Weekend Forecast: July 4th
By Craig Kennedy - July 2nd, 2008; 12:09 am
The Wackness is the dopeness
Friday is a major US holiday and the release calendar is all mucked up so I’m rolling out the Weekend Forecast a day early again this week. First up is the only wide release which actually opened on Tuesday for those of you keeping score at home:
- Hancock (7/1). Just what summer needs, another superhero movie. This one isn’t based on a comic book though and, unlike everything coming from Marvel lately, it’s at least a stab at doing something fresh and original with the genre. The question is: is it The Incredibles or is it My Super Ex-Girlfriend? The answer is somewhere in between. Will Smith plays Hancock, a reluctant, foul-mouthed, hard drinking superhero who makes more enemies than friends as he clumsily and carelessly goes about his superhero duties. Jason Bateman plays the PR man who tries to rescue Hancock’s image after the superhero saves his life.
Opening in limited release:
- The Wackness (7/3). Josh Peck plays Luke, a pot dealing, rap music listening teenager spending his last summer in New York before college in 1994. I outgrew the coming of age comedy/drama at least a decade ago, but this one offers some refreshing twists on the template. For starters it has a couple of secret weapons in Ben Kingsley as an unhinged and possibly suicidal psychiatrist who trades therapy for pot and Olivia Thirlby as his stepdaughter whom Luke falls in love with. “crowd-pleaser” is the operative term here and it’s probably aimed at the Juno audience. It’s not as sharp as Juno, but it’s more likeable.
- Diminished Capacity. Nothing says comedy like a road trip with a man suffering a debilitating concussion (Matthew Broderick) and his senile Uncle (Alan Alda). It’s the second week in a row we’ve had a Matthew Broderick movie I previously knew nothing about. In another few minutes, I’ll have forgotten this one too.
- Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. From Alex Gibney, director of Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room comes this documentary covering 10 vital years in the life and career of the inventor of gonzo journalism. Nick Plowman gives it four stars out of five. In typical fashion meanwhile, Jeff Wells seizes upon the one thing that irritated him about it and, like a chimp touching himself at the zoo, he just can’t let go. In this case, it’s the cheesy ’60s pop-tune heavy soundtrack. This is admittedly a danger signal, but if it gets the non-documentary watching masses to fork over 10 bucks for a ticket, it’s a fair trade-off if you ask me. Besides, it’s far from a deal breaker if the rest of the movie is any good.
- Holding Trevor. Seriously. I know I’m not the first person to suggest this, but can we stop titling movies with an -ing verb followed by a name? Guarding Tess. Regarding Henry. Finding Forrester. Finding Amanda. Killing Zoe. Becoming Jane. Eating Raoul. Educating Rita. Finding Nemo. Boxing Helena. Chasing Amy. Raising Arizona. Raising Helen. Enough. I mean it. This one’s a comedy/drama about a guy who has grown bored with the LA party scene and his drug-addicted boyfriend. Ok, you lost me at “LA party scene.” I don’t like those people in real life, why would I want to see a movie about them?
- We Are Together. Documentary about a chorus of children at the Agape Orphanage in South Africa, many of whom have lost their parents to AIDS.
Opening in NY:
- Kabluey. Here you’ve got your quirky indie comedy about a young man (Scott Prendergast) trying to help his sister-in-law (Lisa Kudrow) raise her psychotic children while his brother is called off to war. It’s got good reviews and Teri Garr. What else do you need?
- Tell No One (7/2). Ok, my lips are sealed.
Filed under: Upcoming
Related Posts: - Movies You May Have Missed: 8/17/08
- LAFF 2008: Day 6
- LAFF 2008: Day 10 - Part 2
- Weekend Forecast: 5/11/07
- Weekend Forecast: 5/18/07
The imagery of Wells as a chimp at the zoo touching himself, I fear, will not be easily expunged from my head for quite a while. Craig, has anyone ever told you that your blog is occasionally dangerous?
Wow, I have just about zero interest in any of these. Like you, never heard of Diminished Capacity before. Where do these movies come from, storks?
Aha, love your last bit on Tell No One. Now my curiosity is piqued.
Hahaha, “Tell No One” - I just saw that on DVD! My lips will be sealed unless I decide to write a review on it. Seriously, it just opened in NY, and its on DVD?
“Gonzo” is good, but I have very little to compare it too, and for the rest of you who have been able to gorge yourselves on fantastic docs this year, I am curious to hear what you all think of it. And about the soundtrack, please would someone shut Jeff Wells up, it fits in perfectly with the periods of Hunter’s life that the doc captures, and if someone is so caught up about a soundtrack that it diminishes his capacity to enjoy the rest of the film - he should consider medication. Besides, the cheesiness of the music serves as a, probably non-deliberate, juxtaposition with the dark, unchessiness that was Hunter’s life. That’s just my non-professional take on it.
The Wackness…the one film I want to see that is not opening here…oh well. Kabluey also sounds coolish.
Hancock sucks people…the film suck I mean, and I am not even sure if I am willing to write a review about another superhero movie. I just cannot repeat the same lines over, and over again.
How many films can they make about AIDS orphans in South Africa? I get it, I feel bad for them, I feel guilty that I cannot do anything to help them. I just saw a doc about a similar thing the other day, and I don’t think I can sit through another one.
I almost was willing to give Hancock a pass but then I saw the expanded trailer and it became apparent that this movie just becomes yet another standard superhero movie. I don’t need it in my life right now, especially since I know Will Smith will ultimately underwhelm me.
Wake me when he stops saying, “Aw, Hellll No!” in every movie. Somebody give that guy a decent one-liner, please.
Gonzo is on my list for the weekend and I might check out Wanted, Mongol, and Bigger Stronger Faster if I can muster the energy. Otherwise I’ve got a pile of Paul Newman movies lying around that I want to check out.
Hancock honestly wasn’t bad. It’s not worth running out to see, but it wasn’t bad. At least it tried to break the Marvel mold, and no it never really turned into a conventional superhero movie.
The main problem is that it didn’t go far enough over the edge. It should’ve been rated R.
Well, I wasn’t one of the crowd to get to Wall-E on opening weekend, so I’ll be seeing that this week. I’ve refrained from reading reviews and watching trailers thus far.
I’m going to be out of town but hope to catch Gonzo at the Angelika when I get back to NYC next Wednesday. Word on this documentary has been resoundingly good and I’m a huge fan of Thompson’s writing.
For me, although Hancock was not “conventional,” I still thought, “okay…whatever” for the most part, but I guess I thought it was going to be worse than it was.
I think you are right about that “R” rating Craig, it would have enabled the filmmakers to create something monumentally cooler than we are used to, and I would have preferred it so much more if they had.
I’m hoping to catch Gonzo too Alison. Your taste is impeccable as always.
Nick, I thought Hancock the character should’ve been ruder and nastier and funnier. Edgier stuff. The stuff they never show in comic book movies. Then there would’ve been more of a point to it and it would’ve been better and more entertaining.
Even as it was, I expected it to suck and it didn’t. In some ways it was more interesting than Hulk or Iron Man. It’s just too bad they pussed out on the rating.
Also, if they were going to puss out on the rating, they might as well have delivered more of the traditional superhero thrills…..which it didn’t.
Hulk, in retrospect, was really boring compared to Hancock. My thoughts on it are all over the place, and I think that is a good thing.
From what I’ve read, Berg had to cut out a lot of shit to get a PG-13 rating. This might be one of the few films where an unrated DVD cut won’t be a total scam.
The irony is that what all of you are describing isn’t anything new to comic books as there have been a LOT of meta-critiques on underwear perverts in the last 20 odd years since Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight redefined the notion of a hero in spandex. Yet even though this idea has been reworked and rethought ten ways from Sunday in print, Hollywood still doesn’t have the courage to hit it head-on in celluloid, even with the biggest star on the planet in the lead.
Disappointing, but I might check it out. You’ve all intrigued me a bit with this commentary.
I’m with you Allison, on seeing WALL-E next. I wish I’d missed more of the reviews/spoilers of it, though. I’m planning to see several movies in the theater this weekend, catch up on the big ones from the past few weeks and avoid the holiday crowds at the lakes. I’m only marginally interested in Hancock and I don’t think The Wackness will play here for quite a while.
Wow, Tell No One is a French adaptation of the American Harlan Coben bestseller? How often does that happen? I read the book and figured someone sooner or later would make a probably forgettable film or TV movie about it someday, but I didn’t think it would be the French. I’m kind of curious about it now.
Saw Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead finally last night. I liked it more than I expected I would. My husband didn’t find the characters interesting in themselves, and thus had a hard time feeling invested in their plight, but agreed it was well-shot and acted. He and I disagree on that about movies sometimes; he has to find the characters sympathetic to feel invested in what happens, and I don’t have that problem as much. Maybe I just find everybody sympathetic and thus, inherently interesting (although that LA party scene guy has already bored me, too).
I also found the DVD featurette disscussion of whether it is a thriller or melodrama interesting. Lumet takes the stigma out of melodrama and takes it back to his roots…all the way back to Oedipus.
Joel, I’m only comparing it to other superhero movies, not to superhero comics. I think Marvel is headed toward a dead end and this was at least an attempt to shake it up. Too bad the studio ultimately chickened out.
I just watched Before the Devil on DVD myself JB. I’d seen it in theaters and I think I even liked it better the 2nd time around.
For me, I like characters I can understand, whether or not I sympathize with them. These characters had clear motivations and I understood where they were coming from. The fact that they weren’t very nice people didn’t matter. You could see why they weren’t nice and it made it easier to want things to work out for them.
I also watched the featurette and I think Lumet made it a better movie than it was in the script. Making the two characters brothers was genius. It added a whole other interesting layer…the most intersting layer…to what otherwise would’ve been a pretty routine caper-gone-bad story.
I’m a sucker for those stories, but it was nice to see a more layered approach to one.
I saw “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” for sale on DVD today, and wanted to buy it, but my wallet did not agree. I saw it twice in theatres, the first time I forced myself to like it, and could only muster merely admiring it, and then I waited a month, and it was still playing, so I saw it again, and liked it way more. PSHoffman was just absolutely brilliant, and Hawke too, and Finney….hell, it was a really well acted, well made film.
Sorry Craig, I got your point. I was just pointing out that the idea behind Hancock doesn’t seem so dangerous that the studio couldn’t have gotten behind it more.
I really am feeling commenty today.
Not that this has much to with anything, but I’ll say it anyway. Straight after I saw “Wall*E” yesterday, I saw “The Band’s Visit,” and I loved it. I thought it might underwhelm, especially after “Wall*E” but it did not, wish I had seen it sooner. I would actually love to see it again, but it only opens in SA on the 17th of October. Pathetic indeed.
Now I am going to watch “Water Lilies,” and we all know how much I love it when adolescents are depicted on the screen in a poetic, lyrical fashion, “Paranoid Park,” so I doubt I will not love “Water Lilies.”
Ciao for now.
I’ll be interested in your reaction to Water Lilies, Nick. I liked it a lot.
I’m glad you enjoyed The Band’s Visit, too. It’s one of my favorites of 2008 so far.
I think I picked up on that after I replied Joel. And you’re right. I think the studio saw Superhero + Kids = Money. They might be right, but it resulted in a movie that wasn’t as interesting or entertaining as it could be.
I liked Water Lilies more than Manohla did, that’s for sure.
I agree with Joel and others here in wanting to see GONZO this weekend. (Nick Plowman gave this a fantastic review!) I also will definitely see BEAUTY IN TROUBLE, the Czechoslovakian title that was mostly well-reviewed. Whatever else can be managed, I will decide at a later point. I have an off-Broadway show in the mix.
Alison, I have had WATER LILLIES on tap for weeks; lamentably I haven’t fit it in yet.
BIGGER STRONGER FASTER indeed……..that was one Craig gave a solid review to.
I’m going to see Hancock with a bunch of friends next wednesday. And before you berate me on my priorities: Wall-E isn’t coming out until the 30th here.
My screenings next week? Wanted and De Brief Voor de Koning, the movie version of one of the coolest kid books either. I thought I was going to the screening a month ago, but it turned out it was only the first twenty minutes instead…..which was a bummer, but after those twenty minutes I definitely wanted more, so that’s a good sign at least.
Glad you liked the Band’s Visit, Nick. And let us know what you think of Water Lilies!
You know when a movie hits you so hard you cannot breathe, and then tears form in your eyes? Not because you are sad or upset, but because you are profoundly moved beyond words and your body has no other way of explaining itself. In terms of “Water Lilies,” consider me breathless and wordless, and in a quiet state of elated shock.
That’s a rare response, Nick. I’m somewhat jealous. Glad to hear it worked for you. Still curious to see it myself.
Wow, that does’t happen everyday. Not to me anyway.
Nick, I had that same kind of reaction when I saw Requiem for a Dream, and then again the second time I saw it. I had trouble breathing for 30 minutes afterwards. One of the singlemost (or actually two) intense film experiences of my life.
And I adored The Band’s Visit. Easily on my top ten of the year so far (and likely to remain there).
And just to brag a bit, I have a screener of Tell No One sitting next to my TV, but before I read this post I really didn’t know what it was about. Can’t wait to get to it now!
Yeah I’ve been hit like that, Nick. Last one was Young @ Heart. United 93 also did it to me. Ok, wait, scratch that. Not “elated” at all. But I know what you mean.
Hancock was totally mediocre for me, but better than Hulk. I don’t feel like I can say much positive or negative about either of them. I still like Will Smith?
I’m looking forward to Gonzo when I get back to the cities. The Singing Revolution should also be waiting, which Evan gave high praise to. Have to do the whole wedding thing again this weekend, though.
I’m pretty sure the temperature literally doubled from the Bay Area to Vegas.
Also glad you like The Band’s Visit, Nick. Hard to find anyone who hasn’t yet.
Oh, and Speed Racer, of course. Elated doesn’t even begin to describe the half of it. :)
I should watch “Requiem for a Dream” again soon; it went straight over my head when I first saw it.
And would love to see “Young@Heart” already.
I’m glad Water Lilies hit you like it did, Nick. And I’m glad to find out it also plays for someone still in that age-range (as opposed to us nostalgic old farts;-) )
Jeezus Hedwig, if you’re a nostalgic old fart, what does that make me?
Hehe, I was being slightly ironic. But it’s just hitting me more and more often that I’ve lived for a while now. Disneyland (in Paris) just turned 15, and I remember being there after it just opened. I mean, people who were born in the nineties are starting college now. In the nineties!
Ok, I know, I’m being melodramatic. I’m young. But I’m just having a little trouble getting used to the fact that so many people are younger than me. So many “adults”, at least in the legal sense of the word (I don’t really feel adult yet myself, or rather, I really don’t feel adult yet, hence the quotemarks).
I know what you mean Hedwig, sort of, I plan on being 16 forever, and I do not want to get older, then the novelty of “me” will wear off, and that will suck. And I like being so clueless and free from responsibility.
And I could act WAY more childish when I go to Disneyland Paris some day if I don’t grow any older. So I won’t. I am officially not growing up.
I don’t feel like an adult either, yet my little neice just graduated from friggin’ COLLEGE.
All in all though, I’m much happier and content in the last year than I think I’ve ever been so here’s hoping that life just keeps getting better.