DEAR JOHN & the Top Ten

Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried in Dear John

Screen Gems’ romance drama Dear John dethroned James Cameron’s Avatar at the North American box office this weekend with a surprising $32.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Lasse Hallström’s big-screen adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel scored an average of  $10,913 per theater at 2,969 locations, enough to end the impressive winning streak of Cameron’s hit epic.
At No. 2, Avatar bagged another $23.6 million from ticket sales at 3,000 locations, a solid weekend gross after eight weeks in release. Domestically, Fox’s sci-fi hit flick has reached a cumulative gross of $630 million.
New entry From Paris with Love generated $8.1 million in third [...]

TAKEN’s Pierre Morel to Direct DUNE

Pierre Morel, whose Taken starring Liam Neeson was one of last year’s sleeper hits, has been set to direct Dune, the latest film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic novel. Paramount will be releasing the new venture.
David Lynch directed a much anticipated film version back in 1984, but the superproduction starring Kyle MacLachlan (photo) was deemed too disjointed and confusing by critics and apparently by audiences as well, as the film turned out to be an expensive flop. The special effects, however, were quite good for the time, and the film offered a stellar supporting cast that included Virginia Madsen, Sean Young, Max von Sydow, Linda Hunt, Francesca Annis, Silvana Mangano, Sting, and Freddie Jones.
According to Variety, in late [...]

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS Soars to the Top of the Box Office

Monsters vs. Aliens easily destroyed its competition at the North American box office this weekend with a whopping $58.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
DreamWorks Animation’s latest 3D-animated adventure follows a group of monsters assisting the U.S. government in the destruction of a ruthless alien leader. The film’s voice cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Hugh Laurie.

Debuting at No. 2 this weekend with $23 million was Peter Cornwell’s horror thriller The Haunting in Connecticut. Starring Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner and Amanda Crew, the film follows a family experiencing supernatural events in their new home.

Last week’s winner, Knowing, dropped to third place, collecting [...]

TAKEN – Liam Neeson

Taken (2008)
Direction: Pierre Morel
Screenplay: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Katie Cassidy, Olivier Rabourdin
 

 

Taken, directed by Pierre Morel and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, is a remarkably effective action thriller. Liam Neeson stars as Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA agent who quit his job so as to salvage his relationship with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Bryan had already sacrificed his marriage to his (by now) ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake.
After Bryan saves a flippant singer from a would-be attacker, he encounters a situation infinitely more dangerous than his CIA assignments. Though hesitant, Bryan allows Kim to go to Paris with her friend [...]