Free Refills

Win a free pass with a trivial mind

J. Riggs has won a free courtesy pass and medium popcorn for being the 22nd correct entrant to know that "Freddy Krueger" was the character featured in Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street.

Want to win? Put your answer to this week's question in the subject line in an email to trivia@eagletheater.net. One entry per email address, and please include your name inside the email in case you win. If you want to share a great thought and want us to read the inside of the email, put a "*" by your answer.

The 24th correct entry gets the prize.

Comedian Will Ferrell can usually be counted on for laughs AND big box office. He opens Friday in Blades of Glory. However, Ferrell is not always a guarantee of box office success. Two years ago, he starred in an $85 million movie that grossed just over $62 million. In that near turkey of a movie, he co-starred with Nicole Kidman, and there just wasn't much box office magic to match what was happening onscreen. What was this 2005 movie?

Will Ferrell comin' to visit

"It's the new Will Ferrell movie. Need we say more?"

--Steven Snyder, Zertinet Reviews

That is the capsule review of Blades of Glory, which one critic likened to "Ricky Bobby on ice." Nice phrase.

This is probably the movie that will dethrone Wild Hogs for THIS weekend. However, Hogs has been seen by 4,130 people, just shy of the 4,532 record set by Passion of the Christ. Hogs is getting one final week at the trough to break the record. It's going to be tough with Blades of Glory opening...

...and that doesn't even CONSIDER what will happen with Meet the Robinsons, the animated family movie that includes a dinosaur with a big head and little hands (hey, I'm only reflecting the television ads).

Seriously, this looks like the first animated hit of the year, though we don't mean to slight TMNT, which got off to a good start last Friday and is starting its second week at the Eagle.

Hills Have Eyes 2 and The Last Mimzy are only here through Tuesday, when they will make way for a rare Wednesday's opening of two films, Are We Done Yet? and Firehouse Dog.

I really, really like Mimzy, which was handicapped by a lackluster ad campaign. If you remember ET and liked/loved/adored it, give Mimzy a try. One of the supporting roles of Mimzy is played by Rainn Wilson of the television show, "The Office." (He plays Dwight Schrute on that show.)

Over the next seven days, we have four new films making their appearance, which explains why we had to put 300 on hold. Don't despair--we will get to it.

When Are We Done Yet? and Firehouse Dog come in, Wild Hogs and TMNT will come off full schedules and share a screen. Just to make life even more confusing for us, next Thursday will feature late shows because Good Friday (April 6) is a school-free day.

The week to come is a nightmare for our marquee sign, but a bushel basket full of fun movies for you. Better plan on seeing a few this week! Hint, hint.

Whimsy and Mimzy

What fuels local moviegoing habits?

I'd like to think that Eagle fans are tuning into the blog or reading the newsletter faithfully, but truth is, the moviegoing meter barely twitches based upon my recommendation and opinion (if it did, Children of Men and Breech would have fared much, much better).

No, the biggest single factor influencing local movie demand, in my humbled opinion, is the quality of the 30 second television spots that bombard the cable channels the weeks before a release.

Consider The Last Mimzy. It's a fine movie, a cut above average, and certainly a watchable family film with some sci-fi overtones. Here is what Box Office Mojo had to say about its performance over the weekend.

"An aggressive marketing campaign helped propel The Last Mimzy to an estimated $10.2 million at 3,017 sites. The opening wasn't bad for a fantastical children's movie without a built-in audience and with coy ads that didn't bother to explain what a "Mimzy" was."

While the campaign may have been "aggressive" the key words for me were "coy ads that didn't bother to explain what a 'Mimzy' was."

Indeed. The ads were so coy that local moviegoers stayed away in droves, despite a movie that compares in many ways with the charm of E.T.

Contrast that with Wild Hogs, a middling buddy comedy that had killer ads that promised lots of laughs. The movie IS funny, but I think the clever television spots propelled an average comedy into the stratosphere with local fans.

I read some of the things I've written lately and see that I am starting to sound like a movie snob. I don't mean to. I love broad comedies and franchise pictures, and not just because they are good for the bottom line. They are FUN.

I think, though, that more than anything I mourn when good movies are neglected locally, whether they be fine films like Children of Men or Breech, or gentle movies like The Astronaut Farmer or The Last Mimzy.

The Great Race

Going into the weekend, Wild Hogs has been viewed by 3,719 people locally. Passion of the Christ is the current record holder, with 4,532 admissions for a five-week run that started on March 5, 2004.

Because of higher box office prices since 2004, Wild Hogs could break the dollar record this week while leaving the admission record intact for Passion.

This doesn't have quite the drama of Hank Aaron closing in on Babe Ruth's record, but in our part of the world, it passes for a matter of interest...

If Hogs gets close to the record after the weekend, it will probably surpass it. Why? A strong weekend box office would mean that Hogs might be held over for ANOTHER week, and it could limp past the record in its dotage.

We shall see...

Susan Kirk won. Is it your turn?

Last week in our blog and weekly newsletter, Susan Kirk showed she was not only smart, but lucky. She had the 17th correct entry to the question of who co-starred with Sandra Bullock in Speed.

If you would like to win a free pass like Susan did, you need to be the 22nd correct entrant to this week's question, and put your answer in the subject line to an email addressed to trivia@eagletheater.net.

Only one entry per email address, and if you want us to read the entire email, put a "*" after your answer so we have the good sense to click through. You can also post comments here on the blog (but not the answer!) or send an email to eric@eagletheater.net. (Hey, don't send your ENTRY there... Use the "trivia" email address!)

Hills Have Eyes 2 is a remake of Wes Craven's 1985 original, which was itself a sequel of the 1977 original film, Hills Have Eyes (got that?). Craven is perhaps best known for the slasher series that began with Nightmare on Elm Street. That film introduced a durable horror villain who has been in more than a dozen films, and who was reputedly named for a kid who used to bully Craven in high school. What was the name of this villain who premiered on Elm Street? (We will accept the first name, but if you give both names AND you win, you get a FREE medium popcorn, too.)

Something for everyone

"Once or twice a year, I just go nuts about a movie.It's all I think about. It occupies my mind because I'm so delighted with it. I imagine that I detect references to its themes everywhere I go. This is that movie for 2007."

--Linda Cook, Quad City Times

Strong review for The Last Mimzy, a family movie that opens nationally and at the Eagle on Friday.

Calling it a "family movie" doesn't quite do it justice. It has a strong sci-fi element to it, and the website for Mimzy is fascinating. The movie could have a lot of crossover appeal.

Mimzy is one of two family movies opening locally. The second is TMNT, which of course stands for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is the animated version featuring the popular television and film characters.

At the other end of the spectrum is a new horror film--Hills Have Eyes 2. I'm not a huge horror film, but I DID watch the first movie in this series, and have to admit it was a guilty pleasure. It made me jump in my seat and scream, which is my understanding of what a good horror film is supposed to do.

This version is rated R, for prolonged sequences of strong gruesome horror violence and gore, a rape and language. Don't say we didn't warn you!

Wild Hogs continues its amazing run at the Eagle, and it is closing in on our all-time record holder, Passion of the Christ. Nearly 3,700 people have seen the Hogs, and a strong weekend might break a record. Hogs was our second biggest film for an opening weekend, coming in right behind Pirates of the Caribbean 2. While Pirates tailed off and never challenged Passion, it looks like we might have a new box office champ. It's up to you.

Premonition continues a solid run, with Sandra Bullock pulling in audiences. About the only thing not at the theater this weekend is a romantic comedy, but there simply aren't any out right now.

Blasting tax hike proposal

Robinson Daily News has posted online a column we wrote about the chilling effect that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's policies are having on business--particularly the theater business. His $6 billion proposed tax hike would create a new tax--a tax on REVENUE rather than PROFITS.

Yikes!

Read about the effect on your local theater here.

Post your reviews here for our current lineup

Shanna and Julie were pioneers last week--they posted reviews (see Post your reviews here!--March 9) to some of the movies that were playing last week. Now it is YOUR turn.

Now playing are Breach, Zodiac, Premonition  and holdovers Wild Hog and Astronaut Farmer. What did you think of them? Do you recommend them? Remind you of any other movies?

Click on the comments link below and tell us what you think.

'Premonition,' 'Zodiac' and 'Breach' [oh my!]

What's new?

1. Sandra Bullock is coming to Robinson, via the magic of celluloid, to debut in Premonition, a genre-bending mix of romantic/supernatural/thriller. You can figure out if all these high concepts mix or clash, but for many of us, the attraction is Ms. Bullock and her girl-next-door charm.

2. If you want your money's worth, might we suggest Zodiac, a long-ish subtle thriller based on the case files of the unsolved murders that bedeviled San Francisco. Gut-wrenching anxiety and tension are the order of the day in this R-rated film. The movie earns it R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images. It is one of the best-reviewed movies of the season.

3. Our second Eagle Choice film selection is Breach, a truly well done drama about the betrayal by FBI Agent Robert Hanssen and the successful effort to catch him. Mr. Hanssen is now serving a life term at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, and after you've seen the movie, you may want to drop him a line or two with your thoughts to the address below. He spends 23 hours a day in his cell, so he has plenty of time to review his mail, I suspect:

Robert Philip Hanssen 48551-083

USP FLORENCE ADMAX
U.S. PENITENTIARY
PO BOX 8500
FLORENCE, CO  81226

Earlier in the week, we sent out a newsletter to our Eagle Choice Film Club members, and if you want to have a peek at it, then click here. If you would like to join the film club, and get your FREE member card and cool refrigerator magnet, then send an email to eaglechoice@eagletheter.net and include the name and postal and email addresses for each person to receive a card. That card, printed on fetching blue index stock, will get you into Eagle Choice films at matinee pricing AND get you free food from the theater, Monical's and BackPorch Smokehouse.

*****

Held over this week are Astronaut Farmer and Wild Hogs. Hogs is running wild in our barnyard, with more than 3,000 admissions in two weeks. It might challenge Passion of the Christ for the number one Eagle movie. Last week, 300 took the box office crown from Hogs, and we expect to bring you 300 in a week or two, once the Spartan warriors are through with their maneuvers in larger markets. No reason to cross the Wabash--be patient.

You might recall that Astronaut Farmer was a close choice for us last week because Bridge to Terabithia was doing relatively well, and our booker's advice was to pass on Farmer. Through Wednesday, Farmer had nearly 200 admissions, about what we would have expected from Terabithia. From a short-term business perspective, it was a wash, but I hope it reinforced the idea that we will hunt down good movies and bring you variety.

*****

Speaking of business, we had a guest column published in the Robinson Daily News about the governor's proposed tax hike and what it would mean to the theater. If you missed it and find the link to the Daily News has not been updated, I'd be pleased as punch to send you a copy. Just drop me a line at eric@eagletheater.net.

While the government can inflict a lot of damage with tax and labor policy, some wounds are self-inflicted. A big ouch for the lack of audience for Children of Men, our first Eagle Choice film that drew only 24 customers over last weekend. I watched it Wednesday night, and one scene in particular almost had me expelling a gut-wrenching sob. You missed a very, very fine movie.

*****

Antje Pippen wins a free pass to the Eagle for astutely knowing that Billy Bob Thornton played Davey Crocket in The Alamo. It's your turn to win. Send your answer in the subject line to trivia@eagletheater.net, and remember, only one entry per email address. We're looking for the 17th correct answer.

Sandra Bullock has a fairly long filmography, but for many of us, our first memory of her was in her role of Annie Porter in the 1994 film, Speed. What hunk played the starring role of Officer Jack Traven in that movie. Hint: He teamed up with Bullock in The Lake House.

A Discouraging Word...

This was not a good weekend...

Attendance WAS pretty decent, with Wild Hogs once again taking local honors and sucking the oxygen out of every other movie that was playing at the theater. 300 turned out to be a big hit, but we were steered away from it because (1) it wasn't expected to do as well; (2) only a few R rated films have done well at the Eagle; and (3) the studio wanted a BIG guarantee.

I suspect some of the younger crowd bugged out to Terre Haute to see the movie, where they are not carded nearly as hard as we do.

Children of Men was a big flop over the weekend, with only 24 people (total) coming to nine performances. It was the first movie of our Eagle Choice Film Club, and 237 members totally ignored the film.

Hindsight is always 20-20, and the limited data from the weekend suggest that (1) maybe there is not a local market for serious, well-done films; and (2) we should open the doors wider to R-rated films.

I don't like either one of those views in my sight...

On top of that, we are struggling with what the state of Illinois is doing to us. First is a minimum wage increase that will increase labor costs by nearly 16 percent. Second is skyrocketing electric rates. Between first and second, we have more than $17,000 of annual increased expense.

Third is fretting about the governor (i.e. "Current Occupant") and his proposed $6 billion increase in business taxes.

We're getting slammed from all sides.

Popcorn still tastes good, though!