Travis Hopson and Tim Gordon are Addicted to Film!

Last night to a jam-packed studio audience (consisting of us and our producer), Tim Gordon and I debuted the first episode of our new show, Addicted to Film! It's something we've been planning for a long time, as a means of continuing what many of you see us do on WETA Around Town, only with a lot longer than 90 seconds to get our points across. And of course, we made fun of one another and went off into conversations about other things, but that's just what we do!

On this show we kicked things off by doing what we do best: talking about ourselves. Then we discussed Arnold Schwarzenegger in Sabotage and what the disappointing box office means for him; we then attempted to talk about Noah without descending into a theological debate; and then we weeped for Michael Pena in Cesar Chavez.

Addicted to Film airs live every Sunday night at 7pm, broadcasting from Listen Vision Studios in Washington, DC. Follow the show on Twitter, and subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get every episode sent your way! Check out the first episode below, and be sure to hit us up with any feedback!

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Box Office: 'Noah' Sails Easily to #1; 'Captain America 2' Earns $75M Overseas

1. Noah- $44M
So much for those who thought Darren Aronofsky's big Hollywood production of Noah would flop after all the negative press. The film starring Russell Crowe as the ark-building animal tamer opened to a sizable $44M, plus another $51M internationally. The $95M debut puts a big dent in the $130M+ budget, and should also quiet the religious purists hoping it would fall short of Son of God, which currently stands at $57M after five weeks of release.
2. Divergent- $26.5M/$95.2M
The 51% slide of Divergent in its second week isn't so bad, and is actually pretty good for the sci-fi genre. The point is that Lionsgate should now feel fully confident in moving ahead with the sequel and wrapping up the entire trilogy.
3. Muppets Most Wanted- $11.3M/$33.2M
Slipping only 33% from last week, Muppets Most Wanted has bounced back well from a mediocre opening weekend.  It's still not likely to come close to matching the haul of the first film, though. 
4. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $9.5M/$94.9M
5. God's Not Dead- $9M/$22M
The people who were openly bashing and rooting for the failure of Noah ended up at God's Not Dead, which has maintained an incredible hold in its second week. The faith-based drama stars Dean Cain and Kevin Sorbo, and could end up as one of the year's great success stories. The timing couldn't have been better considering all of the religious fervor surrounding movies of late, and it'll be interesting to see just how long this lasts.
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel- $8.8M/$24.4M
Adding an additional 673 theaters didn't slow down Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, which jumped 30% and managed an astounding $9K per site average.
7. Sabotage- $5.3M
Is Sabotage the last gasp of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a top name star? The David Ayer-directed action flick, which boasts a pretty solid cast surrounding the Governator, is one of the lowest grossing debuts in Schwarzenegger's career. Somehow it managed to do worse than The Last Stand, which nobody saw and fewer liked. One would think audiences would turn out to see the follow-up film from Ayer, who last directed End of Watch to great critical and box office success. To me, that means people aren't turning out specifically because of Schwarzenegger, which is sad because this is a different sort of movie for him. Unfortunately, it was marketed as a brainless shoot 'em up and only fans of those flicks turned out.
8. Need for Speed- $4.33M/$37.7M
9. 300: Rise of an Empire- $4.3M/$101.1M
10. Non-Stop- $4M/$85.1M

In other news, Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier opened in a few markets internationally, earning a whopping $75M. That bodes well for its domestic release next week, one that Marvel is expecting to far surpass Captain America: The First Avenger's final tally of $370M. If the trend following The Avengers continues upwards, it should squash those numbers easily.

The Raid 2, only the most anticipated sequel ever for a film few actually saw, opened in only seven locations and racked up a solid $177K. The roll out expands next week and goes semi-wide on April 11th.

The Diego Luna-directed, Michael Pena-starring biopic Cesar Chavez hit 664 theaters and earned $3M, a middling number for a film with middling reviews.

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Review: 'Cesar Chavez' Starring Michael Pena, Rosario Dawson, and John Malkovich

Michael Pena has spent years as one of Hollywood's most reliable character actors, always playing second fiddle to bigger-named stars who don't always have his ability. In the rare times he's been thrust in leading roles, such as in military drama The Lucky One and the cop thriller End of Watch, Pena has proven himself an actor capable of incredible sensitivity and reserves of strength. Both of those qualities come into play in the biggest role of his career, playing activist Cesar Chavez in Diego Luna's sophomore directorial effort.

Pena's performance as the charismatic union leader towers over the film itself, which sadly is too small in scope and formulaic to properly portray Chavez's influence. It's an oddly constructed biopic, one that begins well into Chavez's activism, but without giving us the proper context for it. What drove him to be the man he is when we first meet him? Picking up just as he and his wife Helen (America Ferrera) have gathered up their army of kids and moved to Delano, California, it jumps right into Chavez's fight to secure better working conditions for grape-picking migrant workers.

And so the film takes a fairly linear, undramatic approach to Chavez's battle against the powerful employers, local racists, and corrupt cops looking to squash his little rebellion. Things start off small, with Chavez and his loyal lieutenant Dolores Huerta (Rosario Dawson) merging their small Mexican outfit with the Filipino workers who are in a similarly tough situation. They want better wages and safer working conditions, going on a 5-year strike using a path of non-violent resistance. It's an approach not all within Chavez's group would support, and he battled aggressive internal forces as much as external. To further champion his peaceful cause, Chavez would go on a 25-day hunger strike, putting his life at risk. It's a powerful act of self-sacrifice, and Pena perfectly embodies Chavez's commitment, but we never get a proper sense of how big the stakes are. We see the small victories against local and national wineries, most notably against the scheming Bogdanovich (John Malkovich), but where is the point where Chavez faces a genuine set back? Where is the point where the movement seems devastated beyond repair? Chavez's story is filled with moments such as these but they are barely addressed here, and it seems as if success is preordained. Also in need of a more thorough examination are his strained familial relationships. His wife worries about his safety while also throwing herself in harm's way, and Chavez struggles to connect with a son who has grown resentful.

Pena's understated performance is perfectly in sync with Luna's subtle direction, echoing the minimalist political dramas of Pablo Larrain. It's a competent step in this phase of Luna's career, but the film's low aspirations and unwillingness to show any flawed aspects of Chavez's character doom it to the realm of so-so biopics. Even so, Pena deserves any and all accolades that come his way. Hopefully this will lead to him getting more opportunities to shine.

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Michael Peña Gets Serious in New Trailer for 'Cesar Chavez'

The long-awaited trailed for Cesar Chavez is finally here and looks to be a role that star Michael Peña will leave a powerful impression on. Peña plays the title character, based on the true story of the Mexican-American activist who led the Delano grape strike in the 1960s that lasted five years and he helped fight for the rights of farms workers. Chavez earned the support of Robert Kennedy when he went on a 25-day hunger strike in 1968. 

You can check out the first trailer for the movie below! The film also stars America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, John Malkovich, Gabriel Mann, and Jacob Vargas and is directed by Diego Luna. It's set to hit theaters March 28. 

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