Last weekend Borat defied all expectations and captured first place despite being in only 800 theaters. Screenings everywhere were sold out, and anecdotal reports indicate that sold out showings persisted throughout the week. This weekend, Borat goes wide into 2,566 theaters and the boost in available showings could well be enough to make it number one again, even over a string of hefty new releases.
But who cares how much money overpaid actors make off of the entertainment hungry masses. Here's our usual look at what's opening and worth watching this Friday in theaters around the country:
Limited Releases(Opening in fewer than 500 theaters.)
For the people who thought screwing over your husband was ok as long as you ditched him for a lesbian in Imagine Me & You comes another adultery excusing entry, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (in 4 theaters). This time cheating is excused because it's with wolf boy. Word is the movie's a pile of crap, and it's not even a biopic but rather a fantasy version of what someone thinks famed freak photographyer Diane Arbus's life may actually have been like. Fur is the highest profile limited release this weekend, but if you're intent on hanging out in your city's art district consider the profanity documentary Fuck (in 2 theaters), the fictional retelling of Beethoven's last years Copying Beethoven, or Night of the Living Dead re-released in 3D instead.
Stranger Than Fiction (Opens in 2,264 theaters.)
It may be completely overshadowed by Borat (and rightfully so), but Stranger than Fiction is a good film nonetheless. Will Ferrell stars as a guy who starts hearing his life narrated, and goes in search of the woman monologuing his daily routing in his head. It's sweet, funny, and heartfelt. Some are calling this Ferrell's best performance to date, and though I'm partial to Frank the Tank, there's no denying that he's pretty good. If you've already seen Borat two or three times, then stop in and see Stranger than Fiction.
A Good Year (Opens in 2,066 theaters.)
What would happen if Ridley Scott directed Under the Tuscan Sun and replaced Diane Lane with Russell Crowe? You'd have A Good Year. Investment expert Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) moves to France to sell a small vineyard he has inherited from his late uncle. As Max reluctantly settles in he encounters a beautiful California woman who also lays claim to the property. Max soon comes to realize that life is meant to be savored. Right now, A Good Year is on the verge of becoming the worst reviewed film of director Ridley Scott's career. Whether the material, lead actor Russell Crowe, or Ridley Scott is to blame you'll have to figure out for yourself. Actually don't figure it out for yourself. I know, seeing Ridley Scott's name in the credits makes it tempting, but Scott hasn't made a good movie since Blackhawk Down, and for him this is a real low point.
Harsh Times (Opens in 956 theaters.)
Jim Davis (Christian Bale) is an ex-Army Ranger recently discharged from the military. While seeking a position with the LAPD that will allow him to marry his Mexican girlfriend and bring her to the United States, Jim kills time chilling with his best friend, Mike (Freddy Rodriguez). Mike is feeling the heat from his longtime girlfriend, Sylvia (Eva Longoria): either get a job or get out. But the love of a beautiful woman can't compare to the bonds of friendship, and Jim and Mike are soon cruising the streets of South Central, slipping back into a deceitful life of drugs, violence and petty crime, just like when they were kids. The reviews are mediocre and word is that even Christian Bale's performance doesn't save it.
The Return (Opens in 1,986 theaters.)
Sarah Michelle Gellar remains mired in the supernatural thriller genre with a movie easily confused for The Ring or The Grudge, or insert your PG-13 horror movie here. In this one, Gellar plays a woman who sees and feels the brutal murder of a young woman she’s never met, at the hands of a heartless killer – a man who appears to be making Joanna his next target. Determined to fight back, Joanna is guided by her nightmares to the murdered woman’s hometown. Things that are supposed to be scary but aren't, happen there.
STILL IN THEATERS AND WORTH YOUR TIME: Flushed Away, Borat, The Prestige, The Departed
