A surprising amount of movies are being released this week. I haven't seen this kind of an outpouring since Thanksgiving. The only thing is, I'm not sure what to make of these. Most of them are foreign films, I'm lucky if I've seen the trailers, and I've heard very little buzz about any of these.
Ever feel as though the pilot is blind? It's usually not a good sign.
1) City of God
2) The Dreamers
3) The Return
Last week a friend of mine balled me out for recommending The Big Bounce. He told me that I wasted two hours of his life. He stated that we were now even and that he could go back to picking movies again (he was in the hole ever since he picked Paycheck). He has a tendency to overreact and is lacking in the taste department, but what can I do? He's the only person I ever see movies with.
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
The gang's all here and trying to save their South Chicago neighborhood from corporate development. Didn't anyone tell them that you can't stop progress? Either sell out or get out. Ice Cube should know all about that mantra.
Miracle
Kurt Russell stars as the coach of the little hockey team that beat the dastardly Russians for the chance at the gold medal in the 1980 Olympics. I like hockey and I love underdog stories, but Kurt Russell hasn't made a good movie since Backdraft.
Catch That Kid
I might consider this a worthwhile movie, if I was twelve.
City of God
According to rumor, this movie from Brazil about the underbelly of Rio de Janeiro is the front-runner for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Lots of crime, double crosses, drugs, sex, and violence - all the elements of an excellent film.
The Dreamers
Based in 1969, during one of the more turbulent times in French history, a pair of fraternal twins and a new found friend take over their parent's apartment and create a world onto themselves completely oblivious to the turmoil outside. While taking this little vacation from society they experiment sexually basing their ideas on the movies they love. People get hurt and eventually the world outside comes crashing in.
Maybe too high concept, but has a chance at being worthwhile.
Osama
What's this? An entry from Afghanistan? I thought we bombed them into the Stone Age? Interesting.
Anyways, a mother and daughter living under the Taliban are left with no choices in regards to their survival. So, the mother disguises her daughter as a boy so that she can go out and earn a living. Sometimes regime change is a good thing.
An Amazing Couple: Trilogy 2
A perfectly healthy man is convinced he needs a biopsy and his wife is so suspicious of him that she hires a private investigator. My opinion - they may deserve each other, but we do not deserve this movie.
Perfect Opposites
This may be the romantic comedy I recommend for Valentines Day. Two young, freshly minted college graduates with nothing in common fall in love and she follows him across the country so that he can take job at a law firm. Once they start living together the reality of their relationship kicks in and roses don't seem nearly as sweet.
Begs the eternal question of "is love ever truly enough?"
The Return
The father of two young boys returns after 10 years and tries to reinsert himself into the family. There are a lot of problems with this situation, but the biggest problem is that the demons that chased him away the first time are still following him.
It has some of the elements of a potentially good movie - crime, estranged families, issues to be confronted, and violence. Can a Russian movie be worth my $10? Anything is possible.
Das ve danya.