09/03/09

Box office breakdown: In what is being called “the summer’s dumbest box office showdown,” The Final Destination beat out Halloween II last weekend. Both films will be at the dollar theater soon; both will do well on DVD; and both films will (unless you‘re a major fan of Halloween director Rob Zombie) be quickly forgotten by the masses. I saw neither film and don’t plan to unless the Redbox catches me on a very desperate, lonely, bored night - in which case I’ll likely opt for The Final Destination (or, more likely, a 1,000th viewing of Taxi Driver). Inglorious Basterds was No. 2 last week at the box office, upping it’s domestic gross to just under $80 million after two weeks - already $10 million above it’s production cost. Nora Ephron’s great Julie & Julia kept trucking along, bringing in another $10 million, while G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra continued to rob the pockets of overly-nostalgic 20- and 30-something men with a weekly gross of $8 million. Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock bombed in a major way. Bummer.

New this week: The heavily promoted sci-fi-meets-action thriller Gamer, starring it-dude Gerard Butler (The Ugly Truth) should, considering it’s competition, open to decent numbers. Think Hackers meets War Games meets Untraceable, but with a really studly dude as the brainy-but-ballsy protagonist. Also stars Dexter leading man Michael C. Hall. As far as comedies go, look for Mike Judge’s (Office Space, Beavis & Butthead) fourth proper feature-length effort, Extract (starring Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck), to upset rom-com queen Sandra Bullock’s latest effort, All About Steve. (Chances are, you‘d be better off renting The Tao of Steve.)

The Buzz: Judging by it’s still-climbing rank on IMDB.com’s All-Time Greatest Films list (currently at No. 35, ever), it would appear that auteur Quentin Tarantino’s latest blow-out, Inglorious Basterds, is being embraced by even the snobbiest viewers. (Being the first person to ever successfully kill Adolf Hitler doesn’t hurt, nor does putting Brad Pitt on your frontline.) Confusing as this long-labored film might be to some/most, it will no doubt rank as one of popular cinema’s most discussed - and successful - art-minded blockbusters. If you’ve not yet seen it, word to the wise: don’t expect too much action, shooting or war. This film, like all of QT’s work, is a dialogue-based romp through cinephile heaven. Better even the second time, too, as many of the visual details pop to the forefront. Also, if you’ve not yet seen Charlie Rose’s interview with the inglorious director, be sure to check it out online, as Tarantino’s reputation for saving all his best nuggets for Rose is more true than ever this time around. (If you count yourself a film connoisseur, you’ll no doubt find this interview to be almost as rewarding as the work it’s celebrating.)

New to DVD: The Criterion Collection added a true lost 90s gem to its collection last week with the release of writer/director Whit Stillman’s Last Days of Disco. If you like articulate, witty writing, Stillman, who also directed Barcelona and ScreenTime favorite Metropolitan, might be your new favorite director. Superbad director Greg Mottola’s third and best feature, Adventureland, was also released this week. ScreenTime loves this film and recommends it to anyone who likes 80s nostalgia, Yo La Tengo, oddball indie films, The Replacements or that girl from Twilight. One of 2009’s most overlooked theater releases so far, Sunshine Cleaning, was also released. Starring Emily Blunt and a female actor who might just be the best of her generation, Amy Adams (Junebug, Doubt, Enchanted), Sunshine is a stellar drama about two sisters who start a crime scene cleaning business.

Archival pick of the week: Dark City. Directed by The Crow helmsmen Alex Proyas, who recently directed the surprisingly good Knowing, Dark City is a hypnotic nightmare disguised as a sci-fi thriller. (And, hey, it features Jennifer Connelly, which must always be noted.) I found myself putting this disc in the player after seeing many reviewers call District 9 the “best sci-fi film in two decades.” Seeing as how clearly superior films like Blade Runner, Alien, Aliens and Brazil all miss the 20-year mark, I started wondering if the critics were right. Sure, District 9 is better than all the obvious sci-fi hits (Armageddon, Deep Impact, you get it) and probably even all of the lost gems (Gattaca and overlooked gems like Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46), but what about The City of Lost Children, Children of Men and the flick I usually site as the best modern sci-fi film, Dark City? (And supposedly this new Sam Rockwell film, Moon, is one for the ages, too.) Verdict: one viewing of the director’s cut of Dark City reassures me that I’ll need to let District 9 digest for a year or more before I go mentioning it in he same breath as Proyas’ masterpiece.

Netflix “Watch Instant” recommendation of the week: The Duplass Brothers’ (The Puffy Chair) latest lo-fi classic, Baghead. Of the current crop of lo-fi indie filmmakers, the Duplass Brothers stand at the top, and Baghead - a part-comedy, part-thriller about the hijinks that ensue when four Hollywood outsiders head to the woods with the intention of quickly drafting a screenplay - is their best work yet.