Release Dates Dec 04 2008 @ 09:45 pm
Theater Releases for December 5th, 2008
Wow…I never thought I’d be saying this, but this is a pretty good week for new releases. Just when I was starting to fall asleep, Hollywood came through with three very good choices (and one lame one). Go see a movie this weekend…that’s an order.
Nobel Son
Okay, so I put this movie at the top because I was under the impression that it was well-reviewed. Then I checked Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, and it turns out that it’s not. That’s the last time I listen to you, Wikipedia! Grrr. Still, I can think of a lot of good reasons to see this one: (1.) Alan Rickman, who has never put in a bad performance in his life (if you haven’t seen Bottle Shock, you really should); (2.) a cool-sounding premise that’s half Coen, half Tarantino, and all awesome (Nobel laureate’s dysfunctional family is thrown into turmoil when his son gets kidnapped); and (3.) a catchy title. I know that last one doesn’t sound that important, but seriously — who wants to walk into work on Monday and have to say, “So I saw Riding in Cars with Boys over the weekend…”, or possibly, “You really should check out Life as a House…“? Nobody. That’s who.
Recommended if you want to see Burn After Reading combined with Smart People and filtered through the mind of Steven Spielberg
Cadillac Records
The story of how Leonard Chess founded Chess Records, the Chicago-based blues powerhouse. Okay, so there might not be a huge audience for this one (I can already hear Evan groaning…), but if you know me, you know that I love blues music with all of my soul (pun intended, of course), and there is no way that I’m going to miss this one — particularly since I noticed Mos Def is playing Chuck Berry. That should be interesting. (No word on whether Michael J. Fox will make and appearance.)
Recommended if you liked Ray, The Buddy Holly Story or That Thing You Do!
Milk
It would have to be a good week (and it clearly is) for this one to be my third choice. The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay individual to be elected to office in the U.S., it should be an interesting ride. I can’t promise intellectual depth, but I’m counting on an engaging and challenging story. It stars Sean Penn and was directed by Gus van Sant, so it pretty much screams “Oscar bait”…but if that’s your cup of tea, you can’t go wrong with this one. Watch the trailer here.
Recommended if you like Oscar bait. ‘Nuff said.
Punisher: War Zone
Marvel has, as of late, been hell-bent on immortalizing all of their characters in celluloid, whatever the cost (though frankly I’m wondering where the She-Hulk adaptation is). Their current strategy seems to be to rush as many adaptations out the door as possible, and simply remake the ones that end up sucking (we saw this happen earlier this year with The Incredible Hulk, which was essentially a reboot of Hulk — no word yet on whether we can expect a second reboot in a couple of years). So here it is…the reboot of the Punisher franchise that never was. Frankly, I don’t think I can take another comic book movie (especially after the bloated and overrated Dark Knight…yeah, I said it), but feel free to go if you want. At least Marvel hasn’t been desperately milking the same property since 1989, like a certain other comic book publisher has…
Recommended if you liked the 1989 version of The Punisher, or if you liked the 2004 version of The Punisher, or if you didn’t like either and you’re hoping this one will be better
on Dec 05 2008 @ 1:22 am 1. Thadd Harrington said …
Woo-hoo! First comment! Luke, you forgot one important thing in Nobel Son: Eliza Dushku, beautiful, talented and one of my favorite actresses. And come on! The ‘04 Punisher wasn’t that bad! It had it’s moments, unlike the ‘04 Nebraska football team (sorry, football’s been all that’s on my mind all day)!
on Dec 05 2008 @ 8:18 am 2. Luke Harrington said …
Hey-oh!
on Dec 05 2008 @ 9:49 am 3. Evan Derrick said …
That wasn’t a groan you heard from me regarding Cadillac Records, it was an anguished wail of human misery. Ugh. Shoot me in my special place and throw me in the lake before you make me watch that one.
My interest in Punisher is completely dictated by the critical establishment and…it’s at 13% at RT. My favorite quote on it:
“Punisher: War Zone is 100 minutes of people getting shot in the face – bad Italian stereotypes, non-existent narrative, and people getting shot in the face.”
on Dec 05 2008 @ 11:10 am 4. Daniel said …
My review of Nobel Son hasn’t been included on RT yet, but suffice it to say it will only bury an already astoundingly-low – and deserved – rating.
Then again, as we all know too well, ahem – I’m the guy who hated Bottle Shock.
on Dec 05 2008 @ 11:27 am 5. Evan Derrick said …
Wait wait wait – have your reviews been included on RT lately, Daniel?
on Dec 07 2008 @ 9:07 pm 6. Sam Juliano said …
Well I saw MILK and loved it, as so many others did.
I saw CADILLAC RECORDS on Friday and it was, well, let’s just say not very good as Evan feared, even if I loved the music as most do.
We slipped into that abomination PUNISHER in the same multiplex, but after about 40 minutes, Lucille suggested we leave, which we did. So much for that. LOL.
on Dec 07 2008 @ 11:36 pm 7. Daniel said …
Yeah, the last two reviews I’ve done have been in the RT rating (Nobel Son and Role Models). The first one was as well (Nick and Norah’s), but it was incorrectly bylined in the online edition to the regular critic, so it’s under his name.
It’s been through no effort of mine that they’ve been included – it seems that anyone who has written freelance for the Minneapolis paper has had theirs in there. It must just be an automatic pull from the paper’s website, even though it doesn’t appear that we as individuals meet the inclusion criteria they set out for published critics, if that makes sense. In any case I’m not really using it as a calling card or anything. It’s more of a fun novelty, though it’s a little weird to think that my review actually affects the bottom line for these movies, which in turn affects all sorts of business decisions, I would imagine – at least based on the “best” reputation that RT would have, or used to have.
on Dec 22 2008 @ 11:20 am 8. Nydia said …
We just saw the day the earth stood still, it was all right, only Keanu Reeves looked like he was bored during the whole movie….