Opening in Dallas, 09/29
by Brian
The Science of Sleep (trailer): From Michel Gondry, whose Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the best films so far this decade. This one looks somewhat similar in conception, and that worries me a bit, but it’s still a must-see.
Al Franken: God Spoke (trailer): I’m a big fan of Al Franken, although his last book, The Truth (with Jokes), was relatively weak. It seems that he’s (intentionally) gotten less funny in recent years, which is too bad, because his combination of policy wonkishness and humor is awesome when at full blast. Not sure about the documentary, but the trailer is OK.
The Guardian (trailer): Andrew Davis used to be pretty great; what happened? And did anyone else know that he did Holes? I just noticed that (didn’t see the movie).
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (trailer at official site): A lot of pub for this one, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a doc telling me something I already know. “The ratings board sucks”. Gee, almost as revelatory as “eating nothing except McDonald’s is not healthy.” Everybody has problems with the ratings board (more on that below).
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (trailer): Wells panned this, very persuasively, a few weeks ago.
Azumi (trailer): Here’s one that premiered in Japan three and a half years ago. In fact, the sequel has already showed up in Japan. Now a company called Urban Vision is putting it out here. It’s another in a long line of films featuring female action heroes.
School for Scoundrels (trailer): Looks pretty bad, but I could probably sit through it if I had to. Billy Bob Thornton’s asshole schtick really never gets old.
Facing the Giants (trailer): Very controversial ratings decision here; Christian groups were upset that the film earned a PG due to a religiously themed pep talk that a football coach gives his players.
Open Season (trailer): True or false: There is a less appealing voiceover duo than Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher even theoretically possible.
Al Franken: God Spoke (trailer): I’m a big fan of Al Franken, although his last book, The Truth (with Jokes), was relatively weak. It seems that he’s (intentionally) gotten less funny in recent years, which is too bad, because his combination of policy wonkishness and humor is awesome when at full blast. Not sure about the documentary, but the trailer is OK.
The Guardian (trailer): Andrew Davis used to be pretty great; what happened? And did anyone else know that he did Holes? I just noticed that (didn’t see the movie).
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (trailer at official site): A lot of pub for this one, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a doc telling me something I already know. “The ratings board sucks”. Gee, almost as revelatory as “eating nothing except McDonald’s is not healthy.” Everybody has problems with the ratings board (more on that below).
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (trailer): Wells panned this, very persuasively, a few weeks ago.
Azumi (trailer): Here’s one that premiered in Japan three and a half years ago. In fact, the sequel has already showed up in Japan. Now a company called Urban Vision is putting it out here. It’s another in a long line of films featuring female action heroes.
School for Scoundrels (trailer): Looks pretty bad, but I could probably sit through it if I had to. Billy Bob Thornton’s asshole schtick really never gets old.
Facing the Giants (trailer): Very controversial ratings decision here; Christian groups were upset that the film earned a PG due to a religiously themed pep talk that a football coach gives his players.
Open Season (trailer): True or false: There is a less appealing voiceover duo than Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher even theoretically possible.
|Link|1:34 PM
2 Comments:
It’s another in a long line of films featuring female action heroes.
Ha! I'll do the last bit of shovelling to bury your pathetic arguments against The Descent sometime this weekend, hopefully.
Very controversial ratings decision here; Christian groups were upset that the film earned a PG due to a religiously themed pep talk that a football coach gives his players.
What, the coach is Muslim? What? What?
Andrew Davis used to be pretty great; what happened? And did anyone else know that he did Holes? I just noticed that (didn’t see the movie).
Who says he was that great to begin with? While The Fugitive is one of the best action-thrillers of the 90s, I've also seen it used as an example of the "nobody knows anything" Hollywood philosophy; the whole thing coming together like it did something of a miracle. Go read the imdb trivia section to see just some of the stuff; filming starting without a script, actors having to improvise dialogue on set, one of the lead actors getting cancer and having to be replaced midway into filming, hugely over budget, over time, studio willing to pull plug just to save themselves from a sinking ship, and generally seen as a disaster in the making by the Hollywood community. Comes together in editing.
Now, you could argue (like the pros we are) that that "sounds like every other Hollywood production." Yeah, but how often when one's heard that kind of word has the film been good? Looking at the rest of Mr Davis filmography, the notion of The Fugitive coming together like it did being a fluke doesn't seem so far-fetched.
Or maybe you have other examples of him being a pretty great director? Holes was sweet, but overrated simply because it's not awful.
True or false: There is a less appealing voiceover duo than Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher even theoretically possible.
Theory is sound, but in practice it doesn't sound so bad. At least the trailer doesn't. Maybe because I don't have to see their annoying facial shticks and that somehow their otherwise ever-present 'personas' aren't that noticeable.
My give: Britney Spears and Michael Jackson in a cgi My Little Pony epic.
What, the coach is Muslim? What? What?
They thought the movie should have been G, because the Christian message is acceptable for all audiences. For what it's worth, I tend to agree.
As for Andrew Davis, not only was The Fugitive pretty great, but so was Under Siege. I also remember The Package being good but I haven't seen it for so long that I can't say for sure. I even vaguely remember liking Steal Big Steal Little, but I'm not sure I ever saw it all the way through so I won't vouch for it.
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