The Hound Of Ulster

Well, seems like critics and film-goers were pretty split on this one. Most critics thought it was pretty drab. Weekend reviews bumped it up to 22% on the RT meters, with 35 “fresh” reviews out of 161. That’s pretty terrible, actually.

But the User reviews are running in the 73% range. So the “rank and file” are enjoying it a lot more than the professionals. Too bad.

Interestingly, it had the highest global weekend opening ever, at something around $147M. But it was only #13 all-time in the US, somewhere in the $77M range. Perhaps we are wiser than our international friends?

I’ll say it: It is anti-Jesus and anti-Catholic. Unintentionally though, it is a recruiting film for Opus Dei. Where do I sign up?

UGH.

This’ll do for the weekend. Sitting “pretty” with 24 fresh reviews. Out of 148. It’s all over but the box office numbers. Given its huge opening, I can’t imagine it being a complete bust. But its “legs” could be in serious jeopardy.

Interestingly, the User rating is sitting pretty steady at 60%. I wonder if there are any agenda-laden folks in that percentage - IMDB style. I’ve scanned through the entries; they seem mostly harmless.

And check out the “Cream of the Crop” reviews, if you get the chance. Those are weighing in at a hefty 9%. Yep, that’s right.  You heard me.  Nine percent. It is really taking a critical beating. As Chuck O’Leary says:

“Bad enough to offend even an atheist.”

The DVC “shot back up” to 17% overnight. The “big” change was mostly the result of an extra 6 “fresh” reviews that made their way onto the score page. Combine that with only 19 new “rotten” reviews, and we’ve got a definite uptick. And the user rating is up to 60%, as well. (I wonder if there are any pity scores in there.  Hollywood is so soft-hearted.)

“Opens the door for many spiritual seekers to think afresh about Jesus, sexuality, the Sacred Feminine and the great mysteries that cannot be contained in dogmas.”

That’s from Frederic and Mary Ann Crussat, over at Spirituality and Practice. With friends like these…

Getting worse and worse. Or better and better, depending on your point of view.

I’m closing up shop for the night. As of 10:30pm PST on Thursday, there are 78 reviews. 12 are fresh. Ouch. That means 66 rottens. And the user rating has dropped to 56%, but it’s been all over the place today. No real trend there.

“You know a movie’s a dud when even its self-flagellating albino killer monk isn’t any fun. “

It couldn’t have happened to a “better” film.

I will be awarding 1,347 WLIIA bonus points to the first person that answers the question correctly. And no Googling. That would be cheating.

I know there are people who believe Brown’s fantasies about the Holy Grail, the descendants of Jesus, the Knights Templar, Opus Dei and the true story of Mary Magdalene. This has the advantage of distracting them from the theory that the Pentagon was not hit by an airplane.

…

One of the fascinations of the Catholic Church is that it is the oldest continuously surviving organization in the world, and that’s why movies like “The Da Vinci Code” are more fascinating than thrillers about religions founded, for example, by a science-fiction author in the 1950s. All of the places in “The Da Vinci Code” really exist, though the last time I visited the Temple Church I was disappointed to find it closed for “repairs.” A likely story.