7/22 – 7/24 It should be an interesting weekend at the box office, with Bad News Bears and The Island both contending for top honors. The Island is the obvious choice for box office winner, but are people already burned out on big action movies? Was Mr. & Mrs. Smith enough?
It’s also worth noting that the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs is sneak previewing in 800 theaters this Saturday around the country. If you’re looking for a date movie, keep an eye out for that. Here’s my usual look where you should spend your movie bucks this weekend:
Misc. Limited Releases (Opening on fewer than 500 screens.)
Alright, I’m just going to come out and admit it. I’m really interested to see 9 Songs. Maybe it’s nothing more than a big pile of gratuitous sex and nudity, but the old “not rated” rating intrigues me. Yeah, I guess I am that shallow. 9 Songs starts its limited run Friday, along with the Gus Van Sant “not really about Kurt Cobain even though it is” movie Last Days. Playing in 12 theaters, the film slaps a fictional name on a character that is clearly supposed to be Cobain in the last, lost days of his life leading up to his suicide. If you still haven’t gotten over the loss of Nirvana, start lining up tonight. Otherwise, I make it a policy to avoid Van Sant.
Bad News Bears (Opens in 3,183 theaters.)
Billy Bob Thornton takes his wonderfully depraved Bad Santa character into the world of little league baseball, in a remake of the shockingly offensive kids’ movie Bad News Bears. This is the year for remaking kid’s movies that don’t need to be remade, Willy Wonka faced the firing squad last week, and this week it’s the Bears turn. Like Wonka, this isn’t strictly a kids' movie… not really. There are too many strippers and cigarettes involved to really classify it as such. But in this newly puritanical society, can a remake possibly live up to the sick, amoral nature of the original? I doubt it. If you’re going to remake Bad News Bears, Billy Bob is the perfect choice to star in it, but it seems unlikely that it’ll capture what made the original one good in the first place: being downright filthy.
The Devil’s Rejects (Opens in 1,757 theaters.)
Rob Zombie’s first movie, House of 1000 Corpses was pretty resoundingly rejected by the critical mainstream… but the equally gory follow-up The Devil’s Rejects seems to be garnering a little bit better buzz. Not that it matters. Gore hounds don’t really care about quality; they just want gallons of sick, depraved, blood. Zombie has that end covered. So the horror freaks will be out in force for this one, as Rob Zombie’s family of lunatic killers slashes their way across the countryside, pursued by cops and hungry for blood. Enjoy it, but it’s not my thing. I’d rather have a decent movie. Hopefully Zombie has decided to change it up a little, and this is one.
Hustle and Flow (Opens in 1,013 theaters.)
The only thing less inspiring than the trailers for Hustle and Flow is the premise, which sounds a lot like 8 Mile were Eminem’s character rewritten as a socially acceptable pimp. But this is another film with pretty great word of mouth and the star, Terrence Howard, has already proved himself brilliant once this year on Paul Haggis’ racially charged film Crash. Though the presence of DJ Qualls is usually a sure indication of low quality and may in some cases signify the impending arrival of Tom Green, Hustle and Flow is the kind of musically driven film that might end up as an Oscar contender by year’s end. Keep an eye on it, and consider giving it a chance.
The Island (Opens in 3,122 theaters.)
Hey, it’s no secret that I’m a sucker for good sci-fi and while The Island isn’t it, it’s a pretty close approximation. Good for a movie by Michael Bay. The first half toys with being a psychological, big-brother is watching thriller, and the last half is a blow the doors off, eye-popping chase movie. Bay is in rare form here, in the story of future science gone wrong. Ewan McGregor stars with the great Scarlett Johansson and the always entertaining Steve Buscemi. This is a weekend stacked with some great viewing possibilities, but The Island is the only one that absolutely needs to be seen in a big, bass booming movie theater. Solid science-fiction in a whiz-bang fireball wrapper. The Island is a crowd pleaser. Don’t miss it.
STILL IN THEATERS AND WORTH YOUR TIME: Wedding Crashers, Fantastic Four, Batman Begins, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Madagascar, Bewitched, War of the Worlds, Murderball, March of the Penguins, Crash
