09/17/09

Box Office Breakdown: Writer/Director Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All by Myself took the No. 1 spot this week at the box office with $24 million in sales. I’m speechless. Those of us not already laughing about the success this Perry fella is having will be soon enough (reference point: Ernest P. Worrell, 1987-98). The Tim Burton produced animated feature, 9, which supposedly has great visuals and little else to offer,  came in second at just under $11 million. Ingluouriuous Baustuaurds came in third with $6.5 million in sales, upping it’s domestic total to $104.3 million. A varying degree of awful comedies filled out the Top 10 with poor numbers.

New This Week: A few promising films open this Friday, September 18, starting with Steven Soderberg’s The Informant! Critics are already calling Matt Damon’s performance in this crime comedy about a quirky FBI informant his best since The Talented Mr. Ripley. Big hype. Soderberg hasn’t made a true crowd pleaser for some time, so, you know, fingers crossed. (By the way, has anyone seen Soderberg’s Che? Please e-mail me if you have, because, well, I need proof that it exists.) The second script from writer Diablo Cody (Juno), titled Jennifer’s Body, finally hits screens this week. It’s getting universally awful reviews and Screen Time thinks the trailer is dummy time. But hey, it looks visually stimulating, is probably full of quips we’ll all love to hate, is stacked up with fun-to-look-at actors and is covered in shiny blood. Sounds like a possible cult classic in the works - but probably not. Director Jane Champion’s (The Piano) new period piece, Bright Star - based on the three year romance between John Keats and Fanny Brawne - is set to open to glowing reviews, as is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, an animated film based on the children’s book of the same name.

The Buzz: Much chatter is suddenly hitting the web surrounding Screen Time favorite Audrey Tautou’s performance as Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel, set to open in select theaters next week. Let’s face it, there are only so many films that offer meaty leading lady roles per year, Tautou’s performance here is said to be Oscar-worthy by a number of critics. We believe it! Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the already exhausted Pirates series will be released in the summer of 2011. Ugh. Director Peter Berg and actors Will Smith and Charlize Theron recently signed on to shoot a second Hancock film. Normally, Screen Time would argue that this is a bad idea (not ever blockbuster needs a sequel, dammit!), but if they do a prequel, as has been hinted, this could work. The first Hancock flick, Smith and all, was surprisingly good, all things considered. A release date for Toy Story 3, which is being hyped as “the most anticipated film since Whatever Whatever,” has been set for June 18, 2010.

New to DVD: Director Ryan Fleck’s baseball drama, Sugar (out now), is, thus far, the best drama Screen Time has seen at the theater this year. Fleck’s follow up to his debut feature, Half Nelson, tells the story a 19 year old Dominican baseball prospect who finds himself working his way through the minor league farm system. More than a film about baseball, Sugar focuses on a number of topics, most notably the culture shock 60 percent of the faces you’ll see in MLB jerseys go through while trying to achieve their dream. Also new on shelves this week is season three of “30 Rock” (awesome!), season five of “Grey’s Anatomy” (was awesome for 1.5 seasons), season one of “The Mentalist” (cool hair!), season three of “Ugly Betty” (yawn), Seth Rogen dud Observe and Report, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (anger!), a shload of “Star Trek” series on Blu-ray, Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup (uh-oh!), some Anna Nicole Smith DVD and, most notably, Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 classic, Pierre Le Fou, is getting the Blu-ray treatment. Thanks again, Criterion. (This might just be the flick that gets me to finally look into this Blu-ray upgrade business.)

Archival Pick: Woody Allen’s 1986 dramedy Hannah and Her Sisters. Despite going through at least two very intense Woody phases over the years, Screen Time has somehow never seen Hannah until recently (I admit to sometimes letting bad cover art/promo posters cloud my viewing decisions). Rightfully nominated for seven Academy Awards, this ensemble effort focuses on the lives of three very different - but the same - sisters and the men who follow them around. The visual style is more Annie Hall than Manhattan and the writing reminds me of Allen’s short stories more than any of his other films (save for his contribution to New York Stories). Also of interest: a young Soon-Yi (then Allen’s pseudo-step daughter, now his wife) makes a brief cameo, as do Daniel Stern and a pre-“Seinfeld” Julia Louise-Dreyfus. Great flick, especially if you like Michael Caine (who won an Oscar for his role) and amazing dialogue.

NetFlix Watch Instant Pick: I recently watched Half Nelson for the first time since seeing it in the theater - this because Nelson writer/director Ryan Fleck’s (who is hereby awarded Screen Time’s Future Legend Award) second film, Sugar, recently blew my mind (see above). I remembered liking Nelson the first time around, but quickly realized that it is the kind of work that grows with repeated viewings. By the time I finished my third run I was digging out my Best of 2006 list and reworking it. Not only would I call Nelson the best film of 2006, but I’m tempted to call it the best American debut since David Gordon Green’s 2000 classic, George Washington. Ryan Gosling, you stud, you deserve a Lifetime Achievement Award for this film alone. Stunning. Beautiful. Moving. Should’ve won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Everything in 2006.