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Four movies, each with equally high anticipation on my part. The Russell Brand remake of Arthur, Joe Wright's latest film Hanna, a soul searching film about a surfer called... Soul Surfer, and the latest from David Gordon Green called Your Highness.
Note - my anticipation for Soul Surfer isn't anticipation in the strictest sense. I'm not looking forward to a good movie. I'm looking forward to a train wreck. And I'm going to bet money that I get one. Of course, not a train wreck like Red Riding Hood, but a bitter accident nonetheless.
Which is more worth your time and money? Well, that's why I do this. Onward ho.
Arthur. PG-13.
I'll be honest - I don't care for the original. It's decent enough, but... outside of John Geilgud's miraculously dry performance, for which he rightly received Oscar's attention, it's just nothing something that ever amused me. I like Dudley Moore, and I enjoy Liza Minelli as much as the next guy, but... thankfully, I might have an answer to my Arthur conflict. Trading in the "let's make alcoholism funny" shtick for the "man-child" ploy we see almost too often these days, Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, and Luis Guzman join triumphant comedic forces to bring us the story of a boy with way too much money, and nothing to do. I'm flipping a coin between this and Hanna to see tomorrow, and while I'm pretty sure it'll be Hanna, I'll be seeing this as soon as possible. I'm terribly excited.
Hanna. PG-13.
Not since Atonement has Joe Wright released something watchable. Of course, the only thing between Atonement and Hanna is The Soloist. But, we don't talk about that. As far as I'm concerned, that never happened. So, since Atonement (!), we've been waiting for
Also in theaters...
Your Highness - Perhaps it's the fact that I tire of pot comedies, but... I'm not really looking forward to this. I'm sure it might grow on me over time like David Gordon Green's last film Pineapple Express did. But, to be fair, James Franco was brilliant in that, and the story is a lot more symbolic of Green's own obsessions with film that it lets on. This one, almost a D&D type story, looks slightly average. And that's disappointing given the talent that David Gordon Green once displayed. George Washington, All the Real Girls, Undertow... hell, even Snow Angels has grown on me. And he's the only director I'd trust to remake my precious Suspiria (coincidentally, that's happening soon). Maybe I'll enjoy it, as early reviews call it less of a pot comedy and more of a situational comedy. But, I'll be wary just the same.
Soul Surfer - Like I said. Train wreck. We have Anna Sophia Robb, who can act, a bit. Dennis Quaid, who is a fantastic actor, when he has a good script, and Helen Hunt, who has gotten much much better with age. But, it's a movie about a girl who loses her arm in a shark attack, a teenage girl, mind you, and continues to surf after the fact. I... what? Is this like C Me Dance or something? The thing that annoys me most about movies like this isn't the fact that it's an inspirational film for children. I think that's fantastic, and I totally get behind it. It's that they keep getting advertised as films that they aren't. This won't ever amount to anything more than a "Walk to Remember" flavor of the month. If that long.
Go see a movie. You've earned it. This has been a long week. Enjoy!
