Fashion, Foul Play & Financial Tomfoolery [New Movie Releases]
We could have bought a house with this outfit. Isla Fischer in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Confessions of a Shopaholic
We usually enjoy PJ Hogan's films as much as the next person, but what we've seen of Confessions of a Shopaholic is disappointing. In these troubled economic times, can one really enjoy a movie about a woman who can't control her spending? It seems too allegorical for our national situation. Although, if Isla Fisher's Rebecca represents Americans who spent beyond their means, Hugh Dancy's rich Brit character is not likely to represent Obama's stimulus package (because it doesn't seem that anything about this film is stimulating). Perhaps the studios expect that this frothy, formulaic chick-flick will serve as a form of escapism, just as the great screwball comedies of the '30s did during the Depression. We'll take Hogan's Muriel's Wedding instead. --Elizabeth S.
[Trailer] [Showtimes]
Friday the 13th
If you thought Confessions of a Shopaholic was the only horror film being released this week, you'd be wrong. Back with another installment in the eleventy billion volumes of Jason Voorhees, Director Marcus Nispel and Producer Michael "holy crap, that was a terrible movie" Bay slap another hockey mask on some unsuspecting actor (Derek Mears, this time) and send him out into the wilds of Camp Crystal Lake to maim and murder nubile, topless things with absolutely no motivation whatsoever (you know, besides the whole my-mom-was-decapitated-and-now-I'm-mad-as-hell thing). It's no secret that some of us like gore-for-gore's-sake, but we want either a seriously suspenseful slasher flick, or a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek bloodbath. This one doesn't look to be either (and knowing Bay's production history, probably isn't), but we might see it anyway, just for the sheer nostalgia of it all. --Steph Beasley
[Trailer] [Showtimes]
The International
Tom Tykwer, director of the fabulously fast-paced Run Lola Run, gives us more reason to hate big banks in his newest film. Clive Owen stars as an Interpol agent (what, they really exist beyond "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?") who teams up with a Manhattan Asst. DA (Naomi Watts) in a globe-trotting investigation into the evil doings of a powerful bank that has been passing funds on to terrorists. Even the preview shows the influence of the Bourne franchise, but Tykwer's own style is sure to bleed through the final film. The shootout scene at the Guggenheim may be worth the price of (matinee) admission itself. --Elizabeth S.
[Trailer] [Showtimes]
