Four-Warned: June 2010

Every month I’m going to look at every movie on the release schedule and try to assign them a numerical value corresponding to how anxious I am to see it. The lower the number, the more I want to see it. A one means I would walk through hell and high water to see it; a four means there’s no interest whatsoever. The numbers are not arrived at scientifically but they aren’t arbitrary either.

The numbers aren’t a reflection of the artistic merit of any of these films, but merely a reflection of my willingness to go to a movie theater and see it. The top four scores will be gathered as a means of reflecting the movies I’m anticipating the most; you may use that as a guide or not.

Each entry is broken down as follows:

NAME OF FILM (Studio) Genre A brief description of the plot. Release plans: Wide = Everywhere, Limited = In selected markets. RATING A brief explanation

Keep in mind that release dates are extremely subject to change, even at this late date.

FOUR TO SEE

1. JONAH HEX (1.1)
2. TOY STORY 3 (1.3)
3. KNIGHT AND DAY (1.6)
4. GROWN UPS (2.1)

FOUR TO SEEK OUT (FILMS NOT IN WIDE RELEASE)

1. WINTER’S BONE (1.0)
2. ONDINE (2.2)
3. COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY (2.4)
TIE. THE KILLER INSIDE ME (2.4)

RATING SYSTEM: 1) Must-see, 2) Should-see, 3) Perhaps-see, 4) Don’t-see

JUNE 4, 2010

CROPSEY (Cinema Purgatorio) Genre: Documentary. A journalist delves into what had been an urban legend about a child murderer that turns out to be frighteningly close to the truth. Release Strategy: New York only. RATING: 2.9 Sounds fascinating, but definitely a New York story.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK (Universal) Genre: Comedy. A record label fluky tries to get a rock star from England to a concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 3.1 Aldous Snow was great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall but do I want to see a movie all about him?
KILLERS (Lionsgate) Genre: Action Comedy. A woman discovers that her new husband is actually a trained assassin. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.4 Sort of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith without the Mrs. Smith.
MARMADUKE (20th Century Fox) Genre: Family Comedy. A Great Dane discovers that the world is what you make of it, even if you’re just too big. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 3.8 The trailer for this actually talked me out of wanting to see this.
ONDINE (Magnolia) Genre: Romantic Fantasy. An Irish fisherman picks up what he believes to be a mermaid in his nets. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.2 A little Irish never hurt anybody.
SPLICE (Warner Brothers) Genre: Sci-Fi Horror. A pair of gene splicers fuse the DNA of humans with animals with horrific results. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.3 The new trailer reminded me of Species and not in a bad way.

JUNE 11, 2010

THE A-TEAM (20th Century Fox) Genre: Action. A Special Forces team wrongly accused breaks out of military prison and becomes do-gooders for hire. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.8 I’m wondering if this concept hasn’t been done to death by now.
COCO CHANEL AND IGOR STRAVINSKY (Sony Classics) Genre: Romantic Drama. A French fashion designer and Russian composer undertake a torrid love affair, Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.4 Gorgeous music, wonderful fashions and a scandalous affair – what more could you want?
JOAN RIVERS – A PIECE OF WORK (IFC) Genre: Documentary. The legendary comedienne undergoes trials and tribulations as she fights to keep her place in the entertainment hierarchy. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 4.0 I simply am not a fan of Ms. Rivers, so a documentary on her holds no interest for me whatsoever.
THE KARATE KID (Columbia) Genre: Family Action. A young American boy living in China is taken under the wing of a handyman who teaches him Kung Fu – and about life. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 3.4 Was this a movie that really needed to be remade?
KINGS OF THE EVENING (Indican) Genre: Urban Drama. During the Great Depression, men compete in an underground contest for a title and five dollars. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.5 Don’t know enough about this movie to get excited about it.
MADMOISELLE CHAMBON (Lorber) Genre: Romance. An unlikely relationship blossoms between a shy elementary school teacher and a gruff contractor. Release Strategy: New York only. RATING: 2.4 Nobody does great romance movies like the French.
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE UNDEAD (Indican) Genre: Horror Comedy. The star of an off-Broadway adaptation of Hamlet is really a vampire. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.9 Shakespeare, Vampires and the Holy Grail. Throw in Broadway and you’ve got a deal!
WINTER’S BONE (Roadside Attractions) Genre: Indie Drama. A bleak look at Appalachian meth cookers and a young woman’s fight to keep her land. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 1.0 The best movie I’ve seen this year.

JUNE 18, 2010

8: THE MORMON’S PROPOSITION (Red Flag) Genre: Documentary. An examination of how the Mormon Church has been intimately involved with anti-gay legislation, particularly California’s notorious Proposition 8. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.1 I’m sure that this will make for fascinating viewing, but are the Mormons the only religious organization that battled gay rights legislation?
CYRUS (Fox Searchlight) Genre: Indie Comedy. A single mom’s new boyfriend has to contend with her slacker adult son. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.5 John C. Reilly vs. Jonah Hill for the heart of Marisa Tomei? Sounds like a winner to me!
I AM LOVE (Magnolia) Genre: Indie Drama. A wealthy Milanese family is shaken to its corner when the wife of the patriarch has an affair with her son’s partner. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.5 Yes it sounds a bit on the soap opera side but the trailer looked magnificent.
JONAH HEX (Warner Brothers) Genre: Supernatural Western. DC Comics adaptation about a gunslinger with infernal powers seeking revenge on the rancher who wronged him. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 1.1 Josh Brolin is inspired casting for the title character.
THE KILLER INSIDE ME (IFC) Genre: Film Noir. Based on pulp writer Jim Thompson’s novel, a sheriff involved in a love triangle finds his own homicidal tendencies surfacing. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.4 Great trailer, but wondering if Casey Affleck is the right guy for Noir.
LET IT RAIN (IFC) Genre: French Drama. A housekeeper’s son decides to film a documentary on the lady of the house’s daughter, a feminist politician – leading to chaos. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.0 An interesting concept, but haven’t seen a lot of ink on this release yet.
TOY STORY 3 (Disney/Pixar) Genre: Animated Feature. When Andy goes off to college, Woody and the gang get donated to a day care center. Release Strategy: Wide (Standard, 3D, IMAX 3D). RATING: 1.3 It’s been a decade since the last one; is the magic still there?

JUNE 25, 2010

DOGTOOTH (Kino International) Genre: Drama. Three teenagers confined to a country estate by control freak parents are visited by a security guard who shakes the family to its core. Release Strategy: New York only. RATING: 3.3 I haven’t seen a whole lot of Greek cinema, so this might well be worth checking out.
GROWN UPS (Columbia) Genre: Comedy. A youth championship basketball team reunites as adults at a summer camp to celebrate the passing of their coach. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 2.1 An All-Star cast makes this a comedy worth looking into.
KNIGHT AND DAY (20th Century Fox) Genre: Action Comedy. A woman goes on a blind date with a man who turns out to be a spy who has rescuing the world on his mind. Release Strategy: Wide. RATING: 1.6 Tom Cruise needs a hit and this figures to be it.
RESTREPO (National Geographic) Genre: Documentary. Acclaimed journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger spend a year with a U.S. platoon in one of the most dangerous places in Afghanistan. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.8 A powerful look at what it’s like to wage war in the 21st century.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER (Cinema Libre) Genre: Documentary. Filmmaker Oliver Stone does a documentary on controversial Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 3.1 Chavez gets excoriated by the Republicans; this is a response from a man who clearly admires him.

WILD GRASS (Sony Classics) Genre: Drama. A stolen wallet leads to obsession and romance. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.7 Director Alain Resnais made some of the most innovative films of the French New Wave.

JUNE 30, 2010

LOVE RANCH (E1 Entertainment) Genre: Period Drama. A heavyweight prizefighter becomes part of a love triangle in one of the first legal brothels in Nevada. Release Strategy: Limited. RATING: 2.9 I wonder who cast Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci as a married couple?
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (Summit) Genre: Vampire Romance. Bella is torn between her vampire love and her werewolf friend while an old enemy plots revenge. Release Strategy: Wide (Standard, IMAX). RATING: 3.3 And the hysteria continues…

SCHEDULED TO BE REVIEWED HERE AS NEW RELEASES

Killers, Splice, The A-Team, The Karate Kid, Winter’s Bone, Jonah Hex, Toy Story 3, Grown Ups, Knight and Day

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