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I enjoy reading the traders to check out the buzz for new movies, so might as well pass along thoughts. Maybe this will become a weekly piece for me.
Opening this week (mostly today)
Looks Interesting
Coraline: this is getting very positive press and has become somewhat of a billboard ad campaign darling throughtout LA. A 3D animated movie from Henry Selick. A little girl walks through a secret door in her house and finds an alternate version of her current life. Looks very cool....light enough to take young kids but interesting enough for adults. based off the Monsters and Aliens commercial this past Sunday, I am becoming a big fan of digital 3D.
Fanboys: limited release but getting very good reviews. It is 1999 and a bunch of Star Wars geeks venture out to NorCal to break into Skywalker Ranch to see Episode 1 before it's general release. Sounds like it could be funny, as it explores the cult of Star Wars fans. If it is even half as funny as Triumph's Star Wars gag, it is worth seeing.
Life. Support. Music: documentary of a NYC guitarist that had a brain hemmorhage during a concert. His then-pregnant wife was told that he would likely be a vegetable, if he survived at all. The documentary chronicles his recovery. Allegedly very heartwarming, feel-good, and inspiring. We often see these stories in sports. Not so much in music. Limited release.
Maybe
Absurdistan: another Sundance winner, this one is set in a fictional village called Absurdistan. The village is desolate and water starved. The men need to fix the problem and the women have decided that they will "abstain" until they get some water. Allegedly some comparisons to Monty Python parady and sarcasm (heavy comparison, I know). Foreign film, so not sure how the humor will translate.
Objective: from the maker of the Blair Witch Project. This time, instead of being lost in the forest, a crew is lost in Afghanistan, searching for someone in an area that locals consider to be a cursed, bermuda triangle-type area. I thought the BWP was very original when it came out and the marketing of it was brilliant. Not sure if the magic can repeat itself now that everyone knows it isn't real.
Chocolate: not related to the Johnny Depp romance from several years ago. A martial arts revenge flick that is allegedly inspired in large part by the visuals and vibe of the O-ren Ishii sequence of Kill Bill Vol 1. I think it has some of that Crouching Tiger visual magic to it. While no longer fresh (we have seen it in everything from House of Flying Daggers to Shrek), I am still a sucker for the Flying Ninja style of fight choreography.
Our City Dreams: documentary focusing on 5 female artists in NYC....how their culture, political feminist views, age affect the arc of their career as well as their invidual creative processes. This doc has received fairly glowing reviews, but it will be a very limited release.
Lithuania and the Collapse of the USSR: documentary that is as the name suggests. This one will have narrow appeal unless you enjoy geo-political pieces (which I do). With a run time of over 4 hours, this one will be in art houses for a couple of weeks and then straight to DVD. However, the one interesting twist is that the documentary actually uses extensive footage from Lithuanian news broadcasts, so it would be interesting to see the local perspective (and propoganda) as the USSR crumbles down around everyone.
No Thanks
Pink Panther 2: Steve Martin owes everyone, esp Peter Sellers, a huge excuuuuuuuuuse me for this entire project.
He's Just Not That Into You: I'm just not that into it. Also, I am trying to decide whether Drew Barrymore is really the kiss of death for most movies.
Push: sounds like a cross of Ghostbusters/The Matrix/The Pelican Brief. I will pass.
Memorial Day: this movie attempts to draw a parellel between drunken partying soldiers on holiday leave with the sexual torture at Abu Ghraib. Allegedly falls flat in its execution.
Opening this week (mostly today)
Looks Interesting
Coraline: this is getting very positive press and has become somewhat of a billboard ad campaign darling throughtout LA. A 3D animated movie from Henry Selick. A little girl walks through a secret door in her house and finds an alternate version of her current life. Looks very cool....light enough to take young kids but interesting enough for adults. based off the Monsters and Aliens commercial this past Sunday, I am becoming a big fan of digital 3D.
Fanboys: limited release but getting very good reviews. It is 1999 and a bunch of Star Wars geeks venture out to NorCal to break into Skywalker Ranch to see Episode 1 before it's general release. Sounds like it could be funny, as it explores the cult of Star Wars fans. If it is even half as funny as Triumph's Star Wars gag, it is worth seeing.
Life. Support. Music: documentary of a NYC guitarist that had a brain hemmorhage during a concert. His then-pregnant wife was told that he would likely be a vegetable, if he survived at all. The documentary chronicles his recovery. Allegedly very heartwarming, feel-good, and inspiring. We often see these stories in sports. Not so much in music. Limited release.
Maybe
Absurdistan: another Sundance winner, this one is set in a fictional village called Absurdistan. The village is desolate and water starved. The men need to fix the problem and the women have decided that they will "abstain" until they get some water. Allegedly some comparisons to Monty Python parady and sarcasm (heavy comparison, I know). Foreign film, so not sure how the humor will translate.
Objective: from the maker of the Blair Witch Project. This time, instead of being lost in the forest, a crew is lost in Afghanistan, searching for someone in an area that locals consider to be a cursed, bermuda triangle-type area. I thought the BWP was very original when it came out and the marketing of it was brilliant. Not sure if the magic can repeat itself now that everyone knows it isn't real.
Chocolate: not related to the Johnny Depp romance from several years ago. A martial arts revenge flick that is allegedly inspired in large part by the visuals and vibe of the O-ren Ishii sequence of Kill Bill Vol 1. I think it has some of that Crouching Tiger visual magic to it. While no longer fresh (we have seen it in everything from House of Flying Daggers to Shrek), I am still a sucker for the Flying Ninja style of fight choreography.
Our City Dreams: documentary focusing on 5 female artists in NYC....how their culture, political feminist views, age affect the arc of their career as well as their invidual creative processes. This doc has received fairly glowing reviews, but it will be a very limited release.
Lithuania and the Collapse of the USSR: documentary that is as the name suggests. This one will have narrow appeal unless you enjoy geo-political pieces (which I do). With a run time of over 4 hours, this one will be in art houses for a couple of weeks and then straight to DVD. However, the one interesting twist is that the documentary actually uses extensive footage from Lithuanian news broadcasts, so it would be interesting to see the local perspective (and propoganda) as the USSR crumbles down around everyone.
No Thanks
Pink Panther 2: Steve Martin owes everyone, esp Peter Sellers, a huge excuuuuuuuuuse me for this entire project.
He's Just Not That Into You: I'm just not that into it. Also, I am trying to decide whether Drew Barrymore is really the kiss of death for most movies.
Push: sounds like a cross of Ghostbusters/The Matrix/The Pelican Brief. I will pass.
Memorial Day: this movie attempts to draw a parellel between drunken partying soldiers on holiday leave with the sexual torture at Abu Ghraib. Allegedly falls flat in its execution.
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