Hard to believe that anyone would dare release movies in the middle of a film festival — what do they think we are, machines? — but at least some of them come straight from their TIFF premieres, which makes things somewhat easier. Let’s dive right in:
“Alpha and Omega”: A movie about CG wolves! Yay! But they’re the kid-friendly kind, not the scary kind that tried to eat those Disney characters that time. Boo. The voice cast includes Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Vicki Lewis and Dennis Hopper. Andrew — who’s killing himself on the theatrical-release beat this week — found it acceptable.
“Devil”: Five people are trapped in an elevator. And one of them is the dev — cut it out with the snickering. This is serious. A new film from the mind of M. Night Shyam — seriously, stop laughing, it’s making me uncomfortable. Not screened for press, which at this point should surprise no one.
“Easy A“: Emma Stone — NOW’s festival cover girl — becomes a bona fide movie star as the heroine of this very funny high-school comedy, which casts its lot with “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Mean Girls” as a progressive, self-aware movie designed to appeal to discerning teenagers of all ages. And seeing Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents is one for your bucket list.
“The Town“: Ben Affleck follows up his excellent “Gone Baby Gone” with a more mainstream-friendly picture about a Boston bank robber caught between his jahb and his haaht — imagine “Heat” with less time for character development and a mandate from the studio to blow more stuff up. It’s not bad, but if Affleck had picked one aspect and stayed with it, it could have been great.
“The Virginity Hit”: “Porky’s” meets “Cloverfield” in this faux documentary from the writers of “The Last Exorcism” about a teenager trying to help his best friend make sexytime with a porn star. Andrew thought it had its moments. I’m just disappointed that it doesn’t involve a giant monster.
There, that’s everything. I have to go out and do more TIFF stuff, so talk amongst yourselves. Or go see “Scott Pilgrim”, because lord knows I haven’t beaten that horse to death yet.