What to See (or not) 4/29/2010

This weekend sees the opening of Nightmare on Elm Street, which opened once before in 1984, and it isn’t clear why we need to do this again. Jackie Earle Haley plays Freddy Krueger, which is kind of cool because I like Jackie Earl Haley, but I probably won’t see this movie. Early reviews suggest it’s a pale reflection of the original. A family friendly film called Furry Vengeance is also hitting lots of screens, all about a housing development that makes a bunch of woodland creatures mad, so they get even and teach everyone about good environmental stewardship. Actually it seems like a cute idea, but apparently that’s all it is; critics hate this thing. Really hate it. Left over from last weekend, we have The Losers, which got a few medium reviews and lots of terrible ones; didn’t make much money either. The Back Up Plan, also continuing from last week, is hanging on to a bunch of theaters but not a lot of high expectations. It’s an average little rom-com, where Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who decides to have a baby with a sperm donor, because Mr. Right is never going to show up, and then Mr. Right shows up. Hilarity tries to ensue.

Hollywood is holding its collective breath, waiting for the opening of Iron Man 2 on May 7, kicking off the Big Summer Movie Season. Then they believe that gleeful crowds will roar into theaters, and spend a lot of money. Meanwhile, not much to see. 

What to See: 4/16/2010

Couple of films opening big this weekend: Kick-Ass and Death at a Funeral. Kick-Ass is a comic book movie about a bunch of regular folks who decide to become superheroes. Depending on who you listen to, Kick-Ass is either “the best superhero movie since The Dark Night” (ReelViews) or “morally reprehensible” (Roger Ebert). It is rated R, has a lot of violence, cussing, and a 13 year old girl playing an 11 year old girl who kills people -- bad people, but still. Kick Ass will win the box office derby this weekend; the only question is by how much. Death at a Funeral is a remake of a 2007 film of the same name; this one was made with a mostly African American cast. Variety calls it a “strained, mirthless comedy” and Roger Ebert “laughed all the way through.” What’s with old Roger, anyway? I thought the original was mostly entertaining, and I would probably see this one if I have a free afternoon. In limited release, The Joneses is the story of a perfect family that turns out not to be a family at all – mom, dad, and the teenage kids are employees of a marketing company that sells “lifestyles,” and all the attendant fashion and electronic gizmos that go along with that. Basically, the folks next door are living, breathing subliminal advertisements. So far, pretty average reviews for this one; seems the film doesn’t really go anywhere with its intriguing premise. Other than that, you can still catch the 3-D trio (Clash, Alice, Dragon) or Date Night – although if you’re having a nice time at dinner, and you’re wondering if you should order more wine, or rush off to catch Date Night, go with the wine.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Okay, bear with me as I bring up one more lightweight pop culture news item: The Man from UNCLE movie is back on track! The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Max Borenstein, who you haven’t heard of, has signed on to write the script, and David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) is set to direct.

Now if you’re a little nervous that the Wedding Crashers dude is in charge well, who can blame you? No one wants Vince Vaughn to play Napoleon Solo. But the good news is that there were only three and a half seasons of the original show, so these guys shouldn’t have too much trouble catching up and getting a sense of the tone of the series. And maybe we will get a cool, hip, action packed big screen re-telling that is true to the old show -- instead of a travesty like the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies. (Love ya, Tom, but it’s the Mission Impossible Team, there’s supposed to be a bunch of multi-talented people working together, not just you, on a motorcycle, shooting at stuff.) This news is so new that there is no way to tell when this movie might come out. It just seems more likely that it will.  Open Channel D!

Whedon to Direct The Avengers

You heard it here first – but only if this is the first place you read it – Joss Whedon appears to be on track to direct The Avengers, the comic book movie that brings together Iron Man and Captain America and Thor and probably other superheroes, depending on how all of their flicks do between now and when The Avengers starts filming.  Now I’m not a huge comic book fan (I like comic book movies, but generally don’t read up ahead of time) but I know that this project has caused some excitement in that community, and those guys usually have a big impact on the buzz of a new comic book film when it comes out.  Joss Whedon is popular with this crowd and why not?  The Buffy-Angel-Firefly-Dr.Horrible creator is really good at this stuff.

But don’t overreact – The Avengers isn't slated to open until May 2012.  But, at least we’ll get to see it before the world ends that December.

Review: Date Night

Steve Carell and Tina Fey pair up for their first big screen comedy. They play Phil and Claire Foster, a middle aged couple who are afraid that their marriage has lost its spark. To rediscover the old magic, they leave the kids with a babysitter and head off to a hip restaurant in Manhattan for dinner - but they can’t get a table, so they impulsively claim someone else’s reservation. This is a bad idea: turns out the couple they are impersonating is shaking down a corrupt district attorney, and Claire and Phil end up spending their romantic evening running around Manhattan, desperately trying to evade a couple of gun toting thugs.

The premise is good, but boy, is the script mediocre. It bounces from thriller to screwball comedy and back again, and then tries to mix the two, but it never goes far enough in any direction to be really funny or suspenseful. And the screenwriter tries to address the whole monotonous marriage thing by arbitrarily tacking on the occasional relationship discussion – Phil and Claire actually pull their getaway car over so they can “talk,” when they should be driving for their lives. There are also some weird character shifts: in the beginning, both Phil and Claire seem like interesting, smart, slightly wacky people whose spontaneous selves have gotten lost in the routines of day to day family life. But by the end of the movie, we are asked to believe that Phil is a crafty latent super spy, and Claire is unable to follow a simple line of reasoning. “I don’t know what’s going on,” she keeps moaning, and we wonder how that is possible, because there isn’t much happening at all.

All that being said, this isn’t a terrible movie, just kind of a disappointing one. It could easily wait for video but if you are looking for a night out, Date Night is good for some laughs and anyway, it’s fun to watch Tina Fey and Steve Carell work. B-


Photo - Twentieth Century Fox

Date Night opens and more on Kick Ass 4-9-2010

Date Night opens today; it’s the only new film opening nationwide, taking on the 3-D juggernaut (Alice, Dragon, Titans) that has dominated the box office for weeks.  Date Night is the big screen pairing of Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a screwball sort of comedy about a night out gone horribly wrong.  Critics have been pretty happy with the picture; while there’ve been a few snarky comments about the script and the director, most everyone enjoys watching the two stars.    Date Night has snagged almost as many theaters as Clash of the Titans, and the two will likely battle it out for the box office crown. 

Meanwhile, let’s talk Kick Ass some more.  (Did I mention I’m looking forward to this one?)  The film is rated R but mostly the trailers – the ones that screen in theaters -- have been PG.  This is normal; very few theaters will screen trailers that aren’t for general audiences, even before an R rated film.  But now, thanks to the Internets you can see the so called “red band” trailers (the background for the opening screen – “the following preview has been approved for …” is red, instead of green). Traffic for the Kick Ass red bands has been brisk, although there is some concern about violence, teen style sex talk, and the fact that a 13 year old girl uses the "c" word (not that "c" word.  The other "c" word.  No, wait, both of them) and it's tough to keep young people from watching it on their computer screens.      Hey, I get it, I kept my kids out of R rated films until they were old enough to sneak in themselves.  By then I figured I'd given it my best shot.  Anyway, this is a foul mouthed trailer advertising a foul mouthed film, and you can watch it here (note that when you get to the site you will have to enter your age to see the trailer).


Photo - Twentieth Century Fox

Review: Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans is full of swords and sandals and sweaty men fighting giant mythical creatures. It’s based on the Greek legend of Perseus, although the screen writers take liberties with the story. In this telling, Earth’s humans have become disenchanted with their vengeful and unpredictable gods, so they decide to rebel. The gang on Olympus doesn’t think much of that, and in spite of their long simmering acrimony Zeus teams up with his brother Hades to put down the uprising. But they don’t count on Perseus, Zeus’ half mortal son who has an axe to grind – his adopted family was killed by Hades, collateral damage in a bigger battle.

Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar), becomes an unwilling hero of the rebellion as soon as the other humans recognize his demi-god talents; for example, he masters expert sword fighting skills after one lesson. Also, he takes a little walk in the forest and sees a glowing thing -- it turns out to be a magic sword that retracts like a light saber when anyone else tries to use it. Perseus doesn’t want to exploit all that specialness, since it makes him too much like the enemy, but it’s pretty clear that he’ll come around, particularly when Hades starts unleashing all kinds of savage creatures on his ragtag little band. And of course there are a couple of damsels in distress who can’t be rescued by just a regular guy.

Frankly, I don’t know why there’s been so much critical complaining about this movie. It’s not great cinema but it isn’t trying to be; it has a sort of dumb movie integrity. And if the 3-D was lousy well, sorry, James Cameron, it didn't bother me much. (I did suffer some sticker shock when I paid $16 for a matinee). And here’s the thing: even though I thought Avatar was visually stunning, I found Sam Worthington a lot more interesting in this film. It’s not a perfect performance but he shoulders the reluctant hero role pretty well, starting out as a kind of dazed country bumpkin and evolving, a little erratically, into a  swashbuckling leader. I look forward to seeing him on screen again. See this film if you're in the mood to kick back with some popcorn and enjoy a little mindless fun.  With Ralph Fiennes as Volde – oops – Hades; Liam Neeson, almost convincing as Zeus; and Gemma Arterton as the goddess Io, who doesn’t show up in the original story. Big spring hit; playing everywhere. B-


Photo - Warner Bros

Looking forward to Kick Ass

You know things are slow in tinsel town when the big news of the day is that Winona Ryder might possibly be landing a gig in a Ron Howard movie, if it works out. You remember Winona? She had a promising career until she got caught shoplifting, and then things just weren’t the same.

Far more interesting is the upcoming release of Kick Ass, a comic book action picture about regular people who decide to become superheroes. You may have seen an ad or two. I’m excited about this movie; it’s got an interesting premise and Nicholas Cage (he plays Big Daddy). The film also has Chloe Moritz as Hit Girl; Chloe was the down to earth little sister in 500 Days of Summer, and she’s also slated to play a vampire in the American remake of Let the Right One In. (Now that’s a creepy movie.) Kick Ass comes out on April 16, the studio no doubt hoping to lure in a youthful pre-summer audience before Iron Man 2 hits the theaters in May. Have I mentioned that Iron Man opens on my birthday? I’m looking forward to that one too.

Photo - Lionsgate

3-D or not...

Clash of the Titans raked in the dough over the weekend, biggest Easter opening ever and all that. Critics didn’t much like it but there were plenty of fantasy fans who had a great time at the movies. Interestingly, Clash generated a lot of talk in movie land about the wisdom of 3-D conversions; this one started out in 2-D but was converted by the studio to take advantage of the technology’s current popularity. And generate box office, since 3-D screens charge more. But Kenneth Turan, the best known film critic at the LA Times, griped in his review that “Clash of the Titans is the first film to actually be made worse by being in 3-D.” And Louis Leterrier, who directed Clash, groused on Yahoo that the conversion wasn’t his idea.

Never mind. The film made money and that’s what the studios are in business to do. And people are buying the higher priced tickets, either not knowing or not caring that the 3-D they’re experiencing isn’t the best. Hey, it’s Clash of the Titans people, this audience is looking for fun, not art.

Comments, anyone?  Did you love the film?


Photo - Warner Bros

What's Playing: 4-2-2010

It’s Easter weekend and you can Clash with Titans or Train Your Dragon or visit Wonderland with your 3-D glasses on.  Last week there was a little kerfuffle when Dreamworks told exhibitors that if they didn’t show Dragon in their 3-D theaters, they couldn’t have the 2-D version either. Theater owners didn’t much like that, so they were happy to turn over a bunch of 3-D screens to newcomer Clash. Clash is actually a remake of a 1981 film that was a bit of a hit in its time, using stop motion photography to tell the story of Perseus and his epic battle against Hades. This time around the story gets told in 3-D, and the filmmakers are counting on the kind of audience that made 300 a hit. There are a lot of fantasy/ Comic Con types who are hotly anticipating this film. The cast is intriguing: Sam Worthington, lately of Avatar, stars as Perseus, with Ralph Fiennes as the evil Hades and Liam Neeson as Zeus. (Neeson as Zeus? Why is that automatically funny?) Early reviews are mediocre, and it's probably good to bear in mind that this film wasn't shot in 3-D, so it may not add much to the experience. Also out this weekend is Tyler Perry’s latest, Why Did I Get Married Too, starring Janet Jackson. It’s about four couples who travel to the Bahamas together and begin to question their marriages. In a funny way. No critical opinion on this because Perry’s films are never screened in advance, but they  generally do well at the box office, so expect this one to make a splash. Miley Cyrus’ latest attempt to leave Hannah Montana behind, The Last Song, is holding on from its Wednesday opening; this is a weepy love story Nicholas Sparks thing, with a father/daughter conflict thrown in. Lousy reviews, but so far popular with tweeners on Spring Break.

Lots of kid stuff, because of Spring Break; next weekend grownups are targeted with the Steve Carell/Tina Fey comedy, Date Night.  Meanwhile, have you seen An Education?  It's out now on DVD.

Photo - Warner Bros