The Hangover is easily the biggest surprise hit of 2009. The R-rated comedy, with a 35-million-dollar budget, was loved by audiences and, all-told, raked in almost $500 million at the box office, as well as over $150 million on home video. The film also won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy. After such a success, a sequel is guaranteed, right? It’s not that easy.

Although Warner Bros. had already commissioned a script for a sequel before the first was released, getting the cast to come back was not easy. After being paid roughly $300,000 each for the original, stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis made sure they were going to be well compensated for the next movie. Warner Bros. originally offered $3 million each, plus 1% of the gross, but the actors stood firm.

After six months of negotiations, Deadline reports that all three stars, as well as director Todd Phillips have signed on for the sequel. The actors will get around $5 million each, in addition to 4% of the gross, while the director will receive $10 million plus 10%, as well as a guarantee that he will earn at least as much as he did for the first – $50 million and still counting.

Principal photography is set to start November 1st, although it must work around both Helms’ “Office” and Cooper’s films’ schedules.

Right now, details are scarce, but, in an interview with Collider, Phillips denied rumors that the sequel would take place in Mexico or Thailand. He also said about the sequel that:

Sometimes movies do well but it’s just this huge flood of people go see them and then you know… this movie just kept going because people kept going back. That tells me that they love those characters and that tells me, not that the movie’s going to financially do better, but just that there’s love out there for these four guys. We can now put them through a whole new set of paces and people will want to see it. So for me, it’s really exciting.

Do you think The Hangover 2 can have the success of its predecessor? I’m sure many will go simply because they loved the first, but can the sequel really compare with the original? Most of The Hangover‘s success was people spreading the word, and going back to the theater with their friends. It will be successful, of course, but I don’t think that it can come to meet such a high precedent.

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Ed Helms (The Office) are joining the Duplass Brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives At Home. Helms most recently made the successful jump from the small screen to the big screen in last Summer’s hit comedy The Hangover while Segel starred in I Love You, Man as well as the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The Duplass Brothers’ directed the indie thriller Baghead and  soon to be released Cyrus starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei. Jeff Who Lives At Home is being produced byJohn Malkovich’s company Mr. Mudd and Jason Reitman’s Right of Way Films. I believe in jinxes but I also believe this movie can’t miss. Since we’re talking about the Duplass Brothers and television actors I have to say that The League on FX starring Mark Duplass is in my opinion one of the great new sitcoms joining the likes of Modern Family, Glee and Community.

What say you?

The winners for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards are below. I am not going into any detail because you all don’t care!

Some of the bigger winners were James Cameron, Sandra Bullock, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, and Jason Reitman.

Here are the results of the categories we all care about – winner is in bold!

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• Avatar (20th Century Fox)
• The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)
• Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company)
• Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (Lionsgate)
• Up in the Air (Paramount Pictures)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• Emily Blunt – The Young Victoria
• Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren – The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan – An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

• Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
  
• George Clooney – Up in the Air
• Colin Firth – A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman – Invictus
• Tobey Maguire – Brothers

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• (500) Days of Summer (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• The Hangover (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• It’s Complicated (Universal Pictures)
• Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures)
• Nine (The Weinstein Company)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Sandra Bullock – The Proposal
• Marion Cotillard – Nine
• Julia Roberts – Duplicity
• Meryl Streep – It’s Complicated
• Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Matt Damon – The Informant
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Nine
• Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days of Summer
• Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Sony Pictures Animation)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• Coraline (Focus Features)
• The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Pictures)
• Up (Disney•Pixar)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Penelope Cruz – Nine
• Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
• Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
• Julianne Moore – A Single Man

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Matt Damon – Invictus
• Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
  

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

• Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron – Avatar
• Clint Eastwood – Invictus
• Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

• Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell – District 9
• Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
• Nancy Meyers – It’s Complicated
• Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

• Michael Giacchino – Up
  
• Marvin Hamlisch – The Informant
• James Horner – Avatar
• Abel Korzeniowski – A Single Man
• Karen O and Carter Burwell – Where the Wild Things Are

Our friends over at Gordon and the Whale spotted some outstanding news yesterday. The Hangover broke the record of the highest grossing rated R movie of all time. With that said, they broke yet another record and only a few weeks after the DVD and Blu-Ray hit the markets.  The Hangover DVD has become the number one selling comedy DVD of all time, with 8.6 million discs sold, including 1.5 million Blu-rays! That is huge news, for something that came absolutely out of left field, this movie is nothing short of a sleeper hit.

As Rusty points out:

How did this happen? I have a well-thought out, and of course, well-researched theory: because THE HANGOVER is awesome.

This movie made it onto my top 10 of 2009 and I wanted it to be number 1 on my list for many reasons. The main reason would be – it’s freaking hilarious! This movie is a sure laugh, unless you are dead. The re-watch of this film is great also, it doesn’t get worse but better on a second and third watch.

Stay tuned for info on the sequel to The Hangover here on Atomic Popcorn. Let us know in the comments below how you feel about this news, or even if you have seen this film.

Yes, I am well aware that I am late to the game but better late than never, I have heard a couple of people say. I must admit this took a shorter time than I thought it would. Looking back on so many films, the ones in my blu-ray library and the ones that just stick out in my head, the list was HUGE. Narrowing them down into a top 10 list was something that was a very hard task.

To get the list was something I wanted to put out there. This list is not perfect by any means. I know for a fact I am missing some movies that should be on here. With that said, this is my list and I love each of these movies and cannot see them being pushed out.

This list is not a list of which one is better, this list contains 10 movies that I love and put onto a numbered list. By no means is it in any ORDER what so ever!

Enjoy

1. Children Of Men (2006)

2. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

3. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

5. Avatar (2009)

6. The Hangover (2009)

7. Gladiator (2000)

8. District 9 (2009)

9. Memento (2000)

10. V for Vendetta (2005)

So how far off was I from you all? Who did I miss and why do you think I am wrong? See you all in the comments.

If you saw this summer’s hit The Hangover, you’ll likely agree with me that the character of Mr. Chow pretty much stole the show. If you haven’t seen the movie, just trust me– the few scenes that include this character are hilarious.

Actor Ken Jeong, who had a part in Role Models as the king of a role-playing community, plays his roles perfectly. He delivers the lines set for him with a stellar balance of humor and believability, even while pushing towards going over the top.

In a deleted scene from The Hangover, we see that Jeong’s talent goes beyond just what is written for him. The minute long scene shows Jeong, in the character of Mr. Chow, going the improv route and completely owning every word that comes out of his mouth.

Check out the scene here.

Bradley Cooper, who shot to stardom in this summer’s The Hangover, has replaced Shia LeBeouf to star in Relativity Media’s Dark Fields.

Cooper will be playing a writer who’s down on his luck and manages to stumble upon a secret pharmaceutical drug designed to make a person smarter. The drug leads to the writer gaining financial and social success, but of course there’s always a catch. In this case, the drug has lethal side effects, including one that causes time to move in a stop-motion manner.

Dark Fields is said to be along the lines of Fight Club and The Game (both stellar movies, by the way) and, also like Fight Club, is based on a novel.

Alan Glynn’s book has been made into a screenplay by Leslie Dixon, the writer behind the screenplay for The Thomas Crown Affair. Dixon will also serve as producer of Dark Fields, with Tucker Tooley as executive producer and Neil Burger directing.

I’m going to do something I usually don’t do for my reviews… I’m going to start with my rating: 5 stars!  That’s right, this movie written by John Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox and directed by Peter Billingsley (long-time friend and business partner of Vince Vaughn but better known as Ralphie in A Christmas Story) had me ROTFLOL with a big ol’ Simpsons grin all over my face. Produced by Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show, Couples Retreat doesn’t go overboard with crude, rude, or lewd humor. It delivers on humor gained from life and doesn’t take itself too seriously about marriage and long-lasting relationships. What Couples Retreat manages to do is present a caricature of four types of couples we all know well, and lets us look at life from their perspective.

After an opening montage of marriages from the 50′s through 2009, we meet the four couples that are featured in the movie. For fun I’ll list the couples as if this were The Newlywed Game:

• Couple #1 – Dave and Ronnie, played by Vince Vaughn (The Break-Up) and Malin Akerman (Watchmen); this is the couple that doesn’t realize they are looking at their marriage like a job and both just happen to be “working” in the same relationship with the same children, extended family and friends.
• Couple #2 – Joey and Lucy, played by John Favreau (I Love You Man) and Kristin Davis (Sex And the City); this is the couple that was high school sweethearts. She got pregnant at 18, then got married so they could raise their daughter together. Eventually they realize that they don’t love each other as much as they originally thought they did and are only still “married” just for their daughter.
• Couple #3 – Jason and Cynthia, played by Jason Bateman (Hancock) and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall); this is the hard-working, does-everything-by-the-book, over-thinking couple that eventually realizes that they may not be as compatible as they thought. They are working on saving their marriage and have a business plan in place to dictate how their lives should be lived.
• Couple #4 – Shane and Trudy, played by Faizon Love (Who’s Your Caddy) and Kali Hawk (this is her first co-starring role in a movie); This is the newest couple in the movie as Shane is recently divorced and dating a younger woman. Only time will tell if he is happy and can move on or is still in shock from the divorce.

Now that the table is set, lets look at the main course – the plot. Jason and Cynthia are having marital problems as she is not able to get pregnant. The stress of this is causing a split in their marriage so they are going to make one last effort and try to save their marriage. Jason and Cynthia know of a tropical place called Eden that has the best couples’ therapy in the world. The only catch is they can’t afford it on their own so if they can get their friends to come along, the costs is cut in half. Reluctantly the other couples agree as a way to show support, get a free trip, and leave to start the journey with their friends. Each couple embodies someone we know and we can laugh with as events unfold at the Eden Resort.

Upon arrival to the resort they learn that there are two parts of Eden: Eden West, where the couples retreat is located and Eden East, where the singles retreat and parties are located. The couples’ retreat is run by Mr Marcel played by Jean Reno (The Pink Panther 2) who is the world’s leading couples spiritualist.  The resort’s job is to make sure that there are no distractions for the couples and allow them to re-learn why they married in the first place and find the missing spark of their marriage. Needless to say hilarity ensues as we watch the couples partake in the couple-building exercises.

Couples Retreat is a comedy that has romance as part of the plot; I would not classify this movie as a Rom-Com (Romantic Comedy for those that aren’t up on their movie ling0).  And boy-howdy do the jokes start flying fast and funny. There are some scenes in this movie that will have you laughing so hard that you’ll want to go back and see the movie again JUST to catch the jokes you missed the first time.  I want to go into detail of the jokes and humor but I’m afraid that if I do I’ll ruin the fun and surprises.  This is the type of comedy where the delivery of the humor is in the words and life situations and not related to pratfalls and sight gags. I won’t ruin the fun but I will say that the younger child of Dave and Ronnie (Vaughn and Akerman) steals the movie in two scenes involving a Home Depot-type store.

As for the main characters, the script was written in such a way as to showcase each couple and their specific problems without taking away from the overall plot.  With this type of movie comes similarities to previous movies such as Parenthood (which itself is now the basis for two TV shows) The Break-Up,  Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I Love You Man. All five of these movies show the funnier side of marriage, relationships, and life. With that, I will say that both Vaughn and Favreau  have great comedy timing and play off of each other with relaxed ease making the comedy flow as if natural and not being pushed. The same is true of the script – it allows everyone to shine through the words and situation and again, no rude or lewd sight gags are needed.  I keep bringing this up as too many movies rely very heavily on crude and/or scatalogical humor, or setup gags that have a cruel punchline. Couples Retreat manages to deliver the humor with a great cast while being real to itself and not talking down to the audience.

Only adding to the humor are the secondary characters, the “quirks” that are always needed to help sell the story. One face you’ll recognize is that of Dr Ken Jeong (The Hangover) who plays the Therapist that Jason and Cynthia talk to at the resort. His soft hands / soft heart approach adds to the quirkiness as he is there to help the hard-nose straight-laced couple try to fix their marriage.  Another character that the audience loved was Stanley [as he says in the movie, "Stanley with a C"] played by Peter Serafinowicz (Shaun of the Dead). Stanley is the concierge of the resort and Mr Marcel’s right-hand man. Serafinowicz’s portrayal of Stanley reminded me of a very young Christopher Walken in style and appearance. A scene near the end of the film will have you laughing as Dave and Stanley battle each other in Guitar Hero. Yes, another movie works Guitar Hero into the plot it but does add some fun to the style in which used. (This has nothing to do with the review but can you name two other movies that  also used Guitar Hero?  That would be Rain Wilson’s The Rocker and Kevin James’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop.)

The humor (which I keep mentioning but can’t give too many details as it would ruin the fun) and the characters are worth the time to see Couples Retreat. Vaughn and company do a great job in delivering one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. With a running time of 107 minutes, this PG-13 movie distributed by Universal is a movie I’d recommend seeing on Date Night or with a bunch of friends. You will get your money and time’s worth in seeing this movie.

Rating: ★★★★★