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‘karate kid’ explodes at box office, crushes ‘the a-team’

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Heading into this past weekend’s box office, experts said Karate Kid and The A-Team were neck and neck and both were expected to take home about $30-35 million. They were both pulling from very different demographics, so it was feasible that both movies could tie this weekend.

And then Friday began and Karate Kid got off to a start that exceeded expectations and that trend continued throughout the weekend as the Jaden Smith-Jackie Chan film raked in $56 million, according to box office experts. The A-Team struggled this weekend, under performing by only making $26 million.

According to the LA Times, Sony was ecstatic with the standout performance by Karate Kid because they had only $40 million invested in their film. Fox and its financing partner Dune Entertainment, on the other hand, spent almost $100 million on The A-Team, so there is a very good possibility that the film (which starred Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel) loses money.

What did you think of both films?

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, visit his Twitter.

‘hangover 2′ is half-written (and more details)

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A few key details about The Hangover 2 leaked today and I feel that you, loyal reader, should know about the sequel to the best comedy of 2009.

Phillips also told EW.com today that the three main stars of the film – Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis – will all return for the next movie.  This isn’t shocking news, considering all three are legitimate movie stars because of how well The Hangover did at the box office and among critics.

The biggest question mark fans of the original had regarding a sequel was where it would take place.  Well, Phillips put those rumors to rest today when he said that (as you know from the title of this post) his half-written script would not reuse the same plot.  Which means that The Hangover 2 will not shoot in Las Vegas.

That said, he went on to strongly hint that alcohol will once again play a prominent role in the film, so don’t expect too much change for The Hangover 2.

Other than those tiny nuggets of information, Phillips is being tight-lipped about the film.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

2 guys, a girl and a movie enjoy ‘The Hangover’

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the-hangover

K = one boy          E = another boy       S = the girl

E:  Hilarious movie martini:  combine baby in sunglasses; wild, asexual Asian; stripper nuptials; and Mike Tyson playing air drums to Phil Collins.  Shake and serve over Vegas!

S: You are sure funny there, E!  So is it shaken or stirred?

K:  In the movie trailer I noticed this movie was from the director of Old School. I smiled and was curious to learn more. Boy did this comedy deliver for me!

S:  And me too!  I can’t believe how funny I found this to be. After the first 20 minutes, I just kept laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing…

K:  The Hangover does take several minutes for the big laughs to begin.

E:  The movie needs set ups for big laughs later so a little exposition at the beginning was like walking around the casino trying to find the hot table.  Once you found it, everything clicked.

K:  To me the setup of the main characters in the beginning pays off later in the movie. This is a detective story of a night in Las Vegas with these men gone hysterically berserk.

E:  And since I’m the best man for a wedding next summer, you know I was taking notes (sample notes: don’t end up in the hospital, don’t practice self-dentistry, don’t marry a stripper, don’t steal a tiger… boy I have a lot of don’ts!)

S: So what are the do’s?  Go to Vegas?  Have a kick-ass suite?  Find a baby named Carlos?

K:  Nothing against Justin Bartha, but Bradley Cooper (jerk fiancé from Wedding Crashers) and Ed Helms (from the Office and the Daily Show) owned this movie (that piano song in the Vegas suite was classic!).

S: And yes ladies, Bradley Cooper is still H-A-W-T!  WOW!  And you find out later, he’s not a jerk.  He just plays one with his friends.

K:  Zach G’s (try pronouncing that last name) had some of the better quotable lines like “Is this the real Caesars Palace? Does Caesar live here?”

E:  It all worked.  Great comedy ensemble with a bizarre (did I mention an asexual Asian) but funny supporting cast.  And that baby named Carlos.

K:  The supporting acting is very good with a solid cameo by Mike Tyson.

I thought the location scenes in Las Vegas made it another character.

S: And the asexual Asian was my pick for best supporting character!  Just too hysterical!

K:  How the missing buddy mystery gets resolved is a funny journey with cleverly simple resolution that made you go, “Yeah, I can see how that could have happened.”

E:  (More notes):  Don’t steal money… don’t steal a cop car… don’t lock a man(?) in a trunk… don’t borrow an expensive car to get to Vegas…

K:  DO stay when the end credits start. Great way to tie in the missing clues to how a night when out of control.

S: (more questions on the notes):  Do take pictures of the evening’s events?  Keep track of the camera?

Recommendation by E, S, K:  Is this the best summer movie so far? No. Funniest movie so far and definitely a guilty pleasure that you’ll be quoting for some time.  Well worth a full price ticket.

your weekly box office results

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With its star-studded cast and romantic comedy potential, He’s Just Not That Into You topped this weekend’s box office by pulling in $27.5 million.  It took the top of the box office from Liam Neeson’s Taken.

In my opinion, the cast and the comprehensive marketing of the film put it over the top.  I mean, just look at the following names in the movie: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long.  I probably missed someone, but that is a monster cast.

For He’s Just Not That Into You‘s relationship-intensive genre, that cast is like the Nicholson-DiCaprio-Wahlberg-Damon-Sheen-Baldwin cast on The Departed.  So don’t be too shocked by HJNTIY‘s performance this weekend.

The thing that surprised me about this weekend’s box office was the strong performance from Taken, which took down $20.3 million.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about the movie – Liam Neeson allegedly punches every person in the movie, besides his wife and daughters, three times in the head.  Which is gold in my book.

But is Liam Neeson still a box office action star?  I didn’t think so, but it appears I’m wrong.

That’s the movie out right now that I really want to see.