Posted on 03/06/2018 3:59:19 AM PST by PBRCat
The other wide release this weekend is MGMs Death Wish remake. The film was already delayed from Thanksgiving after the Vegas mass shooting and was lucky to not get delayed again after the latest mass-casualty school shooting just two weeks ago.
[D]irected by Eli Roth and starring Bruce Willis, the film earned brutal pre-release reviews even outside of the cultural/political considerations. Fair or not, it's going to be a long time before it's the "right" time for a movie like Death Wish, especially one that doesn't update its politics or its demographics beyond an angry white guy shooting bad guys of color. And while this one isn't actively political, it's also not very satirical or deconstructionist, offering less commentary than even the 1974 Michael Winner-directed original.
Truth be told, there are enough moments of quality (Vincent DOnofrio and Dean Norris are terrific, and the notion of a trauma surgeon shooting bad guys on the side is interesting) to make me wish it was a good movie.
Regardless, I'd be curious to read Carnahan's original screenplay as there are nuggets of a good movie amid this otherwise disposable Saturday night rental. The $30 million production earned $13m over its debut weekend.
MGM will hope that the film can leg it to $30 million domestic, but it will have to depend on overseas (or a strong post-theatrical life) to actually make money from this questionable remake. The film scored a promising 3x weekend multiplier (+23% on Saturday) and snagged a B+ from CinemaScore. It played 57% male, 53% over 35-years old and 28% 25-34-years old. It played 57% Caucasian, 19% Hispanic, 13% African American and 11% Asian.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
For hating guns, Hollywood excels in violent movies.
Passenger
Miss you Charles.....
Haven’t been to a movie at a theater in ages.
This one might be worth the trip.
Hollywood didn’t mind TAKEN 1, TAKEN 2, TAKEN 3, and TAKEN 4.
Same premise.
This is incredibly racist and offensive to Caucasian people.
Unlike other demographics, there is almost always a valid reason when a white person is angry, .
Also, oftentimes there's a perfectly good reason "bad guys of color" get shot, and I see nothing wrong with that happening. In fact, I hope it continues, because I'm a fan of civilization.
Ha ha, you are obviously referencing her anus photos on the internet.
Don't Google it!
You forgot the breast count.
“I’ll let jack do it”
great line
And even at that time it didn't go unnoticed. Almost everyone who saw the original thought the casting of the criminals was motivated by leftist ideology.
“Miss you Charles.....”
True dat.
And that's one of the reasons we Deplorables are lining up for it.
Plus Willis is funnier than Bronson....must see for me.
Chuck Bronson did a pretty good job in the original.
“Not a bad film at all. Worth a look.”
It was a good movie, I went last night. Going on a Monday night, I was the only person in the theater, which was kind of fun. :-) I wanted to see it in the theater to help its box office take - it’s one of the few decent movies to have been made in quite a while. It makes many good points, in particular “When it’s a matter of seconds, the police are only minutes away.”
Slight spoilers follow, so don’t read further if you care.
I think it could have been improved in a couple of ways - first there should have been a scene showing Bruce practicing in the woods somewhere after he first got a gun. He was an awfully good shot for someone who never practiced.
Also, there was a scene where he pulls out a fully automatic AR and lets fly. That would have been much better with a semi-auto rifle, both from a realism standpoint, and the fact that each shot could be purposefully aimed. Full auto is neither necessary nor desirable unless you’re being charged by a human wave. Typical Hollywood gun ignorance.
All that said, go watch it!
A considerable amount of location filming was done in Chicago. I have no doubt that other scenes were shot elsewhere to save production dollars (the Kersey residence in Evanston, Illinois looked nothing like the housing available in that suburb).
Bruce Willis actually did give a good performance and played the role as a straight dramatic role.
As in the original Charles Bronson Death Wish in 1973 and its sequels, the viewers side with the protagonist and feel partnered with him in the "vigilante justice" being dispensed out to the bad guys.
I don't recall any politically correct scenes or liberal narratives being pushed or attempts to mask over the vigilante aspect. It played a little campy at times but so did Bronson's original.
Except for some concessions to more modern times, like the use of smart phones, the movie plays out pretty matter-of-factly, much like the original.
This movie won't be nominated for any awards, but it was entertaining and enjoyable. Ironically, somewhat of a feel-good movie because the bad guys are being "taken care of".
Still, it would have been amusing to see Willis do his version of Bronson. Speaking of going off-script, the really amusing part of the Death Wish movies is that Brian Garfield, the author of the book that inspired them, was an ultra-liberal who intended a negative depiction of the protagonist, Paul Kersey.
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