YES! Finally, a packed weekend with lots of choices, and most of the new films look like they’re worth the $12 and fighting through the Valentine’s Day crowds. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of this weekend’s big holiday (although I'm crazy about the President’s Day no-work holiday on Monday!), but I’ll concede: I love the variety of films released in this frame, and two of these I can’t wait to check out. And, fine, although Valentine’s Day (as perfect a movie to capitalize on the buying frenzy of Cupid’s big day as there has probably ever been) looks corny, I still want to see it somewhere down the line too. With that, let’s check out the gods, Los Angeles romantics, and hairy Englishmen out this weekend… [breakdown of new movies after the jump]
1. “The Wolfman”Story: In a remake of Universal’s classic 40’s monster flick, Benicio Del Toro stars as an actor forced to return to his native England after his brother’s mysterious death. And, well, before he knows it, he gets bitten and, on each full moon, unleashes his inner, hairy beast on the poor, poor Gothic citizens of turn-of-the-20th-century London. The amazing Anthony Hopking stars as Del Toro’s father (who maybe holds a secret of his own), and the lovely Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving (another favorite of mine—Agent Smith from The Matrix trilogy, Elrond in The Lord of the Rings, and V in V for Vendetta) round out the cast.
The Good: Actually, looks like an overall entertaining package. Love the mood and atmosphere from the trailer—seems like the production team went above and beyond toward capturing the shadowy, Gothic gloom of classic horror movies. The film promises less an emphasis on gore than on character and quality scares, a rarity nowadays. Very encouraging to hear. The cast is superb; Blunt has been on a roll since her big break in The Devil Wears Prada (check her out in the currently-playing The Young Victoria. You won’t be sorry), Hopkins and Weaving are always-watchable, classically-trained actors who make the most of supporting roles in genre films, and, with all due respect, Benicio Del Toro was born to play a role like this. He has the stature, the talent, and the natural look of unkemptness to convincingly play the Wolfman. In fact, this entire project was shepherded by him; he takes a producer’s credit and seems very genuine in his passion for the original Lon Chaney Wolf Man film. Oh, and the music is by Danny Elfman, a regular Tim Burton collaborator, and, as you can hear in the trailer, it looks like he’ll knock another score out of the park.
The Bad: The production history is pretty spotty. Talented director Joe Johnston (October Sky, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, the underseen and very fun Hidalgo) was a last-minute replacement for the original man in charge, Mark Romanek. There were also lots of rumors of reshoots and midnight-hour studio tinkering. In fact, for anyone who followed this movie’s production news, it went before the cameras in 2008 and then shifted through several 2009 release dates before settling on this weekend. A lot of the reviews (see below) mention a disjointed quality to the film, that some elements (mainly the emphasis on quick-moving horror over the film’s early, careful building of suspense) simply don’t mesh as well as they should. Honestly, I don’t expect this film to be perfect; at best, it will be a flawed, but hopefully well-made and entertaining ride.
Reviews: Decent, with a surprising amount of critics complaining that it’s quite dull and too serious for its own good. Still, the actors earn fine notices, especially Hopkins and Del Toro, who are said to elevate this material into something much more watchable and interesting.
Overall: Although the buzz is unenthusiastic and somewhat negative, I still really want to see this. I’m a big admirer of the actors they have here, and the whole idea of a period, psychologically-tinged horror film has me much too interested to brush this off.
2. “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief”Story: Based on Rick Riordan’s best-selling book (the first of five in the Olympians series, so obviously a lot is riding on The Lightning Thief to do well), this follows the story of young Percy Jackson, a dyslexic, rebellious, boarding-school teen who discovers his destiny is greater than anything he could have ever imagined. As it happens, he's the son of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, and unbeknownst to Percy this whole time, the Greek gods are all real, and all on the verge of war. When Zeus’ (Sean Bean) lighting bolt is stolen, Percy becomes the chief suspect, and, to clear his name, he must learn to embrace his demi-god powers and get to the bottom of the truth. Wonderful actors populate the Greek god side of the equation, with Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Sean Bean, and, best of all, Steve Coogan and Rosario Dawson looking like highlights amidst the awesome visuals.
The Good: The premise is fantastic. I’ve been meaning to check out the books, but, just from what I hear, they’re supposed to be clever and very engaging (if not to the level of Harry Potter). Brosnan (as the half-horse Chiron), Thurman (as the snake-haired, turning-men-into-stone Medusa), Bean, Coogan, and Dawson should all be fun to watch, and Logan Lerman, the talented young actor at the center of this film, has been on the rise for a few years now (check out his terrific turn in 3:10 to Yuma opposite Christian Bale). The effects look strong, the story interesting, and director Chris Columbus (the first two Harry Potter films) certainly knows his way around kids and fantasy.
The Bad: The trailers (like the one below), despite how hard they try, make me just a tad suspicious. For all the creatures and dazzling light shows, there seems to be missing an element of magic and wonder, or, for that matter, of characters we might want to follow through this (or several other) films. That could very well just be the trailers; the final film could be as clever and fun as the premise deserves, and, after all, how much character development could a trailer sell? Also, just for a personal gripe, I know 20th Century Fox really wants this to hit, for it could very well be their Harry Potter-like phenomenon. Too bad they also released The Seeker: The Dark is Rising and the phenomenally crappy Eragon to try to capitalize on this market before. I really hope that this isn’t as rushed and as barely thought through as those two previous fantasy misfires. Harry Potter works because it has well-drawn characters and wonderfully imagined adventures. I could see Percy Jackson, with the limitless possibilities of the Greek mythology world, enjoying a similar — if not quite as financially lucrative — path. For me, I’d rather see something that has more (potential) depth than Twilight become a rival, talked-about young-adult-lit franchise.
Reviews: Good (just not great)—lots of praise for the cast (particularly Brosnan, Coogan, and Thurman) and the original set-up. On the other hand, the Harry Potter comparisons were inevitable (especially with Columbus behind the camera), and most critics indicate that this one falls short of the high-quality, emotional benchmark set by the boy wizard.
Overall: I’ll probably check this out in the next few weeks; I want to see how it all comes together, and whether or not there’s enough substance here to launch a series of films. All in all, looks like a solid choice for kids and teens. It’s not a must-see for me, but certainly an interesting option to choose from…and a good way to get a Greek mythology fix before the (now in 3-D) onslaught of Clash of the Titans in March.
3. “Valentine’s Day”Story: Think of it as Love Actually…but American. Some of our brightest and most beautiful stars (Julia Robert, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Shirley Maclaine, and many, many more) pop in and out of criss-crossing stories as Los Angelinos navigate the weird and hopeful and bittersweet (and probably quite predictable) waters of love.
The Good: Have you seen that cast? Of course, by sheer math/paycheck ratios, they can’t all be on screen for that long (Julia Roberts looks to be stuck on an airplane for pretty much her entire storyline), but chances are you’ll like someone in this movie. This hodgepodge of people is directed by Garry Marhsall, who, while an imperfect filmmaker, does usually make pleasant and enjoyable romantic comedies (Overboard, Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries).
The Bad: I doubt this will hit anything close to Love Actually. That was a thoughtfully-written, beautifully-cast British film, exploring all kinds of love. This, on the other hand, looks to be a star-stuffed, phony-emotion experience (as much of the below reviews argue). I like a lot of these actors, but, even though the below trailer comes off as pretty cute, a majority of these stories look played out and much too familiar. I also keep getting the feeling that some of these actors were chosen more for who they are (Jessica Alba, Twilight’s Taylor Lautner) – and what fanbase they’ll attract on opening weekend – as opposed to what they could bring to their characters or storylines. Finally, the script was co-written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, who last penned the similarly star-driven (if not to this extent) rom-com, He’s Just Not That Into You, a very mediocre film that was only occasionally salvaged by the charisma of its stars, something that might just happen here as well.
Reviews: Pretty poor from all angles, with nearly everyone mentioning the script’s endless clichés and inability to make these characters feel like real people. Nonetheless, the reviews mention that a good chunk of the stars still come off likable, despite their corny circumstances (particularly Hathaway, Roberts, Garner, Grace, and, in a nice surprise, Ashton Kutcher), and, if anything, I’m sure this is the type of film that goes down pretty easily. You’re bound to find something here to laugh about and enjoy; it’s just too bad that it seems the whole film doesn’t follow suit.
Overall: Oy, I know this will probably suck…and yet I still want to see it. Damn you, my love of romantic comedies and this bunch of charismatic actors! This will be a mediocre film at best, but, as a date movie (especially for this oh-so-perfectly-timed weekend), I think this might do the trick. At the very least, sight unseen, I’m sure this will be infinitely better than dreadful Matthew McConaughey rom-com vehicles like Fool’s Gold and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
And that’s it for this weekend. There really is a nice variety this time around—one for the couples, one for the anti-Valentine’s Day or just non-chick-flick crowd who crave some good period Wolfman violence, and one for the fantasy-minded. Of all 3, I think The Wolfman looks like the most fun—a techologically savvy update on a classic horror institution. For a second choice, I’m mighty curious to check out Percy Jackson, and see how it stands as just a fantasy adventure in its own right.
How about you guys? Are you interested to see anything from this list?
And, of course, Happy Valentine’s Day to all those celebrating! (It might be a phony holiday, but I can still dig the genuine romantic spirit that sometimes comes out of it). And for anyone not quite enthused by candy hearts and valentines, I bring you the genius of Jimmy Fallon/a "Bothered" Robert Pattison:
Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.
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