With a full slate on Friday of culture to absorb, there's still movies to fit into this schedule called life. Let's start with one load of crap worth skipping:
Troy - The Matrix-style effects added into an ancient story. I liked it better when it was called Gladiator. And yet still, the basic story is intriguing enough to possibly get a buck outta me when the show moves downscale a bit. Brad Pitt, I could live without, though. But then again, my name isn't Jennifer Anniston. If it were, I'd be fondling myself constantly and would never get out of bed.
Coffee & Cigarettes - dude, check the cast on this one and tell me how it can fail. Bill Murray continues on the indie circuit and dare I suggest he's found his niche? The concept here is nothing new, so whether it blows away the pioneer works in this "short-segment" film genre is an open question.
A Day Without a Mexican - HIGHLY recommended by Pat Buchannan!!!
The Day After Tomorrow - Controversial, to say the least. One knock on this movie is that Al Gore is recommending it. Meanwhile, Bjorn Lomborg, frets that the impact of this film may well be to scare us into costly cures possibly modeled on the Springfield Bear Tax. All that aside, I'm tempted on this movie for one reason and one reason alone ... the special effects scale seems impressive. I mean its one thing to make a somewhat realistic donkey sound like Eddie Murphy. Its another to convince me that Jessica Lange is really in King Kong's hand. But freezing over an entire city? C'mon, that's kinda cool. My own taste for special effects is a bit odd to describe, though. So I may yet hate the movie for failing to live up to my standards. I refused to see The Hulk due to a seemingly too vast gulf between accepting the movie for its realism in the CGI scenes, or just taking it in as a cartoon. I loved the usage in Star Wars, nevermind the inferior character development of Jar Jar Binks ... that was incredibly seamless CGI work in Ep. 1 & 2, and currently sets the standard as I see it.
Soul Plane - count me in on this one.
Saved! - odd story here, which is why I'll likely watch it. Follow me ...
"Good girl" Mary (Jena Malone) and her popular, influential best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), are starting their senior year at the top of the social structure at American Christian High School. But when Mary finds out she?s pregnant, Hilary Faye and her devoted "disciples" turn against Mary and the school labels her an outcast. It's as an outsider, however, that Mary finds true friends ? other students the school doesn't quite know what to do with. In this sweetly subversive comedy, a group of strangers band together to navigate the treacherous halls of high school and make it to graduation, ultimately learning more about themselves and finding out what it truly means to be Saved!.
The Corporation - with a cast like Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Peter Drucker & Milton Friedman in a 2.5 hour talkathon, I see no way this movie fails to inspire. Sadly, it doesn't come out till 8/20 @ River Oaks, though.
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There - I don't want to alarm anyone, but Bea Arthur makes an appearance in this!!! No idea when this will hit screens in Houston.
The Hunting of the President - same as above, replace Paula Jones with Bea Arthur.
With All Deliberate Speed - a doc. peice on the Supreme Court case surrounding Brown v Board of Education. Something tells me it's not going to outdraw Passion.
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster - alright, stop asking me if I'm making this shit up. Yes, someone actually thought it would be a good idea to do a documentary on Metallica. Don't ask me why. But you know I'm there as soon as it comes to Houston.
Meanwhile, movies to catch up on ...
The Alamo
New York Minute
Super Size Me ... that one gets taken in for free tonight! One freebie if anyone's interested.
Dawn of the Dead
You Got Served
Johnson Family Vacation
Eternal Sunshine ... STILL!!!
Connie and Carla (might move to the $s soon)
Oh, one other work of art showing soon:
FORBIDDEN ZONE! - Start RSVPing for this gem. Anyone planning on taking this one in? Midnites @ River Oaks - 5/28&29.
2 Comments
I'm on for FORBIDDEN ZONE; it brings back fond memories of a time and place, and of somebody who was an absolute freak for that one. May see her there, even.
As for THE CORPORATION, the idea would seem only to benefit Moore's career, since the rest have some sort of credentials and Moore's an entertainment figure. May eventually take it in if the price is right (close to free).
Coffee/Cigs: yep. "Rizage" script: nope.