by Diane Panosian, Jun 1 2010 // 1:00 PM

So, you’ve just clicked on my column and your wondering what the frak a commentary of Sex and the City 2 is doing on the epitome of all things geek, also known as The Flickcast? Well, Sex and the City 2 is the epitome of geek sheik… for women. Before continuing, I would ask all guys to scroll down as there are helpful hints on how to survive the Sex and the City 2 experience with your girlfriend.
There are some movies I will wait in line with my fired-up guy friends to experience the madness of a 12:01 screening, such as The Dark Knight. With $3 million in box office cash coming from midnight screenings, it seems some women are yearning for similar evening excitement. I thought about planning the typical midnight screening party and then smarted up. Many a lady enjoy a relaxed, less-crowded Saturday afternoon flick, so I thought I‘d give it a shot.
Since SATC 2 worships luxury brands, what better way to experience this film than with luxury accommodations? I skipped the lines, the sticky seats, and booming sound and opted instead for a screening reminiscent of a 60’s era Pan Am first class flight. Arriving at Gold Class Cinemas in Pasadena, I walked into a modern lounge where I chillaxed for a bit. I was then escorted by the cute wait staff into a private-like screening room that sat around 40.
My first piece of advice to those good guys who willingly accompany their gals is to drink and sit in very comfy chairs. My chair just so happened to be a red suede recliner that featured a happy green button that when pressed brought servers to our seats with stiff Flirtinis, pillows, blankets, and duck tacos in hand.
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Posted in: Movies · New Line · Reviews · Warner Bros
Tagged: Chris Noth, Comedy, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrell, Kristen Davis, Michael Patrick King, Movies, Romance, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City 2, Warner Bros
by Shannon Hood, Oct 12 2009 // 10:00 AM

Here’s your weekly Box Office report. Studio estimates are from Box Office Mojo. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau should be feeling pretty good about themselves this Monday morning. Their film Couples Retreat received a critical drumming, but still made $35M over the weekend. The likability of the two stars helped the film overcome negative buzz, and with no new competition, it easily won the weekend.
Zombieland looks like it will be sticking around for a while. It only dropped 39% from its opening weekend and made$15M, which is impressive for a horror movie. A month after its release, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is still in the top five, and made $12M. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 continue to pull in audiences, dropping just 38% from last week for $7.6.
The real story of the weekend is the phenomenal performance of Paranormal Activity. The film only played on 160 theaters in the entire country, and made over $7M! To put that in perspective, Surrogates came in at #6 this weekend. It played on 2,992 screens and made $4.1 million for a per screen average of $1,375. The per screen average for Paranormal Activity was $44, 163. That’s unheard of.
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Posted in: Box Office · Movies · News
Tagged: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Couples Retreat, Kristen Bell, Kristen Davis, Malin Ackeman, Paranormal Activity, Vince Vaughn, Zombieland
by Shannon Hood, Oct 9 2009 // 9:15 AM

Looking for some highbrow comedy? Keep on looking. If you loved the trailer for this movie, go watch it again. There, now you know the entire plot and you have seen all the funny parts of the film. I just saved you an hour and 47 minutes and at least ten bucks. You’re welcome.
It’s not that this is a terrible film, it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Couple’s Retreat tries to be the rom-com version of The Hangover, and fails. The laughs are there, but they are anemic at best and spread too thin over a far too long running time.
Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are a tightly wound yuppie couple who pull their friends aside at a child’s birthday party and ask them to attend a quick presentation. Believing that they are going to see another power point presentation about testicular cancer prevention, the friends are stupefied when the couple announces that they are considering a divorce. Seems a year of fertility issues has taken a toll on the couple, and they are ready to part ways.
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Posted in: Comedy · Movies · Reviews · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Couples Retreat, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell, Kristen Davis, Malin Ackerman, Vince Vaughn