Weekend Forecast: 7/25/08
By Craig Kennedy - July 24th, 2008; 12:01 am
Philippe Petit is a Man on Wire
Because the wide releases are mainly of niche interest this week, I’m starting with the much more appetizing limited releases.
- Man on Wire. (NY. Opens wider 8/8) Who’d have thought a documentary about a man who walked a tightrope between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 could actually deliver an emotional punch? Man on Wire does exactly that and it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. You can read my LAFF review here, or wait until I (hopefully) recycle it and expand it into a proper review on Friday. Highly recommended.
- American Teen. Nanette Burstein’s documentary following five teenagers during their senior year in a small Midwestern town is surprising not for how much things have changed, but for how much they’ve remained the same. Take away the cell phones and the texting and the MySpace pages and it could be 1987 all over again when a pimply chinned young goofball named Craig was making his way through high school. You may not learn anything new here, but you’ll be entertained and perhaps moved. Recommended.
- Baghead. I think Mark and Jay Duplass’s film already rolled out in Austin and a few other places, but now it’s expanding. It’s a difficult to describe hybrid film that mixes an element of gentle horror into an indie romantic comedy with a bit of satire thrown in. Four 20-something friends looking to break into Hollywood retire to a cabin in the woods to brainstorm their screenplay calling card. When a possible stalker with a bag over his head turns up, things start to get weird in more ways than one. Also, just between you and me, one of the monkeys has a huge crush on Greta Gerwig. Or maybe that’s me. Check out my LAFF review here. Recommended.
- Boy A (NY 7/23, LA 7/25). From the UK comes John Crowley’s adaption of Jonathan Trigell’s novel about a man who is released from prison at age 24 after spending all of his formative years locked up for murder. His transition from confinement to freedom is complicated by his belated transition from childhood to adulthood.
- Brideshead Revisited. Previously seen in the US as a PBS miniseries, Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel gets the big screen treatment starring Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Hayle Atwell, Ben Wishaw and Matthew Goode. The story peels back the layers of the British aristocracy in the 20 years leading up to and through World War II.
- Bustin’ Down the Door. Because you demanded another documentary about surfing.
- CSNY: Déjà Vu. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young are CSNY and this documentary captures their Freedom of Speech 2006 tour including music from Neil’s Living with War CD. Say what you want about Neil Young (he’s an LiC favorite so say it quietly if it’s bad), he’s one of the few artists from the ’60s who resolutely refuses to sell out and who continues to make music with fire, passion and conviction. I’ve got little use for C, S or N, but I’m tempted to see this just for Y. See there? I didn’t even have to use the word ‘Rockumentary’ one time.
- No Regret. This romantic drama from South Korea tells the story of a man working as a prostitute who begins a relationship with a man from a wealthy family that does not accept his sexual identity.
- Two Tickets to Paradise (7/22) Great, now I’ve got that friggin’ Eddie Money song stuck in my head. D.B. Sweeney stars in, co-wrote and directed this comedy about three friends who fake their own deaths in order to live the lives they’ve always dreamed of. I’m guessing before it’s over they’ll have learned that the lives they had weren’t so bad after all.
For those of you who don’t have one of the above in a theater near you and don’t want to see The Dark Knight again, here’s what’s opening wide.
- Step Brothers. From the minds of Adam McKay, Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow comes another comedy about growth-stunted man-children. This time Ferrell and John C. Reilly play two live-at-home losers who are forced together when their parents marry. The comic potential is undeniable but I’m growing tired of this shtick. Most of the Internet types who are hyping this thing are totally in the tank for Apatow, so take that for what it’s worth.
- The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it. Bring me a couple of decent hours in the company of Mulder and Scully and I’ll be satisfied, but my hopes for even that much are not very high. I’m still going to see it. I’m just saying.
It wouldn’t be a weekend forecast without a couple of films that are only opening in New York:
- Canary (LA 8/8). From Japan. A little kid raised in a fanatic religious cult is abandoned by his mother. He escapes the welfare system and sets out to find his sister. Along the way, he meets a girl who has run away from her abusive father. Nothing like a little light summer fun to get you through the hot months, eh?
- The Order of Myths. Margaret Brown’s documentary looks into Mobile Alabama’s still-segregated Mardi Gras celebration which began in 1703.
Filed under: Upcoming
Related Posts: - Weekend Forecast: 4/18/08
- LAFF 2008: Day 10 - Part 2
- Weekend Forecast: 11/13/08
- Weekend Forecast: 10/23/08
- Release the Awards Hounds!
Apatow seems to be in mid-shark jump these days. I’d like to think not, but it seems like he’s perfectly fine with burning out fast like this.
X-Files: I Want to Believe is at 33% at Rotten Tomatoes. I suspect that’s where it’ll be about on Friday morning. (Let’s just hope it’s not much worse.) The more I hear from Chris Carter the lower and lower my expectations go, but oh well.
Man on Wire is one I’m very interested in, that’s for sure. Baghead as well.
Anything Apatow is still fine by me, as I enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I’m all over Step Brothers.
“one of the monkeys has a huge crush on Greta Gerwig. Or maybe that’s me. ”
I bet Ms. Gerwig will have a preference one way or the other.
What an awesome line up you have got going on…enjoy.
I think Apatow is in mid-shark jump myself, but, I’m not, however, done with Adam McKay yet, who has promise. He does the dumby-dumb schtick, but its normally invested with this nearly surreal burst of bonged out rage that I found satisfying in ANCHORMAN and in the underrated TALLADEGA NIGHTS. I’ll give STEPBROTHERS a shot.
I’m with you on Neil Young, Craig. I didn’t listen to much of “Living with War”, but several of his albums are in regular play here-and “Prairie Wind” was beautiful.
I do believe Craig, that the lineup you just presented constitutes one of the most promising weeks this year—a great Weekend Forecast.
I haven’t yet firned up any kind of a plan yet myself, but I’ll be darned if I don’t work in MAN ON WIRE, BOY A and AMERICAN TEEN, with an eye on BAGHEAD and DEJA VU as well. But as for all of us here, the problem is that there’s only so much time. So decisions must be made. I would place even money on the LIC regulars putting the tightrope walking doc at the top of their viewing schedule.
I will say this: MAN ON WIRE is definitely the Craig Kennedy Recommendation of the Year. You championed the film at the LAFF, you followed up with a glowing re-appraisal in a subsequent posting, and it seems now (in view of the out-of-the-stratosphere reviews) that this one is going to fully validat eyour great enthusiasm. To a slightly lesser extent, your stellar endorcement of AMERICAN TEEN stands out from your yeoman LAFFcoverage.
From a personal standpoint, I haven’t forgotten Craig’s urging me to see the three-part THE HUMAN CONDITION on the big screen. As part of the Nakadai festival at Manhattan’s Film Forum, it is that rare chance to see this marathon in a remastered print. The Image DVDs are acceptable, but the prints are only passable. Tomorrow is the final day I believe for Part I, while on Sunday they are showing all three parts with separate admissions. I cannot endure that! LOL! I understand that the three-part opus will be headed to LA soon.
Yeah, I can’t wait for MAN ON WIRE, though it will be several more weeks for me, I’m afraid.
Looking forward o Man on Wire and possibly Boy A and American Teen. We shall see.
This weekend I was hoping I could squeeze in Tell No One but I’m not sure if it’s opening here AND I will be out of town for most the weekend, so it’s probably a stretch.
And then, of course, there’s TDK IMAX that is also on my short list.
Apatow, Shmapatow. He’s funny, but I wish he would push his own creative boundaries (not taste boundaries, please, since he’s already an anarchist in that department) and do something with his talent besides the goofy-stunted-lovable-despite-himself male figures he always does. It’s getting old. Though it’s still making him money by the truckload, so I guess I understand his incentive. Now even when he makes me laugh, I kind of resent it.
I sound like a staid old maid sourpuss, don’t I?
I think I’m seeing X-files with a die-hard fan who will love it unconditionally. Methinks they screwed up the series, then screwed up the first movie, and waited too long for this movie, which they probably screwed up as well.
I’ve been wanting to see Man on a Wire and American Teen for a while now. I get to wait even longer, of course. I wonder what Man on a Wire would be like if they’d had IMAX cameras filming it at the time…or 3D. Yeesh.
jennybee, “X-Files” was totally lame for me, but I think people who enjoyed the show [I rarely did] might enjoy it more. It’s different, but sorta the same. That’s my intellectual opinion ;)
(sings) I’ve got two tickets to paradise. Won’t you pack your bags, we’ll leave tonight. I’ve got two tickets to paradise. I’ve got two tickets to paradise. oh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh.
I’m up for X-Files, Boy A and Brideshead revisited. Batman 2.0 is going to have to wait until I can easily get an IMAX seat without breaking a sweat.
I’m not against McKay/Apatow/Ferrell per se, but I feel like I can see the dead end sign coming down the road.
Jeff, I’m sure Greta would pick none of the above, although a couple of the monkeys are quite charming.
With a 33% on RT Nick, you can’t be too far off.
I think Man on Wire will be one of the most popular docs (awards and box) this year because it’s just good entertainment and it’s one of the most BIZARRE stories you’ll ever hear. I don’t know that it has a lot of relevance to personal life right now, but I was moved by several moments and it was very well made. I actually think it resembles the work of Errol Morris in some aspects, if Errol Morris had a sense of humor and a whimsical spirit.
I’ve blubbered about how much I loved American Teen 50 times already, so why not make it 51? It’s outstanding.
So my top five docs at this point would be those two, Surfwise, Young@Heart and Up the Yangtze. Ridiculous that there aren’t room for others in that list (Encounters, The Betrayal, Blindsight, Bigger Stronger, SOP, etc.). I don’t see any more big ones on the horizon, so hopefully that’s it. I would recommend all 10 of those without even thinking about it.
CSNY: Deja Vu smacks of a TV show that I would never watch. Is that supposed to be jokey title?
In 48 hours I’ve warmed a bit on Step Brothers, but only because Ferrell was on his game and I was later disappointed by Pineapple Express.
My prediction that its 100% RT rating would drop is definitely coming true, though.
It comes down to what jennybee says - these guys can do better, can’t they? Are we enabling less than stellar work to continue? I think so.
Daniel, I think Man on Wire touches on things that are timeless rather than topical, so in a sense I think it very much has relevance….a more vague and elusive variety, but deeper.
And I forgot the word “my” in that sentence, in that I didn’t feel it had a lot of relevance to my personal life right now. I agree about the timelessness of it (and I would say the same about AT, Young@Heart and Surfwise, as compared to Yangtze), and I liked the ending very much, even if it was a little depressing…
This will make me sound like an idiot, but what’s the name of the classical piece playing during the money scene, Craig? One of my favorite piano pieces that I just can’t name.
I just want to be fair, just how I wanted people to be fair to the SatC movie.
The trailer for “Man on Wire” sort of makes me tear up for no reason, happy tears or something, same with the trailer for “American Teen.”
Indeed, the “my” sorta changes your argument and makes it irrefutable. I want to say the piece is Gymnopédie by Eric Satie…but honestly I can’t recall now. I remember thinking, oh this piece always makes me want to cry…and that’s a big one for that. Debussy’s Clare de Lune is second, but I don’t think that was it. It’s gotta be the Satie. Look up a sample and listen and tell me if I’m right.
Fair is good Nick, though sometimes it’s also fun to really stick it to a movie that sucks. Sometimes I think I try to hard to be fair and middle of the road. Can’t help it though.
And the trailer for MOW has the same effect on me Nick, though I thought it was becuase I’d seen the movie. That image where he’s in the middle of his walk and he’s looking straight ahead and he has this peaceful, beatific smile on his face…I get a chill and misty eyed just thinking about it.
Something about The X-Files saddened me today. And I really can’t put my finger on why. Nothing to do with the quality of the movie either way. Something about the whole reunion just got to me. Nostalgia is a funny thing.
As I said over on the blog, Gillian Anderson is a terrific actress and I really wish she would work more.
Oh, Man on Wire is brilliant. Maybe the best film of the year.
Oh, oh, and I just saw an Apatow movie that’s hysterical. The hardest I’ve laughed at a film since Borat, I think.
Uh oh, KB - you’re not talking about Pineapple or Step Brothers…are you? I was disappointed by both.
T-minus 12 hours 20 minutes and counting. TDK’s shadow is almost upon me. I feel like Dracula’s Renfield.
Well, I’m not talking about one of them.
Whew, good. Not that you couldn’t say they were occasionally funny, but I thought my sense of comedy was way off there for a second.
Daniel, that is an excellent doc list, even if I don’t quite share the enthusiam for YOUNG AT HEART as others do, but I evince a minority opinion. Would you also consider THE UNFORESEEN on that list?
And apparently you and I are among the only ones that wouldn’t put GONZO and ROMAN POLANSKI there?!? I like both fine enough, but they fall short of the top etchelon.
Well for what it’s worth, Sam, my experience with Young @ Heart was basically a complete emotional breakdown, and I’M in the minority in loving it as much as I did. So we’re even!
The Unforeseen remains, well, unseen by me. We never received it over here and by looking at its IMDb page, it appears its theatrical run is over. Too bad.
Yes, I did see Gonzo and it left me wanting more. Polanski never made it out here, but based on what others have said I don’t expect it would bump out any at the top of my personal list.
Dan, don’t get me wrong, I did like YOUNG AT HEART, and was deeply moved by that man with the oxygen tank in the wheelchair crooning that wrenching ballad near the end. That was a priceless, emotional moment, but other aspects of the film (for me of course) seemed unfocused. But hey, I am very happy that so many loved this film, including yourself.
“THE UNFORESEEN remains, well, unseen by me.”
LOL!!!!!!!
I concur with your sources on the Polanski, although Joel, whose opinion I respect greatly, thought it (largely) worked. Sartre also issued a stong review with disclaimers.
Daniel, can you confirm that the piece you remember from Man on Wire was Gymnopédie by Eric Satie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBiPQKK1upk
(sorry about the cheesy ducks)
I am so frustrated with my inability to post at “Coleman’s Corner” so I give my reactions here, which I hope and trust is acceptable. Alexander posted a most rewarding thread on THE TWILIGHT ZONE today or yesterday.
“The Twilight Zone” is one of my long-time favorites Alexander, as as I type this now, my summer school kids are watching “Nothing in the Dark” with Gladys Cooper and Robert Redford as Mr. Death. I follow it up with a discussion, and will ask the kids to identify their favorite episodes at the end of the program. Likewise I make excellent use of my full DVD collection of the series during the year. I am happy that you don’t dismiss the one-hour season, as it had several exceptional episodes, namely, ON THURSDAY WE LEAVE FOR HOME, THE NEW EXHIBIT, JESSE-BELLE, MINIATURE and PRINTER’S DEVIL.
Marc Scott Zigree’s “The Twilight Zone Companion” is an essential component of our film/television libraries.
I also have high regard for two other golden age anthology shows, that I have collected and promoted for many years–THE ORIGINAL OUTER LIMITS and BORIS KARLOFF’S THRILLER. I do think ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS is within hailing distance.
Hence, this is good news about these impending films, based on a few of these classic episodes. My absolute top two favorites are TIME ENOUGH AT LAST and WALKING DISTANCE but so many others are great.
Count me in on that adoration for the Satie piece!!!!
It should say something about the viability of LiC that we safely come here to comment on posts at each other’s sites!
lol, that’s the one, Craig. THANK YOU.
Sealed it. My favorite scene of the year. Closing my eyes and listening to that again almost just made me throw up - in a good way.
Thanks, Sam. Your two favorites, Time Enough at Last and Walking Distance, are two marvelous episodes.
I’m a huge fan of One for the Angels, Judgment Night, The Four of Us Are Dying, Third from the Sun, I Shot an Arrow into the Air, The Hitch-Hiker, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, Long Live Walter Jameson, A Stop at Willoughby, The Howling Man, The Rip Van Wrinkie Caper, The Obsolete Man, The Shelter, The Grave with Lee Marvin… That’s not even halfway into Season 2. What a great series.
Sartre’s only about half an hour away from The Dark Knight.
Will he come back unable to write after it? Will he be a very different man? :)
Daniel, some will argue it has become a cliche’d piece, but damnit it just FITS that scene.
Aggg…I’ve really got to write a review. I’m the worst movie blogger ever if I don’t….
I’ll be skipping pretty much all of these in the theaters.
I plan to catch up on Tell No One this weekend. And then maybe The Dark Knight, which I haven’t seen yet.
You’ve done your due diligence for MoW already, Craig, review or no review. But - you did declare your favorite of the year so far. And that piece fits the scene like no other that I’ve seen in a LONG time. Holy crap it becomes more awesome every time I think about.
“The Dark Knight, which I haven’t seen yet.” I would have considered that impossible, but great for you, Alison. At this point you may want to hold out longer just to counterbalance the rest of humanity. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Tell No One, also.
Alright I’m outta here. Heading to Chicago. Will search for Batman. Have a good weekend, everybody.
I predict sartre will come in with a 4/5. Enjoy!
Alexander, I used ONE FOR THE ANGELS,THE HOWLING MAN, WALTER JAMESON and THE HITCH HIKER over the past weeks. WALTER JAMESON and FOUR OF US ARE DYING are among the top half-dozen, methinks—first season as you contend had the most masterpieces for sure. But God, those others you mention are all classics for sure.
Of course you are quite right to say that’s only the first season and a half. Other top favorites as we proceed are NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET, THE AFTER HOURS, TO SERVE MAN, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, THE INVADERS, NIGHT CALL, IT’S A GOOD LIFE, KICK THE CAN, NIGHT OF THE MEEK, THE TRADE INS, THE MASKS, PIANO IN THE HOUSE, NICK OF TIME, THE MIDNIGHT SUN, BEING THERE, LIVING DOLL, THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD (this appears to be in large measue an insiration for THE HISTORY BOYS, and its about a schoolteacher, ha!) FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN EXIT (a homage to Beckett?) TWO, PERCHANCE TO DREAM, BACK THERE, IN PRAISE OF PIP, LONG-DISTANCE CALL, THE LAST FLIGHT, SHADOW-PLAY, A PASSAGE FOR TRUMPET, A GAME OF POOL, DEATHS-HEAD REVISITED, and more.
Those New Year’s Science Fiction Channel TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHONS still are appealing, regardless of the ownership of DVDs……….
Alison, you should skip Batman and see Man on Wire. This week it’s only playing in NY. I have to wait until next week to see it again.
Those are all fantastic, Sam.
Sam: Craig just told me how to fix the problem with commenting. Please try to now. I’ve changed the comment setting so that anyone can comment, including anonymous folks.
Thanks again to Craig, who, for about the millionth time, has come to the rescue of CCC.
I will go to your site now. Thanks Craig, thanks Alexander!
That’ll be $50, Alexander. You can make the check out to LiC, LLP.
LOL Craig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUCCESS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED AT CCC!!!!!!!!!