Coming Soon

Holiday movies, pt. II -- Brad Pitt ages backwards, Tom Cruise loses an eye, Frank Miller blows it

Looks like Frost/Nixon finally opens wide on Christmas, but I'm still eagerly awaiting a wide release of The Wrestler. Meanwhile, here are some films that'll be everywhere on Christmas day:

New Movies 12/25

Wide release

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- Watch the trailer. Read the review. The Curious Case of Mork and Mindy, er, Benjamin Button, headed Karina's list of The Most Disappointing Movies of 2008. That surprised me a little, considering the excellent cast.

By the way, the studio tried to get Karina to take her review down. Hear the story in FilmCouch 98.

2. Valkyrie -- Watch the trailer. Based on a true story, Tom Cruise plays a German colonel who became part of a plot to assassinate Hitler.

Cruise can play "intense" well enough, and he looks great in his eyepatch, but I've never been very interested in watching him play a hero. I think he's better suited to play suave villains (Collateral) and total creeps (Magnolia).

3. The Spirit -- Watch the trailer. Frank Miller gives Will Eisner's classic comic strip the Frank Miller treatment.

My friend Kevin Buist (porcupine)saw it, and he thought it was extraordinarily bad. While most will agree that Miller's reinvention of Batman was inspired (I recommend the 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns), porcupine says Miller's mojo failed him in this re-imagining of the Spirit. Porcupine's review will appear this week on blog.spout.com.

4. Marley & Me -- Watch the trailer. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston raise a troublesome golden retriever. What can I say? If you like dogs, you'll probably like this movie.

5. Bedtime Stories -- Watch the trailer. This Disney flick is the latest family comedy from Adam Sandler. It looks kind of like a more broadly comic Stranger Than Fiction (two kids are the authors of Sandler's life), but the trailer still makes me laugh some.

Limited release 12/25

6. Revolutionary Road -- Watch the trailer. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio together again, only this time it's the 1950s, they're married, and they feel stifled by their ordinary suburban lives. Looks really depressing and, just maybe...really good?   

7. Waltz With Bashir -- Watch the trailer. Read the review. Based on true events, Ari Folman finds that he has almost no memories from Lebanon's 1982 invasion of Israel. Kevin Buist says in his review that it's like one part Waking Life, one part Schindler's List. I'm looking forward to it.

8. Last Chance Harvey -- Watch the trailer. Dustin Hoffman plays "Last Chance Harvey," a tired and desperate man. Then he meets Emma Thompson...

Re:Holiday movies, pt. II -- Brad Pitt ages backwards, Tom Cruise loses an eye, Frank Miller blows it

It's sad that people can't handle criticism and ask others to censor themselves. Such an immature mentality.

Re:Holiday movies, pt. II -- Brad Pitt ages backwards, Tom Cruise loses an eye, Frank Miller blows it

rjsprague:

It's sad that people can't handle criticism and ask others to censor themselves. Such an immature mentality.

Oh, you're referring to the studio that made Benjamin Button! I thought you were talking about me for a second.  :)

Re:Holiday movies, pt. II -- Brad Pitt ages backwards, Tom Cruise loses an eye, Frank Miller blows it

spout:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -- Watch the trailer. Read the review. The Curious Case of Mork and Mindy, er, Benjamin Button, headed Karina's list of The Most Disappointing Movies of 2008. That surprised me a little, considering the excellent cast.

By the way, the studio tried to get Karina to take her review down. Hear the story in FilmCouch 98.

The Onion AV club also thought it wasn't that great.  They gave it a "C"