‘Taken 2,’ ‘The Paperboy’ slated for box office debut this weekend

There are two big Hollywood blockbusters out this week: Lee Daniels’s star-studded indie southern gothic period piece, ‘The Paperboy’ and the Liam Neeson action thriller, “Taken 2.”

While there are several other new releases, these two should take the lion’s share of the box office profits.

Taken seems like an odd choice for a sequel. After all, how likely is it that one man would experience two separate kidnappings? Takeaway culture producer Kristen Meinzer, however, hopes there are many more kidnappings in this character’s future.

“You never have to stop and think about whether or not things are logical,” Kristen said. “There’s a lot of stuff that makes absolutely no sense, but it doesn’t matter because it’s so much fun.”  

In this particular movie, Neeson’s character and his ex-wife both are the ones who are kidnapped. Meinzer compared it in some ways to the Bourne series, which has come back over and over, but lauded it for having a hero who’s a bit older.

“This is a great action hero to look forward to becoming as we age,” she said.

The Paperboy is a very different kind of film. Indeed, Meinzer says it’s very different from most things she’s seen.

“It’s Southern Gothic, it’s a thriller, it’s a comedy, and I think a lot of people don’t know what to make of all these things being mixed together,” she said. “Personally though, I loved it. I thought it was like nothing else I’ve ever seen.”

The movie is a mix of a variety of story lines. There’s a convicted murderer, a journalist, a faithful sister, a devoted lover and they all mix together in a variety of ways.

“A lot of critics are saying there’s just too much going on,” Meinzer said. “It’s a thriller. It’s a comedy.”

The movie is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Pete Dexter.