Kathmandu:

It was a bad year for Hollywood, which likes money more than it does good films or Oscars. Says Ann Donahue, Hollywood writer, “At times last year, movie companies were knocked down and badly bruised. By November they were eight per cent less than they were by

November 2004.”

In 2006, companies are going to be more cautious and follow the hits of 2005, which are given here courtesy of Premiere Magazine.

Blockbusters

1) Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith 2) Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire 3) War Of The Worlds 4) Wedding Crashers 5) Charlie And The Chocolate Factory 6) Batman Begins.

Hits

1) Madagascar 2) Mr And Mrs Smith 3) Hitch 4) The Longest Yard 5) Fantastic Four 6) Chicken Little 7) Robots 8) The Pacifier 9) The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Sleepers

1) Saw II 2) Are We There Yet? 3) March Of The Penguins 4) The Exorcism Of Emily Rose 5) Four Brothers 6) Guess Who 7) Coach Carter 8) White Noise 9) Diary Of A Mad Black Woman.

Bombs

1) Sahara 2) Kingdom Of Heaven 3) The Island 4) Stealth 5) XXX: State Of The Union 6) lektra.

Lame Ducks

1) Two For The Money 2) Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo 3) Man Of The House 4) Into The Blue 5) Son Of The Mask 6) The Cave 7) Lords Of The Dogtown 8) The Man.

Back to Ann Donahue who writes, “Years of hand-wringing over the reduced box office bounty of R-rated movies proved to be for naught- at least for R-rated sex comedies. Wedding Cra-shers and The 40-Year-Old Virgin proved there’s still a bit of Porky’s in all of us. In the surprise of the year, Crashers’ Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson guffawed their way to $209 million.”

I personally loved Wedding Crashers with its many high points. But there were some fairly uneven moments. But mostly critics loved it like Kit Bowen who says, “Divorce mediators John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) — lifelong friends whose hobby it is to crash weddings, get laid and never look back — embark on a journey of self-discovery. Well, maybe not a journey exactly, more like a weekend of debauchery. And maybe not self-discovery, per se, more a realisation falling in love isn’t such a bad thing.

It all starts when the charismatic and charming duo crash the social event of the year, the wedding of Treasury Secretary William Cleary’s (Christopher Walken) daughter. They stick to the Crashers Code, at first, setting their sights on two bridesmaids, Claire (Rachel McAdams) and Gloria (Isla Fisher) Cleary, creating clever back stories and becoming the hit of the lavish party.”

“There must be some kind of osmosis thing that happens when the Frat Packers mix it up. Of course, I’m talking about the comedic talents of Vaughn, Wilson, his brother Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell, who just keep churning out one hilarious film — Old School, Dodgeball, Starsky & Hutch — after another, in various tag-team combinations. Wedding Crashers is no exception.”

“From the moment we see Jeremy and John crashing a variety of ethnic weddings (Jewish, Hindu, Chinese) to their escapades at the Cleary home, Wedding Crashers will simply split your sides and make you spit out your Coke. You’re probably going to see it a few more times just so you can pick up stuff you might have missed while laughing so hard.”