Congrats to The Strangers for comin in at number 5! Maybe due to my little blog…doubtful, but possible.

As for the major players, Indiana Jones is still alive and kicking with the 3 spot ($23 million). I finally saw it this weekend and was sufficiently pleased. Still, it’s no Last Crusade.

Number 2 was Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan ($40 million), which Pajiba claims stole it’s title from The Big Lebowski. I never thought about that, but it’s not something I wouldn’t put past a studio to do.

And at number 1 is Angelina Jolie’s first blockbuster film of the summer, Kung Fu Panda ($60 million). Granted it’s really Jack Black’s show, but I’d rather focus on her since she annoys me less.

Pajiba’s review of The Strangers made me seriously consider seeing this film, unlike the melodramatic trailer.

The trailer positioned the movie as a slow and boring torture fest, but Dustin’s review makes it sound like a good stylish horror flick. There are no stupid flat characters reminiscent of the victims in Hostel or Turistas. It instead focuses on a life-like couple, Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, who are pursued by three masked assailants. Instead of using camcorder montages to heighten the reality, the director, Bryan Bertino, chose to use a careful mise-en-scene to create realistic horror sequences. Now that sounds quite refreshing to me.

Some critics have compared this movie to Funny Games, since both films focus on people being attacked in vacation homes. Seeing how I didn’t care for Haneke’s film, once again my desire to watch this movie went down again. Lucky for me, Dustin condemns this shoddy comparision:

“Unfortunately, The Strangers will suffer needless comparison to Michael Haneke’s Funny Games because of the common theme of vacation home invasion, but the two films couldn’t be more different in execution. Bertino doesn’t dwell in self-aware dialogue, wink-wink nudges towards the audience, or hypocritical preaching in manner of Haneke…”

My only issue now is that of a financial nature. With all the blockbuster flicks out this summer, I’m not sure if I can give the theater another helping from my wallet. Hopefully, I could see it at the budget theater.