Category: Movie Dramas (Page 134 of 188)

Box office can be bad all by itself (updated)

September 11, 2009 /

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And by “bad” I might actually mean “good” for at least one, perhaps two, of the four new major releases coming this first weekend of the traditional movie fall season.

First off, jolly Carl DiOrio of THR is bullish as he anticipates about $20 million for the latest from Tyler Perry, the hyphenate auteur whose major appeal to African-American audiences, and major lack of appeal to critics, has been proven several times. His latest film version of one of his hit plays, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” is not being screened for the nasty folks of the press. The latest appearance of Madea, Perry’s chunky female alter-ego, is nevertheless thought to be attracting interest with his usual blend of melodrama, broad comedy, and music. (Having both Mary J. Blige and the great Gladys Knight in the cast won’t hurt this one.)

For cinephiliacs and geeks, the most interesting release this week by far is the computer animated dystopian science-fiction fable, “9” — which is not to be confused with the upcoming musical stage adaptation, “Nine.” This may seem a bit odd, but it gets downright weird. I just did little searching on IMDb and found two other films named “9” (not counting director Shane Acker’s original short subject). I also found a total of six films entitled “Nine,” including the upcoming musical version of Felini’ s “8 1/2” starring Danel Day Lewis and Marion Cotillard and directed by Rob Marshall. That makes six films named “Nine” and three films named “9” which, of course, comes to nine films called “9” or “Nine.” That either means the apocalypse is nigh this November 25 when the musical “Nine” comes out or, the moment of its release, I should go to Vegas, head straight for the crap tables, and bet everything on hitting 9. How can I lose?

Nine As for Shane Acker’s, “9,” though it’s been the beneficiary of some buzz, I personally wouldn’t bet everything on the dark tale finding a huge foothold with audiences. With a PG-13 rating, a vision clearly too scary for small children, and characters who a friend of mine — who really wanted to see it — likened to a jock strap, this film would be risky even if it was tremendous. However, David Medsker’s mixed review seems pretty much in line with the unspectacular 60% “Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes rating; the consensus being that this expansion of a short film is weak on story though strong on compelling visuals. “9” actually opened Wednesday and made about $3 million. Expectations are fairly high, with DiOrio suggesting the film could reach $15 million, even though the theater count is a relatively modest 1650+.

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Paramount sends us a little “Up in the Air”

September 9, 2009 /

“Juno” director Jason Reitman’s latest dramedy, “Up in the Air,” just finished wowing the crowds at the Telluride Film Festival, and now Paramount has released a new clip from the film so everyone can get an idea of what the fuss is all about.

Starring George Clooney as corporate hatchet man Ryan Bingham, “Air” tells the story of what happens when a man who’s made his career out of being a sort of professional grim reaper (that’d be Clooney, of course) feels the sting himself — and right on the cusp of achieving his long-held goal of collecting five million frequent-flyer miles, no less. With a cast that includes Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Jason Bateman — not to mention Reitman writing the script and sitting behind the lens — we know we can safely expect plenty of the seemingly effortless chemistry and smart, downplayed humor on display in this clip. Watch it now — and mark your calendars for December 4.


Movie Dramas, Video

The Tiger’s Tail

September 9, 2009 /

Writer-director John Boorman (“Deliverance,” “Excalibur,” “Hope and Glory”) has never been afraid of taking chances, and that definitely continues in this witty, suspenseful, and flawed 2006 thriller-cum-family drama. “The Tiger’s Tail” reteams Boorman with his lead actor from 1998’s “The General,” Brendan Gleeson (“In Bruges,” “28 Days Later“). This time, Gleeson is a renowned Dublin real estate capitalist with a calm but frosty marriage to wife Kim Cattrall, a strained but affectionate relationship with his Marxist teenage son (Briain Gleeson, the character actor’s actual offspring), and a business on the edge of collapse. All of that, however, is just par for the course until an exact double turns-up and appears bent on the most extreme form of identity theft.

As you might expect, this is a tale full of twists and turns. Unfortunately, several of them are weirdly contrived (think “Trading Places” meets “Ordinary People” with a distasteful dash of “Straw Dogs”) and many moments are just plain overheated –- at times Boorman seems to want to bludgeon us with composer Stephen McKeon’s score. Still, “The Tiger’s Tail” is salvaged by plentiful tension, humor, heart, and some very good performances, not only from Gleeson in a showy dual role, but also from son Briain and an especially moving turn by veteran actress Sinead Cusack. Best of all is a conclusion that takes the film to a place very few thrillers go. In his mid-seventies, Boorman remains a big-hearted filmmaker and this is a messy but big-hearted film.

Click to buy “The Tiger’s Tail”

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Gearing up

September 8, 2009 /

As I recall, not a whole lot of work really got done on the first day of school, but as people trickle back in from vacations, film festivals and the like, things are starting to happen.

Nicolas Cage* THR blogger/reporter Borys Kits has been keeping busy over the long weekend. He reports that Nicolas Cage will be starring in an action/revenge film, and another action/revenge film, with cars and in 3-D, entitled “Drive Angry.” Don’t take the car, Nick, you’ll kill yourself!!!!! (It’s a reference to an old commercial that you may not be in the right age/geographic group to get, but Mr. Cage most certainly is.) Kits also reports that Steven Soderbergh will be entering the action game with martial artist Gina Carano. As if that’s not enough, Kits also has a news story posted on a new documentary about Stanley Ann Dunham, Barack Obama’s late mother who figured prominently in today’s ever-so-controversial “work hard and stay in school” speech, to be directed by acclaimed Los Angeles-based indie filmmaker, Charles Burnett (“Killer of Sheep”). I actually have some very slight personal connections with the group behind this film, so this one has my extra attention.

* Fans of Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Tetsuo” series should maybe brace for a disappointment.

* Anne Thompson summarizes the Telluride Film Festival in the time of recession. BTW, she has some very kind words for Nicolas Cage’s performance in Werner Herzog’s unauthorized Abel Ferrara homage (or something), “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.” After debacles like “The Wicker Man” (my nominee for worst remake of all time with one of the worst lead performances by a major star), Cage badly needs to at least give a well-regarded performance or two. He’s a hugely talented performer — anyone remember “Leaving Las Vegas”? — but they all run the risk of sort of falling into themselves.

* I don’t know how to work this in tastefully. Let’s face it, most of what I talk about here is trivia — and then real life enters the picture and it’s hard to know what to say or do. Anyhow, critic/cinephile blogger Noel Vera has more thoughts, and some affecting links, on the lives of 28 year-old Canadian-Filipino critic Alexis A. Tioseco and his partner, film journalist Nika Bohinc. Both of them were killed last week when they apparently surprised a burglar in their Manila home.

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Holdovers nail Labor Day audiences

September 7, 2009 /

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Sorry, I couldn’t not use the image above, since it graphically demonstrates what happens when the studios release a trio of unexciting-to-detested entries into a Labor Day market full of strong, and strongly violent, competition. It starts with this week’s b.o. winner. It might not be anything resembling a critical darling, but “The Final Destination” boasts the power of gimmicky horror added to the additional gimmick of 3-D, offering some pretty easy to sell ghoulish fun to audiences, who bought it to tune of an estimated $15.4 million over the long weekend.

Brad Pitt contemplates his masterpiece.And this year’s cinephile sensation is also a hit with audiences. “Inglourious Basterds” held beautifully in its third weekend and only came in a few points below its “Final” competition with an estimated $15.1 million. Word of mouth, or tweet, or whatever is obviously working in the long-awaited WWII-flick’s favor — as may be the fact that every film geek in the world is probably going to see it at least twice, if not thrice.

Variety‘s Pamela McClintock also reports that “Basterds” actually won the day on Sunday. She also mentions that with a domestic “cume” of $95.2 million, the wartime fantasia is now Tarantino’s second biggest earner after “Pulp Fiction,” which made just below $108 million back in 1994. Adjusted for inflation, that number may still be hard — though not impossible — to beat. Not adjusted for inflation is looking easier all the time to me. When you consider the near absolute certainty of at least two or three Oscar nominations (quite possibly several more at this point), I’m not sure when this thing stops earning signficant money. Also, THR reports “Basterds” topping the international charts in a slow overseas weekend.

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