Wiki News/New Movies and Box Office Predictions: Despicable Me, Predators, Cyrus, The Girl Who Played with Fire

This weekend targets a variety of demographics as we look to pick up the pieces in the wake of last week's carpet bombing of Twilight proportions. Family, action, comedy, science fiction, and other genres are represented by this week's releases. I do not see any of them being any sort of blockbuster, but I suspect a couple of them will see considerable success and I am eager to see just how high that success will go.

Despicable Me. (2010, 95 minutes, PG, animation) When I saw the first trailer for this movie, I can honestly say that I had very little interest in seeing it. With that said, the more clips and trailers that surfaced, the more my interest was piqued. The main character, Gru (Steve Carell), is technically a bad guy and that intrigues me. He is planning to steal the moon with the help of his minions, little yellow critters that aid him. His plans are thrown into disarray with the arrival of three young girls into his life. I am actually looking forward to it. The film is also the latest to feature 3D as the gimmick du jour; hopefully they use it properly.

Predators. (2010, 107 minutes, R, science fiction/action) Now this one has my attention. I love the original. The sequel has its charms and while the Aliens Vs Predator movies put the big hurt on two franchises, they have their moments. This one looks like it could bring the positive back to the series. Producer Robert Rodriguez has said he wants this to be to Predator what Aliens is to Alien. From the buzz that has been picking up, I hear it is close. I have avoided spoilery types of information, but the base story has some elite killer-types from Earth being kidnapped and placed on an alien world where the Predators hunt them. The cast includes Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Alice Braga. Nimrod Antal (Vacancy) sits in the director's chair.

Cyrus. (2010, 92 minutes, R, comedy) I've been wanting to see this ever since I first heard about it some months ago. It's been in limited release but is slowly spreading out and it is now close enough for me to go and see. John C. Reilly stars as a lonely single guy who meets the perfect woman in Marisa Tomei. The problem is her grown son who lives at home, played by Jonah Hill. The two men do not get along well and comedy ensues. It looks like a winner to me!

The Girl Who Played with Fire. (2010, 129 minutes, R, thriller) I have been looking forward to this ever since I saw the fantastic The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo earlier this year. That one is my favorite movie of the year and I hope that this is half as good. Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace reprise their roles as magazine publisher and computer hacker, respectively. This outing has Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist investigating sex trafficking. However, one of the suspects turns up dead with Noomi's Lisbeth Salander's fingerprints on the weapon. Please let it be good!

Also opening this week, but not near me:

·Around a Small Mountain ·Grease: Sing-a-Long Edition ·The Kids are All Right ·Red Alert: The Enemy Within ·Winnebago Man ·[REC]2

'''Box Office Predictions

I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that Eclipse will tumble from its perch and Despicable Me will prove strong enough to take over the top spot. Of course, I would love to see Predators ascend to the top, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Here is how I think it could play out: