Commented on own review
Mar 13, 2006 08:13 PM
It was a rerelease of the film on its 20th anniversary. The film was made in 1982, but some effects and sequences were abandonded at the time due to the limits of technology, but were readded in 2002 now that the technology exists.
According to the box office mojo website, its initial release ma...de about $360 million domestically, another $40 million in 1985 on a rerelease, and another $35 million in its 2002 rerelease.
In 2002, it opened for an 8 week run starting in late March in about 3,000 theatres averaging about $4,700 per theatre. Two weeks later it dropped to 2,400 theatres with about $1400 per theatre. A week later it dropped to 1,600 theatres, then to 800 the week after, and 670 the week after that. On its 6th weekend it was in about 400 theatres and on its 7th and last weekend it was in 275 theatres. So $35 million over that 2 month period isn't that bad.
It also pulled in another $3 million internationally, being released in 3 countries according to box office mojo, Taiwan, Turkey and the UK.
Info here: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=releases&id=et20th.htm
$38 million isn't that bad, it's a lot more than some films make on their initial release, let alone a rerelease.
So I stand by my original recommendation and I disagree that it was a flop. It may not have done the $250 to $400 million dollar box office that year that films like Harry Potter 1, Lord of the Rings 2 and Spiderman 1 pulled in; but when you drop out of the top 25 and find that most films that year made less than $96 million; with the bottom 50 films of the top 100 that year making less than $50 million, and another 25 doing worse than the E.T. rerelease (and they had the advantage of being open longer than the rerelease's 8 week run), then yeah, I think it did fairly well.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2002&p=.htm
Finally, it's a classic film, far from a turkey in any year.
- SteveRead More
Reviewed The Chumscrubber Movie
Mar 13, 2006 07:53 PM
2896 Views
(Updated Mar 13, 2006 07:53 PM)
I. The Movie...
The Cumscrubber is the first feature film by newcomers Arie Posin and Zac Standford, who cowrote the story, with Standford completing the screenplay and Posin taking on directorial duties. The Chumscrubber has a strong satirical narrative with oddball characters that highlight...Read more
Commented on Heng2005's review
Mar 10, 2006 02:02 PM
Just wanted to let you know that I gave the review a HELPFUL rating because although it gave some thoughtful comments on the main theme of the film - being gay in society - it provided little information on other aspects of the film such as plot, character, acting, cinematography, directing, etc.
...
If you revise the review at anytime, let me know and I'll be glad to re-read and re-rate.
Cheers,
- SteveRead More
Reviewed Five Best Hollywood Movies of 2002
Mar 10, 2006 01:24 PM
5217 Views
(Updated Mar 12, 2006 10:37 AM)
13. Crocodile Hunter - Collision Course: This film came out of nowhere, succeeding in both its simplicity and its originality of plot. Based on the real life nature team of Steve and Terri Irwin, this movie plays out exactly like the tv-show, taking its characters on an adventure that ends up be...Read more
Reviewed Cat's Eye - Margaret Atwood
Dec 15, 2003 11:15 AM
17515 Views
(Updated Dec 25, 2003 11:23 PM)
Cat's Eye is author Margaret Atwood's seventh novel and represents the second part ''of a trilogy that would also include (her fifth novel, The Handmaid's Tale) and, in 1993, The Robber Bride,'' (71) as author Victor-Levy Beaulieu notes in Two Solitudes: Margaret Atwood and Victor-Levy Beaulieu ...Read more
Commented on own review
May 22, 2003 01:02 PM
SPOILERS...
It's interesting, near the end of the movie when Neo confronts the computer guy, who said 'we predicted you'd come because there have been others before and this time we will defeat you because we've computed every move.' It's interesting though, because it's obvious they didn...t' because the technology has evolved to the point where Agent Smith's programing has gone way beyond anything anyone probably could have imagined, in that he's been able to escape to the real world. So I agree, Smith and Neo are linked - when Smith tried to take Neo over and didnt' succeed, and at the end when Neo just stopped the machine - a transference has occurred between the two twice now and it's a wild card the computer bad guy Neo confronted at the end didn't think about. And that I think will be the spade... I think things will build to the point where some kind of compromise happens between computers and humans. Look at the scenes between Neo and that older Council leader, and they are in the bowls of Zion, and Neo is like we control these machines, we can just turn them off anytime. And he's like yes, we can, but then we'd die.
So it's an interesting parable on how computers are in our lives and how we are dependant upon them; and I think it will be very interesting to see how it ends.
I'm not totally disappointed in the Matrix Reloaded, and I plan on seeing it again soon, I am going to watch the first one and then go see the second one right after it. But I think they could've tied things up in this sequel so that it could stand on its own better, but also be a part of a greater whole; which the first film did do so fine.
Cheers,
- SteveRead More
Reviewed Matrix Reloaded Movie
May 21, 2003 12:16 PM
1786 Views
(Updated May 21, 2003 01:59 PM)
On Tuesday, May 13, 2003 I purchased seven tickets so that me and a group of friends could see the 10:15pm showing of The Matrix Reloaded last night, on Wednesday, May 14, 2003. Suprisingly enough, at the theatre I saw it at, there were no Star Wars like line-ups, which one may have expected giv...Read more
Reviewed Catch Me If You Can Movie
Dec 27, 2002 04:19 PM
1855 Views
(Updated Dec 27, 2002 11:26 PM)
Catch Me If You Can is the wonderful new film from director Steven Spielberg that was inspired by the true life story of Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose world was torn upside down due to the financial and marital difficulties as faced by his parents in the 1960s.
As such, at the ...Read more
Reviewed Short Circuit 2 Movie
Dec 27, 2002 03:47 PM
4032 Views
(Updated Dec 30, 2002 01:30 PM)
Ok, I'll be honest: I don't know or remember if Short Circuit was a big hit in 1986, and I'm too lazy to look it up. However, my instincts tell me that it probably was, as Hollywood usually doesn't make sequels to movies that aren't hits. But it's sequel, 1988's Short Circuit 2 is a rather enjoy...Read more
Reviewed Adaptation Movie
Dec 27, 2002 03:44 PM
2384 Views
(Updated Dec 30, 2002 01:29 PM)
This is going to sound as weird as Adaptation itself, but I want to seriously note that I have seen parts of this movie in my dreams. And no, I'm not making reference to the masturbatory fantasies of our central character Charlie Kaufman, rather I am referring to the film's end sequence that pla...Read more
Commented on own review
Dec 21, 2002 12:34 AM
I saw this movie with a friend who is an avid fan as well, having read the books a few times, and he really enjoyed it, not as much as the first, but then it's like giving the first 99 out of 100 and the second 98. And he is very critical of these things, and I trust his opinion.
And the next da...y I spoke to two other friends who have also read the books (these are all guys who are freakishly into this stuff); and they all enjoyed the film, although both did admit there were changes this time around, whereas the first novel was easy to adapt, as it's a straight story from point a to point b, surrounding Frodo and his adventure and gathering of friends.
But in TTTs, you have their journeys separating and going into different areas of exploration; which aren't all so easily transferable to the screen in an easy to understand way. Jackson himself said this, and noted that they did take some liberty with scenes and greatly expanded the character of Gollum, expanding out his role so that he can become a representation of things that may eventually come to happen for Frodo himself - due to the power of the ring.
Apparently in the third movie, the journeys of our heros converege again after this separation.
Anyway, I have heard about these changes, and from the fans I've talked to, they thought they were fine and when it did take liberty, it didn't flounder too far away or the original text for too long.
- SteveRead More
Reviewed Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie
Dec 19, 2002 10:28 AM
2134 Views
(Updated Dec 26, 2002 11:03 AM)
What a night. It's now 3:45 am as I start writing this review, and I will note that I just returned from the 12:01 am screening of Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers. I bought my tickets on my way into work today, at the Capital 6 theatre, which is not too far from my apartment in downtown Vancou...Read more
Reviewed Great War and Modern Memory, The - Paul Fussell
Dec 18, 2002 02:35 PM
7641 Views
(Updated Dec 18, 2002 07:07 PM)
The cover of the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Paul Fussell's book, The Great War and Modern Memory, features a photo of an unknown British soldier who carries a very unique look on his face. It is a look of hopelessness and forlorn abandonment, both physically and mentally. One can see it...Read more
Reviewed Star Trek Nemesis Movie
Dec 18, 2002 02:33 PM
2342 Views
(Updated Dec 19, 2002 11:27 AM)
One fear I have with Star Trek: Nemesis is that it has the potential to get lost in the myriad of films coming out this holiday season. With Die Another Day, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, already on top of the box-office charts, and with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Gangs of New...Read more
Reviewed The Ring Movie
Dec 16, 2002 11:33 AM
1860 Views
(Updated Dec 16, 2002 11:36 AM)
The Ring is perfectly timed for those looking to be psychologically ravaged this Halloween by the scarey sights and sounds of horror & terror on screen.
And part of me wants to hail The Ring as the best psychological horror film since The Sixth Sense, or The Silence of the Lambs and compare i...Read more
Reviewed Corky Romano: Special Agent Movie
Nov 11, 2002 03:10 PM
2068 Views
(Updated Nov 11, 2002 10:03 PM)
I've said it before on Epinions.com - I'm one who CAN love a really dumb, pointless movie. I gave high marks to movies like Austin Powers in Goldmember, Duece Bigalow: Male Gigolo and The Animal. These are all just really dumb, pointless movies: but all of them made me laugh like a drain. And it...Read more
Reviewed Handmaid's Tale, The - Margaret Atwood
Oct 29, 2002 11:46 AM
6719 Views
(Updated Oct 29, 2002 12:33 PM)
Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale is most possibly her darkest novel to date. The Handmaid's Tale single handedly confirmed Atwood as a powerhouse writer, and earned her many awards including Canada's top literary prize, the Governor General's Award for fiction.
The Handmaid's ...Read more
Reviewed A Bridge Too Far Movie
Oct 29, 2002 11:38 AM
3130 Views
(Updated Oct 29, 2002 12:30 PM)
A Bridge Too Far is a very ambitious and yet deeply flawed 1977 film based on the superb book of the same name as written by journalist / historian Cornelius Ryan. And it could be argued that A Bridge Too Far was crafted during a crossroads for American films dealing with war, caught between a s...Read more
