Weekend Forecast: 11/6/08
By Craig Kennedy - November 6th, 2008; 12:01 am
I’m sorry to say it’s another mediocre looking weekend at the cinema in terms of new releases. If you live in Los Angeles, look for Ballast. If you live in New York, check out the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell. If you live somewhere in between…well hopefully something good will expand into your area. If not, here are the new wide releases:
- Role Models. Paul Rudd has been great in supporting roles, but I’m still waiting for him to completely own a movie. Here he and Seann William Scott play two screw-ups who are forced into mentoring troubled children in order to stay out of jail. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) plays a 16-year-old a little too heavily into medieval role-play. Elizabeth Banks plays Rudd’s ex-girlfriend. I don’t know. Everything about this shouts “low concept crap,” but the trailer was amusing plus Banks and Rudd sound like a good combo to me.
- Soul Men. This comedy drama is notable for featuring recently deceased Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. Mac stars with Samuel L. Jackson in a story about two aging backup singers who agree to take a road trip together in order to perform at a tribute concert for their former bandleader. The problem is, they haven’t spoken to each other in 20 years.
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. What do you say about a sequel to a movie you never saw? Liked the first one? Here’s another. Skipped it? There’s nothing to see here. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and crew return to voice all your favorite animated DreamWorks animals. This time an attempt to get home from Madagascar lands them in the plains of Africa. I enjoyed DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda for what it was worth so maybe this one will be entertaining (just between you and me though, I’ll probably never find out).
Expanding this weekend:
- Synecdoche, New York. After two weeks in nine theaters, SNY is finally making a move into cities like Seattle, Dallas and Chicago. Keep an eye out for it. Highly recommended though it’s not a movie for everyone.
- Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. This one opened in NY on 10/30 and now it’s expanding into LA and Chicago. Here’s what I said about it last week: When Andrew Bagby’s ex-girlfriend Shirley Turner murdered him and fled to Canada with his unborn son, childhood friend Kurt Kuenne set out to make a memorial film so the boy could one day know his father. With Turner free on bail as she awaited extradition, Bagby’s parents moved to Newfoundland in the hope of gaining custody of their grandson. This documentary tells whole story including the horrible turn of events that would follow. Thanks to Mr. Evan Derrick of MovieZeal for the heads up.
Opening in limited release:
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Directed by Mark Herman from the novel by John Boyne, this is the story of the friendship between two boys, one inside a concentration camp and the other the son of Nazi commandant. There are about a hundred different ways this could go horribly and miserably wrong, but if it’s handled just right it could be pretty powerful. There is nothing quite like the matter-of-fact sensibility of a child when it comes to looking at history made by adults. The fact that it has Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis makes me a little more inclined to want to check it out.
- House. The horror thriller too horrific and thrilling to be released on Halloween! Or maybe it just sucks. A couple has an accident on a deserted country road. They make their way on foot to a welcoming inn only to find another couple inside who’ve also had a recent accident…blah blah blah.
- Repo! The Genetic Opera. The thing about cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show is that they’re not designed from the start to be cult classics. They just turn out that way. Movies designed to be cult classics often suck. Repo sounds like that kind of a film. When a mass epidemic of organ failure strikes humanity, a biotech firm steps in with manufactured organs. The organs are expensive and if you don’t pay the bill, they send out the organ repo men. Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and classical/pop crossover sensation Sarah Brightman star. I mentioned it’s a musical, right? Yeah. Paris Hilton’s in it too. Sounds like another one that should’ve come out on Halloween.
Opening in Los Angeles
- Ballast. The Sundance Best Director winner and recent Gotham Awards nominee finally makes its way to Los Angeles. Recommended.
- Captain Abu Raed. Jordan’s entry for the 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tells the story of an airport janitor who once dreamt of traveling the world and who now uses his imagination and the stories he’s overheard to entertain the children in his neighborhood who think he’s a pilot.
- Stranded: I Have Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountain. Opened in New York on 10/22 and hits LA and a handful of other theaters this weekend. As told by those who lived through it, it’s the true story of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains remembered mainly because the survivors were forced to cannibalize the dead in order to save their own lives. Previously fictionalized in the Frank Marshall film Alive starring Ethan Hawke. LiC readers Sam Juliano and Nick Plowman are both fans (did I miss anyone?).
Opening in New York:
- Pray the Devil Back to Hell. This winner of the Best Documentary Feature award at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival tells the story of a group of Christian and Muslim women in Liberia who joined together to stop the violence tearing apart their war ravaged country. In the process they helped put corrupt leader Charles Taylor into exile thus opening the way for the election of Africa’s first female president. Recommended.
- JCVD. Former Belgian action star Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this self-referential action comedy. With a stalled career, a drug habit and a bitter custody fight for his daughter, the last thing “The Muscles from Brussels” needs is to be caught up in the middle of a bank heist with real guns. Can the movie hero become one in real life? I was never a fan of ’80s action blowhards, but I’m not against seeing them poke fun at their own images and JCVD is pulling some surprisingly decent early reviews from the likes of The Village Voice, Variety and Entertainment Weekly.
- Otto; or Up with Dead People. Hey look, it’s another Halloween reject. This one is a zombie comedy. They just don’t make enough movies about zombies these days do they…?
This week’s forecast was brought to you by Os Mutantes:
Filed under: Weekend Forecast
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I’ve seen Boy In Striped Pyjamas (I don’t spell it ‘Pajamas’ like Americans, no offence or anything) and it isn’t that good. The first half and the ending are really interesting, and Thewlis and Farmiga are fantastic. Pray The Devil Back To Hell is okay, nothing mind blowing but it features an uplifting story at its heart, and it is worth seeing.
I really want to see Captain Abu Raed and JCVD, the latter being out of sheer curiosity. And Role Models too I guess.
I’ve had a secret crush on Paul Rudd for years, but he needs a new agent. His talent is squandered in most things. I’d love to see him really break out. He was funny guest-starring on Veronica Mars, though.
I think you’re probably dead right about Repo TGO. Designer cult phenomenons are just offputting.
I keep hoping some of these limited releases will show up in my OnDemand list. We finally got Fear(s) of the Dark on that list, so I’m hoping to catch it and maybe some Netflix.
Wow, this is certainly a candidate for one of the worst weekends of the entire year new release-wise.
We’ve got Ashes of Time Redux showing up here but I will be busy most of the weekend and may not get to it until next week. Other than Ballast there’s nothing here I can get excited about.
I agree with Nick that JCVD almost sounds interesting just out of sheer cinematic curiosity, but not enough to track it down in a theater. And I’ve heard a lot about Repo. It has quite a storied past, but having sprung from the mind that brought us the Saw sequels, I have absolutely no interest in it.
Nothing opening at all that I want to see, at least not down here in Tuscaloosa … I think you pinned “Role Models” perfectly: low concept crap.
Sorry to hear that about PAJAMAS Nick, as I am planning to see this as well as DEVIL.
Of course the kids will have me going to MADAGASCAR too.
Role Models was my second assignment for the Star Tribune. I think the review will be up later today. In hindsight I think I liked it more than the 2.5/4 stars I gave it, but don’t expect anything more than an Apatow with a smidge of heart, like Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I guess I was a little cranky when I was writing - am I beginning to want more from these comedies?
I’m way behind on releases. I still hope to see Changeling and RocknRolla. We get SNY this weekend, which is exciting for sure. Also A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
I think we get Pyjamas/Pajamas next week. I was hoping for more than Nick’s lukewarm reaction. Ah well. Devil sounds like a winner to me.
Sad to see the trailer for Soul Men - that scene with Hayes and Mac together. Crazy that they’re both gone.
In other news: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/33945219.html?page=1&c=y
I find it funny that Colin still couldn’t nail down the Coen brothers for any quotes for this article. Anyway, I’m excited for the movie next year.
Hmm. As others have noted, looks quite… weak, especially if you are looking at only wide releases.
Like Craig, I recommend Ballast, to all LA LiCers and others (what a strange release pattern this has, coming to little San Rafael, CA weeks before LA–I wish they were all like this one!).
Without being insensitive about it, I do wonder if Soul Men will perform inordinately well due to people wanting to see Bernie Mac on the screen.
I heartily recommend Ashes of Time Redux to Joel and all other LiCers, too (which I saw on the same night in San Rafael with Ballast).
Daniel, I’m glad you remain our inside man with regards to the upcoming Coen picture.
Aggg…I just destroyed my own comment. Curses!
I’m sure it was filled with all manner of awesomeness and now it’s gone forever. The horror.
Ok, not really.
Anyway, frankly the calendar has picked a good time to hit a rut the last couple of weeks. Between the festival, assorted other movie-related obligations, work, the election and a general movie malaise, I haven’t had it in me to hit the multiplex. Daniel’s idea of a movie offseason is looking better and better…
Nick, I’m pretty much in line with you about Pray the Devil. It gets bonus points for subject matter, but it felt like something that should’ve been stronger. It’s worth seeing in my opinion though.
JB. Maybe Rudd is just a permanent supporting actor/guest star. One of those people who plays a great sidekick but just doesn’t have what it takes to carry a movie. Or like you say maybe he just needs a new agent.
Joel, that’s a good point about JCVD, though I have to say the final coffin nail in my interest was Paris Hilton. The only woman I can think of off the to of my head who’s even boring without clothes on.
Rick, didn’t the trailer even make you laugh? The little kid referring to Paul Rudd as “Reindeer Games” because he looked like Ben Affleck because he was white made me laugh…at least the first 3 times I saw it.
Sam, hopefully the kids will like it and Madagascar will be tolerable. Or maybe it’ll be a Kung Fu Panda level surprise…wait, you liked that one didn’t you?
Daniel, I think it’s just mediocre comedies make you cranky. And I agree. On the other hand, if I’m in the right mood, a little dumb comedy can go a longgg way.
Congrats on your second official review!
The thought of another Coen film on the way fills my heart with joy.
Alexander, you’d seen Ashes of Time before, no? Either way, you’ve been exposed to more Wong more often than I have. Where does it fit in the canon for you?
I updated the forecast a little bit. The well-regarded Dear Zachary which opened in NY last week is coming to LA and Chicago this weekend.
Also, I refreshed the Obama map for those of you keeping score at home.
I still am not sure whether or not I will review Pray the Devil, but if I do I know it will be a short one.
I forgot to mention what I am seeing this weekend, which is Elegy and Vicky Cristina Barcelona as my Penelope Cruz catch up and Adoration, look forward to all three of them, hope they are good. Oh right, and Body of Lies but in order to see that, I will need to make time for it and I dont feel like doing so - maybe next weekend, or the next. Or maybe even the weekend after that.
I was meant to see Dear Zachary once upon a time, but I guess my screener got lost in the mail (or something). Regardless, I have heard great things about it.
craig i’ve joked about this. but it’s true.
again we get a talking animal movie about trying to get home. *arrrgh* …..
*sigh*….
That’s quite a Penelope double-feature Nick. As you know I liked them both, though conventional wisdom seems to suggest I’m crazy for liking Elegy. Whatever. This blog isn’t called “Conventional Wisdom”
Seriously Glimmer, I’ve had enough talking animal movies for one year.
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED was supposed to expand into my area this weekend, but Sony has delayed it indefinitely. I saw it over a week ago, but that means I have to keep holding my review, so I’m stuck reviewing ROLE MODELS.
I see SYNECDOCHE next Wednesday, and am really looking forward to it. I’m also really looking forward to THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. I know Nick wasn’t too hot on it, but the premise sounds great.
Os Mutantes!!! I’m so impressed, Craig! :)
Well, I’ll be back in NY for the weekend - still working but maybe I can make time for a late night flick. If I can, it will be Synecdoche, New York for me. I would have seen it for PSH anyway, but with LiC’s high recommendation of it I definitely consider it a must-see now.
I’ll be seeing Repo as a good friend of mine was a crew member on it. On the plus side it’s unlikely to be as bad as Saw III or IV. On the minus side I still don’t expect it to be more than mediocre so I’ll let ya’ll know.
Also, must catch up on everything else.
Yeah, I can’t say there’s much there that blows me away, outside of the stuff expanding that I want to see, and short of an internet leak, won’t see for a couple of years, seemingly.
I’m seeing Quantum of Solace tomorrow night, and going to try to catch Blindness sometime over the weekend as well. At this point, I don’t see himself catching Appaloosa, at least, not in the theatres, with things opening and a limited budget, but I might try regardless.
I think it’s a makeup weekend.
“RACHEL GETTING MARRIED was supposed to expand into my area this weekend, but Sony has delayed it indefinitely.”
You’re kidding. What was it going to break 150 screens? What are they doing?
Yes Craig, I did like KUNG FU PANDA, and the kids are really excited to see MADAGASCAR. Perhaps this afternoon or tomorrow.
I’m itching for RGM and SNY to be seen by more eyeballs….especially SNY.
Matthew can you give us a teeny unofficial hint of what you thought of RGM?
Michael, I have to wait until next weekend to catch Quantum. I’m hearing mixed things about it, but I’m going to stay cautiously optimistic. Also, I’ll be interested to see what you thought of Blindness…there aren’t too many fans of it around here, though I kind of warmed up to it.
Jeff, Repo is the kind of thing that could be fun if you’re in the right frame of mind. Even if it stinks, it’s hardly your friend’s fault so that’s cool.
Thank you Alison for continuing to enjoy the Weekend Forecast Musical Sponsor in the spirit in which it was intended. Needless to say your tastes are impecable.
You’re a good dad, Sam. When are you going to start exposing the kiddies to Ozu and Renoir?
Also, I updated the forecast one more time to reflect the expansion of the popular Stranded documentary complete with links to Nick and Sam’s reviews.
I liked RACHEL quite a bit - I liked the Altman-esque, slice of life feel, and found it quite moving.
I don’t know how many theaters it is scheduled to expand into today, I just now that my area is no longer on the list and it has yet to be rescheduled. It seems strange that Sony is holding it back like this.
Craig: I don’t know how to thank you for that extraordinary gesture of putting that link up to my review of STRANDED!!! I am most appreciative for this, and to Nick I will always remember your certainty on this film, and your review was buffo.
Ozu and Renoir have not resonated with the kiddies yet Craig! LOL!!! The instant they see subtitles, they flocked upstairs, leaving me alone in the basement. If the film is horror or animation, I have a shot, even if in a foreign language. Thanks again.
Kudos to you Matthew. I await your review.
And Alison, I would love to hear what you say of SNY. I completely agree with Craig–it is one of the year’s best and most challenging films.
Apologies for straying off topic, but this has gotta be a record for the least amount of time it took to remake a movie. The original just came out last year.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117995459.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
I like how they use the word “re-imagining” now instead of remake.
Like changing the name makes it more original.
Remakes are already in the works for a couple of foreign films, one which just came out in the US “Let the Right One In” and another that isn’t out yet “Timecrimes”. No telling how quickly they’ll hit theaters though.
Sam, if your kids are receptive to animation, I hope you have already basically filled their minds with anything Miyazaki or Ghibli (except maybe Grave of the Fireflies… might be a little too depressing, depending on the ages) :)
EDIT: In regards to the “reimaginings”, there have been a few that I’ve been hoping would die a fiery death, if they have not already, namely the rumored Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and Battle Royale films, as well, as, although not a foreign piece, Escape From New York.
I see SNY on Wednesday, I can’t wait to chime into the discussion.
I’m slightly relieved to say that Repo is not horrible and better than Saw II-IV.
That said, watching it I still was thinking “I sure wish I was watching Sweeney Todd/Rocky Horror/Schumacher’s Phantom of the Opera instead”.
That’s a mixed bag response there, Jeff. At least your friend didn’t work on a disaster.
Michael: I am a big foreign film lover and have shown them every last Miyazaki. Both PRINCESS MONONOKE and SPIRITED AWAY are popular titles here, and despite it’s depressing narrative and theme, I have also shown them GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, which is one of my personal favorites. Thank you Michael.
They opened RACHEL in my half of the state yesterday, just not in the city I screened it in or near Lexington, so I won’t be able to review it in the The Dispatch, but I’ll probably have my review up on the blog sometime today.
Michael, the Oldboy remake with Spielberg and Will Smith just can’t turn out to be true….can it??
The announcement of the Spielberg-Smith Oldboy remake seems designed to make everyone’s head spin. Craziest. Movie. News. Ever.
yes, that was the most bizarre news in a while. Devon Faraci suggested Smith as the antagonist, which makes slightly more sense, but Speilberg directing is a real head scratcher.
You know, I had not heard anything about that, I had heard that the remake rights were sold a WHILE back, right about the time the original hit US DVD, with, I think, Nick Cage (ugh) attached.
With Smith involved, I can see it being a real mess. When was the last time he made an actual good movie? Ali, maybe? I mean I didn’t mind Pursuit of Happyness taken exactly as what it was, but still.
Because I wont get time to review much until December, (I know, right, totally going to be pulling a Dorothy (whom I think highly of, so I don’t mean that in an offensive way) and retreat into my “reality” cave and deal with that for a while), I just want to say here that I absolutely loved Vicky Cristina Barcelona, didn’t like Elegy much and thought Atom Egoyan’s latest film Adoration was interesting for the most part but I am not too sure what it all adds up to just yet. It is one of those elusive films that start of all cryptic (like Babel for example, but this one is far less obvious) and slowly but surely reveals itself, but I am not sure how successful it is. I think it needs to be seen more than once.
Next week, I also see Synecdoche, New York, and I am looking forward to that immensely.
Can’t wait to see Rachel Getting Married already, seeing as most people seemed to really like it around here. Sigh.
Nick, I honestly will have to say that both RACHEL and SYNECDOCHE rank among the best film sof 2008. I don’t see either missing out on the Top 10 at this point.
Yep, that’s what I’ve heard, part of the reason I want to see them. Like I’ve said before, Rachel Getting Married is released in SA next year March so, not quite sure as of yet how to deal with that, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
I think Elegy opens here next week, with VCB sometime in January, and then god only knows with Synecdoche and Rachel, among others that I really want to see (like Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, RocknRolla, Changling, Pride & Glory, etc., etc., etc.)
I can attest Nick… it really freaking sucks living outside the US sometimes.
nick,uh i didn’t like rachel getting married. but yeah i hate evrything…
Nick your enthusiasm for VCB softens the sting of your dislike of Elegy. Maybe I was out of my mind the day I saw it. I have yet to find anyone to agree with me on it.
The weird thing about Oldboy is that I just don’t see it fitting in with Spielberg’s audience-pleasing inclinations, to say nothing of Will Smith. That’s not to say he couldn’t do it, I just can’t imagine him really wanting to.
Os Mutantes rulez!
You said it brother.