celluloidnotes

FILM OF THE WEEK:
The Limits of Control
dir. Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Isaach De Bankolé

All that really needs to be said is new Jim Jarmusch. But since that would be the short way out I’ll continue with that Jarmusch never misses. This film looks mysterious and fantastic - the buzz is positive. I see no way this can go too wrong.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
dir. Gavin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds

Despite the early leak of a rough cut of this film there has continued to be a lot of positive buzz about the fourth live action X-Men film. The other three were essentially about Wolverine, but this Wolverine focused film comes on the heels of Wolverine month at Marvel (how coincidental) and appears to be a success. This film will definitely be at the top of box office charts to be sure.

Battle for Terra
dir. Aristomenis Tsirbas
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Justin Long

Despite the absurd looks of this debut animation endeavor from Snoot Entertainment there has been nothing but positive buzz about this film. IMDB is predicting a big success here, I wouldn’t be surprised. Kid’s movies have done very well at the box office so far this year, and we’re waiting for something to displace the mediocre Monsters vs. Aliens as this year’s reigning kid’s champion.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
dir. Mark Waters
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Emma Stone

Dear lord, make it end. It’s sure to be a disaster.

PICK OF THE WEEK:
The Informers [limited]
dir. Gregor Jordan
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Brad Renfro

There has been some nasty buzz on this one. From IMDB: “he rage for all things 1980s ends here, since Gregor Jordan’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel was all but disowned by the Sundance set after its premiere back in January. The idea of a nearly always nude Amber Heard should not conjure up notions of it’s-so-bad-it’s-Showgirls-good here. Seriously, just move away and move on from this one.” And Brett Easton Ellis (who wrote the novel) seems to be very displeased with the outcome, even though he wrote the script. Nonetheless, Ellis’ writing is generally fantastic and - despite his relentless focus on the disillusionment of the 80s - we can’t help but have a little bit of excitement over the potential behind another Ellis driven film.

Mutant Chronicles [limited]
dir. Simon Hunter
Starring: Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki

This film was initially panned hard at Comic-Con last year, but Magnolia passed along some more control to director Hunter to retool the film. This has series written all over it. It’s a sort of post-apocalyptic version of Pitch Black meets X-Men (kind of). Four corporations battle to save Earth from a mutant menace that was unleashed by an explosion at a prison - in the future.

Earth [on 04/22]
dir. Alastair Fothergill Mark Linfield
Starring: Patrick Stewart

Earth is a sort of Blue Planet revamp that follows four families of animals through their migration cycle.

The Soloist
dir. Joe Wright
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener

An odd release date for a film that looked, initially, like it was surely Oscar bait. B=Maybe it’s part of a new plan to get in the mind of the Adacemy early on, or maybe Dreamworks has completely lost faith in the film.

Obsessed
dir. Steve Shill
Starring: Beyoncé Knowles, Idris Elba, Ali Larter

Obsessed can be counted in for next week’s top ten biggest grossers, but there are real questions about it’s ability to stay there for more than one week. Lots of negative buzz already. We have little faith here.

Fighting
dir. Dito Montiel
Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Luis Guzmán

A kid gets caught up in an underground world of fighting and finds Terrence Howard and Terrence Howard acts like Terrence Howard.

Tyson [limited]
dir. James Toback
Starring: Mike Tyson

Tyson, a documentary about the life of legendary boxer Mike Tyson, was a smash at Sundance this year. This is the doc to see this year, so far. Don’t miss it (it’s pretty fantastic).

PICK OF THE WEEK:
State of Play
dir. Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren

Only positive things seem to be coming about this political thriller. Macdonald is a rising director, and has been given a great cast for this film. Let’s hope it lives up to expectations.

Crank: High Voltage
dir. Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins Jr.

This sequel seems ill advised from the get-go. I seem to be one of the few who thought the first Crank was an abysmal train-wreck. The commentary to that film only confirm the notion that this debut directorial team phoned this one in. At the end of the first film Chev Chelios (Statham) seems to be dead - as you might have guessed he is not. Now instead of adrenaline to keep himself alive he needs regular shocks of electricity to his heart to seek his revenge. The directorial team definitely has a stylized visual palate, but we hope that the script has a little more style than their last one.

17 Again
dir. Burr Steers
Starring: Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann

Hillary Duff isn’t the only child star that is struggling to be taken seriously by adults…Only this probably isn’t the film that’s going to do it for Efron

Every Little Step [limited]
dir. Adam Del Deo, James D. Stern

This documentary follows a series of actress auditioning to be in the latest Broadway revival of Chorus Line. Looks interesting despite the less than interesting subject matter.

Is Anybody There? [limited]
dir. John Crowley
Stars: Michael Caine, Bill Milner

this drama focuses on a ten-year-old boy (Milner) who is growing up in a retirement home that his family owns and his relationship with a retired magician (Caine). Looks quirky, funny, sad, about everything you’re looking for if you aren’t excited about the oncoming Blockbuster season.

Last Week’s Top Ten
1. Hannah Montana: The Movie
2. Fast & Furious
3. Monsters vs. Aliens
4. Observe and Report
5. Knowing
6. I Love You, Man
7. The Haunting in Connecticut
8. Dragonball: Evolution
9. Adventureland
10. Duplicity

PICK OF THE WEEK
Anvil! The Story of Anvil [LA/NY]
dir. Sacha Gervasi
Stars: Robb Reiner, Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow, Tiziana Arrigoni

Anvil! has been getting nothing but a ton of positive buzz. Since the 2008 Sundance fest there has been a lot of anticipation for this film. It’s finally seeing a limited theatrical release and certainly has the potential to expand to more theaters if there are still cinema-goers looking for something a little more meaty than the pre-summer releases that have been flooding theaters since the end of Oscar season.

Observe and Report
dir. Jody Hill
Stars: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta

This seems to be the Apatow family equivalent of Paul Blart: Mall Cop, except funny. Though what do I know? I said Paul Blart was a terrible film and it’s made more money than about anything in 2009 so far. Maybe you’re best off not listening to me, though I’m still going to say that this is probably a whole lot better than Blart.

Hannah Montana: The Movie
dir. Peter Chelsom
Stars: Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Billy Ray Cyrus

The first step in what is largely seen as Miley Cyrus’ attempts to become a little bit more of an adult star. Nonetheless, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that this film isn’t really for adults.

Dragonball: Evolution
dir. James Wong
Stars: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Yun-Fat Chow

As the IMDB buzz says this is just part of the stream of films that includes last summer’s SpeedRacer, which sees Hollywood trying to create feature films out of anime. We’ll see if this winds up being a little more interesting than SpeedRacer.

Last Week’s Top 10:
1. Fast & Furious
2. Monsters vs. Aliens
3. The Haunting in Connecticut
4. Knowing
5. I Love You, Man
6. Adventureland
7. Duplicity
8. Race to Witch Mountain
9. 12 Rounds
10. Sunshine Cleaning

Missed you last week. We had to go on a short hiatus there while some other things got lined up. But, back to our regular programming. What to see this weekend:

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Adventureland
dir. Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds

Another creation from the (more-or-less) Apatow factory. This time Mottola (Superbad) is opting for some huge stars with the great Jesse Eisenberg in the lead. We’ll see if it lives up to the recent spat of solid Factory films, but it looks fairly promising.

Fast & Furious
dir. Justin Lin
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez

The series is back with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in the lead. Which leads us to believe that people are still paying to see these films for some reason.

Sugar
dir. Anna Boden Ryan Fleck
Stars: Algenis Perez Soto

HBO films biopic of Miguel Santos journey from The Domincan Republic to the US to play minors baseball looks interesting. But will the biopic really stray from the well worn path of most boring biopics that are flooding the cinema?

Gigantic [limited]
dir. Matt Aselton
Stars: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman

Gigantic looks like a really great film, with a pretty amazing cast. Dano has been in some fantastic films since his great performance in There Will Be Blood, and this doesn’t look like it’ll stray too far from the mark.

Paris 36
dir. Christophe Barratier
Stars: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad

Paris 36 is the story of the residence of a poor northern Paris neighborhood who decide to put on a musical. Those crazy Parisians. Meh.

Alien Trespass [limited]
dir. R.W. Goodwin
Stars: Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick

A mock B-movie (clearly) that looks kind of funny, but you never can tell with a film that is intentionally flaunting itself as a B film.

LAST WEEK’s TOP TEN:
1. Monsters vs. Aliens
2. The Haunting in Connecticut
3. Knowing
4. I Love You Man
5. Duplicity
6. Race To Witch Mountain
7. 12 Rounds
8. Watchmen
9. Taken
10. The Last House on the Left

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Duplicity
dir. Tony Gilroy
Starring: Julia Roberts, Clive Owen

Going a little mainstream on the pick of the week, and putting some blind faith in tony Gilroy’s ability to deliver in his second directorial adventure. It’s another spy thriller, which is hopefully as surprising as his great Michael Clayton. Like every other spy thriller this year it stars Clive Owen. Meh, I’m going with it.

Knowing
dir. Alex Proyas
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne

Remember when Nicolas Cage used to do films that were at least mildly interesting, I don’t anymore. This film is about Cage’s family and their son who discovers an artifact that predicts natural disasters. Sounds like a snooze-fest that you surely be on next week’s top ten list.

Sin Nombre [limited]
dir. Cary Fukunaga
Stars: Paulina Gaitan

Sin Nombre was second in the running for this weeks PICK OF THE WEEK. It’s a story of two teenagers from Honduras who hop aboard a freight train bound for America. Both are running from their past. The trailer is very enticing.

I Love You, Man
dir. John Hamburg
Stars: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones

Next up from the Apatow factory: I Love You, Man. All of the promo has given very little away about this film, or there is really no plot. Expect a funny first act, a mildly funny second act - with lots of zaniness, and a third act where morality surfaces and everyone learns a little something about themselves.

Lesbian Vampire Killers
dir. Phil Claydon
Starring: James Corden, MyAnna Buring

I don’t know what to say. Only AWESOME comes to mind. (Kind of looks like an Edgar Wright film, no?)

The Great Buck Howard
dir. Sean McGinly
Starring: John Malkovich, Colin Hanks

This honestly looks like it could be a great film, or another semi-boring idea that got watered down by focus groups. Great guest stars (Conan O’Brian, Martha Stewart, Tom Hanks), and Malkovich is always great (we think).

Super Capers
dir. Ray Griggs
Stars: Justin Whalin, Ray Griggs, Danielle Harris

Not sure about this. It almost sounds like it should be thrown in with the Scary Movie lot, but who knows. I’ve got no faith in this and the early signs seem to say I’m right.

Last Week’s Top Ten:
1. Race to Witch Mountain
2. Watchmen
3. Last House on the Left
4. Taken
5. Madea Goes to Jail
6. Slumdog Millionaire
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
8. He’s Just Not That Into You
9. Coraline
10. Miss March

It occurred to us that in this week’s installment of “What to See This Weekend” there was no mention of last week’s Top Ten Films. If there were any doubts about what was going to be number one last week we’ll put them to rest. Watchmen beat #2 by nearly $40 million. And there you are.

1. Watchmen - $55.2 million
2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail - $8.8 million
3. Taken - $7.5 million
4. Slumdog Millionaire - $6.9 million
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $4.2 million
6. He’s Just Not That Into You - $4 million
7. Coraline - $3.3 million
8. Confessions Of A Shopaholic - $3.1 million
9. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience - $2.8 million
10. Fired Up- 2.6 million

PICK OF THE WEEK
Sunshine Cleaning [limited]
dir. Christine Jeffs
Starring: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin

This was last years Sundance darling. The buzz is still all positive. the film is a quirky sentimental comedy that the studio is hoping is this year’s Little Miss Sunshine. Is there an Arkin connection?

Race to Witch Mountain
dir. Andy Fickman
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb

Dwayne Johnson. Self explanatory.

Last House on the Left
dir. Dennis Iliadis
Stars: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn

A remake of the classic horror film. A sentence that appears on this site weekly. If you don’t know my feeling about this sub-genre: I think it’s crap.

Miss March
dir. Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore
Starring: Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Raquel Alessi

The kids from Whitest Kids You Know have made a film. One guys goes into a coma and wakes up to discover his high school sweetheart is now a model for Playboy. Hijinx surely ensue.

Brothers at War [limited]
dir. Jake Rademacher
Stars: Jake Rademacher, Isaac Rademacher, Joe Rademacher

Jake Rademacher takes cameras into the war in Iraq to discover what his brothers Issac and Joe are experiencing in the war. This is a slightly lo-fi but engaging film that should be seen (and might be now that the heavy slurry of Iraq films has subsided.

Sex Positive [limited]
dir. Daryl Wein
Starring: Richard Berkowitz

Three Monkeys
dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan

This is the newest film from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Becoming known for his plodding nearly ambient films Ceylan is trying a more plot driven approach with this film. A politician kills a man with his car and decides to turn himself in, but the story is much more complicated than he realizes. Ceylan won the Best Director award at last years Cannes festival for this film.

Severed Ways [limited]
dir. Tony Stone
Starring: Gabriella Mary Hoffmann, David Perry

Severed Ways is a film about the Nordic discovery of America. I think there will be a little less Pathfinder in here, and maybe a little bit more Mongol. Dear lord, let’s hope so.

Z [limited]
dir. Costa Gavras
Starring: Yves Montand, Irene Papas

The Z is not for Zombie. The 1969 Oscar winning film is getting a fresh theatrical release in New York on a fresh 35mm print.

This is a historical-political thriller from cinematic master Costa Gravas. This is fantastic. Pray that people go out and see this and that it winds up in your town. In the meantime find more Gavras and watch it.

Edge of Love [limited]
dir. John Maybury
Starring: Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller

Edge of Love is a story about two women who were connected by the occasionally philandering poet Dylan Thomas. The film has got a decent buzz, and hopefully isn’t too sentimental, because Thomas never was (except in his love letters, which were often far over the top).

PICK OF THE WEEK:
12
dir. Nikita Mikhalkov
Stars: Sergei Makovetsky, Sergey Garmash, Apti Magamaev

Mikhalkov (Burnt By the Sun) twists the classic 12 Angry Men to his own needs in 12. Creating a uniquely Russian version of the classic. This is finally seeing the light of day in America, where it was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2007 Oscars, but not given a theatrical release until now. Only in America.

Watchmen
dir. Zack Snyder
Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino

This is easily one of the three or so most anticipated films of the spring. This should be number one for a while. The consensus had been it was going to be great, then Zak Snyder was accused of destroying one of the most beloved graphic novels ever, then it was great again, then no one was sure. So, there you have it, movie blog hype. We’ll see what happens when people are finally watching the film.

Horsemen [limited]
dir. Jonas Åkerlund
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci

Quaid and Zhang, why hadn’t anyone thought of that before. It’s definitely going to become a classic combination. This is the film duo that the world has been waiting for.

Tokyo! [limited]
dir. Michel Gondry, Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax

The three directors offer their respective tributes to the city, much in the fashion of the recent New York, I Love You and Paris, J’taime. Multi-director tributes to cities, the new D & G? Anyone?

Phoebe in Wonderland
dir. Daniel Barnz
Starring: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson, Felicity Huffman

Another Fanning for us to love and hold. yay. This was actually a decent week in releases wasn’t it. No letters to god this week. This looks fine, but I’m feeling positive about the first good week of releases since the blogs turned to “Oscar Prediction Mode.” So, I won’t ruin it by hating on this.

Last Week’s Top Ten
1. Madea Goes to Jail
2. Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience
3. Slumdog Millionaire
4. Taken
5. He’s Just Not That Into You
6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop
7. Coraline
8. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
9. Confessions of a Shopaholic
10. Fired Up!

PICK OF THE WEEK
Birdsong [limited release]
dir. Albert Serra
Starring: Victòria Aragonés, Lluis Carbo

This quiet meditation is a sort of re-imagining of the Don Quixote story.

Jones Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience
dir. Bruce Hendricks
Starring: Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas (I’m suspicious they are “The Jonas Brothers” of the title)

So, this is the film that is going to make you stop believing in god this week. This is this week’s Paul Blart: Mall Cop, because clearly all the kids are going to be rushing out to the theater for this one, unfortunately.

American Affair [limited release]
dir. William Sten Olsson
Starring: Gretchen Mol, James Rebhorn

A slightly risque political thriller taking a look behind the JFK administration, maybe a little more fiction than fact.

Echelon Conspiracy [limited release]
dir. Greg Marcks
Starring: Shane West, Ed Burns

This appears to be a taut little thriller in the vein of The Network. Maybe a underdog indie film this week, will likely make it to a wide release.

Garisson Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes
dir. Peter Rosen
Starring: Garrison Keillor

Garisson Kiellor is always an interesting subject, but a whole documentary dedicated to the man…

Crossing Over [limited release]
dir. Wayne Kramer
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ashley Judd

Director Wayne Kramer’s tale of immigration is already drawing comparisons to the vastly over-rated Crash. This drama has been in the works for years and draws heavily from Kramer’s own experience (Kramer is a naturalized citizen of the US).

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-LI
dir. Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring: Kristin Kreuk, Neal McDonough, Michael Clarke Duncan

Anyone else remember the first Street Fighter? Dear lord let’s hope this is a little better than that.

Last Week’s Top Ten:
1. Madea Goes To Jail
2. Coraline
3. Taken
4. He’s Just Not That Into You
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. Friday the 13th
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (I know…still)
8. Confessions of a Shopaholic
9. Fired Up!
10. The International