The Nanny Diaries
This movie was supposed to come out in March, but the producers delayed it so it could be considered for awards. What awards? It's a romantic comedy with kiddie slapstick. That's like giving an award to the Princess Diaries--I loved it, but come on. Like Anne Hathaway's modern princess tale, The Nanny Diaries is an adaptation. I didn't read the book--I meant to, I swear--but from the trailer I've gathered that Scarlett Johansson's signed up for a live-in nanny job to take care of a neglected little boy with a WASPy tight ass of a mother. Not to mention, she conveniently finds a hot neighbor, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), to crush on and, of course, humiliate herself in front of. It's like Uptown Girls with a side of Spanglish and maybe a dash of The Devil wears Prada. It should make for a lot of laughs.
Resurrecting the Champ
Josh Hartnett has been MIA from the box office since last Fall, and now he returns with Samuel L. Jackson in tote. The underlying gist of this sports drama is to convince the audience that maybe, just maybe, that poor defenseless homeless person stinking up the train car was once a great man and he shouldn't be overlooked. It's a tad farfetched, but makes for quite the tearjerker. Many films chronicle the rise and fall of good-natured individuals: Wall Street, The Firm, etc. But not many make the effort to rebuild a man from scratch at the very beginning of a film. Hartnett plays his Geppetto in the form of a meddling sports journalist who's green around the gills and eager to dodge his father's shadow. While vying to reveal to the masses that he's unearthed a famous boxer believed to be dead, he simultaneously reinvigorates a broken man and reevaluates his own worth. This is a definite Oscar-maybe IF done correctly. Who knows?
War
I read a while back that Jet Li is going up against Jackie Chan. I am way more psyched about that than his faceoff with Jason Statham in this cop action flick about seeking revenge on a determined hitman. Don't get me wrong. Statham can kick major ass--when it's against other non-Asian people. But there's no way I'm going to buy that he can beat Li. Not unless he runs him over with a car. BUT, if by some miracle chance you aren't tired of watching explosions and sporadic fight scenes, then hit the theaters for another dose of a film high on spectacle on low on dialogue.
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Rowan Atkinson is one of very few British comedians who do tremendously well in U.S theaters. That mainly comes from his popular shtick of a seemingly mute, socially-retarded, child-like guy who wanders aimlessly, accidentally causing trouble everywhere he goes. He really has made a career out of beating the same joke to death...repeatedly--with a twist every now and then. This time, Bean wins a vacation to France and bumps into a director on his way to Cannes Film Festival. When the director gets stranded, Bean is left to the task of safely accompanying the director's son to the festival. And, of course, mayhem ensues. It's a different kind of humor that isn't as explicit as Superbad, but if consumed in the right mood, could be as funny.
Dedication
Justin Theroux is stepping out of the actor's seat for a while and into more stressful professions. Next year he'll co-write his first film, with Ben Stiller directing. But this is his directorial debut. In this dry romantic comedy, Billy Crudup (Almost Famous) plays an anal-retentive, obsessive complusive prick who, unlike Bean, is the unattractive kind of socially-retarded. Mandy Moore plays Crudup's illustrator, but her services are kind of useless since he has writer's block. I guess you could say he won't be able to find the words to write until he finds the right words to win her over. Crudup is surprisingly good at being a jerk and Moore's mellow behavior is mesmerizing to watch--you're just waiting for her to break out in song in this solemn performance. It's a nice contrast to The Nanny Diaries.
Hottest State
Ethan Hawke has been trying on a lot of hats in the past couple of years: screenwriter, author, and director. And now he's managed to where all of them for this film. It's a drama about two love birds, Mark Webber (Snow Day) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), who are trying to follow their artistic dreams in New York without forfeiting their relationship, their morals, and their life goals. Obviously there's going to be a lot of tension and philosophizing, so if the dialogue isn't killer, the film will surely die.
The 11th Hour
Leonardo DiCaprio does his part to assist Al Gore in his campaign to save the world. Who needs a costume and a cool alter ego when you can make a documentary featuring notable actors, activists, politicians, and scientists helping you instill a great concern in the people of America. But he's not just trying to make you feel guilty. Bring a pen and pad (and a flashlight--or use your cell phone) because there will be fun facts on how YOU can save the world too. He'll clue you in on new technology (you probably can't afford) that'll decrease toxic emissions and bad habits you should ban from you everyday routine (which will be as hard to do as quitting smoking). And for those of you ladies (and gents) who are shamelessly in love with DiCaprio, he's not just the documentary's voice, but its face too.
No comments:
Post a Comment