Trek appealing to me. I loved the way director J.J Abrams treated Mission Impossible 3. His TV series, Alias and Lost are quite good too though Lost has lost its grip. So definitely he has done his homework before working on this major reboot of a franchise which has seen its share of ups and downs.

If the opening weekend numbers are anything to go by, then he has either done his job well or the marketing team has done its job better. A production budget of $150 million has been splurged on this one and the movie grossed a fine figure of approximately $76 million in its first weekend. Not so punchy a number as Wolverine’s outing, yet fabulous.

Definitely Star Trek will take will take a huge share of the box office away from the Mr. Retractable Claws a.k.a Wolverine. But the shadow of Angels and Demons looms over Trek as the former is expected to hit shores on May 15. So more to fear than to cheer about. May the best movie win.

Mayhem in May - Wolverine claws in

X-Men Origins: Wolverine ripped apart competition raking in $85 million in its first weekend. The collections are equal to those of X2: X Men united and way better than the first X-Men movie. In the process it neatly displaced Fast and Furious from the top position in the 2009 opening weekend chart. To add to the harvest, the movie also clawed in $73 million from the foreign markets.

Swine flu threats and the much worried about issue of the leaked workprint of the movie didn’t take away the enthusiasm from the fans. All the critics who gave this one a terrible rating will be hiding their faces in the shadows as the popularity is expected to rise in the coming days.

Made on budget of $150 million, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the second most expensive movie in the franchise. I seriously doubt those numbers since the packaging doesn’t look or feel as big as X3 or X2. Not so hard to believe that Hugh Jackman was paid a whopping $20 million for the part. The producers who must have had a lot of trouble to pay that sum will now be glad to be paid back in full for the investment.

Mayhem in May - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

“May day, May day…Wolverine is out of the cage”

Kicking of the summer season this year is X-Men origins: Wolverine. More than a fine way to raise the curtains on the blockbuster season to follow which stretches out all the way till August.

The multi-layered character who carried on his broad shoulders a considerable weight of the X-men trilogy is finally a solo hero. The first movie in a series of prequels on the major characters in the X-Men series, X-Men Origins: Wolverine traces the disturbed and violent past of Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the hot-headed and at times arrogant mutant. Directed by Gavin Hood who has won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2006, the movie finally sheds some light on the mysterious history of the character. The movie clarifies many questions on his origins, his love life, his association with the Weapon X programme, the fellow mutants who he met and his acquaintance with Col. William Stryker. A better of picture of Logan (Wolverine) and his character will make Wolverine followers who couldn’t get enough of him in the X-Men trilogy, run to the theatres. Liev Schreiber in the role of Victor Creed (Sabretooth), Wolverine’s half brother fills in the shoes of one of the many battle royale adversaries. The worst nemesis, Weapon XI tests the real mettle of Wolverine’s Adamantium claws and the claws do get up close and personal with a Helicopter mid-air.

For the viewers there is a catch, as the director has stated that the movie will have multiple endings. Box office numbers are difficult to predict. But given the positioning of the movie’s release date and cashing in on the popularity of the character, it can open big at the box office. $80 million is a reasonable figure for the opening weekend count. We’ll have to wait till Monday for the actual figures as it remains to be seen on how much furious can Wolverine get at the box office battle.