JOE brings you the run-down, the low-down and the ups and downs of the top 5 films in this week’s Irish Box Office (21/6 – 23/6) with thanks to Magnet.
Is it a bird!? Is it a plane!? No you donkey, it’s the new Superman film flying straight into the Number 1 spot. And he ain’t budgin’.
1. Man of Steel 
How much of your lovely money they took: €1,861,265
Only seven years after Superman returned in, ahmm, Superman Returns, he’s returned once again in Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel.
Featuring an all-star cast including the vacuous Henry Cavill as the titular hero (complete with his 90 million gazillion abs just so you feel inadequate), Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, Lauerence Fishbourne and Michael Shannon (this generation’s Gary Busey) are all on board as Superman has to try and save the Earth from the evil machinations of General Zod.
Following a number of absolutely belter trailers, the film itself doesn’t quite live up to the exciting early hype and lacks the charm of Richard Donner’s 1978 original. In saying that, Man of Steel is still a sci-fi superhero spectacle that’s worth checking out.
BREAKING: The rumors are that a brand new reboot of the Superman film franchise is already in the works, just days after the release of this latest incarnation.
Nah, wise up.
1. World War Z 
How much of your lovely money they took: €393,331
Based on the Max “son of Mel” Brooks 2006 book of the same name, World War Z (Zed?/Zee?/text speak for multiple World Warz?) is the Brad Pitt zombie apocalypse action thriller that has been absolutely dogged by production problems and numerous re-writes.
A Messianic Pitt is Gerry Lane, a former UN operative who specialises in crisis management. With greasy hair.
Happily living at home with his wife Karen (Mireille Enos) and two kids, Gerry is called out of his self-imposed retirement to try and save the day when a huge zombie pandemic ferociously spirals out of control and threatens to engulf the planet by turning everyone into the nasty, unfriendly undead.
We’re pretty sure that qualifies as a crisis that needs to be managed alright.
Although horror purists will cry foul at the physics-defying zombies, World War Z is a decent mix of well-executed action and suspense, with director Marc Forster doing a good job of proving that a can of soda pop rolling across a floor menacingly can be a million more times scarier than 1000 zombies sprinting towards you.
Then again, the can of soda pop won’t try to bite your eyes out. So, pros and cons really.
World War Z is by no means the best zombie/action/Brad Pitt film ever but it is an entertaining trip to the cinema and, although it has been noticably affected by its production development troubles, it certainly hasn’t been ruined by it.
3. Despicable Me 2
How much of your lovely money they took: €1, 932,515
The animated sequel to 2010’s incredibly popular Despicable Me has arrived just in time for the end of school term so you can safely lock your kids/nieces/nephews in the cinema for the foreseeable future.
Steve Carell voices Gru, the ex-super-villain turned father to three adopted daughters. He’s forced to come out of retirement though when Agent Wilde (the always funny Kristen Wiig) and the Anti-Villain League need him to get to the bottom of a mysterious lab theft.
This film is all about the hilarious Minions though and, because they’re one of the main reasons the 2010 film did so well first time round, they’ll actually be getting their own spin-off movie next year.
Just look how widdle and cute they are. Everybody say “Awwwwwwwwwwww.”
4. The Hangover Part III 
How much of your lovely money they took: €380,968
“The End” the tagline said. “Thank God” the audience said.
After the first Hangover film was lauded as the greatest comedy of all time by people who had only seen 2 films in their life and by other people who are blind, the 2011 sequel was rightly panned by critics and audiences alike.
Because it was pants.
The Hangover Part III sees the Wolfpack return to Las Vegas as an intervention-gone-wrong for Alan (Zach Galifianakis) sees Doug (Justin ‘cushiest gig in Hollywood’ Bartha) kidnapped by the villainous gangster Marshall (an underused John Goodman).
Marshall’s on the hunt for his nemesis Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), and it’s up to Phil (a bored looking Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed ‘the sensible one’ Helms) and Alan to track him down before it’s too late for Doug and he’s… well, we don’t really care to be honest.
There’s a bunch of unecessary cameos, a lot of it just isn’t that funny and the biggest mistake is making Mr Chow, the most annoying character from the first two films, the focal point of the third. Bad move Todd Phillips.
On the other hand, the film does open with Hanson’s MMMBop so it’s already a gazillion times better than the second, but just doesn’t quite reach the not-so-dizzy heights of the first film.
As ever though, the best is saved right until the very end so, if you do go (and you probably will), make sure you stay to watch the very funny end credits.
5. Epic 
How much of your lovely money they took: €880,478
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xu3JLXfuwQ
The latest animated adventure from Blue Sky Studios, the studio that brought you too many Ice Age films, has been repeatedly described as a Fern Gully rip-off.
Be careful though, director Chris Wedge doesn’t like comparing it to other films, a sentiment he made clear when he said “I hate to associate it with other movies. It is an adventure on the scale of Star Wars. And it does immerse the audience completely in a world like Avatar.”
Ahmm, good work on not comparing it to other films Chris.
Epic tells the story of M. K. (Amanda Seyfried), a teenage girl who finds herself in a secret forest world where she must help the local creatures save their world from evil forces led by the villainous Mandrake (Christoph Waltz – the go to Hollywood incarnation of animated evil).
A decent animated film that has enough in it to keep the little kids and the big kids suitably entertained throughout.
There you have it folks. If you want to find out more about any of the movie mentioned above make sure you have the best broadband in town when you’re doing it. The lads over at Magnet should be able to help thanks to their 70mb fatpipe broadband.
Source: Irish Film Board and Rentrak. Correct as of 26th June 2013.
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