Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (20th Century Fox)
Starring (the voices) of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly, Jonah Hill, Josh Flitter
Directed by Jimmy Hayward (animator on Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc., story consultant on Robots) and Steve Martino (art director on Robots and the "Monty Python's Meaning of Life" video game); Written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (The Bubble Boy, The Santa Clause 2, College Road Trip)
Genre: Animated, Family, Comedy
Rated G
Tagline: "One Elephant One World One Story"
Plot Summary: Dr. Seuss' classic children's tale is brought to animated life with Jim Carrey providing the voice of Horton, an elephant who discovers the microscopic world of Whoville in a speck of dust on a flower and decides to be the protector of the Whos that live in the microscopic world even though no one else can see them.
After months of movies that did just okay business--Cloverfield and 10,000 BC being the two exceptions--we finally have a movie that's pretty close to a sure thing, because with Paramount's Spiderwick Chronicles and Disney's College Road Trip underperforming, it leaves a big open gap for a big family film. It comes in the form of the latest animated movie from the makers of Ice Age, who've had two major hits with that franchise and one minor one with Robots in 2005. Unlike their last three movies, which were based on original ideas, they have much stronger material to work with this time, as they adapt one of Dr. Seuss' classic children's books, Horton Hears a Who!.
If that's not enough of a home run, than they also have some impressive starpower in the form of the voice of Jim Carrey, whose biggest movie to date in the United States (with $260 million) is Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, in which the Grinch became one of Carrey's most famous characters among kids. (That is, presuming they recognized him.) Horton is not only Carrey's first voice work for an animated movie, it's only his second family film, having had so much success with the former one. Not only that, but Horton reunites him with Steve Carell, who co-starred (and some say "stole") Carrey's second biggest U.S. hit Bruce Almighty (and his biggest worldwide hit having grossed an amazing $485 million). Since that memorable appearance, Carell has done a few movies with Will Ferrell and gone off on his own with the sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin and then took over for Carrey in the comedy sequel Evan Almighty, which didn't fare nearly as well. Carell has also provided his voice for a number of other animated films, most notably DreamWorks' Over the Hedge.
Bolstering the already impressive comedy factor of the film's two main voice stars, the directors (both of whom worked in various capacities on Robots) have assembled an impressive voice cast around them, including the one and only Carol Burnett--the first time the living legend has done anything in some time--as well as ever-present comedy stars like Steve Rogen, Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler, Jonah Hill and Dan Fogler (star of Balls of Fury). All of them are funny on their own or with others, and a few of them are being mentioned in the ads, although none of them will bring people in like Carrey or Carell might.
Even so, star power hasn't proven to be a reason for grown-ups or kids to see an animated films and in the last few years, they haven't been faring as well as they were in the good old days of Finding Nemo and the original Shrek. In general, there have been hit franchises like Shrek and Ice Age and the films of Pixar Animation, and everything else has generally opened under $50 million and grossed less than $200 million. Then again, none of those were based on one of Dr. Seuss' classic stories, which has probably been read by just about every kid, their parent and maybe even their parents' parent since it was first published in 1954. (Consider how well Alvin and the Chipmunks did, and they were created around the same time.) It's kind of odd that its premise of someone from the real world (in this case, an elephant instead of a child) discovering a miniature world was similar to two of the biggest computer animated bombs, The Ant Bully and Arthur and the Invisibles, although in both cases, they were first-time animated productions and neither looked particularly appealing or original.
One of the reasons why past Fox animated films have fared so well in March is that there's so little strong family fare in theaters and while Paramount has done respectably, though not spectacular, with their movie based on The Spiderwick Chronicles, Disney's own G-rated offering College Road Trip didn't fare as well as hoped, leaving a wide open market for the latest Dr. Seuss to be the first choice for most kids and their parents.
Fox has been giving a similar big push for the movie as their other animated hits, but what really might make a difference was that Oprah Winfrey devoted an entire show to the movie with Carrey, Carell and Carol Burnett all appearing, plus Carell has been touting the movie during commercial breaks of "The Office" (still in reruns after the Writers' Strike). That, on top of all the commercials, will help increase awareness among moms with small children, and the G-rating should guarantee a huge audience of kids, parents and whole families, especially on the weekend. Even with a huge theater count of close to 4,000 theaters, it probably won't make more opening weekend than Ice Age: The Meltdown, but one can expect it to do huge business next week (giving Tyler Perry a run for the top spot) and over the Easter holiday weekend with lots more business over the various spring breaks.
Why I Should See It: You can't really go wrong with Dr. Seuss, especially being Jim Carrey's return to Seuss-ville and his reunion with Steve Carell.
Why Not: Jim Carrey's first foray into Seuss-ville was kind of annoying, especially to those who don't like his over-the-top schtick.
Projections: $45 to 48 million opening weekend and $175 to 180 million total.
COMPARISONS
Doomsday (Universal Pictures)
Starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig, Malcolm McDowell
Written and directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent, Dog Soldiers)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action
Rated R
Tagline: "The End is Nigh."
Plot Summary: A deadly plague known as the "Reaper Virus" breaks out in Great Britain in the year 2007, infecting or killing millions of people, so a wall is built to quarantine the infected area of the country. Three decades later, when the virus resurfaces, a group of specialists led by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) is dispatched to the area behind the wall to try to find a cure.
Just under two years ago, a low-key British horror movie called The Descent opened at the beginning of August, and despite no known stars and much stronger fare in theaters, it made just under $9 million in roughly 2,000 theaters, introducing most American horror lovers to Mr. Neil Marshall, a talented British genre filmmaker following in the footsteps of Danny Boyle and Guy Ritchie. Around the same time, Marshall's next project was announced, as the director switched gears to make an apocalyptic sci-fi action flick set in an England where a virus has killed millions and left the survivors battling for every scrap of food, a very cool mix of "The Road Warrior" and "Escape From New York." Roughly a year later, Marshall showed up at San Diego Comic-Con with the first footage from the movie, which looked pretty awesome, clearly a bigger budget movie than The Descent with a lot more action.
The film's main star is Rhona Mitra from the television series "The Practice" and "Boston Legal," but she hasn't had much success with past movies, including the horror bomb Skinwalkers, which made only $1 million, as well as small roles in Jim Carrey's The Number 23 and Mark Wahlberg's Shooter, all last year. She's joined by legendary British actors Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell, the Clockwork Orange star continuing his foray into genre that began with his role on the NBC hit "Heroes." Another familiar face might be Alexander Siddig, who appeared in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven and Stephen Gaghan's Syriana, but who also appeared on one of the "Star Trek" shows (just don't ask me which!), and had his own bomb last year with The Last Legion, which opened just a week after Skinwalkers. Still, none of these actors will make that much of a difference in bringing in audiences. In fact, Marshall's involvement isn't really being advertised, nor the connections to the popular horror movie The Descent, which is strange because Universal made sure that people knew that last year's horror movie Dead Silence was by the creators of Saw.
The movie was produced along with Rogue Pictures, the genre division of Universal subsidiary Focus, and they did a good amount of promotion for the movie, especially at last year's Comic-Con, but late last year, Rogue was dissolved and merged into Universal after a number of disappointing horror bombs with The Return and The Hitcher--Rogue's comedies Hot Fuzz and Balls of Fury did significantly better--putting a lot of pressure on a studio that had little financial or emotional commitment to see the movie do well.
Unfortunately, Universal are pulling a similar stunt with Marshall's third film as they did with James Wan's Dead Silence and James Gunn's Slither, two horror films released in March, by not promoting the movie or screening it for critics, which means that a.) most newspaper movie writers will automatically discount the movie as being bad and deem it so, and b.) fewer people will be aware of the movie than might have with reviews and proper promotion. Not showing movies to critics is usually done by studios when they know their movies have a built-in audience who'll see it regardless of reviews, but in this case, without reviews, not many people will know that the movie exists or whether it's worth shelling out their hard-earned cash. The fact that this is the same audience that might be just as interested in the martial arts drama Never Back Down means this will probably end up doing less business than it might have done if given a proper marketing campaign. Either way, there really hasn't been a movie like this in a long time, a cool sci-fi action flick, with Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later or his less successful Sunshine being the closest, so there should be some interest among sci-fi genre fans who won't be so interested in the other choices.
Why I Should See It: Marshall's last film The Descent was an excellent addition to the horror genre.
Why Not: Looks way too much like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and who remembers that could possibly want to see this?
Projections: $5 to 7 million opening weekend and roughly $15 to 16 million total.
COMPARISONS
Never Back Down (Summit Entertainment)
Starring Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Cam Gigandet, Amber Heard, Evan Peters, Wyatt Smith
Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Cry_Wolf and various shorts; upcoming Hail to the Thief); Written by Chris Hauty (Homeward Bound: Lost in San Francisco)
Genre: Action, Drama, Sport
Rated PG-13
Plot Summary: Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) is a tough kid with a temper who runs into trouble with the locals when his family moves to Orlando, Florida, getting him badly beaten up in a fight with local bully Ryan (Cam Gigandet), a trained Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. After getting beaten up, Jake decides to train in MMA for a rematch, but he learns that he'll have to control his temper and learn discipline if he wants to win.
Mini-Review: Working from an awful script that has the audacity to steal lines from "Erin Brockovich" (as if someone might not notice), there's very little difference from this drama set in the world of Mixed Martial Arts than any of the bad dance movies of late, essentially being a showcase for pretty young things including Sean Faris, about the closest we've come to a young Tom Cruise lookalike in some time, only without the acting ability. Mostly, the movie is a product of MTV production and "Beverly Hills 90210" drama following a fairly predictable "angry guy learns to control his temper to fight for what's important", but it's so incompetently directed with shoddy camerawork and editing that you wonder how Jeff Wadlow got a job. As with so many young directors borne out of MTV Film School, Wadlow is madly in love with his own soundtrack and macho montages, which does little to make up for the terrible writing and weak performances. Even more curious is the featured role for two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou as Jake's trainer, a character given his own issues and subplots that serve very little purpose to the main story. At least Hounsou adds a little class to the film that's brought down by its terrible writing and performances, the worst of the bunch being Cam Gigandet as the film's main antagonist, a ridiculously over-the-top performance that prevents one from taking any of the drama too seriously. Amber Heard isn't nearly bad as Jake's love interest, but it's not exactly a role that requires years of formal acting training, since she essentially has to look pretty and/or scared during the fight scenes, which are well choreographed and filmed better than the rest of the movie, but few and far between compared to the bland dialogue sequences. The movie just gets worse and worse as the story follows such a familiar "Karate Kid" character arc that you really feel as if you've watched this same movie countless times before, so you can guess exactly where it's going. As much as "Never Back Down" tries to be "The Fist and the Furious," it's really just a load of Raging Bullsh*t. Rating: 3/10
Not much to be said about this movie, which as you can tell by the mini-review above, I absolutely hated. It certainly seems like there must be some audience for this, since most of those dumb ass dance movies do well, and this one's about Mixed Martial Arts, which I assume has its fans, since there are so many guys out there who love mindless violence. (Not to discount the sport, as I'm sure there's more of a spirituality and discipline to the sport.) Since there really haven't been many, if any, movies set in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, we have to look at other similar genres like the dance movies or the movies based around streets racing. In the latter case, there's the successful "Fast and the Furious" franchise, the first movie far exceeding expectations in 2001 when people underestimated the popularity of street racing. Last year's Redline, was a racing movie that was released through an independent distributor who used the popularity of MySpace to promote the movie.
Not that it matters much, but this is the second movie from Jeff Wadlow, who directed the 2005 horror bomb Cry_Wolf, which didn't fare much better than Redline, and the only known star he lined up for the movie was two-time Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou, who first came to notice in Jim Sheridan's In America and surprised many by being nominated for a second Oscar in 2006 for Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond. In between, he did a number of genre films including Constantine and Michael Bay's The Island. The film's main character is played by Sean Faris, a television star who hasn't done much in terms of movies, and his love interest is played by Amber Heard, who stars in the long-delayed horror movie All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, not that anyone will have heard of either.
Not that it will matter because the movie is all about the martial arts action, something that will appeal to the younger male audience that have been getting into the sport, and since I have no idea if we're talking thousands or tens of thousands or millions, this one really could go either way.
This is the third release from Summit Entertainment, who are releasing the movie into over 2,500 theaters after minimalizing the release of the Christina Ricci fantasy Penelope, but that did well and they're going wider with this expecting that young males might pick this over some of the other movies. It certainly has a better chance of bringing in women and the date crowd than Universal's Doomsday, which also has the misfortune of an R-rating. Reviews for this aren't likely to be very good but the film's audience of young males probably won't care since this is the only movie that looks worth seeing, especially with the terrible word-of-mouth faced by Roland Emmerich's 10,000 BC going into its second weekend.
Why I Should See It: If you're a fan of Mixed Martial Arts, there's lot of action in the movie.
Why Not: And that's about all the movie has going for it.
Projections: $6 to 8 million opening weekend but less than $20 million total.
COMPARISONS
THE CHOSEN ONE: This week, we have a tie between two low-key documentary releases…
Sputnik Mania (Balcony Releasing)
Starring (voice) Liev Schreiber, Robert Klein,
Directed by David Hoffman
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: This documentary takes a look at the launch of Russia's Sputnik satellite and its repercussions in the world, especially in our country, as it caused the Cold War to escalate.
When you have a documentary about space travel coming out so soon after the excellent In the Shadow of the Moon, you know that you're going to be put under heavy scrutiny and comparisons. While this documentary about the first Russian satellite launch and its effects on the world isn't quite as impressive in terms of scope and visuals, it's still an amazing look back at American history, as it deals as much with the space race as it does with the paranoia in this country during the early days of the Cold War. You see, the Russian's launch of the Sputnik satellite caused a panic in the United States, since not only did it show that we were behind our main competitors, but it also meant that they had the capability to launch powerful rockets containing nuclear warheads at us. So of course, that meant that we had to step up our own program and launch a satellite into space to show the Russians that we're just as good. And that's how a simple post-WW2 misunderstanding turned into one of the biggest d*ck-measuring contests between two countries trying to one-up each other.
Narrated by Liev Shreiber, a natural for this kind of gig as he does his best impression of Peter Jennings, the documentary takes a somewhat dryer approach so it feels more like a National Geographic doc or something we might see on the Discovery Channel, but there's a lot of amazing footage of the media coverage of the events, including an appearance by Major John Glenn on "Name That Tune" talking about the Sputnik launch years before he'd be launched into space himself. Granted, the film is somewhat disjointed and unfocused as it moves away from the Space Race—that's another movie in itself—and focuses on the fears of nuclear war among the United States government and citizens, but it's still an amazing look back at a time in history when many people weren't alive, and it's a commendable and often impressive effort all around.
Sputnik Mania opens at the IFC Center in New York on Friday with an appearance by an actual sputnik!
Wetlands Preserved (First Run Features)
Starring Bob Weir, Dave Matthews, Blues Traveler, ?uestlove (The Roots), Mike Gordon (Phish), Nick Hexum (311), Robert Randolph, Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers Band), Mike Doughty, Hanson, John Medeski, The Spin Doctors, Darius Rucker (Hootie & The Blowfish), moe., Ryan Miller (Guster), Agnostic Front
Directed by Dean Budnick
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: A documentary about the late lamented rock club Wetlands that debuted a lot of music groups who went on to much bigger things.
Anyone who has read this column regularly knows it's no secret that I'm a big fan of rock docs, and having been an avid concert-goer for many years, I had been to the legendary New York rock club Wetlands a few times, though I didn't know nearly as much about the club as I learned from watching this comprehensive look at the venerable club, which mixes interviews with owner Larry Bloch, his staff and the bands who played there with recreated performances by Phish, Blues Traveler, Pearl Jam, the Spin Doctors, Sublime, 311 and other bands who got their start or played at the club over the years. Director Dean Budnick does this by using recovered soundboard tapes with animated photographs, and though it's not quite the same thing as being there, you can't help but be impressed by how many great bands played through there before it shut its doors, just days before 9/11. The film is somewhat primitive and very talking heads, but it's very entertaining to see the diversity of the club and how owner Larry Bloch justifies the logic behind his quirky decisions which gave the club such a distinctive look and feel, becoming the home for the city's Dead-heads, local and touring jam bands, rappers and hardcore/ska bands. It's actually pretty amazing when you realize how big some of these bands became since playing at the club in the early ‘90s, many of them selling out huge arenas, and it shows a lot of vision on Bloch's part for creating such a comfortable space for them. For all the talk of CBGB's being the preeminent rock club in New York, Budnick's documentary gives a good argument for Wetland's, especially when you realize that a good amount of the club's profits went to activism, something that Bloch set-up from the very early days of the club, and carried through until the very end.
If you have ever spent any time in the club or a fan of some of the bands, you'll want to check out this doc when it opens at the Cinema Village in New York on Friday and in L.A. on March 26.
Also in Limited Release:
Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise (Voom HD Networks) - Bruce David Klein takes a look at the life of the rock star and actor known as Meat Loaf as he hits the heights of fame as a multi-platinum star, sinks to the lowest depths and then returns. After playing at the Montreal Film Festival, this rock biodoc opens at the IFC Center on Thursday, March 13 for a two-week run before playing on Rave HD on April 4.
Flash Point (Third Rail/Weinstein Co.) - Donnie Yen stars in Wilson Yip's police action-drama about a policeman who must fight a trio of gangster who have targetted his undercover brother and his girlfriend as revenge for their imprisonment. It will open in a couple theaters in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Interview with Donnie Yen
Funny Games (Warner Independent) - Filmmaker Michael Haneke remakes his own 1997 thriller about a home invasion by two polite young men who torture and humiliate a family of three in one night of hell. The English remake stars Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as the couple and Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet the home invaders, and it opens in 285 theaters in select cities on Friday.
Some Thoughts from the Film's Sundance Premiere
Sleepwalking (Overture Films) - Actress Charlize Theron produced and has a small role in director Bill Maher and writer Zac Stanford's drama about an 11-year-old girl (Anna Sophia-Robb) who goes on the road with her uncle (Nick Stahl) after her mother vanishes, presumably abandoning her daughter. Also starring Dennis Hopper and Woody Harrelson, the second released by Overture Films opens into roughly 25 theaters in select cities on Friday.
Mini-Review:
Rating: 5/10
Heartbeat Detector (New Yorker Films) – French actor Matthieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) stars in Nicholas Klotz's adaptation of François Emmanuel's "La Question Humaine" as a corporate psychologist who must analyze the mental state of the company's CEO, which puts him into a web of blackmail and betrayal. The thriller opens at the Cinema Village and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York.
On Broadway – Former New Kid Joey Mcintyre and Eliza Dushku star in Dave McLaughlin's drama about a Boston man who writes a play to honor his dead uncle and decides to quit his job and put on a production of the play in the backroom of his neighborhood pub. The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the New Hampshire Film Festival will open in a couple theaters in Boston.
Next up, two movies about kidnapping and human trafficking from opposite sides of the world…
Blind Mountain (Kino International) - This thriller from Chinese filmmaker Li Yang (Blind Shaft) takes a look at the world of human trafficking through the eyes of an attractive woman (Huang Li) who travels to the Shaanxi province in the mountains for a job but is drugged, kidnapped and sold into marriage. It opens at the Film Forum in New York City on Friday.
Towards Darkness (Peace Arch Entertainment) - This Columbia-based Spanish thriller by José Antonio Negret follows 90 minutes in the kidnapping of the son of a Columbian banker and the desperate attempt by his family and a special ops team to try to save his life via ransom negotiations. Co-starring "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera, this selection from the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival opens at Quad Cinema in New York on Friday and in L.A. on March 21.
War Made Easy (Media Education Foundation) - This documentary by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp traces the United States' involvement in the Iraq War to government deception and media spin, using archive footage to draw parallels between the lead-up to the Vietnam War to that of Iraq and how presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush distorted and exaggerated information and were supported by the media. With analysis by media critic Norman Solomon and narrated by actor Sean Penn, the latest war doc opens at the Quad Cinema on Friday.
Mini-Review: Clearly fans of Owen Morris and Alex Gibney, the makers of this film certainly must have had the best intentions in exploring how the government and media uses propaganda to get Americans behind decisions to go to war, but there’s a been-there done-that feel to the movie that makes it hard to appreciate. At first, it seems like just another heavily liberal anti-war rant against the current administration and the media with lots of CNN footage and Presidential speeches with lots of stuff we’ve heard before about "weapons of mass destruction," all dissembled and analyzed by Norman Solomon. It makes for a mostly dry and biased thesis with a lot of talking heads, most of which has been covered before and better by movies like "Why We Fight" and "The Fog of War." Granted, it’s very informative with its interesting angle on the current war and that’s what helps elevate it above biased "Fahrenheit 9/11" rehash, though it’s not nearly as entertaining, thought-provoking or moving as some of the other films on the subject. Rating: 6.5/10
Next week, it's Easter weekend and Tyler Perry returns (not that he's really gone away) with Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns (Lionsgate) as does Owen Wilson with Drillbit Taylor (Paramount), and just when you thought it was safe to take a picture, 20th Century Fox remakes the Thai horror film Shutter. Paparazzo, be scared.]]>
10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros.)
Starring Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Omar Sharif, Tim Barlow, Marco Khan, Reece Ritchie, Mo Zinal, Mona Hammond, Joel Virgel Vierset, Suri van Sornsen, Joel Fry, Nathanael Baring, Joe Vaz
Directed by Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, The Patriot, Godzilla, Stargate); Written by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser (a German film composer who is also co-writing Emmerich's next film 2012)
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "It takes a hero to change the world."
Plot Summary: In an epic story set during prehistoric times, D'Leh (Steven Strait) is a young hunter in a mountain tribe who falls for the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle) but when she's kidnapped by a band of warlords, D'Leh must lead a group to save her, facing the elements, fierce prehistoric beasts and other tribes which they'd never encountered before.
Mini-Review: As if we really need the bad summer movie season to start two months earlier, Roland Emmerich has outdone himself in his attempts to be Mel Gibson with this movie that's a cross between "Braveheart" and "Apocalypto" with a "Titanic"-level love story thrown in for good measure. Despite stealing liberally from movies as diverse as "Pathfinder", "300" and "Troy" (okay, maybe not so diverse), the film offers surprisingly little excitement as Emmerich and his co-writer, executive producer and composer, Harald Klosser, spend more effort on the film's visuals and sweeping score than coming up with a coherent story, let alone bothering to do any historical research into the times. Artistic license doesn't even touch upon the fact that this reality has mammoths living in the same time as ships and modern navigation in a world where snowy mountain peaks, deserts and rivers are all within walking range of each other... and of course, English is the universal language in this fictitious fantasy world that might as well be one of Emmerich's "Stargate" dimensions. Granted, most people won't be watching this movie for any sort of realism, but even the larger-than-life CG-enhanced action set pieces are few and far between with a long gap after the cool mammoth hunt before we see more of this land's creatures--the CG wooly mammoths are even more impressive in comparison to the giant killer turkeys that come later. When we finally get a sabretooth tiger (who we'll call Tony due to his resemblance to the cereal spokesman), it's for a ridiculous plot device in which Steven Strait's D'Leh saves it and has the favor returned later, and that's that. For what's essentially an action-effects flick, the plot is needlessly complicated, made sillier with a lot of talking heads and exposition in "caveman-speak," most of it so MST3K bad that you wonder if Emmerich is just asking to be mocked in the next spoof movie. Strait isn't terrible as the film's lead but otherwise, the acting is dismal and embarrassing across the board, and even the incessant voice-over narrative by the legendary Omar Sharrif quickly gets tedious. In terms of quality, Emmerich's latest is the cinematic equivalent of the television series "Cavemen" but at least the Geico commercials make an effort to get the historical accuracy right, and going swimming at the beach in March would probably be more desirable than enduring this premature summer dud. An atrocious waste of a perfectly good CGI budget. Rating: 3/10
After taking on aliens, giant lizards and global warming, filmmaker Roland Emmerich is going back in time, WAY back in time, to tell an epic story of when man ran with giant wooly mammoths and sabretooth tigers, which looks very similar to movies like The Clan of the Cave Bear and Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, the latter being the most interesting comparison since Gibson starred in Emmerich's The Patriot over seven years ago. Unfortunately, Apocalypto wasn't as big a hit of some of Gibson's previous movies, and that might be the case with Emmerich's film, which deviates from his normal sci-fi fare, and unlike Jurassic Park, there are no dinosaurs in the modern world, instead being set in a period where cavemen started to discover the bigger world. Older moviegoers may remember a 1966 film called One Million Years B.C., which introduced most of the world to one Raquel Welsh over forty years ago much like The Clan of the Cave Bear became a hit for Daryl Hannah after her breakout in Ron Howard's Splash a few years earlier.
Since Emmerich's movies tend to be more about the action and effects than the acting and writing—something that might be obvious by the fact it's co-written by a German film composer—it doesn't have much of a cast in terms of star power, although Steven Strait and Camilla Belle might be seen as young up 'n' comers. As a Seattle grunge rocker look-alike, Strait played the baddie in Disney's Sky High a few years back, followed by a starring role in Renny Harlin's action-thriller The Covenant. (He also starred in the bomb Undiscovered, but we don't talk about that movie around these parts in fear of putting the Weekend Warrior into a tizzy.) Strait will follow the part as a caveman hunter with a role in Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss later this month.
Hoping that this will be the movie that takes her to the next level—sorry, boys, this is PG-13 so don't expect any Raquel Welch levels of skin—Camilla Belle started working at a very young age, appearing in Alfonso Cuaron's A Little Princess and in small roles after that, but her big break came in 2005 when she starred opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Rebecca Miller's The Ballad of Jack and Rose and a year later, she was headlining the horror remake When a Stranger Calls, which was a surprise hit. Even so, the most famous actor of the bunch would probably have to be the film's narrator, living legend Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for his role in Oscar nominated role in the classic Lawrence of Arabia.
10,000 B.C. is very much a director's movie, and though you might be hard-pressed to find anyone who'll claim any of Roland Emmerich's previous movies among their favorites, he certainly has an eye for the fantastic, huge CG landscapes that are often destroyed as was the case in Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. The former of these was a huge blockbuster grossing $300 million in the summer of 1996, while the latter was also a huge hit, but it only grossed $186 million total. This is a very different movie for Emmerich, as he shies away from the New York destroying science fiction that's been so prevalent in his movies for a look at the past, and it'll be interesting to see if he fares better with the material than Mel Gibson did with Apocalypto or Marcus Nispel did with his Viking epic Pathfinder last year. Obviously, the CG visuals are going to be the biggest sell, and they certainly look more massive than either of those movies, morre like King Kong or Jurassic Park than a prehistoric version of Dances with Wolves.
In the past, Emmerich has been the king of summer, with his biggest movies being released over 4th of July and Memorial Day weekends, much like his compatriot Michael Bay, and at one point, 10,000 B. C. was originally planned for last July before it was realized that it might need more time for FX, when it was moved to early March. In the past, pushing a summer movie back to the spring or winter from the summer is a bad sign of lowered expectations from the studio, but last year Warner Bros. had an enormous hit with Zack Snyder's 300, a movie that normally would be a summer tentpole movie, and they've decided to claim the March opening this year, as well as next with Snyder's follow-up Watchmen. The success of Cloverfield a few months back proved that movies can be released at any time of the year and find an audience opening weekend, and though it's doubtful there's as much anticipation for 10,000 B.C. as Cloverfield (or 300 or Emmerich's past movies for that matter), Warner Bros. has done a good job with their commercials and an impressive HBO special to make audiences aware that this is going to be another action-packed epic on par with Emmerich's past films.
Based on past reviews of Emmerich's movies, it's doubtful that 10,000 B. C. will be making any critics' Top 10 list this year, but reviews probably won't have much of an effect on those who really want to see this. Even if this probably won't have nearly as big an opening as Emmerich's last few movies, it should do very well on Friday as the young guys who can't wait two months for the big summer blockbusters will rush out to see it, mostly curious about what Emmerich might do when doing a movie set in the past. It might not be so frontloaded with few other strong movies for that audience in coming weeks.
Why I Should See It: Roland Emmerich taking on the prehistoric times with CGI creatures? Yeah, I'm there!
Why Not: The problem with most of Emmerich's previous movies is that they tend to focus more on the effects and action rather than the writing and storytelling.
Projections: $39 to 43 million opening weekend and $120 million total.
COMPARISONS
College Road Trip (Disney)
Starring Martin Lawrence, Raven-Symoné, Donny Osmond, Will Sasso, Arnetia Walker
Directed by Roger Kumble (Just Friends, Cruel Intentions, The Sweetest Thing); Written by Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans (debut), Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (The Bubble Boy, The Santa Clause 2 and next week's Horton Hears a Who)
Genre: Comedy
Rated G
Tagline: "They just can't get there fast enough."
Plot Summary: It's time for Melanie (Raven-Symoné) to go off to college but her overprotective policeman father (Martin Lawrence) insists on coming along for a "girls only" trip to check out the universities she has lined-up, turning what might have been a fun trip into a chaotic nightmare.
For those not into a prehistoric epic, another possible option is this family road comedy, starring Martin Lawrence and 'tween superstar Raven-Symoné, which follows the same formula as hits like Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? and others by putting Martin Lawrence on the road with kids, in this case an older teen girl looking for independence as she goes off to college.
It seems like only a month ago when we were talking about the career of Martin Lawrence, maybe because it was because Lawrence just starred in Universal's comedy Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, which didn't fare as well as some of Lawrence's past movies. College Road Trip is a bit different since its his second movie with Disney after last year's surprise Wild Hogs, which put Lawrence on a motorcycle alongside John Travolta and Disney regular Tim Allen. That movie was a PG-13 film released by Touchstone Pictures and geared more for audiences 15 and up, but this time, Disney has Lawrence doing a G-rated movie, hoping that he can find similar success with more family-friendly fare, much like Allen has with "The Santa Clause" trilogy and the 2006 remake of The Shaggy Dog. Ironically, Lawrence's only PG family movie prior to this was the 2005 comedy Rebound, which tanked when facing Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds. Unlike Roscoe Jenkins, this is the kind of movie that won't just appeal to African-American audiences and parents with small kids will see this as a viable movie choice due to its G-rating, something that can help bring entire families into see this over the weekend.
More importantly, he's joined by Raven-Symoné (Christina Pearman), who at 22 years old is one of Disney's hottest commodities thanks to her hit Disney Channel Show "That's So Raven" and her stint as one of the "Cheetah Girls," a career that has garnered the young actress tons of Kids' and Teen Choice Awards, and no less than seven NAACP Image Awards, making her one of the most influential people among young African-American girls than anyone else. Not only that, but Raven's been acting for a long time, having played Olivia, a second term cute kid on "The Cosby Show," before Miley Cyrus' dad was singing "Achy Breaky Heart." Like many of Disney's young ingénues, Raven is also a singing star, having released her first album—you might want to sit down for this—15 YEARS AGO, which spawned a hit single, and since then, she's released two more albums with a fourth on the way, and appearances on a number of Disney soundtracks. With all of that under her belt, it's surprising that Ms. Symoné hasn't appeared in that many movies since playing Eddie Murphy's daughter in both Doctor Dolittle movies, not that anyone will remember her from those. Essentially, whether or not you think Lawrence's career is shaping up or falling apart he'll have a strong back-up plan by teaming him with Raven, since she'll appeal to the younger crowd.
A number of African-American actors have had success with family-oriented road trip movies including Cedric the Entertainer with Johnson Family Vacation and rapper Ice Cube with Are We There Yet?, plus Robin Williams got into the act with RV in 2006, but it's been a regular thing for popular comics to eventually make kids' movies, as seen by the likes of Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin, who've had their best success doing kids' movies. Though at first glance, this might seem like the usual Disney kiddie fare, its more of a movie for teen and 'tween girls that offers the kind of bonding premise that they can see with their parents and families, rather than just being dumped off at the malls to see on their own, while the rest of the family sees something else. In that sense, it has some of the same strengths of other Disney films that have proven successful in this season including The Pacifier and Bringing Down the House, since they've been able to bring in a couple different demos.
At this point, it looks like Disney is releasing the movie into less than 3,000 theaters, which is odd, considering the success of previous Disney family movies when given very wide releases. Currently, the movie is estimated to open in 2,500 theaters, which is only slightly more than Roscoe Jenkins, but one can expect this number will be increased by a couple hundred by Friday, since there's so few movies playing ultra-wide currently. With that in mind, College Road Trip should have a really solid opening weekend, although it's likely to get murdered next week when the animated Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who opens, since that will be a much stronger draw. Even so, the only other kids' movie The Spiderwick Chronicles is heading out of theaters and girls and women won't have as much interest in Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C., so this should be a strong family choice.
Why I Should See It: Teaming Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symoné seems like it could produce comedy for a wide range of audiences.
Why Not: This looks like every other recent family road comedy, all of which pale in comparison to National Lampoon's Vacation.
Projections: $20 to 23 million opening weekend and $75 million total.
COMPARISONS
The Bank Job (Lionsgate)
Starring Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Alki David, Michael Jibson, Richard Lintern, Don Gallagher, David Suchet
Directed by Roger Donaldson (The Recruit, The World's Fastest Indian, Species, Thirteen Days, Dante's Peak); Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Across the Universe, Flushed Away, Goal!)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rated R
Tagline: "The true story of a heist gone wrong... in all the right ways."
Plot Summary: Car dealer Terry Leather (Jason Statham) is convinced by his former model girlfriend Martine (Saffron Burrows) to rob the safe at a Baker Street bank, but the safety deposit boxes they rob contain dirty secrets that the British government and various local criminals do not want to become public knowledge, putting Terry and his crew on the run from everyone.
Review
Although the other two wide releases might seem fairly straight-forward in terms of their audiences, this heist thriller starring Jason Statham might face some of the toughest challenges despite the growing popular star who got his start in acting thanks to Guy Ritchie and has become quite a popular action star thanks to the likes of Luc Besson and Corey Yuen. This bank heist flick based on the true story of the "Walkie Talkie Robbers" is the latest film directed by veteran filmmaker Roger Donaldson allowing Statham to take on a meatier dramatic role, while still doing something that might appeal to his mostly male fans, who have flocked to see movies like Crank and "The Transporter" movies. Statham certainly is a big enough star now that he'll be doing the talk show rounds, some of which might help raise awareness for the movie, although few will feel that he's making much of a departure from his early days in Ritchie's early movies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
Statham's main partner-in-crime is British actress and former model Saffron Burrows, who made her debut in Jim Sheridan's Oscar-worthy In the Name of the Father and has taken scattered roles in films like Wolfgang Peterson's Troy, though she's best known to American audiences for her recurring role on the ABC drama "Boston Legal." Otherwise, it's a fairly large ensemble cast of British actors, the most recognizable ones possibly being Stephen Campbell More, last seen in The History Boys and Daniel Mays, who played James McAvoy's wartime buddy in Atonement.
Donaldson's last movie was the indie feature The World's Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins, which Donaldson also wrote, but it got a fairly low-key release compared to some of his studio work like The Recruit with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell back in 2003, though his biggest movie to date is the 1988 Tom Cruise vehicle Cocktail. That grossed $78 million and he has had two other movies make in the $60 million range (Dante's Peak and Species) but Donaldson still isn't considered anywhere near an A or even B-List director, being very erratic in terms of box office.
Heist flicks have been fairly popular in this country the past few years with the "Ocean's" trilogy being the highmark for most people, though other movies include The Score starring Edward Norton and Robert De Niro and the recent estrogen-filled alternative Mad Money have done respectable business. The British are world-famous for their heist movies from the '50s, '60s, and '70s, many of which have been remade, most notably The Italian Job from 1969 (the remake starring Statham) and the Coen Brothers' remake of the 1955 crime-drama The Ladykillers. Besides not being a remade, but being based on an actual crime case, The Bank Job is somewhat different in that it's a period piece set in the '70s that retains all the "Britishness" of those films, something that might throw off American audiences.
That said, reviews should generally be good as this is the kind of movie that critics love raving about, though considering how few movies have been doing good or bad business based on reviews, they probably won't do much to help this movie, which has not received quite as big a push from Lionsgate, who is releasing the movie into less than 1,500 theaters, which is comparable to the release of William Friedkin's Bug last year. There's a chance that The Bank Job might cut into the older males that might go see Roland Emmerich's latest movie, but more likely, that movie will limit the number of younger guys who might try to see this, although the R-rating won't help with that either. This might find some curious American moviegoers based on Statham and reviews claiming it to be the "greatest heist film ever made" but considering that the film already opened in the U.K. one has to expect that pirate version of the movie are already out and about, which can also cut into opening weekend. Since it might be too British for anyone outside the big cities, the few who might be interested might feel this is one movie that will play just as well on DVD in three to four months later.
Why I Should See It: Jason Statham returns to British crime-drama with this retro-thriller based on a true crime story.
Why Not: Unfortunately, because Statham is an action star, one has to expect a certain amount of action… maybe it'll be enough to appease those looking for it, maybe not.
Projections: $4 to 6 million opening and $18 million total.
COMPARISONS
Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day (Focus)
Starring Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciaran Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Lee Pace
Directed by Bharat Nalluri (The Crow: Salvation, Killing Time, and "Tsunami: the Aftermath" and "Hustle" for television; 2nd unit for Alien vs. Predator and Resident Evil); Written by David Magee (Finding Neverland), Simon Beaufoy (Blow Dry, The Full Monty, Japanese Story)
Genre: Comedy
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "Every Woman Will Have Her Day"
Plot Summary: Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), a middle-aged starving governess looking for work in pre-WWII England meets Delysia LaFasse (Amy Adams), a frivolous actress and the prototype for the modern-day celebutante, who hires Miss Pettigrew as her personal assistant to help juggle the three men in her life, including pianoman Mike (Lee Pace), the one man who truly loves her for herself.
Interview with Amy Adams
Review (Coming Soon!)
Now usually, when there's a choice of a new Stephen Chow or a David Gordon Green movie, you can almost place money that they'll be some of my favorite movies in any given week, so color me shocked when I ended up loving this period chick flick based on a novel written way back in the late ‘30s. The film itself takes place in England during the era where war was starting to hit the city, but this is not a dark war drama ala Atonement, but a delightful old school romantic comedy carried by two amazing actresses, Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. My big-time crush and absolute adoration of Adams is probably one of the worst kept secrets on the planet, but she's wonderful as always playing Delysia LaFasse, a flighty and pretentious actress who is juggling three men at once, including the dashing Lee Pace from "Pushing Daisies" as the piano man who you really want to see Delysia end up with. Ciaran Hinds, who has been everywhere in the last few months, has a great role as the wealthy man who shows interest in Miss Pettigrew, which is another great role for McDormand, one that shows how great she is at doing subtle humor. (Diane Keaton take note!) Co-written by the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of Finding Neverland and The Full Monty, this is a great movie that'll appeal to anyone who loves old romantic comedies with fast-paced dialogue and fun and lots of double entendres, although it doesn't take it quite as far as Down with Love (another guilty pleasure romantic comedy). So yeah, there's a better chance that this movie will be more your thing if you're a woman or better yet, if you're asking a woman on a date, but any guy who has any kind of crush on Adams will want to see this for the tasteful amount of skin she shows off… and then you can pretend that you're just seeing it to appease your date.
If you enjoyed retro-comedies like Stephen Frears' Mrs. Henderson Presents than Miss Pettigrew should be for you. It will open across the country this weekend in around 450 theatres on Friday.
Honorable Mentions:
CJ7 (Sony Classics)
Starring Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Chi Chung Lam, Shing-Cheung Lee
Written and directed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) with Kan-Cheung Tsang (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle, God of Cookery, The King of Comedy), Chi Keung Fong (Hooked on You, The Sparrow), Vincent Kok (Dragon Reloaded), Sandy Shaw (The Heroic Trio, Jet Li's The Enforcer),
Genre: Comedy, Action, Family, Sci-Fi
Rated PG
Plot Summary: Dickie Chow (Xu Jiao) is a young boy whose impoverished father (Stephen Chow) sends him to a private school where he's picked on mercilessly until Dickie's father brings him a present he found in the junkyard, a rubber toy
Of Note: Kung Fu Hustle director Stephen Chow returns with a movie geared towards kids about a boy and his alien.
Feature Interview with Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao
Mini-Review: Even if you're a fan of Chow's previous movies and his eccentric sense of humor, it might be somewhat of a chore getting through this kid-oriented film that's driven by the cuteness of its young lead and "his" pet alien, a primitive manga-inspired CG creature that looks like the illegitimate spawn of a Pokemon and a Telletubbie. Chow takes more of a backseat in this film to the impressive youngster Xu Jiao, an actress who gives a convincing performance as Chow's son, stealing many scenes with his delightful charm that's able to carry the film even when Chow isn't around, and the fact she's able to keep up with him in terms of comedy is nothing short of amazing. Otherwise, there's a lot of Chow's trademark strangeness, things like an enormous schoolgirl (played by a large male actor whose voice is dubbed of that of a little girl) and a school bully who acts like a character from a Johnnie To gangster flick and diehard Stephen Chow fans should appreciate the nods to his past films, even if some might feel that he's treading old ground when he shoe-horns martial arts and soccer into the story. The film gets surprisingly maudlin and almost cruel at times, even resorting to bathroom humor for laughs, but ultimately, it's Ms. Jiao and the odd yet adorable creature that saves the day, leading to a very sweet ending that makes up for some of Chow's more quizzical decisions earlier in the film. Like Chow's previous films, this might not be for everyone—kids will probably appreciate it more than their parents—but those with a twisted sense of humor should get a few laughs out of Chow's oddest film yet. Rating: 7.5/10
Snow Angels (Warner Independent)
Starring Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Angarano, Griffin Dunne, Amy Sedaris, Olivia Thirlby
Written and directed by David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls, Undertow)
Genre: Drama
Rated R
Tagline: "Some will fall. Some will fly."
Plot Summary: A drama composed of intertwined stories about people in various stages of love in a small suburban town, revolving around local waitress Annie (Kate Beckinsale), who is trying to raise her daughter after separating from her alcoholic husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell). Just as a terrible tragedy befalls them, a high school student named Arthur (Michael Angarano) is discovering love for the first time with a quirky classmate (Olivia Thirlby), just as his parents' marriage is falling apart.
Of Note: David Gordon Green returns with his first movie since "Undertow" adapting Stewart O'Nan's novel of the same name. It opens in New York and L.A. on Friday.
Mini-Review: David Gordon Green leaves the South to infiltrate Todd Fields territory with this suburban slice-of-life drama that's on par with "Little Children" in terms of the writing and performances, including one of Kate Beckinsale's shining moments as a single mother going through the trials of separation with a husband who refuses to let go. Said loser is played by Sam Rockwell, who continues to bring a lot to every role, gaining sympathy from the viewer with the humor he brings to this pathetic Born Again alcoholic who means well but eventually goes off the deep end when he finds his ex-wife has a new lover. Before it gets to that point, it seems like so many other dramas introducing various characters from the community and allowing them to interact as it builds up to life-changing tragedies, but what's interesting is how the film contrasts the different stages of relationship—first love, sexual lust, divorce and everything in between through the various relationships. The intricate web of character dynamics is carried by some of Green's best writing and an eclectic but well-chosen cast that produces some fine dramatic work from the likes of Amy Sedaris as Beckinsale's co-worker and Griffin Dunne as Michael Angarano's father. By the end, the film has gotten overly dark and bleak due to the nature of O'Nan's story—it might be good to know that the novel gives away one of the film's shocking twists in the first few pages. Not everyone will be able to forgive this sudden turn of events, but it makes for an interesting counterpoint to the touching innocence of the romance between Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby (from "Juno") proving themselves to be two of the finest young actors working today under Green's guidance. Even though the movie does tread similar ground to other similar indie dramas, it never looks like an indie film due to the gorgeous way Green's long-time cinematographer Tim Orr captures the suburban environment, and besides her terrific performance as Annie, Beckinsale has never looked better than she does in front of Orr's lens. This adaptation makes a fine showcase for Green's talents as a writer and filmmaker that bodes well for his future work. Rating: 8/10
Also in Limited Release:
Blindsight (Robson Entertainment) - This new documentary from Lucy Walker (The Devil's Playground) follows the journey of six blind Tibetan teenagers who seek to climb up the north side of Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Shunned by their parents and villages, the teens find solace in Tibet's first school of the blind and a visit by blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer inspires them to climb Everest themselves. It opens in New York at the Village East on Wednesday.
Fighting for Life (Truly Indie) - Terry Sanders' documentary looks at a real-life M*A*S*H* unit with doctors and nurses fighting on the frontlines of the Iraq War, and the students at the Uniformed Services University who are working towards their careers as military physicians. It opens at the Quad Cinema in New York City.
Girls Rock! (Shadow Distribution) - This documentary by Shane King and Arne Johnson takes a look at a group of young female outcasts facing all sorts of issues of self-image who attend a one-week retreat at a camp where they use rock music to overcome their issues. It opens at the Angelika in New York, the NuArt Theatre in L.A. and other select cities.
Married Life (Sony Classics) - Ira Sachs, whose last movie Forty Shades of Blue won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005, returns with this period drama based on John Bingham's "Five Roundabouts to Heaven." Set in 1949, it stars Chris Cooper as a married business man who wants to leave his loving wife (Patricia Clarkson) for his younger mistress Kay (Rachel McAdams), plans that fall apart when his best friend (Pierce Brosnan) sets his own sights on Kay. It will open in New York and L.A. on Friday.
Mini-Review: Who knows where Ira Sachs' third feature went so horribly wrong, because the thought of a period drama in the vein of Todd Haynes' "Far From Heaven" with such an illustrious cast would seem like a sure thing. In fact, the film's retro look, an admirable combination of production design and cinematography, is really the only thing going for it. With far too many influences to count, the film is all over the place in tone, never knowing if it wants to be a relationship comedy, a serious drama or a Hitchcock murder thriller, so it throws in a bit of each, bogging things down with stiffly-delivered dialogue (co-written with Oren Moverman) and grueling talking heads scenes that might have been more interesting if done as a stage play. Most of the interaction between the characters rings false, making the entire plot seem obvious, contrived and unbelievable. Never did I think I'd see the day when Patricia Clarkson would give such a weak, phoned-in performance as she does here, but she's the worst of a cast of normally decent actors, none of whom are doing their best work, not even McAdams, who doesn't quite work as a blonde either. Ultimately, the movie goes nowhere and after a perfectly fine ending, it continues with two epilogues that makes this futile and misguided effort even more aggravating. Ultimately, "Married Life" serves very little purpose in the grander scheme of indie filmmaking or Sachs' filmography. Rating: 5/10
Paranoid Park (IFC) - Filmmaker Gus van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester) returns with his portrait of a teen skateboarder (Gabe Nevins) who faces serious consequences after witnessing the accidental death of a security guard outside a skate park. It opens in two theaters in New York City.
Mini-Review: Continuing Gus van Sant's run of ambient artsy films with this one based on Blake Nelson's novel about a skateboarder who witnesses a gruesome death but does nothing about it. On the one hand, it could be seen as a modern day "River's Edge" except that the tone is so lackadaisical and slow that it doesn't really fit the nature of the story. Instead, we get lots of gorgeous shots of skateboarding teens as van Sant teams with Wong Kar-Wai's cinematographer Christopher Doyle to create something on par with Steven Soderbergh's "Bubble" in terms of pacing, mostly using non-actors in every role, but it creates a strange tone that's hard to adjust to and the entire movie desperately needs an injection of coffee to keep us from getting as bored as the lead actor. Even though parallels can be drawn to "Elephant," this isn't nearly as interesting a story nor is it told as well as van Sant tries too hard to prove that he's in tune with today's youth, while making films that will interest him but not necessarily anyone else. The dialogue seems unnatural, and at times, the film enters the creepy voyeuristic nature of Larry Clark's films, though it's never quite as bad as "Wassup Rockers" in that sense. Either way, if this film really epitomizes the way that teens talk and act, with every girl in the movie acting like Avril Lavigne wannabes, then I seriously fear for the future of this country. Rating: 5/10
Semi-Pro (New Line)
Starring Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Will Arnett, Andy Richter, Rob Corddry, DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips, Jackie Earle Haley
Directed by Kent Alterman (directorial debut of the long-time New Line exec. Involved with production); Written by Scot Armstrong (Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School for Scoundrels, The Heartbreak Kid)
Genre: Sports, Comedy
Rated R
Tagline: "The Greatest Fro on Earth"
Plot Summary: Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), owner, coach and star player of the minor league basketball team the Flint Michigan Tropics, realizes he has to get his team up to snuff if they’re going to be included in the merger with the NBA when their league is dissolved, so he brings on a former hotshot (Woody Harrelson) to get the team into shape.
Mini-Review: At first, Jackie Moon might seem like just another chance for Will Ferrell to ham it up and do his normal schtick, because the trailer certainly makes it look like more of the same. In fact, it’s actually a hilarious sports comedy reminiscent of the classic hockey film "Slapshot," retaining all of the usual cliches of the genre, but exploiting the genre formula and twisting them around for hearty laughs, while also poking fun at the swingin' ‘70s. Surprisingly, the movie is very tightly plotted with far less of the screwball comedy filler that Ferrell loves so much, only using it in the scenes where Jackie Moon is playing promoter/entertainer trying to get people into seats at the games. His performance of his hit song "Love Me Sexy" is the perfect way to kick things off, setting a mood that has you chuckling from the very beginning. Then again, some of Ferrell's funniest moments are when he's sharing scenes with the likes of Arnett and Richter, showing him to be far more generous as a comic than past movies. As much as the movie is about the jokes, the film includes some fine semi-dramatic scenes from Woody Harrelson and Maura Tierney in a relationship subplot that is kept from getting too heavy thanks to Rob Corddry as her basketball enthusiast husband who seems oblivious to his wife’s romance. Even funnier is seeing Jackie Earl Haley following his Oscar-nominated dramatic performance by playing a hilarious stoner who shows up from time to time. However you slice it, the main reason the film works so well is that the R rating allows Ferrell and friends to cut loose and get raunchy without worrying about sensitive younger ears, and for that alone, "Semi-Pro" joins "Anchorman" and "Elf" as one of Ferrell’s funnier efforts. Rating: 7.5/10
For the second year in a row, Will Ferrell offers a cure for the winter/spring blahs with a sports comedy, this time taking on basketball in a retro-comedy offering ‘70s humor that harks back to his popular hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Ferrell’s new comedy Semi-Pro reunites him with writer Scot Armstrong who penned Old School and the Starsky & Hutch remake, as well as reuniting him with the studio that released his biggest comedy Elf, paving the way for so many other big comedies. On top of all that, he’s returning to the R-rated humor of Old School, which many feel is Ferrell’s breakout, that would make it sound like Semi-Pro could be Ferrell’s biggest movie ever, right? Maybe or maybe not.
It certainly is being released in an open and clear time at the movies, where it can do well even if it doesn’t look like his funniest comedy from the commercials, because they can’t show some of the movie’s raunchier jokes. Ferrell has come a long way from his days on "Saturday Night Live" and appearing in SNL-related movies and those of his castmates with Old School and Elf kicking off a series of comedy hits that included Anchorman in 2004 and Talladega Nights becoming his biggest opening movie two years later. Last year’s Blades of Glory proved that Ferrell could take on any topic and bring in an audience, and though it didn’t do as well as Talladega, some of that could be blamed on the fact that NASCAR racing is a far stronger sports vehicle (sorry for the pun) than iceskating. Then again, Ferrell has had a few missteps in his career like his turn as Darrin Stephens in the Bewitched movie, the family soccer comedy Kicking and Screaming and his turn in the failed Producers musical movie, all in 2005.
Although this is clearly Ferrell’s movie and he will be the main draw, he’s continuing the tradition of filling the cast with really funny supporting actors including Will Arnett from the FOX sitcom "Arrested Development," appearing in his second Ferrell movie in a row after Blades of Glory. David Koechner is also returning after his memorable appearance in Anchorman and they’re joined by a couple late-night sidekicks, Andy Richter from the "Late Show with Conan O’Brien" and Rob Corddry from "The Daily Show." The serious actors in the cast include a small appearance by Jackie Earl Haley in his first movie since being nominated for an Oscar for his role in Todd Field’s Little Children (also from New Line). Two of the main secondary roles are played by beloved TV actors Woody Harrelson from "Cheers," who has appeared in hundreds of movies since that show ended decades ago with a presence in four to five movies a year, and Maura Tierney from "E.R." and "News Radio" who’s appeared in a couple of big comedies like Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar and flops like Ray Romano’s Welcome to Mooseport. The star player on Jackie Moon’s team is played by Andre Benjamin AKA "Andre 3000" from the Grammy-winning rap group OutKast, who has starred in movies like Be Cool, John Singleton’s Four Brothers and Guy Ritchie’s Revolver, and another recognizable face belongs to stand-up comic DeRay Davis, who’s appeared in movies like Scary Movie 4 and assorted others.
This is a good time for a strong comedy since there’s so few in theaters right now, something that helped Blades of Glory last year, though the R rating might be somewhat worrying considering that Ferrell’s audience is primarily younger with plenty of teens and younger due to his frequent family films. In the last year, Judd Apatow has proven that one can bring in a large audience of 17 – 30 year olds with the right humor and there’s enough guys in that age range who haven’t had much of interest in theaters, although Semi-Pro is facing the fact that the biggest opening R-rated comedy, Wedding Crashers, only made $33.9 million its opening weekend, and Superbad made slightly less than that, both in the summer. On the other hand, if any comic actor can break that record, it would be Ferrell, since Adam Sandler seems unlikely to venture into that territory with his mainstream comedies.
This is an important movie for New Line, who’ve had a few crushing defeats in recent years, but there are hopes that a sports comedy like this could have a wide enough appeal to do as well as something like Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Granted, this will probably appeal more to guys than women, and not opening in the summer means its unlikely to match the opening of Talladega Nights, though last year’s opening for Blades of Glory is well in reach even with the R-rating.
With that in mind, New Line ran a series of high-profile Super Bowl commercials to cater to that audience, including a classic one with Ferrell in character doing a Bud Light commercial, which greatly raised awareness of the movie both among fans of Ferrell’s humor and sports fans in general. In general, New Line has done a good job marketing this one, and there’s little reason why it shouldn’t at least match the opening of Blades of Glory, since Ferrell’s a stronger draw than most of the cast of other big R-rated comedies.
Why I Should See It: Will Ferrell creates another funny character and takes on another popular sport, following his movies about soccer, NASCAR and figure skating.
Why Not: Yeah, it’s pretty much Will Ferrell doing what he always does, so if you hate that, prepare to cringe.
Projections: $31 to 34 million opening weekend and $110 to 115 million total.
COMPARISONS
The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony)
Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mark Rylance, David Morrissey, Eddie Redmayne, Jim Sturgess, Benedict Cumberbatch
Directed by Justin Chadwick (Sleeping with the Fishes); Written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland)
Genre: Period Drama
Rated PG-13
Tagline: "The only thing that could come between these sisters... is a kingdom."
Plot Summary: The two Boleyn sisters, Anne and Mary (Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson) are driven by their ambitious parents to win the heart of the current King of England, Henry the VIII (Eric Bana), but their attempts to get him to fall for them and leave his wife Katherine of Aragorn leads to a bitter rivalry that could potentially destroy their entire family.
Dual Review w/"Penelope"
Just a few months after Cate Blanchett returned as Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age, here’s another prestigious period costume drama, this one based on the popular series of novels by Philippa Gregory, with a strong cast of box office stars, which effectively acts as a prequel to Kapur’s movies. It’s kind of strange because this movie isn’t produced by Working Title Films, who made those two Oscar-nominated pictures, though it’s written by Peter Morgan, who was nominated for his own Oscar last year for writing The Queen.
All of that is mostly irrelevent compared to the movie’s cast with Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson doing their first period costume drama after doing a variety of other films, both big and small, though both of them are coming off fairly substantial bombs, Portman with Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and Johansson for The Nanny Diaries. Still, both actresses are well-respected having given awards-worthy performances in the past, Portman having won a Golden Globe for the drama Closer while Johansson having been nominated for four without ever having won. Portman’s background includes genre films like Luc Besson’s The Professional and George Lucas’ "Star Wars" films, and she made a return to that with V For Vendetta in 2006, but Johansson’s attempt at a genre film, joining Michael Day’s sci-fi flick The Island was a huge failure. Fortunately, she’s become Woody Allen’s muse, appearing in two of his movies, including one of his more successful recent ones, Match Point. The two actresses are also considered to be two of the most desirable women working in Hollywood in every respect with many male fans, although it’s likely that their latest venture will appeal more to women who like period romances than guys.
The supporting cast includes some of Britain’s finest including David Morrissey and newer-comers like Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) and Eddie Redmayne from The Good Shepherd, but the only other significant part is that of Henry the VIII, played by Australian actor Eric Bana, who has headlined a number of big movies like Universal’s Hulk and Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy along with Brad Pitt, though he also starred in Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You, which bombed after years of delays. (Bana also stars in the limited release indie Romulus, My Father, which opens in the Boston area this Friday—see below.)
This is a fairly well known book, much like Marie Antoinette and Memoirs of a Geisha, which were both produced and given a fairly moderate release by Sony, and that continues to be the case with The Other Boleyn Girl, which is only opening in just over a thousand theaters. Back in October, Universal might have gone too big right off the bat by releasing Elizabeth: The Golden Age in 2,000 theaters, but with a narrower release, Sony can target the big cities where an artsy period drama like this might do better business, although it might still cap off at the $6 million made by The Golden Age during the fall, generally a better season for something like this.
The big difference is that most of the movies above were released later in the year under the assumption they would be up for awards and Sony isn’t even bothering to deem this film to be awards-worthy, dumping it into late a February release with a suitable amount of promotion but none of the awards hopes that is generally needed to get people to see these movies. There’s a good chance that this will get caught in the backlash faced by Kapur’s The Golden Age with critics being sick of the genre, so reviews probably won’t be particularly favorable. Possibly, there will be female moviegoers who like this sort of thing who’ll see it anyway, but it’s not likely to be a huge box office smash or anything, star power or not.
Why I Should See It: Two hot actresses do their first period costume drama.
Why Not: Though they do fight a lot in the movie, there’s no costume-ripping catfights ala "Dynasty" alas.
Projections: $4 to 6 million opening weekend on its way to $15 million total.
COMPARISONS
Penelope (Summit Entertainment)
Starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, Simon Woods, Ronni Ancona, Nick Frost, Richard James
Directed by Mark Palansky (directorial debut of the 2nd Unit Director, who has done mainly shorts and a series of videos of interviews with screenwriters); Written by Leslie Caveny (TV writer most notably on "Everybody Loves Raymond")
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Rated PG
Tagline: "A fairytale like no other."
Plot Summary: Penelope Wilhelm (Christina Ricci) is a girl from a wealthy family whose family secret forces her to hide most of her face, so she must find a suitor who can help break the curse. An eager tabloid reporter (Peter Dinklage) hoping to get pictures of Penelope’s face hires a good-looking gambler named Max (James McAvoy) to pose as a suitor, although the young man finds himself falling for Penelope for real.
Dual Review with "The Other Boleyn Girl"
Since February has been the month of delayed projects finally getting released—last weekend had three—here’s another one that’s been finished for almost two years and is finally getting released before being shuffled around by another distributor and finally winding up at the fledgling Summit Entertainment as their second U.S. theatrical release after last year’s horror flick P2.
This one is a strange romantic fantasy set in England starring Christina Ricci, who only has two kinds of luck when it comes to her movies, bad and none, with so many movies outright bombing or going straight to cable or DVD without a theatrical release, so it’s actually positive that Penelope is getting any kind of release, let alone a wide one. Ricci first came to attention playing Wednesday Adams in The Addams Family and its sequel followed by a prominent role in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp, followed by the thriller Bless the Child and that’s when things went to pot. A number of her other movies were delayed like Wes Craven’s Cursed or never got a theatrical release like Prozac Nation and The Gathering. Otherwise, she’s mainly appeared in edgy and controversial indie movies like Charlize Theron’s Monster and Pumpkin with a high-profile return in Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan, which opened exactly a year ago (after being delayed, of course.) Ricci also guest-starred on the episode of "Grey’s Anatomy" that screened after the Super Bowl a couple years ago, which helped that show find a much larger audience. While Penelope probably won’t change Ricci’s luck, at least she’s returning to big budget mainstream movies, playing Trixie in
the Wachowski’s Speed Racer, which opens in a couple months.
Her romantic lead in the film is played by dreamy (to women, not me) Scottish actor James McAvoy, who is currently appearing in Joe Wright’s Oscar-nominated British drama Atonement, which has greatly raised his status after being mostly ignored for starring roles in The Last King of Scotland and the university comedy Starter for 10, as well as being Anne Hathaway’s love interest in Becoming Jane. Younger moviegoers might remember McAvoy as Mr. Tumnis in The Chronicles of Narnia, a good PG precursor for the audience who might see this, and it’s interesting to see his name being used in the advertising, presumably preparing for his next career move starring opposite Angelina Jolie in the action film Wanted this summer.
Fortunately, they have Reese Witherspoon in the movie, playing a secondary role as Penelope’s friend that might help the movie bring in some younger women and girls, who enjoyed her in her lighter comedy fare like the "Legally Blonde" movies or Sweet Home Alabama, though she’s not doing much promotion for the movie. Despite Reese having starred in some of the biggest romantic comedies, her recent starring role in the political thriller Rendition didn’t keep that movie from bombing, though granted, Penelope is more in line with the movies her fans seem to enjoy. Reese is being prominently featured in the advertising, but she barely appears in the movie, and not at all in the first hour, so her fans might get angry if they go see the movie for her.
The movie seems like a light fantasy film with a whimsical nature like Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie or like Anne Hathaway’s Ella Enchanted, rather than a big high fantasy movie like the recent Spiderwick Chronicles. Then again, it has similar benefits of being a PG-rated film in a market fairly devoid of family friendly fare--something that will change in March with Martin Lawrence’s College Road Trip followed by the animated Horton Hears a Who--but it’s still a movie that will likely appeal more to young and teen girls rather than anyone older. Older women will also have The Other Boleyn Girl if they really want to go to the movies this weekend.
Unfortunately, the movie has already been released in a number of European regions and it’s been playing in England since the start of the month, which means the pirates have already got their hands on it, though reviews from the movie’s festival appearances have generally been good if somewhat mixed. The film played at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and it was picked up by IFC with plans to release it around this time last year, but then it was delayed until the fall and then delayed again until it finally showed up on the roster of the fledgling distributor Summit Entertainment
Despite this only being Summit’s second theatrical release, they’ve been going into overdrive with the marketing with tons of commercials, though it seems they did the same thing for P2, which only made $6.4 million in over 2,000 theaters. That movie might have suffered from being a stalker thriller at a point where America was getting sick of those kinds of movies thanks to Captivity and Hostel: Part II. Summit’s being a bit more moderate with Penelope, though it’s important that they show theater owners that they can fill the seats, since they have other movies coming out this year, including the mixed martial arts drama Never Back Down and the animated Fly Me to the Moon.
Why I Should See It: Surely, some might find Christina Ricci cute with a pig nose, right?
Why Not: Unfortunately, the film won’t be playing in many areas where farmers’ wives might go see it.
Projections: $2 to 4 million opening weekend on its way to roughly $8 million.
COMPARISONS
City of Men (Miramax)
Starring Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Rodrigo dos Santos
Directed by Paulo Morelli ("City of Men" television series); Written by Elena Soarez (House of Sand, A Proper Name, "City of Men" television series)
Genre: Drama, Crime, Coming-of-Age
Rated R
Tagline: An Unforgettable Tale of Friendship and Survival in a City where the Greatest Challenge is Growing Up.
Plot Summary: In the Brazilian favela Dead End Hill, Ace and Wallace (Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha) have been friends since childhood, but as they both turn 18, they look towards their futures, Ace as a father and Wallace, as he looks for the father he never has known.
Interview with Paulo Morelli
Review
Our second Chosen One of the month from Brazil is the follow-up to one of the most well known Brazilian films of the last decade, Fernando Meirelles’ City of God, and it wraps up the story of the characters from the television series that ran for four seasons in Brazil and was collected into an edited form shown on the Sundance Channel. It’s important to bear in mind that with director Paulo Morelli at the helm, this is a very different film in terms of look and feel but it’s just as beautifully shot and crafted with the young cast of City of God having grown into a talented group that shows another side of favela life. Granted, not everyone who loved City of God will enjoy this movie, but those fascinated by this beautiful city and the lives of those who live in its slums will want to give this one a look when it opens in select cities on Friday.
Honorable Mention:
Chicago 10 (Roadside Attractions)
Starring (the voices of) Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, David Boat, David Dellinger, Debra Eisenstadt, Abbie Hoffman, William Kunstler, Nick Nolte, Jerry Rubin, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Liev Schreiber, Bobby Seale, James Urbaniak, Leonard Weinglass, Jeffrey Wright
Written and directed by Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture, On the Ropes)
Genre: Documentary, Animation
Rated R
Plot Summary: Combining archive footage and animated recreations of the court case, this documentary looks at the protests surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and how 7 men including Abbie Hoffman (voiced by Hank Azaria) were arrested and put on trial for their involvement in arranging the protests which turned ugly when the police got violent.
Of Note: Documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen tackles the case of the seven war protesters who were imprisoned and put on trial for their involvement in he 1968 Vietnam War protest that bears comparison to the 2004 march in New York in conjunction with the Republican National Convention to protest the war in Iraq. After opening the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, it opens in select cities on Friday.
My Thoughts from Sundance ‘07
Also in Limited Release:
Chop Shop (Koch Lorber Films) - Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart) returns with another tale of New York’s minority population, this one about a 12-year-old Latino orphan living in Willet’s Point, Queens, with his older sister in a small room above a auto body repair shop, sharing dreams of one day owning their own food van. After playing at the Toronto Film Festival (and winning an Independent Spirit Award as "One to Watch"), it opens at New York’s Film Forum on Wednesday.
Bonneville (Sen-Art Films) - Jessica Lange plays Arvilla Holden, a grieving woman drives across the country with her close friends (Joan Allen and Kathy Bates) to deliver her husband's cremated remains to his family in Christopher N. Rowley's directorial debut, which opens in select cities on Friday.
Mini-Review: If you watch the trailer, you'll immediately know what to expect from this aggravatingly monotonous and predictable estrogen-driven Mormon (!) road movie that tries its hardest to be "Thelma and Louise… and Another Louise." It isn't necessarily a badly made film but first-time director Christopher N. Rowley is so obviously in love with the American heartland scenery and the music he seems oblivious to the flat and trite script he's working with. The three legendary talents, four if you include Christine Baranski, try to make the most of the droll and obvious humor by laughing and screaming to make it look as if they're having fun, but it's like a porn flick with faked orgasms, and watching these talented Oscar-worthy actresses following the once-great Diane Keaton into the desperate world of physical comedy to try to get laughs is tragic and depressing, not exactly what the filmmakers were hoping for. (Does anyone REALLY need to hear Kathy Bates playing a character who is always talking about their desperation for sex? Then this movie is for you!) All three women quickly get annoying and wear out their welcome as they get into one silly situation after another, making it seem as if everyone is making it up as they go along, leading to a ridiculous ending that never recovers. Surely, there'll be women out there who like this sort of thing, but anyone under 60 will be cringing at gratingly ridiculous material that's well beneath all the actors involved. This movie is truly a tragic waste of time and talent in every sense of the word. Rating: 4/10
Jar City (IFC Films) – Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavic) returns with a crime drama based on the Icelandic bestseller MYRIN or "Tainted Blood" (no, I haven't read it) about the discovery of a body, which leads to an even greater unsolved mystery from 30 years prior. It opens for a one-week run at New York's IFC Center
Mini-Review: While this isn't particularly ground-breaking in terms of police procedural films, never straying too far from "Law & Order" territory, the stark Icelandic setting creates a mood that adds to the tone of the film in the same was as Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" and the Coens' "Fargo." Kormákur uses the beautiful landscapes of his country along with ambient sounds brilliantly to create a moody piece that rarely goes where you expect, though the film moves at a slow and deliberate pace that requires some concentration even though it keeps things light and entertaining despite the gravity of the case. Clearly the best thing going for the movie is the performance by Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson from "Beowulf and Grendel" as Inspector Erlendur, a well-developed character trying to deal with a troubled daughter while getting deeper and deeper into a case that seems to offer little resolution as an apparent open-and-shut case of rape from thirty years leads him into something far more involved than anyone might expect. Amazingly, all of the disparate pieces do fit together by the end, and regardless of however many movies in the genre you've seen, you're not likely to have seen anything quite like this. You'll probably never look at a sheep's head again after one particularly disgusting scene. Rating: 7.5/10
Romulus, My Father (Magnolia) - Eric Bana, one of the stars of this week’s The Other Boleyn Girl, also stars in this film directed by actor Richard Roxburgh based on the memoir of philosopher Raimond Gaita, about the struggles his father Romulus and mother Christina had trying to raise him. It will open in Cambridge, Mass. on Friday.
The Unforeseen (The Cinema Guild) - Laura Dunn’s documentary, exec. produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford, takes a very localized look at environmental issues in the form of Austin’s Barton Springs and real estate developer Gary Bradley’s attempts to subdivide the area into commercial plots that would continue the area’s ecological decline. An intriguing look at the development of the earth’s natural wonders into commercial regions like last year’s Manufacturing Landscapes, the documentary (which also just won an Independent Spirit Awrd) will open at the Cinema Village in New York City.
Vivere (Regent) - For those who find Bonneville too American for their tastes, this new romantic drama about three women on the run to Rotterdam comes from German director Angelina Maccarone. It follows the journey of Francesca, whose little sister has run-off with a musician, and as she goes to find her, she picks up a suicidal woman, who becomes her travelmate. It opens in New York at the Cinema Village and L.A. on Friday.