All articles by John Hazelton – Page 3
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Reviews
The X-Files: I Want To Believe
Dir. Chris Carter US. 2008. 104 mins. Six years after the end of the long-running TV series - and ten after the first movie spin-off -- writer-director Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-open the X Files with a nicely dark and dense supernatural thriller which Fox ...
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Reviews
Wanted
Dir. Timur Bekmambetov. US. 2008. 110 mins. Maximum violence and minimum plot are the formula for Wanted, a flashy comic book adaptation that marks the US debut of Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov. It also marksthe transformation of British actor James McAvoy into something resembling a Hollywood action hero. The ...
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Reviews
The Rocker
Dir. Peter Cattaneo US . 2008. 102 mins.Sitcom star Rainn Wilson (the US version of The Office) makes a disappointing transition to big-screen headlining with The Rocker, a mostly flat School Of Rock rehash directed by The Full Monty's Peter Cattaneo. The broad Fox Atomic comedy certainly won't do for ...
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News
Indiana Jones finds treasure with $269m worldwide opening
Paramount and Lucasfilms' Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull unearthed plenty of box office gold at the weekend, grossing an estimated $143m in the international marketplace and another $126m in North America. Though it did not break any records, Crystal Skull will, if early estimates are confirmed, end up among ...
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News
Indy raids global marketplace in search of box office gold
Promising impressive box office returns from a six-day worldwide opening run, Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull charges into the global marketplace this weekend, havingstarted its international roll-out on Wednesday (May 21) and arriving in North America early on Thursday (May 22).The much-anticipated sequel - with ...
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News
Iron Man strong, Caspian promising internationally
Iron Man has maintained its grip on the international marketplace for a third straight weekend, grossing an estimated $25.6m for an international total to date of $206m.The comic book-based blockbuster's nearest challenger was The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which started its international roll-out with a promising estimated $20.7m from ...
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News
Prince Caspian takes crown at North American box office
Buena Vista's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian dominated the North American box office over the weekend, though its estimated opening gross of $56.6m was short of most projections.Paramount's Iron Man and Fox's What Happens in Vegas held up well in their third and second weekends respectively, but Warner's Speed ...
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News
Prince Caspian begins roll-out, Iron Man nears $200m
Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian starts its international roll-out this weekend, opening in one major market in Asia, one in Europe and one in Latin America. But the family adventure sequel is unlikely to break Iron Man's two-week grip on the marketplace as Paramount's comic book-based blockbuster approaches ...
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News
In Focus - the Cannes search for a new supply line
No-one would argue with New Line's worldwide distribution chief Rolf Mittweg when he says the demise of New Line's international sales operation 'leaves a major void in the international marketplace'.Not only was the operation, in the words of Mittweg, the executive who built it up during the late 1980s and ...
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Reviews
What Happens In Vegas
Dir. Tom Vaughan. US. 2008. 98 mins.A bit like Las Vegas itself, frenetic romantic comedy What Happens In Vegas offers some diversions that are mildly entertaining but really just postpone an inevitable outcome (in Vegas the house always wins and in rom-coms the bickering stars always get together in the ...
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Reviews
The Forbidden Kingdom
US/China. 2008. 113mins Anticipated both for its Jackie Chan-Jet Li star pairing and its East-meets-West production approach, The Forbidden Kingdom attempts to put top-flight Asian martial arts together with family friendly fantasy in an English-language action adventure package. The elements of this well crafted and good-looking US/China co-production should attract ...
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Features
United States - Selling Britain
When she moved to Los Angeles two years ago to become executive director of the UK Film Council's US office, Claire Chapman quickly discovered she was in a new film-making world."I learnt overnight how different the industry is in terms of how it operates and how it's treated in Hollywood," ...
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News
Horton takes over international lead
Fox's Horton Hears A Who! edged into the lead at the international box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $13.2m from 52 markets while Warner's 10,000 BC, leader for the last three weekends, took $12m from 62. The weekend's biggest new opening, meanwhile, came from Fox's 27 Dresses, which ...
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News
21 wins the weekend hand at US box office
Sony's card-counting drama 21 came up trumps at the North American box office this weekend, opening at the top of the domestic chart with an estimated three-day gross of $23.7m. Last week's leader Horton Hears A Who! held up well in its third weekend, but three other new releases had ...
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News
Horton chases down $100m at international box office
With only scattered new openings scheduled in the wake of the Easter holiday, marketplace leaders Horton Hears A Who! and 10,000 BC are set to dominate the international box office again this weekend. Fox International's Horton opens in three smaller territories - Taiwan, South Africa and Croatia - before entering ...
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News
Horton holds on in North America
School kids on their Easter holiday helped keep Fox's Horton Hears A Who! on top at the North American box office this weekend, with the computer animated comedy dropping 44% from its debut weekend to gross an estimated $25.1m over three days. Horton's closest competitor was Tyler Perry's Meet The ...
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News
10,000 edges Horton at international box office
Leading the international field for the third time in a row, Warner's holdover 10,000 BC grossed an estimated $28.2m from 7,400 prints in 62 territories over the Easter weekend, just beating the estimated $25.2m from 6,600 screens in 49 markets grossed by Fox's expanding Horton Hears A Who!With school breaks ...
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Reviews
Drillbit Taylor
Dir. Steven Brill. US. 2008. 102 mins.The Judd Apatow laugh factory turns out one of its younger-skewing - and less funny - products in Drillbit Taylor, a revenge-of-the-nerds comedy that teams Owen Wilson's hapless title character with a trio of bullied high school outcasts. In some ways resembling a junior ...
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News
10,000 BC rules on at international box office
Powerful debuts in the UK, Korea and Russia kept Warner's 10,000 BC on top in the international marketplace this weekend as the prehistoric adventure grossed an estimated $38m from 6,900 prints and topped box office charts in 30 markets. Fox's computer animated Horton Hears A Who!, meanwhile, began its international ...