Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts In Holiday Flop (Hollyweird liberals need a bailout...)

Deadline Hollywood ^ | 7/3/11 | Nikki Finke

[jimbo123]

There look to be fireworks for some Hollywood action and family movies this Fourth Of July long weekend but not for Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts whose new movie bombed.

[SkyDancer]

Sorry, but not the stories I’ve read. Their income has dropped dramatically.

[Tucker39]

I have liked both Roberts and Hanks, but those two quotes ice it for me. When they start using movies to blatantly flack for a worthless hunk of protoplasm POTUS, I add it to the list of things I can hardly wait to MISS!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

My wife and I went to see this movie... I thought it was quite good, and predict it will do better than these opening figures would indicate. Word of mouth will keep it going for awhile.

What is it about?

[dfwgator]

I liked Tom Hanks better when he made movies like “Bachelor Party.”

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Old news he’s a full fledged psycho. He made the videos but doesn’t believe in the cause it was just business.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Old news he’s a full fledged psycho. He made the videos but doesn’t believe in the cause it was just business.

[Siena Dreaming]

My wife and I went to see this movie... I thought it was quite good,

Agreed. We went because there was nothing better to see and I was expecting tripe from the previews. I do not like either Roberts or Hanks.

However, it was a delightful surprise. It's a low-key, old-fashioned comedy-romance with excellent character development and the kind of writing we used to get with good movies. A bit of Tom Hanks from the old days too when he was actually funny.

I really really liked it.

[discostu]

They’re off pace from last year, which was slightly below the year before. But the point is that even with this probable 2 year drop they’re still looking at a 10 billion dollar year in domestic theatrical, and probably in the 15 to 20 billion range in international theatrical, plus all the other forms of revenue. In the end the big 5 that make up the MPAA are still looking at a solid 40 to 60 billion bucks in revenue, 25 to 30 of that coming from the theaters you think are going away.

Theaters aren’t dying, Hollywood isn’t dying. Some of the studios are carrying around some bad debt from some poor decisions, but they’ve gone through that cycle before, this ain’t the first time MGM had to re-organize, and it won’t be the last.

[Siena Dreaming]

I liked Hanks much better in the old days too...pre-"Philadelphia" and even "Saving Private Ryan".

There's flashes of the old Hanks in this new movie which is part of the reason I found it entertaining.

The writing is slice-of-life, nothing sordid at all and generally feel good.

[discostu]

A lot of arthouse theaters show the old classics. They do OK. Not usually a very young audience, but they still do well. Most of the near sellouts I’ve been to at Tucson’s arthouse were from before I was born, The Birds, Psycho, Rio Bravo. It is pretty awesome seeing those on the big.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

'Larry Crowne'

"Larry is a recently divorced and newly unemployed guy who enrolls in college to improve his future job chances; he'd gone into the navy in his youth, instead of school.

He pretty much focuses on Larry getting hipper and becoming attracted to his speech-class teacher, played by Julia Roberts.

She's in loosey-goosey form, with a drunk scene and a few put-downs mostly directed at her shiftless husband.

Larry has mildly happy experiences: front-lawn conversations with yard-sale neighbors, budding friendship with a cute young Gen Y'er and her boyfriend, and teacher's pet status with his econ prof.

For the most part, though, Tom Hanks makes Larry Crowne as though conducting an experiment in how few serious conflicts you can put into a movie and still have it be a movie."

******

This review is from Amazon.com. I did not see the movie.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I go to the Roxy Theater that was opened in 1921. It’s a gem...

You just have to wait to see a movie because he shows movies after they’ve left the multi-plex theaters. On Sat night, the owner wears a tuxedo. The movie costs $3.

http://roxytheaternorthampton.com/

[discostu]

Now that’s a fine looking theater. All our cheap seat theaters are dumps that smell like the nacho cheese vat hasn’t been changed since the first batch in the 80s. We do have the Fox which can’t seem to decide if they want to be a classic movie theater or concert hall, they don’t do a good job of drawing a crowd for either, but it is pretty and has great acoustics.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

The owner of the Roxy is always improving it. Just before Christmas, he closed the theater for the month of December and had the wood floors refinished. He had brand new seats installed and new carpeting in the aisles. He keeps the theater immaculate and keeps the Art Deco look.

After 9/11 he played the National Anthem before every movie, and the audience stood.

We’re going there later this afternoon. The theater is very busy. He only charges $3 and also reasonable prices for popcorn, soda, and candy.

I tell everyone about the Roxy, and friends of ours often travel over 25 miles for a great night out.

[Raider Sam]

This reminds me of a music critic I read who said that the reason modern rock was so contrived and lacking originality is that the guys growing up in the 80’s and 90’s learned how to play Soundgarden and Motley Crue music, which was a growth from Black Sabbath and Maiden, which were blues metal that took roots from bands like Zeppelin, who molded their sounds based off of original Delta artists like Robert Johnson and Kansas Joe McCoy/Memphis Minnie.

Upon the 5th generation of trying to re-invent the they way blues scales are played, the genuine emotion of the songs and the creativity are lost. There is a reason that most Blink 182 songs follow the !-vi-V-IV pattern.

The same applies to movies. Im relatively young, but I would much rather watch Strangers on a Train than a modern murder conspiracy because of the details that are involved, the creativity and depth of characters, and the plot twists that are based on possible events and not deus ex machina.

[Arrowhead1952]

If spent as much of their paycheck per month as I do to see holly weird productions, the movie industry would have died years ago. I spend an absolute $0.00 per month.

[edcoil]

I would not have said it if it were not true.

March 17, 2010 12:12 PM

Tom Hanks’ WWII Comments Spark Controversy

By
CBSNews

(CBS) Comments actor and producer Tom Hanks made in interviews regarding the conflict with the Japanese during World War II are sparking controversy.

In an interview with Time magazine, Hanks, who starred in the World War II drama “Saving Private Ryan” and produced both “Band of Brothers” and the current HBO series “The Pacific” with Stephen Spielberg, compared the Japanese conflict to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods,” he told the magazine. “They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?”

Hanks brought up the comparison again while promoting “The Pacific” during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

[SomeCallMeTim]

What is it about?

Well... I hate to give TOO much away, since... it seems so many people in here can't wait to go watch it. ;-)

That Amazon synopsis has the basics of it correct. Larry get's laid off from his job because the his company decides that all managers should have college degrees. Apparently, we was divorced a few years earlier... and, bought out his wife's half of the house, so he's under-water on his loan.

He decides to attend college at a local regional school. While there, he meets and be-friends some young kids who ride scooters... discovers that he enjoys learning economics, and becomes attracted to his speech teacher (Roberts), who has a number of issues of her own.

It's not a HEAVY movie, by any stretch. It has a few logical issues... But, I thought it was entertaining. It was rather well written... Several of the characters were "different", but interesting. Cedric the Entertainer does a nice job in a supporting role.

There were a couple of things I didn't like... (the "strategic default" on the mortgage"... but, other things that I did like: Larry is a "nice guy", who's had some crappy things happen to him, but.. he doesn't sit around and whine about it, or blame everyone else... he ADAPTS. He does the things he has to do to try starting over.

It's also one of the few movies I've seen recently that didn't depict young people as all being stupid drug freaks. It does have the Hollywood-required favorable Gay character.. they just can't make a movie these days without a favorable gay character... but, it's a very small, but part.

It's not Oscar material.. but, I've seen a LOT of worse movies.

[SomeCallMeTim]

I am not a movie person and have not been for many years.

MamaB... with all due respect, if you're not a "movie person"... why do you bother reading and commenting on a movie thread? There are lots of other threads. :-)

If you haven't been in 25 years... you might want to sneak back over and try one. They've changed a little. At one theater near my house, you can eat dinner AT the movie.. At another, you can have cocktails and beer!!!

[MamaB]

Is it against the rules for me to read whatever thread I want to read? Funny, I did not know that. There are some tv movies I like to watch but my tastes are very odd. I love The Langoliers, Core, Matilda, etc. Why should I waste my money on something I have no interest in? I can air pop popcorn at home which is just as good as movie pc. Forgot some.
Love the Tremors movies. My daughter made fun of my watching those when they use to come on tv. I have been able to read for more than 60 years. So, don't tell me what I can or can not read! : ). Plus, I probably read a whole lot more than you.