Weekend Forecast: 8/1/08
By Craig Kennedy - July 31st, 2008; 12:01 am
Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River
It’s another sketchy week at the multiplex, so I’m leading off with the limited releases again:
- Frozen River. Melissa Leo (21 Grams, TV’s Homicide: Life on the Streets) stars as a single mother who turns to smuggling illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants from Canada across the frozen St. Lawrence River in order to earn money to save her home. This winner of the grand jury feature prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival is already garnering Oscar buzz for Leo. Suck on it, Tom O’Neil. Tickets
- In Search of a Midnight Kiss. I saw this micro-budgeted indie at AFI in November and I’m happy to see it get a theatrical release. A lonely 29-year-old on the tail end of a bad year can’t bear to spend New Year’s Eve alone so his friend convinces him to put an ad on Craig’s List. Enter pretty but crazy Vivian. Is it true love, a blind date from hell or both? Kiss is an imperfect effort that shows a lot of promise on the part of the filmmaker and cast. Frequently funny and sometimes sweet, the best part is Los Angeles captured in beautiful black and white. IFC’s absurd exclusivity agreement with Blockbuster means there’s no telling when (or if) this one will show up on non-Blockbuster video store shelves so try and catch it in a theater while you can. Tickets
- Midnight Meat Train. Once set to open wide, Lionsgate apparently lost heart and scaled this one way back to a limited release. A photographer (Bradley Cooper) is drawn into the world of a serial killer (Vinnie Jones) who stalks and kills his victims on the subway and then butchers them. From a short story by Clive Barker. Tickets
- Sixty Six. What’s a boy to do when the 1966 World Cup threatens to interfere with his Bar Mitzvah? Helena Bonham Carter and Eddie Marsan star in this British coming of age comedy from 2006. Tickets
Opening in wide release:
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Universal Pictures produced The Mummy. NBC is broadcasting the 2008 Olympics. The Mummy takes place in China. The Olympics take place in China. NBC and Universal merged in 2004. The Mummy opens August 1. The Olympics open August 8. Coincidence? I think not. Brendan Fraser returns as mummy chaser Rick O’Connell. Maria Bello is the girl. Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh also star. Enjoy your synergy, but you can count me out. Tickets
- Swing Vote. Due to a coincidence that could only happen in the movies, a presidential election between Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper comes down to a single vote by aging slacker Kevin Costner. Look. I like Kevin Costner. I’d love to see his career bounce back, but this seems like the kind of thing only Capra could’ve pulled off. If I’m wrong, good for Costner. Tickets
Opening in New York:
- America the Beautiful (LA 8/22). In a country obsessed with youth and beauty, this documentary follows a 12-year-old girl on her way to being a supermodel. Tickets
Filed under: Weekend Forecast
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- Weekend Forecast: 6/1/07
Sometimes the San Francisco Chronicle critic Mick LaSalle gets a good one off: “The Mummy series has been dead for a long time, but like the mummies it depicts, it won’t stay buried.”
I agree with the synergy, non-coincidence nature of it all, Craig. I can safely say I won’t be revisiting this Brendan Fraser franchise.
Swing Vote, thanks but no thanks, even with Stanley Tucci.
An acquaintance also saw In Search of a Midnight Kiss and compared it favorably to some Richard Linklater films. Does that sound right, Craig? Anyway, I’m looking forward to it.
As for the other Midnight film, Midnight Meat Train… I’ll be listening for what others say, but after seeing the trailer so many times it seemed to possibly be of stronger stuff than many a recent horror flick.
I think the Linklater comparison is overselling it a bit, but I liked it. As I said after AFI, it stumbles on some lame tangents that kind of kill its momentum, but it bounces back.
Interesting. Thanks. Sounds more satisfying than Mummy 3: Curse of the Bad Fortune Cookie of Indigestion, anyhow.
Looks like Frozen River will have to be seen for Melissa Leo’s performance if nothing else.
As per TIME OUT NEW YORK, the “Film of the Week” is a new 58 minute documentary called PROFIT MOTIVE AND WHISPERING WIND, which opens tomorrow at the Anthology Film Archives, on the same screen that recently exhibited LA FRANCE. Directed by John Gianvito, a Boston Professor, the film reportedly (according to Joshua Rothkopf) has been a huge hit at festivals and has secured “what few experimental works do, a one-week theatrical run. It deserves it.” says Rothkopf. The film, he goes on, is composed almost entirely of footage captured at grave sites. The daytime serenity of these resting places proves absorbing.”
Luckily the Anthology only charages $8 for an adult ticket, otherwise you’d feel cheated with a film that runs under an hour, LOL, but I have tentative plans to see the late show on Friday.
Perhaps Daniel knows or has heard something about this film? (Or Craig of course for that matter)
The critic David Fear of TIME OUT, incidentally, has issued 2 stars out of six for FROZEN RIVER, so the general perception on these threads that Leo’s performance may be the film’s only real attribute, is gaining some validity. (not that the generally parsimonious Mr. Fear is the word to end all.) But others are lining up against the film already.
Craig’s stellar opinion of IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS has already been echoed by Anthony Lane in THE NEW YORKER who states simply “a beautiful piece of work.” There is a Q & A with the director and cast on both Friday 8/1 and Saturday 8/2 at both the 8:05 and 10:10 showings. at the IFC. Perhaps this is a worthwhile option too.
Wow, now this is summer. What a bunch of garbage, save for a couple movies in limited release. How does Brendan Fraser have a viable career going all the way back to Encino Man?
I’m really looking forward to Frozen River here in two weeks. I doubt we’ll get the other ones, including Kiss. America the Beautiful had some kind of special screening here about a month ago. It sounded kind of interesting but I didn’t go. Here’s an MPR interview with the filmmaker if anyone is going to see it and is interested.
It looks like I’ll be seeing TDK in IMAX on Saturday. That’s about as exciting as it gets this weekend. American Teen is out here tomorrow and I hope it does well.
I like that line up indeed.
The documentary PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE has a mid-week opening which falls on a Wednesday (the day before Craig’s weekend forecast of next week) It opens on Wednesday at the Film Forum, but I would bet it will be in LA close to same time. I only mention this because the date falls in between the usual opening dates, not to in anyway to fly in the face of the stellar weekend forecast report, which rarely leaves any stone unturned.
Looks like Tell No One for me with the slim possibility of an TDK IMAX screening thrown in for good measure, but that’s only if I manage to get my myriad chores done in good time or just skip the majority of them entirely.
Only in a Kevin Costner vehicle could Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper actually be candidates for President. Skipping it.
Frozen River and Midnight Kiss are both on my list.
This may just be a Netflix weekend at Chez Jennybee. The other half of the household has some interest in Mummy 3, but I couldn’t get through the first one, I thought it was so bad. We’ve got Youth without Youth (I’m trying not to be frightened off by the 29% RT rating and see what I think of what Coppola was trying to do) and–finally–Shotgun Stories to watch. Not to mention several hundred other DVDs we still need to get to. I just don’t know that there’s anything compelling (sans TDK) in the cinemas here.
Oh, our cable OnDemand channel has a bunch of IFC In Theaters movies for rent, including In Search of a Midnight Kiss. Of this list, which one(s) are the best bet?
-American Venus
-Apres Lui
-California Dreamin’
-Cortex
-Dimished Capacity
-Goliath
-In Search of a Midnight Kiss
-Mad Detective
-Man in the Chair
-Out There
-Savage Grace
-The Last Mistress (just can’t get excited about this one, based on the trailer and Craig’s review)
-The Trial Begins
Sixty-Six sounds like it could be quite charming. I may try to see that this weekend.
And I’ll probably be seeing The Dark Knight. Finally.
Oh, and I will try to catch Leo as well. I agree with the others who commented that it sounds like it’s worth seeing just for her performance. And to shut Tom O up.
Love that line on The Mummy, Alexander. I will be skipping this one at the cineplex. Although, to be honest, in a weaker moment I would definitely buy a ticket. I’m a sucker for guilty pleasure action romps sometimes.
I will be seeing an advance screening of Pineapple Express tonight, as well as watching a heckuva lot of noir this weekend. Let me just say that the library rocks hardcore.
I will also be working on my review of The Dark Knight, which is turning into more of a dissertation at this juncture. I spent 6 hours on it yesterday and I think I”m only 1/3 of the way done.
Jennybee, I can’t help you with your list. Should I have heard of some of these films? Mad Detective and The Last Mistress are the only two that even strike a bell with me. I mean, I definitely get around the world of film, but I have to confess ignorance here.
JennyBee: I rarely disagree with Craig, (and don’t frankly want to either), but THE LAST MISTRESS is absolutely (for me) one of the three best films of 2008. It received stellar reviews from Stephanie Zacharek, Manohla Dargis, Andrew Sarris, Stanley Kauffmann, J.Hoberman and several other of our finest critics. It has a superlative composite grade at MC. It is simply an intoxicating, ravishing period film, that is as evocative as it is haunting. And it has a terrific female lead performance.
As a testament to Craig’s humility and sense of fair play, he urged me to see the film and come to my own conclusion, as a result of my being disappointed with his take before I actually saw it.
The experience of seeing this film several weeks ago has so numbed me that I still haven’t written any kind of a review on it.
Hey Sam, if you don’t mind me asking, where is your writing published?
Evan, I have an e mail network of about 70 people (including Craig, Dan, Nick, Ryan and Pierre) who receive all my film, theatre and concert reviews as they are written in e mails with pictures and photos of the theatre, and those of us who attend. I have been doing this for a number of years, as I am an old fart (53) with no patience or technical acumen to set up and conduct a blog. I am almost dysfunctional when it comes to this stuff. But it all works, as there are a number of film lovers in my inner circle who always respond in shared e mails. Similarly I send out periodic lists as the year proceeds and the traditional year end listings and various movie polls. I am the proctor of the network, which also addresses local news, obituaries, political cross-fire between network members, and jokes and announcements postings. Of course Craig, Nick and the others above I know from LIC, understandably are sent only the reviews, and not all the other stuff centering around Fairview, New Jersey, which of course they would have no interest in.
Thanks for asking about this Evan.
I’m on the edge of my seat for your thoughts on Pineapple, Evan. I seem to be in the minority on being disappointed. Apparently Jeff Wells is considering it some kind of modern-day classic, and I fully expect most people to love it. Still, I’m comfortable with my opinion.
Also look forward to the Batman book, Evan, especially if I see it in IMAX this weekend.
And with this discussion I’ve now realized The Last Mistress also has a week long run here starting tomorrow. We’ll see if I make it.
Excellent, Sam. Good to know.
And Daniel, I’m on full Apatow burnout after Step Brothers, so I’m going into Pineapple quite cold. We’ll see if it does anything for me or if (as you have mentioned) all of the funny bits are in the trailer.
And you haven’t seen The Dark Knight yet until you’ve seen it in IMAX. I’ve seen it both ways, now, and can state from personal experience that the two are night and day.
Much of the response to Midnight Kiss was positive, but only modestly so, Anthony Lane aside. This is not a movie that will hold up to lofty expectations, but Jennybee I think it’s worth a look OnDemand. I was going to chime in on Sam’s take on Mistress, but he did so already. I’d just add that most of the critics have taken his side.
I’m going to catch Frozen River and maybe a few stragglers that I’ve missed. We’ll see if the throngs have died down for Batman IMAX.
I haven’t read any reviews of Swing Vote, but did I mention I’m kind of rooting for Costner? I’m not going to the movie, I’m just saying. And I’m a guy who didn’t like Dances With Wolves. I loved him in Bull Durham, Field of Dreams and Untouchables however.
craig…speaking of the multiplex….what happened to your tales of 3 movies for 1 at the amc ???
yeah…..
a few more shots in the dark….
I tried to bust one off last weekend Glim, but Step Brothers drove me into a deep blue movie funk so I came home and sulked.
ah…. 1.5 movies…. ;)
with the title Midnight Meat Train i was hoping for something with some sort club/youth/subculture slant…
ah but it’s more killing.let the limited train roll… on past me. :)
Thank you for highlighting all of those films on OnDemand, Jennybee, and I’m also going to see The Last Mistress that way. Probably In Search of a Midnight Case as well. I’ve heard nothing but awful things about Diminished Capacity, and I think I’ll skip that one. I borderline hated Savage Grace.
Forgot to say earlier: The difference between IMAX Dark Knight and regular Dark Knight, no matter how great the regular screen and sound system are, is indeed almost like night and day. It was a slight letdown to see it the second time on a (fabulous and huge) regular screen.
Has anyone seen this latest rumor from out of nowhere?
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a117537/depp-hoffman-linked-to-next-batman.html
PSH as the Penguin?
Yeah, now they’re just pulling monkeys out of their butts.
Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin has been a rumor since, I think, five minutes after Batman Begins came out 37-1/2 months ago. It’s a natural fit, and I believe Jonathan Nolan even said he and his brother were considering it.
Johnny Depp would be a great Riddler. I’d love to see him play a “realistic” narcissist and not the abomination that was Jim Carrey in a tight green suit with black question marks.
But I think they’re just pulling this out of their asses. All Batman rumors right now are white-hot and they want in. Another website yesterday did a big “story” about Angelina Jolie being approached for Catwoman.
Like anybody saw Heath Ledger as the Joker before it was announced.
EDIT: What Craig said.
I know, Craig. Not that PSH can’t play anything he tries, but we do not want the penguin resurrected in this franchise.
Just. No.
Alexander: I agree that Depp would do a good job with the Riddler, and he’d be a good box office draw. Personally I’d like to see someone less known or more “on the verge” as Heath was. But this isn’t casting I would complain about if they decided to go this way.
Honestly, I’m beginning to understand what the poor souls who did not feel No Country For Old Men was the greatest movie ever went through last year and it’s still summertime. I loved Dark Knight but I’m pretty sick of hearing about it. If Ryan is right about the film’s Oscar chances, I’m going to be a cranky man by next spring. I’m just saying.
And no, that wasn’t a comment to stop you all from talking about it. It was just a general observation…somewhat exaggerated, but general.
I don’t want Burton’s Penguin back, but the character could easily be made not only feasible but probably pretty awesome in this entire Nolan take on Gotham.
Only thing is, the Nolans supposedly conceived of the Penguin as an arms dealer and Hoffman had a brief role in Mission: Impossible 3 as an arms dealer. But that could easily just be one facet of the Penguin’s illicitness.
I think the most burnt-out I’ve been on anything that I actually liked was The Lord of the Rings. By the time of The Return of the King’s coronation, I was so glad the whole thing was over. Well, of course, it really isn’t, now is it? But it says something that five years later I’m still very Middle Earthed-out.
Bat-fever will gradually die down, and even if it picks up again strongly in the Oscar season, I’m less inclined to grow tired of it, since we’re not being deluged with a three-consecutive-year assault and I admire how Nolan’s been able to thematically pursue his own interests in the belly of the commercial filmmaking beast.
Looking forward to seeing The Last Mistress now just because of the across-the-board feelings about it, from Craig to Sam and many critics, though it does seem to be a rarely loved film as Craig notes.
and don’t forget craig i’m the person that hated no country and for sure is not gonna see the dark knight. yep every year is just suffering.yeah….
Sam, could I possibly be put on that very exclusive mailing list of yours? I’d love to read your reviews…. I have a gmail address, and the alias is the rather puerile “sarcastig”.
For me, it’s Wall-E (finally!) this weekend, tomorrow in fact. But for now: back to the thesis.
Yes, I’d also like to be included on your exclusive mailing list, Sam. You can nab my address from the email icon over at my blog.
I admit I jumped the gun on THE LAST MISTRESS, as Craig has gone to the extreme to honor my views. There is no host on earth like this man, and even when you step on his feet by diving in, he still as gracious and polite as humanly possible. Craig, please be aware that I am a head-strong, opinionated Italian-American with a mean-temper when provoked (LIC members probably have shuddered when seeing this) but I am just as ready to issue unconditional apologies. I promise to be a good boy. LOL.
Hedwig and Alexander, I am deeply honored by your requests and will immediately send on my most recent posts. That is real hospitality, thank you.
Never hesitate to jump in head first Sam. That’s why we like you. I’d rather someone see a movie because you were excited by it than skip it because I wasn’t impressed.
Don’t work too (much) hard(er) Hedwig! (but also keep up the good work!)
Without Rachel Weisz, there’s absolutely no reason to see a new Mummy movie. The first two were pretty fun due to the screwball physical comedy and chemistry between Weisz and Fraser.
Maria Bello’s not such a bad actress–A History of Violence immediately comes to mind–but I doubt she’ll be able to fill those shoes.
In other Weisz news, have you seen the Brothers Bloom trailer? Looks fantastic.
Frozen River looks like the only good movie out this week and it won’t be playing out here in the boondocks.
but sam wouldn’t the tiltle ‘the old mistress’ have worked sound sooooo much better suposedly that what the french book title translated to in english…
now i would have wanted to see that *instantly* :)
oh well at least you’re here…
come on you could say no to an ‘old mistress’ well america and american distributors i guess.yes…
I did see the Bloom trailer WJ, it looks pretty excellent.
LOL Glimmer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!