I Am Number Four

Blu-Ray Review: Derivative, Generic ‘I Am Number Four’

BrianTT — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:59:07 -0400

CHICAGO – Very few films have felt more made my a movie-making machine than the dull “I Am Number Four,” a film that hopes so desperately to feel like something that you’ve seen before and that you’ll like the familiarity that it never develops a personality of its own. With a dull lead, lackluster romance, goofy dialogue, and melodramatic storytelling, “I Am Number Four” disappoints in nearly every way that a movie can.

Blu-Ray Rating: 1.5/5.0

With echoes of everything from “Star Wars” to ’80s-era Spielberg to “The Twilight Saga,” “I Am Number Four” posits that the new kid in school is really an alien being hunted by another alien species. We have seen countless movies that work on the idea that the new kid at school is not what he seems. Throw in a little action, a little romance, and some sci-fi jargon and you have yourself a movie. Sorta.

I Am Number Four was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 24, 2011
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

The title “I Am Number Four” refers to its central character, a Mogadorian named John (Alex Pettyfer). It turns out that aliens are after his people and they have killed numbers one, two and three. Now, John and his protector Henri (Timothy Olyphant of “Justified”) try to go deeper into hiding to protect him but they end up in the least-protected place in the world — high school.

Wouldn’t you know it, John falls for a sweet photographer named Sarah (Dianna Agron of “Glee”) and the dynamic between alien and high school girl is clearly meant to echo that of vampire and sullen teen in “Twilight.” Haven’t you always known that the dreamy boy at high school was more than he seemed?

I Am Number Four was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 24, 2011
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

The high school romance and subplots about John’s protector and his subsequent protection of a bullied kid at school whose father may have known about the existence of the Mogadorians isn’t nearly as bad as when John’s powers start to develop and he shoots lights out of his hands with no clear definition of his powers. He’s a superhero with no restrictions and it makes the action of the film just ludicrous. He’s super strong and can shoot light out of his hands. And he’s sweet to beat-up kids and heartbroken teen girls. He’s like a superhero imagined by a pre-teen girl.

“I Am Number Four” is so heavy on ridiculous special effects and even more ridiculous dialogue that none of it has any impact at all. Roger Ebert brilliantly pointed out that the whole thing is so divorced from the real world that it might as well have been a cartoon. He was close. Most modern theatrical cartoons are better.

Synopsis:
Three are dead. Who is Number Four? From director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), producer Michael Bay (Transformers) and the writers of TV’s Smallville comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him. Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events - his first love (Dianna Agron, TV’s Glee), powerful new abilities and a secret connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Complete with bloopers and more, I Am Number Four is an explosive, suspense-filled ride that will take you to the edge of your seat and beyond.

Special Features:
o Deleted Scenes
o Bloopers
o Becoming Number Six
o Digital Copy Of Feature Film

“I Am Number Four” stars Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, and Timothy Olyphant. It was directed by D.J. Caruso. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Disney on May 24th, 2011.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 6 ‘I Am Number Four’ Blu-Rays From Producer Michael Bay

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 16 May 2011 00:37:43 -0400

CHICAGO – In our latest superhero edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Blu-ray, we have 6 Blu-rays up for grabs to “I Am Number Four” from the director of “Disturbia” and producer Michael Bay! “I Am Number Four” will be released on Blu-ray on May 24, 2011.

“I Am Number Four” stars Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron (“Glee”), Teresa Palmer, Callan McAuliffe, Kevin Durand, Jake Abel, Jeff Hochendoner, Patrick Sebes, Greg Townley, Reuben Langdon, Emily Wickersham, Molly McGinnis, Brian Howe and Andy Owen from director D.J. Caruso, writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and producer Michael Bay.

To win your free “I Am Number Four” Blu-ray courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The Blu-ray for “I Am Number Four” from the director of “Disturbia” and producer Michael Bay.
Image credit: DreamWorks

Here is the plot description for “I Am Number Four”:

Three are dead. Who is Number Four? From director D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia”), producer Michael Bay (“Transformers”) and the writers of TV’s “Smallville” comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him.

Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events including his first love (Dianna Agron from TV’s “Glee”), powerful new abilities and a secret connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Complete with deleted scenes and more, “I Am Number Four” is an explosive, suspense-filled ride that will take you to the edge of your seat and beyond.

The movie trailer for “I Am Number Four” can be watched now below.

To secure your free “I Am Number Four” Blu-ray, you must be logged into your HollywoodChicago.com Web site account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having a free Web site account with a valid e-mail address is required to win this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup.

Next, simply answer our question. You must submit your answer using this confidential, Web-based submission form. Please do not comment on this page. Your entry will be invalid if you only comment on this page and don’t submit into our Web-based form.

You must include your first and last name, e-mail address and physical mailing address in your submission. Your personal information will not be sold or shared, will be kept strictly confidential and is only for awarding winning entries. You must own a Blu-ray player. Please answer our question below.

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

This Hookup is simple: 6 readers will be selected as the winners of our free “I Am Number Four” Blu-ray Hookup! The winners will be mailed their Blu-rays at our expense. Good luck!

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Publisher
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Box Office News: ‘Unknown’ With Liam Neeson Tops Low-Performing Weekend

BrianTT — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:52:32 -0500

CHICAGO – A President’s Day weekend without too many highlights produced a relatively-lackluster number one in Liam Neeson’s “Unknown,” racking up $25.6 million over the four days, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film barely beat out the competition as “Gnomeo and Juliet,” “I Am Number Four,” “Just Go With It,” and “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son” made up a truly uninspiring top five that was down 30% from last year.

Unknown
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Liam Neeson has become one of the most unexpected action movie stars after the success of “Taken,” “The A-Team,” and, now, “Unknown,” which was able to beat the DreamWorks-promoted “I Am Number Four” by appealing to older viewers. According to THR, 89% of the audience was over 25 and over half of the audience was over 50. Yes, Hollywood, there are markets besides teenagers and this number one should prove that.

Interestingly, the reasoning behind the success of the #2 is similar in that it tapped a currently-underserved demo. In a field with very few family films, “Gnomeo and Juliet” held on strong with an impressive $24.8 million over the four days and $55.7 million total through Sunday. Believe it or not, the Elton John animated flick is on track to become the biggest February animated film ever. There’s your odd trivia for the day.

“I Am Number Four” had to settle for number three, drawing $22.7 million, a disappointing number for the big-budget flick and well below tracking.

“Just Go With It” with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston drew in another $21.7 million and has made $64.2 million in its first eleven days.

The final premiere was “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.” The unscreened-for-critics comedy made an impressive $19 million from 2,821 theaters.

Finally, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” fell 55% from its opening frame, but has made an impressive $51.9 million through Monday.

“The King’s Speech” ($103 million through Sunday), “The Roommate” ($33 million), “The Eagle” ($15 million), and “No Strings Attached” ($66 million) filled out the top ten.

Last year saw a MUCH more robust President’s Day frame with “Valentine’s Day” ($63 million opening), “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” ($39 million) and “The Wolfman” ($36 million).

Will the box office bounce back a bit this weekend with “Hall Pass” with Owen Wilson or “Drive Angry 3D” with Nicolas Cage? Doubtful but we’ll let you know next week.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Film Review: Michael Bay-Produced ‘I Am Number Four’ a Solid Block of Superhero Gouda

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:01:00 -0500

CHICAGO – While the new sci-fi/superhero film “I Am Number Four” can be easily dismissed as yet another “Twilight” knockoff, the power of two mega-producers arms the film with nearly as much right as it does wrong. Thankfully for Chicagoans the film doesn’t star Brett Favre because of his numerical jersey affiliation, but with a story this weak, that stretch wouldn’t be too far.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

With “I play a lot of Xbox” as the film’s only funny line from the mouth of Callan McAuliffe after decimating his first bad guy, “I Am Number Four” has one of the cheesiest scripts in recent memory. Words like the “Mogadorians” (the enemy) soil this script and the “story” is merely an insulting excuse to exhibit some genuinely neat-o special effects.

The screenplay comes from Alfred Gough (“Spider-Man 2”), Miles Millar (“Spider-Man 2”) and Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), based on the novel by Jobie Hughes and James Frey. Despite a painfully anemic script that could be better written by a foreign-language student who doesn’t know English, the film does itself some actual justice with its special effects.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “I Am Number Four”.

With some big names attached to “I Am Number Four” (“Transformers,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” director Michael Bay produces and Steven Spielberg was previously attached as a producer), the film invests heavily and successfully in its action sequences and special effects. “Disturbia” director D.J. Caruso directs “I Am Number Four” with some familiar action sequences from “Eagle Eye”.

Speaking of the film’s action violence, “I Am Number Four” is rated “PG-13” for its intense sequences of violence and action and for language. While this film plays to a similar demographic as the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” flicks, its action sequences are more like “The Dark Knight,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Iron Man” (all of which are also rated “PG-13”). Parents should think twice about bringing their 13-year-old kids to this Disney/DreamWorks picture.

“I Am Number Four” stars Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Teresa Palmer, Callan McAuliffe, Kevin Durand, Jake Abel, Jeff Hochendoner, Patrick Sebes, Greg Townley, Reuben Langdon, Emily Wickersham, Molly McGinnis, Brian Howe and Andy Owen from director D.J. Caruso and writers Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Marti Noxon based on the novel by Jobie Hughes and James Frey. “I Am Number Four” is rated “PG-13” for intense sequences of violence and action and for language. The film, which has a running time of 110 minutes, opened on Feb. 18, 2011.

Continue for Adam Fendelman’s full “I Am Number Four” review.

Sarah (Dianna Agron) is awed by the new ability John (Alex Pettyfer) shares with her in “I Am Number Four”.
Image credit: DreamWorks II Distribution Co.

Continue for Adam Fendelman’s full “I Am Number Four” review.