The Weigh In #49

For the most part, whenever we go to the movies it is a chance to get away from work, school; pretty much anything that is the least bit stressful in our lives. We get to pay a few dollars to be entertained and to forget about everything else.

Ok... while that may be true to some degree, I think anyone over the age of 12 realizes that there is more to film than that. While some films are a form of escape, some filmmakers try to make sense of the life around them. Film has always been a medium that people have used to express fears, hopes, and maybe a perspective we haven’t taken into account, for good or bad. Some of the best and most important films in history are social commentaries on everything from race relations, to war, to the most mundane of problems. They help to give us an understanding of the world around us, maybe start an argument or two, and hopefully leads to some kind of revelation about ourselves. These films are usually controversial and are occasionally considered offensive by some. But I think with time we can gather perspective and easier it is easier to watch to watch these films.

What? Where did this come from? You came for a light-hearted little article about TV and or film and you walked right into an article about well.. What is this article about anyways? Where did the “great films” rant come from?

Well, funny you should ask. Last weekend limited theaters in New York and L.A. started showing the trailer for United 93, the first full length box office film about 9/11. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood dramatized what is considered to be America’s greatest tragedy. To shouts of “too soon”, theater owners pulled the trailer and no one is really sure how the trailer (or film for that matter) is going to play in the rest of the country. The film is still set to be released April 28th. A second film, World Trade Center, about some of the 9/11 survivors, is slated to be released on 8/11/2006. Even though Hollywood does play an important role in helping us to understand and relate to the world around us, I think that those complaints bring up a good question. Is it too soon? Is this an important step in some sort of healing process?
Here is the trailer if you want to see it. Do you plan on seeing this film? Does the idea of a film about 9/11 even interest you? This week I am looking for your input on this. I was wondering what you thought. Please take a moment to go to our forums section, take the little poll I set up and let me know what you think.

On a lighter note. This weekend Paul and I missed the showing of Slither we were going to see and ran across a Tinseltown in Grapevine, TX while trying to find a later showing. Underneath the movie listings was a placard that read: Coming Soon, Snakes on a Plane. When I asked the box office attendant about the placard, he mentioned that although the movie won’t be released until August, the manage of the theater was so hyped to see the movie he was promoting it six months before it’s release. It is that kind of thing that puts a big old smile on my face when I put these articles together. It makes me feel good to see a movie dork use his power for good every once in a while. So I wanted to end this week’s article with a hat tip and a knowing wink to the movie manager that could in Grapevine, TX.

This week’s Superman News:

• The Superman Returns score will be released on July 29th

Courtesy of superherohype.com.

• Superman Returns will be released on June 30th in I-Max theaters, simultaneously with the wide release of the film. Approximately 20 minutes of the film will be in 3D.
• Here are some new Superman toys you may want to check out
• The Superman Returns website (by EA games) is up and running. It is due to be released on June 28th.

This week at your local multiplex (4/7/2006)

The Benchwarmers: Comedy
Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Jon Heder, Tim Meadows, Craig Kilborn
Plot: Three guys try to make up for not being athletic as children by forming a three man baseball team to take on a group of pee wee league children. Other children rally around them as they attempt to defeat the best ball players in the state.
Buzz: The only thing missing from this movie is Dana Carvey along with a “and produced by” Lorne Micheals credit. Maybe if no one goes to see these movies maybe they will stop making them. But judging from this year’s #1 lists so far, this movie will probably end up with the first or second biggest box office take of the week. Uggh.

Take the Lead: Drama
Antonio Banderas, Alfre Woodard, Rob Brown
Plot: When a world famous ballroom dancer comes to a New York public school to teach ballroom dancing, he realizes that they have just as much to teach him as he has to teach them.
Buzz: The marketing around this movie reminds me of the media blitz that surrounded Memoirs of A Geisha around the end of the year. Sony put all of its eggs in that basket, the movie was panned by critics, and the movie bombed. I have almost the exact same itch about this one.

Lucky Number Slevin: Thriller
Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, Ben Kingsley
Plot: Josh Hartnett is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is mistaken for a world famous assassin. Two rival mafia families give him an offer he can’t refuse.
Buzz: Words like “hip” and “cool” are being thrown around about this movie which could easily mean that is this years Get Shorty. Or it could just as easily be a turd of a film like Be Cool. This film does have a pretty kick ass cast though. This is probably the one I would check out this week.

Phat Girlz: Comedy
Mo’Nique, Jimmy Jean Louis, Eric Roberts, Kendra C. Jake
Plot: Two plus sized fashion designers are fed up dealing with a skinny industry and decide to fight back.
Buzz: Maybe I am being too hard on this film when I say that it is a cookie cutter vehicle for an actress that has been done way too many times, all slightly different version of the same film. Or maybe this is just another throw away movie that probably should have gone direct to video. I have a feeling we will be hearing about this movie again come Razzie time.


This week on DVD (4/4/2006):

Brokeback Mountain
The David Spade Collection
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Crash (se)
The Mel Brooks Collection
Bee Season
Tripping the Rift (season 2)
Little Manhattan
Garbage Pail Kids (the series)
Dirty
New York Doll
9 to 5 (se)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol 4)
The A-Team (season 4)
Knight Rider (season 4)
Magnum P.I (season 4)
Dawson’s Creek (season 6)
Full House (season 3)
Blue Thunder (se)
Star Trek: Time Travel, the Collection
Thinking
XXX

As always, if you have any questions, or just want to pick my brain, drop me a line at DPlace76@yahoo.com.
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