Beowulf
You're probably tired of hearing about this animated adaptation and its tale of a great warrior (Ray Winstone) who defeated the monster Grendel (Crispin Glover from Charlie's Angels) and his vengeful mother (Angelina Jolie). Aside from the fact that Jolie's animated self appears very much like her (and in the nude), comic book and CGI-lovers are salivating over the trend that erupted from the surprising success of 300. The action in these type of films is ten times cooler because anything goes. As for whether the graphics or the storyline are as appealing as its predecessors, I guess we'll find out this weekend.
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Did you know that Dustin Hoffman was that evil bastard in Hook? He was disappearing behind the guise of a conniving pirate before Captain Jack Sparrow slurred his first come on. Therefore, it's no surprise that Hoffman is stretching his acting legs in this fantastical holiday film about a 243-year old toy store owner whose merchandise happens to come alive, thriving off the energy of innocence, imagination, and joy. Unfortunately, old Mr. Magorium is retiring--I'm surprised he's not disintegrating--and he plans on leaving his store to his apprentice (Natalie Portman)--who kind of looks like a little boy. However, no fairytale would be complete without a negative-Nelly or a wrench being thrown into the plan. Enter stage left the accountant (Jason Bateman from "Arrested Development") who, devoid of an imagination, will help Magorium get his finances in order. Not to mention, in his presence and because of Magorium's declaration, the store has thrown a temper tantrum. So it is up to the apprentice to reawaken the Scrooge's innocence and tame the antics of the naughty store. Let the shenanigans begin.
Love in the time Cholera
What I wouldn't give to sell tickets for this movie just so I can hear all the different pronunciations for "cholera." Nonetheless, the holiday film season is good because of its three themes: love, family, and inspiration. And this movie has two out of three, for it will inspire you to love the way a romantic loves: whole heartedly. This is an adaptation of a novel about a man (Javier Bardem from No Country for Old Men) who spends most of his life having meaningless sexual relations--without profolactics--because his first love (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) was taken away from him. Her father (John Leguizamo) was an old-fashioned man who believed marriage was a business arrangement not a romantic adventure. But when Bardem encounters her again when she's married to an overbearing man (Benjamin Bratt), he realizes that his heart has never been anyone else's but hers for he has loved her for 51 years 9 months and 4 days. Given a second chance, he will not pass it up. If you've seen Bardem's other film--the one where he brutally murders people--you will see, in just the trailer, that his eyes have a way of melting in Mezzogiorno's presence and suffocating in her absence. This movie will make The Notebook seem like it was written by a 5th grader.
Southland Tales
It has taken--what would seem in Hollywood time--forever for this movie to obtain distribution. There have been rumors that it was too long, too crappy, too convoluted, and just plain too much. But Richard Kelly is the mastermind, the wunderkind, the up-and-comer from 6 years ago who single-handedly sky rocketed Jake Gyllenhaal's career into the stratosphere with his dark sci-fi drama Donnie Darko. He was supposed to be great. Two years ago Domino came out. Not great. And now this film--2hrs and 40 minutes long--is just being given a limited release. Scratch that. Let's focus on the plot. The Rock plays an amnesiac action star, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a porn star who wants to have her own reality show and talk about politics, and Sean William Scott plays a schizophrenic police officer who's after himself, and all of them are in the midst of a political and environmental disaster. If that's not complicated enough, this takes place in the future--just 9 months from now--after a nuclear attack wipes out half of Texas in 2005. There's a lot of political and enviornmental preaching intertwined in the lives of these three invidivuals and somehow Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, Kevin Smith, and Janeane Garofalo fit into this whole scenario. Seriously, go to the bathroom before you enter the theater, bring dinner, and make yourself comfortable. You're in for quite the journey.
Margot at the Wedding
Okay picture Nicole Kidman without her skin stretched so tight it looks like she has a condom on her face and imagine a sedated people-pleasing Jack Black a la The Holiday. Now if you can fathom those two in a movie together--at odds--then maybe you can stomach this plot: "Margot (Kidman) and her son Claude decide to visit her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh from Single White Female) after she announces that she is getting married to less-than-impressive Malcolm (Black). In short order, the storm the sisters create leaves behind a a mess of thrashed relationships and exposed family secrets."
Redacted
The great director Brian De Palma, who's famous for idolizing Alfred Hitchcock, failed to seduce moviegoers or even critics with his noir The Black Dahlia. Before he starts filming the sequel to The Untouchables, he'll be promoting this war drama, a series of stories that focuses on the modern forms of media covering the war. It reminds me of the MTV documentary done last summer called "Iraq Uploaded," which featured several soldiers and the videos they recorded to show the war from their perspective.
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