Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

In Theatres: June 15th, 2007
Tim Story (dir.)
Ioan Gruffudd
Jessica Alba
Chris Evans
Trailer

Hmm, looks like somebody's decided to get a little more mileage out of the Terminator 2 metal-guy special effect. This teaser has a lot of promise. There's no plot elements to speak off, just two guys chasing each other through the airspace of NYC. It'll probably be a pretty fun summer movie, but I don't think it'll be anything revolutionary. It might actually suffer from overdone special effects, but I won't really be able to tell until I see the release trailer in a few months.

Anticipated rating : 6/10

Grindhouse

I don't normally review stuff that I can't find on Apple.com/trailers, but this one deserves all the attention it can get. Rodriguez and Tarantino join forces for an exploitation double feature. There's a girl with an m-16 for a leg. Need I say more?

Update 4/13/07: After seeing the movie, I am still impressed. The first feature (Planet Terror) is definitely trashier and grittier than the second (Tarantino's Death Proof). One of the best parts of the film are the trailers for the fake films. Definitely worth a look and the DVD promises to be a treasure trove of bonus footage, I think.

Anticipated rating: 10/10
Actual Rating: 9/10 (Death Proof wasn't exploitational enough)

Curse of the Golden Flower

In Theatres: December 22nd, 2006
Yimou Zhang (dir.)
Jay Chou
Yun-Fat Chow
Li Gong
Trailer

Wow.

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for the new kung fu movies that have come out starting with Crouching Tiger, but this one seems to raise the bar once again. And it's so damned colorful!

Anticipated rating: 10/10

The Breach

In Theatres: February 16th, 2007
Chris Cooper
Laura Linney
Ryan Phillippe
Trailer

I probably learned all about this case in my US Intelligence class in college. The class I got a C in. Yeah, so I really don't know what true events this film is based on. Maybe Aldrich Ames? Get back to me on it, please. The trailer looks halfway descent, but the cast seems to be made up entirely of supporting actors. I suppose that isn't a bad thing, but it will put the burden of success on the shoulders of the script. I kind of like all the spy stuff that's coming out now. I hope subsequent films will eventually focus more on tales of historic CIA misdeeds.

Anticipated rating: 6/10

Apocalypto

In Theatres: December 8th, 2006
Mel Gibson (dir.)
Dalia Hernandez
Mayra Serbulo
Trailer

The original teaser trailer didn't really do much for me. Lots of eye candy, but no real help with the plot. Such is the function of a teaser. However, there is a better reason to watch it: There's one special frame at 1:46. You have to step through it with the arrow keys. Anyhow, the movie... A friend of mine told me that it was the most gratuitously violent thing she'd ever seen. Not a bad thing, in my opinion. It also looks like a movie that'd give me a little more info about a dead culture that I know nothing about.

Anticipated rating: 7/10
Actual Rating: 9/10 (12/12/06) It was better than I'd expected. The character development was really pretty full, but for some reason, I still didn't feel a lot of attachment to the people in their times of strife. I wanted to see the protagonist win, but at the same time, I didn't really care what became of him. I'm not sure why that is.

Smokin' Aces

In Theatres: January 26th, 2007
Joe Carnahan (dir.)
Ben Affleck
Andy Garcia
Alicia Keys
Ray Liotta
Jeremy Piven
Trailer

Well, the cast sort of turned me off from the get-go. Ben Affleck and Jeremy Piven, specifically. That said, the movie looks really entertaining. The premise seems good enough: A million dollar hit goes out on a witness, and a Cannonball Run style menagerie of professionals and misfits try to take him down for th jackpot.

Anticipated rating: 8/10

The Fountain

In Theatres: November 22nd, 2006
Darren Aronofsky (dir.)
Hugh Jackman
Rachel Weisz
Ellen Burstyn
Trailer

The trailers don't do the movie justice. The reviews don't do the movie justice. Bottom line, the movie is a tough sell. That said, it's definitely worth buying a ticket for. For one thing, it's an Aronofsky film (Pi, Requiem for a Dream). For another, it holds up. It's hard to untangle what the movie is all about, but that's not a bad thing. Many of the greatest movies are like that. Similar to Kubrick's 2001, one is left to scratch their head at the ending, but unlike that film, I was actually able to come up with a satisfactory explaination for this one.

Anticipated rating: 8/10
Actual rating: 10/10

300

In Theatres: March 9th, 2007
Zack Snyder (dir.)
Gerard Butler
Lena Headey
Trailer

Frank Miller has finally earned his due. With Sin City being such a wonderful adaptation, it looks like his other works are becoming marketable. 300 looks like it could become the best historical epic of its contemporaries. (Not that it would be hard to outdo Troy or Alexander) Lots of CGI, but it doesn't feel like the movie relies on it. Cool lighting effects, plenty of violence and (hopefully) a little nudity round out the other pre-req's for a film like this.

Anticipated rating: 8/10

Eragon

In Theatres: December 15th, 2006
Stefen Fangmeier (dir.)
Edward Speleers
Jeremy Irons
John Malkovich
Trailer

After watching both trailers, I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, it's a new adventure movie trilogy, on the other hand, it looks like a bunch of special effects guys spent a whole lot of time masturbating creatively, spewing fat globs of CGI into every nook and cranny on the big screen. It'll probably be fun to watch, but I don't think it's going to break any new ground.

Anticipated rating: 6/10

8 Films To Die For

In Theatres: November 17th, 18th & 19th, 2006
Trailer

A one weekend horrorfest FULL of really good looking stuff. Stuff that is a mixture of good, bad, gore and sex the likes of which haven't been seen since the golden era of the mid-70's. Looks like it's gonna be on a lot of screens too. No word on ticket prices, but check back here: http://horrorfestonline.com/theaters.html

The trailer looks good. Typical horror-y stuff, but who am I to complain?

Anticipated rating: 10/10 for the whole event
Actual rating: 4/10 Execution of the 'film festival' was a joke. I went to see The Hamiltons, but there was no way of knowing what movie one was showing up for, as the listings in the paper were simply "Horror-Fest." After the movie ended, there was a gap of at least 90 minutes before the next film started, and after that one, the same movie was playing a second time. There must have been at least one movie theatre in the country that got it right, but unfortunately, I wasn't at that one. Oh, and The Hamiltons kinda sucked.