Opening This Weekend

Opening December 21st: I Can Admit When I Am Wrong


What Is Worse Than Having To Admit You Were Wrong When You Were So Sure (Prematurely) That You Were Right

At Least I'm Not Wrong About This

I am wrong all the time. I am wrong about movies and sports and politics. I misremember facts and misquote numbers all the time. Truthfully at least 50% of my opinions, many of which are voiced with an attempted ring of extreme confidence, have a reasonable chance of being wrong to one degree or another. I know this and I am generally reasonably good at not deluding myself too much so that when I am proven wrong I feel no great shame, embarrassment or any attack on my self-confidence. Heck we are all wrong from time to time and we all willing accept that as long as we right with enough frequency that people don't tune us out entirely. Here are a number of things I have been wrong about in the last 10 months since I launched TheFatFilmGuy.com:

• John Carter would draw enough attention from young boys who love action movies to make it a solid performer if not a huge hit.
• Snow White and the Huntsman would be the biggest flop of the summer.
• Three attractive and underrated leads and a fun Sci-Fi story would turn Total Recall into the hit of August.
• The Silver Lining Playbook would ride strong word of mouth, awards nominations and the undeniable star power of Katniss Everdeen to the grown-up hit of the fall and holiday season.
• Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez would thrive as Rex Ryan implemented the same strategies used by Urban Meyer when Tebow was a freshman at Florida.

That was just five that came off the top of my head, I am sure even a cursory review of what I have written over the last year would be more than enough fodder to fill a 5,000 word post enumerating my errors. And I am not even talking about the subjective stuff that people disagree with me on all the time, I just mean the factual, absolutely conclusive stuff I was wrong about. And not a one of those mistakes hurts me or makes me feel I am not knowledgeable enough to write this stuff. I am not the Fonz, I can be wrong (everyone over the age of 45 gets that reference the rest of you need to find Happy Days on DVD). But this week, this week I may have to admit to something that hurts. I may have to admit that I was wrong about something I honestly couldn't comprehend I was wrong about -- and that sucks.

But, more about that later, on to the previews ...

This is 40

Interest Level: 6, no 8, no 6, no 8, no...

Is This It: Nope

Ah, Judd Apatow, what are we to make of you? You gave us Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill and all the Freaks & Geeks guys. You gave us comedies featuring man-boys that were good deep down (often way deep down) and the women who could eventually, albeit begrudgingly, fall for them (in other words "rom-coms" disguised as raunchy comedies). You were THE comedic voice of hollywood, the most imitated comedy director of a generation. An now you give us a movie that is obviously deeply personal (it even stars your wife and children), that is meant to be funny and poignant, and that has people split right down the middle. Some are saying it is the most honest and relatable comedy in years, others are saying you feel every second of the 134 minute running time. Which is it? I just keep thinking back to Funny People, a movie that had moments to be sure, that was overtly personal and aspired to being more than simply funny (no, the irony of the title was not lost on Mr. Apatow), and a movie that seemed to go on and on and on. I'd say it is a pretty safe bet I'll feel the same way about This is 40 and yet I still feel like I really want to see it.

Zero Dark Thirty

Interest Level: 8

Is This It: Nope

Modern conflicts have been a tough thing for hollywood to tap into successfully. Even those films that were critically and artistically praised (The Hurt Locker, Black Hawk Down) were financial under performers (I think The Hurt Locker is still the lowest grossing best picture winner of all time). I think it is because are modern conflicts are trickier to get our heads around. WWII had a clear good versus evil storyline that led to a number of amazing movies (especially those that muddy that narrative like Bridge on the River Kwai) and Vietnam had a "war is the true evil" storyline that has been mined over and over again to great success (Apocalypse Now, Platoon to name two) but Iraq and Afghanistan can't be framed quite so simply. The evil we have been fighting, terrorism and extremism, are unseen and hard to define, with one exception, Bin Laden. Will that clarity advantage allow Katherine Bigelow to make the first critically and financially successful movie about our conflicts in the middle east? If the fact that this film is about a 10 year manhunt doesn't squander all of that clarity advantage (and the fact that we all know the ending). Having said that I can't wait to see Zero Dark Thirty. Of course, you should know that unless you live in NYC or LA you wont have a chance to see this movie until sometime in January. This is what you call a "we want an oscar" opening weekend. It isn't really opening, but we need to put it into at least 1 theater if we want to win awards this year.

The Guilt Trip

Interest Level: 3

Is This It: No, Who Couldn't See This Train Wreck Coming A Mile Away

This contrived story about a man who is cajoled into taking his mother with him on a business road trip sounds painful, looks painful and according to just about anyone who has seen it is painful. Will I still watch it in a year or so when it shows up on HBO's rotation? Of course, because that is exactly the kind of idiot I am, but that doesn't mean anyone should waste money on seeing it in a theater.

Monsters Inc 3D

Interest Level: For The Movie a 10 For The 3D a 0

This Can't Be It: Of Course Not

In anticipation of the sequel coming out next summer we get Monsters Inc in amazing 3D. OK, I have no idea if the 3D is amazing and I will never know because I hate 3D, but the movie is really really good.

Cirque de Soleil: World's Away

Interest Level: 4

Will You Get To The Wrong Thing Already: Wait, I Am Getting Impatient With My Own Writing

I have no doubt this is beautiful and amazing. I know this because I have seen a Cirque de Soleil performance and it was amazing and beautiful. Do I need to see it in a movie theater? Nope. But I am still sure it is beautiful and amazing.

The Impossible

Interest Level: 6 and growing

No Admission Of Being Wrong Here: None

The story of a families fight to survive and find one another in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami's that devastated the south asia (280,000 people dead, truly tragic) is the english language debut of Juan Antonio Bayona (he made the really well received The Orphanage in 2007 for those who follow international cinema) and stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Reviews keep coming in saying it is really good and effective. I wouldn't have thought I would be too interested in it based on the trailer but some of those reviews are starting to win me over a little. No a lot, but a little.

On The Road

Interest Level: 6

Really, Still No Wrong Thing: Like You Don't Know I Am Holding It Until The End

Love the book (go read it if you didn't in school). Walter Salles built a strong following both in Brazil and in the art house community with Central Station and particularly with The Motorcycle Diaries (both are really good, but if you can only see one see The Motorcycle Diaries). Here he tackles one of those books that never seemed worth tackling to me. The book's narrative style and plot don't seem well suited to the screen. Kristen Stewart, Garret Hedlund and Sam Riley are all getting good notices for their performances as Marylou, Dean and Sal but I am not sure that matters. Here's the thing, if you haven't read the book I can't imagine you are interested in this and if you have read the book you have already developed strong mental images of the characters and scenes and the odds of the director and actors capturing your vision exactly are beyond remote. So where does that leave us? Well, for me I want to watch it at some point out of curiosity, I want to see how others see it, but that attitude almost guarantees a certain degree of emotional distance that would preclude this movie from really getting through to me. Now my head hurts. There is a chance I am over-thinking this whole thing, which is exactly what someone once told me when we discussing the book years ago.

Not Fade Away

Interest Level: 6

Nothing: Nope, Nothing To Admit To Here

David Chase, he of The Sopranos fame, has returned to the state where I was born (New Jersey) but instead of bringing us mobsters he brings us a group of friends who form a rock band. Chase creates characters that are real, dialogue that is interesting and stories that reflect himself. Sometimes that is great, like when his own difficult relationship with his mother played out in the greatest mother/son dynamic in television history when Tony Soprano and his mom Livia locked horns through the first two seasons of The Sopranos. Other times the slice of life nature feels real and mildly interesting but doesn't provide the stakes or drama that we expect from a movie. I doubt anyone will regret watching Not Fade Away just as I suspect few will feel too bad about missing it.

Amour

Interest Level: 8

This Can't Be It: Nope, Not Yet

Critics top 10 lists are starting to pop up all over the place for the year that was. If you take the time to look at a number of them you will see the movies you expect (Moonrise Kingdom, Lincoln, Argo, Silver Lining Playbook, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, etc.), you will see the requisite number of blockbusters to balance out the lists so the critics don't come off as elitist (The Avengers, The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit and the like) and you will see the occasional art house movie that you may never have heard of before so the critics can prove they see everything. Nothing new, the lists are what they are (I'll likely post mine next week, I am just catching up on some stuff now), but what is interesting is that the one little art house flick you may never have heard of that pops up on a surprising number of top 10 lists this year is Amour. Michael Haneke's improbable Palm d'Or winning movie about an 80 year old retired couple whose refinement cannot protect them against the strains of growing old and alone together is by all accounts gorgeous and haunting. It has collected award after award all over the world and seems a shoe in for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes (and probably the Academy Awards as well).

Jack Reacher

Interest Level: I'm Not Sure

So This Is It: Yup

Ever since news leaked that Tom Cruise might play Jack Reacher I have been almost obsessively adamant that this was one of the worst ideas in the history of cinema. I have actually severely tempered my agitation when I have written about it (just ask my wife). It didn't just seem like an odd choice, it seemed like almost the worst possible choice. Rumor turned into reality and I was shocked, particularly when Lee Child (author of the Jack Reacher novels) backed the casting enthusiastically, claiming Reacher's physical size in the books was a mere metaphor and not crucial to the character. The first trailer came out and I bristled at it, sure it was wasting one of the best modern characters in literature (I mean that in an entertaining way, not in an everlasting cannon of literature kind of a way). I railed about it every time the movie came up. Everyone I knew who has read the books railed about it every time it came up. And then reviews started coming in and they were good. I was dismissive at first, assuming they hadn't read the books and all they were doing was watching a new Mission Impossible movie dressed up in a new name. Then I read the reviews from people who had read the books, from reviewers I liked and generally agreed with, and they were good too. Not only were the reviews solid the general consensus has been that they stayed faithful to the book and that Cruise has pulled off being Jack Reacher. Granted of all the books in the Reacher series One Shot (the book this film was based on) used Reacher's size as a plot driving force the least (it is generally THE plot device in most of the novels) still my mind is reeling at the thought that a man who is a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter could pull of the character. It seems insane to me. But review after review keeps telling me I was wrong ... I am wrong. Maybe I'm not wrong. Maybe Cruise and the filmmakers missed the mark entirely as I always suspected they would and the reviews are wrong. Either way, I have always believed the the chances were Jack Reacher the movie would be watchable, I had just resigned myself to viewing it as something entirely separate from the books, so watch it I no doubt will, and I'll probably like it and maybe, just maybe, I'll even consider it a real Jack Reacher movie.

Conclusion

The foreign language film of the year, Kristen Stewart naked (if that is a selling point for you), the other couple from Knocked Up, an oscar contender you will only be able to see in two theaters and Tom Cruise pretending to be physically intimidating... is that a good week or just a weird one? Weird, I'm definitely going with weird.

But hey, what do I know? I'm fat.

Opening December 14th: As If We All Don't Know What Opens This Weekend

The Hobbit Isn't The Only Movie Opening This Weekend, Ot's Just The Only Movie Opening This Weekend You Will Probably Ever See

I suppose it is entirely possible someone doesn't know The Hobbit is opening this weekend. It's possible in as much as there are people who don't own TV's, have online access or listen to the radio, I just don't suspect any of those people are reading my little blog. So, for the rest of you, today is the day that Middle Earth comes back to life. There have been so many stories written, so many rumors surrounding and so much buzz about The Hobbit that it is tricky to know where to start or what to say. Rather than putting forth the effort to coalesce my thoughts into a tightly written paragraph I have decided to take the easy way out and use bullet points throw out some abstract number of random thoughts:

• The Hobbit has been labeled "the most anticipated movie since The Phantom Menace" by many and that label has been used as a not so subtle warning. Yes, each movie is a prequel to a beloved trilogy, but there is a HUGE difference between the two, The Phantom Menace was not based on a beloved book. According to the fine folks at Wikipedia The Hobbit is the fourth best selling book of all time, right behind The Lord of the Rings, having sold more than 100 million copies since it was released in 1937. In point of fact, The Hobbit is almost universally considered the most accessible of all of Tolkien's books, with a lighter and more whimsical tone than the brooding of The Lord of the Rings books. The problems with The Phantom Menace were all about story and character, it doesn't seem likely those will be the problems here (if there are problems here).

• Many are asking what the deal is with this 48 frames per second things that everyone seems to be talking about. The answer is simply that The Hobbit was filmed with twice as many frames per second than a normal movie, making it much higher definition (to use the phrasing we are familiar with through our TV purchasing over the last decade). As was true of HDTV when it first hit the market, there are many who are not liking it, it is too clear and the eye isn't used to the fluidity of the motion. The greater point though is that it simply does not matter, most theaters do not have the equipment to be able to show The Hobbit at 48 frames per second and so the movie you will see will be in the more standard definition you are used to.

• Some tepid, or at least less than glowing reviews have made people wonder if this is a significant step back from the mastery of the original trilogy. Of course, as often happens when a movie becomes a classic and/or launches a classic franchise, we are forgetting that The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring also received tepid or less than glowing reviews when it was released 11 years ago. Roger Ebert gave Fellowship of the Ring 3 stars, the same grade he awarded this years monumental bomb Chasing Mavericks, and he was not alone in his opinion that while good the movie missed too much of what made Tolkien's classic so endearing. Many are giving similar reviews to The Hobbit, only this time it is in comparison not to the source material but to the films that have now defined Middle Earth for many. In other words, nothing is going to live up to beloved memory, but that doesn't mean that what is new isn't still really good.

• Three movies from one book seems crazy and an overt attempt to grab more money. I am not saying "people are saying that", I'll stand by that comment all on my own (although a lot of people are saying that). Still, after seeing recent series ending novels turned into multiple parts, novels that aren't as rich in story as The Hobbit, and knowing that Peter Jackson has pulled material in from beyond the novel alone (appendices, Tolkien's own notes, etc.) my ire toward drawing something out lessens dramatically. Frankly, as I remember The Hobbit (and it has been a LONG time since I read the book), it would have been hard to fit the whole of it into one movie.

• Watson is playing Bilbo, how awesome is that? (if you watch BBC's Sherlock you know what I am talking about)

Well, I think that's enough bullet points, on with the previews:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Interest Level: 9

As Trilogies Go, Where Does LOR Rank: 4th

Look, you are going to see it, you are going to enjoy it, and you will probably nitpick it. In the end few directors in the history of cinema are better at creating a "world" than Peter Jackson. His Middle Earth (I always capitalize it but I really don't know if I am supposed to) feels authentic and magical and are we really going to complain about spending time there?

Save The Date

Interest Level: 4

Where Does Lizzy Caplan Fall In The Ranks Of Actors Who Should Be More Successful: Very Near The Top

I think Lizzy Caplan was the best part of Mean Girls. I loved her stint in the first season of True Blood. She was beyond terrific in Party Down. Sadly Lizzy has not found the role that has made her a household name and one has to wonder as her second Bridesmaids/Girls-esque movie of the fall is released into the ether of movies that will be skipped over on VOD and never be shown in your local cinema (Bachelorette being the other) if Lizzy Caplan will ever find the role that will "make" her. At this point her destiny seems to be that she will be in perpetual competition with Kat Dennings for the role of the wise cracking friend of Natalie Portman or Kirstin Dunst in whatever pseudo rom-com-y movie they make.

Any Day Now

Interest Level: 4

You Can't Think Of A Quip Can You: Nope, I'm Stumped

In the "we dare you to not praise this movie for fear of the political correct police coming after you" movie of the year we have the story of a gay couple in the 1970's who are fighting a biased legal system to maintain custody of a mentally handicapped teenager that comes to live with them. Look, Alan Cummings is an incredible actor but there is absolutely no possible way to make that story into a film where the viewer doesn't feel like they spent 90 minutes having a point smashed into their head like a depressing river of bigotry. 

Let Fury Have The Hour

Interest Level: 6

You Are Plenty Old Enough To Recall The 80's: And Then Some

So the 1980's was a weird decade. On the surface we had a happy, high flying thing going. Below the surface crime was high and many of our major cities were in a state of serious decay, and poverty, starvation and political unrest was brewing throughout Africa and the middle east. Nothing new in making that point, what this documentary shows is how that dichotomy created responses from artists, thinkers and activists that have become almost more impact-ful over time than they were in that moment (a debate-able point to be sure). Your political and artistic bent will likely determine the degree to which this documentary resonates with you at all (as is often the case with documentaries that start with a very defined point of view).

Conclusion

Let Fury Have The Hour will be a fun trip down memory lane for some (if you are over the age of 40 and lean a little to the left anyway) but really this week is about nothing other than really short people following a tall wizard on an adventure.

But hey, what do I know? I'm fat.

P.S. For anyone who was wondering Star Wars (the original trilogy), The Godfather (on the strength of the first two movies alone), Toy Story then Lord of the Rings. Also, the Evil Dead Trilogy is rounds out the top five.

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Opening December 7th: December 2012 Is Filled With Big Movies... Just Not This Weekend

Wouldn't You Think Hollywood Would Have Moved One Of The Good Movies To This Week

Look, December 2012 is going to be a good month of movies. We're going to have Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Quentin Tarantino's return to revised history (in a very good way) with Django Unchained, Katherine Bigelow's return to the conflict in the Middle-East with Zero Dark Thirty, Hugh Jackman's return to musicals in Les Miserables, Tom Cruise's return to action with Jack Reacher, Judd Apatow's return to putting his wife along side Paul Rudd in This Is 40 and Billy Crystal, Better Midler and Barbara Streisand return to comedies in Parental Guidance and Guilt Trip. Will all of those movies be good? Of course not (in fact Parental Guidance and Guilt Trip look painfully bad), but as a collective whole they make for a pretty darn good month of wide releases. And when you add smaller films by David Chase (the guy who brought us The Sopranos) and Gus Van Sant (of Goodwill Hunting fame among many other good movies) and Michael Haneke (if you are a fan of German cinema that means something to you) to bolster the indie cred December is looking like a pretty good month if you are a movie fan. But none of those movies are coming out this weekend. This weekend is not completely devoid of good movies, but it is almost entirely devoid of movies that haven't been available On Demand for days or even weeks. Only Hyde Park On Hudson (Bill Murray's FDR movie) and Playing For Keeps (Gerard Butler's latest sure-to-be romantic comedy flop) would require you to leave the comfort of your couch to watch and one of those is a limited release (Hyde Park on Hudson).

So what happened this weekend? Here are a few theories:

• Anything released this weekend is sure to be crushed by hobbits and dwarfs next weekend so why waste anything good.

• An abnormally early Thanksgiving gave hollywood an extra weekend before Christmas and they had no idea what to do with it.

• The obviously powerful Scottish Hollywood mob is blackmailing studios to do all they can to make Gerard Butler a Rom-Com star.

• Hollywood execs thought Bill Murray was playing Dr. Peter Venkman not FDR flirting with his cousin.

• Someone saw Bruce Willis had a movie opening and didn't realize this was his sixth movie of the year (Nick Cage would be proud Bruce).

• No one realized that A Werewolf Boy wasn't a Twilight sequel (or that it hails from South Korea).

• Or that Deadfall wasn't the 24th James Bond movie.

Playing For Keeps

Interest Level: 5

I can't help but wonder if Gerard Butler looked at his co-star, Dennis Quaid, and thought to himself "best case scenario, that is where I end up." Probably not. He no doubt believes that his string of failures post 300 is sure to come to an end and all he needs is a hit where he is wearing a shirt for him to solidify his status as an A-list star, he likely even believes this Rom-Com about an ex-professional soccer star who is trying to reconnect with his son will be just the movie to do that for him. He's wrong. Playing For Keeps has a strong supporting cast (Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Judy Greer) but is headline by two actors who seem to have the same problem. Both Gerard Butler and the female lead, none other than Mrs. Justin Timberlake a.k.a. Jessica Biel, are the kind of hollywood stars who come across as really likable people in real life but never seem to be able to find the right vehicle to make them as likable in a movie. Couple that with a director that has a penchant for beating you over the head with dramatic elements (Gabriele Muccino also directed Seven Pounds and The Pursuit of Happyness) and you have all the makings of a movie that will be perfectly watchable, forgettable and probably not worth the cost of a trip to the theater when you'll enjoy it every bit as much four months from now in the comfort of your own home.

Hyde Park on Hudson

Interest Level: 4

The story of FDR's love affair with his distant cousin set against the back drop of a visit by the King and Queen of England that helped lead to America's involvement in WWII was one of those movies that was receiving all sort of really premature Oscar buzz before anyone saw it. Now that people have seen it, not so much. This is the kind of movie where "tepid" critic response should make you wary because it is tailor made for critics to love it. Bill Murray and Laura Linney are the very definition of "critical darlings" as is a period piece movie that deals with love, social status and political machinations, so critics not loving it is a little bit like a kid saying Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is just OK (if you've seen that movie you know what I mean).

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding

Interest Level: 4

A bride frets upstairs in her families country manor on her wedding day, fearful she is about to marry the wrong man, while her fiance and ex-lover are downstairs growing anxious. Everything I said about the tepid critical response of Hyde Park on Hudson applies equally as strongly to this little period flick from England. If this kind of movie isn't getting rave reviews it is more often than not not worth your time.

Heleno

Interest Level: 6

Have you been aching to see a biography of a famous Brazilian soccer star who also happened to be a major sex symbol in his country and who died at the age of 39 from syphilis? What if I were to tell you it was done in black and white to give a greater sense of age and gravitas to the project? If the answer is yes than check out your On Demand menu and watch Heleno. If not than feel free to skip this well made film whose subject makes for a movie that is almost universally being hailed as good not great.

In Our Nature

Interest Level: 6

A scheduling snafu lands an estranged father and son at their family cabin for what was to be a romantic weekend alone with their respective girlfriends and turns into the exact kind of father-son drama you'd expect from this set-up when the stars aren't comedians (if this is Zack Galifinakis as the son and Robin Williams as the father we are probably talking about a very different movie). Movies like these always hinge on casting and while Zach Gilford (best known for his stint on Friday Night Lights playing the son), Jenna Malone (one of the Sucker Punch girls playing the son's girlfriend), John Slattery (Roger Sterling from Mad Men in the house!) and Gabrielle Union (every time I see Bring It On I remember how much I like her) are all very talented I'm not sure any posses the charisma necessary to really carry a movie.

Lay The Favorite

Interest Level: 4

I wish this Stephen Frears (director of High Fidelity, The Queen and Dangerous Liaisons) flick based on the memoirs of a sports gambler was everything it should be, but apparently it lacks spark or charm or charisma or any of the things you would want and frankly expect. I mean, look at this cast! Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jone, Rebecca Hall, Vince Vaughn, Joshua Jackson, Laura Prepon, Corbin Bernson. How does a movie starring those actors lack charm? This is one of those flicks that has been completed for some time, has bounced around festivals in a vain attempt to recast itself as an art-house flick and is now being tossed to the masses with the thought that that many big names on the marquee will no doubt return some of the investment.

A Werewolf Boy

Interest Level: 5

A HUGE hit in it's home country of South Korea this story of an older woman whose return to her childhood home brings back memories of the orphan boy she knew 60 years ago comes to America with almost no fan fare. Why? Because it is a South Korean movie about an old woman who returns to her childhood home and is reminded of the orphan boy she knew 60 years ago.

Deadfall

Interest Level: 5

Olivia Wilde or Jessica Biel? Gerard Butler or Eric Bana? Talk about your mirror image careers. Deadfall brings us the Wilde/Bana combo in a thriller about siblings who decide to fend for themselves after a botched casino heist and their unlikely reunion during another families Thanksgiving. Yeah, maybe giving this one a 5 was a bit high.

Conclusion

So, we have had two weeks of, at best, blah. That all changes when Bilbo, Gandalf, et.al. take over the world next week (at least that is the plan). We're still waiting for the holiday, small movie, surprise hit to roll in, but none of these movies, or last weekend's for that matter, look likely to be this year's The Artist or The King's Speech or pick you eventual Oscar winning movie. Maybe we'll see something unexpected in the coming weeks.

But hey, what do I know? I'm fat.

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