Meet the Fockers
6:05 show, 400-seat auditorium, about 350 people (superb for this time of night)

Trailers
Hide and Seek - no audible reaction
Cinderella Man - some whispering
Miss Congeniality 2 - laughter
Assault on Precinct 13 - silence
The Pacifier - laughs

Movie
Meet the Fockers is one of those movies that flows a lot better than a blah trailer would suggest. Being a sequel, it expectedly does not approach Meet the Parents. However, this film's lame trailers had me not feeling very confident, but I was generally surprised by this pleasant, silly comedy. De Niro and Stiller are how they usually are, while Blythe Danner and Teri Polo are content to stand in the background. The Fockers are a mixed bag. Dustin Hoffman is oddly low-key and appears uncomfortable, as if he's not really sure how to play his character. This is the second straight film (after I Heart Huckabees) in which Hoffman gives an uninspired performance. On the other hand, Barbra "Babs" Streisand is quite hillarious. This film's gags are not as fresh as the first film, but most of them work pretty well. I would give Meet the Fockers about a B. The audience seemed to like it, and almost everyone in the audience stayed for the scene shown during the credits, which is probably a good sign.

It had sold out two shows when I left, which is an indicator that this will probably be a monster performer during the holidays.

Here is my theater report.

Phantom of the Opera
11:05 (300 seater) - 16% full.
12:30 (300 seater) - 15% full.
2:10 (250 seater) - 20% full.
2:10 (300 seater) - 11% full.
3:50 (300 seater) - 20% full.
5:30 (250 seater) - 34% full.
5:30 (300 seater) - 4% full.
7:10 (300 seater) - 37% full.
Very Good for early shows. I see a 2 million opening day.

Meet the Fockers
11:00 (600 seater) - 5% full.
11:40 (400 seater) - 5% full.
12:20 (400 seater) - 12% full.
1:05 (600 seater) - 17% full.
1:50 (600 seater) - 17% full.
2:30 (400 seater) - 24% full.
3:10 (400 seater) - 28% full.
4:00 (600 seater) - 22% full.
4:45 (600 seater) - 19% full.
5:25 (400 seater) - 43% full.
6:05 (400 seater) - 36% full.
6:55 (600 seater) - 38% full.
7:45 (600 seater) - 53% full.
8:25 (400 seater) - 85% full.
Very Good. It looks like we will get sold out shows later tonight. Looks like we will get 10-12 million based on this.

Well I saw Flight of the Phoenix tonight at 7:25. It had to be at least 75% full to me and my friend's surprise, we ended up in the third row from the front. (There were huge lines, but we assumed it was all Meet the Fockers. According to my friend who works there, this was the biggest day Phoenix has had at the theater easily, and a lot of other movies supposedly did great too.) It wasn't a huge room though, probably about a 200 seater. The trailers were:

Be Cool (Great reaction, crowd loved it. It looks fantastic)
Sahara (Mostly silent, a few laughs. Reminds me of National Treasure, though I personally thought that was very over-rated)
Hide and Seek (Silence. It looks alright, but if the ending I read is true, it's going to be laughable)
Man of the House (A bit of laughter, but not much. I'd guess a low teens opening based on that, though I could also see it seriously bombing)
Elektra (No reaction. I think it looks mediocre at best)

I know a lot of people here have been hesitant to see this between the mixed reviews and the film being DOA. I wanted to see Meet the Focker instead, but I'm VERY glad I got pulled into this instead. Maybe it was low expectations, but I had a great time. The action was surprisingly good, sure (best plane crash I've ever seen in a movie, beating Cast Away and Pitch Black), but Giovanni Ribisi and Dennis Quaid were both very good as well. The moral dilemmas in the film were very well handled as well, though probably not as well as the original. My only complaint would be the ending. Sure, they added the nomads attacking them, but it felt a bit cheap and half baked. The rest of the movie was very solid though, and I'd definitely suggest it to anyone who was questioning whether or not to give it a shot. A-

It looks like I'll be waiting until the weekend for Meet the Fockers.

I'm seeing House Of Flying Daggers (I was going to see Lemony Snicket but I guess I can wait) tonight, can't wait. Will post a report later on tonight.

I'm seeing Alfie at 5:10, then will be walking into The Grudge at 7:30 at my second run theater tonight.

should be seeing the life aquatic, the aviator, and kinsey this weekend. yay. so, l guess l'll check back Sat or Sun

Here is my theater report, Wednesday and Thursday Comparison.

Phantom of the Opera
11:05 (300 seater) - 16% full / 9% full.
12:30 (300 seater) - 15% full / 10% full.
2:10 (250 seater) - 20% full / 13% full.
2:10 (300 seater) - 11% full / 1% full.
3:50 (300 seater) - 20% full / 7% full.
5:30 (250 seater) - 34% full / 23% full.
5:30 (300 seater) - 4% full / 2% full.
7:10 (300 seater) - 37% full / 20% full.
Wow, what a drop.

Meet the Fockers
11:00 (600 seater) - 5% full / 2% full.
11:40 (400 seater) - 5% full / 11% full.
12:20 (400 seater) - 12% full / 13% full.
1:05 (600 seater) - 17% full / 13% full.
1:50 (600 seater) - 17% full / 13% full.
2:30 (400 seater) - 24% full / 23% full.
3:10 (400 seater) - 28% full / 12% full.
4:00 (600 seater) - 22% full / 21% full.
4:45 (600 seater) - 19% full / 13% full.
5:25 (400 seater) - 43% full / 31% full.
6:05 (400 seater) - 36% full / 30% full.
6:55 (600 seater) - 38% full / 33% full.
7:45 (600 seater) - 53% full / 37% full.
8:25 (400 seater) - 85% full / 60% full.
Pretty Good hold today.

Also, Aviator and Ocean's Twelve went up alot from yesterday, but Lemony hardly change at all.

Scott, I think it's because the film's avid fanbase went to see it the first day. It's probably more frontloaded than many expect.

I'm glad to hear about The Aviator

Had a double feature.

Theatre - Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
8:15, 400 seater, 40% full

Didn't see the trailers.

Movie - Being a fan of the books, I was quite surprised with how much I liked it. The tone is perfectly done, the sets and look of the film is amazing and the cast is great. Jim Carrey, who I would have never imagined to play Count Olaf is actually great. The child actors playing the Baudelaire children are all quite good. Emily Browning and Liam Aiken are both good (though the whole "Klaus not wearing glasses for the large portion of the movie" bugged me). The twins playing Sunny were perfect, though they'll probaly get replaced in the sequels. The rest of the supporting cast (especially Merryl Streep) is good as well. Overall, it's a great adaptation of the first 3 books and I'm really glad I enjoyed it. - A-

I couldn't tell if the rest of the audience liked it, not much reaction....

House of Flying Daggers
10:30, 275 seater, about 35 people

Trailers -
Hostage
Elektra
Constantine

Not much reaction, just a few laughs at the end of each trailer.

While the film isn't as... epic as Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, it's still quite as good. Zhang Ziyi gives her best performance yet, I'm really surprised because this is a very difficult role to handle. While she wasn't blind (Mei wasn't blind either... ), she sure did handle it with grace. I also thought Takeshi Kaneshiro was pretty good. I was really engaged in the story and the action scenes were quite good. I'm also glad I went into the theatre with a low expectation, I don't know how I would have reacted to the film with a very high expectation. While many say the dialogue was cheesy, I don't think it was really sappy... I thought the movie handled it's emotional situations pretty well. I didn't love it as much as Hero or CTHD, but it's pretty darn close. - A

As for the audience, there were a few gasps here and there and laughter from an old man, laughing at the most immature things... :?

A quick theatre report. Went to see Ocean's 12 yesterday at the Loews on 42nd Street...busy theatre that gets a lot of tourist traffic. I think it was pretty busy for a Thursday early afternoon and it just got busier later. I saw that three or four showings of Meet the Fockers were sold out so obviously, those coming into the city and going to the movies were wanting to see it. The theatre for Ocean's 12 (probably a 250-300 seaters) was about 70% full. Some great teasers and trailers (Wedding Crashers, War of the Worlds, Batman Begins, etc.) but honestly, this is NY and we really don't react to anything anymore unless it's on the cover of the NY Post. I didn't think the movie was that bad. I didn't love love the first movie so the parts I liked in that one (the rapport/chemistry between the characters) was still there and there was some funny gags plus I liked Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's not as fresh as the original but there were still some moments I dug and laughed at. I think it's a good holiday time-killer movie.

I have two croud reports. From the same bloody movie.

Saw Fockers twice. The film held up nicely, actually.

First time was Wed, so I will skip that one.

Last night it was quite crowded. Sold out house to about 300 people. The theatre next door was sold out, too.

Only a few trailers.

Hitch got a wonderful reaction. This bunch was in a good mood, I think.
Elektra - blah
Something with the young guy being the boss or whatever. Meh.

Meet the Fockers
4:30 PM, 12/24
130 ppl in 351 seater

Trailers:
Ring2
Miss Congeniality2
Cinderella Man

Movie is hilarious. The content of the humor is more adult than MTP. Streisand and Hoffman make a welcome and enjoyable addition along with the kid. Almost as good as the first one.

Grade A

Dude, I saw it in a full theater, and lemme tell you, there were a good number of people laughing at it. I have to say, it's somewhat understandable, given how over-the-top and melodramatic much of the movie was.

Alright, well here's a brief report, as I doubt there are gonna be a lot of people clawing to here how Alfie and The Grudge are doing at this point.

Alfie: 5:10. 166 seater, about 15% full at most. I arrived after the trailers.

I liked Alfie. The style was really neat, and once again, Jude Law shined. The supporting cast was all good (especially Omar Epps), but many weren't given much to do. It's not that great, but it's also not half bad. Some of the things in the film were somewhat pretensious, but I also could identify with some of the relationship issues the movie talked about (especially the "uh-oh" moment.).The ending is very sobering, but it also felt very real. I guess I can see why it didn't do great buisness, but I do think it's somewhat under-rated. Overall, I'd give the movie a solid B.

The Grudge. 7:30. 166 seater, about 60% full. I guess that it's a much more popular movie, and a much more convienient time for many. The trailers were Blade: Trinity and Boogeyman, both of which had little reaction from the crowd. The movie was pretty damn frightening, and having seen it again, I'd rank it ahead of Ju-On. All of the added scenes were good ones, but I felt that some of the scares they kept were executed much better then in Ju-On, the bed and elevator scenes in particular.

I should be going to Meet the Fockers, Darkness, and possibly something else if there is time.

Quick theatre report....went by the two busiest theatres in Manhattan on 42nd Street, the Loews EWalk and the AMC....Meet the FOckers had a couple sellouts, as did Ocean's 12 and

Across the street, Darkness actually had 2 of its 5 daily showings sold out and there were a couple Phantom sellouts. One or two Polar Express shows too (Can you say LEGS!?)

Surprisingly, I don't think Aviator was playing at either theatre and didn't see any Life Aquatic sellouts which is a bit surprising.

Darkness, 5:35 PM 12/25
110 people in 125 Seater

Trailers:

Hitch (Will Smith)
The Jacket (Adrian Brody - Looks like Gothica)
Ring2
Hitchhiker

Movie: The mood is fine. The problem is that it is not very scary at all. There was a collective unhappy groan at the ending.

Grade C

Meet the Fockers

Rave Patton Creek 15
1:30pm, 450 Seater, 85% Full

Trailers
The Wedding Crashers (laughs)
Miss Congeniality 2 (laughs)
Cinderella Man (no reaction)
The Ring 2 (whispering)

Movie
After seeing the trailer, I had a strong feeling that I would be very dissapointed with this movie, even though Meet the Parents is one of my favorite comedies. The trailers were very misleading. This movie is a laugh-a-minute comedy. I absolutely loved it. Hoffman wasn't really that funny, but Barbra Streisand was particulary funny, as well as good. The perfect holiday movie, and definently one of the better comedies of the year. My Grade: A



Darkness

Rave Patton Creek 15
4:10pm, 200 Seater, 75% Full

Trailers
White Noise (whispering)
Elektra (no reaction)
The Jacket (no reaction)
Hostage (no reaction)
Sin City (no reaction)

Movie
What a waste of time. The movie was going alright until about the last 30 minutes, where the whole movie just crashed and burned to the ground. The most ridiculous conclusion I've seen in a long time. It's not scary at all, either. Just a nice way to waste almost 2 hours. My Grade: D+

So Moviedude.. With all the brouhaha in this day and age about Horror films being PG-13 Rated VS R Rated and you thinking this film was scary, do you think PG-13 horror is really that big of a deal the way people are making it out to be???? I've seen an awful, AWFUL lot of bitching from posters at various other sites about studios making horror films PG-13 now instead of the traditional R Rating and I still say and will maintain that yesterdays R Rating is todays PG-13 rating when it comes to horror.. Thoughts???

The Polar Express

2:25PM, AMC Mercado 20, 300 seats, 70% full

I wasn't surprised to see that many people, but still quite amazed. The movie is perfect for Christmas. I think if the critics had seen it first this weekend, they will like it more. It all depends on the mood and spirit. Yeah, there isn't much plot and not very emotionally strong, but it's a good roller-coaster ride. B

The Aviator

4:20PM, AMC Mercado 20, 500 seats, 98% full

For all the movies I've seen, Leo gave the single best performance of the year. He is so good as Howard Hughes. The courtroom scene, all the scenes with him on the airplane and being the director. He is simply amazing. Cate Blanchett also performed Kate Hepturn beautifully. It's a very showy supporting role, and her first interaction with Leo on the golf court cries Oscar. The production value and visual effects are also grand. The only minor complaint I have is that it was a little long in the middle and seems to lose its focus for a short while. The audience applauded at the end. A-.

The Life Aquatic at 10:10 was about 95% full on about a 250-300 seater. Lots of the same trailers. Hitch (laughs), Constantine (a few wtfs, someone yelled NEO!), In Good Company (this looks pretty good), and Hitchhikers (not that great. People behind me thought it was lame). Movie was great, crowd loved it with a little applause at the end. I didn't really like the semi-climax towards the end of the film which prevented it from getting an A, but high B+.

agreed Teh movie was a bit long but man was it awesome 8) I gave it an A- also