Posted on 05/31/2014 6:50:45 AM PDT by Perdogg
Seth MacFarlane's R-rated Western comedy "A Million Ways to Die in the West" looking at a more tepid opening in the $20 million range.
Angelina Jolie's live-action fairy tale Maleficent is whipping up a powerful potion at the Friday box office, where it could approach $25 million for the day for a weekend debut in the $65 million-plus range. Disney considers anything over $60 million a victory.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
ping
Thy still have to use Walt Disney created characters from more than 50 years ago.
And then they turn it around. Make evil, if nor good, sympathetic.
I like westerns, but think I’ll have to skip this one after watching the “restricted” trailer and these details from moviefone.com:
Seth MacFarlane’s latest hard-R comedy, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” will undoubtedly appeal to teen (and dare we say tween?) fans of his raunchy-for-primetime animated shows “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” but obviously the western is not intended for kids. In case you’re wavering on letting your teen see it, here are 10 highlights of the movie’s many shocking moments (spoilers ahead).
1. Scandalous shadows: In the opening scene, MacFarlane’s character Albert gets out of a pistol duel by making a series of jokes, including showing off how his rival’s shadow looks like it’s fellating his shadow. “Why thank you,” Albert tells his nemesis. Shadows that give blow jobs — who knew?
2. Let’s talk about sex: Speaking of sex (and there is a lot of that in this movie, even though there are no actual sex scenes), one of the supporting characters, Ruth (Sarah Silverman), is the town of Old Stump, Arizona’s most sought-after prostitute, and she is first heard off-camera having a rowdy romp with an eager customer who tells her how much he loves “f—king her” and announces when he’s coming for the entire saloon, including her put-upon boyfriend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi) to hear.
3. The mayor: As the title implies, Albert is constantly rattling off various ways that living in the West “sucks ass.” In addition to his running list of the various ways you can die, he also points out to his best friend Edward that Old Stump’s mayor is literally lying dead on the street. As Edward, Ruth, and Albert look on in horror, the mayor’s murdered body is dragged off by dead wolves who dismember his body (pieces of which are found later in the movie).
4. Blood on the ice: If you’ve seen the trailer, you’re probably familiar with the gag when Albert and Edward are trying to cheer themselves up by looking at the town’s delivery of ice. Albert is busy explaining how the ice got there when the entire block falls on one of the handlers and crushes him to death, squirting blood and possibly brain matter (personally, I had to look away for a second) on the street. “That went south so fast,” Albert laments.
5. Culinary delight: Albert’s curmudgeonly father commands him to eat dinner: “pig ass in sweet cream” — a dish that sounds about as appetizing as it looks. It’s such a gag-inducing sight that one viewer in my row had to bury her head on her date’s shoulder for a few seconds.
6. Something on your face: We’re not sure if this bit is MacFarlane’s tribute to the Farrelly Brothers’ “There’s Something About Mary” or not, but in one scene, Ruth is finished with a customer and greets Edward with enthusiasm only to be told she has something on her face. She turns toward the camera and what do you know, but there’s a sizable wad of semen on her cheek. The bodily fluids, of course, end up on Edward’s handkerchief and eventually on an unwitting Albert’s hand. “What’s this sticky stuff?” he asks.
7. ‘Stache love: Neil Patrick Harris plays Foy, a mustache aficionado and entrepreneur who sells mustache lotions and oils for mustachioed men. The lover of Albert’s ex Louise (Amanda Seyfried), Foy asks Louise to do “that thing,” which turns out to be sucking on his mustache while he masturbates in bed (at least that part was under the covers, but the stache licking and sucking and was up close and on camera).
8. Poopy head: On the eve of Albert’s duel against Foy, Anna sticks a little something in Foy’s drink. The morning of the duel, Foy is clearly feeling sick to his stomach and shows up bleary eyed and exhausted with his pistol. He then proceeds to have explosive diarrhea — twice! — in public using hats from male bystanders as his toilet. That in and of itself was pretty disgusting, but when he’s finally “finished,” he stands up, he trips over the hat full of crap and the audience gets a gag-worthy look at the excrement.
9. Flower in the hole: Late in the story, the movie’s main villain, Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) reunites with his estranged wife Anna (Charlize Theron) and basically plans to force himself on her. With his pants down and butt out, Anna strikes him momentarily unconscious. Seeing him face down in the dust with his butt out, she realizes she “can’t leave him that way.” So... of course, she gets a daisy and sticks it between his butt cheeks.
10. Sheep penis: Albert, a sheep farmer, ends up crouching among in his flock to hide from Clinch. At one point he’s lying down and gets a close-up of a sheep’s penis that then urinates on his face. Should we say more?
Why do movies nowadays have to have such questionable scenes??
I understand that Hollywood is liberal and we’re supposed to be liberal and all that. But some of this is 12 year old boy humor.
And the sort of thing that would not have been allowed in movies or TV years ago. Yet now, the masturbation jokes and sperm jokes and nudity are going mainstream. And kids will see this movie in big numbers.
Walt Disney created characters? I think the brothers Grimm might have an issue with that.
Different times. The trouble is that relatively speaking, the original Maleficent, by today’s standards in live action, would be ‘R’ rated. The plot line in the original movie is just too intense for most children today, and only softened by it being animated.
So the head writer, Linda Woolverton, who did the writing for both Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, decided to re-imagine it.
Starting out with the love and betrayal of Maleficent, which turns her to evil and a quest for revenge, but then as soon as she executes her revenge curse, she regrets it, and though she cannot take it back, she mitigates it.
So from that point of view, much of the movie is about her redemption.
There was no Maleficent in Brothers Grimm.
I know what you mean. Disney used source material for just about every movie. But animated film is a very different medium and the characters created went way beyond source material.
Walt Disney's latest big-screen fairy tale "Maleficent" has two things going for it, and those are enough. The first is a lean run-time of 97 minutes (closer to 90 without end credits). The second, a commanding star turn from Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie, whose less-is-more approach should serve as a tutorial in exactly how to be a modern-day movie star.
Like many in the business of making screen comedies these days, Seth MacFarlane -- director, star, co-writer, and producer of the new Western-spoof "A Million Ways to Die in the West" wants it both ways: the sweet and the vulgar. And for the most part it works.
With Democrats and the media gearing up to elect Hillary Clinton president, the obvious game plan is to prep the battlefield by creating a cult of personality around women. If you are in any way paying attention, our cultural and media overseers seem to have coordinated a campaign where America is required to celebrate women simply because they don't sport a penis.Women are awesome, just cuz.
It is certainly not about equality anymore. Women are now promoted as The Master Race. Everything is better with women. America would run better with women. The left-wing Politico, one of the biggest voices in DC media, has already started a creepy "Women Rule!" campaign. The Washington Post has its just-as creepy "She the People" feature.
But that's not enough for feminists. No, just like the left-wing gay movement, The Master Female Race now wants special treatment from satirists like Seth MacFarlane. The feminist campaign to shame MacFarlane into leaving women alone started in earnest with his hosting of the 2013 Oscars and has heated up again with the release of his bigscreen comedy, "A Million Ways to Die in the West."
The info in the Hollywood Reporter article info is outdated. “A Milllion Ways to Die in the West” did less than projected, about 17 to 18 million.
And the budget was 60 million, not 40 million, as Universal has reported.
Still, not a huge budget... but it’s not going to break even.
good!
Walked out after 20 minutes. Beyond stupid.
If you’re going down that road, the Grimm boys helped themselves to ancient traditional folktales as source material themselves.
But I’m not in that camp. Walt Disney deserves all his accolades as the single most important creator of art America has ever produced.
Thank you. That is not something Bryan and I would like to see. Shame on Seth MacFarlane (to understate, already
NOT my fave actor), Liam Neeson, and the rest of the cast, crew, and executives.
I hope it has very small returns and ends up in a sleazy X-Rated theater in Santa Monica as its only remaining venue.
Thanks again to you, Rio. This gives me a chance to walk out of a terrible movie without even having seen a cel of it.
We just saw Malificent. I thougt it was great.
Sounds like a rip-off of Blazing Saddles.
No similarities whatsoever except the landscape. How Seth McFarlane has an audience is unbelievable.
Agreed dozed off and on and enjoyed my popcorn.
Spolier or probably not.
The basis for the movie is that smart ass Seth looks at the west through modern eyes. See how dangerous and stupid everything and everyone is.
Gay Seth kisses one of the most beautiful women in the world Theron. It’s good top be the producer/writer.
A prostitute has sex numerous times a day but saving sex with her fiancé till married because pre-marital sex is wrong.
Not near the level of a Mel Brooks comedy and not many laughs. I was in a theatre with about 20 people and laughs were few and far between
Took the kids to see Million Dollar Arm. It was awesome.
I loved Family Guy when it first aired on Fox. Then it was cancelled. When Fox brought it back, it had changed. He went political with it, and downright stupid. Haven't watched more than a few episodes of the newer stuff. McFarlane actually was supposed to be on one of the 9/11 flights that were brought down by Islamists. He missed the flight. You'd think that experience would have opened his eyes, but, alas, it did not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.