Weekend Forecast: Men and reptiles behaving badly
By Craig Kennedy - June 4th, 2009; 12:01 am
Séraphine and Unmistaken Child: The LiC picks of the week
If you live in New York or Los Angeles, do yourself a favor and check out Séraphine. If you live in New York, another good option is the documentary Unmistaken Child which opened at Film Forum on Wednesday.
If you live somewhere in between, here’s what’s opening wide:
- The Hangover. Because there just aren’t enough movies about men being stupid, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis go on a bachelor party in Las Vegas that’s so good, they lose the groom. Todd Phillips (Old School) directs. I’m glad they’re still making R-rated comedies and buzz about this one has been strong, but they’re going to have to inject something special to make this worn out genre any good. I hope they succeeded, but I’m not holding my breath.
- Land of the Lost. It took me a while to figure out the target audience for this big screen adaptation of the ’70s Sid and Marty Krofft show I loved as a kid. Are they aiming at families with parents who have nostalgic memories of the show or are they aiming at the younger Will Ferrell fans? Based on the trailer, it looks like they’re hoping to get both. It would’ve been foolish to take such a silly show seriously, so camping it up with Will Ferrell and Danny McBride was probably a great idea. Unless The Hangover peels off too much of the Will Ferrell crowd, they just might have a hit on their hands. Whether it’s any good or not is another story. I remain skeptical.
- My Life in Ruins. Nia Vardalos returns to the milieu of her inexplicable 2002 hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. This time she’s an aimless tour guide in Greece looking for meaning in life and in love. If half as many people see this thing half as many times as they saw Vardalos’ last film, it will be huge. Also, that would mean I only half of me has to see half the movie, which is good.
Opening in limited release:
- Séraphine. The story of primitive artist Séraphine de Senlis who made a splash in the art world in the early part of the 20th century before her career was cut short by two world wars, a worldwide economic depression and mental illness. Less a biography than an examination of the mysteries of creativity, Séraphine is buoyed by a terrific performance from Yolande Moreau and it avoids most of the pitfalls you’d find in a Hollywood production with a similar subject. Recommended.
- Away We Go. After making a film that could’ve been subtitled America in a Key of Sirk, it looks like someone bought Sam Mendes a book called “How to Make a Scruffy American Indie” and this is the result. Expectant parents John Krasinski (TV’s The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) travel the US looking for a good place to raise their family. Besides the two leads, Mendes has put together an intriguing cast that includes Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Alison Janney, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Schneider and Jim Gaffigan so hopefully my instinct to run screaming from the precious and twee trailer is incorrect.
- Downloading Nancy. Maria Bello plays a depressed housewife with a pain fetish and a death wish who hooks up with a guy on the Internet for some kinky sex and possibly a way out of her life…permanently. Sounds gloomy and pretentious, but it does have cinematography by Christopher Doyle. Still, a movie that’s been kicking around since Sundance almost a year and a half ago is not a good sign.
Opening in New York:
- Unmistaken Child (Wed. 6/3). This remarkable documentary about a Buddhist disciple who is charged with finding his reincarnated master is as moving as it is fascinating. It’s a rare, real life look at beliefs and rituals previously portrayed in movies like Kundun. Beautiful and ruminative, Unmistaken Child is recommended.
- 24 City. Jia Zhang Ke’s latest made some waves at Cannes in 2008 for its blend of documentary and fiction. It tells the story of a massive state-run factory in China, once called Factory 420, that is being demolished and turned into a modern luxury planned living complex known as 24 City. The film mixes interviews of the real people impacted by the changeover with stage vignettes.
I found out that Koko Taylor had passed away at age 80 after the Weekend Forecast had been posted so I’m taking down the original musical sponsor and replacing it with something more appropriate. Here’s Koko Taylor and Wang Dang Doodle. RIP Koko Taylor.
Filed under: Weekend Forecast
I hope to see SERAPHINE over the weekend, and although I’ve had some mixed signals on UNMISTAKEN CHILD, I will take your word on it. The Mendes film is indeed garnering bad notices, but 24 CITY looks like a winner.
Are your kids interested in Land of the Lost, Sam?
I loved the show when I was a little kid, but in retrospect it was a very stupid show and this looks like just another excuse for Will Farrell’s shtick which I admit I find really funny in short bursts, but not so much over 90 minutes.
Well, Craig, to be honest they may well be interested, and this may be a weekend matinee for us at the multiplex. I’ll admit I’m not familiar with the show.
Depending on your tolerance for Farrell, it might be bearable.
I’m likely going to make it a sneak in myself, schedule permitting.
what would you pair it up with?
thinking about paying for Drag Me to Hell and sneaking in to Land of the Lost and/or The Hangover.
ahhh. Good plan there. As I have already seen the horror film, I will probably just see LOST.
I think we’re doing Up for my birthday and then Land of the Lost the next day for my husband’s. With possibly La Ronde in the middle.
My husband recorded a Land of the Lost marathon on Memorial Day and has been watching them in the background as he pays bills, reads magazines, etc. I’m too young to remember the series, but he was a huge fan of it as a kid. They look uber-campy now, but he assures me it was all quite serious and high falutin’ when it was new. I’m not thrilled about seeing the film, but I’m open minded about it.
Koko Taylor will be well-remembered. What a voice.
America in a Key of Sirk. Lol. I think yours would be America in the Key of Snark.
“Unmistaken Child” is quite simply one of the very best films of the year. It’s absolutely stunning, and one of the two four star ratings I have given this year.
“They look uber-campy now, but he assures me it was all quite serious and high falutin’ when it was new.” I was young when these came out but I recall just thinking it was a very weird show. I recorded some of the eps on that marathon but haven’t watched them, mostly because anything I experienced between the ages of 1 and 12 tends to pale in comparison to my memories of it.
From what I can tell of the trailers, this show has little to do with the original series.
I’ve got Outrage and Burma (Shave) VJ docs on my itinerary. Looks good.
“Outrage” is pretty good. Not nearly as incendiary as I was expecting it to be. It’s pretty even handed, but you’re going to leave pissed off.
Oh, come on! Did I just lose my comment? Arg, must have closed the wrong tab…out of time now…
The first season of Land of the Lost is on Hulu. I watched the first couple of episodes and it really was pretty bad, but the little kid in me was totally into it. I’m not expecting the movie to be anything like it….why would it be? that would be crazy (oh yeah, this is hollywood were talking about). Sadly if I’m getting the gist of the reviews, it’s not even good as a Will Farrell movie.
Well my brilliant comment was about Land of the Lost, which I saw on Monday night, and Away We Go, which I saw last week.
I’ve never seen the show, but basically anybody who is not in the tank big time for both Ferrell and McBride should steer far and clear of Land of the Lost. For everyone else, which includes me, it’s a passably bizarre, fitfully idiotic diversion. As far as Ferrell goes, well I almost preferred him in this over Step Brothers and Talladega Nights. In those movies he’s playing an idiot who knows he’s an idiot, as opposed to my preferred Ferrell, who’s playing an idiot but has no idea he’s an idiot, as is the case here.
Anyway, talk about comedy being subjective – some of the scenes could easily land on one person’s “Worst of 2009″ list and another person’s “Best of 2009″ list. Proceed with caution.
“Anyway, talk about comedy being subjective – some of the scenes could easily land on one person’s “Worst of 2009? list and another person’s “Best of 2009? list. Proceed with caution.”
Excellent point Daniel. This actually applies to about 90% of American comedy for me these days. Stuff other people revere I dislike (or loathe) and vice versa. I actually feel a little weird when I’m on the same wavelength funny-wise as the rest of America.
I’m hoping The Hangover pans out basically I like the cast but I have low expectations for it. Land of the Lost doesn’t look something I’d be into, but then I like the Will Farrell you describe. Maybe I’ll try it out.
Depending on the crowds, I’ll be seeing Land of the Lost and Hangover after Drag Me to Hell. LotL shouldn’t be a problem since it’s tanking at the box office, but Hangover might be another story.
My expectations for both are low as they are with most comedies.
Saw Away We Go last night. The less said about it the better and I’ll save it for the review and/or the Watercooler.