(Note: Well apparently no one saw my last $5 Bin, so instead writing a new one I'm just re-posting this one)

Happy holidays everyone and welcome to week 3 of the $5 Bin! Again, I would like to thank everyone out there for the support and the site for featuring my first two $5 Bins.

Now onto the Bin!

If I had actually planned this out I would have made this a holiday themed post (sorry). But if you would like to hear my opinion on Christmas Vacation 2 you can check out my first $5 Bin.

Now, I'm writing this post on Christmas Eve and yes I did go to Walmart today. I wasn't planning on going, but my procrastinating girlfriend had to go for some last minute Xmas shopping. So me being the loyal boyfriend (bitch) I am, went along. I decided to make the best of the situation and take a gander through The $5 Bin!

So let's jump right into it with...

The Lowlight:

Dragonball: Evolution

Even though it hasn't even been 2 years since its theatrical release (April 2009), I have to say I wasn't very surprised to see this in the bin at all.

Dragonball: Evolution is another classic example of a studio taking a popular brand and trying to cash in on it's success. And unfortunately another example of failing miserably at it...

"The story begins with Goku, who seeks out upon his adoptive grandfather Grandpa Gohan's dying request to find the great Master Roshi and gather all seven Dragon Balls. Of which he has one, in order to prevent the evil Lord Piccolo from succeeding in his desire to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world. And Goku's quest is to obtain the mystical Dragonballs before Piccolo does."

This plot synopsis for the movie, taken from IMDb, sounds pretty much the same as the beloved anime source material. So far so good, right? Well, from there it all goes downhill. The synopsis is about the only thing they get right with this whole movie.

Apart from the source material, the main problem with this movie was the way it was made. They butcher the source material so much, to the point where it pushes away fans of the original anime. While, at the same time, being too confusing for potential new fans to grasp...

Also it just plan sucks!

Thankfully, for everyone's sake, this movie was a box office bomb, bringing in a measly $9,362,78, a fraction of it's $45,000,000 budget.

The Highlight:

Children of Men

On to one of my favorite movies of all time, Children of Men.

The cinematography alone is enough to love this movie, but there's so much more to this movie than it's technical work. Children of Men is one of the most original, realistic, sci-fi futuristic movies to come out in a long time.

The movie is set in 2027 London, in a world where a single child has not been born for 18 years with no scientific explanation. England has become overrun by African and Eastern European immigrants trying to escape their devastated countries suffering from their dwindling populations. Theo Faron (Clive Owen), an ex-activist turned bureaucrat, finds himself caught between the government and a revolutionary group called The Fishes, lead by his ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore). The Fishes recruit Theo to protect the planet's last remaining hope, Kee, an African girl who has mysteriously become pregnant. Theo must lead Kee through a city full of warring nationalistic sects to safety, while facing his own demons along the way.

The performances here are nothing short of outstanding. Clive Owen plays a rugged everyday paper-pusher hurled into an unthinkable situation, so well. If you notice, as he is running through the war-torn countryside he never picks up a gun of any kind which I think says a lot about his character. The other key performance comes from Claire-Hope Ashitey, who plays the pregnant girl Kee (get it? Key and Kee?... oh nevermind...).

Apart from the two main characters, the movie is littered with great supporting performances from the likes of Sir Michael Caine as a hippie confidant of Theo, Julian Moore the feisty ex-wife of Theo and leader of The Fishes, along with small, but very strong bit parts from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Huston, and Pam Ferris.

Unfortunately, much like my previous picks, this wonderful piece of cinema didn't fair too well with the US box office. Despite being nominated for 3 Oscars, the film pulled in a gross of $35,286,428, while the budget was somewhere around $76,000,000. The film also, somehow, eluded even a nomination for Best Picture.

Don't hesitate to pick up this gem.

Well another week over, another $5 Bin down

So Until Next Time Spend Your $5 Wisely.....

-ERIK

The Previous Bin: (Super Mario Bros./Letters From Iwo Jima)