There are thirteen movies opening next week. Or possibly fifteen; the number’s still up in the air. Also there are the Oscars. So I have chosen to embrace this week’s half-dozen releases, and not to go completely insane like I probably should. Shall we?
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance“: Hey, I liked the original “Ghost Rider”, and I loved “Crank”, so a sequel to the former from the makers of the latter seems like an excellent idea. But it didn’t work out that way.
“In Darkness”: Like most of the people who saw it at TIFF, Susan found Agneiszka Holland’s Oscar-nominated Holocaust drama — based on the true story of a Polish sewer worker who hid a dozen Jewish refugees from the Nazis — a bit much.
“Love”: Phil is unmoved by the Taiwanese “Love, Actually”. Which I totally get, because I was unmoved by the actual “Love, Actually”, and don’t see how a change of venue would necessarily make its romantic contrivances worth watching. Ah, well. Maybe the inevitable Rio de Janeiro version will get it right.
“Puppet“: David Soll’s documentary about a group of artists developing a puppet drama proves a very compelling study of the artistic process, even if the result of that process isn’t necessarily what the artists had hoped.
“The Secret World of Arrietty”: Studio Ghibli adapts “The Borrowers” for a Japanese audience; under their ongoing agreement, Disney dubs that film into English for a Western audience. Rad finds it a little flat, though, which is often my problem with Ghibli features.
“This Means War“: Chris Evans and Tom Hardy try to woo Reese Witherspoon by implicating her as a suspect in a counterterrorism investigation in what may be the most loathsome romantic comedy in a while … unless it’s a secret “Star Trek” movie, in which case it’s goddamn brilliant.
There, that’s the week. Oh, and if you’re free tonight, check out The AV Club Toronto’s latest Remake/Remodel double-feature at the Underground; Adam and John are comparing and contrasting the original “D.O.A.” with Neveldine/Taylor’s “Crank“. How can you go wrong?
Exactly. You can’t.