Safe House (trailer)
Director: Daniel Espinosa (Snabba Cash)
Personal Interest Factor: 5
Looks like pretty routine action movie from Swedish director Daniel Espinosa, who previously directed the film Snabba Cash, which was previously reviewed here by Nick. Yes, this is a blatant attempt by me to draw our Swedish correspondent out of hiding. As far as I can tell, Snabba Cash never did get a US release, either theatrically or on DVD.
Metacritic: 52
The Vow (trailer)
Director: Michael Sucsy
Personal Interest Factor: 4
Chicago-centric romantic drama with Rachel McAdams and some random male actor. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I stumbled across the set of the movie a few weeks ago downtown, but I forgot to mention that we also saw signs of filming in Toronto, as well. We noticed in the square adjacent to City Hall that there were Chicago city flags put up, and couldn’t figure out why they were there. Turned out they did some shooting in Toronto for this movie, as well. I don’t know why, since they did so much here, too – I understand shooting in Toronto instead of Chicago, for tax breaks and whatnot, but in addition to it? That seems weird.
Metacritic: 45
W.E. (trailer)
Director: Madonna (Filth and Wisdom)
Personal Interest Factor: 5
Didn’t realize that reviews were so bad for this. The trailer makes it look somewhat respectable, if slightly insipid, but now reading the full synopsis for the first time it sounds far more insipid than I had realized. Too bad, too, because Abbie Cornish deserves better.
Metacritic: 36
Also this week:
Addiction Incorporated (trailer) – doc about the tobacco industry – timely!
House of Pleasures – French historical drama about a brothel
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (trailer) – apparently there was a Journey 1? I have no memory of this.
Splinters (trailer) – doc about surfing culture in Papua New Guinea
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (trailer) – pointless 3D reissue
THAT’s the movie Espinosa directed? Sheesh. Question: Is Denzel Washington the most liked b-movie A-List actor? His reputation is unflappable, no matter what he does.
There are so few A-list actors these days that I’m not sure how much competition he even has for that distinction.
Re: Safe House – I’ve got think that this will be one of Ryan Reynold’s last shots at above-the-title status in a studio feature. I’m sure he’s a charming guy, but it’s about time he headed back to television where he belongs.
Who the hell is seeing The Phantom Menace theatrically, in 3D no less, in 2012?
Surely this means Battlefield Earth 4-D (“To survive, you’ll need eyes on the back of your head”) should be hitting IMAX theaters in another year or two. Can you imagine the motion sickness audiences will experience with all the dutch angles?
I was going to ask the same thing, but I didn’t want to run the risk of hurting Joe’s feelings.
It’s just such a weird throwback. I’m having trouble remembering the last critically/culturally reviled film to get a re-release like this.
Jar-Jar Binks, now in 3-D!
You all sooooo underestimate the fan base. Rereleasing a movie that made like a billion around the world?
What was it that Jackrabbit said when I asked why the HELL they would make The Hobbit? What were the figures he threw out?
Mh-hm. Even 50 million more would be HUGE. I think it’s going to be that big.
At the very least, Lucas should have held back the Blu-ray releases until after the theatrical reissue.
Why? they’re two completely different beasts. Now he can re-release the Blu-Ray’s in 3d. Win Win for his empire.
It has nothing to do with the movies and EVERYTHING to do with the licensing and toys.
You’re approaching this from the wrong standpoint.
If you don’t understand this, what do you think of the Titanic re-release?
There’s no Titanic Blu-ray yet.
No, the re-release in 3D. Of a movie from ’96. That was a huge hit. But that looks (I’ve watched it recently) ridiculously QUAINT in the current cultural climate.
I assumed Journey 1 was Journey To The Center Of the Earth with Brendan Fraser. Or maybe it’s the band
I have no desire to see the Phantom Menace, or any of the rest, in 3D. The prequels were not that great and have only gotten worse since this post: http://goneelsewhere.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/serious-critique-of-the-phantom-menace-packaged-in-a-drunken-serial-killer-motif/
Well, filmman was right, and Phantom Menace is heading for $25+ million for the weekend. So much for my hope of 3D dying anytime soon.
Wow. The Vow is pretty uniformly terrible. The acting, the writing, the glacial pacing, the lack of chemistry, the terrible direction, the shitty music and the ‘everything is bright even at night’ cinematography. The cab of the truck looks like they have an HMI strapped to the hood to illuminate them in the dead of night.
Disney has killed the 3-D re-releases of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Thanks, Disney!