Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Battle: Los Angeles - Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan Mars Needs Moms - Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Dan Fogler Red Riding Hood - Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman Suing the Devil - (limited) Malcolm McDowell, Shannen Fields, Corbin Bernsen
Movie of the Week
Red Riding Hood
The Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, Gary Oldman The Plot: Set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl (Seyfried) falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure. The Buzz: Amanda Seyfried has grown on me, more and more as she's aged. I loved her in Chloe. She's stunning in Red Riding Hood's trailer, heck, everything looks fantastic here. From what I've seen so far, I'm entirely sold on the art direction, the cinematography, the high saturation color-push, the entire visual approach. When I first heard this film was in production I was a bit skeptical, but after seeing the first trailer, I got excited and my skepticism faded away.
Gary Oldman rocks -- can't go wrong -- and the rest of the cast looks good too. This one just looks like a lot of fun, a good old-fashioned medieval fable cranked to eleven, pushed and hammed to maximum tolerable levels (I'm hoping, anyway).
Every Friday we'll have new reviews of the latest films. TSR's complete Film Review Database
New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
Excalibur (BD) - Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay Inside Job (BD/DVD) - Matt Damon, William Ackman, Daniel Alpert Jackass 3D (BD/DVD) - Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera The Man from Nowhere (BD/DVD) - Bin Won, Sae-ron Kim, Hyo-seo Kim Morning Glory (BD/DVD) - Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (BD/DVD) - Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda The Next Three Days (BD/DVD) - Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson Tales from Earthsea (BD) - Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Mariska Hargitay
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
Morning Glory
The Stars: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton The Plot: An upstart television producer (McAdams) accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program with warring co-hosts. The Buzz: Rachel McAdams, gush gush, wow! She absolutely rocked this role. Everyone's already aware of her allure, sure, but Morning Glory showcased an entirely new side of McAdams; her brilliantly smart comedic side. Her timing, posture, cadence, and expressions were all beautifully and hilariously executed. Oops, I just realized I started off both this week's 'buzz' sections raving about gorgeous female leads -- well, I'm a male, and I'm human, and it was Mcadams running the show here, and I'd be surprised if anyone were to disagree with such.
Harrison Ford was great too, of course, and was perfectly cast (as a hyperbole of himself perhaps?) as the curmudgeonly, ego-maniacal and legendary television reporter, Mike Pomeroy. His displeasure is the audience's pleasure -- which is not something the audience is used to with Ford, but the more you see him on Leno and Letterman, the more you realize, "this IS Harrison Ford." OK, maybe not exactly, but Harrison is much more a Mike Pomeroy than he is a Han Solo. The fit here was right, and all around, and I found the story and comedy all quite enjoyable.
Check out our reviews of these movies and more ... TSR's complete Film Review Database