Despite the late summer dumping-ground doldrums being upon us, there are a few interesting options this weekend to save us from the oppressive August heat, humidity and this generally lackluster movie month. Luckily, Hollywood has the whole family covered too; sci-fi action for the gents, time-traveling romance for the ladies, Disney Channel nonsense for the kiddies, and even a dose of Jeremy Piven for your creepy uncle.
In Wide Release: The buzz on the low budget “District 9” has been building steadily for months and should be good enough to put it on top of “GI Joe” in it’s second week. Peter Jackson’s name also gets people in seats, and the marketing for this picture has been fantastic and thankfully subtle. First time feature director Neill Blomkamp‘s film tells the allegorical tale of a group of extra-terrestrial “workers” living as refugees in South Africa. We were vastly impressed and gave it a solid thumbs up and critics seem to be in agreement as the film has a very deserving 97% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. It’s nice to see a sci-fi that is intelligent and sharp and this one has layers of smart socio-political context too. Does this mean the pleebs will reject it? Let’s hope for humanity’s sake they don’t.
Eric Bana rounds up his wildly varied summer with the romantic drama “The Time-Traveler’s Wife.” An adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger‘s best-selling book, the film mixes sci-fi and romance, following the relationship of Bana and Rachel McAdams as star-crossed lovers who can’t seem to make it work, given that Bana can’t seem to stop himself from spontaneously traveling through time. While the two leads are usually solid, the trailer for this one looks shameless and cheesy, but this is the best bet for anyone looking to shed a few tears at the multiplex this weekend. RT has it at a middling 35% which bums us out a bit because we were hoping it might be decent.
The excruciatingly titled “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” is finally released this weekend, after sitting on the shelf for a time. There’s some inspired moments in the trailer and a pretty decent cast including Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, Ed Helms, and Buster Bluth himself, Tony Hale. It could be vulgar fun, but we have to remain very cautious on this one. Mid to Late August is a notorious dumping ground for studio shlock. So far the critics aren’t sold, with 0% so far on RT, but then again it appears the film was screened at the very last minute (never a good sign either).
Disney’s “Bandslam” with its surprisingly ok soundtrack is also out today, hoping to squeeze the last drops of summer cash out of the tween market before school starts back. Famous nude model Vanessa Hudgens stars as a character named Sa5m(!) trying to take on the competition at a high school Battle of the Bands. Apparently David Bowie makes an appearance in this somewhere, so all is not lost, and the critics are positive with a current score of 80% fresh on RT.
Finally, Walt Disney Pictures is releasing Hayao Miyazaki‘s latest whimsical animated feature “Ponyo” on 800 screens. The voice cast includes the great Cate Blancett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and more. The story is inspired by Han Christian Andersen‘s “The Little Mermaid“, except this time it’s a goldfish vying to be human. Expect lots of beautiful animation and creatures so cute they border on truly creepy. As expected, the reviews have been stellar with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In Limited Release: David Guggenheim‘s “It Might Get Loud” puts three guitar gods (Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White) in a room and prays that the results are interesting. When we saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, we called it “engaging, informative, if not completely necessary.” Fans of these guys should certainly be pleased, and RT has it at a favorable 75%, but it’s not a rock-doc that’s going to change your life. Music doc of the year so far? Easily, easily, “Soul Power.” That thing is truly electric and on fire.
Otherwise, director David Mackenzie (“Young Adam,” “Mister Foe“) gives us “Spread” with Ashton Kutcher as a Hollywood man whore. No, it is not a documentary. Sheesh. Only a couple reviews so far on RT, so while we doubt it is any good (Anne Heche is also involved) take that 0% fresh so far with a grain of salt (again, probably screened late). “Grace“, another horror film of the evil child persuasion, was a big hit at Sundance but so far the critics are mixed. It has a 64% fresh rating on RT.
Fairing better with 94% fresh, is the German film “Cloud Nine” delving into the potentially disturbing sex lives of senior citizens. Featuring improvised dialogue and a stream-of-conscious narrative, this could be an art house distraction amid the late summer bluster at the multiplex. Also on a few screens, Robert Stone‘s documentary chronicling the history of the environmental movement, “Earth Days.” It has a 63% fresh rating on RT. Just in time for “Inglorious Basterds,” a Hitler-themed comedy “Mein Fuhrer: The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler,” a 2007 release in Germany, gets U.S. distribution and an ok 63% on RT. – Hunter McClamrock