Oscar Frenzy

Are there films opening this weekend? A couple, yes, but they are well hidden behind the Oscar hype. This is what’s out there: Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, and Fired Up. Madea Goes to Jail is Perry’s latest installment in his very successful Madea series; the films are not screened for critics (or anyone else, apparently) so it’s hard to get a heads up on this one. Fired Up has been reviewed, though, and it is not a well liked film. The best thing about it, according to a lot of critics, is that it borrows heavily from Wedding Crashers – but they all recommend that you see that instead. Meanwhile, there is lots of Oscar intrigue, like, who is not going to be allowed to walk the red carpet, because they are surprise presenters? (Are you all on the edge of your seats on this one?) Or, is it appropriate, in these economic times, for someone like, say, Beyonce, to wear a 200 carat diamond necklace to the show? (For the record, the jewelers and designers who dress these women think that the high ticket elegance is good for us regular folks; we are transported, they believe, by the spectacle of famous people in fancy clothes. Makes us forget all about our 401ks.)

Meanwhile, Slumdog is trying to grab the box office gold by ramping up its theater counts – the little movie that could is on almost as many screens as The International this weekend. Otherwise, if you haven’t see Milk yet, that’s a good one, and it could pull an upset on Sunday. A couple of DVD releases are interesting: Changeling -- Angelina Jolie plays a mother in 1928 Los Angeles whose son vanishes; the LAPD, desperate to solve the case, pick up another boy and try to convince her that they’ve found her son. Notorious true bit of Los Angeles crime history. Jolie is nominated for Best Actress for this part. Also Religulous, Bill Maher’s traveling documentary about religion and the religious; entertaining, generally interesting film. If you have preteens, High School Musical 3 is out on DVD this week, but then, if you have preteens, you already know that. See you on the Red Carpet! (Actually, I won’t be there, I just watch the Oscars at home on TV.)