Upcoming Films for the Week of November 26
BAD SANTA
Billy Bob Thornton plays a drunken thief who dresses as Santa Claus to rip off department stores. On of the film critics I trust is Sean P. Means. He published an article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune about the Religious Right up in arms about this movie, which is being released by Disney’s darker-film-production company Miramax. Means lists the many battles Disney has had with the Right in the past. He concludes that there are two reasons why the Right are picking a fight with Bad Santa:
* Conservatives are feeling sassy after forcing CBS to pull "The Reagans" mini_series, after a ton of e_mail complaints ginned up by Bill O'Reilly and the like. They have the Eye as a trophy, and think the Mouse would look good hanging next to it.
* The story feels like part of an old battle, to attempt to drive a wedge between Disney and its Miramax subsidiary. Republicans would love to knock Miramax co_founder Harvey Weinstein a few pegs __ not just for the movies he makes, but because he's a prime fund_raiser for the Democratic Party.
The end product of all this noise, I suspect, will be zero. "Bad Santa" will open Wednesday (you'll see my review then, but I'll tell you now: it's raunchy, but it's funny). Miramax will go on as a part of Disney. Disney will go on, oblivious to boycott threats __ after all, how many people (including good right_wingers) bought the "Finding Nemo" DVD? And the Drudges of the world will go looking for their next "controversy" to exploit.
THE HAUNTED MANSION
In a seemingly odd attempt at creating a movie based on their rides in their theme parks, Disney releases their latest creation, The Haunted Mansion, based on the ride of the same name. Eddie Murphy plays a real estate agent (Jack Evers’) who is on the verge of losing his family because he dedicates more time to work. He and his wife, who are a joint real estate team, are called to visit Gracey Mansion when their flyer winds up laying in front its great iron gates. As a detour to their weekend vacation, the Evers family visit Gracey Mansion. The ghosts that haunt the mansion have their own intentions and those intentions center on Jack’s wife Sarah. The story is not as enjoyable as Pirates of the Caribbean, and the script doesn’t give Eddie as much to work with like the script for Pirates did for Johnny Depp. Nonetheless, The Haunted Mansion is a family-fun and light ghost tale. My four year old did not wake up from a nightmare the night after seeing it; and my seven year old commented to his friend as the credits rolled "That could have been scarier."
IN AMERICA
Sandra Morton (The Minority Report) and Paddy Considine play the parents of two young girls who move from Ireland to America. Hollywood.com explains that this film is about starting all over again. "In pursuit of a dream, the family uses ingenuity and sheer strength of will to make the most of their new life. With no cash to spare, Johnny and Sarah settle into a chaotic New York tenement and attempt to turn the dilapidated setting into a true home. From dragging an iffy_looking air conditioner across Manhattan to finding make_do jobs, nothing comes without a fight for the couple. And yet, as they see America as rife with challenges, dangers and weirdness, their daughters see it as a magical place where anything can happen, a place that might release them from the anguish of what has come before. Then, on Halloween, the girls dare to knock on the door of "the screaming man," a reclusive neighbor named Mateo, and everything changes. As the family heads for a crisis, Mateo (Djmon Houson of Amistad, Gladiator, and The Four Feathers) becomes their unlikely ally in the territory where hope, faith and even magic hold sway."
Directed by Jim Sheridan, who brought us the incredible films My Left Foot, The Field, and In the Name of the Father, In America is bound to be well-worth your money and time. Who knows, this could be an Oscar contender in many respects–script, acting, and directing.
TIMELINE
A group of archeologists (a professor and his students) are unearthing a French castle. The projects’ benefactor, the International Technology Corporation, out of New Mexico are seeming to be taking the project in a direction other than Professor Johnston feels it should go. He travels to New Mexico to get answers regarding their intentions. Meanwhile, the students discover a cave that no one has entered in approximately 600 years. Within the cave, they discover a lens from a bi-focal and a note, written in the hand of Professor Johnston, begging for help. The students travel to New Mexico to help the professor. Timeline stars Paul Walker of the Fast & the Furious films; and Francis O’Conner.
8:30:39 PM  | |
|
|
