Friday, June 15, 2007

Now Playing (06/15)

L I M I T E D

Lights in the Dusk concludes Aki Kaurismäki's thematic "loser" trilogy. The previous entry, The Man Without a Past (excellent, rent it), was Oscar nominated marking Finland's first time to ever in the Oscar finals. This latest was pulled from Oscar consideration in the 2006 race at Kaurismäki's request.
DOA: Dead or Alive catfight! OK not really, but four actionable babes begin a martial arts contest... but eventually team up against an enemy. Eric Roberts is in it ("of course he is!" shout straight- to-video enthusiasts everywhere). At this typing it's at an exact 50% approval @ RT.
Eagle vs. Shark An indie romantic comedy described as "totally wacky". That phrase will turn some people off but if it actually lives up to the phrase, that could be a good thing.

Fido Remember the end of Shaun of the Dead when Shaun has his best friend as a garage dwelling undead housepet of sorts? Like that. Zombies live (well, sort of) as public servants but all may not be well in this horror comedy
Macbeth A modernized version from Australia. Discussed in the comments of my Lady Macbeth entry in the Bard blog-a-thon.
Strike Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum) directs this Polish historical drama
Tell No One A French thriller with Kristin Scott-Thomas (yay!) and Marie-Josée Croze (The Barbarian Invasions, Munich)

Documentaries, four: Beyond Hatred (hate crime), Blood and Tears (Arab-Israeli conflict), Trials of Darryl Hunt (class and bigotry in the criminal justice system --this was on the shortlist for last years Oscar race), and Unborn in the USA: Inside the War on Abortion (the politics of the pro-life movements)

W I D E

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer I will probably see this, making myself Marvel's bitch since the first one was embarrassing. Over at Zoom-In I'm offering up ways to improve the franchise. In brief: nudity, water, inhumans.
Nancy Drew This doens't have the nostaligc pull for me tht it does for some people. I was more of a Bobbsey Twins / Hardy Boys kid if I had to go with mysteries. Which were never my first choice. Nancy Drew is one of the question marks of the summers. Could go either way at the box office.

So, are you seeing a movie this weekend or does this list conjure up sensations of going to the beach or curling up in bed with a book?

6 comments:

J.D. said...

I think FF:ROTSS looks good.

[slaps self]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!? [bellows]

Anonymous said...

FF:ROTSS looks good b/c of this.

NATHANIEL R said...

hey I already made a harvard hottie joke!

fun article tho, thanks for pointing it out.

Anonymous said...

Doubling up this weekend with the Four and "Paprika".

A thought - does anyone want to try a "Surf's Up" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" double feature while listening to "Pet Sounds" on continuous loop on your iPod?

Glenn Dunks said...

Oh man, you guys are getting Macbeth. That movie was so whacked out on cocaine. It's hilarious. DOA was released here a year ago. Why now in the US and why limited? Strange.

Anonymous said...

"DOA" was bought by the Weinsteins... and you know how they love to hold back movies (such as "Hero"). They're not even selling it as a fun movie -- if you take a look at the shoddy US poster, it's like a rehash of Ziyi Zhang holding the sword in the US "Hero" poster.

"DOA" looked fun and apparently I was the only one who knew it was coming out... as there was only a total of 4 people including myself in the theatre last night (and it opened yesterday!).

"DOA" IS fun. It's the most literal adaptation of a video game, which is not a bad thing. Lots of gratuitous T&A shots of both genders that pushed the PG-13 boundaries. Holly Valance and Jaime Pressly were a hoot. Devon Aoki, sadly to say, was miscast as a Japanese princess and could not handle a lead speaking role.