Celebritology 2.0: Summer Movies


Posted at 11:43 AM ET, 09/04/2012

All hail ‘The Oogieloves,’ one of the biggest movie flops ever
By Jen Chaney
Its pitiful Labor Day weekend opening marks the most dismal returns ever for a wide release.

By Jen Chaney  |  11:43 AM ET, 09/04/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies, Box Office | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 11:20 AM ET, 09/03/2012

Summer box office 2012: Not just for the boys
By Jen Chaney and Caitlin Moore
The summer film landscape was more gender-inclusive than an initial scan of the top blockbusters might suggest.

By Jen Chaney and Caitlin Moore  |  11:20 AM ET, 09/03/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Box Office, Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 11:09 AM ET, 08/01/2012

The original ‘Total Recall’ predicted the future . . . sort of
By Jen Chaney
A lot of it — body scanners, videoconferencing — is pretty accurate.

By Jen Chaney  |  11:09 AM ET, 08/01/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 01:42 PM ET, 07/12/2012

The ‘Dark Knight Rises’ trailer is much funnier with only Pee-Wee Herman’s voice
By Jen Chaney
Herman replaced everyone’s voices with his own. And yes, he meant to do that.

By Jen Chaney  |  01:42 PM ET, 07/12/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Dark Knight Rises, Movie Trailers, Summer Movies

Posted at 03:31 PM ET, 07/06/2012

Friday list: 10 hot and sweaty movies for hot and sweaty days
By Jen Chaney
Movies in which the characters perspire as much as you do on a 100-degree day.

By Jen Chaney  |  03:31 PM ET, 07/06/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies, Friday Lists | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 04:42 PM ET, 07/03/2012

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ vs. ‘Spider-Man’
By Jen Chaney
How does Marc Webb’s origin story measure up against Sam Raimi’s? We’re so glad you asked.

By Jen Chaney  |  04:42 PM ET, 07/03/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Amazing Spider-Man, Summer Movies, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, Emma Stone, Kristen Dunst

Posted at 02:34 PM ET, 07/02/2012

‘Ted,’ ‘Magic Mike’ and the box office gender divide
By Jen Chaney
Mostly boys went to see “Ted,” while more ladies opted for Channing Tatum.

By Jen Chaney  |  02:34 PM ET, 07/02/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Box Office, Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 01:15 PM ET, 06/08/2012

Aubrey Plaza on ‘Safety Not Guaranteed,’ Judy Garland and dreams of a ‘Parks and Rec’ pregnancy
By Jen Chaney
She also talks about time travel.

By Jen Chaney  |  01:15 PM ET, 06/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Aubrey Plaza, Summer Movies, Parks and Recreation

Posted at 12:33 PM ET, 06/07/2012

‘Prometheus’: Five things to do or ponder before you see it
By Jen Chaney
Consider this your preparatory guide for the much-anticipated Ridley Scott sci-fi saga.

By Jen Chaney  |  12:33 PM ET, 06/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies, Michael Fassbender

Posted at 10:20 AM ET, 06/01/2012

‘Snow White and the Huntsman’: A Q&A
By Jen Chaney
An answer to all the questions you (probably) have about this suit of armor version of the fairy tale.

By Jen Chaney  |  10:20 AM ET, 06/01/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Summer Movies

Posted at 04:30 PM ET, 05/25/2012

This Memorial Day, what’s the one movie to watch to get in a summer mood?
By Jen Chaney
Here’s my pick. I want to hear yours in the comments and on Twitter.

By Jen Chaney  |  04:30 PM ET, 05/25/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 02:55 PM ET, 05/20/2012

‘Battleship’ loses to ‘Avengers’ at box office, confirms Tim Riggins can’t beat the Hulk
By Jen Chaney
“The Avengers” easily hangs on to the top spot while “Battlefield” underperforms.

By Jen Chaney  |  02:55 PM ET, 05/20/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Box Office, Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 04:59 PM ET, 05/18/2012

‘Battleship’: 10 things that make it a classic American blockbuster
By Jen Chaney
Stuff blows up! AC/DC is played!

By Jen Chaney  |  04:59 PM ET, 05/18/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 04:50 PM ET, 05/17/2012

Peter Berg talks ‘Battleship,’ Rihanna’s toughness and the ‘Friday Night Lights’ movie
By Jen Chaney
Also covered: Taylor Kitsch and the “John Carter” debacle.

By Jen Chaney  |  04:50 PM ET, 05/17/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Friday Night Lights, Summer Movies

Posted at 12:41 PM ET, 05/02/2012

‘Avengers’? ‘Dark Knight Rises’? Which summer movie do you most want to see?
By Jen Chaney
In 140 characters, explain which film you are looking forward to and why. The most interesting responses will be shared in a follow-up post.

By Jen Chaney  |  12:41 PM ET, 05/02/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies | Tags:  Summer Movies

Posted at 03:05 PM ET, 08/17/2010

'Piranha 3D' makes a bid for Best Picture
By Jen Chaney
We've already established that "Inception" has a lock on at least a few Academy Award nominations. But now another summer movie is coming to theaters that just might threaten the Oscar prospects for Christopher Nolan's dreamscape thriller. Okay, not really. But Funny or Die has posted an amusing video (with, of course, some NSFW language) in which several cast members from "Piranha 3D" attempt to make a case for their multidimensional bloodbath's award-season prospects. In the process, they raise some valid questions. Given the amount of CGI in "Piranha 3D," why not nominate it for best animated feature? Do the Oscar organizers really want young people to watch the telecast and, if so, why do they continue to make the show so [bleep]y and boring? Why can't we change the name of Cheetos to Paul Scheer-tos? Why, I ask you?...

By Jen Chaney  |  03:05 PM ET, 08/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies, Movies | Tags:  Movie Trailers, Summer Movies

Posted at 02:40 PM ET, 06/21/2010

Five perfect movies to watch on the first day of summer
By Jen Chaney
It's the first day of summer, even if it seems like the season of extreme humidity got underway, oh, back when "Iron Man 2" came out. (Remember all that hype and hope about how massive this summer movie season was going to be? Man, those were the days.) In honor of the summer solstice -- the official kick-off to two months filled with complaints about the heat registered by people who spend their days inside air-conditioned offices --here are five films that are perfect for a first-day-of-summer movie marathon. Feel free to watch them on your computers while sitting inside those air-conditioned offices. Your boss won't notice -- he's totally on vacation. "Dazed and Confused" I rarely need an excuse to watch a movie -- set on the last day of school in a Texas town circa 1976 -- that I have been quoting incessantly since the mid-1990s. ("I want...

By Jen Chaney  |  02:40 PM ET, 06/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Movies, Movies | Tags:  Movies, Summer Movies

Posted at 02:08 PM ET, 05/13/2010

Battle of the movie trailers: 'Inception' vs. 'Adjustment Bureau'
By Jen Chaney
In what may be the hottest psychological-thriller battle of 2010, new previews for both Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated "Inception" and the Matt Damon drama "The Adjustment Bureau" recently debuted online. And weirdly, though the films are clearly different, their trailers share a number of things in common. In this corner, we have the latest, lengthiest trailer for "Inception" (in theaters July 16), which gives us quick-cut glimpses of a super-stressed-out Leonardo DiCaprio; a possibly doomed romance between DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard; vaguely sci-fi themes about stealing from the subconscious of others; a glass-smashing car crash and an epic building collapse; Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing some pseudo-"Matrix"y stuff with a bunch of levitating guys; and a pervasive paranoid vibe that's been cranked up to 11. And in the other corner, there's "The Adjustment Bureau" (coming Sept. 17), which shows us images of a super-stressed-out Matt Damon; a possibly doomed romance between Damon and...

By Jen Chaney  |  02:08 PM ET, 05/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Pop Culture, Pop Culture | Tags:  Movie Trailers, Movies, Summer Movies

Posted at 01:55 PM ET, 05/07/2010

Friday list: The best summer movie seasons ever
By Jen Chaney
With "Iron Man 2" banging and clanging into theaters today, the summer movie season of 2010 has officially begun. It's a season that happens to mark an important anniversary: the 35th birthday of the summer blockbuster, which was officially born when 1975's "Jaws" dominated the box office and the collective cultural conversation. In the years that have followed, the months of May, June, July and August have gotten more and more crowded, as movies -- both of the massive, Spielbergian variety, as well as comedies, indies and even documentaries -- compete to capture our attention during the time of year when everyone is eager to enjoy blissful escapism beneath the chilly blast of cineplex air-conditioning vents. Luke Skywalker and Yoda, using the summer blockbuster force. (Lucasfilm) But since "Jaws" ushered in the era of the summer movie, which hot-and-humid years have given us the very best flicks? After careful consideration,...

By Jen Chaney  |  01:55 PM ET, 05/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Pop Culture, Pop Culture | Tags:  Iron Man, Movies, Summer Movies