The Female Star Wars

This weekend most movie theaters will resemble a vortex of femininity thanks to the release of HBO's long awaited Sex and The City film. Nevermind the fact that some studio should have had the foresight to release a movie called Violent Explosions and Hot Babes aimed exclusively at the male population or maybe just re-released Rambo and Rocky Balboa, it's far too late for that now and we're in the throes of what just may be the biggest opening weekend all summer. I haven't seen female film fans this excited since Titanic won all of those Oscars. By all accounts this film is all set to be the female version of the release of all of those Star Wars prequels, the girls' chance to geek out as their favorite characters hit the big screen in what looks to be an absolutely atrocious film. I haven't been less enthused to see a movie since I saw the preview for The Good Son starring Macauley Culkin. Frankly, after seeing the trailer, I wouldn't go see this film if I was promised sex afterwards. Then again, most women probably would've said the same thing with the male obsession with both Indiana Jones and Iron Man the last few months...so I guess we're even.

So how much will the film about those four girls whose names I don't want to admit that I know gross at the box office on opening weekend? $100 Million? $300 Million? $1 Billion? Okay, maybe those last two estimates are optimistic, but this is a weekend that truly tests the drawing power of films aimed specifically at women. If Sex and The City does as well as it should, we might see a Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy movie on the horizon. Perhaps, Drew Barrymore will get the girls back together for Charlie's Angels 3: More Throttle. Regardless of what might come after, I'm going to stick with a $160 million estimate for the biggest movie event since...well last week.

You wouldn't actually know it, but other movies are coming out this weekend. The only one in wide release is The Strangers, which judging from the preview actually looks pretty creepy. However, it is a horror, suspense film and most trailers for horror films are supposed to look like that. Otherwise someone's not doing their job. Either way, I don't see this film grabbing anything higher than 5th place. There's too much out there in the way of blockbusters and Ashton Kutcher films for this one to make a dent...unless for some reason someone who can't get tickets to Sex and The City decides they want to see a horror film instead. Though really, what are the odds of that happening.

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Indy Takes Home More Gold For Paramount

Film fans have spoken this Memorial day weekend, and to no one's
surprise, they said they missed Indy. After 19 years out of the
spotlight, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas's adventure serial came
back with a bang grossing $151 million since hitting theaters last
week. No matter how confusing and uninteresting the plot was, this
just goes to show you people how much people like to see elderly men
wearing fedoras and throwing their back out in the in the middle of a
rainforest. Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls blew
away the competition with The Chronicles of Narnia earning almost $100
million less than the box office champion did this weekend.
Meanwhile, Iron Man was not too far behind Prince Caspian continuing
to exceed expectations by raking in a respectable $25.6 million. By
all accounts Paramount has already had quite the successful summer
season and that's got to be a good thing because their other slated
summer release, Mike Myers The Love Guru, looks positively horrendous.
If that one bombs they should have already made enough money to cover
their losses. Though something tells me that Guru will at least break
even if not end up another smash hit for the man behind the Wayne's
World, Austin Powers, and Shrek franchises.

In sadder news, we here at the Film School Film blog are mourning the passing
of the exceptionally talented writer/director and actor Sydney
Pollack, who passed away at age 73 this weekend. Pollack, perhaps
known for his directorial triumphs, was thrice nominated in the Best
DIrector category for "They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1970), Tootsie
(1982), and Out of Africa (1985), the latter of which garnered him the
academy award. He also made many memorable on screen appearances. He
co-starred opposite Tom Cruise in Kubrick's last film Eyes Wide Shut
and can currently be seen in Made of Honor. While his work will
always be with us, his presence will be truly missed.

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Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull

The buzz around the film school last week was the long anticipated addition to the Indiana Jones series, and as I entered the Ziegfeld theater on opening night of Indiana Jones
and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls I was constructing my own
"Horror-bility Scale" whereby I would rank the film on a scale from
one to ten, one being Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (mediocre
but enjoyable), Ten Being the Star Wars Prequels (mind blowingly
horrendous). Having been conned into George Lucas' three Star Wars
prequels my cynical expectation for IJATKOTCS was to come in at an
even nine on my previously laid out scale, even though I hoped for it
to exceed expectations and surprise me with about a four and a half.

The curtains opened up and this reviewer felt a chill of excitement.
The screen was revealed opened with a gopher emerging from a whole and
a 50's Era teen-drag race type scene...I was a tad bit unsure that I
was in the correct theater. Despite my original misgivings the film
opened with promise. The first fifteen to twenty minutes were a dose
of Jonesian delight. Although Indy himself looked a little long in
the tooth the action that ensued complete with relics, evildoers, and
some cranium kicking from a creaky old man set the film off on a
relatively rollicking pace. It was more or less all downhill from
there. The more characters that became involved in the action, the
more the plot resembled that of the film Goonies. A bunch of friends
were hunting for buried treasure as the bad guys were hot on their
tail. The whole film seemed like a scavenger hunt of sorts. The
strength behind the films like Raiders of The Lost Ark and The Last
Crusade was that the archaeological relics being sought out had
somewhat of a known historical basis and a connection was built to the
importance of that which was sought. In The Last Crusade for example,
the Holy Grail was more than just Jesus' cup, it was a bridge between
Indiana and his father. The Crystal Skull in this film seemed so
foreign that not even the characters knew why they were looking for
it. All everyone knew is that it had some psychic power and that Cate
Blanchett wanted it and it drove another guy crazy that Indy used to
be friends with. Often times it seemed like the only reason anyone
wanted to find the Crystal Skull is because they finally had the
directions to get there. The other angle played up in the film was,
of course, the reunion of Indy and Marion Ravenwood. As nice as it
was to see Karen Allen back on screen again and the two arguing just
like old times...it was really unneeded. Another strong point of the
other two sequels was that they never stopped to consider the film or
films that preceeded them. This film feels like it dwells on a
relationship built up 27 years ago...but that relationship doesn't
necessarily weigh on anything that occurs throughout the film, but
nonetheless provides a few one liners.

The rest of the supporting cast felt a bit wasted. While Cate
Blanchett is always a pleasure to watch, she never angered me with her
evilness...and it seemed like no thought went into writing John Hurt's
character. Ray Winstone played the token worthless fat guy and Shia
LeBeouf wasn't unenjoyable and lord knows he certainly injected some
youth into the proceedings as Indy's travel partner and initiator of
the plot thickening trip to Peru. I'd say more but I don't do
spoilers. Lebeouf participated in plenty of action sequences that
might cause me to give up my suspension of disbelief altogether.

As harsh this review has been, I'm not sure the film deserves a ten on
my haphazardly formulated horror-bility scale. I'll give it a seven
and a half and a hearty "DAMN YOU SPIELBERG AND LUCAS!" for ruining
such a good thing by making part IV. I've already put the $12 I'm not
spending on Indiana Jones V: Mutt Williams and The Sasquatch Trail of
The Pacific Northwest, into a savings account so I can hopefully make
my money back by the time that comes out.

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The Chronic(what?)les

by Evan Kessler

Here's a tip for this weekend: Unless you haven't seen Iron Man, sleep in as late as you want and when you wake up go outside and enjoy the lovely spring weather.

We love new movies as much as the next cinephile but there's not much on the docket as far as nationwide releases go this weekend. If the weather is bad you could always catch up on a little Baby Mama or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but if those current releases have been knocked off your list, maybe you should catch up on DVR, really.

We know the Chronic(what?)les of Narnia: Prince Caspian is coming out but the fact of the matter is though we never saw the first one we got the word that it was kind of a snooze. This one looks no different, although it does seem the talking animals go to war and while talking animals fighting could be interesting, we prefer to take our chances with The Discovery Channel. While the wide releases seem like nothing to shake a stick at there are a handful of intriguing films in small release.

We're most intrigued by Reprise from Norwegian Director Joachim Trier, about two competitive friends waiting to hear if their respective novels have been picked up for publication. While the waiting part doesn't sound exciting, the film's critical reception so far leaves it teetering on the edge of being a must-see. So if you find yourself in the vicinity of an independent theater you might want to consider it. Also worth considering on the independent circuit this week are, How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer and Sangre de mi sangre.

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No Speed Racer

By Evan Kessler

Well, I don't want to brag, but I'm going to say, "I told you so" as Iron Man raked in another solid $50 million last weekend. I know I cast a wide net by predicting $40-65 million, but we can't all be Nostradamous. Alas, the Summer blockbuster is alive and well and you might even say "thriving" in 2008.

While I wasn't surprised by Speed Racer's $20.2 million dollar second place take last weekend, I was completely flummoxed by Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz's ability to pull in $20 million dollars with Stupid Movie… Oh wait, that wasn't the title? I thought it was produced by the same people who did Superhero Movie and Date Movie.

Oh well. I guess I'll have to attribute that to the "oh it's sold out, we'll just go see whatever the hell else is playing" school of thought that most non-discerning moviegoers faithfully cling to. I think we've all fallen victim to that once or twice, the last time I remember doing that was when I went to see that movie Boys and Girls starring Jason Biggs and Claire Forlani about ten years back, though to be fair I sort of knew what I was getting into as I had a monster crush on Forlani dating back to Mallrats.

In any case, moviegoers will be moviegoers and hopefully they'll learn the errors of their ways. Either way, I think the success of Iron Man should assist in padding the pockets of several other studios thanks to this method of box office deflection. Who knows, maybe next year around this time someone will have earned enough money to place Ashton Kutcher in a movie where he's a likeable Superhero, though that would require plenty of CGI magic.

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See Iron Man Again

By Evan Kessler

Last weekend Iron Man dazzled moviegoers and smashed expectations, raking in uber-respectable numbers at the box office. Looking at this weekend's slated film releases, it seems as though the studios are resigned to let the superhero vehicle rake in another $40-65 million and leave all other comers in the dust yet again. Only two new films start in wide release this weekend and only one of them seems the least bit interesting and it doesn't star Ashton Kutcher.

The Wachowski Brothers famous for their success with the Matrix try their hand at an adaptation of cartoon favorite, Speed Racer. The film looks quite intriguing if just for it's two lead actors Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci. Along with the acting chops present, the trailer makes the film out to be quite the unique visual feast. Despite these winning elements, I'm still not fully sold on the punch this one is packing. There's something that always rubs me the wrong way about live action adaptations.

As for the other film opening in wide release, Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz star in the run of the mill romantic comedy, What Happens In Vegas. I have a few questions here: "Who comes up with this crap?” "Why should any of us care?" and "Does Demi get script approval before she lets her son star in movies?" Furthermore, I can remember a day when Cameron Diaz was a reputable film actress, well except for The Sweetest Thing and those atrocious Charlie's Angels movies. This is a role better left for an actress looking to get her big break in a bad movie. The trailer alone makes me want this film to finish with negative dollars at the box office thanks to its omnipresence on TV and that horrible "Richard Banger" joke. In other words, even if you've already seen Iron Man, go see it again.

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Iron Man Lives Up To The Hype

By Evan Kessler

After a huge weekend at the box office it seems that film fans have Iron-Mania. Grossing nearly $200 million at the worldwide box office, Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of this comic book hero surprised nearly everyone with his take.

While I had originally vowed not to get caught up in the hype of another one of what seems like a constant string of superhero films, I bit the bullet and took to the multiplex this Monday to see if Iron Man was worth the hype. My usual apprehension towards big budget studio films seemed to quickly melt away in the early moments of the film.

Downey's portrayal of cocky jetsetting billionaire Tony Stark was never dull thanks to his whip smart delivery. Combined with Jon Favreau's direction, the film really seemed to do a great job of focusing on Stark's character flaws without making it seem too heavy handed. The transition into his Iron Man persona also seemed so natural thanks to Downey's tremendous ability.

About forty-five minutes in it was impossible not to realize how much fun I was having. I had no trouble suspending my disbelief for even the most unlikely of events. Perhaps this was helped by the fact that none of the special effects were so overwrought that you might deem them cringe-worthy. I really can't say enough about the casting though, everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jeff Bridges was perfect in support. The acting A team turned this into an A movie.

Perhaps the only unbearable part of the movie was the extremely lengthy end credits, which I sat through because one of the theater ushers announced that there was a special surprise at the end of them. I'm not going to spoil what that special surprise was. You'll just have to labor through the end credits and see for yourself.

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Iron Man vs. The New Hugh

By Evan Kessler

Hey Film Fans. Are you ready to go running to the multiplexes this weekend?

Me either.

After what seemed like a particularly strong weekend of releases last weekend, the film industry has given us one good film and bunch of also-rans this week to fulfill our jones for new releases.

Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. was released this Wednesday to relatively strong reviews and looks to be a box office force to be reckoned with. Positioning the troubled yet utterly gifted Downey Jr. as an unlikely super-hero is somewhat of a master stroke of casting that seems bound to pay off. However, I'm not going to sit here and say that casting is the only reason this film will do well. God knows comic book geeks will go to see just about any superhero lace up their boots for their first film effort even when something looks as bad as Fantastic Four.

There's not much else to shake a stick at as far as what else is new in theaters unless you want to see Patrick Dempsey portray Hugh Grant in Made of Honor. Something tells me that film would be more appealing if they positioned it as a cross between Maid in Manhattan with J.Lo and Men of Honor with Cuba Gooding Jr. and De Niro.

Other than that, there's a bunch of films that open in limited release, the most intriguing of which is David Mamet's, Redbelt. The sport of ultimate fighting doesn't really seem like it's up the director of State and Main and The Spanish Prisoner's alley. However, given Mamet's knack for plot execution it almost makes the film a must see out of curiosity, though it might be more suitable as a rental. In any case, my big prediction for the weekend’s take is Iron Man in a landslide followed by either Harold and Kumar or Baby Mama, but I've been wrong before.

Actually I haven't been right yet.

This industry is so unpredictable.

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