Author: Matt Conway

The battle for first place this weekend ended up being a toss-up, with Tyler Perry regaining his form for the first place finish. Boo! A Madea Halloween opened in the top spot, earning an impressive 27.6 million dollars. That is actually the third highest opening for a Madea film ever, which is quite surprising considering its the seven entry in the successful series. Many have speculated that Perry may be losing his popularity after the poor performance of The Single Mom’s Club a few years back. This debut however proves thats far from the case, as his dedicated fanbase showed up in droves.…

It’s Halloween season, so there is no shock that we have a horror movie hitting theaters this weekend. At first glance though, the premise of a prequel to 2014’s Ouija seemed like a terrifying ideal. Ouija was truly one of the worst films of 2014, failing to draw a single scare and featuring a truly inept screenplay. However, Hollywood is a business about the box office, and with a gross over 100 million worldwide, the Ouija series was sure to continue. Set in 1965, Ouija: Origin of Evil follows a widowed mother who tries to get by with her two…

With there being a true superhero renaissance in film today, we often forget as audiences just how rough the genre’s origins were. Aside from the presence of Tim Burton’s gothic Batman films, the 90’s in particular was especially troubling. Comic adaptations like Captain America and The Punisher failed to show what the genre could do. Perhaps the most infamous example is the Roger Corman produced The Fantastic Four film. Despite never being released, this film has a unique history of its own, further explored in Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four”. This documentary gives a look…

The first poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has been released! James Gunn took to Twitter to unveil it: https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/788756392496668673 And in cased you missed it: https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/788762101124767744 With the original being such a smash success both critically and financially, the expectations are certainly through the roof. Sequels are often a scary ordeal, as they are often times very hit or miss with superhero films. For every Dark Knight, there is an Iron Man 2. The team behind Guardians of the Galaxy 2 are an extremely talented bunch, and through this poster, it’s clear they still have the cleverness…

October continues to heat up the box office, including one new release that’s outperforming most expectations. That films is The Accountant, which earned a solid 24.7 million dollars in the top spot. That’s about the same as last weekend’s new release Girl on a Train. The film also over-performed pre-release expectations, with its original prediction being around 18 million. For star Ben Affleck, it is the tenth best opening in his career. Despite the film scoring fairly mediocre reviews (around 51% on Rotten Tomatoes), the film scored a strong “A” score on CinemaScore. Considering the film only has a 44 million dollar budget, The Accountant is…

With so many video games being adapted to the big screen, its no surprise that Minecraft is joining the trend. Known as one of game’s most popular and unique properties, the charmingly simplistic game has captured the attention of millions. Scheduled for a 2019 release date, the film has already announced that Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney will direct. The script on the other hand appears to still have signs of improvement. It’s first draft was crafted by Doctor Strange scribe Jon Spaihts, but Warner Brothers announced that Jason Fuchs will do re-writes. Fuchs is most known for his work writing Pan and Ice Age: Congenital Drift.  At first…

Brand value seems to be everything in Hollywood, with studios sifting through even the most obscure brands to make a hit film. That search seems to be truly nearing the bottom of the barrel with a Max Steel film now coming to the big screen. Originating as a Matel action figure, the character has been adapted into a few failed television shows, with the 2000 animated series truly sticking out as an artifact of its time. Despite this, a film adaptation is here. The film follows Max, a frustrated boy who stumbles upon an alien companion named Steel. Combined, these…

New York Comic Con has brought us a wide variety of exciting new film news this weekend. One of the key trailers to debut is the second trailer for The Great Wall. Scheduled for a February 17, 2017 release, the Matt Damon film has already received a lot of flak for its controversial casting. Many have been quick to judge the film due to its presence of Damon in a film that takes place in ancient China. Whitewashing has been a prevalent issue in films today, so any sniff of this often times gets movie fans upset. This latest trailer…

Since its roaring debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The Birth of a Nation has been one of the year’s most talked about films. Most of that however has been centered around the controversy of its writer, director, and star Nate Parker, who’s lost the court of public opinion regarding an accusation of rape occurring in 1999. Parker has been adamant about his lack of involvement, but shaky interviews have led most to believe otherwise. Cleverly stealing the name of the infamous 1915 flick, The Birth of a Nation follows the important story of Nat Turner, a slave whose…

Tim Burton is still known today as one of cinema’s most inventive minds, yet his track record as of late has been dicey. After crafting classics like Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns and Ed Wood in the 90’s, Burton has struggled to turn his creativity into great films. There are a few exceptions to the rule (most notably 2007’s Sweeney Tood), but Burton in general seems to have lost his way. If there was going to be a project to lift Burton from his funk, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children would be it. Based on Ramson Riggs’ novel, the film…