Ah, there’s this week’s MSN DVD column, in which I confront my Nancy Meyers problem head-on. I’ve been going to see her movies for a decade, you understand, and we still have nothing to say to one another.
I will admit to enjoying her remake of “The Parent Trap”, but that was more to do with Lindsay Lohan’s performance(s) and the fact that the movie wasn’t about the usual Nancy Meyers stuff. I mean, I don’t even remember what the kitchens looked like in “The Parent Trap” …
Maybe it’s just the fact that I spent the last few days working in a white heat and now find myself ahead of my deadlines, but it seems like nothing’s going on in the world. And since my MSN DVD column has yet to go live, I have nothing to blog about. Like, squat.
I mean, the “Piranha 3D” trailer is out, but that’s not exactly newsworthy. And season 3.5 of “Chuck” started last night, but I haven’t seen the episode yet, so I can’t even allow myself to read the piece I just linked to for fear of spoilers.
Oh, but this is interesting: A newspaper critic has voluntarily departed his print position to go online. That may be an industry first. But it’s the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Alan Seppinwall, who’s spent a very long time crafting his online presence, so it almost makes sense.
(This blog, by the way, is my online presence. I won’t be transitioning any time soon, I suspect.)
DreamWorks Animation’s delightful “How to Train Your Dragon” surged back to the top of the charts this past weekend … though “surged” probably isn’t the best term, since its $15 million gross marked a pretty weak take.
Still, that was a better showing than the new arrivals. Neither “The Back-Up Plan” nor “The Losers” did particularly well, bringing in $12.3 and $9.6 million, respectively, and “Kick-Ass” dropped down to fifth place with a feeble $9.5 million.
In fact, the most entertaining thing about the weekend’s box office is this marvelous little moment in the wire piece:
While “The Back-up Plan” opened weakly, CBS Films was hoping it would hold up well in subsequent weekends, as romantic comedies often do.
“Jennifer Lopez’s films have great legs, as does she,” said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for CBS Films.
You stay classy, Mr. Friedlander.
I know, I know — I usually link to my latest MSN Movies gallery on Saturdays. (God, I’m predictable.) But I posted the gallery earlier this week, which would theoretically leave me linkless …
… except that this week was also NOW’s Hot Docs preview issue, so I can point you to my list of early festival picks and the sidebar on documentaries about families I wrote to accompany Susan’s cover story on “Life with Murder”.
I totally planned this out in advance. Doesn’t that just blow your mind?
I’m as shocked as you are, but there are no film festivals kicking off this weekend — allowing a much-needed breather as we ramp up for Hot Docs. And there aren’t even that many movies opening. It’s bliss.
“The Back-Up Plan”: Jennifer Lopez’ new romantic comedy casts her as a despairing singleton who goes in for in vitro fertilization on the very same day she meets a potential mate. According to Glenn, wackiness decidedly does not ensue.
“GravyTrain“: April Mullen and Tim Doiron, makers of “Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser” return with a stylized comic mystery about murders in a small town that feels like the worst game of “yes, and” ever played. My review should be online later today, but in a word? Unreleasable.
“The Losers“: When I met him on the “Watchmen” junket, Jeffrey Dean Morgan described this action thriller as exactly the sort of change of pace he needed after the heaviness of playing the Comedian. Having seen it, I totally take his point. My review should be online later today.
“The Secret in Their Eyes”: The Argentine thriller that beat out “A Prophet” and “The White Ribbon” for this year’s Foreign-Language Oscar finally makes its way to Canada. Susan liked it; Jason had reservations.
See? I said it was a light week …
It’s the 40th anniversary of Earth Day — henceforth to be known as “Avatar Day“, if 20th Century Fox has anything to say in the matter — and I’m going totally ecocentric across the board.
This week’s issue of NOW features my interview with Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, with whom I spoke last month in Los Angeles … and in my latest MSN Movies gallery, I line up a few nature documentaries worth spinning up before you go see “Oceans” at the megaplex.
So there you go. Have a carbon-neutral day, everybody!
The Criterion Collection released a special edition of Olivier Assayas’ “Summer Hours” yesterday … but rights issues have restricted it to the U.S. market. Stupid rights issues.
More stupid than usual, actually; in Canada, “Summer Hours” was distributed by E1 Entertainment, which also holds the domestic license to Criterion titles, so as far as I can tell there’s nothing stopping them from bringing the Criterion edition up here. Of course, they also owned “Gomorrah” and “Che”, and didn’t release Criterion’s discs of those titles, so there’s probably some little sticking point somewhere.
Fortunately, you can order Criterion’s “Summer Hours” online, on DVD or Blu-ray; you can also find it as an import at finer video stores across the country. (In a pinch, your local HMV might have it, too.)
Do that. Today. It’s a terrific film, made by a very talented filmmaker, and you should see it in the best package possible.
This week’s MSN DVD column is all about “Avatar” — and, more specifically, the process by which James Cameron wrestled his immersive 3D blockbuster into the world of home video. Yup, folks, this is what you get when an engineer gives a press conference.
That said, I can think of few more entertaining ways to spend an afternoon than sitting in a Hollywood mansion discussing aspect ratios and CG camera perspectives with the man who made “Aliens”, “The Abyss” and the only good “Terminator” movies …
Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can’t play with your food every now and then.
And now I’m hungry again.
(Pork, fennel, coriander and chili sausage by Sanagan’s Meat Locker. I got the second-last pair, so you might want to give them a couple of days to they restock. It’s totally worth the wait, though.
For the second week in a row, the North American box office is too close to call, with “Kick-Ass” and “How to Train Your Dragon” both projected to gross $20 million by the end of the day. Final figures will be reported tomorrow — and even then, they might not be entirely accurate.
(Like, um, last time, when Reuters gave “Date Night” the win — erroneously, as it turned out. I’ll update the relevant blog post accordingly.)
Still, the uncertainty at the box-office is nothing compared to the current state of things in Europe, where air traffic remains grounded for a fourth day. I mean, I can think of worse things to do than spend a few extra days in London (hi, Audrey/Allen/Paula/Chris/Laragh/ Lorne!), but I also know the frustration and exhaustion of running out of clean clothes, getting tired of the exotic surroundings and just wanting to go the hell home.
I’ve been to Cannes, after all …