Amalgamated Zen

Moon Bloodgood to get "Burned"

With Tricia Helfer's departure at the season 2 finale of Burn Notice (pause for a moment of silence), Jeffery Donovan's character Michael Westen is going to need a new antagonist. Enter Moon Bloodgood. The Terminator: Salvation starlet is stepping in to replace Jennifer Esposito who was cast as a Miami Detective trying to discover the real Michael Westen - Esposito is said to have dropped out for health concerns, though the exact nature wasn't given. Production for the third season of Burn Notice started last week.

Box Office Hits & Misses

The fans have spoken and the box office tells their story! Nic Cage's new movie Knowing sits at the top of the box office bringing in $24.6 million in the opening weekend. The anticipated film, directed by Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City) is all ready half-way to budget and still has plenty of time in theaters. Following another dismal weekend for a movie that was so highly anticipated, it seems that word-of-mouth has failed The Watchmen. The movie brought in a mere $6.8 million this weekend bringing it's gross box office to $98.1 million... still significantly short of the $130 million it cost to make. Meanwhile in comparison, the movie Taken which cost 30 million Euros ($40.6 million) has grossed $133 million in seven weeks out and Tim Burton's Coraline has grossed $73 million in six weeks for a movie that cost $35 million to make.

Watchmen sinking fast?

After having a ground-breaking opening weekend with $55.2 million, Watchmen struggled throughout the week and into the weekend and has only raked in another $31 million with $18 million coming in over the weekend. And while it still sits in a comfortable second at the current box office, if the movie continues to drop off at this rate, trying to break even at $130 million will be more of a challenge than producers would have hoped. The highly anticipated movie opened with a bang, but word of mouth seems to have failed this movie. From my experience, the movie was good, but not great and if it passes budget, it won't be by much. The movie started slow and when it picked up, only hit a few points I felt should have had more focus. It was a good attempt, but for me it falls short.

Paul Blart gets Taken

Despite two weeks at the top of the Box Office, Kevin James' comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop has been "Taken" by Liam Neeson's new movie. "Taken" finished it's opening weekend with $24.6M while "Mall Cop" pulled in $14M for it's third weekend out. Horror flick "The Uninvited" with Elizabeth Banks, "Hotel for Dogs" and Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" round out the remaining top spots.

"The Phantom" Returns

A remake of the 1996 superhero movie "The Phantom" is set to be remade and released next year. And no, Billy Zane is not reprising his role. Titled "The Phantom Legacy" (though IMDB has it billed as "The Ghost Who Walks"), this movie is following the comics from the 1930's with a few changes. Set in more modern times, this remake focuses on a son in the line of heroes who doesn't want to wear the mask. The first movie, which featured a rather impressive cast, only grossed $17.3 million at the box office on a budget of nearly $45 million. The new film is projected to cost $87 million with hopefully much better results. Though what can be said for the actors career who portrays a superhero in purple tights?

Julie Benz, Peter Fonda and Judd Nelson Become "Saints"

Moviejungle.com reports that Julie Benz, Peter Fonda and Judd Nelson have been added to the cast of "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day". No roles are listed yet on IMDB, but I'm more stoked than ever to see this thing. I'm betting the ranch that it'll be worth the wait.

The Dark Knight Returns

Polanski Wants Charges Dropped

After nearly 30 years, the 74-year old director want to return to LA, but not to face prison time.

Return of the Saints

"All Saints Day" the loooonnnngggg awaited sequel to "The Boondock Saints" is finally in production. Sean Patrick Flannery answers fans questions. 

Box Office Bonanza : Bludgeoned by the Bat

The Dark Knight bested the competition once again racking up another 75(M) in its second weekend in release. Meanwhile, then new buddy comedy "Step Brothers" starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly posted a very strong second place, opening at 30(M). An impressive opening considering what it was up against. Very stiff competition still being provided by previous releases with patrons splitting their tickets among a very action oriented flicks, while the ladies continued to flock to "Mama Mia", leading to a very strong 3rd place finish. It'll be interesting to see whether "Step Brothers" can maintain their opening pace as the competition begins to wane over the next couple of weeks until the next wave of BlockBusters hits.