THE REJECT REPORT 54

The Hunger Games would be more exciting – and it’d help this comparison tremendously – if new combatants entered the arena every couple of hours or so. You know, just to keep the battle-weary tributes on their toes. If that were the case, there would be some very interesting one-on-one or even two-on-one battles like the one we’re about to see this weekend. The Hunger Games sent an earthquake through the record books last weekend, so this new batch of potential moneymakers might have some sweat beads forming on their respective foreheads. Nonetheless, with the sequel to Clash of the Titans and new telling of the Snow White story starring Julia Roberts, the newbies have a better shot than most would in their situation. In the end, though, it’ll be all for naught. The Hunger Games is going to win big again, but the scraps it hands down to #2 and #3 on the chart will be sizable ones to say the least. Let’s check out just how sizable in this weeks’ Reject Report.

The Breakdown

Wrath of the Titans

• Clash of the Titans, that 3-D, updated remake of the nostalgia-laden classic, debuted only a few years ago to $61.2m. Naturally, a sequel was instantly given the green light, and here we have Wrath, a little angrier than a clash but not quite as breathtaking. Semantics aside, you have to look at Clash of the Titans‘ longevity to get a good picture of how well a sequel might do. The first film didn’t do spectacular, and ended up dropping 56.5% in its first weekend. While it ended its run with $493.2m worldwide – $330m of that came from foreign markets – it didn’t have amazing clout in the back half of its US release. That doesn’t bode well Wrath’s opening weekend here.
• Sam Worthington isn’t going to help matters. Even though he’s the star of highest grossing film of all time, his star power hasn’t gone the way of Leonardo DiCaprio as some thought it would. Worthington in the lead of a poorly received movie won’t make it a success, so his clout won’t bump Wrath of the Titans’ weekend take at all. Just ask Man On a Ledge and its $8m opening weekend how that worked out for them.
• It’s still a blockbuster movie hitting here in the early weeks of April. While the Summer movie season hasn’t officially shifted up a month, it’s almost an untitled time period for motion picture success we’re in now.Wrath of the Titans has a considerable weekend ahead of it, even if it won’t be matching the initial success of its predecessor to say nothing of being able to contend with The Hunger Games here in its second weekend.

Weekend projection: $49.3m (#2 on the chart)

Mirror Mirror

• Mirror Mirror has the bigger opening of the two, new films this weekend, but even that won’t help get it to second place. It has Julia Roberts in its corner, and 10 years ago that would have meant something. At least it would have meant something much larger than what it means today. She can open a film. Look at the $23.1m Eat Pray Love debuted with in 2010, but she can’t be the only factor driving a film any more. If something is as poorly received or looks as awful as Larry Crowne, neither Roberts nor Tom Hanks will have the power to get it above a low double digits opening.
• This film, however, is still a blockbuster, fantasy, epic despite how juvenile and lame it looks. That’ll be enough to get it upwards of $25-30m. Mirror Mirror will be coming in on the low end of that, though, unless the positive word of mouth becomes so overpowering people won’t be able to help themselves but see it. So far that word of mouth hasn’t come, so the low end of that range it is.

Weekend projection: $25.6m (#3 on the chart)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

• And now we’ll be discussing the film with the worst title of the year. Despite that fact, one that, believe it or not, will cost the film some money here or there, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ended up with a $12,550 per theater average its first weekend out. Three weeks later it’s expanding to nearly 500 screens. Even with a $4000 per theater average, something that isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility, it’ll be making $2m this weekend and end up somewhere on the chart.
• It won’t be making that much per theater, though. It will be more like $2500 per theater. That still isn’t bad considering the slow roll-out for the CBS Films…film, and that number will also be enough to get it somewhere in the top 10.

Weekend projection: $1.2m (#7 on the chart)

The Chart

1. The Hunger Games - $77.7m (-49%)
2. Wrath of the Titans – $49.3m NEW
3. Mirror Mirror – $25.6m NEW
4. 21 Jump Street – $11.8m (-41.8%)
5. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax – $7.8m (-39.9%)
6. John Carter – $1.7m (-65%)
7. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - $1.2m EXPANDING TO 483 screens
8. Act of Valor – $1m (-47.4%)
9. A Thousand Words – $1m (-45.6%)
10. Project X – $.9m (-49.4%)

The Analysis

It’s no $201.2m, but the $178m we’re looking at this weekend isn’t something to roll your eyes at, particularly when you consider we’re not in the Summer months yet. The Aprils of history seem to have a harder time making serious money than the Marches of history, and this crossover weekend could be bigger than any of the April weekends we’ve seen before. Serious factors come up when considering this, though. These projected numbers aren’t so far out of comprehension that there isn’t any way these films could live up to it, but they’re still on the high end of estimations.

The Hunger Games, the battle-tested warrior that it is, could end up with a much smaller drop than what’s estimated above. It wouldn’t surprise anyone considering the strong word of mouth and overall buzz the whole thing has gotten in just the last week. Never mind the years of build to finally getting a big screen adaptation of the bestselling novel. Fans will once again be out in droves wanting another go at the games. As with last weekend, the only certainty is that The Hunger Games will be the victor. The only question is how large exactly those spoils are going to be.

We’ll be back early next week to go over the weekend numbers.

GAME OF THRONES

Game of Thrones returns to HBO this Sunday, and at last our burning questions will be answered. For some of us, those questions include, "What happens next to Arya and Sansa in the wake of their father's death?" For others of us, they're more like, "How can a television show possibly capture everything that happens in George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings?" Either way, we're happy to tell you that we've seen the first four episodes of the season, and we don't think you'll be disappointed.

We've seen the first four episodes, and here's our spoiler-free preview of Game of Thrones season two.

And as usual with our spoiler-free previews, we really do mean spoiler-free... we're assuming you've seen Game of Thrones season one, but there are no plot details about what happens in season two or A Clash of Kings below.

It really is an epic
We've been wonderinghow this TV show couldpossibly include the huge cast of characters and wealth of incident that Martin crams into the second book of A Song of Ice And Fire. And indeed, the first episode does jump around in a way that might give you whiplash — we visit a whole slew of subplots one after the other, and they barely seem to interact with each other at first. I was left wondering, in places, whether people who hadn't read the book would know what to make of some of the new storylines.

But the relentless pacing does pay off, eventually, as we start to get a complete picture of the sweep of the war that's engulfing Westeros. The following episodes feel a lot more coherent, partly because some subplots are placed on the back burner and partly because the show does a great job of showing how everything connects up. And one of Martin's central concerns in the series — the way in which war affects ordinary people who are caught up in the struggles of nobles and leaders — shines through again and again, in many scenes that are both horrifying and thought-provoking.

Also, you have to admire the deft job the show's makers have done of condensing and combining scenes, to the point where characters seem to be colliding a bit more than in the books. There are some very well-choreographed sequences that manage to cover a lot of ground and handle a bunch of incidents all at once.

And even if you do end up having to rewatch some episodes a couple times to pick up on everything that's happened, it'll be a pleasurable task — this show really is rewarding close attention, and the zingy dialogue and attention to minor characters that made the first season such a stand-out are very much in evidence again. This show really is pulling off "epic" in a way that's never been done before.

The heartbreak doesn't stop
The death of Ned Stark hangs over this season like a shroud, and people refer back to it over and over again. It's one of the lodestones that all the events revolve around, and it comes back in ways you might not necessarily expect. But also, in keeping with the wartime theme, we're confronted with heartbreak and loss over and over again. Death is all around, and the show makes us feel it, and the effect it has on all the people around it.

It's much more dystopian.
Sure, season one wasn't exactly a basket of kittens. But season two is much more horrifying — there's less sex and more brutality this time, although the "sexposition" is definitely back in a few places. This time, it's clearly a world where wicked people often prosper, and good people are often killed or ground into the dirt. A lot of this comes from the book, but there's also a lot of casual brutality, and the show lingers on some bloody, horrifying sights here and there. Not only that, but there's a relentless pragmatism to all of it — we see good people tolerating or supporting foul situations, because the greater good demands it. It's not just that the Seven Kingdoms are at war, it's that life is harsh everywhere, and casual cruelty is the norm. When we do see someone try to do the right thing or make a difference in the world, he or she usually winds up paying a horrible price. Oh, and the gender politics get even more fascinating, as we get more examples of women being terribly victimized — as well as women being strong leaders and fighters, in spite of the scorn that's tossed at them.

A lot is resting on Peter Dinklage's shoulders.
Because of the aforementioned juggling of a million subplots, Tyrion still has to share screen time with a ton of other characters. But he's clearly the show's leading character now, and Peter Dinklage has top billing now that Sean Bean is gone. And without giving anything away, Tyrion gets a lot of the coolest moments in the first four episodes, on a par with your favorite Tyrion scenes in season one. Now that Tyrion has clearly been anointed as a fan-favorite character, just as he was in the books, he's like a spark of brightness in the midst of otherwise terrible gloom — both because of his sense of humor, and because of his strength of character. He's one of the most fascinating characters on television, and in season two he goes to town.

Dinklage is being asked to carry a lot of the show's humor and warmth, with a lot of the real standout scenes in these opening episodes — and he mostly pulls it off. Mostly. There were a few moments where I felt like the show might be asking too much of the awesome powers of Peter Dinklage, and a few of his "hero" scenes fell just a tad short of convincing me. But he's still immense fun to watch.

Fans of A Clash of Kings will notice a few delightfully clever changes
Again, without giving anything away... none of the changes I noticed bothered me, and some of them made a lot of sense, especially with the limited running time and resources. Some of the relationships between the characters are quite different, and also a few new coincidences and connections are introduced that may pay off wonderfully down the line. Also, the decision in season one to foreground the sexual relationship between Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrrell inevitably means a lot of fascinating new elements are introduced to Renly's story in season two, and it makes his character infinitely more interesting.

Bottom line
We called Game of Thrones season one an astounding achievement — and this continues to be true in season two. This show is continuing to redefine what's possible on television. Some of the leaping around from subplot to subplot may get a bit dizzying, but you see pretty quickly how it's going to pay off, and the show is continuing to do a great job of developing minor characters and strengthening the connections between them. Most of all, this is a great political epic, in which the nature of power and government is questioned, over and over again, and it's left to the audience to come up with its own disquieting answers.

The 10 Most Baffling Moments In Lois Lane And Superman's Love Life

By Cyriaque Lamar

Lois Lane and Superman are the iconic comic book couple, but their romance has weathered some rough patches throughout the decades. Here are ten of these head-scratching occasions. Who could ever forget the time Lois borrowed a time machine to make out with Clark Kent as a toddler?

10.) Superman and Lois Lane's Baby Wedding

In 1963's Lois Lane #42, a horrible accident changes Lois' personality such that she blackmails Superman into marrying her. Superman, never one to be hoodwinked into nuptials, disguises an alien age-reversal potion as perfume and allows his crazed bride to spritz herself.

This plan works except for the facts that A.) Lois sprays the substance on the Man of Steel too; and B.) Superman's reputation has taken a turn for the Humbert Humbert.

The potion de-ages the duo even further, to the point that baby Lois and Superman are wheeled into a chapel for an insane infant wedding. I can only assume this wedding was approved because Superman, on a bored whim, once rerouted Metropolis' water supply from an aquifer to a boxed wine factory.

9.) Superman's April Fools Screw-You

In 1958's Lois Lane #4, Superman's friend Jimmy Olsen hypnotizes the Last Son of Krypton into proposing to Lois as an April Fools stunt. Lois — who's been the victim of soul-shattering romantic fuckwittery because of Superman — is understandably cautious.

To cancel the wedding, Jimmy fakes Clark Kent's death because Jimmy's a horrible, horrible man-child.

Once free of commitment, Superman immediately fucks off into the stratosphere with a twinkle in his eye. And as a coup de grâce, the advertisement at the bottom touts a comic that is irrefutable evidence Superman should be tried at the Hague.

8.) Lois turns into a baby (again)

Incidentally, Lois had her age reversed every other week during the Silver Age of Comics. In 1959's Lois Lane #10, our mishap-prone heroine activates a de-aging machine and accidentally becomes an infant. To teach her a lesson about vanity, Superman will only feed her the antidote via baby bottle. It's worth mentioning that Batman's exhibited similar predilections to spanking.

7.) Lois sexually harasses baby Superman using time travel

Of course, Superman's constant humiliation of Lois has deep psychological roots. She did once use a time machine to make out with him as a child. Gold stars all around, 1965's Lois Lane #59.

6.) Lois grows a mustache, Superman grows tumescent

While we're on the topic of make-out parties, this happened in 1963's Lois Lane #39. I refuse to expound on this.

5.) Lois is abducted by an alien polygamist, Superman couldn't give a fig

In 1967's Lois Lane #79, our heroine ends up in the harem of an extraterrestrial bigamist. And as you saw from this article's top image, Superman acted like his usual lunatic self.

(I suppose now is as good time as any to mention that Superman once metamorphosed into Satan.)

4.) Lois sells her soul to marry Superman

Speaking of which, Superman once masqueraded as Satan to teach Lois an important lesson about jumping into things.

NOTE: This was entirely different from that other time Lois was press-ganged into marrying an alien who merely resembled the Prince of Darkness.

3.) This

Lois Lane #135, presented without comment, mainly because I have no idea what the hell's going on here.

2.) Lois makes out with SuperLion

In 1958's Action Comics #243, Lois smooches Superman's Aslanified mug in hopes of reversing a feline curse. It doesn't work, and everyone is left 50% lachrymose and 50% queasy.

1.) Superman, Super-Racist?

Brace yourself, here comes Lois Lane #106! In this 1970 tour de force of "someone greenlit this story at 5 PM on a Friday" racial harmony, Lois uses one of Superman's many race-switching machines for a hot story in Metropolis' "Little Africa" neighborhood.

After spending 24 hours moonlighting as an African American woman, Lois demands some hard truths from the Last Son of Krypton.

What will he say? WHAT WILL HE SAY?

Whoops, Superman is saved by the bell! I mean, melting epidermis. Whatever, it's one of those multifunctional idioms.

BONUS: Part 1 of the 1970 DC Comics reader survey, in which Superman "raps" with you about how interested you are in reading about such topics as "astrology" and "black people." Also see DC Comics' "Brotherhood Quotient."

[Scans via CBR, Scans Daily, Girl Reporter, and Silver Age Comics]

HALFWAY TO HEAVEN 3

THE HUNGER GAMES REBOOT

Now that The Hunger Games has gobbled up all the world's money, it's time to take a hard look at how well it captured everything we loved from the book.

While the movie stayed pretty faithful to Suzanne Collins' book, there were still a lot of things missing. Here is our list of everything from the The Hunger Games book that didn't make it into the movie.

We're going to attempt to be fair and not petty (e.g., Marvel was shot in the throat by Katniss, not the chest!) Just the big things! Here are the really big deviations from the source material.

The Mockingjay Pin

Right out the gate, there's a fairly big change. Katniss no longer receives the pin from Madge Undersee (daughter of the mayor of District 12). Instead she picks it up for her sister, Prim, at The Hob to cheer her up on reaping day explaining that the pin will keep her safe. Of course Prim quickly gives it back to her once Katniss volunteers to take her little sister's spot as tribute in the Hunger Games, thus giving the iconic symbol a lot more emotional weight. Some may argue that Madge is important later on when Katniss gets a whiff of the rebellion from the mayor's television. But now that the movie has put television inside Prim and her mother's homes (EDIT: apparently the Everdeens do have a TV in the book, the Mayor's TV is just special) it shouldn't really be that big of a deal to cut Katniss' schoolmate. Sorry Madge!

The Avox Girl/Capture

Early while Katniss and Gale illegally hunt for food they witness a red headed girl and a young man (presumably running away from The Capitol) get sucked up by a giant hover craft. The young man is actually harpooned right through the chest and the girl is captured alive. She shows up later as an "Avox" — a tongueless servant for the Capitol, punished forever for her crime. While there most certainly are Avox-like servants waiting on Peeta and Katniss in their skyscraper apartment, we never really know what horrors these people faced for their "crimes." In the film Katniss does remark that if she and Gale were to run away the Capitol could catch them and cut out their tongues, but it's all talk. The silent red head (while not integral to the story) certainly made it known that life inside the city was pretty horrendous for those who are opposed to President Snow.

Lamb Stew (Actual Hunger)

Food is a very big deal in Suzanne Collins' books. In fact there are websites, and books dedicated to the dishes cooked up on Panem. One could even argue that the whole plot of the book is based around food — not having it, versus having it. The winning tribute returns to a world of money (so they can buy food) and their district gets to live a whole year with additional rations from The Capitol. Almost every other thought inside Katniss' head is about food, finding food, protecting the food, feeding her family, feeding herself in the games, will she have enough food? How will her future actions affect the people of District 12's food supply? Food is everything. Heck, "Hunger" is in the title! So it was surprising that not a single food item was namechecked in the movie. There was no reaping fish soup, no goat cheese bread Prim saves for her sister, no the Mellark cookies, no crescent bread delivered from District 11 which was supposedly meant for little Rue (a completely gutting moment), and of course, no lamb stew!

That's not to say the movie was devoid of all food, but the way it was handled on camera was strange. One of the first shots of District 12 shows someone chomping down on a bit of meat, thus implying that the people have food, they just prefer to eat it outside. In the novel, Katniss and Peeta spend most of their time on the train and in the Capitol stuffing their faces (because food is so scarce in District 12). While director Gary Ross treated the audience to a few shots of Capitol dishes (glasses full of blue gatorade, completely unrecognizable jellied dishes, and plates of gorgeous delicacies) we rarely see the starving kids eat! Where is the lamb stew? Even in her interview with Caesar Flickerman, Katniss brings up the lamb stew! Plus it's the very dish that Katniss and Peeta share while inside their cave of love later on in the games.

The hunger is missing from Hunger Games, even when Katniss had her flashback in the rain with Peeta. She merely looked sad, not a wreck of malnutrition desperately trying to keep her sister from starving. This is why it's SO important when Katniss makes Gale promise her family won't starve when she's gone (and if she dies) because there is no food.

The Cave

Speaking of the magical night of lamb stew, what happened to all the cave scenes? While battling it out inside the games, Katniss finds Peeta slowly bleeding to death in the river. She drags him into this cave where they spend a few nights watching Peeta's infection grow. All of that is in the movie, but it's trimmed down to the bare essentials. Katniss does not open up to Peeta and reveal the sweet story of her sister's goat. Nor do they share a silver parachuted feast together. Inside the cave is where Katniess truly begins to care for Peeta. So much so that she tricks him with a special broth (also sent by a sponsor) so she can retrieve his medicine. While we're all aware the movie can't be three hours long, we would have liked to see Katniss at least attempt to warm up to the boy with the bread. That makes her eventual exploitation of his love (in the end) even more bittersweet.

The Mockingjay (sort of)

We didn't actually get to see the Mockingjay. But they were still in there. Not a huge deal. Can't wait to see what it looks like in the next film.

Octavia, Flavius and Venia

Katniss' glam squad took a backseat (were they even in it, it looked like different people in every beauty scene) so her relationship with Cinna could get more screen time. Understandable. Let's hope they come out in full force in the second movie — because if not, no one will care about their terrible fates in the third.

Effie Trinket's Backstory

Call us crazy, but was Effie Trinket ever officially introduced? Did anyone actually say her name in this story? Were her position, title and aspirations ever revealed? A friend of ours who hadn't read the books was confused as to why this character was still hanging around with Peeta and Katniss. They thought she was the Reaping talking head that traveled from District to District, gathering tributes. That being said, Elizabeth Banks NAILED this character. "That is Mahogany!"

"Muttations" Weren't Fallen Tributes

When Katniss, Cato and Peeta battle it out in the big finale, they're overtaken by a pack of gigantic dogs hungry for their flesh, which are dubbed "Muttations." These creatures allegedly have the eyes and hair of each fallen tribute. Making it seem as if the Gamekeepers had harvested the eyes of the tributes and shoved them into these monsters. Was it an important cut, probably not. We already know The Capitol is evil, they send children to die for national entertainment. We don't need mutts that may (or may not according to Catching Fire) be made of the eyes of fallen tributes. It's a huge stretch of believability. But like tongueless people subjected to a lifetime of servitude, that's horrifying.

Haymitch's Drunk Antics

Haymitch got pretty sober relatively quick didn't he? Wasn't he supposed to fall off the stage during the reaping of District 12? We would have liked to see more "Haymitch Disappoints," before he got his shit together. However, the additional scenes of Haymitch going after sponsors and tricking Seneca Crane fit the tone very nicely. And gave the audience a chance to understand how the whole game world operated without having to explain. An excellent moment of showing, not telling.

Peeta Kills

Peeta's first Hunger Games fatality was played down tremendously in the movie. One could even argue that the movie completely covered up his first kill. When the careers (who Peeta teams up with during the first half of the games) come across a Tribute from District 8, they attempt to kill her but fail. While she's slowly dying it's Peeta that volunteers to go back and finish her off. Katniss sees all of this and is horrified. Granted one could argue he was showing the tribute compassion, what's more important is that Peeta was demonstrating to the audience that he was capable of killing. In the movie you just see the District 8 Tributes' campfire, which causes the careers to appear. It is not implied that Peeta did any killing.

Hovercraft Body Collectors: Katniss Loses Her Mind

The hovercrafts were also a big part of the Games that were never seen in the movie. After a Tribute has died, a hovercraft would appear and snatch the body up (taking along whatever was attached to it). This is fairly important in the second book as the resistance uses their hovercrafts against The Capitol. But also, in the final moment of the Games when Katniss and Peeta consider eating the poisonous nightlock berries it's heightened, because Peeta is slowly bleeding to death from his legs. They NEED the hovercraft to come, and fast. They have to make the decision quickly. When they do trick the gamekeepers into releasing them both, the hovercraft separates Peeta and Katniss and our braided hero loses her damn mind. It's the first time you see Katniss go absolutely insane for Peeta. She doesn't know if he survived, if he bled to death, what the Capitol is doing to him — she just goes bonkers, and it's really the only way you should end a death battle, with crazy rage and fear.

Peeta Loses His Leg

Because of Peeta's horrible end wound and Katniss' tourniquet Peeta loses his leg. There is no reference to any leg missing in the end of The Hunger Gamesmovie.

eople Say We're In Love

And finally, the epic betrayal of Peeta's heart. In the film we see Haymitch telling Katniss that if she wants to live another day she has to pretend to love Peeta forever. In the book Katniss big "my love for your is make believe" reveal is devastating to Peeta, because he was actually in love with Katniss. Plus, Katniss has been seemingly fanning this unrequited love by resting her head on his shoulder and flirting with him during the final interviews. We see Katniss hold Peeta's hand and say a few nice things to him but the actual exploitation is gone from the movie. Possibly to detract people from hating Katniss for being so cruel. Couple that with the fact that Peeta never said the iconic line, "She has no idea, the effect she can have" in the film — and you have a pretty strongly one-sided love triangle.

Buttercup

This may be our only nitpicky fan comment. Buttercup is black and white. Were there no orange cats available?

Top Image from Katnips On Fire

GALLERIE 27

Inspiring Photo Manipulation Artworks for you

Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction), through analog or digital means Here we display interesting and beautiful Inspiring Photo Manipulation Artwork collection for you.