Friday, November 30, 2007

FILM: New to the Box Office - 11/30/07

AWAKE

Hayden Christensen plays a rich guy who finally gets called in for a heart transplant after he marries his girlfriend (Jessica Alba). Although it seems like all of his dreams are coming true at once, it's when he's put to sleep for the surgery that the nightmare begins. He was given the wrong amount of anesthesia, which means he can hear everything AND feel everything--including the part where they slice open his chest and remove his heart. If that's not terrifying enough, the doctors (Terrence Howard and Fisher Stevens) have a get rich quick scheme. They told him to "put his house in order" in case he dies on the operating table. So for some reason if he dies, they get rich. Naturally, they plan to inject his heart with a substance that'll kill him within the hour. Christensen has to figure out a way to communicate with his wife before it's too late. Considering that this film is Joby Harold's first time directing and screen writing, there's not much to be expected of it. But it sounds like a very interesting thriller, one that could gain some traction at the box office, but probably not enough to kick any Christmas films out of the way.


THE SAVAGES

Critics are raving about Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney's new film where they play siblings who must cope with their father's dementia. It's the realistic side of family during the Christmas season brought to you by Tamara Jenkins, writer and director of Slums of Beverly Hills. I actually think the New York Post's Lou Lumenick says it best, "Darkly hilarious...[it] captures the cruel demographic joke facing many boomers who are forced to take care of aging parents at a point when they haven't entirely figured out their own lives." It's said to be a dramedy, so if you're in for a laugh and a cry, find an indie theater near you.

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