Coming Soon

Thanksgiving movies: the good and the sucky (in theaters and on DVD, week of 11/28)

The new movies I mention are coming out on Thanksgiving, which is Thursday the 26th. 

Getting Bigger All the Time: The Vince Vaughn Chronicles

Let's trace his growth in reverse order.

5. Four Christmases (NEW) -- Vaughn is now over 12 feet tall. Needless to say, Vince was filmed separately, in front of a green screen. He only held a real prop once:  

Inside the box is a 52" flatscreen TV.

4. Wedding Crashers (2005) -- Watch the trailer. Vince is nearly 9 feet tall. To make him appear only slightly larger than Owen Wilson, Director Peter Jackson is hired to pull out all the perspective tricks he used with the Hobbits in LOTR.

3. Dodgeball (2004) -- Watch the trailer. Vince is seven and a half feet tall. It becomes clear that Vince can't throw a dodgeball without giving his target a concussion. Their solution: preceding all action scenes, the studio weakens him by shooting him with a moose tranquilizer. 

2. Made (2001) -- Watch the trailer. My favorite Vince Vaughn movie! Vince and actor/director Jon Favreau (of Iron Man) are entry-level mobsters trying not to blow their new career in crime. Peter Falk is great as the mob boss. With Vince measuring 6'11", it's clear why Falk would want him as a thug.

1. Swingers (1996) -- Would anyone who used Vince's catchphrase, "That's money!", in 1996 please confess in this discussion? I was too young to see this movie when it came out, and when I finally saw it about two years ago, I couldn't get why it became a craze. Can someone please help me understand? Swingers is the last time Vince was nearly normal-sized, at 6'5". 

New Movies That Sound Like Musicals When You Add An Exclamation Point

1. Australia!  -- Watch the trailer. Starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, set in Pre-WWII Australia. The director Baz Luhrmann has made films like Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet, so I think this will be good. 

2. Milk! -- Watch the trailer. Based on the true story of gay activist Harvey Milk. With Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch.

When Jason Statham is More Badass Than Usual

1. Transporter 3 (NEW) -- Watch the trailer. The trailer's exciting. I didn't see the first two movies because I heard they weren't very good. Are there any fans of them out there? 

2. Crank (2006) -- Watch the trailer. Statham wakes up to find that his arch-enemy has poisoned him. He only has about an hour to find an antidote and/or avenge his murder. It's filmed in real time, and it makes Run, Lola Run feel like a walk in the park. 

Orthodox Jewish Film: I Don't Have a Clever Title for This List

1. The Secrets (NEW) -- Drama about students in an all-female seminary in Safed, Israel. 

2. Ushpizin (2005) --  Watch the trailer. This was really fantastic. Moshe and Mali are delighted to let Moshe's old friends stay with them for a time, but their stay turns sour when the friends' presence seems to awaken some old bad habits in Moshe, like binge drinking and barroom brawling. A gorgeous film about patience, change, and hope. 

New to DVD Highlights

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (11/18) -- Watch the trailer. I haven't seen this one yet, but I'd like to. Did you like it more than the first one?

2. Tropic Thunder (11/18) -- Watch the trailer. Good but not great (in my opinion). Ben Stiller was my favorite character.

3. Hancock (11/25) -- Watch the trailer. Seeing it once was too much.

4. Mamma Mia! (11/25) -- Watch the trailer. That musical with Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth.

5. X-Files: I want to Believe (11/25) -- Watch the trailer. I want to believe this is good, but I can't. Does anyone remember that old episode where the guy elongates his body and slithers through heating ducts? He uses his power to enter peoples' homes and eat their livers? Remember? 

6. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (11/18) -- Watch the trailer. I'm not sure, but I think this movie is about Johnny Appleseed's groupies. They followed him on foot all over America, even in winter! That showed a lot of determination, especially considering that they were so poor, they only had one pair of pants to share among them.

In this second installment, several of the girls get frostbite, all of them get snakebites, and one of them bites a woodchuck and gets rabies.

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

If your familiy is like mine, you guys always watch a movie after Thanksgiving dinner. When I was younger, my uncle usually picked the movies. He had questionable judgment...* As I got older, they started letting me pick the movies, and I took this responsibility very seriously.

Here's how some of the movies went over with my family. I'd love to hear about your family movie experiences.

Top 5 Movies Good for the Whole Family on Thanksgiving

1. Stardust (2007) -- Watch the trailer. I love this movie, and so did the rest of the family. It's very much in the tradition of The Princess Bride, though I like Stardust more. 

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) -- Watch the trailer. Even the people who don't normally like fantasy were able to get into the story.

3. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) -- Watch the trailer. Goofy and incredibly smart at the same time, this has always been my favorite Will Ferrell movie. This one's only safe if people don't mind the "hard" PG-13 rating.

4. Thank You for Smoking (2005) -- Watch the trailer. A good mix of important message and just plain fun. If there are young viewers around, just remember there's a semi-graphic sex scene between Aaron Eckhart and Katie Holmes. They're both fully clothed, but somehow it's still embarrassing to watch with young cousins in the room.

5. Best In Show (2000) -- Watch the trailer. Maybe this one only worked so well because there are so many animal lovers in our family, but I've always thought this is the most accessible Christopher Guest movie. Note: my relative who breeds show animals did not like it.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes I Made When Selecting Movies

1. Death Race 2000 (1975) -- Watch the trailer. Why did I do it? My family likes comedies, so I thought I'd introduce them to camp. My family started a mutiny at about the ten minute mark.

2. Rescue Dawn (2006) -- Watch the trailer. We actually didn't even watch this one because my sister had the sense to talk me out of it. I thought everyone would find it hopeful, but now I don't know what I was thinking.

3. About Schmidt (2002) -- Watch the trailer. For the love of God, don't show this one to your family, especially if the film reminds you of your family!

*My uncle's picks. The only time I saw Highlander was on Thanksgiving, when I was far too young for it. And I was the oldest child in the room! Another year I remember we watched The Rock with Nic Cage and Sean Connery ("Lomax, you bastard!") Sure we had fun, but in retrospect, I wonder what the adults were thinking?

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

Haha, sounds like a great tradition.

I don't really know your extended family but I would have loved to have been there when you popped in Death Race 2000.

I have no idea what movie I would pick to watch with my extended family.  I think one of my parents sides might be easier than the other one, but I'm really not sure.  We don't talk about movies too much.  It's something almost kind of an interesting challenge to think of though...

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

We don't really have a Thanksgiving tradition, more of a Christmas one, though I like yours.  It would be fun to hear what happens with the selection process...and I applaud your daring with Death Race 2000. :-) I don't think my family (of parents and sibs) could sit down and agree long enough on what movie to watch, and adding aunts, uncles, and cousins would only severely complicate matters.  We'd probably have to stick with Disney fare or something safe like Star Wars, because I'm the only open movie mind in the family.

Though occasionally we've gone to the theater to see one on Turkey Day, the last time was ages ago because now, the fam usually comes to the Civic to see the show I'm in, stage managing, or crewing.  This year, it's A Wonderful Life, the musical version of It's a Wonderful Life.  If you're in the GR area, Coming Sooners, stop on by and see it! (And...shameless plug over.  Yay.)

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

pippin06:

...now, the fam usually comes to the Civic to see the show I'm in, stage managing, or crewing.  This year, it's A Wonderful Life, the musical version of It's a Wonderful Life.  If you're in the GR area, Coming Sooners, stop on by and see it! (And...shameless plug over.  Yay.)

Does the guy playing George Bailey do a Jimmy Stewart impression? It would be hard not to. And what's your role in the show?

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

Risselada:

I don't really know your extended family but I would have loved to have been there when you popped in Death Race 2000.

One of my aunts was just staring at it with her mouth open, like she didn't know this kind of movie existed, and its existence didn't fit into her worldview.

Every few seconds one of my cousins would burst out with a "What the?" or just a really emphatic "WHAT?!"  

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

SkyPilot:

Risselada:

I don't really know your extended family but I would have loved to have been there when you popped in Death Race 2000.

One of my aunts was just staring at it with her mouth open, like she didn't know this kind of movie existed, and its existence didn't fit into her worldview.

Every few seconds one of my cousins would burst out with a "What the?" or just a really emphatic "WHAT?!"  

In other words they all thought you were somehow a morally inferior being for having suggested such a film. Delightful.

Re:Share your reviews -- New movies in theaters & on DVD (Week of 11/28)

SkyPilot:

Does the guy playing George Bailey do a Jimmy Stewart impression? It would be hard not to. And what's your role in the show?

No, he elected to try and stay away from Jimmy somewhat, since that's exactly what everyone would be expecting, though sometimes, just sometimes, it slips out...and I think ha.  He admitted to us early on that it's one of his favorite movies, so...not surprising.  I think people are pleasantly surprised by his performance, but I'm not basing that on polls or anything.  Just my impression...

You might think of me as "ubiquitous ensemble member," but I occasionally have actual character names and lines, such as Dorothy ("hee haw" Sam's wife) and Wilma (she supports Potter's motion to disband the savings and loan).  In one scene, I even get to play an "available woman" as it said in the script...or, as the director said, "Kylie's a whore." (hee hee)  It really IS a wonderful life! :-)