With the opening salvo of Summer! Films! behind us, the studios unload more of the same - another comic book movie, some of asinine comedies, high-profile scariness, and the only film from the first six months of 2006 that might, God willing, end up anywhere near anyone's Top 10 list come December.
2.6.2006
The big deal is clearly the film where Jen met Vince, The Break-Up. Yes, I know that's ironic, and no, it doesn't charm me. Although Aniston's most recent work finally proved to me that she has value as a person, nothing about this project looks in any way appealing.
Small films (i.e. the ones that don't open off the coasts for another week) include: Peaceful Warrior, which ups the ante on the usual "dreadful inspirational sports movie" by throwing in some cod-Eastern philosphy (and is directed by Victor Salva, convicted pedophile, and worse still, auteur behind Powder); and Typhoon, which was a hit in South Korea and according to the IMDb concerns a North Korean pirate who creates a deadly typhoon using nuclear waste, and how anyone could find that concept uninteresting is quite beyond me.
6.6.2006
So, it's kind of obvious that remake of The Omen was greenlit only because some studio exec noticed that this release date was available. Making this, arguably, the least-necessary film of the year. But as I mentioned before, the original was a movie with a great premise and horrible execution. So fingers crossed for this one to be an improvement.
9.6.2006
There are only two summer releases that I'm actually excited about, and wouldn't you know, they open the same day. On the one hand, Pixar's Cars: sure, the trailers (especially the teaser) have been kind of sucky, but right now the studio is 4 for 4 on films that had (I thought) awful trailers and turned out to be mini-masterpieces. So I'm keeping the faith.
On the other hand, the Altman/Keillor collaboration, A Prairie Home Companion, which has just about my favorite trailer of any summer release. That it will be interesting is pretty much a foregone conclusion, thanks to the director; whether it rises to the level of his best work, or whether it can make an good actress out of Lindsay Lohan is best discussed after it opens.
And one tiny film: The King with Gael García Bernal and William Hurt, a cute & creepy trailer, and terrible buzz out of Cannes 2005.
16.6.2006
Guilty pleasure time: I will be seeing Nacho Libre not out of a sense of bloggerly duty, but because I think the idea of Jack Black as a luchador is funny. This means that I am a terrible philistine, I know. But the trailer amuses me. I'm sorry.
Two unappealling actors of unreliable skill get to do a Chicago-based romantic fantasy (The Lake House), and the trailer is playing in front of fucking everything at my local theater, so curiosity might just be enough to get me to the theater (which worked out well with The Constant Gardener). There's a new Fast and the Furious, and mostly that just makes me sad that this franchise has enough fan support to make it to three chapters; worst of all is that the makers lacked the fortitude to name it 3 Fast 3 Furious. In other markets, the awesome-looking documentary Wordplay, about the NYT crossword editor, opens.
And for a reason that I cannot fathom, there is a new Garfield movie.
23.6.2006
Not guilty, unpleasurable time: there's a new Adam Sandler movie! It has a high concept! Hurrah for life! Also, Waist Deep, the story of an ex-con who must return to The Life in order to save his kidnapped son. Without having seen it, I believe that it has been given the wrong title. And a politcal docudrama: The Road to Guantanamo (co-directed by Michael Winterbottom, of all damn people) about four British Muslims who were detained for two years on no evidence. The original poster was recalled, as it was apparently too disturbing; mind you, it was positively Disneyesque next to the news photos out of Gitmo.
28.6.2006
At long last, the most-advertised film of the summer (arguably): Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. Now that the third X-Men film has turned out to be a washout, I'm more anxious than ever to see if Singer can work his magic here. The problem is, for me at least, that while the X-Men are inherently interesting, Superman is inherently dull. Basically, this film is going to live and die on its theme of "God returns to find He is no longer needed," and it chills me to the bone that a comic book movie has that kind of pressure riding on it.
30.6.2006
Damn but does this scream "counter-programming!": The Devil Wears Prada. I have to admit, that after seeing the trailer (which feels like it contains the entire first act, uncompressed), I think this might be good, soapy, "Meryl Streep Hamming It Up" fun.
31 May 2006
10 comments:
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I love these roundups, due to the multi-point responses I always feel obligated to leave. First off, how does "Magic remote control" qualify as high concept? I mean, granted, for a Sandler movie, yes, but in general, it seems like it's right in the neighborhood of like a Talking Mule sort of picture.
ReplyDeleteNext: does your intro mean you don't think Brick might scratch a top ten? It never played anywhere near me (I know, what a shock, living as I do in a cultural Mecca) but it had the vibe of something I'd end up loving.
Lake House, I swear, is based on a short story I read in like seventh grade. Sounds like they really upped the quality level. By which I mean, no.
For some totally asinine reason, my mother's birthday is the same day as Cars and APHC. We'll probably still see one as a family, but it may force me to spread out the joy. Which is, I suppose, not bad per se.
And I, sir, will join you on this Nacho Libre journey. If you will have me. And, er, can wait until I'm back from Minnesota that weekend.
There is nothing more that I can say. For now.
I absolutely love the trailer for The Lake House, by which I mean I completely abhore it. I don't know who thought that Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves could work outside of the context of Speed, but they can't. Also, what a horrible tag line: "how do you hold onto someone you've never met?" I am almost compelled to see it just to see how they wiggle their way out of the most ridiculous plot line in months.
ReplyDeleteYou know, one of my friends here worked on the Garfield sequel. And even he couldn't comprehend the reasons for its existence.
ReplyDeleteAnd Devil Wears Prada looks like it could be prime stage for some scenery-chewing goodness out of Streep. She's fun when she goes absolutely nuts.
"The Lake House" is a remake of a Korean melodrama/tearjerker romance called "Il Mare", you might wanna check it out on IMDB or something. I saw that one years ago and don't really have any impression of it, so it can't have been fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd Karen Tang worked on The Devil Wears Prada, which is a good enough reason for me to see it.
AHA! I found what (apart from Il Mare) the film appears to be based on. A short story called "The Love Letter" -- already made into a Hallmark special, which, despite its Hallmark status, has the potential to outshine Lake House by virtue of its cast (Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh).
ReplyDeleteOf course, that involved going back a hundred years with the correspondance, so modern audiences wouldn't "get" it. Plus, who thinks Bullock or Reeves could play old-timey parts? Me neither.
Anyways, the Il Mare connection appears more prominently noted, but based on the trailer alone, it's almost exactly the Love Letter plot, though by putting the two writers two years (instead of 100) apart, I guess there's going to be a little more arm-twisting to keep them from being able to get together.
Anyways. The short story is interesting, or at least vaguely memorable. And I remember things!
What if they DO get together? Or what if one turns out to be dead in the end? There are just so many ways this movie could be stupid.
ReplyDeleteMy big concern is how they address the issue of:
ReplyDelete"Why don't you meet me at X in two years?"
My guess (without having seen Il Mare or reading spoilers) is that Keanu is dead, and Sandra helps him avoid his death, and they meet in 2006, and it's gloppy.
What's really, really sad is how nearly-certain I am to see this.
My god, of course! Which means we'll have to sit through an entirely asinine scene where he basically says, "Hey, don't go into that really dangerous slum where all the trucks drive real fast around blind corners on January 15," and she'll be like, "right on," and then suddenly she'll exist in the present, ONLY SHE'LL MATERIALIZE IN THE SAME SPOT AS HIM and they'll be fused together, kind of like in The Fly. Death will follow.
ReplyDeleteI would actually see that movie.
Pat, you've got it backwards (he/she), but I constructed exactly the same plot as Tim from seeing the trailer.
ReplyDeletekaren tang in the credits of Devil Wears Prada is reason enough for me to see it, although i tried to read the book and it was like swallowing sand.
ReplyDeleteand when i see X3, even if it sucks, i will be happy to see Thuy-Van's name in the credits.