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I agree with you, bobbin... mostly.

I really believe that The Kingdom will rule supreme for the September releases. Iraq War fatigue notwithstanding, the combination of Peter Berg and Michael Mann is too potent to ignore. And I hardly need to remind anyone that anything with Chris Cooper in it is gonna be outstanding. I can only hope that Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner channel their awesomess(es) from Ray and Alias, rather than something considerably south of awesome (Stealth and Elektra come to mind).

My vitriol for The Game Plan isn't quite as white-hot as Nico's, and here's hoping that we won't be finding him impaled on his own Ginsu. But if Vin Diesel, who has about as much comedic presence as a block of granite, can push The Pacifier past $100 million, I think The Rock can break at least $70 for Disney. Now, I really do like The Rock. He's not the best actor in the world, but he seems like a really genuinely cool guy, who might just have a future in the biz. He's done comedy, drama and action, with varying degrees of success (his turn in Gridiron Gang was exceptional), and I don't think his even doing this innocuous piece of fluff will make me turn on him. (He has a six-year-old daughter; I'm betting he's doing this for her.)

I'm guessing #2 for the month will be Resident Evil: Extinction. It looks to be the coolest of the bunch, with a better cast and a better premise. I think $75 is a real possibility.

For #3, I'm going with Good Luck Chuck. Even though it's not Judd Apatow, it's a similar vein to stuff like Knocked Up and Superbad, which are both bona fide monster hits. Plus, it's got Jessica Alba. If she can pull $18 out of a piece of garbage like Into the Blue, this ought to be worth at least 3-4 times that. It looks genuinely funny, and I'd take Dane Cook over ten Paul Walkers. (And no, I'm not switching teams, if you know what I mean.)

So, my Top 3 predictions for September are:

1. The Kingdom
2. Resident Evil: Extinction
3. Good Luck Chuck

P.S. $75M for Balls of Fury, Nico? A week ago I would have agreed with you, and bought the giant foam finger too. But then I committed a cardinal sin... I saw the damn thing.

The blurb "from the creators of Reno: 911" should have set off alarm bells like nobody's business in my head, but the sheer awesomeness of the trailer well and truly pull the wool cap over my eyes. I went in not knowing whether to expect an homage, a spoof, a satire, or some admixture of all three. What I got, well...

Put it this way: a mannerism of some of the funniest comedians of all time is to point out a thing, and draw a big red circle around it, and explain to us how ridiculous it is, and why it's funny. And then we look at the thing in a whole new way. Monty Python were kung-fu masters at taking on the most absurd situations and making you believe that they were completely normal. And that, to me, is the quintessence of satire/spoof.

But you can't very well point to something inside that red circle if you happen to be standing inside it at the time. The jokes weren't funny, the "hero" was unsympathetic, the token German "jerk" was just another dick with an accent, and Mr. Walken? I love the guy, and I would like to think that he did all he could, and he looked like he was having a good time with it, but he came across even less menacing than frickin' Mini-Me. Bottom line: when the only person who brings even one iota of seriousness to the whole enterprise is Effing Terry Crews, you've got a real problem.

Take some thing sublime and make it ridiculous, it's called "satire". Take something ridiculous and make it sublime, it's called "spoof". Take something ridiculous and make it even more ridiculous, it's called "ninety minutes of my life that I'll never get back." If you want a truly, truly excellent "sports satire/spoof", see Dodgeball. And then again. And then again. And then again. It would be preferable to watching Balls of Fury.

Wow, would you listen to me? It seems my P.S. is longer than my post, which is something that I may need to see a surgeon to correct... Forgive me, I sometimes channel Dennis Miller when it's this late at night, so I'll just stop now.

I remain, as always,
Ocin.

Shrykey: It's a fair point... I admit, I may have -- hugely -- overestimated Balls of Fury's appeal. (Of course, I can always take refuge in the fact that I didn't do any real "research" for these guesstimates; I'm still feeling my way back into my prognosticatory playground. However, I digress. [Grin]) Then again, with the exception of Good Luck Chuck and [grinding teeth and making Marge Simpson "Hrrrrnnnnnnnnnnn!" sound] The Game Plan, the near Fall's comedic slate looks thin, and I see very little geared toward that all-important 'tweener-to-teenage demographic between now and Sept. 28. But, yeah, looking at the Wednesday and Thursday totals, I see what you mean.

Time will, as always, tell (Oh, Time, you mouthy tattle-taler, you!), but I think you might be closer than me on this one. (See, folks? NEVER ARGUE WITH THE REGULAR COLUMNISTS!!! LOL...)

I remain, as always... Unemployed. [Laughing]

Top 3 Highest Grossing september film are going to be

1.The Kingdom
2.Resdient Evil Extinction
3.Shoot'Em Up or 3:10 To Yuma

you think resident evil will do better than halloween?

Bless you Michael Bay. Armageddon is a masterpiece.

Shryke, I liked how you defined and separated satire and spoof. I would have too a with you that I love watching the comic sense point out something without eye winking and telescoping the joke out.

I have always felt a good comedy was the hardest genre of film to make. Maybe because I thought that if you fail at any other it can become comic. What can one do witha comedy that isn't funny?

It doesnt look like too many people on this board think the Brave One is going to do well. The reviews I have read seem good.

Im just curious, how has the marketing been in the States...Im over here in the UK so I dont get to see US marketing...

Writing from Canada but we share a lot of mutual media. Warner's included a trailer on the '300' dvd and that will give it a serious boost. I've been seeing trailers theatrically since ... 'Bourne Ultimatum' I think, and where I am anyway, heavy saturation of tv ads.

A_Roode wrote:

Writing from Canada but we share a lot of mutual media. Warner's included a trailer on the '300' dvd and that will give it a serious boost. I've been seeing trailers theatrically since ... 'Bourne Ultimatum' I think, and where I am anyway, heavy saturation of tv ads.

Thanks A_Roode. I got burned on Startdust in my last league because it was basically unmarketed--which I didn't know until it was too late.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to go with The Brave One yet, but every little helps.

I think you're all underestimating the appeal of Jodie Foster; she carried Contact, Flightplan, and Panic Room all to more than $90 million each, and none of them were even great movies to start with; people (I think mainly women, but perhaps some men, too) enjoy her films

Also, what's the thread between the three movies of her's that I mentioned? They're all adult themed thrillers, which is the genre of The Brave One

Therefore, I would not be surprised if Brave One made $80 million or higher

I like Jodie Foster. Then again, I like Christain Bale, Brad Pitt and whats his name Gladiator guy (lol). Its a tough call...

Bless you Michael Bay. Armageddon is a masterpiece.

The brave one is going to be retarted because it has jodie doing the same role she always does. Her attitude never changes and thats why most of her movies are Lame-O! I think the biggest grosser for September is going to be between Resident Evil and Good Luck Chuck. Both have been Marketed out the Wazoo in America. And both have a pretty big fan base. Chuck has Cook. And Resident Evil has done really well with BO in the past. If you ask me the kingdom doesn't stand a chance. With as many people that say they are against the war now. They would all be a bunch of Hippocrits if they went to watch a movie about the war. Although America is comprised of a lot of hippocrits. And I do mean alot. I love this country to death but we got some problems that need dealing with. Especially with the big mouth celebs that think because they're famous they are great politicans. Mainly speaking abouth Gere here. Just curious. How many people in the Film Actors Guild or whatevers its called went to college. How many actors period dropped out of school to be big shot actors. And the ones that did go to college. How many have studied government and economics. Well I am currently doing so and I personally think these retard millionaires need to keep their big mouths shut and go back to swimming in their money. Just because they played in a few political films does not give them the right to speak out against political injustice like they're some kind of college professor or something. they mock the bush admisistration but theres a reason those guys are in office and retards are actors.
If Any Actors or agents are patrolling this site, I suggest you do your selves a frickin favor and stop spending your backing already rich senators who say they're going to change the world and use your money for a real cause and help it yourself. How much food can you buy with the millions of dollars spent backing rich politicians. Anybody else see the flaws in this system.

Why would a person who's anti-war be a hypocrite for watching a War movie? They would only be so if the proceeds of the film went directly to Bush's military budget. I could argue that anti-war people are simply interested in seeing what the war is like. I don't know much about it, but is The Kingdom blatently pro-war? If so, then those opposed to Bush's war on terror should avoid it. But I imagine the film is more ambiguous, showing both sides, the heroism and the tragedy. Correct me if I'm wrong.

As for actors, well I think they should participate in politics. But I'd prefer if they read up on politics bit more instead of spouting generalisms. Actually, I'd prefer if they put their money where their mouth is and donated half of their earnings directly to charity. But hey, at least some Americans have heard of Darfur, and if it wasn't for actors like Clooney, nobody in the USA would have heard about what's going on. It may not change, but awareness can help.

I think 'The Game Plan' will be up there for September grosses. There haven't been any family releases since Mr. Bean's Holiday, and afterwards, there aren't any (except for 'The Seeker,' but who cares?) until 'Bee Movie.' Looks like 'The Pacifier,' and how terrible did everyone think that'd do? Or 'Wild Hogs'? (Speaking of which, I discovered today that Disney is making a buddy comedy called 'Old Dogs,' with John Travolta, Robin Williams, and Bernie Mac. I feel like I've seen that formula somewhere before...)

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