JourneywomanFour Films you MUST see this September
August 16th 2007 09:26
September looks to be something of a mixed bag so far as movie's goes. Admitedly there's no shortage of what appear to be tantalising options. But then appearances can be deceiving.
There's Surf's Up - yet another unnecessary animated penguin comedy, which admitedly did very good box-office trade in the US, but which lacks the dignitas of Happy Feet.
There's Hairspray, the movie-musical that is still in the US box-office top five a month after its release! And this is despite the fact that it must be one of the most over-rated, ordinary movie-musicals of the decade!!!
There's the Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen vehicle, teen-flick Superbad. There's the contraversial pop-fluff Bratz Doll Movie, fun looking religious flick Evan Almighty, the epic-looking fantasy Stardust and very bad looking Disney action movie Underdog - it's about a superhero dog!!!
Stardust has bombed at the US box-office despite a powerful line-up of names, making it a definite "cult-flick" in terms of which audience it is likely to attract during its international release. Hairspray may have the names, but does it have the buzz to reach Australian audiences? Evan Almighty, with a good trailer and a franchise to its name, should bring in the masses. However the same will most likely not be said of Underdog, Superbad and Bratz Dolls: the movie.
The sure fire hits look pretty certain to come from out of nowhere.
THE INVASION - September 6
Though this remake of the cult sci-fi flick Invasion of the Bodysnatchers has a great pair of stars, a great premise and a great trailer, it really has not been heavy on the advertising. That should change in the next couple of weeks. Expect to see posters and TV ads galore as this adventurous sci-fi action movie takes to the big screen.
Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig co-star in a movie about a sudden and very silent alien invasion following the crash of a space shuttle in mid-America. Basically these alien life forms take over human bodies without anyone really noticing until there are too many of them to be able to stop it!
Kidman has a decidedly juicy looking role, reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver in Alien. She gets to play the defender whose child seems to somehow sit at the centre of the action - while Craig plays her medical colleague who helps her stave off invasion and certain death. It all relies on an aged formula - true enough, but the writing seems crisp and the movement sharp and swift.
This looks set to be a thrill ride and one hell of an action movie.
DAY WATCH - September 13
Though I'll admit that I did not see Night Watch - the first movie in this Russian action-film franchise, having seen the trailer to Day Watch, suddenly I very badly want to! Here is the movie that could be the next Matrix so far as action and sci films are concerned!
Intelligent, off-beat, complex and most definitely original, this Russian language supernatural action adventure film looks brilliant!
However, that is not to say that it will be brilliant! A great deal could go wrong with this film - and the proof will all be in the viewing!
The plot follows something along the lines of Underworld. Basically there is war being fought between the forces of the light and the dark - and a sort of a mediating force in between trying to keep it quiet so far as the humans go. There is also a substance which can do all kinds of crazy supernatural stuff - and the hero has it! Can he bring peace to Moscow????? In the meantime a great deal of magic, battle scenes and destruction takes place. Check the trailer and see what you think.
In the meantime it's definitely fascinating enough to check out! Piracy will, of course, hurt it's chances a great deal. It was released in Russia in 2006! Even so, on the big screen this should be one helluva movie.
DECEMBER BOYS - September 20
Whichever way you slice it, this movie is going to be known as Daniel Radcliffe's arthouse piece. However, this movie looks much more than that. An Australian made drama-comedy, it's an inspirational piece about a group of four orphans who form a bond due to the fact that they were all born in December. The December Boys - get it?
Set in South Australia, the story basically runs that for their birthday, the Mother Abbess in charge of their orphange sends the December boys for a seaside holiday. There the eldest (Daniel Radcliffe) meets a girl, while the other three (all much younger) start to compete for the affection of a local couple who seem like the perfect potential parents.
Though the trailer looks excellent, and features glimpses at what are sure to be absolutely excellent performances, it also displays hallmark signs of the problems usually plagueing Australian made movies - even the bigger budget ones!
The plot looks extremely indecisesive and haphazard; and, though given the age of the cast and the settings of the picture, there should not be the routine deluge of profanity that usually accompanies any Australian screenplay, you never can tell!
Basically this is not a cash cow. This is ART! The young Harry Potter star will draw a crowd as critics and fans line up, with knives sharpened, ready to see if he can act without his wand. And no doubt several million teenage girls hoping for a nude scene will help its profits along. Overall, however, this is a movie for a viewer with a vested interest in the subject, the star, or the Australian movie industry. Basically it's cult. But it should be good - and certainly good fun.
The fourth film was something of a toss-up between Rush Hour 3 and The Nanny Diaries. Rush Hour 3 re-unites Chris Tucker and Jacki Chan on screen in their crime fighting roles as they head to Paris to wipe out a Chinese crime syndicate. The Nanny Diaries is the Scarlett Johansson vehicle based on the popular chick-lit book.
Both have their flaws. Rush Hour 3 has already won itself negative publicity after it's US open failed to secure an opening week profit higher than its previous two installments - bitchiness really because it wasn't by much!
And frankly everyone is a little over ScarJo right?
I decided to go with The Nanny Diaries for two reasons. First: it hasn't been released overseas yet. Second: it has all the signs of mirroring the surprise success of 2006 box-office and critical darling The Devil Wears Prada.
THE NANNY DIARIES - September 27
Starring the very over-exposed Scarlett Johansson alongside Oscar hopefuls Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney and based on the bestselling chick-lit novel, The Nanny Diaries is the story of a young student, Annie Bradock (ScarJo), who becomes a Nanny for an Upper East Side New York family to earn some cash on the side. She nicknames them Mr and Mrs X - and it's the devious and diabolical Mrs X (Laura Linney) who we look set to see the most of.
Basically it chronicles Braddock as she deals with the quirky and often downright unreasonable requests of her two employers, attempts (with varying success levels) to have a relationship and observes (with a cutting, wry cynacism) the antics of the society the X family move amongst as opposed to Nanny culture.
Basically it's girls start your engines! And boyfriends beware, 'cause this is the movie your girlfriends will want to see around the end of September.
However, the question at hand is whether this will be a decent film - a MUST see! My belief (having read the book and seen the cast line-up) is that it will indeed be an impressive film that generates a sound box-office - if not even a supporting actress Oscar nomination for Laura Linney.
However, as with all chick-lit inspired films, it all depends on the script. There, the spectrum goes from the sublime (The Devil Wears Prada) to the ridiculous (Frank Oz's The Stepford Wives). The trailer leaves room for both. However, the proof will lie entirely in the viewing, and there a lot of people out there who would nothing better than to see ScarJo fall flat on her ass right about now!
Eitherway - it's a must see!
There's Surf's Up - yet another unnecessary animated penguin comedy, which admitedly did very good box-office trade in the US, but which lacks the dignitas of Happy Feet.
There's Hairspray, the movie-musical that is still in the US box-office top five a month after its release! And this is despite the fact that it must be one of the most over-rated, ordinary movie-musicals of the decade!!!
Stardust has bombed at the US box-office despite a powerful line-up of names, making it a definite "cult-flick" in terms of which audience it is likely to attract during its international release. Hairspray may have the names, but does it have the buzz to reach Australian audiences? Evan Almighty, with a good trailer and a franchise to its name, should bring in the masses. However the same will most likely not be said of Underdog, Superbad and Bratz Dolls: the movie.
The sure fire hits look pretty certain to come from out of nowhere.
Though this remake of the cult sci-fi flick Invasion of the Bodysnatchers has a great pair of stars, a great premise and a great trailer, it really has not been heavy on the advertising. That should change in the next couple of weeks. Expect to see posters and TV ads galore as this adventurous sci-fi action movie takes to the big screen.
Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig co-star in a movie about a sudden and very silent alien invasion following the crash of a space shuttle in mid-America. Basically these alien life forms take over human bodies without anyone really noticing until there are too many of them to be able to stop it!
Kidman has a decidedly juicy looking role, reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver in Alien. She gets to play the defender whose child seems to somehow sit at the centre of the action - while Craig plays her medical colleague who helps her stave off invasion and certain death. It all relies on an aged formula - true enough, but the writing seems crisp and the movement sharp and swift.
This looks set to be a thrill ride and one hell of an action movie.
DAY WATCH - September 13
Though I'll admit that I did not see Night Watch - the first movie in this Russian action-film franchise, having seen the trailer to Day Watch, suddenly I very badly want to! Here is the movie that could be the next Matrix so far as action and sci films are concerned!
Intelligent, off-beat, complex and most definitely original, this Russian language supernatural action adventure film looks brilliant!
However, that is not to say that it will be brilliant! A great deal could go wrong with this film - and the proof will all be in the viewing!
The plot follows something along the lines of Underworld. Basically there is war being fought between the forces of the light and the dark - and a sort of a mediating force in between trying to keep it quiet so far as the humans go. There is also a substance which can do all kinds of crazy supernatural stuff - and the hero has it! Can he bring peace to Moscow????? In the meantime a great deal of magic, battle scenes and destruction takes place. Check the trailer and see what you think.
In the meantime it's definitely fascinating enough to check out! Piracy will, of course, hurt it's chances a great deal. It was released in Russia in 2006! Even so, on the big screen this should be one helluva movie.
DECEMBER BOYS - September 20
Whichever way you slice it, this movie is going to be known as Daniel Radcliffe's arthouse piece. However, this movie looks much more than that. An Australian made drama-comedy, it's an inspirational piece about a group of four orphans who form a bond due to the fact that they were all born in December. The December Boys - get it?
Set in South Australia, the story basically runs that for their birthday, the Mother Abbess in charge of their orphange sends the December boys for a seaside holiday. There the eldest (Daniel Radcliffe) meets a girl, while the other three (all much younger) start to compete for the affection of a local couple who seem like the perfect potential parents.
Though the trailer looks excellent, and features glimpses at what are sure to be absolutely excellent performances, it also displays hallmark signs of the problems usually plagueing Australian made movies - even the bigger budget ones!
The plot looks extremely indecisesive and haphazard; and, though given the age of the cast and the settings of the picture, there should not be the routine deluge of profanity that usually accompanies any Australian screenplay, you never can tell!
Basically this is not a cash cow. This is ART! The young Harry Potter star will draw a crowd as critics and fans line up, with knives sharpened, ready to see if he can act without his wand. And no doubt several million teenage girls hoping for a nude scene will help its profits along. Overall, however, this is a movie for a viewer with a vested interest in the subject, the star, or the Australian movie industry. Basically it's cult. But it should be good - and certainly good fun.
The fourth film was something of a toss-up between Rush Hour 3 and The Nanny Diaries. Rush Hour 3 re-unites Chris Tucker and Jacki Chan on screen in their crime fighting roles as they head to Paris to wipe out a Chinese crime syndicate. The Nanny Diaries is the Scarlett Johansson vehicle based on the popular chick-lit book.
Both have their flaws. Rush Hour 3 has already won itself negative publicity after it's US open failed to secure an opening week profit higher than its previous two installments - bitchiness really because it wasn't by much!
And frankly everyone is a little over ScarJo right?
I decided to go with The Nanny Diaries for two reasons. First: it hasn't been released overseas yet. Second: it has all the signs of mirroring the surprise success of 2006 box-office and critical darling The Devil Wears Prada.
THE NANNY DIARIES - September 27
Starring the very over-exposed Scarlett Johansson alongside Oscar hopefuls Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney and based on the bestselling chick-lit novel, The Nanny Diaries is the story of a young student, Annie Bradock (ScarJo), who becomes a Nanny for an Upper East Side New York family to earn some cash on the side. She nicknames them Mr and Mrs X - and it's the devious and diabolical Mrs X (Laura Linney) who we look set to see the most of.
Basically it chronicles Braddock as she deals with the quirky and often downright unreasonable requests of her two employers, attempts (with varying success levels) to have a relationship and observes (with a cutting, wry cynacism) the antics of the society the X family move amongst as opposed to Nanny culture.
Basically it's girls start your engines! And boyfriends beware, 'cause this is the movie your girlfriends will want to see around the end of September.
However, the question at hand is whether this will be a decent film - a MUST see! My belief (having read the book and seen the cast line-up) is that it will indeed be an impressive film that generates a sound box-office - if not even a supporting actress Oscar nomination for Laura Linney.
However, as with all chick-lit inspired films, it all depends on the script. There, the spectrum goes from the sublime (The Devil Wears Prada) to the ridiculous (Frank Oz's The Stepford Wives). The trailer leaves room for both. However, the proof will lie entirely in the viewing, and there a lot of people out there who would nothing better than to see ScarJo fall flat on her ass right about now!
Eitherway - it's a must see!
| 46 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
