'X-Men: First Class' takes on 'The Hangover Part II'

By Sarah Sluis

The X-Men series is aging, so the latest film, X-Men: First Class (3,641 theatres) turns back the clock. The series goes back to the time when mutants Charles Xavier and Magneto were friends, in the 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake) moves to big-budget films and wields a "wickedly smart script with a multilayered theme that never wavers...and makes each emotional motivation interlock, often shockingly playing for keeps with its characters," critic Frank Lovece raves. Lesser-known dramatic stars and up-and-comers populate the cast, including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and January Jones. Fox is playing it safe and predicting a $40 million opening weekend, but outsiders think the movie could top $50-60 million.

After last weekend's blockbuster opening, The Hangover Part II is expected to drop by half and settle with $40 million its second weekend. Kung Fu Panda 2 should have a stronger hold on audiences, especially since it's the only family film in the marketplace. After two weekends with Midnight in Paris killing it in per-screen averages, the Woody Allen film will expand to 147 theatres, nearly tripling the amount of locations. The Tree of Life is going a slower route, expanding to 20 locations. Roger Ebert gave the Chicago-bound film four stars, remarking that the Midwestern-set story "reflect[s] a time and place I lived in, and the boys in it are me."

The semi-autobiographical tale Beginners (5 theatres) centers on a depressed man (Ewan McGregor) struggling consecutively with his father's recent coming out and his death. FJI critic David Noh complains that the movie is an "overloaded soap opera...obsessed with sadness," and I can't agree more. The McGregor character needs to ditch the soap opera and watch one of "Oprah"'s gratitude episodes, because he seriously has nothing to complain about.

Also on the specialty list is the considerably less annoying emo movie Submarine (4 theatres). The British coming-of-age picture should appeal to "fans of such quirk-meisters as Wes Anderson," according to critic Erica Abeel. She praises both the "magical debut" of director Richard Ayoade and the performance of Craig Roberts, "a sexy charmer who conveys [main character] Oliver's inner world with an intense deadpan."

On Monday, we'll see if X-Men: First Class drew the "grownup" audiences Lovece predicted, and if audiences fell for Beginners or Submarine.

'Fast Five' revving up for a blockbuster weekend

By Sarah Sluis

It's not even May yet, but this weekend should bring the first summer-size blockbuster hit, Fast Five, which will saturate the market with 3,643 theatres. Pundits are predicting the film could haul in up to $70 million, tens of millions more than anything that's hit the box office this year. What's more, despite being both the fourth sequel and a car chase action movie, critics are singing their praises, giving it an overall 78% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. FJI critic Daniel Eagan singled out the movie's "delirious action sequences" and concluded that it "condenses everything good about the series into a state-of-the-art thrill ride."

Many high schoolers are just weeks away from their own proms, so what better way to prepare than to catch Disney's Prom (2,730 theatres)? In fairness, the scrubbed-clean Disney version of Prom (no lose-your-virginity pacts la American Pie) will probably attract an audience more tween than teen. According to critic Kirk Honeycutt, the movie has "a cheerful good nature and a solid cast of youngsters," and will probably please the intended audience, but not adults. Disney estimates the movie will open just under $10 million.

Five years after Hoodwinked, the Red Riding Hood redux film Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil will hit 2,505 theatres, 72% of them 3D. Hayden Panettiere voices the lead role, taking over for Anne Hathaway. Critic Frank Lovece acknowledges that the first film was a hit according to independent animation standards, but he's not so kind to the sequel, faulting the "primordial" CG animation and "hackneyed pop-culture references," which date back to the last couple of decades. Like Prom, this animated sequel should debut under $10 million, a relic of when the Weinstein Co. lost its momentum.

Finally, the horror-comedy spoof Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (862 theatres) will target itself toward horror buffs. Based on a comic book, the movie centers on a detective that specializes in the undead (zombies, vampires, etc.). His business card reads "No pulse? No problem."

Those that like a splash more blood can check out director Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins (3 theatres). Technically a samurai pic (jidaigeki), Miike's latest effort "bathe[s the genre] in a steady downpour of blood, mud and filth," according to critic Maitland McDonagh.

After receiving a warm reception on the festival circuit, Werner Herzog's documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams will start its release with 5 theatres. Shot in "terrific" 3D, critic Doris Toumarkine enjoyed his footage of the Chauvet Caves, and found Herzog's "enthusiasm and awe...contagious."

On Monday, we'll see if Fast Five can get up to that 70 MPH box-office figure, if tweens show an iota of their High School Musical devotion for Prom, and if Hoodwinked Too! is able to steal some thunder from Rio.