I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I’m not sure I gave it the right oomph. So let’s try it again:
STEVEN SPIELBERG’S “JAWS” IS SCREENING TONIGHT AT THE LIGHTBOX, AND I AM INTRODUCING IT.
9pm. Cinema 3 (dammit; Cinema 1 would be amazing). If you’ve never seen in on a big screen — or, perish the thought, you’ve never seen it at all — come down and help us celebrate the 35th anniversary of my favorite American film.
This week’s MSN Movies gallery rides the “Due Date” train, looking at ten road movies that find characters racing against the clock — you know, “Vanishing Point”, “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”, “O Brother, Where Are Thou?” and so forth.
(I almost threw in “The Straight Story”, but that deadline seemed a little too existential for the package.)
Anyway, it’s up there if’n you want to read it. And if you’re in downtown Toronto Sunday night around nineish, come down to the Lightbox, where I’ll be introducing TIFF Cinematheque’s Essential Cinema screening of “Jaws“. Twelve bucks to see one of the greatest movies ever made on a big screen. Really, what could be more important?
It’s Friday! And I’m really busy! You know the drill!
“A Drummer’s Dream”: Documentarian John Walker brings his camera to a fantasy camp for drummers; Glenn finds the result charming but a little thin on surprises.
“Due Date“: Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis are Steve Martin and John Candy, basically, in Todd Phillips’ stealth update of “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”. It’s your basic studio buddy comedy, except Downey is as good in it as he’s ever been in anything — and that’s really saying something.
“Fair Game“: Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, a pair of respectable Americans chewed up in the path of the Bush Administration’s push for the war in Iraq, in Doug Liman’s well-appointed but ultimately inert docudrama. I tried awful hard to like this, I really did.
“For Colored Girls”: Look, just because Tyler Perry has all the money in the world doesn’t mean we have to sell him the rights to anything he wants. Glenn explains why Perry’s take on Ntozake Shange’s revolutionary play is maybe not the best idea.
“Megamind“: The best way to ruin a great idea is to throw all the money in the world at it. Or at least that seems to be what happened to DreamWorks Animation’s supervillain comedy, which has some terrific moments but can’t figure out how to turn them into a movie.
“Summerhood”: According to Susan, Jacob Medjuck’s summer-camp comedy is about as much fun as having your pants run up the flagpole. So that’s not good.
Throw in yesterday’s Lightbox openings of “The Father of My Children“, “Marwencol” and “Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields” — which Ben recommends highly — and that’s a decent assortment of cinema for the weekend … even before you throw in tonight’s free screening of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” at the Bloor and the first Essential Cinema screening of “Jaws” Sunday night at the Lightbox.
So don’t you dare say there’s nothing to see this week. I’m just not having it.
Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday — I was staring down a deadline and couldn’t think of anything I could blog quickly. (I mean, I’m disappointed to see the Republicans retake the House, but I’m assuming you’d just take that as read.)
Today, though, there’s plenty to post about. The new issue of NOW finds me talking to Todd Phillips, director of this week’s comedy contender “Due Date”, and taking a look at some of the programming in this year’s Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival.
I also do what I can do make people take note of the excellent documentary “Marwencol“, which opens at the Lightbox today and is really, really worth trekking down to King and John to see. I mean no disrespect to “The Father of My Children” or “Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields”, which are also opening at the Lightbox today … but “Marwencol” is one of the year’s best movies and should be prioritized as such. Oh, and you can catch “The Father of My Children” on Netflix, so that one’s less pressing.
My latest MSN DVD column is up, in which I try to put my disappointment with “Toy Story 3” in the proper context. Mainly, though, I goggle at the amazing quality of the movie’s Blu-ray presentation, and the supplemental package Disney and Pixar have built around it, which is really spectacular.
It’s almost a given that anything with “Pixar” on it will top my year-end DVD list, but there’s a reason for that. Pixar (in conjunction with Disney) reliably produces amazing discs. And the advent of Blu-ray has encouraged them to be more creative with things like interactivity and storage capacity. Even if I see “Toy Story 3” as more brand extension than worthy sequel, it’s still great to see it given the same care and respect as one of the genuine classics.
Your mileage may vary, of course.
As everyone expected, “Saw 3D” clamped down hard on the Halloween weekend; as perhaps fewer people expected, it did so with a three-day gross of just $24 million, which has to be disappointing in the wake of last week’s $41.5 million opening for “Paranormal Activity 2”.
Still, after the feeble opening of “Saw VI” last year — a film so unnecessary I actually forgot I’d seen it in a theatre — this constitutes a rebound for the series, which had teased the possibility that this one would be the final chapter. Now … well, it’s anybody’s guess. Can Lionsgate walk away from a relatively inexpensive franchise that’s still popular?
And, on a more relevant note, are there any characters left standing at the end of “Saw 3D”, or is everyone in pieces by the time the curtain comes down? I haven’t seen it yet, you understand …
Sorry for the lateness of this post — it turned out to be a beautiful fall day, so we took Dexter for a great big walk that included romps at two parks, random biscuits from every store on Queen West and a new pair of boots that will inevitably become his favorite chew toys.
Yes, it’s … nice … to have a young dog around. I’d forgotten what it was like.
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so you’re expecting an MSN Movies gallery, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint. Here it is, breaking with Halloween tradition by looking at movies set in Las Vegas. (I dunno, there’s a cross-promotion or something.) Enjoy!
It’s Friday, and you know what that means — another review roundup! And here we go …
“Aftershock“: It’s being marketed as a disaster movie, and it does open with a pretty spectacular earthquake sequence, but Feng Xiaogang’s TIFF 2010 entry quickly develops into an insightful melodrama about post-traumatic stress and survivor guilt. Heavy going, but worth the effort.
“Best Worst Movie“: Michael Paul Stephenson, child star of the cinematic atrocity men call “Troll 2”, explores the ironic hipster cult that’s sprung up around the movie in this intermittently engaging but somewhat unfocused documentary, which The Royal has booked in a double-bill with “Troll 2” itself tonight and tomorrow. You have been warned.
“The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”: The worldwide literary phenomenon — as distributor Alliance Films never tires of reminding me — returns to the screen once more with this adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s third and final Lisbeth Salander book. Susan and Kieran are equally unimpressed this time around.
“Handsome Harry”: Jamey Sheridan is a likeable actor whose career has been stymied by a bunch of undistinguished supporting roles — and, quite possibly, his spending several years on a “Law & Order” spinoff. So I’m encouraged to see him turn up as a leading man (of sorts) in this indie drama, which Susan says is quite good.
“Inside Job“: Charles Ferguson’s documentary explains the global economic crisis in simple, despairing terms. You will not like what you see and hear, and that’s the point. (I wish I’d had a few minutes to talk to narrator Matt Damon about this during the “Hereafter” junket; I’d have asked him how many times they had to stop recording because he was choking up with rage.)
“Saw 3D”: The seventh film in the sado-porn franchise gains an extra dimension with which to titillate the sado-porn audience — and charge a couple extra bucks per ticket. But it still won’t be as pricey as that time I paid twelve pounds to see “Saw VI” in Leicester Square …
“Tamara Drewe“: Stephen Frears adapts Posy Simmonds adapting Thomas Hardy for a pastoral roundelay that — despite fine work from Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Dominic Cooper and the frankly amazing Tamsin Grieg — feels like it should be a lot more satisfying than it actually is.
“Winnebago Man“: YouTube star Jack Rebney’s refusal to enjoy his own infamy is the best example of pop-cultural pushback I’ve seen since Jon Stewart told Tucker Carlson he wasn’t going to be his monkey. But Ben Steinbauer doesn’t know what to do with it, resulting in this flaccid documentary.
“You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days in Guantanamo“: You know how some documentaries cover subjects so important that they should just be in 24-hour rotation on CBC? Well, this documentary — about Canada’s shameful co-operation with the United States in the torture and detention of Omar Khadr — is one of those. (Conservative knee-jerkers preparing to froth about terrorist-coddling in the comments: See the movie, then go fuck yourselves.)
Oh, and if the Khadr doc isn’t enough of a nightmare, there’s still all the Halloween stuff screening in town this weeknd. Really, that’s plenty for anyone.
The latest issue of NOW is on the stands, and in it you’ll find my second conversation with Gemma Arterton, who came to town earlier this summer to promote “The Disappearance of Alice Creed” and returned for “Tamara Drewe” at TIFF. She’s great. And as you’ll see, the emphasis on her looks is appropriate to the movie she’s made … even though the movie isn’t as solid as her performance.
Also in this issue, I speak to Luc Cote and Patricio Henriquez, directors of the new documentary “You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days in Guantanamo”, an essential new documentary about the Omar Khadr case opening this week, and I take a look at the Regent Park Film Festival, which starts up next Wednesday. Oh, and I preview the impressive selection of Halloween movies taking over local screens this weekend.
I reviewed some movies, too, but let’s save those for tomorrow. Except for “Winnebago Man“, which starts today at the Lightbox and is not nearly as good as you may have heard.
Okay, I got a little freaked out yesterday, and I’m trying to relax. Technically, the Fordpocalypse is still down the road a ways — he won’t be installed until December, and he’ll have to rebuild a lot of bridges before getting to implement any of his stupid, blinkered policies. It’s gonna be okay, folks.
And there is joy to be had in the world this week, particularly if you own a Blu-ray player. Check out this week’s MSN DVD column, which celebrates the magnificence of Fox’s splendid new “Alien Anthology” and Universal’s 25th anniversary edition of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. If you’re a fan of either series — and lord knows I am — you’re going to want to call in sick, roll up your sleeves and spend entire days digging around within.
Don’t have a Blu-ray player? Well, the “Back to the Future” set is also available in SD, but let’s look at the more pressing question: Why don’t you have a Blu-ray player? You can get the “Alien” movies on Blu-ray now!