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 (26/7 – 28/7) with thanks to Magnet.
The Wolverine claws its way to the top of the Box Office as Logan successfully scares off Monsters University’s Mike and Sully.
The big bully.
1. The Wolverine
How much of your lovely money they took: €366, 985
Set after the events of the pretty poor X-Men: The Last Stand, The Wolverine sees Logan travelling to Japan where, after being stripped of his immortality, he must battle deadly samurai and his pesky inner demons.
An even hairier than usual Hugh Jackman returns as the titular Wolverine, making the actor the proud owner of the great fact that he has played his superhero character more times than anyone else has theirs, appearing as the fearsome Furball a whopping seven times.
That’s more than Christian Bale as Batman, more than Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man and more than, ahmm, Ben Affleck as Dare Devil.
The Aussie actor has perfected the comic-book character at this stage and, with James Mangold at the helm this time round, has the opportunity to bring out the moodier and softer side of the beast. The problem with that though is that the action might be a little bit too tame and the pace a little bit too slow for some fans.
Rest assured though, Logan eventually leaves his nice-guy routine behind and becomes the hairy mean mutant bastard we all know and love.
The real problem with The Wolverine is that, in spite of claiming to have a number of evil enemies for Wolverine to deal with, the film is completely devoid of a decent and captivating villain. Unforgivable really for a film set in a world with countless terrifying bad guys. Frog-man anyone?
As with any Marvel film though, make sure you hang about to watch one of the best post-credits scene we’ve seen in a long time.
Or, if The Wolverine isn’t your thing, maybe you’d fancy going to see The Worineolve starring Human Ghjack instead as one English bus company were advertising?
2. Monsters University 
How much of your lovely money they took: €1, 256, 280
We’ve had Disney Pixar sequels before, both good (Toy Story 2/3) and bad (Cars 2). Monsters University, however, marks the first time that the pioneering studio has ever released a prequel to one of its films.
Here at JOE, we’re delighted they did.
Set in the years before Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan (John Goodman) became the best buds we know and love in Monsters, Inc. (2001), the two young scarer wannabees didn’t quite see, literally, eyes to eye when they first met on the campus of Monsters University.
The film follows the pair as they struggle to get along, try to pass their scare exams and their attempts to sign up to the local campus fraternities which are filled with hilarious new soon-to-be-favourites monsters.
Oh, and it’s got more Pixar in-jokes than you could throw a bouncing Luxo ball at. Keep your eyes peeled for the many Easter Eggs on show and, whatever you do, make sure you hang about for a completely worth it post-credits sequence too.
While the latest film doesn’t reach the incredible heights of Monsters, Inc. (not many films do, animated or otherwise), Monsters University is still lots and lots of fun and, as with any of the films from this excellent studio, packs enough funnies and important messages for the big kids and small kids alike.
We just miss Boo is all. Sad face.
3. Despicable Me 2 
How much of your lovely money they took: €3, 010, 827
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/people you just don’t like 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. Now You See Me
How much of your lovely money they took: €833, 760
Now You See Me tells the tale of four amazingly talented magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and cheaper-than-James-Franco-knockoff Dave Franco) whose goal it is to balance the scales of justice by using their magic to steal from the rich and give back to the swindled – thier audiences.
This silly but fun film is the sexiest bit of onscreen magic you’ve seen since beautiful assistant Debbie McGee and Paul Daniels went on their third date.
Magic is all about misdirection though and the main problem with Now You See Me is that it’s often misdirected by its helmer Louis Leterrier. As Morgan Freeman says in his obligatory voice over at the the beginning of the trailer, “come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it will be to fool you.” That’s the thing with the film though, don’t look too close or pay too much attention because that’s exactly what will take the fun out of it.
On the plus side though it does have a scene where a grizzled, no-nonsense cop gets to say the line: “Abracadabra, you’re off the case.” Amazing.
Check out JOE’s interview with the star of the film, Jesse Eisenberg, where the world’s most famous Mark Zuckerberg impersonator goes on to name-drop Irish Mentalist of the Year Keith Barry and even compliments us on our impeccable fashion sense, all because we just happen to dress amazingly like him.
We knew it was a good idea to steal clothes from his luggage the night before…
5. The World’s End
How much of your lovely money they took: €303, 587
Following on from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the much-anticipated final installment of Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy is finally here.
The World’s End tells the tale of a group of 5 boozing best buddies who are attempting to relive an epic pub crawl from their youth – 12 pubs. 12 pints.
Meeting up again 20 years later, their attempts to better their youthful feats are slightly scuppered by the fact that there has been an alien invasion in the meantime. That would put a sci-fi spanner in the works alright.
Wright’s Spaced stalwarts Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back of course, along with Martin ‘Bilbo’ Freeman, Paddy Considine and the much-funnier-than-expected Eddie Marsan, as well as a whole host of welcome supporting faces – “hello Brian” (Mark Heap).
We’re huge fans of Pegg, Frost and Wright here at JOE, so expectations were through the roof for this particular film. As with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz though, it feels like The World’s End will work best with repeated viewings.
Essentially that means that we’re going to watch it until we love it. Another round please…
Enjoy responsibly.
You should also check out JOE’s interview with the film’s stars and director here. Why? Because we said so.
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 30th July 2013.
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