Goodbye Summer AKA Dartflix Edition #39

I thought that the only film left in this remaining crop of summer blockbusters with a chance of dethroning "The Dark Knight" for the title of King Of The Box Office was "Pineapple Express". While "Pineapple Express" did beat out "The Dark Knight" on a few individual days after that initial weekend was over and the dust had cleared "The Dark Knight" has scored the victory by the narrowest of margins ($26 million earned over the weekend versus the $22.4 million take by "Pineapple Express"). I thought the frenzy would just have to die down on it's own.

What I didn't bank on were the great reviews and raves that "Tropic Thunder" would accrue from not only members of the media, film insiders and bloggers but the controversy stirred by the films non PC themes and viral marketing campaign. Once those groups of offended people decided to picket and boycott the feature and word spread about Tom Cruise's role all of a sudden "Tropic Thunder" was a contender. It managed to upend "The Dark Knight" this past weekend by raking in $26 million dollars while "The Dark Knight"' could only generate $16.8 million to finish at #2.

As of right now, "Pineapple Express" has made $63 million dollars (it had a $27 million dollar budget) in 12 days and is currently at #4 on the money list. "Tropic Thunder" stands on top of the medal stand (no Michael Phelps) with a $37 million dollar haul after 5 days in theaters followed by "The Dark Knight" ($471 million US +$286 million international= $757 million worldwide gross) and at #3 is "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" with a $14.6 million dollar take in 3 days at the box office. Since it appeals more to the younglings and not die hard fans (the storyline isn't official canon) it's seen it's earnings drop steadily since it's opening when it made almost half of it's total gross.

Now it's time to focus on the last summer blockbusters left on the slate (Death Race, Traitor and Babylon A.D.) and get ready for this exciting crop of Fall films. Don't forget about all the indie joints that will be upcoming as well as the ones already in theaters. Tomorrow, I'll post up "Dart Adams presents A Tale Of Ten Trailers 9" so be on the lookout for it sometime in the afternoon. Now on to the lists:

Films I recommend in theaters (8.15.08-8.31.08) or to add to your queue early or for rental from either Netflix or Redbox:

Mirrors
Hamlet 2
Tropic Thunder
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Henry Poole Is Here
Traitor
Babylon A.D.
Towel Head
Sukiyaki Western Django
Gonzo: The Life & Times Of Hunter S. Thompson
Mad Detective (Johnnie To)
Street Kings
Redbelt
Chicago 10
Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?
Dexter-The Complete Second Season
House M.D.-Season Four
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles-The Complete First Season
Heroes: Season 2
Justice League: Season One (Blu-Ray)
Afro Samurai: Season One-Director's Cut (Blu-Ray)
Miami Vice (Blu-Ray)
Brotherhood Of The Wolf (Director's Cut)
Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers Collection Vol. 2 (animated)
John Oliver: Terrifying Times
Recount
An American Crime
Constantine's Sword
The Life Before Her Eyes
Nixon
Quid Pro Quo
August
CNN Presents: Black In America
Hellride
Spaced: The Complete Series
The Killing Of John Lennon
The Wire-The Complete Fifth Season
Smart People
The Legend Of The Shadowless Sword
Warlords
I'm Through With White Girls
Cocaine Cowboys 2-Hustlin' With The Godmother
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Boy A
The Bank Job
Meet Bill
Brothers Five (Shaw Brothers)
Tai Chi Master
Challenge Of The Masters
OutFoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism-Fox Attacks (Special Edition)
The Last Winter
21
Doomsday
City Of Men
Drillbit Taylor
Stop-Loss
Dragon Squad
Sonatine
Drunken Angel
Eagle Shooting Heroes
Adulthood
Batman: Gotham Knight
Vantage Point
Sleepwalking
The Tracey Fragments
Chop Shop
Blood Brothers
Chaos Theory
Be Kind Rewind
The Incredible Hulk
Wanted
Mongol
The Promotion
The Boondocks-The Complete Second Season
In Bruges
Charlie Bartlett
Jumper
Persepolis
The Grand
Funny Games
Californication-Season One
Vaxille (animated)
Diary Of The Dead
Finishing The Game
Cleaner
War, Inc.
The Air I Breathe
The Warriors: Director's Cut Special Edition
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
A Dirty Carnival
Iron Man
The Machine Girl
I'm Not There
Botched
The Tiger Blade
Bomb It
Inglorious Bastards (1978)
Heroes Of The East
Come Drink With Me
88 Minutes
Paranoid Park
Snow Angels
How To Rob A Bank
Shoot Down
The Onion Movie
Invisible Target
The Signal
Right At Your Door
Civic Duty
Dragon Tiger Gate
Fade
Player 5150
Sex And Death 101

Dart's Movie Recommendations (I personally cosign all of these joints):

Mirrors
Mad Detective
Hamlet 2
Traitor
Babylon A.D.
Street Kings
Chicago 10
Redbelt
Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?


Rent/Watch these movies at your own risk:

Death Race: When they butchered two of my old favorites in "Rollerball" and "Planet Of The Apes" I hoped that they'd leave "Death Race 2000" the hell alone. Damn you, Hollywood!

Gossip Girl-The Complete First Season-I've managed to avoid it so far...why stop now?

Prom Night-Not the kind of prom night movie I actually wanna see

What Happens In Vegas-Doesn't need to be seen by me...I'm no snitch.

Scorpion King 2-Yeah, right!

The Rocker-Jack Black was busy so Rainn Wilson got a shot a t a leading role for a change.

Disaster Movie-This flick has the perfect title.


Coming (relatively) Soon To A Theater (or computer) Near You:


One.