Women Film Critics Honor 'Changeling,' Streep

Katey Rich from Cinema Blend voted for the Women Film Critics Circle Awards, which has now named its winners. As you might expect, their categories are slightly different than a typical list. They're intended to celebrate the work of women in the movies, but the group does acknowledge some general film awards, as well.

I'm a man, so I simply can't know, but the odds are there's still an awful lot of room for improvement in the treatment of women in show business, as there is everywhere else. But I'd like to think it's getting a little bit better as we go. And to show there's no hard feelings, the WFCC gave an award to 9 1/2 Weeks and Angel Heart star Mickey Rourke. Talk about progress! (On the flip side, they also list the most offensive male characters of the year.)You can read the full list of awards at Cinema Blend, but here's a starter course:Best Movie About Women:
Changeling Best Movie By a Woman:
Frozen River Best Storyteller (Screenwriting):
Jennifer Lumet - Rachel Getting Married Best Actress:
Melissa Leo - Frozen RiverBest Actor:
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler Best Young Actress:
Abigail Breslin - Kit Kittredge and Definitely Maybe Best Comedic Actress:
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky and Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia! (tie)

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Box Office - 'Quantum of Solace' Shatters Bond Record

As expected, Quantum of Solace completely dominated the weekend box office, setting a new opening weekend record for James Bond film and outearning all but the last five movies in only three days.The $70 million weekend passes last week's Madagascar debut for the fourth-best debut of 2008, according to Box Office Mojo, and it now seems pretty clear that this will be the first 007 movie to exceed $200 million in U.S. ticket sales. We've been covering the film's performance overseas as well, and while the most recent weekend numbers have not been reported yet, we do know that Solace will likely be near $300 million in global receipts by Monday.The debut is even more impressive when you factor in that the film opened in 600 fewer theaters than Madagascar, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, and The Dark Knight. Where would the number be if the film had shown in 4,000 theaters this weekend? Probably in the $80 million ballpark, based on its per-screen averages.Madagascar had another big showing, taking in $36 million, which puts its U.S. total around $120 million in ten days. It will be interesting to see how much of its audience migrates to see Bolt next weekend. Still, it should have no trouble making back its $150 million budget in domestic ticket sales alone.Speaking of being in the black, congrats to Role Models, which now looks poised to make something like $60 million, and now sits well ahead of its budget at $38 million in two weeks. Zack and Miri just turned that corner, too, although the film is generally considered a box office disappointment. Three other movies currently in the top ten are massive moneymakers, as well: High School Musical, The Secret Life of Bees, and Saw V. And Kirk Cameron's Fireproof has still earned more than its $500,000 budget in every weekend it's been in theaters. The faith-based firefighter movie has made a staggering 60 times its budget in two months.The Top Five:1 - Quantum of Solace ($70 million)
2 - Madagascar ($36 million)
3 - Role Models ($11 million)
4 - High School Musical ($5.8 million)
5 - Changeling ($4.2 million)

Box Office - Max Brings the 'Payne'

Max Payne did the job it was supposed to do: It won the weekend box office by a wide margin. But there was a hangover for Payne, like there was for a couple other new releases, because Friday was by far its best performance.According to Box Office Mojo, Payne made just over $7 million on Friday and wound up with a weekend total of $18 million. Not bad, but based on the way weekends normally go, the audience for the Mark Wahlberg video game adaptation slid downhill on Saturday and particularly on Sunday. The political biopic W. also began the weekend in robust fashion, but was crawling to the finish line. Friday's numbers would have led you to believe W. could have made $12 million or more this weekend, but the totals on Saturday and Sunday indicate that there was initial curiosity about this film that has already subsided.In a way, the big winner was Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which most analysts thought would drop below Payne, W. and The Secret Life of Bees, but it found a groove and repeated as the number two film of the weekend.On the independent front, both Happy-Go-Lucky and Rachel Getting Married, movies powered by potential Best Actress performances, were the top two finishers when you consider the ever-important per-screen average. Both films will expand over the next few weeks and positive reviews and building word-of-mouth should help them stay in theaters through the holidays.The Top Five: 1 - Max Payne ($18 million)
2 - Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($11.2 million)
3 - The Secret Life of Bees ($11 million)
4 - W. ($10.5 million)
5 - Eagle Eye ($7.3 million)

Box Office - 'Max Payne' Wins Friday Easily

So far so good for Max Payne, the new video game adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg. On Friday, it easily distanced itself from the pack at the box office, taking in just over $7 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That figures to mean a $20 million debut for Payne, a great number considering its $35 million budget. Oliver Stone's W. finished the day in second place, and appears to be headed towards a $12 - $14 million weekend. Like Max Payne, it has a reasonable budget despite its high profile, so W. will have no problem earning a profit, especially considering Stone's worldwide audience, which generally treats him better than American crowds. The Secret Life of Bees is a slight surprise, taking third place on Friday, with Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Eagle Eye rounding out the day's top five. The week's other new release, Sex Drive, should finish in the $4 million range, which is about what was expected from the teen comedy.Though we'll follow it more extensively next week, there are a rash of major box office bombs in theaters at the moment, with films like How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, The Express, Body of Lies, and City of Ember simply failing to connect with enough people. Only one of those films will make $20 million domestically - Body of Lies - while the others will be stuck around $10 million if they're lucky.

Movie Review - 'The Secret Life of Bees'

The Secret Life of Bees Starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okenedo Directed by Gina Price-Blythewood Rated PG-13

The Secret Life of Bees is a film with a lot of heart. On its own, that's not always enough, but this one has a fair amount of intelligence, too. It's smart enough to let its two lead actors carry the action and propel the drama with their instincts, and when your leads are Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, those instincts are usually pretty good.The story could've been anything, so long as The Queen and Dakota were able to share a few scenes, but the film is based on the novel of the same name, about a girl's search for truth in a time searching for its own. Lily (Fanning) tells us in the film's opening minutes of the horrible way she came to be at a crossroads in her life at the age of 14.Her relationship with her father (Paul Bettany) is not one to treasure; withstanding it may even be tough. So Lily decides to split town with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), who works for her father.This being 1964, a white girl and a black woman walking through rural South Carolina might raise an eyebrow. But Lily believes she is being guided somewhere important when she winds up on the doorstep of August Boatright (Queen Latifah). August and her sisters, May and June (Sophie Okenedo and Alicia Keys) offer to let Lily and Rosaleen stay so long as they help with the family business: Honey.We have seen many of the lessons taught by The Secret Life of Bees in other films. And there are still many lessons to be learned about racial equality in our everyday lives, secret or otherwise. Those are not the film's strengths, but rather its window dressing. The real power here is in the terrific ensemble of women who push each other and pull each other closer. And yes, Dakota Fanning can now be considered a woman, by my estimation.Though she is still only 14 years old, Fanning is beginning to walk into more mature roles with a grace equal to the precociousness that marked her work as a seven-year-old in I Am Sam. She has always been believable, perhaps too mature for her years, but now she's a veteran, and she's gaining an understanding that comes with growing up.The Secret Life of Bees hinges on that, as well as the natural ability of Queen Latifah. And for the most part, the film succeeds because of their efforts. But I found that it took risks it did not need to take and didn't take some it probably should have. It's still a nice movie with great performances, but it's probably a little too nice and not demanding enough.