So what’s out there this week? Well today we’ll take a look at the films scheduled to be released on Friday. They include Justin Long creating his own college, the Duff girls playing a pair of spoiled sisters (hard acting there!), and Samuel L. Jackson taking on Snakes on a Plane. All that and a batch of films in limited release including Edward Norton as a magician, Rachel Leigh Cook’s unquenchable sexual desires on the eve of her wedding, Billy Crudup and David Duchovny screwing up their relationships, and new films starring Matt Dillon and James Marsden as well; read on…
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Here’s what’s scheduled to hit theaters this week. Want to know more? Just click on the title for film info including a full cast list. Want a closer look? Just click on the poster to watch the trailer.
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I’ve been a fan of Justin Long since his days on Ed. Much like last year’s Waiting… this film puts Long into the role of a slacker who discovers deeper meaning to life by the end of the film. Bartleby (Long) creates a fictional university, South Harmon Institute of Technology (notice the acronym?), when he’s rejected from every college around. When other slackers enroll, his friends (Jonah Hill, Maria Thayer, Columbus Short, and comedian Lewis Black) help him to turn the farce into a real college, and win his true love (Blake Lively). Check back on Friday for our review.
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Samuel L. Jackson plays an FBI agent on a plane who battles hundreds of snakes, released by an assassin to kill an informant being transferred to testify. Either you’ve been waiting impatiently for this one or you’ve been scratching your head all year about the Internet build-up. Byron Lawson, Nathan Phillips, Julianna Marguiles, Rachel Blanchard, and Bobby Cannavale also star. The film is directed by David R. Ellis (Cellular, Final Destination 2) which, surprisingly, hasn’t seemed to hurt the hype – seriously, Final Destination 2? C’mon! Check back Friday for our review.
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Real life sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff play carefree, party all night heiresses (is one of them named Paris?) who lose all their fortune and fame in a scandal, forcing them to go out into the world and live a more simple life (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Angelica Huston, Brent Spiner, and Maria Conchita Alonso also star. Hey, should be better than Hilary’s next project. TV director Martha Coolridge is behind the camera for the script penned by John Quaintance (Joey, Aquamarine) and first-timer Jessica O’Toole. With this much “talent,” what could possibly go wrong?
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Boy, oh, boy. When the youngest member of a dysfunctional family wins a spot in a beauty pagent the whole crew stumbles on board a VW bus and makes the trek to California. Directed by the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Mr. Show), the off-beat script (by first-timer Michael Arndt) stars Steve Carrell as a suicidal gay man, Paul Dano as a Nietche lovin’ mute, Greg Kinnear as the emotionally inaccessible father, Alan Arkin as the smack addicted patriarch, and Abagail Breslin as the adorable Olive. The film finally gets a wide release this Friday; You can check out my review here.
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A new documentary by director Lian Lunson (Willie Nelson: Down Home) focuses on the life and music of singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. The film is compiled from interviews and performances, mostly from the tribute to Cohen in 2005 at the Sydney Opera House, by Cohen, Bono and the Edge from U2, Anthony Hegarty, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Linda Thompson, Anthony Hagerty, Anna and Kate McGarrigle, Hal Wilner, Nick Cave, Julie Christensen, and more. The film has received mixed reviews as many feel the actual man is barely profiled in what appears to be more a celebration of his work than a true documentary.
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Edward Norton as a magician? Hmmm… A magician (Norton) uses his abilities to win the love of a noble woman (Jessica Beil) from the Crown Prince of Vienna (Rufus Sewell), who is determined to prove the magician a fraud with the help of his chief inspector (Paul Giamatti). The big question here is can the film overcome the curse of Jessica Beil – who somehow always chooses the worst films to star in (Blade Trinity, Summer Catch, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Stealth, Elizabethtown). Is there enough magic in the world to kill this curse? Check back Friday for our review to find out.
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Rachael Leigh Cook plays Vanessa, a young woman struggling with sexual fantasies and desires just days before she is to be married. She seeks solace in a confessional, only to bare her soul to carpenter (Kenny Doughtey) doing renovation at the church, who is so taken with her (a randy sex-crazed Rachel Leigh Cook, who wouldn’t be?!) that he can’t tell her he’s not a priest. Caroline Carver, Paul Hopkins, Claire Brosseau, Elizabeth Whitmere, and Stefanie Buxton also star. The film opens today in limited release, look for it at an art house near you in the coming weeks.
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Writer/director Bart Freundlich’s (World Traveler, The Myth of Fingerprints) latest is about a couple of friends (David Duchovny, Billy Crudup) and their screwed-up relationships with the women they love (Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal). The supporting cast includes Justin Bartha, James LeGros, Eva Mendes, Ellen Barkin, Dagmara Dominczyk, and Garry Shandling. Despite a near year long run at various film festivals the film has brought neither high praise, nor marketable anger. Looks like what you see is what you get. The film is opening in limited release on Friday.
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Returning home from the military, Tommy (James Marsden) finds himself back in the old neighborhood, his brother in prison, and entagled once again with his mobster buddies. Marsden finally gets a starring role with a fine supporting cast including Giovanni Ribisi, Brad Renfro, Dennis Hopper, Piper Perabo, Lesly Ann Warren, Val Kilmer, Brian Dennehy, and rocker Tommy Lee. I just wish the plot sounded as good as that list of actors. Directed and co-written by Robert Moresco (who co-wrote last year’s Crash). The film opens in limited release on Friday.
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Henry Chinaski (Matt Dillon), the fictional alter-ego of writer Charles Bukowski, wanders around Los Angeles barely making a living while indulging in his favorite pastimes – gambling, drinking, women, and writing. Directed and adapted from the Bukowski novel by Norwegian director Brent Hamer. The supporting cast includes Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Adrienne Shelly, Karen Young, and Fisher Stevens. The film opens exclusively in New York and Los Angeles on Friday. Look for a wider release in art houses in the coming months.