01/27/11

ScreenRant: After recently watching writer/director Kelly Reichardt’s third proper film, Wendy and Lucy, I felt a burst of excitement and hope rush over me. Well, sure, maybe that sounds a bit dramatic. But really, movies like Wendy (low budget, modestly produced, authentically acted and written, stylistically directed) very often do the most for me. Reichardt’s film before Wendy, the excellent Old Joy, also appealed to me, as have a huge number of other modestly produced films made since Richard Linklater’s Slacker and Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise changed the game. Made since the directorial heyday of the late John Cassavetes “changed the game,” really. An upcoming film, titled East of Nowhere (pictured) and filmed here in Fort Wayne, just might end up fitting in somewhere in this realm of modestly created works whose end product greatly exceeds its means. Directed by Matt McCrory and Nichole Root and written by Kiowa Ackley, the movie tells the story of five disillusioned young adults struggling to find their way in a small Midwestern town. Sound familiar? We hope to bring you some exclusive info about the film’s progress very soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out EastOfNowhereUpdate.BlogSpot.com.  

Opening This Weekend: Simon West, know for such films as Con Air, When a Stranger Calls and that ridiculous Tomb Raider flick, will see his new action blast, the very promising-looking Mechanic, open nationwide this weekend. Starring Jason Statham and the always excellent Ben Foster, the style-happy action flick is thus far getting some very promising reviews and buzz. Also opening around the country is The Rite, a Warner Bros. thriller starring Anthony Hopkins and Rutger Hauer. Meh. The forth film from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who has thus far made three features (all modern classics, IMO), titled Biutiful, will finally begin to see some U.S. distribution, as will the Lionsgate produced rom-com From Prada to Nada (a movie with a title so bad that I didn’t even look it up). Last and surely not least, look for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours to at long last see a big expansion, hopefully even finally making its way to a Fort Wayne theater.

Tops At the Box: Natalie Portman rom-com No Strings Attached took the No. 1 spot last weekend, bringing in over $20 million over its first three days. Directed by Ivan Reitman and co-starring Ashton Kutcher, the buzz is that the film is trash. We believe it, Portman and all. That said, the movie features a beyond-stellar supporting cast that boasts names like Greta Gerwig, Kevin Kline, Olivia Thirlby, Mindy Kaling, Lake Bell and Cary Elwes.

More From the Box: Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet took the No. 2 spot last weekend, bringing in $18 million over its second weekend, upping its 10-day total to $63 million. Considering all the bad press (not to mention a very weak trailer), I’m pretty surprised to see Hornet doing so well. Ron Howard’s new buddy comedy, The Dilemma, took the No. 3 spot, bringing in just under $10 million last weekend while the excellent The King’s Speech took the No. 4 spot with $9.1 million, upping its total to just under $60 million, officially making it an indie hit. Rounding out last weekend’s Top 5 was the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, bringing in $8 million, upping its so-far total to $139 million, making it the Brothers’ first ever blockbuster-level release.

New to Home Video: New to home video this coming Tuesday, February 1: Client 9; Dogtooth; Enter the Void; Feed the Fish; Secretariat; Red; Nowhere Boy; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest; Saw: The Final Chapter; the Criterion edition of James L. Brooks’ Broadcast News; a number of first-run Blu-ray editions, including The Graduate, A Beautiful Mind, The Color Purple and all the abovementioned releases; and season two, volume 1 of “Glee.”

Written by G. William Locke