What's on the Menu (November 6 - 8)

- Posted by Rusty

There are some potentially good choices this weekend, from Clooney killing goats…with his mind (!) to Jim Carrey taking on eight roles in Victorian London. There’s also one festival darling that should shake up the upcoming Oscars. Let’s break down the new releases…


1. “The Men Who Stare at Goats” - I’m really looking forward to this. Clooney’s great fun when he cuts loose (ie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and the premise—that the U.S. government had a secret branch for psychic warriors (each loonier than the next)—is ripe for some clever entertainment. Based on a supposedly true story, Ewan McGregor’s journalist tracks George Clooney’s ace, “reactivated” soldier and his ragtag group of colleagues, including the great Kevin Spacey and a hippie-fied Jeff Bridges. The trailer (check it out below) has plenty of laughs, and it looks like the whole movie will be an enjoyable (and semi-true!) romp. Oh, and love that goat—one of my favorite sequences from any trailer this year…and an awesome bit of advertising.

P.S. Anyone else love that George Clooney calls himself a “Jedi” to Ewan McGregor?! Obi-Wan Kenobi could totally use the Force on that goat…

2. “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” - This is riding mountains of buzz from the festival circuit, getting praise for its sensitive handling of the subject matter, and nothing but raves for star Mo’Nique’s role as a vicious monster of a mother. I don’t know much about the story, but in broad strokes, it looks like the journey of an overweight, barely schooled pregnant teen, and how she hopes to turn her life around (and escape the mental and physical abuse of her mother) with a new school. Then again, I hear that summary barely does the story justice—the beats may be familiar, but apparently the performances and writing are so strong, they lift this thing from after-school-special territory. The reviews are enthusiastic across the board, and this looks to be a powerful, moving portrait of abuse and coming-of-age in a fractured home. I can’t say this is the type of movie I’d rush out to see, but, if the word of mouth is any indication, it could be necessary viewing at some point. It’s already causing Oscar talk, so we might hear a lot more about this one as we move closer to the Academy Awards.

3. “The Fourth Kind” - On the heels of the smash Paranormal Activity (which is already one of the most—if not the most—profitable movies of all time), comes another chiller supposedly inspired by true events. Resident Evil leading lady (and fellow Ukranian!) Milla Jovovich stars as a psychologist investigating a series of disappearances in a small Alaskan town. According to the trailer, this town has seen more disappearances than any place in the world—could it be the work of alien abductions, the so-called Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind? I love alien movies, especially those wrapped around some sort of historical mysteries (like Roswell, New Mexico stories) or intelligent plotting (like Contact, one of my all-time favorites). However, I’m just not itching to see this one. I like Jovovich (who’s a much better actress than people give her credit for), and the trailer is actually pretty ingenious—Jovovich tells us point-blank that she’s an actress playing a real person, and we can see that the film will be a combination of re-enactments and actual case studies footage. Still, I have a feeling it will be disappointing and, most likely, a speculative, unexciting would-be horror film (the predominantly negative reviews don’t help either). It might be worth catching on DVD; for now, though, I can live without seeing it.

4. “A Christmas Carol” - I think director Robert Zemeckis, coming off the so-so reception of Beowulf (a decent movie, but one that should have been a lot better), has finally found a sure thing for his beloved motion-capture process (that hazy middle ground between computer animation and live-action, where actors don’t just voice, but act out the entire movie). Dickens’ novel was the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly, despicable, selfish old man who hates that disgusting, so-called warmth and good feelings of Christmas (his preferred way to spend the holiday: alone in his dark room…eating gruel—love that imagery!). But, of course, three spirits come along and take Scrooge on a reflective journey throughout his life, helping him understand why he turned out so hateful, and igniting his long-dormant sense of love. It’s a beautiful book, and from what I hear, Zemeckis’ version is among the most faithful to Dickens’ original work, going so far as to include dialogue verbatim from the text.

The trailer below has a bouncy spirit—good doses of both humor and heart, and it wonderfully captures the story’s ghoulish elements, particularly those creeping ghosts, creaky noises, and looming shadows that slowly haunt Ebenezer Scrooge. Victorian London is also gorgeously reconstructed, and in Jim Carrey, I think Zemeckis found an actor who could do justice to the limitless range offered by motion-capture (Carrey, a very underrated dramatic performer, plays about eight roles in this film). True, while we’ve seen dozens of version of this story, I think the fine cast (including Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, and Gary Oldman in a few roles himself), the impressive special effects, and the always-infectious helping of Christmas spirit should make this one a big hit.

Here’s hoping the fancy 3D effects don’t overshadow the story (like a lot of the mixed reviews suggest), and keep the movie closer in tone to the redemptive and cooly-creepy narrative that made this one a favorite for years (like Roger Ebert raves about, in his 4-star perfect review).

5. “The Box” - If anything, this film has a fantastic set-up. Based on a short story by sci-fi legend Richard Matheson (who also wrote I Am Legend), a couple (Enchanted's James Marsden and Cameron Diaz) receive the title box on their doorstep, a mysterious object with one big red button. Along comes the equally enigmatic Frank Langella (Nixon in last year’s excellent Frost/Nixon), a stranger who offers a tantalizing deal: if they push the button, they’ll receive $1 million. But here’s the catch: when they do, someone they don’t know will die. What do you think happens?

I love the moral dilemma, and the original short story is supposed to be just brilliant, complete with a simple, chilling hook of an ending that gives new light to the whole narrative. Judging by the so-so to negative reviews, the problem is not with the source material—it looks like the films falls apart in the second two acts, when Donnie Darko writer/director Richard Kelly veers off into original territory, particularly the reveals of huge NASA conspiracies and the box’s mysterious origins. Kelly is an interesting filmmaker, though, and I really want to see what he does with The Box. More than anything, it’s his chance to prove himself as a storyteller, taking material from a respected writer like Matheson and building on it with his own ideas.

I’m hoping the reviews are off-base, and I’ll end up liking it anyway…but I get the sad feeling this will be a big missed opportunity.

And that’s it for this weekend. Do you guys think anything looks good among the new releases?

I’m surprised by how much I want to see A Christmas Carol, though I have a weakness for warm-hearted Christmas movies (even in November…the week after Halloween!). I’m seeing The Men Who Stare at Goats this weekend too, and I’m hoping it will live up to its very amusing concept and trailers.

What do you guys want to catch this weekend?

Images courtesy of Overture Films, Lionsgate, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.