Well, that’s interesting: The movie I was most anticipating this week turned out to be only kind of good, and the movie I was kind of dreading turned out to be oddly delightful.
Oh, sorry, that’s “Black Snake Moan”. The other movie I was dreading was still pretty dreadful.
Anyway, here’s the rundown:
“Black Snake Moan“: Craig Brewer follows “Hustle & Flow” with an even less reputable (but far more entertaining) psychodrama about the literal bond between a half-crazed bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson in the latest role he was born to play) and the young woman (Christina Ricci) he’s determined to save from her own sexual compulsion. Plus, there’s singing.
“Missing Victor Pellerin“: Sophie Deraspe’s tale of a vanished painter and the people he left behind asks one important question: Is this a Montreal art-scene project, or a documentary about a different Montreal art-scene project? And does it matter, in the end?
“Seven Swords“: Tsui Hark — who produced some really terrific Hong Kong action movies, and directed some really terrible ones — takes on an epic about villagers, raiders and the heroes from Mount Heaven who stand between them. I think. Two and a half hours of mindless action choreography later, I still have no idea what happened.
“Wild Hogs“: The only thing worth taking away from this dreadful, dreadful comedy (see?) is the discovery that William H. Macy is funnier than John Travolta. Either that, or William H. Macy is really funny when he’s despairing for his career. Wait for cable, wait for cable, wait for cable.
“Zodiac“: David Fincher’s dream project suffers from precisely the same tunnel vision as its characters: It’s so obsessed with the details and minutiae of the Zodiac’s reign of terror that it forgets to stay connected to anything else. At least Robert Downey, Jr. manages to enjoy himself in the margins.
Later today, I’m taping a hit for TVOntario’s “Saturday Night at the Movies“, discussing “The Ox-Bow Incident” and “Witness for the Prosecution”. No idea how the two films are linked, but I guess that’ll be part of the fun.