Box Office Results: 11 July 2008

Pardon me while I do my victory lap.

1. Hellboy II: The Golden Army ($35.9 million)
2. Hancock ($33 million)
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth ($20.6 million)
4. WALL-E ($18.5 million)
5. Wanted ($11.6 million)
6. Get Smart ($7.1 million)
7. Meet Dave ($5.3 million)
8. Kung Fu Panda ($4.3 million)
9. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl ($2.5 million)
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($2.3 million)

What I watched:

• Hellboy (3 1/2 stars): Amusing comic book movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (3 1/2 stars): The dialog could have been better, but overall a solid outing with some beautiful and sometimes terrifying images, as you would expect Guillermo del Toro to deliver.
• Brokeback Mountain (3 1/2 stars): Good performances, but a meandering story. It felt like I was watching some of the same scenes over and over again, but the characters were compelling enough that I didn't mind too much.

Friday night was a surprisingly productive writing night for me, and tonight I'm about half a scene away from passing the midpoint. The current scene is being surprisingly troublesome, considering it should be a fairly simple one, but that's writing for you. The goal this week will be to get to the All is Lost moment.

I should also be getting back notes from Bluecat on M. Valentine this week, which I'm really looking forward to. M. Valentine is my favorite script that I've written (though Mute may eventually overtake it if I can get it right), and anything that moves me toward making M. Valentine a better script is a good thing.