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| Title | Weekend | Total | Analysis |
| The Help | $20.5M | $71.8M | Relatively low-budget drama ($25M) turning heads as Oscar buzz keeps buzzing |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | $16.3M | $133.8M | Easily the most cerebral summer blockbuster still strong after three weeks in release |
| Spy Kids | $12M | $12M | Fourth Spy Kids movie modestly exceeds expectations |
| Conan the Barbarian | $10M | $10M | $10 million opening on a $90 million budget puts Conan remake into "biggest bomb of 2011" running |
| The Smurfs | $8M | $117.7M | In fourth week, blue '80s remnants will not go away. Sequel set for 2013. |
Posted 08.21.11 by reelz -
Summer 2011 is filled with sequels, spin-offs, and reboots. That's right, as exciting as the season's blockbusters may seem, we're being inundated with one of the most unoriginal summers the movies have ever seen. Within that context, though, which movies rise above the "Yeah, we phoned this one in" benchmark? Find out with our patent-pending originality meter.
From 1 to 10, where do these releases register? >>
Posted 08.19.11 by reelz -
The Spy Kids franchise is back.
Started by writer-director-producer-editor Robert Rodriguez in 2001, the third installment, Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, debuted in 2003 to $200 million worldwide. But with spy kids Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) getting older, Rodriguez halted the franchise, waiting ten years for another installment.
Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World reignites the series with Jessica Alba as Marissa Cortez Wilson, a former spy and stepmother to twins Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook). Rodriguez has said that he wrote the movie for Alba, tying her character into the original trilogy by making her the aunt of the original spy kids and sister of Antonio Banderas.
The Weinstein Company has debuted the first trailer for Spy Kids 4, which sees Alba and her family take on the villainous Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven). It is worth noting that the movie is for kids.
watch the trailer >> Posted 06.01.11 by Ryan -
The Weinstein Company has released the first photo of Jeremy Piven as The Timekeeper, the villain in writer-director-producer-editor Robert Rodriguez's upcoming Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.
While Piven's dapper look seems a little safe for a villain's costume (or perfect if the movie was set in the 1930s), it's best to remember that this is Spy Kids 4, not Bourne 4. What Piven is doing with his big watch is another story, covered in the sequel's official synopsis.
what threat does a "Timekeeper" pose? >> Posted 05.13.11 by Ryan -
Writer-director-producer-editor Robert Rodriguez made his first Spy Kids in 2001, releasing two sequels over the next two years. Several years later, Rodriguez is back with a sequel and reboot, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, which stars Jessica Alba as Marissa Cortez Wilson, a former spy and stepmother to twins Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook). She's forced back into service and to enlist her stepchildren when a villain calling himself The Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens the world. In an interview with MTV, Rodriguez revealed that he stopped making the movies after the original spy kids Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) started getting older, but found an inspiration that led him to feel that "10 years later, it felt right to do another one."
I got the idea when I was making Machete and Jessica came over to my house for lunch with the kids, and she was bringing her daughter out of the backseat. But her diaper had exploded and the kid had made a huge mess and just seeing Jessica dressed up, so beautiful and glamorous, but having to deal with this baby with an exploded diaper, I just thought, "I'd love to see her as a spy mom." I wrote it around her and figured she'd have two new stepkids who don't think their mom is cool, but she's really a spy and their dad plays a spy hunter on a TV show and doesn't know his wife is a spy.
it's still a "family" affair >> Posted 04.29.11 by Ryan -
It's been a long, brutal winter in most parts of the country, so it's no surprise that even Hollywood is looking to get a jump on summer. The rollout of blockbuster movies starts this Friday, a full month before the Memorial Day Weekend.
As you'd expect (and hope), the mix of movies being offered up is heavy on the Action/Adventure movies (11) and Comedies (10). There's also plenty of offerings for Kids/Families (8). What's new this year is the addition of more R-rated comedies, thanks in no small measure to The Hangover's runaway success two summers back. Along with it's sequel, see what else is playing this summer — complete with trailers and photo galleries.
See the 2011 Summer Movie Guide >>
Posted 04.25.11 by reelz -
Actress Jessica Alba was spotted on the set of writer-director-producer Robert Rodriguez's new movie, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, wearing a form-fitting catsuit that gives Scarlett Johansson's slinky Black Widow costume from Iron Man 2 a run for its money. All the Time in the World has been described as a cross between a sequel and a reboot, with many characters from the previous Spy Kids movies returning, but new junior spies Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook) taking center stage, replacing original spy kids Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara).
Alba stars as Marissa Cortez Wilson, stepmother to Rebecca and Cecil and a retired Organization of Super Spies (OSS) agent. When a madman calling himself The Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens the world, Wilson is called out of retirement and she drafts her stepchildren into the OSS, where they receive some guidance—and gadgets—from Carmen and Juni. Antonio Banderas and Danny Trejo also return, joined by newcomer Joel McHale in his feature debut.
Posted 11.03.10 by BrentJS -
Sequels/prequels, remakes, comic book adaptations — next summer's release schedule looks much the same as it has for several years running. And, oh yeah, did we mention 3-D? From that familiar mix, we preview the 20 blockbusters we'll be talking about next summer.
Get a Sneak Peek at Summer 2011 >> Posted 09.15.10 by reelz -
Most are likely familiar with the genesis of Machete, but for those who've missed it, the movie began as a faux-trailer for the 2007 double feature Grindhouse, and posited Danny Trejo as a double-crossed former Mexican Federale bent on revenge. Turned into a feature length movie by Robert Rodriguez and co-director Ethan Maniquis, Machete opens September 3 with an impressive ensemble cast which includes Robert DeNiro, Steven Seagal, Jeff Fahey, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, and Lindsay Lohan. Rodriguez told Latino Review that DeNiro's involvement helped bring the rest of the cast.
What does Rodriguez say? >> Posted 08.31.10 by Ryan