Forbes has put together its list of the most overpaid movie stars. The list compares the cost of the actor versus the total box office. The differences are astronomical. Kind of.

Drew Barrymore is number one on the list due to her films Lucky You (2007) and Everybody’s Fine (2009) which were a considerable time ago. I’m pretty sure I’ve either seen Everybody’s Fine or never heard of it. Must’ve been good. Eddie Murphy makes the list because of excellent career choices like Meet Dave (2008) and Imagine That (2009). May 1st was the cut off date so Tower Heist does not factor in. Something tells me that may be good for him considering it placed second in this weekend’s box office. I bet he really wishes Donkey had a part in Puss in Boots if you know what I’m saying. You should know because it is very literal: he would have made much more money being in that film. Because it is doing well. Because people wanted to see it…(Animation films do not count in this equation because the main draw is the cartoon.)

Will Ferrell is number three even though he has been in the top spot for the last couple years. If I remember correctly, Ferrell used to be funny. Can anyone confirm this? That really seems like a thing that happened? Hm. Oh well. The Other Guys is what helped him fall in the list. Land of the Lost is what initially earned him that top spot.

Reese Witherspoon is number four because, for some reason, she decided to do How Do You Know. But so did Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson. Weird.

Denzel Washington rounds out the top five. Why? Why would Denzel make the top five when all his movies do so well? Because he celebrates Hollywood like some actors and actresses don’t know how. He asks for so much money per movie that they have to make a gagillion times more to break even on his salary. Notice the lack of other big names in his movies? He doesn’t want them there. At this point, he’s got an Oscar. The guy’s retiring in the most fun way possible. He puts his feet up and coasts through Unstoppable.

Thus, I want to congratulate number five on doing it right. This is the end of the article. I’m shaking my head in disbelief as I eat cold Ramen.

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5. Land of the Lost

The reason that this film doesn’t sink lower on the list was that everyone kind of assumed it would suck.  Also, Danny McBride is absolutely hilarious.  Sure, Will Ferrell is getting old, but we all know what to expect with his films.  The thing that bothers me the most is that how could a studio decide to pony up $100 million to make this movie.  What were they thinking? That’s like buying Enron stock after being tipped of the fraud and bankruptcy.  Were they even trying here?  I thought this movie had some potential. I was mistaken. Land of the Lost sits at number 5 on our list, and isn’t lower only because everyone, including fans and critics, said it would suck.

4. Bruno

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With the success of Borat, Sasha Baron Cohen returned to the big screen in a yellow swimsuit, a fishnet top, and a microphone, touring America in search of flamboyant homosexuality.  What he gained in Borat, he lost in Bruno. What did we love about Borat? It was fresh, it was clever, it was hilarious, and it kept our attention for the entirety of the film.  When writing this script, it seemed that Cohen sat down and had the sole objective of trying to be more inappropriate, repulsive, and outrageous compared to that of Borat.  Sadly, Borat flirted on the line between inappropriately funny and distasteful.  Bruno crossed that line.  Angry film goers stormed out of theaters demanding their money back.  Borat at least had some plot line. Bruno was a messy collaboration of skits that offer nothing new from Cohen; simply said, no substance.  A lot of us had high hopes for Bruno, and we were dissatisfied with the outcome, leaving Bruno at number 4 on our list.

3.  Terminator Salvation

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All I need to say is ‘oh man.’  Once Bale went loony tunes on set, the word on the street for this movie was not good.  Even Terminator 3 – “Rise of the Machines” was a terrible idea and an awful movie; I wanted to rise from my seat and terminate the projector.  Who in their right mind decided to green light another one? Terminator Salvation failed to redeem the franchise that Arnold and James Cameron had so brilliantly created back in the 80’s and early 90’s.  This Summer was the Summer of the Christian Bale pay check; he sacrificed performing in solid movies for the sake of his bank account. Terminator Salvation was given an excessive budget, was too loud, was poorly written, and was plain stupid to watch.  Please let this franchise die in peace.  Terminator Salvation falls at number 3 on our list.

2. Public Enemies

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The bizarre thing in Public Enemies was that it actually looked good from the trailer. How could they screw up a movie directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale? Well, they did. And, what do you know, Bale makes his second appearance on the list that nobody wants to be on.  I think my shock to how bad this movie was, exceeded the boredom I suffered.  The love story between Depp (John) and Marion Cotillard (Billie) went something like this – Cotillard: “Oh John, I dunno, I’m just some poor innocent girl. I’m confused. I’m insecure. Uhh, I dunno.” Depp: “I’m Johnny Depp, I’m so cool, I like stealing money, you’re coming with me…Now.” Cotillard:” Ok.”  I was more let down in this movie than any movie this Summer.  2.5 hours of rambling tommy guns, chaotic scenes, characters who we could not identify with nor did we know, and a female beating scene that pretty much came out of nowhere. This movie is a stain on Depp’s career and left Bale’s career somewhere in the narrows.  Bale better be itching to start the next Batman, thus he can star in a movie that is actually good. Public Enemies is #2 on our worst movies of the Summer.

1.Year One

The Banter’s very own Craig Kessler had anything but good things to say about this film. Comic genius Harold Ramis, the film’s writer and director, left his genius at the door for this one.  He has come a long way since Caddy Shack, Stripes and Ghostbusters.  Jack Black and Michael Cera are uncomfortable to watch on screen. In fact, Michael Cera’s awkward gimic has run its course.  He plays the same guy in every movie; hey man, you’re getting old.  On a side note, Cera seems to be the lone remaining hold out from an “Arrested Development” movie.  Man has fame gotten to his head. Anyways, Craig says “this movie is the worst movie of the year” thus far.  This movie fails in every way possible. If you saw it, I feel bad for you…If you’re thinking about it, please do not waste your money or time.  This isn’t worth the toilet paper you use to wipe with.  In fact, it’s not worth half that price.  Ramis, Black and Cera …do yourselves a favor…buy all the copies of this film and go have a bond fire.  Year One Can-Can move is the worst movie of the Summer and the worst movie of the year thus far.

Superlatives:

Most disappointing movie – Public Enemies

Most “This movie should have been better” – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Most “It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad” – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Most “I know you all thought it sucked, but I kind of liked it” – tie with Angels & Demons and The Taking of Pelham 1.2.3

Most “It was good, but why does everyone think it was amazing?” – Inglorious Basterds

What are you thoughts?

Keep Bantering

Most say The Hangover is offensive while Land of the Lost is too cheesy. However, Roger Ebert, one of America’s most articulate and well respected movie critics liked both.  To literally be solo in providing positive feedback on these movies is something I really respect. I think most critics were afraid to give  a positive review on Land of the Lost due to fear of being laughed at.  To hear true honesty is something we, as movie goers, should really appreciate.  And I’m completely stunned about the overall poor reviews on The Hangover.

Ebert says on Land of the Lost…”I raise my voice in a bleat of lonely, if moderate, admiration.” He awards three stars on it…and in reference to the cheesiness of the film he says “a deliberate choice, and I say I enjoyed it.”

Ebert says on The Hangover…”The Hangover

is a funny movie,” he writes, “flat out, all the way through. Its setup is funny. Every situation is funny. Most of the dialogue is funny almost line by line.”

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Check out both movies this weekend

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This Friday June 5th will mark the first time this Summer that 2 major movies will be dueling it out in their opening weekends as “The Hangover” will battle “Land of the Lost.”  I’m not sure about you guys but I think this battle will be closer than most expect. From straight buzz alone, I feel that The Hangover is a bit of a favorite.  However, I fear to doubt Will Ferrell’s star power; plus Land of the Lost looks pretty good. Let’s go through just a little bit of each movie and conclude on which to see (if you had to choose only ONE) buy I Can’t Think Straight

The Hangover – in maybe the most anticipated comedy of the Summer, The Hangover, has “Old School” director Todd Phillips making his biggest return to the movie world since his smash hit comedy in 2003. In fact, many even think that movie catapulted the careers of Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell to their star status today. Sure, they were big prior to Old School, but reached a new level of stardom after that movie landed them more leading roles.  Now back to The Hangover…we have a cast full of B and C list stars collaborating in a movie based on a Las Vegas bachelor party gone haywire.  For such a simple and over done premise, I’m pretty surprised on how good it really does look.  The trailers are everywhere, the on-screen chemistry looks great,  Zack Galifiankis is one of the funniest people around (he’s also incredible at stand up), and Ed Helms (from “The Office”) lands his biggest movie role to date.  Seeing Helms in the trailer has really generated a surprising amount of buzz as I keep hearing people keep say “oh wait, isn’t that Andy from The Office.”  The show has really made its mark on pop culture TV.  Anyways, the movie does look great and early reviews

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are pretty solid.  People 21-30 are constantly talking about this movie and we all want to relive the glory we saw with “Old School.” However, I really think Land of the Lost is going to make a mark on this weekend.

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Darkman II: The Return of Durant dvdrip Though most of my friends have really only given thought to seeing “The Hangover” this weekend, I will not under estimate the power of Will Ferrell.  The man pretty much holds the spot of top dog in the film comedian rankings and is the only A lister with a premiering movie this weekend. People 12-21 hold a special place in their heart for him. With the addition of Danny McBride in this movie, I think it might take some of the market away from “The Hangover.” Yep, “Eastbound and Down” is that popular. It also got picked up for a second season for those who did not know.

Will Ferrell’s movies are typically awesome when they have insanely bizarre plots that we all sort of connect to. A group of grown men starting a fraternity (Old School), a spoof of being in the news industry (Anchorman), and a satire on Nascar (Talladega Nights) had Will Ferrell in his classic roles.  They each had 2 things that really stand out, 1- they all had lines we still say today and 2 – they each got better the more we watched them.  His last couple of movies were all sort of stretches, thus the reason for their somewhat lack of classic humor. In addition, none of them had memorable quotes or were worth the time to re-watch.  “Land of the Lost” however brings Will Ferrell back into that classic role.  And it allows him to create a sci-fi movie spoof that is actually based on a former television show. For that, this movie will be better than expected.  Oh I forgot, it also stars a really hot female lead in Anna Friel from the soccer movie franchise “Goal.”

Prediction – The Hangover – $37 million, Land of the Lost – $33 million

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The sheer buzz The Weight of Water hd of The Hangover will defeat Land of the Lost but I think Land of the Lost is worth seeing. Perhaps “UP” even remains as top dog at around $43-45.  Thats my guess.

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Which movie will you be seeing this weekend? Cradle 2 the Grave psp