Reviews and More

Iron Man was once again the top movie at the box office, even though its gross receipts dropped by about 50 percent domestically. After opening with a huge $100 million weekend last week, the Marvel Enterprises production held on to its title as the No. 1 movie in America with $50.5 million in ticket sales this week despite strong competition from a couple of new films.

One was the highly anticipated Speed Racer from the Wachowski brothers, a movie that was blasted by critics and viewers alike as it sputtered to a $20.2 million opening — good enough for second place.

The other was What Happens in Vegas…, a comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. This movie was similarly panned by critics and audiences, but still managed to sell $20 million worth of tickets.

Last week’s No. 2 film, Made of Honor, dropped a couple places to No. 4 with just $7.6 million in sales. The only other new entry on the list was Redbelt, which slipped into the tenth spot at $1.14 million.

Here’s the complete Top 10 for the week ending 5/11/08:

1. Iron Man, $50.5 million
2. Speed Racer, $20.2 million
3. What Happens in Vegas…, $20 million
4. Made of Honor, $7.6 million
5. Baby Mama, $5.77 million
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $3.78 million
7. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, $3.15 million
8. The Forbidden Kingdom, $1.9 million
9. Nim’s Island, $1.32 million
10. Redbelt, $1.14 million

We like to take a family vacation every summer, so we’re always looking for interesting new places to go. We’ve been to all of the good theme parks, tourist attractions, historical sites, and museums in a 300-mile radius (give or take), which means that we now have to travel a bit farther away from home to hit someplace worthwhile. When a friend of mine recently suggested Branson, I initially dismissed the idea since we’re not country music fans. But after doing a bit of research, I’ve learned that there’s far more to Branson than just music and shows.

I checked BransonGetaways.com for activity ideas, and found plenty of options that my family would love. For example, we’re all big on roller coasters and rides, so Silver Dollar City would definitely be tops on our list of Branson attractions to visit. This 1880s-themed park has 25 rides (including several for smaller children), tons of restaurants and specialty shops, and of course a bunch of fun shows to help keep us entertained.

Other Branson-area activities we’d be interested in include Go-Karts, miniature golf, natural caves, and shopping.

BransonGetaways.com makes it easy to put together a complete fun-filled family vacation from beginning to end, including special packages that feature lodging, shows, meals, and more. From useful maps telling us how to get around the area to discount tickets and affordable accommodation, everything we need is right on the website. Plus, if we have additional questions, helpful staff members are standing by to share their knowledge and expertise.

The more we look at what Branson has to offer, the more we want to drop everything and go there now!