1. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules (Fox, 3,167 Theaters, 96 Minutes, Rated PG): The $64,003,625 gross for Diary of a Wimpy Kid might not seem like the kind of numbers that lend itself to a continuation of the adaptation of the book series to the silver screen. However, since the original only cost $15 to produce, it means the film made over four times it’s money back. That is a success by anyone’s standards, especially Hollywood.
This installment involves the attempts of Greg’s parents to jump start a bonding experience between him and his surly older brother, Roderick. This leads to disastrous results.
Will this one have as good a return on its investment as the first one did? It better if they ever expect to see the film franchise continue.
2. Sucker Punch (Warner Brothers, 3,033 Theaters, 109 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Zach Snyder has made quite a name for himself by adapting films from other forms of media. His breakthrough was Dawn of the Dead, a remake of the George Romero classic. He built on his name with 300 a faithful adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel. Next, he tackled the untackleable Watchmen graphic novel and last year brought The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole to the screen, which was based on a series of children’s books.
These adaptations allowed room for Snyder to form his own unique style and filter them through his own unique vision. But what if it was his own vision he was bringing to the screen? Will he still fare as well? This week, we’ll find out.
It appears that this grim, gritty, sexualized fairy tale comes to us directly from Snyder himself–no book or comic to be found. It tells the tale of a woman wrongly committed to an insane asylum who finds release in creating a fantasy world all her own.
