Confessions of a Shopaholic, Friday the 13th (2009) and The International all come out today! Oh, joy!
Confessions of a Shopaholic, Friday the 13th (2009) and The International all come out today! Oh, joy!
Normally, we would have seen at least one of the many films that come out every week by the time they hit the big screens, but this week we are completely flying blind into that wide abyss of movie release fog. Hopefully we can guide you along your way as you scan the showtimes, and would love to hear what you think of any of the following films, but don't shoot the messenger if you want to punch a glasses wearing koala on your way out of the theater. This week, at least, we take no responsibility for your decision making process.
Fact: Too much has been made about Kaufman's persona and that of his characters. Aside from being a genius, Kaufman is also clever enough in an everyday sense to write outside his life. Not every element of his films is a literal representation of his person. He is there, there is no doubt. But he does not have a twin brother.
With films like "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy", Kevin Smith introduced a freshness of language and a new set of characters to indie cinema: the suburban twenty-someodd malcontents who were wickedly vulgar and clever, yet full of longing for something better. While the setting has moved from New Jersey to Pittsburgh, Smith's latest seems to mine the same territory, but is also a mashup of the R-rated comedies made so popular in recent years by Judd Apatow. As such, this may end up being Kevin Smith's biggest box-office hit...which would be a shame, because it's really not his finest hour.
Why is faith considered a good thing? Why is religion afforded immunity from criticism? Or, perhaps more interestingly, why is it okay to question some belief systems (like, say, Scientology), while more established yet equally controversial religions (like Mormonism, or, hell, Christianity) are granted a bubble of social protection? Should we be concerned that those who would welcome a Holy Armageddon are increasingly in a position to bring it about? These questions are all well worth asking, and in his new comedic road movie, Religulous, Bill Maher sets out on a global quest for answers.
The premise may sound a little cute--a straight-laced medical student loosens up after finding himself stranded in a pot-happy place known as "The Lost Coast"--but those of us who caught this thinking-stoner's indie flick during SXSW were pleasantly surprised by Humboldt County's originality.
Ghost Town is the tale of Dr. Pinkus (Gervais), who is, frankly, kind of a dick. The dentist hates everyone. Dogs, children, patients, everyone. When he goes in for a colonoscopy and demands anesthesia, he dies for seven minutes due to complications. Because of his (temporary) death, Pinkus can now see dead people. (Cue The Sixth Sense jokes.) And those dead people will not leave him alone.
The Coen Brothers have entertained us with films somber (Miller's Crossing), slapstick (Raising Arizona), fanciful (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), and downright mean (No Country For Old Men). They move between genres with relative ease, finding the quirks in a story and making everything from vanity to greed to deceit fascinating to behold. It's quite the surprise, then, that their newest work Burn After Reading suffers most because it simply can't decide what to be. The plot concerns the misplaced (or stolen) memoirs of a disgruntled CIA bureaucrat (John Malkovich, coiled tight as a spring here) and the shenanigans that ensue as a result. There's also a subplot about middle age and marital discontent that hovers constantly over many of the main characters, and some arched eyebrow commentary on the American government of today. If this sounds like ground ripe for tales of lust, revenge, greed, and suspense, we'd agree...but unfortunately, this movie doesn't manage to gain much momentum.
First time writer/director Courtney Hunt creates a sombre and realistic drama that explores the effects of poverty and culture on the struggles of motherhood in an unfriendly world. Shot in a gritty style with digital cameras, in two weeks last year, the film works on different levels. It's sparse but gripping. The drama unfolds patiently and productively, engaging us in its characters and their decisions.The whole thing has a sort of late Clint Eastwood feel to it (as a director, of course): emotional heft, powerful, if slight, musical score, strong acting.
Statham stars as an ex-con and ex-race car driver who's framed for a grisly murder in order to be sent to Terminal Island, where the Death Race is held, and don the mask of fan-fave Frankenstein who just secretly died in his last race so the warden (Joan Allen, yes, the Academy Award nominee Joan Allen) can boost ratings. Fast cars, tons of explosions, dudes fighting, and chicks in tiny outfits round out the usual action fare. Producer, writer, and director Paul W.S. Anderson (not the other Paul Anderson, mind you) gives audiences a quick and easy end-of-summer flick where you can get in, watch some shit explode (and some Statham abs flex!), and get out. Bing, bam, boom. Nothin' to it. Statham does what Statham does best. He growls, he punches, he flexes. Done and done. Ain't nothing too hard to swallow here, ain't nothing going to rewrite film history either. Although, make sure to leave young'uns and the elderly at home because Death Race isn't for the squeamish. Heads are lopped off and blood spews everywhere. Wouldn't be a Statham movie otherwise, but here it seems a wee bit gratuitous.
Tropic Thunder poster
Pineapple Express is a buddy drug comedy that even the most straight-laced will enjoy, even though it does smell super dank, dude. More Superbad and less Cheech and Chong, this bromantic comedy is about the love of two wannabe friends, and their love of Mary Jane.
With the sucker punch to the gut that was The Dark Knight, Step Brothers provides some hearty laughs that aren’t even given away in the trailer (go figure!). While not nearly as sidesplitting as Apatow’s other productions and perhaps too little of heart and humanity, Step Brothers has some memorable parts that include man bits, boats and hos, and a singing voice likened to a mixture of Fergie and Jesus. It reminds us that Ferrell is still really funny without his 70s getups or sports movies, and, really, we could watch a whole movie of Reilly’s facial expressions and doughy eyes. As long as Adam Scott doesn’t show up…
Mamma Mia! is offered as an (extreme) alternative to the Batman film at the theaters this weekend. The basic gist of the musical is: girl is getting married, girl has no clue who her father is, girl invites three men she read about in her mother's diary to her wedding, men come to Greek island where she lives with her mom, and hilarity (and much singing) ensues.
Bigger, badder, and exponentially goofier than its predecessor, Hellboy II is a heck of a lot of fun. The action is great, the visual effects are impressive and the humor is (mostly) dead on. Perlman is absolutely perfect as the beer-swilling, cigar-chomping superhero (Ron doesn't get enough respect, in our opinion), and del Toro's fantastical vision is just as stunningly realized as it was in his critically acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth.
The book by the same name received staggering reviews as a popular memoir that refused to pander, and acted as a cathartic confession for its young author. Unfortunately, although the film, too, avoids letting its audience off the hook, it can't seem to locate its emotional center. If found, this emotion we speak of would likely be located somewhere inside Colin Firth's sour puss.
Booze? Check. Will Smith? Check. Witticisms a la Jason Bateman? You bet your sweet ass. Superhero-y good times? You got it. Hancock proves that even if it rains this July 4th, there still might be some fireworks.
Who knew that an emoting robot could steal your heart so quickly and effortlessly? It only takes a moment for your eyes to meet those of Wall-E, the newest pipsqueak of a trash compactor from the magicians at Pixar. But in that moment, gazing into the mechanization of his little binocular face, you realize that you could love his bleeping robot heart your whole life long.
We’re not ashamed to admit that we caught Evan Almighty on HBO just to see if Steve Carell was slightly funny. (No, he was not.) And maybe The Office is not quite as hil-ar-i-ous as it used to be. And so what if Dan in Real Life flat-out sucked nuts? We really want to give Carell the benefit of the doubt here, and we’re guessing so will thousands of movie-goers this weekend.
After it was scooped up by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, TFFW went viral amongst the comedy community, with some people declaring it “THE FUNNIEST MOVIE THAT THEY HAVE EVER SEEN ZOMFG!!!” You may even remember that backlash has already begun. Unfortunately for this fairy tale, the clock has struck midnight and instead of the princess reverting into a beautiful and mild mannered peasant, we find ourselves staring at an oafish thug with a foul mouth.
Men, do not let your girlfriend drag you to Sex and the City. While, typically, there is some knowledge of the “fairer sex” to be gained from the usual chick flick fare, there is nothing for you here. Go play some football or see Iron Man for the third time because this movie will feel like torture for you. For women (and their gay best friends), the film will still feel rather tortuous. At two-and-a-half hours, it’s pretty hard to not get antsy for Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) to get to the point already.
Have you ever spent Thanksgiving at your significant other's house, where you realize that while you like his or her mom, the pumpkin pie or stuffing isn't nearly as good as your mom's? Sure, you're satisfied. You're about to fall asleep from being so jam-packed with stuff, but you're missing a little bit of that childhood nostalgia of biting into Mom's fluffy pie. That's how Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull feels. You have yearned for it for so long, you've built it up in your head, but it's just not quite the same..
The movie fell under the radar to some degree during its initial theatrical run, partially because it was/is so long. But it has intense performances from Washington and Crowe, bit players as diverse as the RZA and Chiwetel Ejiofor (who was the bougie producer in Talk to Me), and a seventies style and depth to it that shouldn't be missed.--Rebecca Onion
Spiral follows a lonely, nerdy telemarketer who sketches portraits as a hobby. But when he begins sketching a hot new ladyfriend (Amber Tamblyn), shocking secrets from his past begin to emerge. If the reviews on the Fantastic Fest B-Side site are any indication, it's quite good.
When you are rolling into sexy time with your lady/man friend, there should be an unspoken pact, a treaty, if you will, that both parties will emerge from the lusty lope with their person completely intact. No one wants the menacing mist of mutilation hanging in the air while they've got their pants around their ankles, that is of course as long as both bodies are willing participants in said libidinal ritual. Ah, a catch! In that asterisk lies the core of what the clumsy, campy, cringe-filled Teeth is all about.
Despite the obvious themes of power and faith, PT Anderson's vast, visionary epic There Will Be Blood isn’t primarily about oil, or about religion, or about extremism. Rather, it’s a thorough excavation of the foundation of American identity. And on top of all that, it’s the best film of the year.
Between now and January, New Release Tuesday will focus on 2007 reflections and music news related to both this year's releases and 2008's potential. The standard NRT posts will resume in 2008. As 2007 winds down, most of the Internet begins to consider their favorite releases of the last twelve months. Austinist is no different: our top albums of 2007 (a collective list based on all the writers' top picks) is in the works....
Settle down, gore hounds, for this weekend’s movie releases are clearly not for you (put your blood-soaked dreams of a modernized Michael Myers on hold for one more week). The real question is – are this week’s new releases for anyone? If fans of Scarlett Johansson’s panty lines and Rowan Atkinson’s crotch shots really do exist, then there must be at least a few audience members out there reveling in the fact that their time...
It must be the week of a major holiday, because there won't be a lot of new beautiful stuff on the walls at Waterloo or End of an Ear this week. If you're anxious for Kelly Rowlands' latest (Ms. Kelly), you're breathing a big sigh of relief right now, but H-town is about as close to home as it gets July 3 (please correct us if we're wrong). The new Madlib effort, Yesterday's New...
Kind of a slow week for new releases here in Austin. You can either bro out and get amped on some new Die Hard, or submit to the CGI summer blockbuster force that is Ratatouille. Oh, and Michael Moore wanted to talk to you about some things. Live Free or Die Hard: John McClane is back! Now shorn bald (and resembling a very stern penis), he must jump off careening jets and donkey-punch the...