Este espaço é preenchido apenas pelas estreias que penso serem relevantes
SEMANA DE 29/05/08
*SEX AND THE CITY
Director: Michael Patrick King
Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon (Full Cast)
Studio: New Line Cinema
The Plot: Set four years after we last saw the ladies, Carrie (Parker), Samantha (Cattrall), Miranda (Nixon), and Charlotte (Davis) negotiate their friendships, romances, and careers in New York City. At the center of it all is Carrie\"s pending nuptials to Mr. Big (Noth) ...
THE BUZZ: Sorry if this is obscure (or annoying) but if there\"s one thing Strangers with Candy the movie taught me, it\"s this: Don\"t watch the big-screen versions of your favorite television shows in theaters; experience them at home on DVD, either alone or with your pals ... essentially, however you watched the show when it was on TV. There\"s something in a transfer such as this that numbs the overall experience. Yes, we\"re excited for Carrie & Co. to strut the streets of NYC again (and we\"re glad that SJP and KC are BFFs, or at least acting like it), but we see no reason to pick out a cute theater-going outfit when you can relax at home in your matched separates by Bitten, surrounded by your own personal Stanford Blatches and/or Steve Bradys, sipping on a Fanta Orange and cough syrup cocktail, waiting to see how the gals look in close-ups. Speaking of close-ups, we didn\"t think that Cynthia Nixon would be the one to appear as though she had the most work done since 2004 ...
*THE STRANGERS
Director: Bryan Bertino
Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward (Full Cast)
Studio: Rogue Pictures
The Plot: A couple (Speedman and Tyler) cozied up in a vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
THE BUZZ: The problem here, aside from the lack-of-confidence-instilling release date shuffles? Supermodel Gemma Ward playing one of three "masked assailants". Gemma Ward: Sexy, not scary. Unless Naomi Campbell trained her. Also, no one went to see Funny Games, so it\"s easy to see why this one is getting slipped into theaters after a lengthy delay.
*THE FOOT FIST WAY
Director: Jody Hill
Stars: Danny R. McBride, Ben Best (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Vantage
The Plot: A down-and-out Tae Kwon Do instructor looks to turn his life around by going on a pilgrimage with his buddy (Hill) and two of his students to see his hero, the martial arts legend Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Best), at a kung-fu convention.
THE BUZZ: It looks like Judd Apatow and his crew might have some competition this year in the form of dynamic writing/acting duo Danny McBride and Ben Best, and their director pal Jody Hill. The trio is being nursed by Will Ferrell and his development partner Adam McKay; their Gary Sanchez Productions is behind the team\"s HBO pilot East Bound and Down, a sports comedy (Will Ferrel? Sports? Comedy? Go figure.) that should hit the air later this year. Back to Foot Fist ... the indie was shot in 19 days and reportedly has a home-video feel at times, and taste-making reviewers dug it at last year\"s Sundance Film Festival, though we\"re unsure why the marketing plan for this one is slow to roll out. It should have been on FunnyOrDie months ago. All reviewers question whether audiences will embrace McBride\"s caustic, in-your-face performance as a Tae Kwon Do instructor who isn\"t afraid to attack a 7-year-old kid.
*SAVAGE GRACE
Director: Tom Kalin
Stars: Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Dillane (Full Cast)
Studio: IFC Films
The Plot: An account of the life of Barbara Daly (Moore), from her marriage to the heir of the Bakelite plastics fortune, the too-close relationship she formed with her son Tony (Redmayne), and her shocking death in 1972.
THE BUZZ: Director Tom Kalin\"s first feature since 1992\"s Swoon, looks as though it plays a similar kind of psychosexual game, with decidely mixed critical results. (My go-to reviewer rips it.) Meanwhile, I find it either (a) shocking or (b) indicative of the lack of interest in the film that no one is talking about its wicked-racy trailer. Earmuffs if you are under 18.
*BIGGER,STRONGER,FASTER
Director: Chris Bell
Stars: Chris Bell, Mike Bell, Mark Bell (Full Cast)
Studio: HD Net
The Plot: A documentary filmmaker examines the popularity of steroids in American culture by focusing on his two brothers and their experiences with different performance-enhancing drugs.
THE BUZZ: First-time filmmaker Chris Bell had one of the strongest films at Sundance this year, and now BSF is shaping up (all these fitness references!) to be a blockbuster antidote this summer. Guided by producers Kurt Engfehr and Jim Czarnecki -- both associates of Michael Moore -- and employing some Morgan Spurlock-style techniques, the doc has engaged reviewers at SXSW, Tribeca, the aforementioned Sundance, etc. Head on over to the film\"s official site for the trailer, playdates, reviews, and curiously sexy photos.
SEMANA DE 06/06/08
*YOU DON´T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
Director: Dennis Dugan
Stars: Adam Sandler (Full Cast)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
The Plot: A Mossad agent (Sandler) orchestrates a scenario that will allow him to move to New York City and reinvent himself as a hairstylist.
THE BUZZ: Sounds like a Sacha Baron Cohen concept to us, but really this is a comedy triangle formed by Sandler, his go-to director Dennis Dugan, and He Who Makes It Funny, Judd Apatow, who wrote Zohan with Sandler and Robert Smigel. Sure, the premise sounds wafer thin and potentially offensive to both secret agents and hair stylists, but, hey, is that a Mariah Carey sighting? Expect the comedy here to go from gross-out to soft-and-matured in three acts.
*MONGOL
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Amadu Mamadakov, Khulan Chuluun (Full Cast)
Studio: Picturehouse Entertainment
The Plot: Temudgin, a young Mongol boy, endures years of poverty and torment before forming one of the most powerful empires in human history; as Genghis Khan, the leader extends the Mongol Empire from East Asia to Central Europe -- creating a legacy that lasts for over 150 years.
THE BUZZ: Naw, this isn"t a rehash of Nomad, that strange, Jay Hernandez-starring confection Sergei Bodrov co-directed a couple years ago; Mongol is an entirely new curiosity. Already called out by watchdogs who aren"t cool with Bodrov"s revisionist take on Genghis Khan"s rise to power, this is the first chapter of a planned trilogy -- though we imagine the financiers here will wait until the worldwide receipts are tallied before shelling out for a second installment, but if the release date change (December 2007 --> March 2008 --> August 2008) is any indication of investor confidence. But how awesome is this trailer? I love the Yimou Zhang influence.
*KUNG FU PANDA
Director: Mark Osborne John Stevenson
Stars: Jack Black, Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
The Plot: Po (Black), a reluctant panda bear, is recruited by a team of Kung Fu masters and trained in the ways of the ancient martial art in order to protect the Valley of Peace from an evil snow leopard.
THE BUZZ: Just when you thought it wasn"t possible to out blitz Bee Movie"s ad nauseam marketing crusade for an animated movie lacking green ogres, penguins or Pixar, this cuddly black-and-white slacker comes along and starts telling us to turn off our cell phones before every single movie! Okay, we get it, build awareness, create interest. But really, aren"t pandas and kung fu pretty interesting on their own already? Still, gotta hand it to D"Works for booking another Stiller, er, stellar voiceover cast. Black"s got skills for drawing in the JanSport set and Jolie can finally take Shiloh and Maddox to see mommy on the big screen.
*THE PROMOTION
Director: Steve Conrad
Stars: Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly (Full Cast)
Studio: Third Rail Releasing
The Plot: Dueling assistant managers of a local grocery store (Scott and Reilly) vie for a coveted promotion to manage the bigger, fancier store soon to be opened by their corporate employers.
THE BUZZ: Chances are this indie dramedy written and directed by Steve Conrad (screenwriter of the surprisingly successful The Pursuit of Happyness and the surprisingly unsuccessful The Weather Man) will be the breakout hit of 2008. Says who? Just about every reviewer/blogger type who saw the movie at SXSW earlier this year. Watch the trailer to see if it looks worth the hype. And if you aren"t tired of linking elsewhere, check out this interview with Conrad at SXSW back in March.
*WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
Director: Anand Tucker
Stars: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
The Plot: Writer Blake Morrison (Firth) meditates on his relationship with his father, Arthur (Broadbent), during his dad"s final weeks battling terminal cancer.
THE BUZZ: Aside from the on-screen pairing of Firth and Broadbent, more reasons to see WDYLSYF? are: director Anand Tucker, who took 7 years to follow up Hilary and Jackie with the sublime Shopgirl, and screenwriter David Nicholls, who adapted Morrison"s novel and also adapted his own novel for the little-seen and totally-worth-watching Starter for Ten. Read some hometown reviews if you"d like.
SEMANA DE 16/05/08
*The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Director: Andrew Adamson
Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley (Full Cast)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Plot: The Pevensie children return to Narnia one year after their first adventure in the magical land. Soon after entering the kingdom, however, they learn that 1,000 years has passed here, and all is not well since an evil king ascended to the throne. The children and allies both old and new band together to help restore the kingdom to its rightful heir, Prince Caspian (Barnes).
THE BUZZ: Remember how popular The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was -- how it literally was twice as successful as the Golden Compass worldwide and, of course, how the "Lazy Sunday" video reignited "Saturday Night Live"\\"s creative streak? How exactly Prince Caspian has failed to generate much advance hype is a question for marketing types to research and blogger types to get snarky about, but I will assert that Wardrobe was a slow, unmemorable movie, and that might be part of the reason there\\"s a general lack of excitement for Caspian. That said, the second chapter\\"s ratcheted-up action might help reignite the franchise, even if Disney\\"s thinking of ending the story after The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ... I have to imagine there\\"ll be lots of talk about future Narnia adventures soon after Caspian\\"s opening-weekend numbers are announced.
*Reprise [limited]
Director: Joachim Trier
Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman-Høiner, Viktoria Winge (Full Cast)
Studio: Red Envelope Entertainment
The Plot: A look at what happens -- and also what could have happened -- after best friends Phillip (Lie) and Erik (Klouman-Høiner) drop their respective manuscripts into the same mailbox, both of them hoping their first novels will be picked up for publication.
THE BUZZ: Norwegian Joachim Trier\\"s first film has impressed the harshest critics and has been called one of the best movies about making art in some time. Twitch Film says: "... Trier proves himself remarkably adept at moving between moods, flitting easily between comedy, romance and tragedy - simply refusing to delineate these different elements into neat little compartments because this is simply not how life happens." Read the rest of their review here and watch the trailer over here
*How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
Director: Georgina Riedel
Stars: Elizabeth Peña, America Ferrera, Lucy Gallardo (Full Cast)
Studio: Maya Entertainment
The Plot: Residents of a sleepy Arizona town find plenty to gossip about when three generations of women from a local family experience sexual awakenings over the course of a summer.
THE BUZZ: Short-film director Georgina Riedel finds her 2005 debut feature picked up by fledgling distributor Maya Releasing (who has the Independent Spirit Award-winning August Evening on deck for later this summer). Why? America Ferrara\\"s one of the leads, and Garcia Girls has been compared to the young star\\"s first film, Real Women Have Curves in terms of its themes and overall good cheer.
*Sangre de mi sangre [NYC]
Director: Christopher Zalla
Stars: Jesús Ochoa, Armando Hernández (Full Cast)
Studio: IFC Films
The Plot: Juan (Hernandez), while on the run from Mexican mobsters, encounters Pedro (Ochoa), a young boy who is heading to New York City in a van full of other illegal aliens. Pedro\\"s hope to reunite with his long-lost father is derailed when Juan, looking to distance himself from his pursuers, makes off with Pedro\\"s ID and belongings.
THE BUZZ: Earlier this year, Christopher Zalla\\"s first film was awarded Sundance\\"s Grand Jury Prize for best dramatic feature. IFC picked it up in one of the festival\\"s lower-profile buys, but something tells me this immigrant drama, with its raft of good reviews, could distance itself from the crowded slate of indie summer films. I just wish the person narrating the trailer didn\\"t sound like a Will Arnett imitation.
SEMANA DE 23/05/08
*Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [5/22]
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
The Plot: Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones (Ford) is called back into action to stop a Soviet plot to uncover and use ancient artifacts in order to take over the world.
THE BUZZ: Remember how big May was last year with the third installments of Spider-Man, Pirates, and Shrek all coming out within weeks of one another? While we don\\"t think Tony Stark, Aslan, and Indy will generate the same box office sensation worldwide, they might have a bit more to offer in terms of surprise, delight, and most of all, mystery. IJ4 is perhaps the most enigmatic of the trio, what with its early-launched official site (now complete with the first teaser trailer), well-hidden plot details (does it involve the Russians? the city of the Gods? is Cate Blanchett a nuke?), and talky talky extras. Here\\"s what we do know: Indiana himself looks up to the stunts and challenges of his fourth adventure; he\\"ll adventure with his son -- a greaser-fied Shia LaBeouf -- at side (but at what point does he realize they\\"re related?) and have some sort of reunion with Marion Ravenwood; his dad will be MIA, too. Most tellingly, early odds are on the storyline coming full circle, meaning the archaeologist and his progeny are rumored to be on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant.
*The Children of Huang Shi [limited]
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Yun-Fat Chow (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
The Plot: An account of the true story of a British reporter (Rhys Meyers) who spearheads the effort to lead 60 war orphans on a thousand-mile journey to safety during Japan\\"s invasion of China in 1937.
THE BUZZ: A historical drama in which co-stars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh do not engage in any action sequences is a tough sell -- even to art-house types, to which the latest from the still-working director Roger Spottiswoode is being marketed. Distributor Sony Pictures Classics seems to have let this one go unsupported while they work on getting The Wackness into theaters ...
*War, Inc. [LA/NY]
Director: Joshua Seftel
Stars: John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff (Full Cast)
Studio: First Look International
The Plot: Hit man Brand Hauser (Cusack) is deployed to the nation of Turaqistan to off an oil minister who is interfering in U.S. interests in the region. Keeping his eyes on his target proves difficult for Hauser since he has to work undercover planning the nuptials of an Turaqi pop star (Duff) and contending with the affections of a left-wing journalist (Tomei).
THE BUZZ: Few reviewers have anything polite to say about this John Cusack pet project that finds the star taking his first screenplay credit since High Fidelity. I have to admit I\\"m surprised at the story\\"s apparent lack of subtlety in its attempt to satirize U.S. interests in the Middle East (Dan Aykroyd riffs on the Vice President) and celebrity obsession (Ms. Duff\\"s character\\"s name is the cringe inducing "Yonica Babyyeah"). Didn\\"t someone suggest a less hammy approach here? Try to endure the trailer while keeping in mind the nearly two-hour run time. Distributor First Look, which recently went through an exec shuffle, just fumbled Bill several weeks ago, and their luck probably won\\"t turn around this time; maybe they should rush an Aqua Teen Hunger Force sequel into production.
*Postal
Director: Uwe Boll
Stars: , Dave Foley, Verne Troyer (Full Cast)
Studio: Vivendi Visual Entertainment
The Plot: In the ironically named city of Paradise, a recently laid-off loser (Ward) teams up with his cult-leading uncle (Foley) to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park; somehow, the recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent.
THE BUZZ: Uwe, meet Indy; Indy, this is Uwe ... You almost have to hand it to Uwe Boll for his ability to withstand petitions to get him to stop making movies while somehow raising the funds to shoot 2-3 films a year. While we think the surprising 3-picture deal he made with indie distributor Freestyle Releasing quietly vaporized after In the Name of the King\\"s dismal performance back in January, the people who take a perverse pleasure in screening Mr. Boll\\"s works should know he has no fewer than four movies in production at this time, with an unending slate of projects -- including a third BloodRayne installment and an Alone in the Dark sequel -- in development.
*Made of Honor
Director: Paul Weiland
Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
The Plot: Tom (Dempsey) is a consummate ladies\\" man. Hannah (Monaghan) is his best friend and the one constant in his life. But when Hannah leaves town for a six-week business trip, allowing Tom to realize his love for her runs deeper than he ever knew, how does he deal with conveying his feelings -- especially when she returns with an engagement ring on her finger, and a request for him to be in her wedding?
THE BUZZ: Patrick Dempsey is getting the roles that Hugh Grant will no longer consider and for which Hugh Jackman has become too spendy. And we guess this makes Michelle Monaghan the new Sandra Bullock? Anyway, will MoH revive the rom-com genre\\"s failing heart? It\\"s hard to say, especially when the movie will battle Iron Man, which we hear is tracking well with the ladies (not hard to imagine, given the presence of the Gwyneth and RDJ\\"s beefed-up frame). P.S. Whoever first called this 27 Dresses for Guys is clever.
*Iron Man [5/1]
Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
The Plot: While in captivity, industralist Tony Stark (Downey) creates a high-tech suit of armor which he first uses to fight his way to freedom, and then to prevent a dark-minded scientific genius from carrying out his nefarious plot against humankind.
THE BUZZ: After 15+ years in development, the comic hero first based on Howard Hughes is refashioned as a contemporary industrialist whose technology is being used in the Middle Eastern war effort. (Funny, we can\\"t compare him to any present-day eccentrics, just a list of bad guys come to mind.) Director Jon Favreau was the first name talent associated with project, and any doubt as to his ability to bring in a polished, smart-looking film should have been erased by not only the principal cast he got to sign on, but also his plan for the first film of a proposed trilogy (we hear Downey, Paltrow, and Howard signed 3-picture deals). Here\\"s what we know: Stark is taken prisoner is Afghanistan, and that\\"s where he builds the suit; both the grey suit and the red and gold suit will appear; Stark\\"s alcoholism won\\"t be addressed during the first go-round. And a note to old-school comics fans: It\\"s kind of cool that Stark\\"s old split book counterpart, Steve Rogers (a.k.a Captain America) was greenlighted soon after IM began pre-production. While that project seems to be languishing in development-heck, we imagine IM\\"s initial returns might help get the red, white, and blue balls rolling.
*Redbelt [limited]
Director: David Mamet
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
The Plot: A fateful event serves as the first chapter in a new story for top Jiu-Jitsu instructor Mike Terry (Ejiofor). Though he has shied away from the professional side of the medium -- opting instead to run his own struggling self-defense studio -- circumstances conspire to force him to step into the ring for money for the first time.
THE BUZZ: We really are curious as to what David Mamet is up to with Redbelt, a more grown-up version of the spring release Never Back Down. The two movies are both looking to cash in on the mixed-martial arts craze that dominates pay-per-view ratings, and in this head-to-head movie battle, it\\"s the latter film that looks to emerge victorious what with its hotter bods (a fact) and focus on action over character development (a guess). Can you see Mamet\\"s regulars queuing up for this?
*Son of Rambow [limited]
Director: Garth Jennings
Stars: Bill Milner (Full Cast)
Studio: Paramount Vantage
The Plot: A shy boy growing up in a sheltered British community makes an unlikely collaborative partnered in his rough-and-tough schoolmate in his attempt to film his own shot-by-shot version of Rambo: First Blood.
THE BUZZ: After winning over the crowds at Sundance and nestling in the deep pockets of Paramount\\"s indie lable, Jennings latest opus proves to be much less ambitious than his last project and is poised to be this year\\"s Little Miss Sunshine -- although it looks more like this year\\"s Billy Elliot on Human Growth Hormone. Really though, we saw this at the Seattle Film Festival (last year, ahem) and were pulled into a nostalgic haze by the film and the performances of its two young leads. Then again, it could have been all that opening-night champagne ...
*Mister Lonely [limited]
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant (Full Cast)
Studio: IFC Films
The Plot: A Michael Jackson impersonator (Luna) ekeing out a life in Paris joins a Marilyn Monroe look-alike (Morton) on a trip back to her commune in the Scottish Highlands -- a seaside castle at which Michael discovers an alternate family of impersonators all in preparation for their first-ever gala.
THE BUZZ: The tastemakers of cool haven\\"t been kind to Harmony Korine\\"s long-overdue third picture (but have they really ever embraced him? has he ever been embraceable?), a surprising push toward something resembling a mainstream effort that we hear lacks any sort of commentary on the themes it artfully depicts: isolation, romantic triangles, celebrity culture, alterna-societies and their struggle for survival ... Still, few popular filmmakers can create the type of visual memories Korine brings to the screen, and we imagine he and his accessible cast (which includes another role for documentarian Werner Herzog, here playing a priest running a missionary aid organization in an unnamed Latin American jungle) will make for a good late-spring day spent indoors. Korine has also pulled off a few creative coups here: Getting Marcel Zyskind (Michael Winterbottom\\"s go-to cinematographer) to shoot the film, outsiders extraordinaire Jason Spaceman and the Sun City Girls to contribute music, and Performance duo Anita Pallenberg and Richard Fox to pad his cast. So there should be enough there to keep even his harshest detractors (who are probably, let\\"s face it, totally jealous of HK) in their chairs for the two-hour runtime. We say zip your lip and look at pretty pictures.
SEMANA DE 09/05/08
*Speed Racer
Director: Andy Wachowski Larry Wachowski
Stars: Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Plot: Speed Racer (Hirsch), a skilled young car driver who belongs to a family of gearheads, is blackmailed by the head of the nefarious corporation Royalton Industries to participate in The Crucible -- the annual cross-country rally that claimed his brother\\"s life years ago. Behind the wheel of the Mach 5, his father\\"s greatest invention, Speed goes head-to-head with his chief rival, the mysterious-yet-familiar Racer X (Fox).
THE BUZZ: In an earlier iteration of this project, Vince Vaughn was attached; in another Alfonso Cuarón was set to direct Johnny Depp as the man behind the wheel of the Mach 5 ... The main question mark here is whether Andy Wachowski and his still-a-man brother Larry can make a family film that they themselves would go see? (Our answer: of course, since there\\"s no pressure for the plot to make a shred of sense.) We\\"re definitely not worried about cool visuals, but there a lot of writers present here.
*What Happens in Vegas...
Director: Tom Vaughan
Stars: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher (Full Cast)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
The Plot: Joy (Diaz) and Jack (Kutcher) meet while on a Las Vegas bender, where their drunken nuptials are only part of a larger problem: What to do when Jack wins $3 million with Joy\\"s quarter, and they are forced to spend six months as wife and husband if they are to see a penny of their winnings.
THE BUZZ: Let\\"s just skip over Ashton (I mean, really) and address the real sad story here: Ms. Diaz, who used to be a movie star and not just someone you see in magazines and print ads, has been absent from the top of the box office in quite some time. Unlucky in work and love, we guess. (Whoa, she\\"s like America\\"s own Nicole Kidman!) And now she and Ashton have to star in a by-the-numbers romantic comedy, the kind that reveals its entire hand in its trailer. Was this even filmed in Las Vegas?
*Frontier(s) [limited]
Director: Xavier Gens
Stars: Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Patrick Ligardes (Full Cast)
Studio: After Dark Films
The Plot: A band of criminals find refuge in a secluded country inn, fully unaware of the nightmare that will greet them this evening.
THE BUZZ: French director Xavier Gens is having a tough time with his movies in the States; first he was kind of fired from his last offering and then Frontière(s) was quietly dropped from the roster of the second HorrorFest because of MPAA-related issues (the ratings board wasn\\"t keen on the movie\\"s level of violence). But now After Dark Films is giving the movie a tiny theatrical release before it hits the DVD market of May 13, so you have two chances to see some Hostel-like sadism complete with a pregnant felon as a lead character, a gnarly troupe of Nazis ensconced inside the primary set piece, and, from what we hear, plenty of unnecessary, ill-handled political commentary about the collapse of the French government and its ideology. Maybe we\\"ll stay home and read some more of The Stranger this week...
*88 Minutes
Director: Jon Avnet
Stars: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Benjamin McKenzie (Full Cast)
Studio: Columbia Pictures
The Plot: A college professor (Pacino) who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI receives a death threat telling him that he has only 88 minutes to live, causing him to scramble to stay alive while he tries to learn his potential assailant\\\"s identity.
THE BUZZ: We\\\"re thinking and hoping the reason this two-year-old project is finally getting a release is because director Jon Avnet and star Al Pacino\\\"s other new movie, Righteous Kill is as good as its buzz indicates. But all of our finger crossing might be for nothing, because despite this reliable premise -- and a cast that includes a bevy of lovelies and Ryan from The O.C. -- a quick census of those who have seen the film already says it\\\"s an exercise in formula and cliché.
*The Forbidden Kingdom
Director: Rob Minkoff
Stars: Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate
The Plot: A discovery made by a kung-fu obsessed American teen (Angarano) transports him back to ancient China, where he joins up with a band of martial-arts warriors in order to free an imprisoned king.
THE BUZZ: Jackie Chan and Jet Li unite for the first time for a kung-fu family comedy based on the Chinese legend of the Monkey King. A lot of people are asking who Michael Angarano is and why he was selected for the role (maybe the producers had foreknowledge of Shia LaBeouf\\\"s coming fame - he and Angarano look like brothers from the same mother); others are asking why Chan and the I\\\"m-retired-from-kung-fu-films Li have come together for something so PG-13 (easy: both of them have officially cashed in on their global fame). Still, I think the trailer looks fun; a sort-of update on Time Bandits and The Karate Kid?
*Pathology
Director: Marc Schoelermann
Stars: Alyssa Milano, Milo Ventimiglia, Keir O\\\"Donnell (Full Cast)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
The Plot: A group of medical students devise a deadly game: to see which one of them can commit the perfect murder.
THE BUZZ: MGM\\\"s latest fear offering sounds like a mash-up of "CSI" and "Veronica Mars", which has been given a sicker twist by Neveldine and Taylor, the Crank creators who are buzzing right now with a few projects (their Game is in post-production, but the one getting more attention is Crank 2, with Jason Statham slated to return). Meanwhile, director Marc Schoelermann joins the ever-growing list of European directors who are willing to leave perfectly good careers behind in order to shill for Hollywood.
*Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures
The Plot: Peter (Segel) jets off to Hawaii for a vacation that is supposed to help him deal with his recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah (Bell). Little does he know Sarah\\\"s traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she\\\"s bringing along her new boyfriend.
THE BUZZ: The magical name of Judd Apatow hangs over this film, as the Knocked Up comedy guru is producing, with Apatow acolytes Nicholas Stoller (directing) and Jason Segel (writing and starring) on board. Who\\\"s Segel? He\\\"s the lovable lunk on the did-I-ever-watch-that-I-think-I-did-and-it-was-funny-I-think CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." Most exciting, however, is the post-Veronica Mars appearance of Kristen Bell as famous girlfriend Sarah, leaving us all atwitter. Do you think she\\\"ll remember we used to be friends... a long time ago...?
*Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? [limited]
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Stars: Morgan Spurlock (Full Cast)
Studio: Weinstein Company, The
The Plot: Morgan Spurlock tours the Middle East to discuss the war on terror with Arabic people.
THE BUZZ: For his next number, Morgan Spurlock teases us with a provocative title, but provides a radically different experience from the one for which we have prepared. Leaving his pregnant wife while she\\\"s in her final trimester (Dude!), Spurlock readies himself for the hunt (he gets his shots and immunizations, and even takes a survival training program) and then departs for Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and points elsewhere. If you haven\\\"t familiarized yourself with the ultimate mission that Spurlock undertakes, let\\\"s just say you might want to adjust your expectations before saddling up for some more of Morgan\\\"s hijinx.
*The Life Before Her Eyes [limited]
Director: Vadim Perelman
Stars: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri (Full Cast)
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
The Plot: A two-tiered dramatic thriller centered on Diana (Thurman), a wife and mother whose idyllic life begins to fray as she recalls a tragic, 15-year-old event which claimed the life of her best friend Maureen (Amurri); running parallel to this story is another tale, that of the younger Diana (Wood), who is dealing with her strained relationship with Maureen, the tragedy itself, and the mystery behind the crime.
THE BUZZ: Formerly known as In Bloom, Vadim Perelman\\\"s follow up to House of Sand and Fog has bewildered and angered enough critics to possibly make all the drama worth your while, even if those who are familiar with the book say the mysteries and dramas of young Diana\\\"s life aren\\\"t tiered with any narrative skill or grace. So let\\\"s just state, without heading into spoiler territory, if you have seen 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, then you caught the "good" film about abortion and its effects on a female character.
SEMANA DE 25/04/08
*Baby Mama
Director: Michael McCullers
Stars: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures
The Plot: A career-driven single woman (Fey) hires a surrogate mother (Poehler) to carry her child to term.
THE BUZZ: Sorry, Jimmy Fallon, but this is the "Weekend Update" reunion we\\\"ve been waiting for. After proving themselves week-in and week-out behind the SNL news desk (the last time that program was truly worth watching), it\\\"s about time these ladies get their big-screen due. (Not that we\\\"re asking for an Amber, the One-Legged Hypoglycemic movie or anything.) We love the supporting cast here, which includes Greg Kinnear as a juice-shop owner and Maura Tierney as Tina Fey\\\"s sister; Sigourney Weaver adds to her ever-diversifying recent character choices as the owner of the surrogate agency. Our baby is kicking as we speak, especially now that the trailer is online!
*Deal [limited]
Director: Gil Cates Jr.
Stars: Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison, Maria Mason (Full Cast)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
The Plot: As an ex-gambler (Reynolds) looks to teach a hot-shot college kid (Harrison) some things about playing cards, he finds himself pulled into the world series of poker, where his protégé becomes his toughest competition.
THE BUZZ: Texas Hold\\\"em, like NASCAR, is one of those pop-culture obsessions from which Hollywood is yearning to make a profit. But let\\\"s be honest: The actual-real "World Series of Poker" TV broadcasts will for years bring in bigger audiences than this ill-cast, small-time production could ever dream of. MGM needs a serious makeover.
*Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Director: Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg
Stars: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
The Plot: Aboard their flight to Amsterdam, Harold (Cho) and Kumar (Penn) are caught trying to sneak a bong onboard, the first step in a misadventure that finds them mistaken for terrorists and sent to Guantanamo Bay.
THE BUZZ: Why New Line isn\\\"t releasing this film on Sunday, April 20th is beyond us, but whatever the case: H&K\\\"s ever-growing cult is primed for a second go-round with their favorite stoner buds. We love that co-director Jon Hurwitz posts on our message boards in an all-out effort to keep fans up-to-date on the movie\\\"s where- and whatabouts, especially its ever-shifting release date. Maybe now he can answer why New Line slotted it against Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Baby Mama, and whether or not the sequence with the George W. Bush character will be in the final cut.
*Deception
Director: Marcel Langenegger
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor (Full Cast)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
The Plot: An accountant (McGregor) is introduced to a mysterious sex club by his charismatic new lawyer friend (Jackman). But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman\\\"s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.
THE BUZZ: Ooh, did you hear that Twentieth Century Fox balked at this script because it was too racy? Makes us wonder what the compromise was, since Fox didn\\\"t walk away from the project completely. We will assume that List producer-star Jackman\\\"s participation in a little movie called Wolverine got the studio to feel differently about this indie-level pet project. P.S. Why do we always feel as though Michael
*Rogue [limited]
Director: Greg Mclean
Stars: Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell, Sam Worthington (Full Cast)
Studio: Dimension Films
The Plot: An American journalist (Vartan) on assignment in Australia is lead through the Outback by a seasoned tour guide (Mitchell), where they, along with a handful of adventure-seekers, come face-to-face with a man-eating crocodile.
THE BUZZ: The Weinsteins played it safe by giving this one some distance between other timely croc-themed disasters (Steve Irwin, Primeval). But we\\\"re not so sure that pushing Radha Mitchell and company out into the water with a non-existent marketing campaign will prevent this little jungle cruise adventure from running aground, bloodied and defeated. (When was the last time Harvey W. put his beef behind one of his movies, anyway?) But look at it this way: At least Radha Mitchell won\\\"t have to hide her accent, and Michael Vartan can still afford to live in Hollywood.
*Then She Found Me [New York City, New York]
Director: Helen Hunt
Stars: Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler (Full Cast)
Studio: THINKFilm
The Plot: April Epner (Hunt) is a 39-year-old schoolteacher in crisis: She and her husband are on the outs, she is becoming increasingly desperate to have a child, and her adoptive mother just passed away. Into all of this drama bursts her birth mother (Midler), who wants an instant parent-child bonding experience, as well as a potential suitor (Firth), who just happens to be the father of one of April\\\"s students.
THE BUZZ: Helen Hunt directed a movie, and by all accounts it doesn\\\"t appear to be a bad one. In fact, her dramedy has won over audiences (older audiences, as you might expect) and certain critics who recognize a fledgling talent, especially one who arrives with all of their emotions bubbling over the surface. Co-star Better Midler wouldn\\\"t have it any other way, right? And apparently she deftly handles the hysterics; meanwhile, Colin Firth is Darcy enough to please the ladies who will undoubtedly turn TSFM into an eventual hit (what I mean is: this should clean up on DVD, though I am not underestimating its box-office potential). Don\\\"t read any frumpy-boy reviews; I say check this one out.
*Roman de gare [NYC]
Director: Claude Lelouch
Stars: Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon (Full Cast)
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films
The Plot: A popular novelist researches unlikely sources to find characters for her next bestseller.
THE BUZZ: I\\\"ll cop to not being familiar with Claude Lelouch\\\"s works, but Roman de gare (translation: "railway station novel" -- a French euphemism for popular novels), has me intrigued. Knowing that he\\\"s never afraid of a narrative tangent, and that he tried to sneak this film into Cannes under a pseudonym, I\\\"m ready to immerse myself in this railway movie\\\"s red herrings, subplots, and digressions. Besides, the pairing of Fanny Ardant and Dominique Pinon (think: City of Lost Children)? Irresistible. Here\\\"s the trailer.
