Joe

Nicolas Cage returns to a more form of subtle acting in 2013's Joe.

Joe (Nicolas Cage) is a former troublemaker turned solid citizen who specializes in the killing of trees. One day while working with his crew, Gary (Tye Sheridan) arrives and asks Joe if he could offer his and his father Wade's (Gary Poulter) services. Joe agrees; noticing that Gary has a strong worth ethic while Wade does not pull his weight. Releasing both from their job duties, Joe observes Wade being physical towards Gary. Not wanting to return to his troublemaking lifestyle, Joe allows the situation to take its course and continues on with his life.

While away from Joe, Wade lives his life through a bottle and has no care for Gary or his well-being. Wade routinely beats Gary while in a drunken stupor and steals any money that Gary has earned on his own. During one of Wade's drunken days, Gary comes across Willie, (Ronnie Gene Blevins) who has already had more than one encounter with Joe. Unbeknownst to all, Joe, Gary, Wade and Willie set forth actions in which all of their lives are destined to collide with one another.

Taking place in the South, director David Gordon Green fills the film with local atmosphere and immerses the audience into a world that seems all too real. Looking up information about the film after watching it, I read that David Gordon Green mixed the acting with actors and local persons to give the film a feeling of authenticity. This is a strong point in the film, as the hired locals mesh well with the established actors to almost give the film a feel of a documentary. This stands most true to Gary Poulter's Wade, who plays a homeless drunk. Reading further about the film, it seems that Poulter's portrayal of Wade did not appear to differentiate much from his true personality.

Nicolas Cage plays Joe as a man trying to keep his anger contained, which works well. With the exception of a running joke about a dog being an asshole, Cage keeps his usually campy self away from the film and provides a nuanced performance. Tye Sheridan's Gary leans more the opposite way of Joe, yet is still a very good performance. Joe sees Gary as an almost younger version of himself and decides to take the kid under his wing to allow Gary to do right where Joe had gone wrong in life.

The screenplay, adapted from the book of the same name, is where I had some trouble with the film. Parts of the film seem to meander without much purpose, including a long time to get to the point the story is trying to make. The character of Willie seems to be added in for extra tension, but the character feels extraneous and doesn't need to be in the film. As we slowly approach the very predictable climax, all the characters come together exactly how the viewer would expect with the film concluding in a rather anti-climactic fashion.

Solid performances from most of the cast help carry the film where the screenplay fails it. It's nice to see Nicolas Cage return to true acting and Tye Sheridan shows that he could have a very solid future in film.

6.2/10

Dallas Buyers Club

The film that transformed Matthew McConaughey into an Academy Award winner.

Set during the 1980's, Ron Woodruff (Matthew McConaughey) lives a wild lifestyle of having unprotected sex with prostitutes and being a rodeo enthusiast. After an accident at work, Ron discovers that he has AIDS and is only given 30 days to live. He initially approaches Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner) about getting an FDA approved drug called AZT. Her boss Dr. Sevard (Denis O'Hare) leads the group for clinical trials of AZT.

Once on the drug, Ron discovers that his body is worsening quicker than usual. Finding out that AZT appears to do more harm than good, Ron goes to Mexico and meets with Dr. Vass (Griffin Dunne) who informs Ron that AZT kills the cells in one's body. Dr. Vass instead gives Ron alternative drugs that are not FDA approved. The unauthorized drugs appear to work and Ron begins to transport the drugs over the Mexico border for his use and to sell to others who also are infected by HIV. One of those infected, a transgender woman named Rayon, (Jared Leto) butts heads with Ron.

Eventually, the two form an uneasy alliance to sell the non-FDA approved drugs under the moniker of the Dallas Buyers Club for $400 a month. Dr. Saks eventually sees the negative side effects to AZT while also seeing that the non-FDA approved drugs do appear to be helping those suffering from HIV. Dr. Sevard does not see eye-to-eye with Dr. Saks or Ron and tries to shut down the Dallas Buyers Club.

This is a film that is really all about the performances. The script really didn't do much for me, and am surprised the script got an Oscar nomination. Enough can't be said, though, for the performances of Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey. Leto disappears into the role of the wise Rayon, who knows that she is on borrowed time, yet is trying to do what she can. McConaughey puts his own spin on the stereotypical anti-gay man who must bond with those he does not get along with, role. Both roles were deserving of their nominations and awards.

As stated, the story is nothing you haven't seen before, but anchored by two solid performances, this is a film that should be seen to see how Matthew McConaughey is becoming one of this generation's better actors.

7.3/10

American Hustle

Continuing to play catch-up, here's my review of Oscar hopeful: American Hustle.

Based off the ABSCAM operation and set during the late 1970's and early 1980's, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a low level con artist working with his girlfriend Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). After both are caught in a scam by FBI Agent Richie DiMaso, (Bradley Cooper) Irving and Sydney reluctantly work for Richie to bring down various politicians including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).

Due to the complexity of the undercover operation, not all parts go smoothly. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) complicates matters as a potential love triangle forms between Irving, Richie and Sydney. As the operation progresses, Irving and Carmine start to become friends and Richie wants the operation to grow in size in an effort to take down more and more corrupt politicians. The size of the operation begins spiral out of control and all parties involved begin to struggle to keep everything in order.

The plot is not as complex as it sounds, but it is more of a foundation for what truly makes this film entertaining: the performances. Even as I felt this was my favorite film of the year, I understand that American Hustle is not a great film. The plot falls by the wayside in favor of letting you enjoy the performances and the fun that the actors and director, David O. Russell are having.

The fun that the actors and crew are having does not take you out of the film. Instead the film brings you in and provides you with one of the best comedies of the year. Everything from the bad wigs, to bad accents and the way the characters handle the complicated scam that is presented in this film as a fun, but not overly-complicated 2 hour film. Even the title card that starts the movie, really sets the tone for how serious the film handles the ABSCAM plot that the film is based on. American Hustle tries really hard to entertain you, and based off what David O. Russell and the cast offer, I feel the film succeeds on that level.

The one weak link in the film for me, personally was Jeremy Renner. Everyone else in the film felt like they were on the same page, but with his character everything felt off and out of place and ultimately felt that Jeremy Renner was miscast as Mayor Polito. As the film progresses towards its conclusion, there is a scene where Irving and Carmine confront each other in Carmine's house. Carmine asks Irving if he is lying to him; at which time I felt bad for the character itself, but not by the performance delivered by Jeremy Renner.

I know there's been a lot of hate and backlash towards the film lately, but as just an enjoyable piece of cinema with overall good performances, it's hard to not rank American Hustle near the top of the best films list of 2013.

8.3/10

Writer's Block - Version 2

Shameless plug time strikes back!

I wanted to showcase a short script that I wrote that was turned into a short film directed by Rich Keel. The script is based off a contest where a one page script was to be written within a month. My script was called "Writer's Block" and Rich Keel was kind enough to ask permission to film the script for his site off YouTube. Check out his site and the other films he has made after you've checked out the two versions Rich shot of my script.

I bring to you, "Writer's Block" - Version 2.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Good or bad.

Writer's Block - Version 1

It's shameless plug time!

Something other than a film review, I wanted to showcase a short script that I wrote that was turned into a short film directed by Rich Keel. The script is based off a contest where a one page script was to be written within a month. My script was called "Writer's Block" and Rich Keel was kind enough to ask permission to film the script for his site off YouTube. Check out his site and the other films he has made after you've checked out the two versions Rich shot of my script.

I bring to you, "Writer's Block" - Version 1.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Good or bad.

Dark Skies

Low budget horror strikes again!

For this newest horror offering, we are introduced to Daniel and Lacy Barrett (Josh "not the baseball player" Hamilton and Keri Russell) along with their two sons: Jesse and Sammy (Dakota Goyo and Kadan Rockett). The film paints the family as a normal suburban family in a typical suburban neighborhood. Director Scott Stewart really tries his hardest to try and have this neighborhood and family resonate with the audience. As stated, he tries. Too hard.

To add dramatic tension to the film, Daniel has been unemployed for multiple months and that puts a strain on the rest of the family. The sons communicate via walkie-talkie (I wonder if those will provide any pay offs) while Daniel and Lacy struggle to find a way to pay for their very-nice house and all those fancy things that struggling families in films somehow are able to live with.

One night, strange things begin happening within the house. Pictures begin disappearing, items in the house are moved around and other small things. Daniel believes that one of their sons is responsible for the ballyhoo occurring in the house. Both sons deny causing the mischief so Daniel decides to activate the security system in the house (you know, with all income that Daniel has coming in).

Eventually, each member of the family begins experiencing signs of some trauma which leads to Daniel and Lacy seeking out the opinion of alien specialist Edwin Pollard (The always entertaining J.K. Simmons). Edwin informs Daniel and Lacy that he believes that the Barrett family is being visited by aliens. Unknown as to what they exactly want, the Barrett family must band together for the sake of their family.

As sarcastic as part of the review has been so far, the film is not all bad. Yes, director Scott Stewart does really try to hammer home the "normalcy" of the Barrett family. Some actions by the family members; Daniel lying about getting a job that he didn't, for example come off as being there for no reason than to just add some drama and tension. And speaking of Daniel, Josh Hamilton's portrayal is one of the worst performances I have seen so far this year. Josh Hamilton's performance comes off as stiff and wooden and hinders the film.

On the plus side, there are some decent set pieces, especially in the first half of the film. The slow build and setup of the plot does work in the film's favor. Once Edwin Pollard shows up and provides the details that he does, Dark Skies almost turns into a home invasion film as the Barrett family has to bunker down and try to defend against the onslaught of what is happening to them.

Which leads to the ending. The film builds through the home invasion and just as we are about to get to a resolution, the film shifts to a hallucination sequence followed by what actually happens. The ending feels somewhat rushed and unfocused, though could have been much worse.

And speaking of much worse, you certainly can do much worse than what this film offers. The film does not re-invent the wheel, but some interesting set pieces and mostly good acting keep this film afloat and worthy of being checked out.

5.3/10

Upstream Color

This film may provide my shortest review to date.

From writer/director/editor/basically every job associated with this film, Shane Carruth (Primer) comes an impossible to explain tale about two persons: Kris (Amy Seimetz) and Jeff (Shane Carruth) who find themselves brought together by forces that they do not understand. Along their journey, they will share experiences, relive moments that never happened and stumble across pigs. Lots of pigs.

This is a film that really would take a couple of pages to describe, and by the time you have described what the film is about, you have ruined the whole movie. I don't want to ruin the whole movie for anyone curious about this film, so what I have given you is all the plot you will get. Either see the movie, or just cheat and go read the Wikipedia page with the plot breakdown.

This film is nowhere near on par with Shane Carruth's first effort: Primer. What we have instead is a film with some big ideas, but Shane Carruth isn't able to convey his ideas as well as was done in Primer. Here, the film feels somewhat more forced and also provides an ending that the film did not earn. What is set up as a relatively dark, science fiction film is then let down in the last 5 minutes by a happy ending that really undermines what came before.

The performances in the film are solid, especially with the low budget of the film. Shane Carruth is able to get good performances out of his female lead, and also provides a good supporting role. Carruth's directing is very good and makes good use of his locations on a limited budget along with providing some very good shots. The score is also well done and provides a good sense of mood when required.

This is just a really hard film to review as the material is dense (as would be expected) and also is more of a conversation piece than review fodder. Even though the film is very uneven, the run time never really dragged and  the movie did move along at a good pace. Some ideas and executions within the script do hold the film back, but as this is an original film, I certainly am happy to see something that doesn't end in a number.

I recommend the film, but also be sure to know what type of film you are in for.

5.6/10

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Did I find a film that was worse than Movie 43? No, but damn if this film didn't try.

An interesting idea is undone by a our lead character, Burt, (Steve Carrell) being such an unlikable character that even if he was written well (he isn't) his personality turns you off to him and you really don't care about his failing career and whether or not he can return to glory (spoilers: he does).

After being inspired by renowned magician Rance Holloway, (Alan Arkin) a young Burt tries his hand at simplistic magic trick in elementary school. While perfecting his magic in school, Burt meets another school outcast, Anthony; the two becoming good friends and magic partners.

Flash-forward to the present: Burt and Anthony, now known as Anton Marvelton, (Steve Buscemi) are headlining Bally's Hotel with their large-scale magic tricks to dwindling audiences. Owner of Bally's, Doug Munny (James Gandolfini) begins looking at new avenues to boost sales while Burt and Anton grow apart. Just in time for them to separate, we get wacky and extreme magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) who continuously pops in and out of the film as a somewhat antagonistic and rival magician to Burt and Anton's act.

This film is an utter mess with no likable characters to side with, save for Anton. Of course, as Anton is the only sympathetic character in the film, the writer and director decide that Anton needs to disappear (see what I did there?) for most of the mid-portion of the film. What we are left with is unlikable Burt falling in love with a wanna-be magician Jane (Olivia Wide) while Steve Gray keeps showing up and really acting like he is in the wrong film.

As most people seem to think Jim Carrey may be the best thing in this film, he is more of an anomaly than something that actually elevates anything in this film to good. The character really doesn't come into direct contact with Burt and mainly is a side-story where Steve slightly intersects into Burt's life and then leaves it.

There really isn't much to say about the film. This really is a misfire from all angles: filled with awful performances, terrible writing and some of the most obvious "gags" of the year. Thankfully, Steve Carrell has the Despicable Me franchise, so he can shake this film off like a case of fleas.

Hopefully Jim Carrey, on the other hand, will have more luck with Kick-Ass 2.

2.2/10

Honestly, this review has been mostly written for the past month or so, but it's taken me this long to finish it. It just makes me sleepy. Where's Mark Buffalo when you need him?

Movie 43

.......yeah.

So much talent. Why? I mean, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Kate Winslet and Uma Thurman aren't hurting for money are they? There's no real way to review each skit in this film as there are many and I don't have the time or energy to do all that.

So odds are this film will be looked back upon 30 years from now as a comedy classic that I didn't get. Don't care. Funny comedy will always be seen the first time out of the gate. And from what I saw, this was a film that appeared to have no concept of what makes a comedy.

Balls on the chin? Check. Making guacamole with your over-enlarged breasts? Oh, yeah. An IPod designed to look like a naked woman? Why not. Black guys with large penis jokes? Absolutely. Gratuitous swearing just becuase? Fuckin' A. Gerard Butler as a leprechaun who loves to threaten others' balls? Heck yes. Oh, and how about a skit dedicated to a woman wanting to be pooped on because that means someone loves her? Damn straight.

What ever happened to a good ol' pie in the face gag? It worked in Blazing Saddles.

Whatever, most of the skits are very lazy and rely on trying to offend rather than make the audience laugh. I've seen a lot of gross things, nothing in this movie made me laugh uncomfortably or uncontrollably. I think I sneezed more times than I laughed. Then I laughed at the sound of my sneeze because my sneeze sounds were funnier than anything in this film.

The one thing I will give this film, is that a large portion of the big name actors brought into this film do give their all. Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry standout as not really caring what comes from their reputations (in Halle Berry's case, she's already done Catwoman, so why not) and just going for it. Unfortunately for them, the material lets them and all the actors down.

If there were some skits that got a lukewarm reaction from me, I would have to say the ones I thought were less bad were: the aforementioned Hugh Jackman skit only because of how hard Hugh goes for it, a couple very predictable skits, one involving Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber as parents who homeschool their kid and Terrence Howard playing a basketball coach in the 1950's. Lastly, James Gunn wrote and directed a skit involving Elizabeth Banks, Josh Duhamel and an animated cat. None of these skits were home runs, but they were less bad.

I understand what the filmmakers were trying to do, but comedy is art and you need to understand what makes comedy work. The persons involved in this film don't understand that. When you just try to shock the audience, it comes off as cheap and never works in small doses, let along an entire feature-length film.

I don't know, I really don't have much more to say. I need something to take my mind off this film.

Ah, that's better.

1.4/10

The Last Stand

Arnold Schwarzenegger's triumphant return to starring in a big action film brings us The Last Stand. After mainly ten years away from starring roles, is it worth the wait? Depends on your mood.

Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) is a former Los Angeles police officer who has resigned himself to the quiet town of Sommerton Junction, Arizona. Trying to leave his past behind, Ray along with his police force: Sarah Torrance, (Jaimie Alexander) Mike Figuerola (Luis Guzman) and Jerry Bailey (Zach Gilford) keep the peace in the quiet town.

During a prison transfer of international drug lord Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), headed by Federal Agent John Bannister, (Forest Whitaker) Cortez escapes from custody and takes Federal Agent Ellen Richards (Genesis Rodriguez) hostage in Cortez's personalized Camaro ZL1. Now, Cortez, with Richards, races his car towards the Mexico border in an attempt to flee. The only thing that stands between Cortez and freedom is Sheriff Owens and the residents of Sommerton Junction.

After a fairly quick setup, The Last Stand dips in terms of pacing. Throughout the middle portion of the film, we alternate between Sheriff Owens beginning to realize something major is happening, Cortez and his amazing car doing amazing (yet unrealistic things) against a plethora of some dumb law enforcement officials and Forest Whitaker sitting around and yelling.

Once all the pieces finally connect, the actual last stand is pretty entertaining, if standard. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads his deputies along with town drunk Frank Martinez (Rodrigo Santoro) and Lewis Dinkum, (Johnny Knoxville) the local crazy man with access to unlimited weapons.

The Last Stand is shot with energy by Kim Ji-woon and all parties involved, with the exception of Forest Whitaker, appear to know the type of film they are in. Schwarzenegger is the lead, but does let the other characters have their moment in the action. The main problem I had with the film is, for a majority of the film, the bad guy is driving in a car. The car is cool and all, I guess, but there is nothing very exciting for the majority of the film involving the main bad guy. Instead we are relegated to Cortez's henchman, Thomas Burrell (Peter Stormare, rocking a special accent) and the hijinks that he and his associates are doing in Sommerton Junction.

This Schwarzenegger film is forgettable but also harmless, which is more than I can say for such films as Collateral Damage and The 6th Day.

4.7/10

V/H/S/2

If you read my review for the first film, and judging by my review numbers, you haven't, then you know I wasn't the biggest fan of the original V/H/S. The film is beloved though, which means the obligatory sequel was created. Is it better than the original? Yes. As I did with my review of the first film, I will review each story individually then give an overall grade for the whole film.

Tape 49:

The wraparound for this film is slightly better than the last one. Instead of douchebags doing stupid things then just randomly going to a house, we have a slight (and I use the term loosely) reason for following two private investigators who are searching for a missing student. This time there is plot about the vhs tapes located in the student's house, but because the plot requires it, the two investigators don't truly listen to the plot. The wraparound has a somewhat nice touch but is then done in by a confusing ending and a shallow final shot. Were we really given a thumbs up?

Phase I Clinical Trials:

A man who suffered an eye injury in a car accident and undergoes a procedure backed by "the government" wherein he receives his sight back, but has a recording device permanently recording in his eye. How and why is this normal guy receiving this government project? No clue. He goes home and then begins to see ghostly figures that may or may not be real. Enter a female character who knows all and provides him with just enough plot detail to try and survive. Some decent atmospheric shots and scares and done in by too much plot and a character that I really didn't care about. Not awful, but there was plenty of room for improvement.

A Ride In The Park:

A cyclist with a camera mounted on his helmet stumbles across a woman who has been attacked. The attackers show up as the man tries to help the wounded woman, but it's too late. The wounded woman then returns to life as a zombie and we are thrust into a first-person zombie story. I personally found this to be the most entertaining story of the bunch. The gore is solid and there is a surprising amount of dark humor to be found regarding certain story elements that I wont go in to. Not a scary story, and a short one to boot, but this story does sacrifices story and character for taking us on a zombie story that we haven't seen exactly done the same way.

Safe Haven:

Probably the most ambitious story of V/H/S/2, a documentary film crew sets out to Indonesia to interview the leader of a cult. While the interview is on-going, the leader and his members begin to exhibit strange behavior that will put the lives of the documentary crew in jeopardy. This is the longest story of V/H/S/2 and the one that tries to give a full 3-act structure. As time puts some restraint on this film, this is a very ambitious tale that probably could have worked as a full-length feature. Some inconsistencies near the end including a "kitchen sink-style" third act kept me from making this as my favorite story, but I appreciate the effort and all that was done for this tale.

Slumber Party Alien Abduction:

Which brings us to this tale. I was hoping that the stupid title might have shown some humor and fun in an over the top-style alien film. Nope. Just aliens coming down to abduct some people on a lake house. Nothing special at all and the aliens go from speedy abductors to lumbering-type aliens depending on whether the plot calls for a jump scare or a suspenseful scare. Either way, nothing really about this story works. And if all abductions happen like the way these aliens do, then we would know all about them as these are the loudest aliens in the history of aliens.

Anyway, this collection of short films is a better overall package than its precedessor. The quality, overall, is a step up and even the wraparound wasn't AS dumb as the first one. I still can't quite recommend V/H/S/2, but I recommend it more than the first one.

4.3/10

Now You See Me

You know what I saw? A waste of talent.

From hackmeister Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk and Clash of the Titans) comes a film that thinks it is so smart that it will talk down to you and tell you that you're stupid and nowhere near as smart as the film you are watching is. If you've seen any film like this, you will be heads and tails much smarter than this drivel.

Honestly, this is my third time trying to write this review after it has been deleted multiple times. I have spent way too much time trying to get this review out than this film deserves. This is my shorter review of the film as I really don't want to have to rewrite this damn thing again.

Magicians, The Four Horsemen: Daniel Atlas, (Jesse Eisenberg) Merritt McKinney, (Woody Harrelson) Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) are approached by an unseen figure. One year later, they are performing a magic trick in Las Vegas where they rob a bank in France and make it literally rain money on the audience. In the crowd for the trick are The Four Horsemen's benefactor, Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and an ex-magician who debunks tricks, Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman).

As robbing a bank is a federal crime, FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes is assigned to the case with Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent). The audience spends most of the film with these two characters because if we spent the bulk of the film with The Four Horsemen then we would know all the twists that were coming our way.

Unfortunately for the audience and director Louis Leterrier, these twists are so obvious and predictable, than anyone who has seen any film will know where Now You See Me is heading way before we get there. The film tries its hardest to be clever, but no matter how many twists of over the top camera movements that are thrown our way, its all just smoke and mirrors to try and cover up a bad script and an overall bad film.

The biggest issue is the waste of talent this film attracted. Most notable for being wasted are Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Michael Caine especially, is wasted as the very rich benefactor. In the second half of the film, his character practically disappears while Morgan Freeman basically has one purpose in the film. And speaking of one purpose, Dave Franco's Jack also serves only one purpose and literally felt like the writers had nothing to give this character except for his one purpose. Just a waste.

You're smarter than this film thinks you are. Don't be like me and giving in to seeing the film.

4.0/10

As an aside, here's a picture of Mark Buffalo. Much more entertaining.

Domestic Box Office Prediction - June 14-16 2013

Ok, so I picked a really bad week to try and predict the box office with The Purge earning way more than expected. Live and learn I guess.

This week, 2 new releases come forth including one of this Summer's largest offerings: Man of Steel. From director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) and producer Christopher Nolan (who has been mentioned more than the director, I might add) is the newest attempt at bringing Superman to the big screen. After the somewhat failure of Superman Returns, Warner Bros. brings a new reboot starring Henry Cavill in the title role.

There appears to be more buzz surrounding this reiteration of Superman than Returns and superheroes have never been more of a hot commodity than now. The posters and trailers have varied from slow-build to all-out action, which should appeal to the masses.

Along with the name recognition, a lot of promotion has focused on Christopher Nolan as part of the project. Linking his name and The Dark Knight trilogy will certainly add more viewers, though his influence is substantially low compared with The Dark Knight trilogy. With Marvel and their superhero films making a constant profit, Superman and the decades of good will that it has amassed, will certainly bring Warner Bros. good news.

The other new wide release, trying to get a jump start on Man of Steel by opening Wednesday, is the ensemble comedy This Is The End. From writer/director/star Seth Rogen and writer/director Evan Goldberg comes this end of the world comedy that features many regulars from the Rogen/Goldberg stable including: Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Jay Baruchel. The story revolves around the aforementioned actors playing fictional versions of themselves at a party just when the apocalypse happens.

Riding a wave of solid reviews (currently 83% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and a slate of known actors, this R-rated film should skewer towards the younger, male crowd. Already taking over $7 million dollars, this film should have no trouble securing second place over this weekend, obviously behind Man of Steel.

Beyond those films, the rest of the holdovers will struggle to grab the crumbs from Man of Steel and This Is The End. Last week's champ, The Purge, should fall considerably after mediocre word of mouth hit. Like most horror films, a steep plunge would not be out of the ordinary. The Internship should continue to bomb as reviews for the film have been terrible with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn wishing that it were 2005 again.

My prediction for this week's top 5 are:

Man of Steel - $147.2 million
This Is The End - 41.4 million
The Purge - $12.1 million
Now You See Me - $11.6 million
Fast & Furious 6 - $11.2 million