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Monday, January 19, 2009

Paul Blart: Mall Cop #1 at Box Office

Last week's winner, Gran Torino, fell only 25% - but it was enough to allow Kevin James' Paul Blart: Mall Cop to grab the top spot at the box office this weekend. Executives say the near-$34 million take "...is just, like, a 'wow' number."

I could not agree more, yet I have resigned myself to acceptance of such atrocities.

Lionsgate's remake of the classic, Canadian B-rater, My Bloody Valentine - My Bloody Valentine 3-D - ironically came in at #3. I had drafted my take on this, as My Bloody Valentine is one of my all-time favorite flicks, but it was one of those posts that just came too hard; I haven't seen any of these new releases, so I really don't want to be one of those wet blankets who sits around, telling all these Gen Netters how much better things were back in My Day... Besides, I'm always torn when it comes to these things:

My Bloody Valentine is a great movie - for what it is - and what it is is a low-budget splatterflick. It has more story and - dare I? - heart (AAAAAAARRRRGGHH!) than most of its peers, but I'm not about to sit here and argue its cinematic merits (although I insist it has one of the best "shower scenes" in movie history). On the one hand, I believe the original should be viewed and appreciated for what it is; OTOH, I completely agree that it's a movie that could be great as a remake. I just didn't, and don't, think it needed a gimmick. But - again - gimmicks are as much a part of horror movie history as mad slashers, so I bit my tongue.

At any rate, there really wasn't much for movie-goers to choose from this week, and I'm quite sure the powers behind Paul Blart: Mall Cop took that into consideration.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008

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