Micro Review: Machete

I'm late to the punch here on this one as Shawn and Anthony Michael Bosa have already watched this bad boy. But better late than never right!?! Machete is bad ass. It's a throwback to the 1970's blacksploitation era, only with a Mexican. Think of this as a more serious take on Black Dynamite. There's truckloads of action and gore and some great bit roles for the awesome likes of Don Johnson, Robert De Niro, Jeff Fahey, and Steven Seagal. Michelle Rodriguez and Jessica Alba supply the hotness. Too bad the whole silly project collapses under its own weight in the final reel. I'm glad I saw it and I did enjoy it, but I will likely not watch it again. That rates Machete a Bad for me.

Box Office Report: The American Outpaces The Mexican

George Clooney's hitman tale The American captured the top spot at the box office with a $16.4 million debut over the long Labour Day weekend.

Since opening Wednesday, the Focus Features release has taken in $19.5 million.

The 20th Century Fox revenge romp Machete and Sony's heist thriller Takers were in a duel for second-place. Machete led with $14 million from Friday to Monday. Takers followed with $13.5 million.

Takers" which had been the No. 1 movie the previous weekend, raised its 10-day total to $40 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, Drew Barrymore's romance Going the Distance from Warner Bros., opened at No. 5 with $8.6 million.

It was a typically quiet Labuor Day period for Hollywood, a transition weekend as summer blockbuster season ends and young audiences prepare for the start of the school year.

With $3.9 million over the long weekend, Universal's animated hit Despicable Me raised its haul to $241.3 million, surpassing the $238.4 million take of DreamWorks Animation's Shrek Forever After, which failed to catch the same box-office fire as the franchise's earlier installments.

Summer's top hit, Disney's animated blockbuster Toy Story 3, pulled in $2.7 million to lift its total to $408.8 million, second only to Shrek 2 at $436 million on the domestic chart for animated features.

1. The American, $16.4 million.
2. Machete, $14 million.
3. Takers, $13.5 million.
4. The Last Exorcism, $8.8 million.
5. Going the Distance, $8.6 million.
6. The Expendables, $8.5 million.
7. The Other Guys, $6.7 million.
8. Eat Pray Love, $6.3 million.
9. Inception, $5.9 million.
10. Nanny McPhee Returns, $4.7 million.