Friday, November 09, 2007

Now Playing: Bardem Kills, Cruise Shouts, Vaughn Sleighs

L I M I T E D
After Dark Horrorfest 2007 You know what's really weird to me? Market supply and demand. Horror films are unarguably successful as a mainstream genre. So... I wonder how they continue to be successful on a cult/arthouse limited editionl level also? Why is there a market for this type of mini fest when you can catch a new horror film opening basically every weekend or every other weekend all year? Shouldn't this type of "special compilation" subgenre thingamajig be for movies or genres only obsessed fans in major cities care about? Like After Crisis Women Who Lie To Themselves Roundup 2008 or maybe After Huckabees Existential Detective Comedies Gathering 2009. I'm only half joking.
No Country For Old Men If you see one movie this fall* make it this unsettling beauty from the resurgent Coen Bros (I sang Kelly Macdonald's praises yesterday at Zoom-In). Certain to be a contender for Oscars, Globes, Film Bitch Awards and more... (my initial reaction)
War/Dance a documentary about Ugandan children attending a music festival

W I D E
Fred Claus will make a bajillion dollars even if it plays like coal in your stocking. Featuring Paul Giamatti as Santa, Vince Vaughn as his brother Fred and Miranda Richardson needing a paycheck.
Lions for Lambs I hated the trailer with a passion. Now the movie is using "critics" like blurb whore Pete Hammond from Maxim to promote itself with one adjective reviews. uh oh.
P2 -I thought that this was a new videogame system or a sequel of something I hadn't heard of. It turns out to be a thriller with Wes Bentley. Can't remember the last time I saw him. Was it actually when he was singing the praises of windswept plastic bags?

What are your plans for the weekend?

* I have no idea why I just typed a blurb whore cliché like "if you see one movie this fall..." --I'm so off my game. As if film experience readers only see one movie a quarter! They're so much cooler than that.

9 comments:

Jason Adams said...

Well there's the casual horror fan and then there's the horror-junkie, and most of the mainstream big budget horror films aren't aimed at the horror-junkies, Nat. Once you get addicted to the adrenaline rush a good scary movie gives ya, there's no turning back. More more more!

J.D. said...

Kelly Macdonald... sigh...

Anonymous said...

Lions for Lambs is just awful and terribly unnecessary. Plus, I'm afraid scientologists are taking up Hollywood as we speak. :/

Anonymous said...

Oh, and anything Michael Peña can do, Freddy Rodriguez can do it five times better. But Peña is a scientologist. Not that this movie deserved Rodriguez in the first place.

Anonymous said...

I saw No Country For Old Men today and it does deliver the goods. As far as I have read, critics seem to be loving it. Maybe the Coens are due. I also think it would be an injustice not to factor in Josh Brolin somewhere this year. I know that Bardem has the more delicious role, but Brolin's work in the movie is quite extraordinary. That coupled with what has been a solid year for him. If American Gangster and No Country pick up steam, he might get some pull from the traction of both.

MichaelMcl said...

My plans for the weekend involved...

Across the Universe - my goodness, what a riot! Silly, but has some of the best cinematic images of the year.

Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - not quite as secure as Malick or Peckinpah, but with strong helpings of each. The final 45 minutes is Great with a G.

Anonymous said...

This could be Bardem's year to win a little gold man. Such a fine, nuanced artist. He's absolutely horrific as Anton. "No Country" is riveting and funny and sad, I saw it last night in Phoenix. Let's not ignore good ole Tommy Lee either.

Kurtis O said...

"blurb whore Pete Hammond from Maxim" HA! Oh my God, the man annoys me to no end. Is there anything he doesn't like? He's definitely gonna start running out of adjectives soon...

Anonymous said...

And on the subject of Kelly MacDonald, also check her out in "The Girl in the Cafe", which she was awesome in and won an Emmy for.