Mockingjay is.... Catching Fire Makeup: 12/5/14

After premiering last week, Mockingjay (Part One) has kept the top spot on the charts ever sense. Mockingjay is the third movie of the movie series titled Hunger Games based on the popular book series of the same name. It follows Katniss Everdeen, a teen girl at the head of a rebellion against the oppressive Capital, fighting for justice and the people she loves.

Both the books and the past movies are critically acclaimed, and Mockingjay seems to be ready to follow the same path. With flashy promotion posters, music from many artists (including Lorde), and all-star cast, Mockingjay Part One is sure fire hit that will catch on quickly.

Box Office: Ouija 10/24/14

This week at the box office, Ouija, John Wick, and Fury are in the top three.

Ouija is a horror movie about three people finding a ouija board and attempting to use the board to communicate with spirits. In classic horror movie fashion, things good bad pretty quickly. It stars Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, and Daren Kagasoff.

 John Wick follows an ex-hitman who pulls himself out of retirement to take down gangsters that wronged him. It stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, and Alfie Allen.

Fury follows World War II soldiers as they infiltrate enemy lines to go on a secret mission. When they are found out, they must use all their wits and strengths to come out alive. It features Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Logan Lerman.

So far Ouija has made $19,875,995, John Wick made $14,415,922, and Fury has $13,356,718.

Fury and Ouija are expected to keep their positions while John Wick will be knocked down a few rankings.

Exodus: Gods and Criticism 12/14/14

After being open for two days, Exodus: Gods and Kings has gotten many negative reviews. Here are a few.

 “Crowd-wowing CGI spectacle and the inevitable if inconsequential 3-D effects make Exodus look like pure product, without any defining vision.”- Mark Jenkins (NPR)

“The screenplay (credited to four screenwriters) is a mess, the pacing is uneven, the acting is inconsistent, and the experience as a whole is a letdown.” -James Berardinelli (ReelReviews)

"Ridley Scott can't decide if making rivers run with blood is heroic or horrific - you sense he'd rather make Gladiator II: Attack of the Frogs.” – Amy Nicholson (L.A. Weekly)

Still from Exodus: Gods and Kings

“While the pale skin tones (bronzer is selectively applied) and haphazard mix of American and British accents is distracting, it barely scratches the surface of Exodus's ungainly artificiality.”- Liam Lacey (Globe and Mail)

The movie maintains a 27% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 40% in overall rating. Those who enjoy the movie praise it’s incredible effects and epic atmosphere.
It is estimated that the movie has made about $24,500,000 so far, and is predicted to make much more.

Unusual Superheroes Take Box Office by Storm

Official  poster featuring (from left to right)
Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Star Lord, Gamora, and Drax

What do a walking tree and a talking raccoon have in common? Nothing much, except the fact they both fight to protect the galaxy in Marvel’s newest hit movie, Guardians of the Galaxy. When I say hit movie, I mean it. Guardians of the Galaxy just out sold the last Superman movie, Man of Steel (which made $291 million domestically!).

Guardians of the Galaxy is a movie adaption of the lesser known comic of the same name. It follows the adventures of heroes Star-Lord (a human), Gamora (a female humanoid alien), Drax (another humanoid alien), Groot (the tree previously mentioned), and Rocket Raccoon as they fight to defeat the evil villain, Ronan.

This movie hasn't had just box office success, Rocket toys are the best selling Disney merch currently (even ahead of Frozen’s Elsa). 

Groot is right up there at #3 (not bad for a tree).

But why was this movie so successful? Was it the 1970s soundtrack? The incredible action sequences? The spot on comedic timing? An extreme lack of romantic plot/subplot? The best part is... no one really knows.

How do you even
Trick-or-Treat in heels?

Guardians of the Galaxy is the movie no one really asked for. Anyone who is a little bit of a geek had at least heard of Iron Man, the Hulk, maybe even Captain America before those movies came out. Take a quick trip back to 2013. If someone said they liked Gamora, their statement would most likely be followed by “Who that?”. Back to 2014 and the Gamora costumes on both the Party City and Spirit of Halloween websites are sold out.

Maybe the reason Guardians is doing so well is the fact this is truly Marvel’s Golden age.

In May of 2000, Marvel’s highest selling comic was Uncanny X-men with 114,855 pre-orders. The month after Avengers came out (June 2012), their best comic was Avengers vs. X-Men with over 190,705 copies sold. That’s a huge increase for the previously shrinking comics business.

No matter what made Guardians of the Galaxy so popular, it will definitely continue to be for many years to come.

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