Direct Current #24/Box Office 1994

ITEM!  Comics Reader - Reading Comics #83 "Angry Faerie Con!"
This is half a report on my first comics con and the other half is about the comic that I picked up as a result, and both were pretty interesting.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Comics Reader - Grant Morrison
I've compiled a whole page on my comics blog about the work of Grant Morrison, who has long been one of my favorite writers.  It lists his work and helpful links to what I've written about on the blog.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Comics Reader - Cobra #18
The latest issue of this superlative series set in the G.I. Joe franchise features the Russian commandos the Oktober Guard and the Joe ninja Ronin, finally revealing her fascinating backstory.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Star Trek Fan Companion - Enterprise 2x24 "First Flight"
Witness the time Archer and Trip met and how they managed to survive a dangerous collaboration to convince the Vulcans that humanity was finally ready to travel into deep space.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Star Trek Fan Companion - Enterprise 2x25 "Bounty"
Archer discovers that the Klingons don't give up easy, finding a Tellarite eager to send him back to the Empire.  And if the Tellarite doesn't succeed, Robert O'Reilly is plenty eager to succeed in his place.  Don't remember the name Robert O'Reilly?  I'll remind you.

Read more here.

ITEM!  Star Trek Fan Companion - Enterprise 2x26 "The Expanse"
The second season of Enterprise concludes with the Klingons making a last-ditch effort to bring Archer to their idea of justice even as the Xindi arc kicks off with a horrific attack on Earth.

Read more here.



SOAP BOX

1994 was the first year I began my practical association with movies, and I'm still grateful.  It was another very good year.

1. Forrest Gump ($329 mil)
The real winner from the success of Rain Man wasn't Dustin Hoffman but rather Tom Hanks, who all but based his best-known performance on the lasting effects of that film.  He won his second Best Actor honors from the Oscars thanks to Forrest.  And everyone still references life being like a box of chocolates because of it.  Because you never know what you're gonna get.  It is a shame, though, that this is still Gary Sinese's most notable screen appearance.

2. The Lion King ($312 mil)
Disney's biggest animation success prior to Pixar, this one represents the apex of the renewed push begun with The Little Mermaid five years earlier.  It's also the reason why Elton John entered into an entirely new phase of his career.

3. True Lies ($146 mil)
Arnold Schwarzenegger in another hit action movie, but again pointedly one that plays him against action movie type.

4. The Santa Clause ($144 mil)
For a moment, Tim Allen seemed like the king of all media.  He starred in the hit sitcom Home Improvement, wrote bestselling books (Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man, though my favorite is I'm Not Really Here), and successfully transitioned into the role of movie star with this innovative look at Christmas which soon began a franchise.  Clearly this would never end...

5. The Flintstones ($130 mil)
John Goodman achieves his greatest box office success playing Fred Flintstone.  Probably the funniest thing about this one.

6. Dumb and Dumber ($127 mil)
Jim Carrey in one of several hits in his breakout year.  I didn't actually see it until years later.

7. Clear and Present Danger ($122 mil)
Harrison Ford's second go-around as Jack Ryan is another success.

8. Speed ($121 mil)
Keanu Reeves might have been the recognized star of this one, but it's Sandra Bullock who undeniably reaped the greatest benefit from appearing in it.  Her first real success, of many more.

9. The Mask ($119 mil)
It's incredible, looking back, that Jim Carrey had all these movies lined up after Ace Ventura made him a star.  Now it just seems as if his success was meant to be, but of course he'd been trying to reach this point for more than a decade.  Also notable as Cameron Diaz's breakout film.

10. Pulp Fiction ($107 mil)
Quentin Tarantino's breakout moment, after Reservoir Dogs made his reputation and other filmmakers made his previous movies.  This is actually a movie that seems like it would have been a smaller success, but it's nice to note that audiences rewarded talent like this for a change.

Other notable releases: Interview with the Vampire ($105 mil; Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and vampires; incredibly this is a huge hit that actually became forgotten, until Twilight made vampires cool again), Maverick ($101 mil; Mel Gibson discovers a historical precedent for his brand of hero), The Client ($92 mil; another hit movie based on John Grisham), Disclosure ($83 mil; Michael Douglas and Demi Moore in another of those relationship thrillers), Star Trek: Generations ($75 mil; Kirk and Picard meet, and then Kirk dies), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ($72 mil; some critics still won't acknowledge the genius of this one, also known as Jim Carrey's breakout role), Stargate ($71 mil; I still wish that more films would have followed, not several TV series), Legends of the Fall ($66 mil; 1994 was also Brad Pitt's breakout year as a popular star), Wolf ($65 mil; starred the Joker and Catwoman), The Specialist ($57 mil; Sly Stallone and Sharon Stone discover that this decade won't be too kind to them), Four Weddings and a Funeral ($52 mil; Hugh Grant discovers half of what will make him famous this decade), The Little Rascals ($52 mil), The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult ($51 mil; Leslie Nielsen's career starts to cool again, not that he'd notice, which is probably why he'd later portray Magoo), The Crow ($50 mil; big cult hit, partly because of Brandon Lee's tragic death on the set), Natural Born Killers ($50 mil; Oliver Stone directs a Tarantino script; another reason why Woody Harrelson inexplicably became a movie star), Angels in the Outfield ($50 mil; another of several '90s baseball movies starring kids), Little Women ($50 mil), When a Man Loves a Woman ($50 mil; providing hope to the careers of Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia), The River Wild ($46 mil; Meryl Streep in her periodic attempts to be a conventional movie star), D2: The Mighty Ducks ($45 mil), Timecop ($44 mil; JCVD in a sorta hit?!?), City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold ($43 mil), The Jungle Book ($43 mil), Beverly Hills Cop III ($42 mil; the law of diminishing returns hits Eddie Murphy's formerly reliable franchise), Nobody's Fool ($39 mil; Paul Newman continues to be a viable star), The Paper ($38 mil; Michael Keaton is still a star, sorta!), On Deadly Ground ($38 mil; seriously, people, Steven Seagal's career is your own darn fault), Richie Rich ($38 mil; Macaulay Culkin didn't star in Dennis the Menace, but he did this one), It Could Happen to You ($37 mil; yes, you too could be Nicolas Cage, be a respectable actor and then eventually become the star of movies people don't respect), Junior ($36 mil; Arnold discovers that the limit of playing against type includes male pregnancy), Nell ($33 mil; Jodie Foster in a role that people remember), Street Fighter ($33 mil; I seriously love this movie, but I guess I could see why others wouldn't), The Shadow ($32 mil; the irony is that if Alec Baldwin made this movie today, he'd probably have a greater chance of having a success on his hands), I Love Trouble ($30 mil; and audiences love movies starring Julia Roberts other than this one), Major League II ($30 mil), Blank Check ($30 mil; the kid who played Worf's son Alexander in Star Trek: The Next Generation starred in this one), A Low Down Dirty Shame ($29 mil; awesome movie title, belongs to a Wayans), In the Army Now ($28 mil; Pauly Shore quickly exits popular approval), The Shawshank Redemption ($28 mil; seriously only made that much; clearly did not have Andy Dufresne as its accountant), I.Q. ($26 mil; Walter Matthau plays Einstein), Wyatt Earp ($25 mil; Kevin Costner has a flop in one of his epic movies; wouldn't be the last time), Quiz Show ($24 mil), Blue Chips ($23 mil; Shaq becomes a movie star), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein ($22 mil; Robert De Niro is excellent as the monster), The Air Up There ($21 mil; Kevin Bacon teaches basketball to Africa), Reality Bites ($20 mil; first notable film from Ben Stiller), Speechless ($20 mil; Superman meets Batman, sorta), With Honors ($20 mil), The Professional ($19 mil; say hello to Luc Besson, Jean Reno, and some chick named Natalie Portman), Little Giants ($19 mil; kids in a football movie!), Wes Craven's New Nightmare ($18 mil; same as the old nightmare), My Girl 2 ($17 mil), The Madness of King George ($15 mil), The Pagemaster ($13 mil), Crooklyn ($13 mil), Bullets over Broadway $13 mil; this awesome title belongs to Woody Allen), Little Big League ($12 mil), 3 Ninjas Kick Back ($11 mil), The Ref ($11 mil; Denis Leary is all kinds of awesome, but movie star he is not), Cops and Robbersons ($11 mil; a title that awesome and starring Chevy Chase and Jack Palance, and still not a hit?), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ($11 mil; let's just say we bid hello to Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, and leave it at that), The Next Karate Kid ($8 mil; Karate Kid, I know Hilary Swank, and you are no Hilary Swank), White Fang II: Myth of the White Wolf ($8 mil), Blankman ($7 mil), Hoop Dreams ($7 mil), Eat Drink Man Woman ($7 mil), North ($7 mil; Elijah Wood and Scarlett Johansson had bigger successes elsewhere, but I still remember the TV campaign for this movie; like I guess everyone else, still haven't seen it), Exit to Eden ($6 mil; it's confusing that Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Ackroyd in bondage gear did not translate to a hit), The Road to Wellville ($6 mil), Ed Wood ($5 mil; it's appropriate that even Tim Burton and Johnny Depp couldn't make an Ed Wood movie that people wanted to see), Airheads ($ mil; early Adam Sandler, but you could tell by the title, couldn't you?), Little Buddha ($4 mil; well of course Keanu Reeves would later star as the Zen master Neo), PCU ($4 mil; Jon Favreau, Jeremy Piven, David Spade?), Clerks ($3 mil; hello Kevin Smith!), Heavenly Creatures ($3 mil; Kate Winslet, Peter Jackson enter the limelight), The Hudsucker Proxy ($2 mil; the Coens are responsible for this particular awesome title), Double Dragon ($2 mil; a video game dud; who other than everyone but Hollywood would've figured?), Death Wish V: The Face of Death ($1 mil; this is the final entry in the series from Charles Bronson), Cobb ($1 mil; the glut of baseball movies did not mean people wanted to see Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb), Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow ($100 thou; this series finally ends; and then becomes a TV series), It's Pat ($60 thou; people really did not want to see a movie based on this particular Saturday Night Live character)

Source: Box Office Mojo