e_Paper (23 December 2016)

Showtime
Four factors of Hollywood in 2016
• Showtime Desk
Family films still steal the show
Family films have always been a
part of the box office landscape
with big hits in the past. But in
2016, the genre really showed
that it could prop up the entire
industry. Without family films,
the 2016 box office would have
been a complete disaster.
in more than $400 million
domestically. And they were
hits with audiences and critics
alike, registering scores of 90%
or better on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fact, eight of the top 15
blockbusters of the year were
either a sequel or a prequel, and
half of those brought in at least
80% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
31
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016
WHAT TO WATCH
The Transporter
Star Movies 9:30pm
Frank is hired to “transport”
packages for unknown clients
and has made a very good
living doing so. But when asked
to move a package that begins
moving, complications arise.
Cast: Jason Statham, Qi Shu,
Matt Schulze
DT
But movies like Universal’s The
Secret Life of Pets and Disney’s
The Jungle Book, Moana, and
Zootopia brought in big, and at
times, unexpected numbers.
If sequels and prequels are good
audiences will watch
Yes, Hollywood may be over
saturated with sequels
and perhaps too
enamoured with
recognisable titles but
audiences still will see
them if they’re well
executed.
Disney’s
Finding Dory
and Captain
America:
Civil War
each
brought
New concepts ran over nostalgia
Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars
Story and WB’s Fantastic Beasts
and Where To Find Them took
place in the magical worlds of
Star Wars and Harry Potter,
but introduced characters and
storylines that shed
new light on these
beloved tales.
On the other
hand,
decadesold
reboots
or sequels
like Sony’s
Ghostbusters and 20th Century
Fox’s Independence Day:
Resurgence didn’t do enough to
win over audiences or expand
the pre-packaged brands they
came with.
The magic of the movies matters
right now
Between the deaths of too
many beloved celebrities and a
contentious election, 2016 felt like
a rough year to many people and
one worth escaping. For example,
Civil War and Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice. Both films share
basically the same plot of popular
superheroes battling it out, but
one was touching, colourful and
fun. The other was Batman v
Superman, a film that wasn’t just
really bad, but too gloomy for fans
of the iconic heroes. This could
be why Civil War is currently the
second biggest blockbuster of the
year and Batman v Superman is
seventh.
Even one of the most violent
and raunchy movies of the year,
Fox’s Deadpool, was light enough
to garner a nomination at the
Golden Globes as a comedy
and to make more than $360
million domestically. Similarly,
the musical La La Land, which
has opened to promising
results in limited release, might
have arrived at just the right
moment, as a source of uplifting
escapism.•
Source: New York Times
Run All Night
HBO 9:30pm
Mobster and hit man Jimmy
Conlon has one night to figure
out where his loyalties lie:
with his estranged son, Mike,
whose life is in danger, or his
longtime best friend, mob boss
Shawn Maguire, who wants
Mike to pay for the death of his
own son.
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris,
Joel Kinnaman
Mission: Impossible
WB 9:00pm
An American agent, under
false suspicion of disloyalty,
must discover and expose the
real spy without the help of his
organisation.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight,
Emmanuelle Béart
16 Blocks
Zee Studio 7:20pm
Priyanka Chopra gets
back to Bollywood
• Showtime Desk
Priyanka Chopra has been
missing in the big screen of
Bollywood ever since Jai
Gangaajal. The actress has
been extremely busy with her
international series as well as her
Hollywood debut Baywatch. And
now, her recent visit to India is
not just a Christmas break but
the actress will be deciding on
her next Bollywood ventures. On
the Christmas break, Priyanka
Chopra decided to take the time
off to welcome the New Year
with her family. Besides that, the
actress also has plans on taking
forward her career in Bollywood.
However, in a recent statement,
the actress revealed that she has
indeed come back to the country
to decide on her next project.
In fact, she mentioned that she
will be signing two films but also
added that and she will decide
on that by the end of January.
Besides that, Priyanka Chopra
also confirmed that the team
of Baywatch starring Dwayne
Johnson and Zac Efron, will soon
set out on their promotional
tour of varied cities and will
definitely visit India as a part
of it.
Apart from that, her recent
visit to India will also see her
shooting for the episode of the
popular chat show Koffee With
Karan with anchor-filmmaker
Karan Johar. However, the
details of who will accompany
her on the couch are yet to be
known. •
Photo: Bollywood Life
An aging alcoholic cop is
assigned the task of escorting
a witness from police custody
to a courthouse 16 blocks
away. There are, however,
chaotic forces at work that
prevent them from making it
in one piece.
Cast: Bruce Willis, Yasiin Bey,
David Morse
The Final Destination
Movies Now 7:55pm
After a young man’s
premonition of a deadly racecar
crash helps saves the lives
of his peers, Death sets out to
collect those who evaded their
end.
Cast: Nick Zano, Krista Allen,
Andrew Fiscella •