Oscar’s Best Picture Comes To Fairmount

SEBRING, Feb. 27, 2009 – Slumdog Millionaire, the blockbuster comedy that won best picture at the 2008 Academy Awards last Sunday, opens at the Fairmount Cinema 6 today.

The arrival of Slumbdog Millionaire helps to strengthen the iron grip the Fairmount already holds on the best pictures in Highlands County. The No. 1 film at the box office, Madea Goes To Jail, plays there, as do the blockbuster hits Taken, with Liam Neeson as a CIA dad looking for his kidnaped daughter, and Clint Eastwood’s gritty Gran Torino.

The Fairmount also boasts the comedy He’s Just Not That Into You and the action thriller The International.

The Carmike tries to counter with films like Frost/Nixon and Hotel For Dogs – two good films – but the rest of the lineup is littered with commerical busts: Friday the 13th – a horrible film, The Pink Panther 2, which has devolved into a film for toddlers, Push, which desperately needs an economic shove in the wake of its failure even among its targeted youth market.

The Carmike does offer one or two 3D films, but in these difficult economic times, customers have to pay more for that “experience.” They are already paying wallet-grabbing ticket and concession prices at the Carmike, and getting all too little in customer service in return.

That leaves the Regal Eagle Ridge. The Regal also charges higher ticket and concession prices but offers good customer service and much better seating than the Carmike. It’s a legitimate alternative to watching a movie at the Carmike, especially for residents at the north end of Highlands County. But because of the Fairmount’s excellent prices, customer service, and excellent treatment of seniors, the Regal is not a worthwhile alternative to the movies that play there.

WHEREVER YOU CHOOSE TO GO, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AT THE MOVIES!

BOX OFFICE: Rehash Wins Box Office

SEBRING, Feb. 16, 2009 – Connosiuers of refried beans, left over, pulled out of the fridge, and microwaved, again and again, will appreciate the remake of Friday the 13th. That means it’s time to roll out the Latin.

“De gustibus non est disputandum.”

Producer Michael Bay rounded up the best looking bods teenagerdom offered, threw them into one contrived situation after another, and gouged, cut, spiked, and axed them up to the tune of  $42.2 million to make Friday the 13th the box office champ for the weekend of Feb. 12-15. It plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and the Carmike.

But while Hollywood proved, at least for one weekend, that you can do the same thing over and over again, and not very well at that, articulate audiences still took to some of the other films out there.

Ticket sales for He’s Just Not That Into You dropped only 30 percent to help it to a second place finish with a gross of $19.6 million.

Even more impressive was Taken, the action thriller of a CIA dad out to get his daughter back from kidnapers in Europe. Its ticket sales declined by a mere 6 percent so that it grossed $19.25 million in its third week of release. Taken has grossed almost $78 million since its release and is a surefire bet to cross $125 million and possibly even $150 million – a  nice profit for the makers and good promotion for Liam Neeson, a fne actor whose talents have not always been used well.

Confessions of a Shopaholic finished 4th wtih $15.4 million and Coralie finished 5th with $15,3 million.

Once again, three of the Top Five films played at the Fairmount Cinema 6: He’s Just Not That Into You, Taken, and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop continues to impress. It hauled in $11.7 million this past weekend and has grossed more than $110 million since it debuted five weeks ago. It’s a huge winner for comic Kevin James. I would predict  sequel, but I see that comedian Seth Rogen has a nearly identical film coming out this year – a mall cop who comes to the rescue of a shopper and takes over the inveestigation into who attacked her. I think James is going to win this battle, but Rogen does appeal to those of a raunchier bent.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop plays at the Regal Eagle Ridge and the Carmike.

The International, with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, debuted modestly with $10 million. The Pink Panther 2 is a dud. Though its numbers did not drop much from Week One, it is in way more theaters so that its per theater average is the lowest of any film in the Top Ten. Gran Torino has a better per theater average and still hauled in $6.75 million in its 10th week of release – and it’s still playig at the Fairmount Cinema 6, so now is a good time to catch it.

BIG MOVIES FRIDAY – Yep, High School Musical Is Here!!!

READER ALERT: ARTICLE BEGINS AFTER THE HSM3 TRAILER BELOW.

THE SAW 5 TRAILER IS AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE!

SEBRING, October 24, 2008 – It’s supposed to be the creepy, spooky time of year, but the big screen news is that Disney’s hugely touted and anticipated sequel, High School Musical 3, hits the Fairmount Cinema 6 today.

Fairmount Manager Miss Rosie says it will show on only one screen, so she expects the volume of traffic for the anticipated mega-hit to be massive. Miss Rosie urges moviegoers to get to the theater EARLY.

Never fear (or ever fear), a scary film does open today, also at the Fairmount. It’s Saw 5, and it is also highly anticipated as it is likely the last in the famed, acclaimed cult series. It, too, will only be on one screen.

A lot of promotion has surrounded Pride and Glory. the gritty, R-rated cop drama that stars Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. It’s available at the Regal Eagle Ridge 12 and also at the Carmike. We hope it does well, but Norton, a fine actor, was unable to revive the Hulk series, and Farrell’s once-promising career has been on the skids after several bombs.

OUR RECOMMENDED MOVIES: High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Eagle Eye, Body of Lies, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua (for the family), Fireproof, and W (for the politically minded). For fans of fear films, check out Saw 5 and Quarantine.