My latest MSN DVD column is up, doing the compare-and-contrast thing with “Iron Man 2” and “Get Him to the Greek” — both sequels to major-studio movies that captured lightning in two very different bottles. So what do you do for an encore?
Well, read the piece. I’m not going to spell it all out for you here …
I was a little surprised to learn that Paramount is releasing Christian Alvart’s “Case 39” this Friday. It’s been on the studio’s shelf for so long that I figured its chances of a theatrical run were long dead — it’d end up being one of those titles that gets dumped out years later, straight to DVD, with crappy box art that almost begs you to leave it on the rack.
But Renee Zellweger will not be denied, apparently, so “Case 39” — which casts her as a social worker who becomes convinced that her latest charge (Jodelle Ferland) carries some supernatural weirdness — is getting a North American run after all. And just in time for Halloween!
The thing is, “Case 39” is one of those multi-tiered co-production deals, and its other rights holders around the world have been releasing it, both theatrically and on DVD, for quite a while now. The studio even appears to be using a marketing campaign designed in early 2009, since the trailers barely acknowledge Bradley Cooper is in the picture when they should be playing him up — surely he’s a bigger draw than Zellweger at this point in their careers.
This happens every now and then, when an American production falls through the cracks and ends up late to its own release — “88 Minutes” is the most egrigious example I can remember, having bounced around Sony’s schedule for so long that bootleg DVDs were being sold on Canal Street in New York a good ten months before its theatrical bow. (That movie was also terrible, which probably influenced Sony’s decision to pretend it didn’t exist for so long.) The pirate sellers of Toronto have been keeping a low profile of late, but I’d be willing to bet they’ve had “Case 39” in their little packets for a while.
Anyway, if you’re curious (and you own a multi-region player), you can order a legitimate “Case 39” DVD from Amazon UK for less than eight pounds — about $18 CDN, shipped, which is considerably cheaper than buying two tickets at your local megaplex. If I’d known about the North American release last week, and Paramount’s decision not to screen the film in advance, I’d have ordered one myself; as it is, there’s no way it’ll arrive by Friday.
I wonder if anyone else was quick enough to snag a copy. I guess we’ll find out, huh?
People still want to know what Oliver Stone thinks about things. Either that, or the allure of watching Michael Douglas slip back into Gordon Gekko’s tailored suits proved too strong to resist for a majority of North American moviegoers. “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” topped the weekend box-office with $19 million … which, while not exactly a blockbuster figure, was enough to win a relatively anemic frame.
Coming in second with $16.3 million — what the AP page delicately calls a “soft opening” — was Zack Snyder’s CG owl action epic “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole“, which screened primarily in pricey 3D and IMAX engagements … and therefore did even poorer business than the gross suggests.
Last week’s top two films, “The Town” and “Easy A“, came in third and fourth with $16 million and $10.7 million, respectively. Have you seen “Easy A” yet, by the way? It’s easily the most entertaining of the bunch, has nothing to do with the sorry state of the U.S. economy and features a wonderful breakout performance from Emma Stone … who, we’re now hearing, may be playing Mary Jane Watson in the impending “Spider-Man” reboot.
Which would be entirely awesome, actually. They should totally do that.
How has it been, after the festival? Are you waiting for someone to throw wide the doors of cinema and invite you to roll around amongst the celluloid like Scrooge McDuck in his money vault?
Well, you’re in luck; thanks to the national celebration of the fine arts that is Culture Days this weekend, Torontonians have access to all manner of wonderful cinema down at the spanking-new Lightbox. Today, for example, they’re holding free screenings of Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” at 2 pm and Chris Marker’s still-brilliant “La Jetee” at 4:30 pm; tomorrow, it’s multiple screenings of Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” with live musical accompaniment.
If you weren’t able to check out the Lightbox during any of those free TIFF screenings, this is another excellent reason to wander down. And then, if you’re so inclined, you might want to buy a ticket to “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” or “A Film Unfinished“, because those are entirely worth your while as well.
There are thirteen movies opening in town this week. Three started yesterday at the Lightbox, and ten more open around the city today. So, yeah, we had our work cut out for us. And it’s only going to get busier in the weeks to come, as the gates of fall swing wide to unleash one Oscar contender after the next … oh, and the odd CG owl movie. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin:
“Bran Nue Day”: So I interviewed Geoffrey Rush, like, two weeks ago, and he didn’t even mention he had two movies coming out today. This is the one that’s a musical. Susan liked it.
“Catfish”: Don’t tell me the secret! I haven’t seen it! But Andrew has, and he’s less than enthused.
“I Am Comic“: A whole bunch of famous stand-ups talk about what it’s like to be famous stand-ups in this serviceable if unremarkable documentary. It’s fine, but I’d rather watch “The Aristocrats” again, you know?
“I’m Still Here”: So, was Joaquin Phoenix really trying to quit acting and reinvent himself as a hip-hop star, or was he just screwing with us for two full years and ruining his career? Casey Affleck has since admitted it was the latter, which makes the release of his alleged documentary feel a little superfluous. Here’s Glenn’s TIFF review, as the proper review doesn’t appear to be online yet.
“Jack Goes Boating”: Philip Seymour Hoffman directs and stars — opposite the lovely and talented Amy Ryan — in this adaptation of Bob Glaudini’s stage play. Glenn found it interesting, if a little undercooked.
“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole“: A heartwarming children’s fable from the director of “Dawn of the Dead” and “300”. With talking owls that wear helmets and battle gauntlets. The tie-in toys will be … interesting. Also: Hey, it’s Geoffrey Rush again!
“Never Let Me Go“: Mark Romanek turns Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel into one of the quietest science-fiction dramas you’ll ever see — and that’s a good thing. Carey Mulligan does that thing where she suggests powerful emotion roiling beneath a placid surface. She’ll probably get another Oscar nomination for it.
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps“: Yeah, the title makes about as much sense as “Tomorrow Never Dies”, but that doesn’t matter. Frankly, nothing much matters in Oliver Stone’s transparent attempt to remind us that he was once known for having opinions about stuff — except Michael Douglas, who has just as much fun as he did the first time around. And Carey Mulligan turns up as his daughter!
“Whatever It Takes”: Christopher C.C. Wong’s documentary about Bronx principal Edward Tom’s uphill battle to bring his school up to acceptable standards arrives a week ahead of Davis Guggenheim’s major-studio education doc, “Waiting for ‘Superman'”. Think of this as the micro view to Guggenheim’s macro. Susan liked it.
“A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop”: Zhang Yimou transplants the Coen brothers’ “Blood Simple” to 19th century China, where … wait, what? Andrew explains.
There you go. Throw in “A Film Unfinished“, “Heartbeats” and “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” and that should keep you occupied for the weekend …
Sure, its unveiling was a highlight of TIFF, but today the Lightbox comes into its own as a movie theatre, juggling first-run engagements, revivals and Cinematheque programming on five screens. (I may even be there as you read this, attending a press screening. Weird, huh?)
To make itself even more specialer, the Lightbox will be opening films on Thursdays, rather than the traditional Fridays. And the first wave of titles is pretty impressive, with Yael Hersonski’s “A Film Unfinished” and Apichatpong Weerasthethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” lining up next to Xavier Dolan’s “Heartbeats“, about which I am considerably less enthused.
We devote a considerable chunk of NOW’s film section to the Lightbox stuff, including my interview with Apichatpong. You might want to take a look. And go see “Uncle Boonmee”, because it’s quite wonderful.
Oh, I’ve also got an interview with Mark Romanek, the director of “Never Let Me Go”, up on the NOW site this week. But that movie isn’t opening at the Lightbox, so factor that in accordingly.
It’s one of those days. I have a lot of work ahead of me, including a press conference that could prove very interesting, but there’s precious little to blog about this morning. So I will give you this great new article from io9 about cinema’s most ridiculous computer hacking sequences, and allow you to make your own fun.
See you tomorrow, when I’ll have plenty of new stuff to talk about, believe you me.
This week’s MSN DVD column looks at one of the summer’s biggest disappointments: Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood”, which takes a foolproof concept and turns it into … well, into another overblown Ridley Scott movie.
I’m doubly disappointed in Russell Crowe, who in “3:10 to Yuma” displayed an excellent understanding of the kind of wiles-and-charm performance a Robin Hood movie would require … and couldn’t be arsed to give that performance in an actual Robin Hood movie.
Ah, well. The Blu-ray does look nice, I’ll give it that.
The film festival may be over, but its legacy is all around us: Two TIFF titles tussled over the weekend’s box-office — and when the dust cleared, Ben Affleck’s “The Town” came out on top with a $23.8 million opening. “Easy A”, starring NOW cover girl Emma Stone, opened at #2 with $18.2 million.
The week’s big loser? Why, the mind of M. Night Shyamalan, now that “Devil” has opened a distant third with just $12.6 million. I’m sure Mr. Shyamalan’s mind will find a way to blame someone else for the movie’s failure to win audience’s hearts and minds, though. I mean, it didn’t even make it, really … it just came up with the dopey, dopey idea.
Ah, well. The mind of M. Night Shyamalan has two pictures remaining on that production deal, apparently, so let’s see what it thinks up next.
The film festival wraps up this weekend with the closing night gala, the awards brunch, and of course dozens of screenings. I especially recommend Kelly Reichardt’s “Meek’s Cutoff” and Michael Winterbottom’s “The Trip” … which are, of course, screening against each other on Sunday afternoon. Pick one, join the rush line, and hope for a miracle.
If you’re in a more nostalgic mood, there’s that series of free screenings at the Lightbox, three of which will be introduced by yours truly: Sarah Polley’s “Away from Her” tonight at 7 pm, Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Big Chill” tomorrow at 7 pm and Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride” tomorrow at 10 pm. (Tonight’s 10 pm entry, Paul Haggis’ “Crash“, will be introduced by Glenn Sumi, who wrote NOW’s cover story about it.)
Or you could just stay home and eat macaroons, I guess. No one’s forcing you to go out and be cultured.