Weekend Forecast: 4/25/08
By Craig Kennedy - April 25th, 2008; 12:33 am
Errol Morris’ Standard Operating Procedure
Better late than never, it’s the Weekend Forecast. Normally we like to get the party started on Thursday morning, but we were waiting to see if something that didn’t suck was released at the last minute. We’ll let you be the judge of whether or not that happened. (It didn’t)
- Baby Mama. How can I like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler so much and yet want to see this movie so little? I know, I’m basing my impression on the horrible trailer I’ve seen 73 times and that’s never a good idea, but I’d at least hope for a single laugh. Or even a tiny smile. Something. Anything. Anyway, Tina wants to get pregnant and can’t so she hires white trash Poehler to be her surrogate. Odd couple hijinks abound. Someone pees in a sink. 2008: Year of the sink pisser, all I’m saying.
- Deception. Ahhh, the bland one word title that will soon blend innocuously into the video store shelf with all the other one-word, Trajan printed titles like Fracture, Breakdown, or Unfaithful. Listen, if you can only spare one word for you movie title, make it count. Hitchcock had the right idea. Vertigo. That’s a good one-word title. Deception? Not so much. How about Assgasm? Think about it. Scarlett Johansson in: Assgasm! It’s crude, but effective and Hollywood is nothing if not crude and effective, right? O.K., you probably never thought you’d be assaulted with words like ‘Assgasm’ at LiC. I know, there’s no caution sign at the door that says: “Caution: Assgasm within.” I’m mighty sorry about that, but this is what happens when the Weekend Forecast has time to simmer too long. Pretty soon, the monkeys take over and things get sketchy. The next thing I know, I’m waking up with a splitting headache in a Fresno truck stop off Highway 99 next to a tranny hooker named Juanita and I’m missing a kidney. Suddenly there’s a pounding at the door and I’m wondering whether it’s a pimp or the cops. Either way, I can’t win. But I digress. This isn’t about me. It’s about you wondering what to see this weekend. To that end, this one has a promising cast including Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams, but they appear trapped in a routine looking thriller. McGregor plays a boring accountant who gets wrapped up in a secret sex club by Jackman. When a woman disappears, McGregor becomes the prime suspect (cue dramatic thriller music)…
- Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. We need a good satire of the awful state this country is in right now - something like Dr. Strangelove in the middle of the cold war. Alas, writer/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg aren’t Stanley Kubrick and actors John Cho and Kal Penn aren’t Peter Sellers or George C. Scott. Consequently, I doubt this Harold and Kumar sequel is exactly what I’m looking for, but here’s hoping it’s at least funny. Neil Patrick Harris (who’s the only reason to watch TV’s How I Met Your Mother unless you have a crush on Alyson Hannigan like I do) returns as Himself. On the bright side, it got decent reviews out of SXSW.
The limited releases:
- A Plumm Summer. This PG family adventure is completely off my radar. I read the plot summary and the first words about “Froggy Doo, a wisecracking marionette” made me sleepy, but if you’re a family and you like PG adventure, this might be right up your alley. Good luck to you.
- Deal. I like Texas Hold ‘Em. I play Texas Hold ‘Em. Even I’m not interested in another movie about Texas Hold ‘Em. This one’s got Burt Reynolds bankrolling and mentoring some dope I’ve never heard of who falls in love with Vegas hooker (no word on whether she has a heart of gold) Shannon Elizabeth. I’m guessing there will be complications and drama aplenty, but they’ll all live happily ever after.
- Rogue. Because you can never have enough giant, evil crocodile movies. Oh wait, yes you can. I had enough with Aligator (1980) which was written by John Sayles. This one was written and directed by the guy who did the controversial Wolf Creek.
- Standard Operating Procedure. Errol Morris is always a reason to be enthusiastic. This time the director of the documentaries Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line and The Fog of War takes on the Abu Ghraib scandal. Check out what blogger/LiC reader Daniel Getahun has to say here. He gave it an A-.
- Tashan. Indian crime thriller. Not American Indians. Indian Indians.
- Then She Found Me. Hey, have you been wondering what Helen Hunt has been up to lately? No? Me either. Nevertheless, she’s been writing, directing and starring in this little number about a school teacher’s path to personal fulfillment.
- Up the Yangtze. The Yangtze river is sort of like the aorta of China and the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in history, threatens to screw everything up.
Opening in New York:
- Roman de Gare. This is the latest Claude Lelouch film. It’s got Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon and Audrey Dana. What else do you want to know?
- Without the King. Winner of the special jury prize at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival. What? Oh, I thought you said Hot Pockets. This is not a documentary about cheese and pepperoni stuffed pastry that you heat up in the microwave, it’s about the king of the last absolute monarchy: Swaziland. I wonder if they have Hot Pockets in Swaziland. I’m guessing not.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
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- Weekend Forecast: 10/19/07
I’m hoping to check My Blueberry Nights this weekend, as well as the usual random mix of DVDs young and old. Harold and Kumar will get a DVD viewing, and Baby Mama probably won’t even then.
I will still see Baby Mama, and I want to see Standard Operating Procedure.
Might I just add that you have MANY crushes, it is getting a bit hard to keep up ;)
*rich coming from me, but still*
Oh, and you do get Hot Pockets in Swaziland.
OK, Craig. First it’s ‘asshat’ and now ‘assgasm.’ Somebody likes his compound ass words (asswords?). They do make me laugh, though.
Does McGregor literally get wrapped up in a sex club by Jackman? Like, in cellophane? That could be interesting. But since it’s hovering around 6 percent on RT, I’m thinking your instincts are right about this one.
I have the same Fey/Poehler love/hate thing. I think what seems funny when they’re sitting around drinking mojitos at 2 in the morning maybe isn’t the same thing that’s funny on screen. Talent wasted. Billy Wilder could have put them to good use, I bet.
I’m really hoping to break my movie-fast this weekend, though it’d be nice if there were actually something great on. Maybe the long absence from the theaters will make Forgetting Sarah Marshall seem better than I suspect it actually is. I do like Kristen Bell an awful lot. I heart Veronica Mars in a big way.
We also have Kite Runner and In the Shadow of the Moon here from Netflix and we’ve been watching all the special features on the Indiana Jones box set to gear up for the Crystal Skull. They’re pretty interesting, really.
I’m on the fence with Baby Mama, but the peeing thing really doesn’t work for me. Harold and Kumar, I’ve heard, actually has some smart satirical bits about post-9/11 America, or at least it’s smarter than the first one. Of course, that’s not saying much, and are there really a lot of Guantanamo jokes that haven’t been done yet?
Thanks for the SOP send, Craig. I should just add that reactions to the film may be wildly different, but I personally think Morris has succeeded with enough elements (cinematography, interviews, symbolism, etc.) to impress everyone in some way.
I’m in the heavy days of the Mpls/St. Paul Int’l Film Festival right now, so I’m unable to get to the wide releases that I’m really excited about. Hopefully they’ll still be here for another week: The Visitor, Young @ Heart, Priceless, My Blueberry Nights and The Year My Parents Went on Vacation. I’ll weep if I miss one of them somehow.
So far at the fest I’ve seen OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (great), Big Dreams, Little Tokyo (terrible), Dry Season (a masterpiece), and Kicks (very good). This weekend at the fest I hope to see The Edge of Heaven, Jar City, The Tracey Fragments, American Teen, The Grocer’s Son and Up the Yangtze.
Oh, and A Plumm Summer is way high on the radar here. It was produced by former MN Twins pitcher Scott Erickson. I can’t watch the news or a Twins game without hearing about it. As such, I’m going to avoid it.
Blueberry Nights is top of my list of new releases locally, if I make it to a movie, which likely won’t happen.
But once again Craig, you’ve made a slew of movies I had absolutely no interest in entertaining for five minutes, which is likely five minutes more entertainment than I would have collectively gotten from them otherwise. Kudos once again, sir.
I’m pretty much convinced that Baby Mama spent its humor wad on the trailer(s), so if that didn’t grab you the rest of the movie is very likely downhill from there.
I’m catching Chop Shop at our local arthouse.
Also, I need to catch up on Battlestar Galactica - I’m 3 episodes behind in the new season, which is all of them. I’m still trying to figure out if the last season’s reveal of the new cylon models is brilliant or shark-jumping.
Also, I’m trying to carve out 7 hours to watch Bela Tarr’s Satantango without interruption (apparently the way it should be watched), but I’m finding that difficult with an 18 month old and a 1 week old in the house. Such is life.
Tina Fey has so much more potential. She’s got the looks and the talent, and she’s such an intelligent woman. Why, oh why? The trailers to Baby Mama nauseate me. They’re not funny at all. If the trailer for a comedy isn’t funny, what hope is there for the entire movie?
This is my pre-birthdway weekend, so I’ll be seeing Young at Heart, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about.
I’m on the fence about Harold and Kumar after seeing the TV spot. It could be really hilarious. Or not. I did enjoy the first one, though.
For some reason that I can’t divine I’ve hated Helen Hunt ever since As Good as It Gets, so I won’t be seeing her movie. Maybe it’s because I felt that both Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown and Helena Bonham-Carter in Wings of the Dove deserved the Best Actress Oscar way more than she did. Actually, everyone in the lineup deserved it more that year. Yeah, I guess that’s it.
Evan, a 1-week old? Congratulations!
Wow, an 18-monther and a 1-weeker. You don’t have it easy.
IFF Boston is going on right now. Some really good stuff playing but I won’t be able to see even half of it. I am going to catch We Are Wizards tomorrow night, along with a show of Harry And The Potters, Draco And The Malfoys, etc. I’m a big fan so this should be fun.
We also got Bab’Aziz and My Brother Is An Only Child, neither of which I know anything about but they both look pretty decent. Especially Bab’Aziz.
I saw Baby Mama last night. I wasn’t looking forward to it but I ended up laughing more than I expected to. I would by no means say I liked it, but I definitely liked it more than I thought I would.
Oh, and Evan? You NEED to catch up on the new season of Battlestar. You’re really missing out. The fist episode is one of the best season starters ever.
We’re getting off-topic here, but I hated the season 3 ender for BG but I’ve been kinda liking these new ones. To be fair though, my appreciation of that show runs really hot and cold. I’m not your typical fan.
Those LiC monkeys can sure be unruly sometimes. I occasionally get a mental image of Craig being Mickey Mouse in Fantasia as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
In other news, I saw The Forbidden Kingdom and enjoyed its silliness a good deal. It was amusing, energetic and just a wee bit touching at the end. And you get to see Jackie Chan and Jet Li go at it for seemingly ten minutes. Too cool!
Added: Seeing Satantango in one sitting is the only way to fly, Evan. Though with the two kids around that will doubtless be difficult.
Joel, I am sorry to report that MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS was the height of pretentiousness (for me of course) and there was little to revere excepting the score, which had some memorable songs. Sometimes beautiful to look at, but a major bore, with a disjointed and over-stylized examination of charavters with little resonance. The bad reviews the films has gotten were earned, but yet Craig liked it and I respect his opinion enormously. (and his humility is legendary) I will make my complaints in areview to be written over the next few days.
MIO FRATELLO E FIGLIO UNICO was in the end an idealistic film of humor and poignancy with top-rank acting and an engrossing episodic period piece in the tradition of the lesser BEST OF YOUTH (which I always felt overated) and the HEIMAT films. Fine score here.
I finally did see IN BRUGES on Wednesday night and this one was a winner for a number of reasons. Craig’s review here, written five weeks ago was definitive.
With the surprising failure (again for me) of THE FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON, a metaphisical and adlibbed dud, I would say the top films of 2008 so far in order of preference would be: THE DUTCHESS OF LANGEOIS (French), ALEXANDER (Russian), THE BAND’S VISIT (Israeli), PARANOID PARK (USA), IN BRUGES (British), MIO FRATELLO E FIGLIO UNICO (Italian), CHOP SHOP (American), THE COUNTERFEITORS (Austrian) THE WITNESSES (French), THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION (Brazilian) and THE UNFORESEEN (USA documentary)
Let’s hope American cinema really gets off the ground this weekend with THE VISITOR and either UP THE YANGTZE, a highly-praised documentary or the Errol Morris film, two of which I plan to see over the weekend. (YANGTZE is actually Canadien)
Ugh, I have seen nothing that good this year at all Sam, only a few. So sad.
And jennybee, I heart the fact that you love Veronica Mars! I miss it so much!!!
I just logged back through the LivinginCinema archives and I read that impassioned defence that Craid wrote for MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS. I didn’t get the same feelings, but therein lies the difference. This film can either exhiliarate you or alienate you. For me sadly it was the latter. I need to check the postings with more regular consistancy.
Nick, I am sure many of these early season foreign gems will arrive for you in the near future.
In my above list I accidentally left out one film that is surely among the lot and that is SHINE A LIGHT. Craig was a big fan of that one as well, as per his excellent review.
JB, I’ve totally been busted for an odd ass-fixiation lately, haven’t I?
Damn you and your powers of observation!
Heh heh…Ewan and Hugh and a roll of Saran Wrap…
You could do a lot worse than Forgetting Sarah Marshall, especially if you like Kristin Bell. I was a little disappointed she didn’t have more to do, but that was to be expected. The girl deserves to star in an A-list movie. Not only was she terrific on VM, she’s quite entertaining and lovely in the interviews I’ve seen of her. She was on Craig Ferguson I think many months back and she was very funny. Don’t tell Nick, but she might be on my crush list too.
Sam, I knew going in the MBN review was going to be controversial and I fully expect LiC readers’ reactions to continue to be split. Hopefully, my reasons for being enamored of the movie are understandable even by people who don’t share my enthusiasm. That’s about all I can ask for.
Chuck and Joel. Please don’t hate me if you share Sam’s reaction to MBN.
Daniel, is Son of Rambow playing your festival? I think I heard it was. Are you planning on seeing it? If you can fit it in, you might want to have a look. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s very likeable.
Alison, I had the exact same reaction at the same time to Ms. Hunt. I’m not sure why exactly and I used to really like her. (Happy Birthday in advance btw in case I forget on the actual day)
Alexander. Glad you saw the fun in Forbidden Kingdom. Not an essential movie, but what the hell. Right?
Evan, I look forward to your thoughts on Chop Shop. Also, I’m not sure I could dedicate 7 hours to a movie without two children, but good luck with that. And congrats again.
Nick. “rich coming from me, but still”. Took the words right out of my mouth, boyo! You’re a fine one to talk about crushes! Also, I’m sorry to see that Hot Pockets have taken over the world. Nothing good can come of this.
Justin, your review of Baby Mama sounds about right. I can totally see it being passably funny without pissing me off and that’s actually saying a lot…but it’s not enough to get me into the theater to pay for it.
Sam, I sure hope so.
Craig, yeah, Hot Pockets suck. As simple as that.
I also want to see Chop Shop, Son of Rambow, Alexandra, {oh who am I kidding this list will go on forever}, MBN, In Bruges…..and so on.
I guess that is the point of movie piracy.
Thanks, Craig. :-)
I think it’s the whole film, not just Helen Hunt. It wasn’t bad but it just ended up being so overrated, in my opinion. Perhaps I should revisit it, as I may feel differently about it if I watch it now, but I just don’t have the strength. Besides, there are too many films I still haven’t seen.
You know, I had a Lean Pocket a few weeks ago, and it was surprisingly tasty. Pepperoni Pizza flavor though, and it’s hard to screw that up.
Yes, Son of Rambow played to an enthusiastic crowd here at the fest last Saturday, Craig, with Garth Jennings & Co. present for the celebration. Unfortunately, I was in Vegas and will have to wait with envy for a few more weeks. Unless you can convince your connections to send me a screener…
Because of Daniel, I already have OSS: 17, Dry Season and Kicks on my list of films I need to see. Thanks a great deal for that crucial information, Daniel. And I hope the rest of the festival is at least as strong as it has been thus far.
The trailer for Helen Hunt’s film, which I saw in front of Priceless, didn’t attract any interest from me.
Ooh, I see the Italian film, My Brother is an Only Child, has just come to the San Rafael arthouse. Yippee…
Congratulations Evan on the new arrival!
And belated happy birthday to Alison. Wasn’t it yesterday?
Standard Operating Procedure is a must-see for me, but otherwise I’m wayyyyy behind in catching up with movies before the juggernauts of May start to show up and hog all the screens.
Make no mistake, I love Hot Pockets…hell, I love any self contained morsel of warm cheesy food goodness, but there is no arguing that they don’t quite rate on the gourmet scale and they ARE a symptom of the coursening of society and all that…
As Good as it Gets. Yeah, if that’s as good as it gets, we’re all in trouble.
OSS 117. I’m jazzed that Daniel liked this one. I have a good feeling about it, but I think I have to wait until May. According to a certain blogger, since it came out in France in 06 and played Seattle International Film Festival and elsewhere in 07, its past its Sell By date and therefore not worthy of interest. Complete and utter horseshit, of course, but what do you expect?
sartre, not belated - it’s on Monday, the 28th. I expect you to remember next year. ;-)
Thanks! :-)
Films are the opposite of wine, Craig. They age worse with age.
I wanna see Christopher Nolan’s cut of The Dark Knight and whatever Gus Van Sant has of Milk right now! Surely others can follow Soderbergh’s lead and gimme, gimme, gimme…
–Certain unidentified blogger
Craig, I hope you start up a thread about casting news surrounding Angels and Demons so we can all beat up Ron Howard to make our Friday complete.
Oh well, at least the potboiler crap material suits him, and that is precisely where he should stay.
Hearing that Del Toro making The Hobbit in contrast to Howard making Angels and Demons is now retroactively like hearing Alain Resnais is going to make a film based on the collected works of Alexander Pushkin.
Alexander, you need help with that problem of immediate gratification.
Sorry Alison, I’ll do better next year. Your birthday comes only 6 days after my wife’s, so I have no real excuse.
Haha, Sartre, I was just passing along an editorial position of the certain unidentified blogger who was lurking in the shadows with me when you were coming out of the Castro. I think the unidentified blogger was thinking about going into that Twin Peaks bar a little later when I was crossing the street to go to the Muni, but there were people laughing too loudly inside.
Okay, I’ve got to go run and do more book-learnin’.
I read that item about the Da Vinci prequel Alexander and I chose to ignore it.
One thing about reporting casting rumors and news and whatnot, is that I haven’t decided what to pass along and what to simply pass on. If it’s the Coens or Fincher or someone like that, it’s a no-brainer, but after that i’m taking it on a case-by-case basis.
Craig, you’d never be so assanine to pass on casting rumors and news about a Ron Howard project.
“but there were people laughing too loudly inside. ”
Ha! He’s becoming some kind of hideous ostracized half-man.
Jeff, what Alexander failed to mention is that the shadowy figure was soon chased down a Castro district alley by the Twin Peaks patrons and assorted street urchins and plaintively declared “I’m not a half-man, I’m a human being”!
Alexander~~
You forgot to mention his desire for the “director’s cut” of any new movie starring Vinessa Shaw.
But otherwise, a well-carved observation.
Alexander, if you can get your hands on a copy of Dry Season, let me know how. I’m trying to finish up a quick review of it, but I would love to study it again. It’s currently sitting at 100% on RT, albeit with few reviews.
OSS 117 is worth a look if for no other reason that we haven’t seen much like it for a few years, either in theme or (insanely cool) production.
Kicks, well, I wonder if Hedwig might have more enlightening thoughts on it than I did. Called a Dutch version of Crash, but with way more characters and a little more comedy. My initial reaction is that it would work better as a TV series.
Happy Birthday, Alison - before I forget on Monday! Is that cheating?
Yeah, that Shaw email was pretty funny. Hard to defend it, as much as he tried.
Hahaha, Jeff, Sartre and Paul C. (excellent subtle dig on my earlier observation there)!
Craig–just in jest, my friend… Only when reviewed do Howard movies merit a thread on them in my honest opinion. :-)
Daniel, thanks very much for those little summaries.
I actually haven’t seen Kicks, it didn’t quite make a big impression here. It’s predecessor on the same topic, Shouf Shouf Habibi made more of a splash. It was ok, I guess, and its intentions were good but in the end the characters were little more than cut-outs.
I actually saw My Blueberry Night, finally, and don’t worry Craig, I’m not mad at you. I’m afraid I can’t quite share your enthusiasm, either, but I enjoyed it, and I’m glad to have experienced it.
Also: guess who’s going to the all-media screening of Iron Man on Allison’s bday? Yeah, baby, yeah :-)
Thanks for all the well wishing folks.
I wish I had something else to add, but I find the last string of comments has exited my sphere of cinematic understanding. Either that or I just haven’t been drinking the LiC water long enough.
Thanks, Daniel. :-)
Enjoy Iron Man, Hedwig. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Robert Downey Jr.’s career will get a good boost. He deserves it.
Hot Pockets are gross. I am very excited about IRON MAN.
Congrats Evan. THE MOVIE ORGY at the new bev was amazing.
That is all.