Any TMNT fan is going to have a blast with this movie as it provides references to the past while still carving itself a new identity.

PLOT: Follows the Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.

REVIEW: I count myself as a massive fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whether it’s the old cartoon show, the live actions films of the 90’s, or even the original comic book. While I didn’t vibe with the Michael Bay-produced films, I’ve always loved the turtle action in them. So the fact that this one does the right thing and focuses on the titular characters versus April O’Neil, is already a massive win in my book. That’s what I want in a turtle movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has that in spades. And while there’s certainly a degree of origin story present, it mostly serves to reintroduce the public to this gang of green teens versus treading old ground.

One of the most brilliant decisions that the filmmakers make is casting actual teenagers as the Turtles. This already feels like a massive improvement over the near 30-somethings we’re used to getting. They actually feel like teenagers without being dreadfully annoying. The voice acting as well as the writing for each of the teens feels spot on. These aren’t the fully formed versions that we’ve seen in the past, and so they’re still developing some of those traits that would grow to become staples of the character ie. the leadership of Leo. I was a little trepidatious with the change to April O’Neil from an established reporter to an anxious high schooler, but it mostly works. Her connection with the Turtles is beautifully done.

My favorite arc of the story though is Jackie Chan‘s Master Splinter. Past iterations really settle on having him be a wise old man who occasionally cracks jokes. But here they are able to put him in an interesting place that allows him to grow as a character. They finally acknowledge that Splinter doesn’t always know what’s best for the boys. I particularly liked how much he saw of himself in Superfly (Ice Cube), who is another standout. He brings so much energy to the role and sounds like he’s having a blast doing it. When you look at the supporting cast, it’s not surprising there are so many funny side characters. Paul Rudd, John Cena, and Natasia Demetriou all voice various mutants, which allow for what may have been forgotten moments to really leave an impression.

It’s easy to compare the animation to that of Into the Spiderverse but I think it does a good enough job of differentiating itself from those films. Mutant Mayhem is gorgeous and you could stop nearly every shot and use it as a screensaver. There’s a getaway sequence that is a real highlight. And I feel as though the writers absolutely stuffed the film full of references to all sorts of past Turtles’ outings. So unless you count yourself as a fan, you may not get as much out of these moments. Still, I’d say the film does a good job of providing funny moments throughout.

I will say though: I’m not entirely sure how this plays for kids. Most of the children in the screening I was at, seemed mostly disinterested in the film. Whether that’s the slow pacing or the fact that they just didn’t have an investment in the characters, it was a bit alarming given a lot of the box office is expected from families. But I know as a thirty-something nerd who grew up on Turtles, I found myself laughing and having a grand ole time. I can’t wait to see where they go with this and what other characters they bring in. While Shredder is certainly a given, I’m hoping Bebop and Rocksteady are able to take on a more villainous role. All I know is I’m ready for more Turtles!

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM will be IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE AUGUST 2ND, 2023.

8

Barbie and Oppenheimer had tremendous second week holds while Haunted Mansion becomes the latest Disney under-performer

As expected, Barbie remained on top of the box office for a second week in a row with an impressively small drop off of just 43% for a second week take of $93 million and a domestic total of $351.4 million. Add that to its massive global take and you have a movie that in just two weeks has already amassed over $700 million. While it won’t crack the record for fastest movie to reach a billion dollars globally, that record belongs to Avengers: Endgame at just 5 days, it will undoubtedly cross that magical milestone that only 52 other movies have ever crossed within the next week and change. If Top Gun: Maverick saved movie theaters last year, Barbie is surely making sure they keep their lights on this year. 

Once that first trailer hit for Barbie, we all pretty much knew it was destined to be a hit. Even though the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer looked amazing, when it was announced the film was clocking in at three hours long and rated R, a lot of us became worried that Nolan’s latest may be the type of film that not many people would be willing to sit through, no matter how good it was. Well, the hype of Barbenheimer surely helped it secure a strong opening weekend, but this week shows that the movie has true legs as it dropped a small 44% with an estimated take of $46.2 million and a solid $174 million domestic total. Audiences are embracing a film that demands the big screen experience. That is what Christopher Nolan does, he makes sure anything he puts out has a feel to it that it must be experienced, not just seen. That is why people are willing to get out to theaters and see his movies instead of waiting for home video/ streaming.

The same can not be said for Disney, who have pivoted to embracing their streaming service above all else. This is the reason the mouse house has had trouble with their films finding audiences in theaters. The latest victim of that is their update of the Haunted Mansion which only managed a $24.2 million opening. Perhaps if the movie had received better reviews, more people would have gone out of their way to see this one in theaters, but sadly this one was just a very mediocre movie that audiences seem to realize they can watch on Disney+ in time for Halloween. I do like streaming, I really do, but we are in this weird period right now where studios don’t know how to make their theatrical releases and their streaming services work with each other and until they figure it out, as Disney seems to be finding out week after week, audiences will simply wait it out. Im not sure a box office bomb is the best marketing plan for a movies streaming debut! You can check out Chris Bumbray’s 5/10 review here.

Fourth place belongs to the Jim Caviezel starring Sound of Freedom which continues it insanely successful independent release losing just 37% for a $12.4 million weekend take. That number is actually almost $2 million more than Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One landed with this weekend. I don’t think anybody had Jim Caviezel coming out victorious in the box office battle between him and Tom Cruise! You can check out Chris Bumbray’s 6/10 Sound of Freedom review here.

In sixth place is the new A24 horror film Talk To Me which doubled its budget in just its opening weekend with slightly over $10 million. It is a rare thing when it is the actual studio that gets people hyped for a movie, but I think A24 has earned their reputation as a company that releases quality entertainment. How else to explain that they became the first studio ever to have their films sweep the top six awards at the Oscars.

Spots seven through nine go to your holdover films: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny with $4 million added to its $167 million domestic total; Elemental with $3.4 million added to its $144.9 million total and Insidious: The Red Door with $3.1 million added to its $78 million total. While tenth place lands the Bollywood release Rocky Air Rani Kii Prep Kahaani with $1.3 million. As I have said before, these Hindi language films have their passionate audiences who will seek out the new releases and turn them into hits.

Did you make it to theaters this weekend? How many times have you seen Barbie and Oppenheimer so far (its two times each for me)? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check out our weekly poll where we ask: What is your favorite Margot Robbie film?

Ethan Coen’s narrative debut, Drive-Away Dolls, has been pushed back five months and will now debut in February.

The brakes have been pumped on Ethan Coen’s upcoming solo directing effort, Drive-Away Dolls, which has become one of the latest victims of both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Drive-Away Dolls was originally set for a September 22nd release, but has been pushed back to February 23rd, 2024. It has also been surmised that this will also take it out of box office competition with Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, about a group of Reddit users who caused a “short squeeze” on GameStop’s stock. Dumb Money could also find itself as an Oscar contender, hitting on that subgenre of real-life financial dramedies that make you feel smart even though you only understood about 30% of it. Hey, The Big Short cleared five Academy Award nominations, and with a Toronto Film Festival debut also behind it, it could be part of the scene.

But enough about Craig Gillespie. Drive-Away Dolls was getting much attention for being Ethan Coen’s solo directing debut (not counting the documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind), breaking away from older brother Joel. The duo hasn’t helmed a movie together since 2018’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – but don’t worry, the fellas do have plans to reunite. Of note, Joel Coen made his solo outing with 2021’s The Tragedy of MacBeth, which was well-received by critics.

Drive-Away Dolls is about “an uninhibited free spirit (Margaret Qualley) bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.” The cast also includes Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon, and more.

The news of Drive-Away Dolls’ delay is a bit of a disappointment. While the trailer may not have built the loudest buzz, it will be nice to see how Ethan Coen handles a solo outing. He co-wrote the script with wife and frequent Coen Bros. collaborator Tricia Cooke.

Are you looking forward to Ethan Coen’s Drive-Away Dolls? Do you think its release shift could affect its box office? Let us know in the comments section below!

We look back at 2001-2006’s Alias, the TV series that launched Jennifer Garner’s career and created one of the coolest heroines of the era.

The mid-2000s were an excellent time for serialized action shows. There were 24, Lost, Chuck, Prison Break and loads more. But, perhaps the best of all of them – for a while anyway – was J.J. Abrams’ Alias, which starred Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, a black ops agent for what she thinks is a unit of the CIA, SD-6. Of course, the truth turns out to be much deadlier, as Sydney finds out in the influential pilot episode, which aired September 30th, 2001.

The series immediately became a big hit, with Jennifer Garner rivalling Angelina Jolie for a while as one of the top female action stars of the era. It paved the way for her to be cast as Elektra in the early Marvel movie Daredevil (a role she reprises in Deadpool 3), and the show also offered an early part to a young Bradley Cooper, who played her friend Will Tippin. Plus, there was Victor Garber as Sydney’s father, Jack, and Michael Vartan as Sydney’s love interest, Michael Vaughn, among others. The show ran for five mostly acclaimed seasons, although as the show went on, some felt that it jumped the shark. After all, many of the folks involved were stretched thin at this point, with J.J. Abrams’ directing his first movie, Mission: Impossible III, in 2006, the same year the series ended. But, for a while anyway, it was a hip show, with guest stars like Quentin Tarantino, Christian Slater, David Cronenberg and even Roger Moore setting the show apart.

How does Alias hold up almost two decades after its last episode aired? Let’s dig into it in this week’s Gone But Not Forgotten, which is written, edited and produced by David Arroyo and narrated by Jesse Shade.

Do you think Alias holds up well? Let us know in the comments.