Well, what a busy week. Victoria Film Festival has announced their movies (look down!), the high-def format war is almost over, the Golden Globes is a piddling press conference, and the January Movie Dumping Ground is upon us.
A few platform releases are coming our way, as is the long delayed and apparently overlong (130 minutes?) Uwe Boll masterpiece of the modern cinema. But hey, Jack's back, so it's not all that bad.
What's New:
The Bucket List (***) - Last week I viewed "P.S. I Love You" from director Richard LaGravenese, who made an overwritten, far overblown and bloated piece of work that reminded me of movies made by director Rob Reiner. Reiner's films tend to beat their symbolism like a jack hammer, yet here is "The Bucket List" which, amazingly, is like the works that LaGravenese used to make. This dramedy pits both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as men diagnosed with cancer and plan to take one last joyful trip at life before their end. It's a nice film, filled with interesting people, funny dialogue and Reiner's surprisingly restrained direction. Oh, and it's playing EVERYWHERE. (Star, Capitol, Caprice, University 4, Silvercity)
The Orphanage - Guillermo Del Toro, who knocked everyone blindsided with Pan's Labyrinth, has the producer credit on this ghost story which has been receiving rave reviews on the festival circuit and its limited release. (Bizarrely booked at only the University 4, and this film belongs downtown at the Capitol or Odeon)
I'm Not There - Long delayed release of Todd Haynes' bio-pic on Bob Dylan, replete with six different actors playing the folk legend. Reviews have been mixed with many calling the film "strange", but I like strange, so there you go. (Odeon)
First Sunday - I'm flat out blown away that the Odeon booked this movie, as (sad to say) black oriented films don't do ANY business in one of the whitest areas on the planet. This comedy featuring Tracy Morgan, Katt Williams and Ice Cube garnered a 2.5/4 review by James Berardanelli, so it could have just been an awful trailer. Still, I don't see this film doing any money here. (Odeon)
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggietales Movie: Yes, I'll see a Veggietales movie the day I invest in HD-DVD.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale: I met Leelee Sobieski up in Whistler a few months ago, and had I known she appeared in this Uwe Boll flick, I would have shouted at her "Why, Leelee, why? You and your gravitationally impossible rack can do better, way way better than this!" Video games are cool and all (I just acquired a Playstation 3 and am loving the racing games and Blu Ray discs) but this massively budgeted film ($60 million) will barely make a clink at the box office. I love Leelee, but The Lovely Ellen Page is in Juno and I'd rather see that again, so there.
Screenings:
27 Dresses (Sneak Preview, Silvercity @ 2pm) - This movie was supposed to open this weekend, but has been pushed back to give moviegoers an alternate to Cloverfield. I guess this is the annual January Rom-Com and Katherine Heigl is cute, so I may give this a sit through.
The Red Balloon & White Mane (at Cinecenta, Saturday Sunday @ 12:30) - Janus Prints, restored, and as kid matinees? Well now I've seen everything.
Into The Wild at Cinecenta, Saturday - In case you missed its two month run at the Odeon, get yourself to Cinecenta this weekend and check out Sean Penn's gem which is one of my favorites of 2007. And I sure hope Cinecenta gets the Odeon's print, which was still in amazing shape in its last week.
Jason
The Victoria Cinemaphile
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