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Holy summer movies, Batman!
“Must Love Dogs”
Starring: Diane Lane, Elizabeth Perkins, Alli Hillis, John Cusack, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Dermot Mulroney, Julie Gonzalo
Director: Gary David Goldberg
Story: Lane plays a divorced schoolteacher who’s sworn off dating. When her sister (Perkins) pushes her into placing an online personal ad, she states that her suitor “must love dogs,” even though she doesn’t own a dog herself. When she meets John Cusack, who borrows a dog, has she finally found Mr. Right?
Buzz: A male buddy recently asked me why all women seem to love John Cusack. I think it’s his combination of intelligence, good looks and humor — or it could be that we all wish we could have dated Lloyd Dobler in high school. Regardless, the combination of Cusack and Diane Lane is like catnip to those of us who enjoy the guilty pleasure of the occasional chick flick. Lane proved in “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “A Walk on the Moon” that she knows her way around the genre. Goldberg is probably best known as the creator of “Family Ties” and “Spin City,” as well as for being a writer on “M*A*S*H,” “Lou Grant” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”
Web site: http://mustlovedogsmovie.warnerbros.com/
“Sky High”
Starring: Kelly Preston, Lynda Carter, Michael Angarano, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Steven Strait, Kurt Russell
Director: Mike Mitchell
Story: Can Will Stronghold (Anagarno) live up to his superhero parents (Russell and Preston) when he attends a school for superheroes, Sky High. Having no superpowers of his own, Will gets put into the “sidekicks” class. Cult-movie-hero Campbell plays Will’s overbearing gym coach. Will also has to deal with a dangerous bully and a rebel who can shoot fire out of his hands. Appropriately, enough, TV’s “Wonder Woman” Lynda Carter plays the school principal.
Buzz: Mitchell is probably best known for helming the holiday bomb, “Surviving Christmas.” This looks more like an idea for a TV show on the WB than a movie, but if it has a little edge (like “The Incredibles” did) it might be worth a look. Otherwise, this is going to be fit only for the tweens in your life.
Web site: NA
“Stealth”
Starring: Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Sam Shepard, Joe Morton, Richard Roxburgh, Ian Bliss, Megan Gale, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Director: Rob Cohen
Story: Three stealth fighter pilots (Lucas, Biel and Foxx) find out that a fourth member is joining their elite team. The shocker: that fourth plane is automated. When the automated jet gets struck by lightening, its circuits get rewired, making it want to hit targets in the U.S. Can the stealth fighter pilots track it down in time to stop it?
Buzz: It’s so easy to imagine this pitch meeting: “It’s sort of a Hal from ‘2001’ meets ‘Top Gun.’” Yikes, so much for high concept. Cohen (“XXX,” “Fast and the Furious”) will most certainly pump up the action. Lucas (“Sweet Home Alabama”) seems like a good choice for an action hero — a bit in the Harrison Ford mold. Foxx surely shot this film before his Academy Award winning turn in “Ray” — otherwise his presence in this mindless action flick doesn’t make much sense. Biel (“Blade Trinity,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) is one of the few young female actresses who really does look like she can kick some butt. This one is purely for popcorn action flick fans.
Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/stealth/
Note: This film has been pushed to August 26
“The Brothers Grimm”
Starring: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Jonathan Pryce, Monica Bellucci, Lena Headey, Peter Stormare, Mackenzie Cook, Richard Ridings
Director: Terry Gilliam
Story: The Grimm Brothers (Damon and Ledger) travel from town to town pretending to rid the villages of magical creatures. But when Napoleon’s French government employs them to investigate a haunted forest where girls have gone missing, they stumble upon an adventure that’s like something out of one of their fairy tales. The beautiful Monica Bellucci portrays an evil sorceress.
Buzz: Though Gilliam is undeniably a talented director (“Fisher King,” “Twelve Monkeys”), his last foray into directing, when he attempted “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” was a bit of a disaster (see the fine documentary, “Man of La Mancha” for more on what happened). Johnny Depp was originally going to play one of the brothers, and he seems much better cast than Damon, who may be a bit out of his wheelhouse with this fantasy film. This film will either really work well or not work at all — and the buzz seems to point to the latter.
Web site: NA
“The Dukes of Hazzard”
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson, Lynda Carter, M.C. Gainey, Michael Weston, Nikki Griffin
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Story: Unlike “Bewitched,” this TV series adaptation is playing it straight — just a fun romp with Bo (Scott) and Luke (Knoxville) Duke, as they try and save the family farm from the evil Boss Hogg (Reynolds). Simpson plays sexy cousin Daisy Duke and Nelson is on board as Uncle Jesse. Gainey plays hapless sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane.
Buzz: The rumors that came from this set — of Simpson’s alleged affair with Knoxville — seem much more interesting than the actual movie. It’s hard to imagine who exactly is excited to see this movie — however, it’s hard not to see Reynolds and Nelson as inspired casting. This will probably be pretty silly — like the TV show — so go at your own risk.
Web site: http://dukesofhazzard.warnerbros.com/
“Untitled Mike Judge Project”
Starring: Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, David Herman, Sara Rue, Stephen Root, Justin Long
Director: Mike Judge
Story: Luke Wilson stars as Joe Bowers, a man as average as you can get. He’s chosen by the president for the “Human Hibernation Project,” a program designed to save the best men until the future when they’re needed. When he, along with the prostitute (Rudolph) chosen to accompany him, wake up, 1,000 years have passed and they find themselves in a society that’s even more dumbed down than ours is. Suddenly Bowers is the smartest guy around.
Buzz: Mike Judge is probably best known as the creator of “Beavis and Butthead.” This is the first film he’s directed since 1999’s cult favorite “Office Space.” The humor here may be broad, but Judge has one of the quicker wits around, so it should be smart and highly quotable. Stephen Root, who turned in one of the classic performances as the stapler-loving Milton in “Office Space,” reunites with Judge for this one. Expect some real laughs.
Web site: NA
“2046”
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen, Faye Wong, Maggie Cheung
Director: Wong Kar Wai
Story: From the creator of “In the Mood for Love,” comes this semi-sequel, which picks up right where the first film left off, with Chow Mo Wan (Leung Chiu-Wai) in the aftermath of his affair with Su Lizhen (Cheung). A lonely writer who begins a book called, “2046,” Chow Mo Wan has affairs with four different women, including a prostitute played by Zhang.
Buzz: This film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a somewhat mixed response, though to be fair the film was not completely finished when it was shown. Fans of Wong Kar Wai’s work should be satisfied as the film has the atmosphere of “In the Mood for Love” with a bit more payoff than that film. Wong Kar Wai takes his sweet time to tell a story, but the results are usually atmospheric and satisfying. It’s great to see Ziyi Zhang in something other than a martial-arts film.
Web site: NA
“Broken Flowers”
Starring: Bill Murray, Frances Conroy, Julie Delpy, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Story: Murray stars as an aging Don Juan who’s been dumped by his latest girlfriend (Delpy). He receives an anonymous letter telling him he has a son who may be looking for him. Murray decides to take a cross-country trip to search for old flames who might have clues about his son.
Buzz: First he stars opposite Scarlett Johansson and now he gets to have Julie Delpy as a love interest — life’s rough for Murray. Jim Jarmusch’s best films (“Stranger Than Paradise” “Mystery Train”) are usually a pastiche of vignettes featuring completely unique performances. With Murray’s character traveling from town to town in this film, expect a similar approach, with each new town featuring strange and interesting characters.
Web site: NA
This film has been delayed until 2006
“The Pink Panther”
Starring: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Kristin Chenoweth, Henry Czerny
Director: Shawn Levy
Story: When a famous soccer coach is murdered and his pink diamond stolen, it’s up to Inspector Clouseau (Martin) to solve the crime. Suspects include a beautiful pop star (Knowles). Reno co-stars as Clouseau’s partner Ponton, while Kline is on board as Chief Inspector Dreyfus — who doesn’t have full confidence in the hapless Clouseau.
Buzz: It’s baffling why someone as smart as Steve Martin would choose to take on a role that Peter Sellers made so completely his own or even why this franchise needs to be resurrected to begin with. Director Levy last worked with Martin on the rather lame comedy/remake “Cheaper by the Dozen.” It’s hard to expect more than silly slapstick from this film.
Web site: http://www.mgm.com/pinkpantherthemovie/
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