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Holy summer movies, Batman!
“Bewitched”
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Carell
Director: Nora Ephron
Story: In this off-beat take on the classic TV series, Will Ferrell stars as Jack Wyatt, an actor who’s been cast in a television remake of “Bewitched.” He picks non-actress Isabel Bigalow (Kidman) to play Samantha. But unbeknownst to him, she actually possesses some of Samantha’s otherworldly powers. MacLaine stars as the actress who plays Samantha’s mother Endora, while Caine plays Isabel’s magical father Nigel. Steve Carrell (“The Office”) co-stars as Uncle Arthur.
Buzz: This is definitely more interesting than doing a straight-up remake of the series, however, buzz on this film has not been great — word is that many of the jokes fall flat. Kidman (“Stepford Wives”) really needs to show she can handle broad comedy. Ephron’s (“You’ve Got Mail,” “Sleepless in Seattle”) comic sensibilities tend toward the sentimental rather than the broad and she hasn’t directed a film since 2000’s bomb, “Lucky Numbers.” She co-penned the screenplay with sister Delia.
Web site: http://sonypictures.com/movies/bewitched/
“Herbie: Fully Loaded”
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Breckin Meyer, Justin Long, Cheryl Hines, Jill Ritchie
Director: Angela Robinson
Story: Lohan stars as Maggie Payton, who tries to save her car-racing family, headed up by Keaton, with the help of a Volkswagen Bug that seems to have a mind of its own. Dillon co-stars as one of the rival NASCAR drivers.
Buzz: Lindsey Lohan has a bit too much party-girl baggage to be believable as a wholesome Disney heroine these days. Tales of trouble on the set, as Lohan allegedly called in sick on some days, dogged the production. Still, Lohan did manage to make both “Parent Trap” and “Freaky Friday” completely her own, so you can’t completely count her out. Robinson is best known for directing the “barely made it into the theaters” comedy “D.E.B.S.” Attention, Matt Dillon, you’re better than this.
Web site: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/herbie/
“George Romero’s Land of the Dead”
Starring: Simon Baker, Asia Argento, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo, Robert Joy
Director: George A. Romero
Story: From the maker of “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” and “Day of the Dead” comes this film about, you guessed it, zombies on the prowl. In this film the undead have taken over the entire world, while the remaining living humans live in a city behind tall walls. A group of mercenaries bands together to protect the living from the zombies.
Buzz: Hey, it’s George Romero, so I can’t mock this one the way I might mock a normal horror movie. The fact that he’s managed to wrangle characters (and character actors) Hopper and Leguizamo into this project bodes well for its potential camp factor.
Web site: NA
“Yes”
Starring: Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, Sam Neill, Shirley Henderson, Samantha Bond
Director: Sally Potter
Story: The story of a married woman (Allen) who has a love affair with a Middle Eastern man (Abkarian). The lovers embark on a journey that takes them from London and Belfast to Beirut and Havana. Neill plays her betrayed and betraying husband.
Buzz: Joan Allen (“The Upside of Anger”) seems to just get better with every role, and I love that she’s no longer typed as prim and uptight. Potter is probably best known for directing Tilda Swinton to an amazing performance in “Orlando.” With the talented cast and director, this could be one of those small films to look out for.
Web site: http://www.yesthemovie.com/index.jsp
“Rize”
Starring: Tommy the Clown, Lil Tommy, Larry, Lil C, Dragon, Tight Eyez, Baby Tight Eyez, Miss Prissy, Swoop, El Nino, Daisy, Big X, La Nina, Quinesha
Director: David LaChapelle
Story: This documentary gives an inside look at the world of street dancing in South Central Los Angeles. We meet a group of dancers including Tommy the Clown and Baby Tight Eyez, who show the different styles of dance: “clowning,” “krumping,” and more. The performers face off in a dance-off — think of it as the real-life version of “You Got Served” (with none of that movie’s crummy dialogue).
Buzz: LaChapelle is probably better known as a photographer (http://www.davidlachapelle.com/) than a filmmaker. However, he has made movies on dance before and definitely has a way of capturing the human body on film. This film made a splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival (as did LaChapelle with his partying ways).
Web site: http://www.rizemovie.com/rize.html
“War of the Worlds”
Starring: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Rick Gonzalez, David Alan Basche
Director: Steven Spielberg
Story: This retelling of the classic H.G. Wells’ story is about the final war: An alien invasion of the planet Earth. The Spielbergian twist is that it is told from the point of view of a divorced dad (Cruise) and his kids (Fanning, Chatwin). Can this broken family survive the final war? Well, considering this is a Spielberg film, the answer to that question is probably fairly obvious.
Buzz: The timing of this film should prove favorable. Considering our current situation in Iraq and the way the world views the U.S., this film will give Americans a chance to be the underdogs once again (reminiscent to the way we were portrayed in “Independence Day”). Spielberg’s last collaboration with Cruise produced a pretty great film, “Minority Report” (except for about the last 20 minutes), so it’s hard not to have high hopes for this one. The clock is running on Fanning — she has only so many cherub roles left till she starts getting too old.
Web site: http://www.waroftheworlds.com/
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