....oh, speaking of certain low brow movies i do like-- "Bad Santa". Don't
forget "Bad Santa". I laugh so hard everytime i see that crude movie, i almost
bust a gut. My wife is horrified at how i can find humour in Billy Bob
Thornton's portrayal of a crooked, soused Santa who curses at an innocent kid
while taking advantage of him, but I just love that movie. Then she just says
"oh, you love 'Monty Python' too. I worry about you sometimes".
I'd take Bad Santa over National Treasure any day!
-------------- Original message --------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Keith Johnson)
I really hope none of you fine people contributed any ducats to making
"National Treasure 2" the number one movie over the Christmas weekend. I tried
to watch the first movie a couple of years ago, on a Sunday night, as
background noise while I cleaned up. I turned it off with 45 minutes to go.
Silly concepts, preposterous occurrences, autopilot acting by Cage and Voight
("just show me the money!!"). Not fun or clever or engaging at all. Despite
what some think of me, i'm not a movie snob, don't have a thing against low
brow humour (saw "Knocked Up" recently and loved it) or mindless action flicks.
I"m the guy who will watch "The Warriors" every single time it airs (much to my
wife's consternation!) And "Face Off"? Pure cinematic pleasure of adrenalin,
over-the-top acting, and things that go "boom!". Love that flick.
But National Treasure sucked, and I hear the sequel is even dumber in plot.
Mount Rushmore built just to hide a city of gold. A secret book passed down
from one President to another that details, among other things, the truth of
what's kept in Area 51? Brotherrr!
Please tell me none of you watched it?
****************************
"National Treasure" sleighs Christmas box office
Tue Dec 25, 2:27 PM ET
Nicolas Cage's adventure sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" raced to
$65 million during its first five days of release across North America,
distributor Walt Disney Pictures said on Tuesday.
The tally consists of actual sales for the four days since the film opened last
Friday, and a Christmas day estimate. Final sales data will be issued on
Wednesday.
Through December 24, the film had also earned $27.5 million in 17 international
markets, mostly in Asia. The critically maligned sequel to the 2004 smash
"National Treasure" stars Cage as a treasure hunter who flies around the world
trying to solve an ancient puzzle related to Lincoln's assassination.
Will Smith's sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend" was No. 2 with five-day sales of
$47.5 million, taking its 12-day haul to $150.8 million, said Warner Bros.
Pictures.
Because of the holiday, data for many films were incomplete. Twentieth Century
Fox reported a four-day tally of $32.8 million for its surprise hit "Alvin and
the Chipmunks," saying it was impossible to estimate Christmas Day sales. After
11 days, the kids film has earned $88.7 million.
The fact-based political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War" earned $14.75 million,
and the Johnny Depp musical "Sweeney Todd" $12.75 million, both after five
days. Their respective studios, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures,
warned that the Christmas Day components were rough guesses.
The box office jury is still out on "Charlie Wilson," a high-profile vehicle
starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which is playing in twice as many
theaters as "Sweeney Todd," which DreamWorks co-produced with Warner Bros.
Further down the rankings, "P.S. I Love You" had earned $9.1 million in its
first five days. After a low-key opening weekend, Warner Bros. said it hoped
more women would turn out in force for the Hilary Swank tearjerker now that
Christmas-related chores are behind them.
The musical spoof "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" reported a four-day haul of
$4.7 million. Distributor Columbia Pictures did not have a Christmas Day
estimate for the box office disappointment.
Midfield rankings will change when final data are issued Wednesday because they
will include sales for three Christmas Day releases: the action sequel "Alien
vs. Predator: Requiem," the Denzel Washington drama "The Great Debaters," and
the family fantasy "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep."
Walt Disney Pictures is a unit of Walt Disney Co. Warner Bros. is a unit of
Time Warner Inc. Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of News Corp. Universal
Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. DreamWorks Pictures is
a unit of Viacom Inc. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp.
(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Stuart Grudgings)
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