Weekend Forecast: 1/4/08
By Craig Kennedy - January 3rd, 2008; 12:01 am
There Will Be Blood expands beyond NY and LA
The first weekend of 2008 has only one new wide release which makes it a good opportunity to catch up on some of the things you may have missed at the end of 2007. Don’t believe me? Here it is:
- One Missed Call. I got a phone call two nights ago from myself…THREE DAYS IN THE FUTURE!! Turns out, while watching another crappy PG-13 remake of a Japanese horror film, Future Me placed a call to Present Me… just before DYING OF BOREDOM!!!
A couple of limited releases for NY and LA:
- The Violin (LA, previously opened in NY 12/5) Street musicians/revolutionaries in Guerrero, Mexico.
- The Killing of John Lennon (NY - Wed. 1/2) I got a phone call two nights ago from myself… inside the head of the creep who murdered John Lennon…!!!
Seriously though, forget about the new releases, meet the expansions:
- There Will Be Blood. One of the best movies of the year and the recent #1 choice of the Village Voice/LA Weekly Critics Poll adds theaters in NY and LA and also opens in Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and perhaps other similarly sized cities. A further expansion is scheduled for 1/11/08.
- Atonement expands to 583 theaters.
- Juno jumps to 1925.
- Finally, the Spanish horror/thriller The Orphanage expands to 69 theaters.
Filed under: Upcoming
Related Posts: - Weekend Forecast: 2/15/08
- Weekend Forecast: 2/1/08
- Movies You May Have Missed: 7/1/08
- Movies You May Have Missed: 7/29/08
- Weekend Forecast: 10/5/07
Juno has truly become this year’s Little Miss Sunshine–it’s already a big hit and it’s only gaining momentum as it doubles its theaters.
It’s always shockingly jarring when the new year begins. We suddenly vacate the season of interesting, challenging and, usually, good films, and enter a long, dead winter and frequently underwhelming spring of forgettable garbage with a few surprises thrown at us. (In this regard, 2007 already had other years beaten since there was such proportionately scheduled series of great films throughout the year, if not starting with the good, sturdy Breach in February then certainly with Zodiac in early March. (I guess we have Paramount to thank for that, though.) 2007’s weakest stretch was actually the horribly overblown and overhyped summer tentpoles, almost all of which disappointed a great deal, it seems. 2008’s summer certainly looks brighter, on paper, of course.
As an aside, why has Jeffrey Wells refused to even comment on Michael Mann’s Public Enemies? Is he trying to get all of his Zodiac-influenced Fincher love out of his system first before touting Mann’s next project? Or is it because Johnny Depp is starring and he should still be punished for those Pirates movies even if Wells ended up loving Sweeney Todd?
Sorry, just some thoughts and questions that were boggling my weary, sleep-deprived mind.
One Missed Call was boring and watered down even in its original incarnation, and that was directed by Takashi Miike for Pete’s sake.
Slightly off topic but what do you L.A. cats think of The Orphanage? Its beginning to expand in my area.
Ok, being that The Orphanage is mentioned in the article, it isn’t off topic at all. I’m an idiot.
TWBB is in Seattle this weekend. I would be tempted to drive there to see it, $30 in gas and all, if we didn’t have folks coming into town this weekend. Oh well. Next weekend.
Otherwise I’m completely caught up on movies in my area this week so I’ll probably skip the theaters this week. There’s only about a dozen movies that people have been talking about for months that haven’t opened here yet that I’m looking forward to. (sigh)
But Chuck, I don’t think you quite understand. You’re calling yourself from the FUTURE!!!
The Orphanage. I’ve been slacking on the movie watching the last couple of weeks and I’m behind on The Orphanage and Persepolis. I have to say, the fact that Wells loves the former gives me pause, though I’m convinced it’s only because it’s produced by one of his beloved ‘3 amigos’.
TWBB vs. Friends. Hmmmm…
Hmm, I didn’t know Wells felt that Johnny Depp needed to be punished for starring in the 3 pirates movies. I could be wrong, but I believe that when he signed up to do the first one, the contract was for a trilogy and he was committing to all of them. But really, the guy has kids. So he wanted to stash away some dough for their college fund. And then some.
But then, I don’t even read Wells’ blog anymore. More often the readers’ comments are more interesting than anything he writes, and I find it hard to take him seriously.
I’m still catching up on the 2007 films as well. I’ve yet to see Persepolis and Sweeney Todd. The Orphanage is lower down on my list, though it looks to be wonderfully stylish.
Chuck, I’m a SF Bay Area cat (we’re less bling than the LA ones) but will answer your question anyway.
Spanish directors sure can do stylish and inventive ghost story cinema. I found it highly entertaining and accomplished. Though I wouldn’t rate it among the very best of its genre. A.O. Scott’s NY times review captured my own take on the film better than I could ever hope to articulate it ->
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/movies/28orph.html?ref=movies
The irony Alison is that of anyone, the last person to blame for Pirates is Depp. He made the first one bearable. WIthout him, there is no franchise. Plus, not only does he have to send his kids to college, he’s got to entertain them.
I blame the cynics who made the movies, not the one guy in them who actually wanted to make it something creative and interesting.
But then clearly we agree that Wells is a dope. This makes me a total hypocrite since I’ll be posting there later today, but hey…what can I say?
Thanks for that link, sartre.
“Spanish directors sure can do stylish and inventive ghost story cinema.”
Absolutely. And Latin American directors as well. They really get ghost stories, and the gothic as well. One of my favorite films is the Argentinian director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson’s ‘La Mano en la Trampa’ (The Hand in the Trap). Not exactly a ghost story but a very gothic drama, based on the novel by Beatriz Guido (she wrote the screenplay for the movie as well). A wonderful film with terrific music and atmosphere, and starring the lovely Elsa Daniel.
Thanks sartre, your bling comment also inspired a lol over here on the other coast.
“This makes me a total hypocrite since I’ll be posting there later today…”
Are you a guest writer on Hollywood Elsewhere? That’s very cool, actually. You’ll class up the joint, Craig.
Wells irritates the living shit out of me, but he seems to me to be playing a shtick. The Spielberg thing, the Jackson thing, etc all seem like stuff used to drum up posting activity. The predictability of it undermines my irritation if that makes any sense.
I still read daily though, and Wells no doubt runs an entertaining site. But I stopped commenting (I used to post under “The Movie Man”) because the posters got more and more aggressive and annoying. Basically everyone I liked over there, posts here so its the best of both worlds anyway.
Ah, you’re “The Movie Man”, Chuck!
As for Wells, he does consider himself the Lewis Black of Oscar prognosticators, after all.
Craig is prostituting himself to Wells’ site? Don’t do it buddy! Hold onto those remaining scraps of decency and integrity :-)
You’re so right about Latin cinema’s expertise with gothic, Alison. And thank for the heads up on The Hand in the Trap. I’d never heard of it.
Chuck’s the man!
I think I’ve warned you guys in the past that flattery will, in fact, get you everywhere.
No Alison, I don’t write for HE, just commenting… frequently. Too frequently. It’s prostitution enough.
But if I can skim the cream off the top of his readership to come over here (folks like Chuck), then it’s worth wading into the shit.
I wish There Would Be Blood would expand straight outta NYC and LA into South Africa….
Chuck (aka The Movie Man), as a longtime reader of H-E I’ve loved your comments. Glad to see you here where it’s infinitely more sane, pleasant and comfortable. And Wells-less.
Thanks guys!
Wow, I never knew how many closet HE readers were out there.
I’m starting to feel like Kevin McCarthy in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. How could so many seemingly smart and decent people here have once frequented those dreaded boards! It’s beyond any comprehension. Listen to me before its too late - never return.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049366/trailers-screenplay-E14099-310
Sartre, they’re here already! You’re next! You’re next, You’re next…
Donald Sutherland is point at you with the gaping maw…
(oh wait, wrong version. Sorry)
That was a great remake.
Well, I caught Juno and CWW in the Big City last week, so there’s nothing worth the ticket price to entice me to the local Cinemuck. Instead, I’m staying home to catch up finally with my eagerly anticipated Netflix DVD of Once.
Also on my agenda: catching up on the work I haven’t done since getting sucked into the wonders of your site an hour ago. :)
Work shmerk! Come back soon and tell us what you thought of Juno.