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 (31/5 – 2/6) and the Wolfpack boys are still in town and hanging on to that number one spot even tighter than they’d be hanging off the top of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
IT’S A FILM REFERENCE.
1. The Hangover Part III 
How much of your lovely money they took: €1, 325,899
“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.
2. Epic 
How much of your lovely money they took: €542,925
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.
3. Fast & Furious 6 
How much of your lovely money they took: €1,287,974
It’s hard to see how Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and their merry band of illegal street-racing, bank-robbing, best buds can keep on getting even fastererer and furiouserer but, in their sixth film in the hugely successful Fast and Furious franchise, they’ve made a damn fine attempt at it.
Having supposedly gone straight at the end of Fast Five, it would take something pretty big and pretty important to bring all of the gang out of their self-imposed retirement. It turns out that the something pretty big is Agent Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) and he turns up with the something pretty important – news that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), previously presumed dead, is actually alive, has amnesia now and has since teamed up with cool car-driving criminal mastermind, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).
And so, old enemies Dom and Hobbs are forced join forces to take down Shaw and his cronies. While spectacularly crashing cars through aeroplanes and performing flying headbutts on unsuspecting humans who get in their way.
Read the official JOE review here.
4. The Great Gatsby
How much of your lovely money they took: €948,574
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaBVLhcHcc0
Baz Luhrmann’s much anticipated adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic American novel has finally arrived and it’s unfortunately not really as great as its title might suggest.
The Yeah It’s Grand Gatsby is its new name now. That’s much better.
Following the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby (the always excellent Leonardo DiCaprio) as seen through the eyes of his neighbour Nick (the always creepy Tobey Maguire), The Great Gatsby is a beautiful looking film and well acted for the most part but just doesn’t live up to the promise of the early trailers that had fans foaming at the mouth. Foaming in a good way of course.
It does feature a brilliant mashup-of-genres soundtrack though and Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan gives DiCaprio a run for his (lots of) money in the standout performances stakes, but it just seems like Luhrmann has missed the opportunity to make an outstanding adaptation here.
5. The Purge
How much of your lovely money they took: €81,115
The year is 2022 and unemployment, crime and poverty are at an all-time low because of the Government-sanctioned Purge – one cathartic night in the year when all crime, including murder, is legal and emergency services are completlely suspended.
As a result, disgruntled workers can hunt down their horrible bosses, society as a whole has an opportunity to wipe out the sick and needy and, most importantly, you’re allowed to take out that annoying person who skips the queue in Supermac’s all the time.
Starring Ethan Hawkes and Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, The Purge has an excellent premise that’s unfortunately poorly exectued… unlike some of the victims along the way.
Forget Stepford Wives, this is more Stepford Knives.
Check out the official JOE review here.
Source: Irish Film Board and Rentrak. Correct as of 4th June 2013.
