Another year, another Eddie Murphy flick. Is it funny? I don't know, I didn't see much of the jokes in the trailer of his new family film...
Imagine That
Now he's taking a break from playing multiple roles and putting on prosthetics for something you could call simple- a harmless family film... with a gangsta kid or something.
Quite personally, the trailer didn't make me laugh once. Even the most obvious joke, the one with the "What am I, the Queen of England?", didn't make me laugh. My take is that it will be some harmless flick that is in nobody's radar, and will be reminiscent of Bedtime Stories minus the box office returns. Honestly, I didn't really get the premise of the movie when I watched the trailer, I just assumed that what his daughter drew was true. Wow, sounds like something that could've been better off in a horror movie.
Alas, this is at least an original script (but not much of an original film). The next movie opening in theaters everywhere is actually a remake of a classic book that was made into a classic film.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Denzel Washington and John Travolta star in a thriller about trains in Pelham station in the Bronx. Basically, Denzel plays the good guy named Walter and monitors train routes and stuff. Travolta is obviously the bad guy as marked by his sinister facial hair. This guy leads a hijacking of train 123. He wants money. They give it to him- or at least try to do so- because if not, a passenger dies.
My God, it sounds like a great premise for a really sadistic reality show. But then again, the movie has potential, I guess. With big names like that, it better be at least half-decent.
Getting lost in another time dimension with Will Ferrell is probably gonna either have to be funny or just annoying. I don't think anyone can really have both.
Land of the Lost
Based on the TV series of the same name, Land of the Lost stars Will Ferrell as ridiculed scientist Rick Marshall, and he believes that time warps do exist. Of course, proving they do is gonna be hard, but that all changes when he and his crew gets sucked into one. Quite obviously, all sorts of stuff happen, and they'll have to fight for survival albeit "humorously".
It's a bit hard to determine as to whether this movie will bomb or not, because it has the equal opportunity to do both. Being unoriginal doesn't really help the movie, because it seems to just follow Journey to the Center of the Earth's template of "go and explore a scientific discovery and get back to Earth but only after you deal with dinosaurs and the like" (and you can just as easily see Brendan Fraser in the lead role).
Perhaps your money will be spent better elsewhere unless you watch with family, and by family I mean with your 10-year-old (or ADD-ridden) siblings.
My Life In Ruins
Written by and starring the writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding Nia Vardalos, this comedy has her in the shoes of a character named Georgia. Georgia has lost her zest for life because she thinks it has no direction and thus decides to become a tour guide.
Eh, looks like all those other romantic comedies. Nothing much special except Greece.
Well, there's always a chance of it becoming an unprecedented hit, I guess. We'll just have to wait and see.
The Hangover
Getting a hangover in Greece would probably be a lot better than having one in Vegas, but for these guys it isn't the case.
Doug's about to get married, so it's par for the course that he get a bachelor party the day before. Unfortunately, they drink one bottle of beer too many and end up with a disaster they have to sort out before returning to the wedding. For instance, a 6-month old baby, Doug getting married to someone else, and the police hunting them down for a Holocaust ring, among other instances.
Whose baby is it, and how will they get back in time for the wedding?
Early reviews of this movie have been quite positive, so there might be something about it that the director did right.
Speaking of delays, the delayed Harry Potter movie (Half-Blood Prince) is getting an earlier release date. Err, that is, earlier by 4 days from the original release date. Whoops, then.
But another delayed movie (twice delayed!) is getting its theatrical debut at last, and it is...
The Soloist
It was supposed to debut last year so it can be fresh in the memory of Oscar-voters, but instead it was delayed to April. Now, it's coming and I don't feel as excited anymore, but it's still something to watch out for nonetheless.
Starring huge names, this movie is based on a true story and is a huge deviation for director Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) who typically directs British period book adaptations. It's about a journalist who discovers the hidden talents of a homeless man who developed schizophrenia during his second year in music school.
Other movies opening this week include Fighting and Obsessed, two movies I don't think aren't good nor bad enough to deserve mention. Although Obsessed notably has Beyonce starring in it.
This week's wide releases are rather... magical or just really bad depending on your tastes. But since the majority vote states the former, then I will "go" with the former... although I don't know how long I will last with my objectivity and unbiased-ness.
But before the real deal, here's an appetizer:
Observe and Report
Seth Rogen stars as a mall cop named Ronnie who is on a mission to find out the "pervert" who is after Brandy (Anna Faris). Perhaps, this is another one of those rom-coms that come in the vein of Zack and Miri Make A Porno, in a way.
Personally, I'm not that convinced with the trailer, but early reviews state that the director Jody Hill tries to redefine the comedy genre, and I'm in for something as ambitious as that.
AND NOW, I serve you not one, but two movies that are EXCITING, MAGICAL, AND AND AND AND AND MIND-BLOWING! IT'S LIKE, WOWWWWW!
FIRST OF ALL,
Hannah Montana The Movie
A tween's wet dream (Errr...), Hannah Montana The Movie must feel like Citizen Kane to them. Or maybe, that 3D concert was?
Anyway, Miley Cyrus returns to her blonde wig to play pretend as a celebrity called Hannah Montana. Truly, it's like Clark Kent. He just has to wear glasses to become Clark Kent, and remove them to become Superman. What is up with these people, anyway? How could they actually be so blind? Oh, and why does the blonde version of Miley Cyrus have to be the superstar persona anyway? Why not the brunette one?
Oh sorry, lost my composure there. I guess you can say that Hannah Montana isn't worthy of over-analyzation.
Umm, this here movie is about Miley doing what she usually does. But one day, Billy Ray over there gives Miley an achy-breaky heart by sending her to Tennessee, where she doesn't have a chance to get the star treatment (BUT THE TRAILER ALSO STATES OTHERWISE, I mean, ahem, ahem) and she has a chance to be just herself (oh yeah, that's original).
If there's a lesson to be learned in this friggin' masterpiece, it's that blondes have more fun. I mean, this thing was probably made because of the number of tweens who put on a blonde wig (perhaps even when they're blonde already) and sing and sing and sing and think that they sound good, (although for the record, Miley's voice sounds A LOT BETTER THAN USUAL in the trailer's song which is surprising) and the parents have become really, really mad and Disney caught wind of this and decided to make the story revolve around acting like one's self because they don't want to lose their cash!
Err, I mean, err... OH LOOK HERE'S THE TRAILER! DON'T FLAME ME, PLEASE!
Next "OMG AWESOME" film!
Dragonball Evolution
It's so... it's so... it renders me speechless, just... speechless. I'm just... blown-away by how everything in this film is just so... so... goshdarn creative!
Now, replace those italicized words with different ones... negative ones.
You know the drill: some evil thing wants to take over the world and Goku is the unlikely he- oh, it's not that kind of film? Oh sorry, I thought it was that kind of movie because of the hodgepodge of scenes that indicate convoluted sub-plots that eventually lead to that epic fight with that higher power. Oh, so it really is that kind of film? Fine, OK.
Really, does anyone really wanna watch this? There's a lot of promotion, and there's the name recognition (It really grinds me that they even spelled it incorrectly. Seriously, it's Dragon Ball. Not Dragonball. They should've at least made it DragonBall or something. Ah screw it, the title's all-caps in all the posters. It's as if they're shouting it: "DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION! HI-YAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!") but seriously.
The seriousness of the moment escaped me by 0:09. Seriously, you'd think they'd put more personality to these people!
As a bonus, though, here's the real anime Goku with his reaction to the film.
Yes, the long-awaited adaptation to the much lauded graphic novel is days away. Hell, I'm intrigued and I might even read the thing.
Anyway, it's set in an alternate America in the 80's. A man who formerly was a part of a disbanded vigilante group called the Watchmen was killed. Now, a guy named Rorschach (wow, prone to misspellings)- a part of this disbanded group- investigates, only to find a rather convoluted conspiracy which involves them and their past.
Visuals look amazing as all hell (I'm bent on watching this in IMAX) and that's because Zack Snyder (300 director) is at the helm once again. March 6, 2009 for the US, not sure for our shores.
Henry Sellick returns with his stop-motion friends minus the Tim Burton factor.
Coraline
The world is routine for Coraline (Dakota Fanning), but when she discovers a portal to another world right in her room, she sees a spooky "Alternate mother" (Teri Hatcher) and pretty much a lot of very nasty but interesting things. Directed by Henry Sellick, the stop-motion master behind Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.
Watched this year's Golden Globes? Watched Titanic?
Well if you've watched either of those, I'd assume that you already know the winning combination of di Caprio and Winslet, and how awesome the combination is, especially with Kate if the Globes can attest.
Anyway, the movie is based off the novel by Richard Yates, and is directed by American Beauty's Sam Mendes. It's about a couple living in the suburbs of the 1950's who are trying to come to terms with their personal problems whilst raising two children.
You'd think the producers would merely cash in on the lead stars (since they're oh-so profitable) but it doesn't. It seems that it will rely on the "I can relate to this" card to capture audiences, and with the acting prowess of the two I don't see anything going wrong with that.
Taken A thriller that actually looks half-decent, Taken is about a former soldier whose daughter goes to Paris. Unfortunately, some people have taken her and her friend, so the soldier marches on to find out the mystery.
Some have said that it is a bit demoralized despite the fact that it's directed by a Frenchman though.
It's yet another adventure from Brendan Fraser- Mummy killer extraordinaire.
Inkheart
The premise is semi-Bedtime Stories, but perhaps better. Based from Cornelia Funke's best-selling book, Inkheart is about a dad and his daughter who make fictional characters leap out of the book and into reality. When Gollum- err, the baddie in the book sprouts out into reality as well, he kidnaps the dad and it's up to the daughter to save him- with a little help from her fictional friends.
I'm kind of surprised that Brendan is the one playing the damsel- err, dude in distress, but I suppose he will still have his share of action regardless.
Early reviews have already raved about its non-stop action, and pleasing cast starring Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent. Many user comments on the trailer's YouTube page comment about the book's superiority- but what movie doesn't bend a book nowadays?
One of my most awaited movies of the year is this Brad Pitt-Cate Blanchett flick. It's about a guy who is born an octogenarian and ages backwards. He meets a young girl as he is dumped onto a retirement home by his father and they would eventually marry as their ages match.
It reminds me, somehow, of the premise of The Time Traveler's Wife.
Last week oversaw the release of colossal stinkers, Delgo specifically, and this week? Well, only Seven Pounds is of interest.
Seven Pounds
Will Smith is the everyman with a job at the IRS called Ben Thomas, and he has to choose 7 people and change their lives. Why? Well, it's a secret. And this is why Seven Pounds is interesting. Why would he give his house to a woman he doesn't really know all too well? Why did he choose all the othres? Of what magnitude is this sin he committed? When you watch it, you'll find out.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Land of the Lost
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