Sill in Theaters:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Ocean's Thirteen
Knocked Up
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Surf's Up
New in Theaters:
We've got 1408, the Horror/Thriller with two quality actors who of late are really good a picking crappy roles: Sam Jackson, and John Cusak. (Cusak in particular hasn't been in a good movie since Runaway Jury in '03 and you could argue that even that movie was only mediocre). The premiss in this Stephen King adapted story is that Cusak "A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror..."
It's gotten fair reviews but to me it seems like a wait for the DVD kind of movie.
Next is Evan Almighty, the sequel to Bruce Almighty which wasn't terrible but certainly didn't leave me begging for a follow up. It does however feature Steve Carell playing a congressman struggling to fulfill expectations, and of course Morgan Freeman is back playing God who must convince Carell to build an Arc for an upcoming flood.
From what I've read it's very corny but does provide a few laugh out loud moments and manages to be entertaining... If you're looking for a harmless family movie that won't make you fall asleep, this sounds like a winner.
Finally we have A Mighty Heart. Based on the Daniel Pearl story/incident, it focuses on the search made by Pearl's wife Mariane for her missing husband... okay sounds like something I might be interested in seeing... Pearl's wife is played by Angelina Jolie... hmmmm, maybe not.
Angelina has actually surprised the hell out of me with her acting skills a few times (Girl Interrupted, Gia) but then she's also to blame for the Tomb Raider movies and Mr. and Mrs. Smith... gag.... Not to mention, I'm just sick of hearing about her... But then when you take into account the fact that Daniel Pearl's wife actually looks like this:
You can count me out at this point... Are you telling me that there were no women of color to take on this role?! Really? Angelina Jolie?! That's the closest you could come? You're serious? I'm supposed to watch this movie and ignore the fact that Angelina is, um, ahhh- white?!
If that's not enough for you, I've also heard wildly differing opinions on whether or not the film is actually any good... AND during her appearance on The Daily Show they showed a clip from the movie and she absolutely BUTCHERED the french accent. My advice: stay away!
DVD Releases: The only two movies to be released on DVD this week that are worth mentioning are actually both classic Al Pacino movies- The Panic in Needle Park, and Author! Author!
Just about everyone has seen Author! Author! before and it's a decent comedy, but The Panic in Needle Park is the way to go here. This was actually Al's first starring role in a movie, and of course is what he worked on right before he landed a small role you might remember in a little picture called The Godfather!
Aside from being known as Al's big break, The Panic in Needle Park has always been known as one of the most gritty and honest portrayals of the heroin addict experience.
I highly recommend picking this DVD up.
Film Vault Suggestion:
I say you should skip the theater all together this weekend and make it a night for a pair of overlooked Al Pacino movies... The Panic in Needle Park, and then The Insider.
The Insider came out in 1999, it was directed Michael Mann (Heat, Ali, Collateral) ands stars both Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, yet it still fell under the radar!
My guess is because on the surface, the plot doesn't sound all that interesting: "A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a '60 Minutes' expose on Big Tobacco."
But trust me when I say that the movie is filled with tension and drama, not to mention top notch performances from the two stars.
So there you go, fire up a cigarette, shoot some heroin, and sit back and enjoy your Al Pacino night!
Posts
6 comments:
You are forgetting Serendipity. Wait...was that before 03. I don't know about the Insider. I remember watching it. I just don't remember too much. I will have to watch it again.
I'm a HUUUUUUGE fan of Angelina Jolie...yes the woman cant act but she is fffiiiinnnnne!!!!super hot!! at least she is to me...anywho, but i thought the exact same thing when i found out who she was portraying!!!!! I'm all about seeing her on big screen...she is the only one that makes me go to the theater otherwise i just wait for the video... but come on!!!! i was really dissappointed!! i may even wait to see her on video this time!!
We need to give Children of Men another chance...
You should wait for 1408 to come out on video. I was quite disappointed by it. I found myself thining mid-way through the film, "isn't this supposed to be over already."
i'm with you, joel. they should have found a woman of color to fill that role. i don't like AJ, at all. she may be a do-gooder, but she's also a homewrecker!!!
Amen to everything you said in this post. everything.
Post a Comment