Reviews and More

I have to admit that I was surprised when I looked at this weekend’s box office returns and saw which movie stood at the top. I fully expected Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls to retain its hold as the No. 1 movie in America for the second straight week, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was dethroned by Sex and the City, a feature film based on the highly popular HBO series that last aired in February of 2004.

Apparently, women (come on, it’s a chick flick, right?) have missed the adventures of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha to the extent that they spent $55.7 million to see the gang back in action, making this film the clear-cut box office champ despite mostly negative reviews from critics.

Indiana Jones slipped to second place with $46 million in tickets sold, while The Strangers, a new horror film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, debuted in third with a strong $20.7 million showing.

Iron Man showed little sign of letting up, as it did another $14 million in business, putting it just ahead of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which was fifth with $13 million worth of tickets sold.

Here’s the complete Top 10 for the weekend ending 6/1/08:

1. Sex and the City, $55.7 million
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $46 million
3. The Strangers, $20.7 million
4. Iron Man, $14 million
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $13 million
6. What Happens in Vegas…, $6.85 million
7. Baby Mama, $2.2 million
8. Speed Racer, $2.14 million
9. Made of Honor, $2 million
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $1.04 million

I recently had the opportunity to preview three rough cut episodes of the upcoming USA series In Plain Sight, which premieres tonight at 10/9C on USA Network. The episodes I saw were the “Pilot”, “Hoosier Daddy”, and “Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”. With the exception of the Pilot, I’m not sure in what order the other episodes will air, but it didn’t seem as though they were meant to be run consecutively.

At any rate, I have to say that I was pretty impressed by what I saw in these eps. Mary McCormack stars as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshall whose main duties involve setting people up in the Witness Protection Program (aka WITSEC). She is paired with Marshall Mann (played by Fred Weller), who comes off as more or less Mary’s complete opposite in a lot of ways. Together, they make an effective (and fun) team as they relocate witnesses, conduct murder investigations, testify in court, and try to wade through the usual government bureaucracy.

The three episodes that I saw adhered to the same formula. A majority of the screentime was given over to highlighting the witnesses/story of the week, while the remainder of the eps were filled with scenes involving Mary’s dysfunctional relationships with mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren), sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz), and on-again, off-again boyfriend Rafael (Cristián de la Fuente).

I like the format of these episodes, and feel that the audience is shown just the right mix of Mary’s home and work life. I was also surprised by how funny these episodes were, as each contained several laugh-out-loud moments. In this respect, I was reminded of Burn Notice, another USA summer program that brings both humor and drama every single week.

The way these In Plain Sight episodes are set up ensures that the audience will get something new and interesting each time. Since there will be different characters and cases every week, it diminishes the chances of viewers having to sit through “been there, done that” kinds of stories.

Overall, I’m excited about the potential of this series, and I’ll definitely be tuning into USA Network every Sunday night to catch Mary, Marshall, Rafael, and the rest of the gang in action! If you’re looking for some good summer viewing, check out the In Plain Sight premiere tonight at 10/9C!