Your Weekly Guide to New Movies for December 9, 2005
By Edward Douglas -

Greetings and welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly guide to the weekend's new movies. Tune in every Tuesday for the latest look at the upcoming weekend, and then check back on Friday for any last minute updates and reviews.

WEEKEND PROJECTIONS - final update 12.8.05

Last year was all about The Passion of The Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11. This year, the conflict between Right and Left comes down to a weekend with two very different movies, which should pretty much cover all of the bases between fantasy and reality. Christian groups have always appreciated C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books, and Disney has adapted first book in the series into the epic The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, directed by Andrew “Shrek” Adamson. Expect it to be a major draw this weekend for families with children as well as the fantasy fans that flocked to see Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings a few years back and church groups looking to use the film as part of their spiritual studies. Into a world just as fantastical, that of the oil industry, comes Stephen “Traffic” Gaghan’s political thriller Syriana, which has been doing some serious business in limited release the last few weeks and finally gets out to the rest of the country on Friday. With a moderate release, it will be attempting to overtake Warner Bros’ other movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is likely to lose a lot of its business to Narnia. All we have to do now is sit back and wait to hear all the news stories of children permanently scarred by being brought into the wrong movie.

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THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (Walt Disney Pictures)
Starring: Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley (voices) Rupert Everett, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Liam Neeson,
Director: Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2)
Screenwriter(s): Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeeley
Genres: Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, LIterature
Rated PG
Theatre Count (estimated): 3,400+
Tagline: “Evil has reigned for 100 years.” (I’m pretty sure that Disney hasn’t been around that long.)
Mini-Review: As big a fan of the original books when I was a kid, I was excited to see how it translated to the big screen, and I'm delighted to say that Andrew Adamson has done a wonderful job bringing this world and its characters to life, especially his choices for the four Pevensie kids. Georgie Henley is particularly wonderful as the youngest Lucy, clearly a child star in the making. Adamson's background in animation proves to be a big help in making the CG characters seem that much more real, and the battle is indeed epic and wondrous to behold. Rating: 9 out of 10

The first chapter in C.S. Lewis’ children’s classic is brought to life as four children travel through an old wardrobe into a fantastical world full of talking animals, guarded by the great lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) and terrorized by the White Witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton).

Even before author C. S. Lewis was to write the series of books that would forever solidify his place in the hearts of young literary fans, the Irish scholar moved to England in the early 20^th Century and converted to Christianity, something that would have a profound effect on his work and those who would read it. The first book in his series of children’s books, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” was released in 1950, followed each successive year by another book in the seven-part series. Ultimately, the books became a worldwide phenomenon among kids and young adults with the stories being turned into television series, cartoons and a BBC mini-series. Then, it took 55 years for someone to adapt the book into a feature film, and once again, it’s thanks to Walden Media, purveyor of family films based on literary classics, who teamed with Walt Disney Pictures to produce the definitive version of Lewis’ classic first book as a big budget action-adventure epic.

The honor of bringing Lewis’ vision to life was handed over to director Andrew Adamson, who last year joined the ranks of James Cameron and George Lucas as a director of one of the Top 3 domestically grossing films of all time with the computer animated sequel Shrek 2. Surprisingly, The Chronicles of Narnia will only be his third film, and his first filming live actors.

For the four Pevensie kids, who play the most important part of the movie, Adamson went with a group of mainly unknown actors, the exception being Anna Popplewell, who had appeared in movies like The Little Vampire and Girl With a Pearl Earring. She plays Susan, who probably has the smallest role in the movie. On the other hand, relative newcomers Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, the youngest kids, probably have the most key role in the film in terms of discovering the creatures of Narnia, while William Moseley’s Peter has to lead the army of Aslan into battle.

The adults in the film include a number of name actors who have never appeared in a film of this magnitude. Tilda Swinton plays Jadis, the White Witch, whose biggest movies include Danny Boyle’s The Beach and the action thriller Constantine, but whose found more of an audience from her indie films like this year’s Thumbsucker and last year’s Young Adam. Jim Broadbent, a classically trained British actor, who is best remembered from movies like Moulin Rouge!, Iris and others, plays the Professor, who owns the mansion where the Pevensie children find the wardrobe, and James McAvoy, who appeared in the Kirsten Dunst romantic comedy Wimbledon, plays the fawn Mr. Tumnus, one of the few creatures not done completely with computer animation.

As far as the computer generated cast, their voices are provided by Ray Winstone (“Sexy Beast”) and Dawn French as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Rupert Everett as Mr. Fox, and most importantly, Liam Neeson as the voice of the lion king Aslan. Besides Neeson, whose big film experience this year includes Batman Begins and Kingdom of Heaven, the voice cast really isn’t being played up the way it was with Shrek.

The connections Lewis made between Aslan’s story and that of one of the world’s most beloved religious leaders, a guy named Jesus, has found the books and now the movie a religious following second only to the bible, and the Christian Right is getting well behind the film, which must make Disney happy after they’ve gotten them so upset over some of their previous animated films. Already, church groups have been buying out entire showings of the film to give out tickets much like they did with The Passion of The Christ, and that can only help hype up the movie its opening weekend. (Note: According to early reports, advance group sales for the movie in certain areas have been huge with entire screenings being sold out days in advance, much like The Passion of the Christ.)

Although Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” have been must-reads for decades, they don’t currently have the same insane fanbase among young people as the Harry Potter books, which is a bit of a shame. Still, there are many adults over 30 who will have remembered reading and loving the books as kids, and being parents themselves, they’ll want to give and read the books to their own kids, as well as bring them to see the movie. Of course, younger kids will love the movie for the talking animals and older kids, teens and guys will probably be more into the huge battle sequences, which is something far beyond what Lewis ever might have envisioned.

Many epic novels have been turned into big budget films with the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings being the most successful, and last year’s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events with Jim Carrey only being moderately successful. Fortunately, the trailer makes The Chronicles of Narnia look like a cross between the Harry Potter movies and The Lord of the Rings, perfectly viable as they’re both fantasy films and that should help get even those unfamiliar with the books excited about the movie. The movie also doesn’t run as long as the Harry Potter movies nor any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so it should be able to get enough showings to meet the demand. Expect a lot of that business to come on Saturday and Sunday from family and church groups.

Disney’s marketing is in high gear, just as it was last month for Chicken Little, but in this case, they’ve included a few extras in the bargain, such as a deal with McDonald’s that insures that every kid who gets a Happy Meal will know about the movie.

Of course, the big stopgap comes in just five short days when Peter Jackson’s King Kong opens and steals a lot of the screens at major multiplexes, but the built-in fanbase for the books and the religious audience, not to mention those who find Kong too violent, will help maintain the movie through the holidays.

Impressive Related Comparisons
Title	Release Date	Theater Count	Previous Box Office (in millions)	Weekend Box Office (in millions)	Average	Total Box Office
The Passion of The Christ	2/27/04	3,043	$41.34	$83.85	$27,554	$370.27
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	6/4/04	3,855		$93.69	$24,303	$249.51
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	11/15/02	3,682		$88.36	$23,997	$261.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	11/16/01	3,672		$90.29	$24,590	$317.57
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	12/19/03	3,703	$51.47	$72.62	$19,614	$377.03
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	12/20/02	3,622	$40.04	$61.50	$16,980	$340.48
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings	12/21/01	3,359	$27.91	$47.21	$14,055	$313.39
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	12/17/04	3,620		$30.06	$8,304	$118.01
Shrek 2	5/21/04	4,163	$20.95	$108.04	$25,952	$436.47
Shrek	5/18/01	3,587	$0.04	$42.35	$11,805	$267.65
The Lion King	6/24/94	2,552	$3.76	$40.89	$16,023	$312.78

Why I Should See It: C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” is a beloved fantasy classic brought to life by a director whose previous films have found a huge audience.
Why Not: Narnia may seem like old hat to those who thrive on Harry Potter or “The Lord of the Rings.”

Bottom Line: Although the books may not be as popular now than they were back in their heyday, the epic nature of C. S. Lewis’ fantasy and how it’s been brought to the big screen by Andrew Adamson should be enough to get kids and their parents into theatres, not to mention religious groups, and those who love big budget effects movies. It might have a hard time holding up against Peter Jackson’s King Kong, which opens six days after its opening, but in the end, it should be able to maintain its audience through the holidays.

Projection: $53 to 56 million on its way to around $250 million.

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SYRIANA (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig, Mazhar Munir
Director: Stephen Gaghan (Abandon)
Screenwriter(s): Stephen Gaghan (Abandon, Traffic)
Genres: Political Thriller, Action
Rated R
Theatre Count: 1,752
Tagline: “Everything is connected.”
MY REVIEW

Stephen Gaghan, the Oscar winning screenwriter of “Traffic”, returns with a political thriller that looks at the oil industry through the eyes of a renegade CIA agent (George Clooney), an economic advisor (Matt Damon), a lawyer working on the merger of two giant oil companies (Geoffrey Wright), the eldest son of an Arab emir (Alexander Siddig), and an unemployed immigrant oil worker who turns to terrorism.

After winning the Oscar for the 2000 drama “Traffic”, writer Stephen Gaghan decided to do a bit of directing, helming his own script for the Katie Holmes thriller Abandon. It was met with critical disdain and commercial failure. For his second film as director, Gaghan has returned to the style of writing that got him so much acclaim, taking inspiration from the book “See No Evil” by CIA operative Robert Baer, and creating a complex web of characters and stories set in the corrupt world of the oil industry with the government, lawyers and the CIA all actively involved in a big oil deal in the Mideast.

Obviously, the movie’s biggest draw will be its star, George Clooney, who drastically modified his good looks, growing a beard and putting on 30 pounds to play the part of rogue CIA agent Robert Barnes. Clooney’s definitely having a good year as his docudrama Good Night, And Good Luck has received rave reviews and earned almost $20 million in the last month. It will probably make even more if it's nominated for an Oscar. For Clooney, this is a return to the deserts that he trod in David O. Russell’s Three Kings, and it’s more difficult material than his normal fare, putting it closer to his remake of Solaris with frequent collaborator and production partner Steven Soderbergh. Still, there’s no denying that the former “E.R.” star is an A-list celebrity and a box office star who can bring people into theaters, particularly the older audiences who might appreciate this.

Clooney’s joined by one of his Ocean’s 11 co-stars, Matt Damon, who has quite a bit of experience in this sort of political thriller having played Jason Bourne in two hit action-espionage films, The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, with a third on the way. Over the summer, Damon starred with Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam’s biggest budget film ever, The Brothers Grimm, but after a decent opening weekend, it lost a lot of its audience. Still, Damon has had a thriving career having appeared in two films that grossed over $120 million in 2004, and his older fans should be fine with him in more serious political material.

Clooney and Damon
Title	Release Date	Theater Count	Previous Box Office (in millions)	Weekend Box Office (in millions)	Average	Total Box Office
Good Night, and Good Luck.	10/7/05	657	7.904	$3.07	$4,667	$19.56
The Brothers Grimm	8/26/05	3,087		$15.09	$4,889	$37.89
Ocean's 12	12/10/04	3,290		$39.15	$11,901	$125.40
The Bourne Supremacy	7/23/04	3,165		$52.52	$16,595	$170.45
Solaris	11/29/02	2,406	$2.67	$6.75	$2,807	$14.91
The Bourne Identity	6/14/02	2,638		$27.12	$10,281	$121.38
Ocean's 11	12/7/01	3,075		$38.11	$12,393	$183.13
Legend of Bagger Vance	11/3/00	2,061		$11.52	$5,590	$30.70
The Talented Mr. Ripley	12/25/99	2,307		$12.74	$5,522	$81.29
Three Kings	10/1/99	2,942		$15.85	$5,387	$60.65
The Peacemaker	9/26/97	2,362		$12.31	$5,212	$41.26

The duo’s supporting cast is equally impressive from veterans like Christopher Plummer to character actors like Geoffrey Wright (“Angels in America”), Alexander Siddig (Kingdom of Heaven) and Tim Blake Nelson (Minority Report), all getting a bit more time in the spotlight. It also has smaller parts for Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation, Seabiscuit), who had a similar cameo in last month’s Jarhead, and William Hurt, last seen in David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. None of these actors are being promoted on their own, but they all bring something to this compelling film.

Although he’s explored similar dramatic territory in Traffic, Gaghan’s latest movie takes him into the realms of great political thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and The Manchurian Candidate. That sort of thriller is certainly making a comeback as seen by last year’s remake of the latter, starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, or The Interpreter, a decent hit for Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn earlier this year. Some of Gaghan’s ideas cut to the core of politics much like Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 or recent movies of interest like the adaptation of John Le Carré’s The Constant Gardener or even Sam Mendes’ recent military drama Jarhead. America is more politically aware and active right now and the subject matter of how the government is involved in the oil industry in the Mideast will certainly have some resonance with more politically minded moviegoers looking for something with a bit more intelligence than Aeon Flux. Because of the complexity of the movie, some may get confused by the amount of characters and the way the movie jumps from one story to another. Those looking for light entertainment may want to find it elsewhere.

Syriana opened over Thanksgiving weekend, earning $553 thousand in just five theatres in five days, which is quite impressive, and this past weekend, it added a few more theatres and more than doubled that amount. Obviously, the word-of-mouth is getting around about Gaghan’s powerful film and people must be enjoying it, as 34% of IMDB users rated it 10 out of 10.

It’s funny that you might think of a George Clooney movie as counter-programming, but that’s exactly what this is, since there are definitely going to be some older adults who want nothing to do with the fantasy of Narnia or Harry Potter, making this a viable option.It probably isn’t a coincidence that Warner Bros. is giving the movie its widest release on the same weekend where the two Danny Ocean movies did so well, although it’s moderate release into 1,700 theatres is more geared towards a specific target market AKA the “Blue States,” there should be enough interest in the new areas to make up for the cities where it’s been playing for two weeks. Syriana—which is only a few letters away from “Narnia”—should do especially well among college age and older audiences, probably more weighed towards male then female, the latter demographic more apt to go for the fantasy. Then again, this sort of movie will definitely do better in larger cities where it’s been playing for a few weeks, and the subject matter is so intense and realistic that some Americans might prefer a bit of escape.

Related Comparisons
Title	Release Date	Theater Count	Previous Box Office (in millions)	Weekend Box Office (in millions)	Average	Total Box Office
Abandon	10/18/02	2,341		$5.06	$2,163	$10.72
Traffic	1/5/01	1,510	$0.52	$15.52	$10,277	$124.11
Jarhead	11/4/05	2,411		$10.55	$4,375	$60.07
The Constant Gardener	9/2/05	1,346		$8.67	$6,444	$33.56
The Interpreter	4/22/05	2,758		$22.82	$8,275	$71.82
The Manchurian Candidate	7/30/04	2,867		$20.02	$6,982	$64.82
Fahrenheit 9/11	6/25/04	868	$0.16	$23.92	$27,558	$118.56

Why I Should See It: Gaghan is back in top form with a great politically conscious premise and a solid cast.
Why Not: Too many characters, too many stories and too many ideas may make this a confusing affair for those who don’t keep up with current events.

Bottom Line: With strong word-of-mouth and interest from its two weeks in limited release, Steven Gaghan’s political thriller is likely to appeal to the political left, looking for his interesting take on the very real situation going on in the MidEast and in Washington, although it’s likelier to find that audience in larger cities and college towns than rural ones.

Projection: $9 to 11 million in its first nationwide weekend on its way to a grand total of around $45 million and more if it’s able to get any Oscar nominations.

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UNDER THE RADAR

Do you live in a major North American city? If so, there are a number of limited release movies worth checking out. And if you don't live in one of the cities in which these movies open, look for some of them to hit your area sometime in the next few months.

There are way too many good movies opening this week with way too many talented actors, actresses and directors, but this week’s WARRIOR’S PICKS are Stephen “Dirty Pretty Things” Frears’ MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS (The Weinstein Co.) and Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Focus Features), both which should be mentioned a lot when Oscar time comes around next year. Dame Judi Dench plays the title role in Mrs. Henderson Presents about a rich widow who buys a theatre and with the help of a crotchety manager, played by Bob Hoskins, turns it into a nude musical revue. Sparks will indeed fly when this opens in New York, L.A., Dallas and elsewhere. MY REVIEW Directed by Ang “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” Lee, Brokeback Mountain, based on the short story by E. Annie Proulx, has Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal playing sheep wranglers, who find themselves caught up in a decades-long love affair when they run out of sheep. It opens in New York, L.A. and San Francisco, one theatre each. MY REVIEW

Sir Anthony Hopkins is Burt Munro, a New Zealand motorbike fanatic, in Roger “The Rookie” Donaldson’s THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN (Magnolia Pictures), which tells the true tale of how Burt modified a 1920s Indian motorbike and took it to Utah to set a land speed record in 1970. It opens on Wednesday for a short Oscar run before its limited release on February 3. Mini-Review: It's quite obvious that this Kiwicentric road movie is a labor of love for Donaldson, and in Anthony Hopkins, he has found a perfectly charming and loveable eccentric in the same fashion as Geoffrey Rush was in Shine. It's not perfect and the movie could certainly have been trimmed to get to the racing stuff sooner, but it's a generally entertaining and upbeat movie that will allow you to leave the theatre smiling. Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Rob Marshall, director of “Chicago”, adapts Arthur Golden’s worldwide bestseller, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA (Sony Pictures), with Zhang Ziyi (“Crouching Tiger”, “House of Flying Daggers”, “2046”) playing a young girl sold into the care of a geisha house, where she would learn the trade of pleasing men. (She can be my geisha any time she wants!) The movie also stars Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li. After opening in select cities this weekend, it gets a nationwide release on December 23. MY REVIEW

From Bollywood comes EK AJNABEE (G. S. Entertainment) or “One Stranger” starring India’s 63-year-old superstar Amitabh Bachban as a man hired to protect an 8-year-old girl from a kidnapping plot. (Kinda like Man on Fire Bollywood-Style.) Also NEAL 'N' NIKKI (Yash Raj Films) is another musical romantic comedy starring Uday Chopra and Tanisha Mukerji, about two Indians living in Vancouver. It opens in 40 theatres in select cities. Mini-Review (Coming Soon!)

Before making The Grudge, director Takashi Shimisu made MAREBITO (Tartan Film), a lower budget horror film starring another Japanese horror director, Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo), as a cameraman trying to find the true face of fear and discovering a doorway to the underworld and a bestial girl inside. It opens in New York and L.A. Mini-Review: As creepy and freaky as anything else from out of Japan, but it's also quite charming in its DIY freedom to experiment. Still, it very much seems like Shimisu and Tsukamoto were just shooting randomly and figuring out the story as they went along because the narrative seems like an afterthought to try to make sense of all the strange stuff we're watching on screen. Rating: 6 out of 10

Opening at the Quad in New York, ISN’T THIS A TIME? (7^th Art Releasing) is a follow-up documentary to the 1981 doc “Wasn’t That a Time” about the folk group, The Weavers, who well into their ‘70s and ‘80s reunite for a special concert at Carnegie Hall, which features Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary and many other folk greats inspired by the group.

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THIS WEEKEND LAST YEAR

It was a weekend full of sequels as Steven Soderbergh’s hit adaptation of Ocean's 11 reunited its impressive ensemble cast of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and more for Ocean's 12, which opened in over 3,200 theatres to make $39 million opening weekend, compared to just slightly less for the original movie, which also received much better all-around reviews. Blade: Trinity brought back Wesley Snipes as the Marvel Comics’ vampire hunter for the final film that introduced the Nightstalkers, as played by Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel. It opened on Wednesday, and after making $8.5 million in its first two days, it fell to second behind Ocean's 12 for the weekend, where it earned just over $16 million, which is less than half what the previous Guillermo del Toro-directed sequel earned its opening weekend in 2002. The drama Closer, based on Patrick Marber’s hit play, added roughly 150 theatres, but still had a 52% drop in a busier second weekend, dropping to 8^th place with $3.7 million.

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Next week, the epics continue as Peter “The Lord of the Rings” Jackson takes on the 8^th Wonder of the World King Kong, and Sarah Jessica Parker takes on The Family Stone.

Copyright 2005 Edward Douglas

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