Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Jackass 3D - Johnny Knoxville and company RED - Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren Conviction - Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell (limited release)
Movie of the Week
Conviction
The Stars: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell The Plot: A working mother puts herself through law school in an effort to represent her brother, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and has exhausted his chances to appeal his conviction through public defenders. The Buzz: I suppose I should rave here about how excited I am to see Swank in another meaty dramatic role, but after Amelia, Black Dhalia and even Million Dollar Baby (yes, I'm one of the rare few who didn't like it) I can't say that I'm too terribly excited. I am looking forward to this film though, if for nothing else than the presence of Sam Rockwell. His performance in Moon completely won me over. Rockwell is brilliantly cast here, as he's made a career of playing characters split between charisma and menace -- perfect for a man wrongfully convicted. The film's trailer was pretty near destroyed by Steve Jablonsky's plundered score, lifted directly from The Island. It's an amazing song, <ahem> in The Island. Avatar, Flyboys, and others have used the exact same song, ad nauseam. Having an overly pilfered song from The Island crop up in Conviction's trailer, doesn't say much about Paul Cantelon's Conviction score, or maybe it says a lot.
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New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
The Darjeeling Limited (BD) - Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman The Hangover (BD) - Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis Jonah Hex (DVD + BD) - Josh Brolin, Megan Fox Red Dragon (BD) - Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes Three Kings (BD) - George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
The Darjeeling Limited (The Criterion Collection) [BD]
The Stars: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman The Plot: Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. The Buzz: To alienate myself immediately; This is Wes Anderson's best film since Bottle Rocket. Wilson, Brody and Schwartzman are all in top form, and the script, pacing and general ambiance of this film is just great. I believe I'm certainly in the minority here, at least amongst Wes Anderson diehards, when I express that I've had major problems with many of Anderson's films -- but I'm happy to say that I don't have a single criticism of The Darjeeling Limited. Unless, in jest, I add that the beautiful Natalie Portman was severely underused. The Darjeeling Limited is an excellent film -- one of the bookends in Anderson's illustrious career.
Check out our reviews of these movies and more ... TSR's complete Film Review Database