Box office time yet again. We’re making tracks through 2009 and we’ve come once more to another weekend filled with mediocre-to-decent movies opening wide across the country and some better than average ones in limited release. So let’s see what’s up.
If you must spend your money in a megaplex (and this weekend we suggest you don’t),than your best best for the weekend’s wide releases is “The Soloist,” director Joe Wright’s follow-up to “Atonement.” Starring Robert Downey, Jr. (“Iron Man”), Jamie Foxx (“Ray”) and Catherine Keener (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”), the movie tells the story–based on true events–of a journalist who discovers a mentally troubled homeless man who happens to be a musical prodigy. We weren’t blown away by it and didn’t quite connect to it overall. Critics seem to be in the same boat as it holds a lukewarm 53% RT rating currently. Ultimately, don’t go to this expecting to have your world rocked but if you’re desperate for a human interest story, you could probably do worse.
Speaking of doing worse, the rest of this week’s wide releases are fairly dire. Best of these is likely to be “Earth.” If you enjoyed “March of the Penguins,” this similarly flavored documentary from Disney should hit the spot. Narrated by James Earl Jones, it has a robust 85% rating right now. If animals are too cutesy for you, you can check out the creatively named and very stupid looking “Fighting,” (34%) about the controversial world of underground fighting. Finally, there’s “Obsessed,” which stars Beyonce and Idris Elba of “The Wire” in a tale of marital intrigue–and which has a none-too-promising N/A on RT (i.e., the studio didn’t have enough confidence in it for it to be screened for critics).
In Limited Release
Among the more promising limited releases opening this weekend is James Toback’s (“Fingers”) unnerving and engaging documentary “Tyson” about the troubled boxer. Mixing pre-existing footage and extensive interviews with the man himself, the film paints a simultaneously scary and sympathetic picture of one of the most controversial and, frankly, crazy sports figures of our time. We were both moved, fascinated and put off by the picture, which seems like it might have been Toback’s whole goal with this project. Critics in general have been fairly impressed, with “Tyson” racking up a respectable 87% to date. Sports fans, boxing lovers and those who enjoy an enigmatic and troubled celebrity will all find something to like here.
Brett Easton Ellis is back on the silver screen. Following in the footsteps of the novels “Less Than Zero” and “American Psycho,” Ellis himself adapted “The Informers” for Hollywood and it mines familiar territory: seedy characters against a disgusting 1980’s LA backdrop. Starring an impressive cast–Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder and Kim Bassinger–the movie was directed by Australian Gregor Jordan (“Ned Kelly”). Ellis, no stranger to making news (or idiocy, for that matter) has given conflicting reports on his reactions to the finished product. Critics, however, are all of one mind: this movie sucks.
On a more hopeful note, there’s also “Il Divo,” one of our most anticipated foreign films of 2009. The film is the story of Giulio Andreotti, a septuagenarian Prime Minister of Italy who wields power with the aplomb of someone who has forgotten what it is like not to rule. Unfortunately for this statesman, the Mafia in Rome has declared war on his rule that will threaten to destroy his life and end the glory days he has known. With an 82% rating, this is probably a much better bet than the Ellis picture.
Of the remaining films out this weekend, “Treeless Mountain,” the story of two young girls waiting on their mother to return from a quest to track down their estranged father, from director So Yong Kim is another strong bet with an 85%. There’s also the documentaries “Throw Down Your Heart”–about Bela Fleck’s recent trip through Africa (100%)–and “Nursery University,” which focuses on the increasingly competitive New York City nursery school scene (N/A). You could also check out “The Garden,” a doc that focuses on the Los Angeles garden that arose after the riots there in the early nineties and is currently facing destruction (N/A). Finally, there’s the dud sci-fi pic “Mutant Chronicles” (18%) starring Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman about war between corporations.
If you’re in New York, you have lots and lots of classic cinema retrospective options at either MOMA, Walter Reade, Film Forum or BAM and you should always take advantage of to further fuel your cinema education (and frankly, these will are always well worth it and you’re foolish to miss unless you’re broke which is your only real excuse). So there you have it. If none of these stokes your interest, fear not: there’s always more coming next week.