Channing Tatum has had a real breakout year so far from “The Vow” to “Haywire” to “21 Jump Street” to “Magic Mike”, with that film earning more than $100 million worldwide. Tatum and producing partner Reid Carolin are already working on bringing “Magic Mike” to Broadway, but there are also plans for a possible sequel as well.
In a recent interview, Tatum not only said they have an idea, which will basically see some of the strippers taking a road trip, but that he and Carolin may co-direct since Steven Soderbergh won’t be returning.
I haven’t seen “Magic Mike”, but one does have to wonder whether Tatum and Carolin picked up enough directing knowledge from Soderbergh.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Channing Tatum has been a part of “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”, worked with Steven Soderbergh twice in “Haywire” and “Magic Mike” and helped bring back “21 Jump Street” to the big screen to surprising box office and critical success. Now, Tatum will help produce and star in a biopic about legendary stuntman Evel Knievel. The film will adapt Stuart Barker’s 2008 book “The Life of Evel”.
Mike DeLuca and Dana Brunetti (The Social Network) are also on board to produce.
This could be a big moment for Tatum. Until now, he’s done entertaining roles, but, for the most part, less serious ones. This could be a turning point in his career and helping him transition into a rare breed of actor capable of carrying a romantic comedy, action, comedy and serious drama.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Yes, Hollywood is all about sequels. But, the weekend was dominated by original films. Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and a talking teddy bear dominated as “Ted” defied all expectations and opened with $54.1 million.
“Magic Mike”, starring Channing Tatum and directed by Steven Soderbergh also opened with well with an estimated $39.1 million. Along with “The Vow” and “21 Jump Street”, it’s Tatum third movie of the year to open with at least $35 million.
“Brave” fell to third, earning an estimated $34 million, a pretty strong hold all things considered.
“Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection” opened with $26.3 million, also in line with Perry’s other films.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Director Roland Emmerich’s (“2012”) “White House Down”, which is about a paramilitary takeover of the White House, is close to signing Channing Tatum to star.
Tatum’s having himself quite a year starring in “Haywire”, “The Vow” and “21 Jump Street” with “Magic Mike” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” still to come. Still don’t think he’s a very good actor, but roles like this one probably play to his strength, be in an action movie where people can forgive some bad acting.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lulas@gmail.com.
Channing Tatum (“The Vow”) and Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) team up for the buddy cop remake “21 Jump Street”. does this unlikely duo make for a comedy pair in heaven or is this another Hollywood remake disaster?
The Good
I’ll admit it. Tatum was damn good in this film. It seemed like he was having a lot of fun and came off relaxed and spot on. Hill’s movies have been hit and miss with me, but this is some of his best comedic stuff. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller doesn’t take itself seriously at all. That’s a very good thing. The interplay between Tatum and Hill is hilarious as are much of the supporting cast, including Ice Cube and one of my favorite comedic actors who I’m waiting to get a huge role, Rob Riggle.
The film’s also surprisingly sweet. And, despite all the dick jokes, it never falters into territory that all the R rated comedies from last summer fell into of having dirty humor to a fault just to try and make it “raunchy”.
The Bad
The action scenes. Not that they were particularly terrible, but I was surprised at the quality of the film that the action scenes just seemed tacked on and not necessary. Also, though she was entertaining in this film, actress Ellie Kemper (The Office) needs to branch out. She’s essentially played the same character in every film she’s been in.
The Final Word
Far from a perfect film, “21 Jump Street” is an enjoyable, funny romp. Another pleasant surprise for this year and one that comedy lovers shouldn’t miss. With Tatum proving he has some actual acting chops, “21 Jump Street” is my favorite comedy so far this year.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
At first glance, this shouldn’t be a battle. Ryan Reynolds has been force fed to audiences as the next big star. He’s appeared in everything from romantic comedies (The Proposal, Definitely, Maybe) to horror films (The Amityville Horror) to action films (Smokin Aces, Safe House) to the indie drama (Buried) to the R-rated comedy (The Change-Up) to the big budget comic book films (Wolverine, The Green Lantern).
However, though he’s had several high profile projects and he’s especially popular with the female crowd, Reynolds has struggled to find any consistency in box office performance. For every hit he’s had at the box office (Safe House) he’s appeared in many more flops or films that were somewhat successful but poorly received. “Wolverine” and “Green Lantern” were probably his two highest profile projects. Though the former did well at the box office, few would say it was their favorite X-Men film and had disliked the film. That is nothing, however, to the reception that “Green Lantern” got from critics and fans alike. In fact, Reynolds’ career has been littered with some what successful, but trashed critically films like “The Proposal” and “Smokin Aces”.
His one film that has received a lot of acclaim was “Buried” but that’s a film that I know very few people who actually saw.
“Safe House” proved he could be viable as a box office attraction and be in a good film at the same time, but remember Denzel Washington was also a big draw for people. Reynolds seems to be stuck. He can appear in movies that suck but make money or good movies that nobody sees. Reynolds is missing the consistent acting to really bring his level higher from a star to an A-lister in Hollywood.
Channing Tatum’s career got kick started after he appeared in “Coach Carter”. Since then, it seems he’s tried to turn himself into an action/dramatic actor appearing in “Stop-loss”, “Fighting”, “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”, “The Eagle” and “Haywire”. Yet, it’s his roles in romantic films such as “The Vow” and “Dear John” which have given him the most popularity. His other, action/drama films have been met with varying degrees of success and critical acclaim. “Stop-loss” got rave reviews, but I know many more people who saw “Fighting” or “G.I. Joe” even though the reception was much less warm. Meanwhile, “The Vow” showed Tatum’s star power among women as that film is one of 2012’s surprise hits so far this year. Tatum also has a chance to show his stuff in this week’s action comedy “21 Jump Street” which costars Jonah Hill.
I’ve got to be honest, I hate Channing Tatum as an actor. I think he sucks. But, his action films usually don’t require him to say much. And, there’s always the chance that a film of his could be decent. Unlike Ryan Reynolds where I pretty much expect any of his films to suck now. Tatum may have the more limited acting ability, but his career appears much more strong and has more potential to grow than Reynolds does unless Reynolds chooses projects more carefully.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
I remember back in March 2007, I couldn’t wait for “300”. In fact, my friends and I drove to three different theaters just to find a showing that we all could go to. That was then, this is now. March has become ripe for blockbusters like”Alice in Wonderland” to make huge money at the box office. This March is no different, except there are several potentially huge blockbusters ready to see the light of day.
March begins with “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax”. It has star power in Taylor Swift and Zac Efron providing the voices, but having stars isn’t as important for an animated film. This will, however, look to continue the success that “Horton Hears a Who” found. That film grossed nearly $300 million worldwide and was released in March. Also, “Monsters vs. Aliens” had a huge opening as well. Dr. Seuss is always popular and the lack of a animated film with wide appeal to children will mean this will open big.
Opening weekend: $40-42 million.
The following week sees “John Carter”. The film stars Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights). This year could be a very big year for Kitsch as he also stars in the upcoming “Battleship”. But, “John Carter” is probably the biggest unknown of the month. It has all the elements to be a sci-fi blockbuster: Action, aliens, romance and great special effects. It’s also based on a classic novel that, in part, helped inspire modern sci-fi classics like “Star Wars” and “Avatar”. Yet, it lacks the buzz or the name recognition of those films. Sci-fi or action fans will probably go out and see this anyways because of the promise of some good battle scenes and great special effects. But, I don’t think it has the hype or the buzz surrounding it to have it open north of $50 million.
Opening weekend” $45-48 million.
“21 Jump Street”, the remake starring Channing Tatum (The Vow) and Jonah Hill follows “John Carter”. The trailer looked surprisingly funny to me. While it may not be a huge hit, look for it to have a strong opening, especially since Tatum is having some momentum in terms of his films opening well at the box office.
Opening weekend: $28-30 million.
The next week has the film that, for many people, is one of the movie events of the year. “The Hunger Games” based on the best selling novel, hits theaters. Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson provide the film with a talented young core. Actors like Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland provide the cast with a mix of talented veterans and promising newcomers. The trailers looked exciting. The excitement is high. There will be a lot of people seeing this opening weekend. It won’t have “Harry Potter” type numbers, or even the later “Twilight” numbers. But, an opening near the first “Twilight” film is more than possible.
Opening weekend: $68-70 million.
March ends with “Wrath of the Titans”, starring Liam Neeson, Sam Worthington and others. “Clash of the Titans” opened strongly, though reception was lukewarm. This looks to up the ante and is the second film to focus on the titans (The first being the terrible “Immortals”). This, however, looks to make the titans as an actual formidable force. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first one, but the trailer looks undeniably fun. And, as “Immortals” proved, the sword and sandal type action film is still alive and kicking. Worthington has had a string of blockbusters open strongly and this should be no different.
This week its a high concept romantic comedy facing off against the first comic book film of the year. Can either knock off “The Vow”?
“This Means War” looks to have a big weekend after opening on Valentines Day. The film isn’t short on star power, starring Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Chris Pine (Star Trek) and Reese Witherspoon. However, coming right after “The Vow” will limit how high this can open.
Opening weekend: $25-28 million.
Total box office gross: $70-75 million.
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” looks to build off the originals box office. Nicholas Cage’s movies have been all over the place. But, there’s not as much excitement for this one and coupled with some pretty bad reviews, it won’t have a monster opening. That being said, it’ll still open around the original as lots of guys will be looking for an action film.
Opening weekend: $38-40 million
Total box office gross: $115-120 million
It’s the weekend before Valentines Day. That means couples will be out in full force looking for movies to see. This week three major new releases hit theaters. Which one will come out on top?
First, there’s “The Vow”, starring Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, Wedding Crashers) and Channing Tatum (Dear John, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra). The film stars two actors who have appeared in two of the most popular romantic movies of the past 10 years or so and this film is obviously more serious in tone than next week’s “This Means War”. Technically, “This Means War” hits theaters on Valentines day, but I’ll include it here anyways. That film stars Chris Pine (Star Trek), Reese Witherspoon (Sweet Home Alabama) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception). In terms of star power, obviously “This Means War” wins. Also the film has a broader appeal, promising at least a little action to keep guys somewhat interested. I think “This Means War” will make far more money than “The Vow”.
“The Vow” will be successful this weekend, earning maybe $25-28 million, but “This Means War” will have better legs.
“Safe House” offers action fans a new thriller starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern). The film looks pretty entertaining and a Washington action/thriller film generally does pretty solid at the box office. However, Reynolds hasn’t really had a breakout hit yet. Being released as counter-programming may win it some single guys out to the theater, but don’t expect this to be a huge success. I think it earns $18-21 million.
Finally, “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” hits theaters in 3D. Generally, the people I’ve talked to fall into two categories. One: Diehard Star Wars fans that will see anything with Star Wars in the name. And two: those who hate the series, or just hate this particular film so much that they refuse to see it. Look for it to disappoint, earning $16-19 million. Maybe the low 20s tops.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Lukas Eggen 