This Week: 'Twas the Tuesday before Christmas, and not much is stirring in new releases. But we do get the end of Dominion, the surprise success of War Room, and a Peter Pan prequel that got the hook quick.
► Just how big of a bust was the ‘Peter Pan’ prequel PAN? It had a budget of about $150 million and made just $31.8 million in North America – $123.1 million worldwide. In a year with some hefty bombs (‘Tomorrowland,’ ‘Fantastic Four’), this one never even came close to recouping its cost, making it arguably the year’s most expensive flop. Was it that bad? Pretty much. It’s as grating as it is empty, attempting to dislodge ‘Hook’ as the primary Pan movie for many people. The inclusion of some classic rock is eye-rolling awful, and Hugh Jackman’s Blackbeard is an over-the-top embarrassment. You’ll need more than pixie dust to get through this thing. Extras include commentary from director Joe Wright and the featurette ‘Never Grow Up: The Legend of Pan.’
► The Christian drama WAR ROOM isn’t exactly subtle with its message: When cracks start to show in a family that seemingly has it all, a woman shows them the power of a special room dedicated to praying. Then good things start to happen. So…yeah. Despite its bible thumping, this made more than double what ‘Pan’ did in North America.
► SyFy pulled the plug on DOMINION after two seasons. Probably because it didn't have sharks in tornados. It did have a bunch of biblical lunacy, however, as Archangel Gabriel goes to war with mankind, convinced we're the reason God has vanished. Archangel Michael (Tom Wisdom) defends humanity until a prophesized savior arrives. Season 2 finds Michael discovering a weird town seemingly untouched by the battles that destroyed most of the world. It's all derived from 2010 movie Legion.
► Give Kristen Wiig this much – she refuses to do what’s expected. Since ‘Bridesmaids’ four years ago she has made 14 diverse movies, and none of them weirder than Sebastian Silva’s NASTY BABY. She plays the best friend to a gay couple attempting to have a baby while dealing with a nutty neighbor and the short film one of them is making in which he plays…a screaming baby.
► The four shorts in the 1983 horror anthology NIGHTMARES were originally intended for ABC’s horror series ‘Darkroom,’ but were deemed too intense for TV. Instead, they made for a forgettable movie save for the great final segment, in which a family confronts the giant rat terrorizing their home. The other three have Emilio Estevez consumed by a video game, a killer hiding in a woman’s back seat, and a priest battling a possessed pickup. The Shout! Factory bluray is bad news for owners of the out-of-print DVD, which was fetching big bucks from collectors.
► Edward Zwick’s PAWN SACRIFICE is the true story of chess genius Bobby Fischer who challenged his Soviet counterpart Boris Spassky to a world championship match in 1972 while dealing with his own fragile sanity. Tobey Maguire stars as Fischer and Liev Schreiber is Spassky.
► Indie fave Alex Ross Perry gathers a stellar cast for the dark mindbender QUEEN OF EARTH. After the death of her father and getting dumped by her boyfriend, Elizabeth Moss spends some time at the lake house of her best friend (Katherine Waterston), only for things to get worse. Her friend has a new love interest and doesn’t have as much time to deal with her moods. The slow pace only tightens the tension. Perry is a filmmaker to watch.
► WWE is determined to make ’12 Rounds’ its own action franchise. The first starred John Cena, the second Randy Orton, and now 12 ROUNDS 3: LOCKDOWN has Dean Ambrose as a detective returning to duty after the death of his partner straight into a precinct double-cross. Pretty much nothing to do with the first two.
Also out this week:
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SO WHAT DVD/BLU-RAYS ARE YOU GUYS STOKED ABOUT THIS WEEK?!