Zombieland outdid expectations on its way to a decisive victory in this week's cinematic battle for supreme popularity. The horror/comedy loaded up its shotgun, grabbed a chainsaw and went to work entertaining audiences around the country. As it turns out, all of the good word that was swirling around web leading up to its release was true. The movie is incredibly entertaining, it brings laughs and blood together under one banner and even folds in a little heart to round out the mixture. It may be short, but it makes the most of its time.
Slipping to second place is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It had another good showing, slipping just 37%, which is pretty good considering it probably lost a bunch of its screens to the Toy Story double feature, which is in 3D. In any case, Meatballs is a good family film that exceeded my expectations. It is worth it whether you get to see it in 3D or not.
Speaking of Toy Story, the 3D re-working of the classic Pixar films came in third place. I saw this at a sold-out screening and it was an absolute blast. The crowd cheered when it began, and I felt like I was a kid. I had not seen these in years and it was great to see them again. I had forgotten just how good they are. Make sure you see it before it goes away!
Fourth place is owned by Bruce Willis' latest Surrogates. This is a dumb action film that wants to be smart. Well, I am not sure it wants to be smart, but it has some unexplored smart ideas. If all you want is dumb action, this is for you, just try not to over think it.
The Invention of Lying opened to moderate numbers, placing fifth. I have not seen it yet, so I cannot comment on its quality, but my guess is that the American audience is not all that familiar with Ricky Gervais, the same thing afflicted Ghost Town last year. I think this looks pretty funny and hope to catch it soon.
Drew Barrymore's return to the box office charts was not as strong as had been expected. It is her directorial debut and it failed to crack the $5 million barrier. Whip It is a very well made coming of age tale that does not bring anything new to the table, but it does do a wonderful job of making everything feel fresh. It has an infectious quality that deserves to be experienced.
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Article comments
1 - Robert M. Barga
fyi, invention of lying was great
granted, i love brit humor...
2 - Fitz
I saw Zombieland last week and was impressed. It was fun from beginning to end. A zombie road picture. Gotta love it. Whenever it comes out on DVD, it'll sit proudly next to Shaun of the Dead!!