HAIRSPRAY
I bet you've heard a lot about this musical, except maybe the plot--no, it's not about hairspray. The title is a reference to what allows lead Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) to have the confidence to go after the hottest guy in school, Link Larkin (Zac Efron)--even though she isn't "perfect" like Amber Von Tussell (Brittany Snow)--and to stand up against discrimination on a local TV dance show, The Corny Collins Show, which is like the Pleasantville version of Soul Train. It's a pretty strong subject for a happy-go-lucky musical, but I've seen the play and they know how to even it out so it isn't just an after school special for racists. Most people will forgo reading the plot and just rush the theaters to see High School Musical mogul Efron, John Travolta in drag, Queen Latifah stretching those Chicago-vet vocals, and Michelle Pfeiffer making her official comeback after four years and redeeming herself in the eyes of the musical Gods after her Grease 2 debacle. I, personally, just want to see if Hollywood has struck up a new trend: Hiring amateur actors, like Jennifer Hudson, to lead a movie and discovering that they're better than the professionals. If so, Blonsky just might have a charmed future.
I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry
Like I said earlier this week, this is going to be a hard sell to a majority of moviegoers. On the one hand you have the guys who worship Adam Sandler for all of his misogynist shenanigans and on that same sticky hand you have the guys who have swimsuit-wearing Jessica Biel wallpapered onto their bathrooms. Meanwhile, on the other hand, you have guys who won't even endure the mere mention of homosexuality or gay marriage just to see the sexiest woman alive and laugh at a legend in the making. And coupled with its difficult appeal, there's the fact that I've seen the trailer at least 10 times in theaters and it wasn't even funny the first time. They say they've screened the film for gay organizations and that the gays weren't offended, but I think beating the same joke over and over again--act girly, snap your fingers, swivel your neck, and roll your eyes--is exploiting too many stereotypes for me. Big Daddy was way more of a genuine, unique take on a tired topic. Hopefully, the work of screenwriter Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor (Sideways and About Schmidt) will liven it up and hit the right dramatic notes.
Sunshine
This is a scifi thriller about a group of astronauts who are given the mission to reignite the sun. Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins), Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha), and Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) are the most notable cast members. Two up and comers in the film are Rose Byrne (28 Weeks Later), who will appear on a miniseries soon called "Damages" with Glenn Close, and Hiroyuki Sanada, who will be in Rush Hour 3 and Speed Racer. The director, Danny Boyle, has a pretty good record after his work on Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. However, the writer, Alex Garland, has a very short resume and his first credit is Leonardo DiCaprio's The Beach, which I, and several other critics, absolutely hated! But then he redeemed himself two years later with 28 Days Later and has been recently tapped to write for video-game-turned-action movie Halo. So if you want a possibly good action indie, skip the musical and Brokeback comedy, and check out this geek thriller.
Goya's Ghosts
In this indie drama, Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman play crucial parts in the story of the painter Francis Goya. Portman plays Goya's muse during the Spanish Inquisition. She's arrested by the church and Bardem is her only salvation. It looks better than most period pieces that have been released of late. But if you're not all that interested in art, the Inquisition, or Padme sans the buns, then maybe you might want to see Bardem in action. He's been getting a lot of attention lately for his Oscar-worthy performance in No Country for Old Men. They're even considering him for the lead in the Pablo Escobar biopic that "Entourage" is fueling with their Medellin trailers.
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