An action movie with confidence, style and unapologetic brawn, Dredd, much like its blunt protagonist, doesn’t invest a lot of energy in oblique sketching of motivation, or playing coy. An adaptation of the popular British comic book focusing on the justice-dispensing character of the same name, this dystopian neo-noir unfolds as a full-frontal assault on the senses, while also carving out enough of a personality to establish a beachhead as a potential franchise for distributor Lionsgate.
Karl Urban ably communicates a steely resolve while still keeping his mask on throughout, and director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) orchestrates a fine array of action set pieces, aided by the fact that Dredd’s weapon is capable of firing six different types of ammunition, allowing for a wide assortment of mayhem and kills. Working with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, Travis also makes solid use of the film’s 3-D; the narrative inclusion of a “Slo-Mo” drug fits the effect hand-in-glove, allowing for painterly images that approach art. For the full, original review, from Screen International, click here. (Lionsgate, R, 96 minutes)
Daily Archives: September 3, 2012
Summer Ticket Sales Down 100 Million Over Last Decade
I wouldn’t say this issue is nearest and dearest to my heart, exactly — business reportage and boardroom shuffle talk interests me far, far less than the artistic elements of filmmaking — but news from The Wrap noting that summer movie ticket sales are down 100 million from a decade ago is both saddening and not wildly surprising.
That’s individual admission ticket sales, again, not gross dollars or anything like that. This year’s summer slate grossed $4.27 billion combined, down a little over 2.8 percent from last year’s $4.4 billion haul. Admissions, however, were at 526 million, down from 629 million admissions in the summer of 2002. Yes, there were the Olympics at summer’s end this year, but this box office gate information again highlights that grosses are being propped up by inflated ticket prices (cough, cough, 3-D) and, less discussed, a handful of sequels and the like.
Franchises always have their (top-shelf) place in Hollywood, especially during the summer, but with few exceptions the industry is into risk management and brokered financial returns far more than any creative endeavors. They’ve done an extraordinarily crummy job of growing and conditioning a new generation of film fans, instead using the wares of videogames and comic books as the equivalent of fishing lures. At a certain point, this tack becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, because you have less and less people excited by the idea of sitting in a darkened room with a lot of strangers and experiencing something new together.
Sleepwalk with Me
An appealingly low-key cinematic adaptation of director-star Mike Birbiglia’s autobiographical one-man show, Sleepwalk with Me is an amiable tale of beta-male discovery. Full of shaggy self-deprecation and wistful romantic realization, it serves as a sort of snapshot biography, charting Birbiglia’s first foot-in-the-water success as a touring stand-up comic, even as it comes at the cost of the dissolution of a long-term relationship, and against the backdrop of a rare sleep disorder. The movie’s subtext — of forestalled adulthood, particularly male adulthood, and its relationship to other elements of modernity — could stand to be explored a bit more, either at the cost of some of the movie’s family segments or just additionally, since the film only runs 80 minutes. But Sleepwalk with Me is still a mostly enjoyable little treat — and a reminder that, yes, comedians have real private lives too. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. For more on the movie, meanwhile, click here to visit its website. (IFC, unrated, 80 minutes)