Coming Soon

3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

HITTING THEATERS 3/13

Disney's latest leading man: Dwayne Johnson in Race to Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain -- Watch trailer. This has Brendan Fraser's name written all over it, but it's starring Fraser's remake, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Of course, Brendan Fraser is a remake of Kurt Russell, and I bet that if the original Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) had starred a young, sexy hero (not the older Eddie Albert), it would've been Disney favorite Kurt Rusell (remember The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and The Strongest Man in the World?).

PS - I'm mostly joking; I like Dwayne Johnson.

Standing on the shoulders of Swedes: The Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left -- Watch trailer. Produced by Wes Craven, this is a remake of the Craven-directed The Last House on the Left (1972), which was kind of like Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971), which is loosely based on a novel (The Siege of Trencher's Farm) but reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (1959), which was inspired by the Swedish ballad "Torres dotter i Wange," which is purportedly based on true events... 

The Whitest Boys U'Know: Miss March

Miss March -- Watch trailer. A young guy wakes from a 4-year coma to find that his high school sweetheart gave up waiting for him to become a pin-up for Playboy.

Needless to say, the guy sets out for the Playboy mansion to reclaim his old girlfriend; also needless to say, he's joined by a sex-crazed friend.

LIMITED RELEASE

Dirty movie: Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning -- Watch trailer. Amy Adams plays a short-on-cash mother who's determined to send her son to a quality private school. Adams reluctantly enlists the help of her sister (Emily Blunt) to start a cleaning service that specializes in crime scene clean-up and bio-hazard removal.

Is it just me, or do you pick up on an indie cash-cow vibe? I mean, could it really only be a coincidence that it's called "Sunshine" Cleaning when it's being billed as the next movie from the producers of Little Miss "Sunshine"? 

But ultimately, any pandering to the audience may not matter if Sunshine Cleaning is actually good. And with actors like Blunt and Adams, Alan Arkin and Steve Zahn, I've got high hopes.

They ain't heavy, they's my brothers: Brothers at War

Brothers at War -- Watch trailer. Documentary filmmaker Jake Rademacher's two brothers are soldiers. Jake spent three and a half years on this film, staying with four army units over two trips to Iraq, exploring his brothers' service and motivation.

This very personal film appears to reveal a lot that's universal, as Rademacher seeks to understand what the soldiers in Iraq continue to experience.

Dennis Quaid takes the bait: The Horsemen

The Horsemen -- Watch trailer. Dennis Quaid, widowed detective, finds chilling connections between himself and the victims of a serial killer who's obsessed with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

To me, this still sounds like Se7en, Part Two. I guess whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your point of view.

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NEW TO DVD 3/10 -- Oscar films hit the shelves

Oscar alumni

1. Milk -- Watch trailer. The one Best Picture nominee that probably could've taken the laurel leaves from Slumdog Millionaire.

I haven't seen it yet--I was too busy watching The Wrestler three times.

2. Der Baader Meinhof Complex -- Watch trailer. This Oscar-nominated foreign film looks really good, even considering I don't know what's happening in that intense trailer! Check it out!

3. Happy-Go-Lucky -- Watch trailer. It's considered one of the biggest snubs of the Oscars that charming star Sally Hawkins wasn't nominated for Best Actress.

4. Rachel Getting Married -- Watch trailer. FilmCouch's Kevin Buist says Anne Hathaway is great in an otherwise grating, tiring, "annoying" movie about...you guessed it: family conflicts.

Huh, I guess content equals form after all.

Blockbusters (and wannabes)

5. Role Models -- Watch trailer. Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott are funny together, but the film coasts way too long during the scenes of LARPing (live action role playing).

6. Transporter 3 -- Watch trailer. I haven't seen any of these yet, would you guys recommend them? I do always like Jason Statham, even when he's in bad movies.

7. Max Payne -- Watch trailer. Mark Wahlberg. Video game movie. Much stylized violence.

8. Repo! The Genetic Opera -- Watch trailer. Interesting-sounding shocker set in a future where a mysterious epidemic of organ failures turns healthy organs into a precious commodity. When organ buyers fail to make good on their payment plans, their organs must be re-possessed...

9. Saw V and Saw Goreology: Movies 1 - 5 -- Watch trailer to Saw V. It's a Saw movie, you know the drill.

Hey, was that a pun?

Lil' nuggets

10. Let the Right One In -- Watch trailer. Best vampire movie ever? Looks like it to me.

11. Synechdoche, New York -- Watch trailer. The Charlie Kaufman-penned film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman. I've heard the film is intellectually demanding, but I've never felt like I've wasted my time watching something written by Kaufman.

12. Battle in Seattle -- Watch trailer. This feature recounts the events of the 1999 World Trade Organization and the ensuing riots.

13. Rocker -- Watch trailer. The Office's Rainn Wilson stars as a one-time promising rocker who now, 20 years later, gets a second chance.

14. Cadillac Records -- Watch trailer. The word: good actors, good music, so-so film.

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

I downloaded a song (Zydrate Anatomy) from Repo! The Genetic Opera when it first became available on iTunes a couple months before the films release. It was an odd mishmash of sounds but undeniably catchy and still finds itself on my iPod playlist. The movie however was a lot to digest; so many genres of music used during the musical numbers, so many absurd characters littering this bizarre, futuristic dystopia that it just became too much and became rather grating. I'm not discounting it entirely - another viewing might just make everything mesh. It's original and probably the only film/instance Paris Hilton is actually a positive contribution.

Let The Right One In - Incredible film. Dark, intimate and definitely worth its labeling as one of the best vampire movies of recent history.

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

spout:

Lil' nuggets

10. Let the Right One In -- Watch trailer. Best vampire movie ever? Looks like it to me.

 

I am so looking forward to my copy of this arriving later this week.  I really enjoyed it at the theater.

Tom

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

mercurial:

...Repo! The Genetic Opera... too much and became rather grating. I'm not discounting it entirely - another viewing might just make everything mesh...

Let The Right One In - Incredible film. Dark, intimate and definitely worth its labeling as one of the best vampire movies of recent history.

Thanks for the reviews, man. Let the Right One looked like something I could really savor with red wine, while Repo! looked like something that goes with beer nuts and pickled eggs.

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

tadiv:

I am so looking forward to my copy of this arriving later this week.  I really enjoyed it at the theater.

Tom

Cool, I think it was in the theaters here for about one day.

I guess I can't complain, because some of my Michigan friends who live in smaller towns never even had The Wrestler come to town! Even after its Oscar noms!

     

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

SkyPilot:

tadiv:

I am so looking forward to my copy of this arriving later this week.  I really enjoyed it at the theater.

Tom

Cool, I think it was in the theaters here for about one day.

I guess I can't complain, because some of my Michigan friends who live in smaller towns never even had The Wrestler come to town! Even after its Oscar noms!

I guess Oscar noms don't really determine how much distribution a movie gets as much as I thought.  At least I spoke with a girl last night who has a friend in a smaller town who she talked to very recently.  This person sees movies at the theater somewhat regularly, and she had never even heard of Slumdog Millionaire.

     

Re:3/13 - New movies - Oscar nominees hit DVD, plus the Rock is a remake of Kurt Russell

Risselada:

I guess Oscar noms don't really determine how much distribution a movie gets as much as I thought.  At least I spoke with a girl last night who has a friend in a smaller town who she talked to very recently.  This person sees movies at the theater somewhat regularly, and she had never even heard of Slumdog Millionaire.

Wow, that's kind of hard to believe. By now, I've heard the words Slumdog Millionaire way too many times...