by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of July 1-4, 2022
5. Jurassic World Dominion ($8.4 million)
4. Elvis ($11 million)
3. Top Gun: Maverick ($15.5 million)
2. Minions: The Rise of Gru ($45.6 million)
1. Thor: Love and Thunder ($143 million)
This weekend marked the premiere of Marvel’s latest installment in its “Thor” series, “Thor: Love and Thunder”, starring Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman. It dominated the box office not only in the U.S., but worldwide; to date, “Love and Thunder” has grossed a total of $302 million, making it the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2022. Just over half of this amount coming from international box offices; overseas, “Love and Thunder” made $159 million. Despite its opening receiving mixed reviews from critics due to taking a more light-hearted, comedic look at the God of Thunder, audiences enjoyed it, giving it a 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
After arriving in theaters last week, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” continues to thrive at the box office. While its total gross for this weekend was a 57% decrease from last weekend, it’s still popular at theaters across the world, having become the highest-grossing animated film of 2022 (overtaking Universal’s previous animated film “The Bad Guys”) and the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2022, right behind “Uncharted” (however, it’s just $2 million behind, so this is likely to change quickly!). The film’s immense financial success is likely thanks to a bizarre TikTok trend in which Gen Z youths have been showing up to theaters dressed in formal attire to see the film. As a result of this trend, “The Rise of Gru” has experienced an unusually high amount of teen viewers, with 34% of audiences being between the ages of 13 to 17.
by Emily Nagle
On Wednesday, Hulu’s new series Maggie premiered, revolving around the life of a thirtysomething psychic of the same name (Rebecca Rittenhouse). When she catches a glimpse of herself in someone else’s future for the first time ever, Maggie struggles to accept things as they come, and takes drastic measures to change her fate.
When this show was first announced, it sounded interesting, kind of like a grown-up version of Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven. Accepting things as they come is a universal struggle; it’s not easy to just sit back and tell yourself that whatever happens, happens. With so many people experiencing anxiety over the future, it sounds like being able to tell what’s coming up is a gift, right? It turns out that Maggie feels the opposite; once she sees herself in a vision, it becomes hard for her to live in the moment, as she becomes fixated on preventing these things from happening. She goes so far as avoiding wearing a certain outfit just because she saw it in a bad vision.
The main problem with Maggie is that even though it’s supposed to be a rom-com, its humor falls flat. At the beginning of the first episode, Maggie’s mom is attempting to purchase a single açai berry on her iPad. You could argue that it’s more of a drama, but the plot feels too light to be considered one. It’s not in soap opera territory, but it’s also not enough to rope you in, since due to much of the dialogue being mostly based around awkward jokes, there’s not a whole lot to say about the characters. Which is strange, because isn’t establishing characters what the first season of a show is for?
I’m not unsure how to describe many of the characters in this show. Their chemistry could be better, particularly in Maggie’s friend group. Her parents are among the first people we meet in the show, and they don’t have much personality as of yet. Her mom’s (Kerri Kenney-Silver) whole character is mostly based around being out of touch with technology, while her dad (Chris Elliott) has no traits that stand out. There’s also Maggie’s best friend Louise (Nichole Sakura), who’s super spontaneous and goofy, and encourages Maggie to live in the moment. As for Maggie, it’s hard to say what her personality is like. All we know is that she keeps trying to fight the future.
It’s unknown right now if Maggie will be getting a second season, but hopefully if it does then we’ll get more character development.
All episodes of “Maggie” are available to stream now on Hulu.
by Emily Nagle
Today marks the premiere of the latest installment in Marvel’s “Thor” film series: Thor: Love and Thunder. True to its name, this summer blockbuster has lots of heart and lots of action, and puts a fun, fresh spin on Marvel’s successful, action-packed superhero films.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) quest for inner peace comes to a halt when Gorr (Christian Bale) sets out to eradicate all gods. Now, he must band together with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and Jane (Natalie Portman) to defeat him once and for all.
Back in summer 2020, one of the first details released about the film was that Waititi was writing Love and Thunder to be a romance film, as he had never created one before. And a love story it is: instead of being completely focused on fight scenes and action, this movie has a bit of rom-com mixed in. For the first time in 8 years, we see the return of Thor’s ex-girlfriend, astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster. The duo has parted ways and led their own lives since splitting up, but now, unbeknownst to Thor, Jane is battling stage 4 cancer. She’s also become the Mighty Thor, wielding a reconstructed version of Mjolnir and gaining powers much like Thor’s.
The more light-hearted vibe of Love and Thunder actually didn’t detract from the viewing experience or story at all! Yes, a lot of Marvel’s previous films are super action-focused, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. With that being said, it’s nice to see Waititi try something slightly different. Due to so many mixed reviews early on, I walked into the theater not knowing what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the “love” and the “thunder” parts actually go really well together!
Taika Waititi is known for injecting quirky humor into his films, and Love and Thunder is no exception. This particular Thor film is different from previous ones because it’s more light-hearted compared to its predecessors; it’s got lots of silliness, but not so much that it’s overwhelming. There’s a running gag in the film with magical screaming space goats (who are actually based on real creatures in Norse mythology!) who are gifted to Thor by planetary leaders. They pull Thor’s sleigh throughout his journey to defeat Gorr, and every time they appear onscreen, they’re yelling their hearts out. There’s also plenty of witty dialogue.
Love and Thunder is badass in all the right parts. One of the main plot points is that in addition to stopping Gorr from killing all the gods, Thor and the gang have to rescue a group of terrified Asgardian children he kidnapped and banished to the Shadow Realm. When Thor shows up to bust them out, he assembles them into a makeshift army, arms them with the powers of Thor so they can defeat Gorr and go home. The ensuing scene in which the kids obliterate everything in the Shadow Realm is super cool; similarly, it’s a sweet reunion when they’re finally returned to their families back on Earth.
My final thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder? It’s a sweet, action-packed film that’s sure to dominate the box office this summer. It’s a little bit different from previous Thor films, but it puts a fun new spin on the God of Thunder’s adventures.
by Emily Nagle
Critic reviews for “Thor: Love and Thunder” have come storming in, and they’re already tearing the Internet apart. Despite the film not releasing until this weekend, Marvel fans are debating over the quality of the film based on the small amount of reviews that are out.
Lots of viewers are comparing the upcoming film to its predecessor, “Thor: Ragnarok“, which, like “Love and Thunder”, was directed by Taika Waititi. “Ragnarok” scored a 93% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and to date is the most successful film in Marvel’s “Thor” trilogy. Comparatively, its successor only has a 71% critic rating.
“In some ways, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like Ragnarok redux,” the critic summary on Rotten Tomatoes reads, “but overall, it offers enough fast-paced fun to make this a worthy addition to the MCU.”
Some critics have described “Love and Thunder” as watered-down compared to its predecessor, with humor that falls flat, awkward pacing, and confusing tone. On the other hand, many critics have praised the film for its eye-popping visuals, emotional depth, and Waititi’s unique direction.
Now, Marvel fans who haven’t even seen the film yet are debating whether or not it’s a quality film based on critic feedback. More specifically, they have found problems with viewers criticizing the vastly different tone of the film compared to previous Thor films; it has been described by some as reminiscent of a rom-com. With critics blasting Marvel for using the same formula for most of their projects, fans find it strange that when the studio finally decides to put a new spin on their usual techniques, critics find problems with that as well.
Those who attended advance screenings yesterday have also tweeted about how much they ended up loving the film. YouTuber iNabber praised the film’s visuals, writing, “am seeing so many people complain about how Thor 4 looks visually but trust me after seeing the movie i can happily say it’s easily top 3 best looking MCU movies, in the third act it’s genuinely absolutely gorgeous.”
Even still, there’s still a couple of days left before passionate Marvel fans can decide on the quality of “Love and Thunder” for themselves. “Thor: Love and Thunder” is rolling out to theaters this Friday, with an opening weekend projected to surpass that of “Ragnarok”; studios have predicted a domestic gross of $140 to $160 million, included in a total of $300 million worldwide.
by Emily Nagle
Top 5 Highest Grossing Films for Weekend of July 1-4, 2022
5. The Black Phone ($14.5 million)
4. Jurassic World Dominion ($19.7 million)
3. Elvis ($23.5 million)
2. Top Gun: Maverick ($33 million)
1. Minions: The Rise of Gru ($125.2 million)
While the long Independence Day weekend was a quiet one in terms of new film releases, it served as the perfect debut for the long-anticipated “Minions: The Rise of Gru”. The latest installment in the “Despicable Me” film franchise – which recalls the villain origin story of a young Gru (Steve Carell) and his newly recruited Minions – grossed over $120 million during the long weekend, rising to number one after making $48.3 million on its opening day.
After getting delayed for 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has become the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year, right behind “The Bad Guys”. It’s also the second-biggest film of the summer so far, right behind “Top Gun: Maverick”. However, its worldwide gross of $221.6 million is nowhere close to that of “Maverick”, which broke $1 billion last weekend after 5 weeks in theaters!
As for changes since last weekend, “The Black Phone” overtook Pixar’s “Lightyear” for number 5. After being overtaken by “Elvis” last weekend, “Top Gun: Maverick” made it to number two this weekend, grossing about 14% more than last weekend.
by Emily Nagle
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” is a departure from Illumination’s “Despicable Me” films. Instead of following the reformed supervillain and his family, it serves as a prequel, following the 2015 spinoff “Minions“. “The Rise of Gru” introduces us to young Gru (Steve Carell), whose ultimate dream is to become a supervillain. When he scores an audition for a spot in the Vicious 6, his favorite team of supervillains, Gru sees this as his big chance to make his fantasy a reality. However, the gang of baddies turns up their noses at him – how could a tiny kid who’s only 11 (and three quarters!) be villainous enough to join their squad? It is this moment that compels Gru – along with his newly hired Minions – to go on the run and prove himself to the Vicious 6.
One strength of the “Despicable Me” films has always been great soundtracks, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is no exception. Because it’s about Gru’s childhood, the film takes place in the 1970s, and features catchy tunes from that time period. There’s also several references to musicians from that era, which will probably be appreciated by parents whose kids dragged them to the theater.
The introduction of the Vicious 6 is admittedly fun, with each villain having their own distinct aesthetic. It would’ve been nice to see more of them in the film, especially since they’re voiced by some big stars, including Danny Trejo, Lucy Lawless, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The characters with the most screen time in this film are, unsurprisingly, the Minions, who are…well, their usual goofy, banana-loving selves. Nothing new here. If you’re a diehard fan of these gibberish-speaking yellow creatures, then this movie is right up your alley. But other than their antics, not much else goes on in this movie.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” has a short runtime of only 88 minutes. As a result, the story is chaotic and rushed, and that’s why we don’t really get to know any of these new, intriguing characters. Sure, we know Gru and the Minions, but that’s because we already met them 12 years ago. When the end credits started rolling, I was left confused, and thought to myself, “Wait…what just happened?” The story moves so fast that we’re not given enough time to get engrossed in it.
My final thoughts on this long-awaited summer flick? Unless you’re bananas for the Minions, you probably won’t be wowed by it. If you’re itching for some animated goofiness this summer, then you’ll get a kick out of “The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog“, available now on demand on Watch It KID!, or en español on ZAZ, exclusively on Galxy TV!
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