Thursday, October 05, 2006

Opening in Dallas, 10/06

by Brian
The Departed (trailer): The first of two must-sees this weekend, as it’s apparently the “best Scorsese film since [fill-in-the-blank].” Personally, I’ve always thought that Bringing Out the Dead was extremely underrated, but the more common choices seem to be either Casino or Goodfellas.

The Last King of Scotland (trailer): Director Kevin Macdonald last made the quasi-documentary Touching the Void, which was probably the best movie released in 2004. See it if you haven’t.

Renaissance (trailer): Looks pretty good, I guess. Even with the Weinsteins gone, I find myself reflexively skeptical of Miramax stuff. Any chance that any of our European correspondents can shed some light on this?

49 Up (trailer): The latest of Michael Apted’s 7 Up documentaries, wherein he chronicles the lives of a group of folks every seven years. I haven’t seen any of the previous installments, but really ought to someday.

Employee of the Month (trailer): Dane Cook: not funny. Granted, I only have two episodes of “Saturday Night Live” to go on here, but I feel pretty confident about that assessment nonetheless.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (trailer): Will be better than The Descent: true or false? I’d give even odds, but I doubt heavily that I’ll find out.

Keeping Mum (trailer): Didn’t even watch the trailer for this. That probably seems harsh, but I can’t stand Maggie Smith. Or Rowan Atkinson. And the presence of Patrick Swayze sure as hell isn’t going to change my mind. Plus I hate the title.

America: From Freedom to Fascism (trailer): From the IMDB, this film “explores the connection between income tax collection and the erosion of civil liberties in America.” Proving that the fringe right-wing in America is far loonier than the fringe left.

4 Comments:

Blogger jaydro said...

The best thing to come out of the new Texas Chainsaw movie is, IMHO, this R. Lee Ermey interview. I just love R. Lee, and enjoy his "Mail Call" show on the History Channel. Even if I don't agree with his politics, his heart is in the right place. I mean, come on, the guy was in Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket!

10/05/2006 11:34:00 PM  
Blogger Brian said...

I agree about Bringing Out the Dead, it seemed a little more of a U-Turn/Natural Born Killers-ish Oliver Stone movie than a Scorcese picture

Quite so. This is probably because Scorsese was working with Robert Richardson, who was Stone's DP on those pictures (and many others).

Much more restrained than either of those two, however.

10/06/2006 04:12:00 PM  
Blogger Professor Wagstaff said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't automatically think Maggie Smith is a great actress. I've always found her very 'mannered' in her acting style and frequently irritating.

10/08/2006 06:16:00 AM  
Blogger Nick said...

Man, Departed arrives here in December. *sigh*

Will be better than The Descent: true or false?

Ha! I laughter myself to death on your preposterous claims. Response late, but forthcoming.

As for Renaissance, a friend who saw it at a festival said it was "pretty but soulless." This from a guy who loves Blade Runner. Still, not surprised considering the trailer. But reviews haven't dismissed it entirely, might still be worth it if you love weird little sci-fi's.

10/08/2006 08:46:00 AM  

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