Screen Junkies » kung fu panda 2

Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Hangover II’ Swimming In Gold Coins

Joseph Gibson — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:26:35 +0000

6 photosSasha Barrese

As predicted, The Hangover Part II has made more money in its opening weekend than any other live-action comedy ever, with an $137.4 million gross over the long Memorial Day weekend. In case you’re wondering, that also makes it the first live-action comedy to break the $100 million dollar mark in one weekend, although it needed the extra Monday a lot of people had off for Memorial Day to do it.

Coming in number 2 is the only other new release of the weekend, Kung Fu Panda 2, which fell short of expectations with a Memorial Day weekend gross of $53.6 million. The rest of the top ten are familiar names like Fast Five and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Summer has begun, ladies and gentlemen. (Box Office Mojo)

What’s Playing This Weekend? (May 27th)

Jame Gumb — Sat, 28 May 2011 00:34:04 +0000

Another week is behind us, and another weekend is upon us. And while all weekends are cause for celebration, this one in particular is special, at least for those of us living in the U.S. Yes, it’s Memorial Day, a time for careful reflection on and remembrance of those brave men and women who laid down their lives for our country. With that in mind, what better way to honor their memory than by spending your extra day off watching a movie about a talking smart-alec panda that knows kung fu? If your grandpa’s brother were here instead of at the bottom on the Pacific Ocean, I’m sure he’d be doing the same thing.

So, what’s playing? Let me tell you…

The Hangover: Part II

If you haven’t looked at a paper, watched TV, or gone on line for the past two months, maybe you can be forgiven for no knowing that The Hangover: Part II is here.

‘Hangover Part II’ Teaser Warms Your Frat Boy Heart

And it seems whether or not you love it or hate it, everyone agrees that it’s basically the exact same movie as the original, except with a darker tone.

Best Review
This is everything we loved about The Hangover and more all new epic, outrageous comedy.

Fred Topel – ScreenJunkies.com

Worst Review
One of the most uninspired and unoriginal sequels you’ll ever see. Or not see, if you’re lucky.

Richard Roeper – RichardRoeper.com

Our Recommendation
Well, our own Fred Topel liked it, so I’m going to default to him. That said, this film is currently at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, which means that he is certainly in the minority. So if you don’t agree with Fred, you basically hate minorities.

Kung Fu Panda II

As far as talking bears that know kung fu are concerned, Kung Fu Panda has to be one of the most famous.

Everybody Is Still Kung Fu Fighting In ‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ Trailer

And according to the overwhelming consensus, this followup to the original does not disappoint.

Best Review
The animation is elegant, the story is much more involving than in the original, and there’s boundless energy.

Roger Ebert – The Chicago Sun-Times

Worst Review
Accomplishes the depressingly familiar mathematical trick of being both more and less than its predecessor.

A.O. Scott – New York Times

Our Recommendation
With nearly 80% of critics liking the film, who are we to say you shouldn’t see it? But do keep in mind that if you’re over the age of 30 and you go to the film alone, you will be mistaken for a pedophile.

Tree of Life

Terrence Malick‘s newest film, Tree of Life, won the coveted Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Brad Pitt's Kids Need A Good Belting In 'Tree Of Life' Clip

If your immediate response is “That sounds gay,” this movie probably isn’t for you. Go see The Hangover: Part II.

Best Review
Some will dismiss its overarching themes and elliptical visuals as pretentious. Others might question its quasi-biblical images. But the artistry in every frame is undeniable.

Claudia Puig – USA Today

Worst Review
[Malick is] a meticulous visionary who knows where to place a camera, but he hasn’t a clue about how to tell a story with simplicity and coherence.

Rex Reed – New York Observer

Our Recommendation
If you fancy your self a film buff, or at the very least a wanna be film snob, this film is a must see, especially if you’re lucky enough to live in a city where it’s playing. Also, if you can, go stoned.

Lucy Liu

Screen Junkies — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:58:44 +0000

You won’t actually see Lucy Liu in Kung Fu Panda 2, but you’ll hear a whole lot of her voice. Liu voices the character Viper in the Panda sequel, reprising her role from the first film. She’s also working on several projects slated for release in the next year, including roles in East Fifth Bliss and The Man With the Iron Fists.

A word from Lucy: “Producing is like pushing jello up a hill on a hot day.”

Handsy Kung Fu Panda

Col. Longshanks — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:26:49 +0000

Marcia Gay Harden deserves better.

Yes, ‘Candyland’ Is Going To Be A Film, But Don’t Worry, The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Guys Are Writing It

Penn Collins — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:00:31 +0000

You can stop asking the rhetorical question “Is nothing from my childhood sacred?” No. It’s not. The straw that broke the nostalgia camel’s back could very well be the Candyland movie, which had been announced, but is all too real now that writers have been attached.

The writers for such a profile project have been hand-selected from…Kung Fu Panda. At the very least, the Kung Fu Panda writers have demonstrated their ability to take a three-word premise and turn it into a commercially viable film. That’s probably the only consideration that Universal made when hiring Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger to do the same thing for Candyland.

The studio is imagining the project as a live-action retelling of the board game, in which players race to find the lost King of Candyland, all the while travelling through magical lands that such as Candy Cane Forest and Gum Drop Mountain. While the story is paper-thin for adaptation, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in what visual treatments these whimsical stations will get in the feature film. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little like taking a shower after this news. (THR)

New ‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ Characters You May Tolerate

Geoffrey Golden — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:33:29 +0000

Whenever an animated family movie is marketed, they alway break the characters out into individual posters. Like, there’s a squirrel character who’s making a goofy face and underneath is the tag line, “he’s nuts.” This seems to be a very specific tactic for animated films. I didn’t see any Black Swan posters of just the mom with the tag line, “she’s ap-Parent-ly insane.”

Kung Fu Panda 2, starring Jack Black as Not Lemeul Gulliver, has released mercifully tag line free posters featuring a few new characters. There’s an evil peacock, a wolf who’s anxious to punt a football – and they’ll all be your new friends come May 26th. Or, failing that, they will all try not to annoy you too much with their zaniness, veiled pop culture references and fart jokes. (Collider)

DreamWorks Animation Contracts A Case Of ‘Release Date Fever’

Penn Collins — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:05:59 +0000

DreamWorks executive think if they work really, really hard in 2011, they can TOTALLY take off 2012 and maybe even some of 2013. As such, they’ve established release dates for all their animated films in the pipeline, presumably telling producers and directors that if they can’t make their release dates, it’s their own damn problem.

Kung Fu Panda 2 (May 26, 2011)
Puss In Boots (November 4, 2011)
Madagascar 3 (June 8, 2012)
Rise of the Guardians (November 21, 2012)
The Croods (March 1, 2013)
Turbo (June 7, 2013)
Me and My Shadow (November 8, 2013)
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (March 21, 2014)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 20, 2014)

The schedule doesn’t appear to be too consistent, averaging 2-3 releases per year in the spring, summer, and Thanksgiving. 4 of their 9 releases are either sequels or spinoffs, which seems to be the industry average for big-budget releases.

Not ones to be bested, expect Pixar to disseminate their release schedule through 3714, including a business plan to beam Cars 27 directly into people’s brains, and their plans for zero-gravity movie theaters on Mars colonies. (/Film)

Everybody Is Still Kung Fu Fighting In ‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ Trailer

Wookie Johnson — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:09:57 +0000

Time to teach children to settle their conflicts by kicking one another once again. Jack Black is back in Kung Fu Panda 2. The panda out of bamboo story picks up this time with Po having to defend kung fu itself. But how do you use kung fu to fight something that can stop kung fu? With poop jokes, I assume. Albeit, sublimely crafted, esoteric poop jokes.

‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ Writers Aren’t Even Trying

Wookie Johnson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:03:56 +0000

Why wait until Sunday to unveil the Super Bowl spot that you paid a kajillion dollars to air? That’s the thinking for the next few days. Yesterday we saw Bumblebee go house on a car dealership mascot, and today we have a preview from Kung Fu Panda 2. In this short teaser, Jack Black‘s Po uses a wok to Ike Turner some bad guys. This is accompanied by the catchphrase, “We will WOK you!” This is equal parts sadistic and presumptuous. Sadistic because it would be like Rambo telling his victim to “Have a knife day,” and presumptuous because I doubt the target audience really knows what a wok is. Four year-olds and developmentally disabled adults aren’t exactly dynamos in the kitchen. Looks like script-polisher Charlie Kaufman was asleep at the wheel.

New ‘Kung Fu Panda 2′ Stills Feature Panda, Kung Fu

Geoffrey Golden — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:06:29 +0000

Po the Panda Bear is coming back to theaters to fight his greatest enemy yet: the declining sales of Kung Fu Panda toys, backpacks and other shit. The pretty good for Dreamworks animated movie gets a sequel, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, that’s karate chopping into 3D theaters May 27th. Here are a few preview shots to wet your appetite for noodles, as served by ninja furries with voices by Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogan and Dustin Hoffman. Click to embiggen the images. (Collider)

“Look out everybody – I’m a kung fu master who’s still clumsy like a fat guy.”

This is what your next ass beating’s gonna look like.

“2011 no taste too good…”

Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom

Reza F. — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:57:57 +0000

Director: Jennifer Yuh

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Jack Black

Synopsis: Po joins forces with a group of new kung-fu masters to take on an old enemy with a deadly ne weapon.

Release Date: May 27, 2011