Easter Rush Almost Here
The tidal wave of films that comes with Easter is almost upon us. On April 9, we’ll see 9 new films being released across Brisbane. I’m currently trying to get a head start with some preview screenings so as to give me something to review next week. The Boat That Rocked appears to be getting the most buzz and a few critics I’ve spoken to gave it a resounding thumbs up.
I’ll have more in next week’s Film Pie… including a review, hopefully, of The Boat That Rocked.
Getting Lazy With Sequels?
One thing that has struck me as strange of late is some of the “sequels” being released. Instead of calling the film a sequel, we’re reverting back to original titles. We’ve got Friday The 13th, Star Trek and Fast & Furious (well, very close to the original title – The Fast & The Furious). It irks me because if this trend were to continue, it would make it harder to distinguish the new film from the old one. You’d have to specify the year in which it was made. At least with the Batman franchise, they were creative enough to call the new film Batman Begins, so as not to create confusion. That’s my tirade for the week.
Out Of Touch
A couple of weeks ago, I gave a strongly positive review to the new Clive Owen / Julia Roberts movie, Duplicity. I had a chance to see it for a second time over the weekend and I enjoyed it just as much. I had a chance to appreciate the little things like the sets, the music, the facial expressions, the witty dialogue. I’m telling you now – this is a great film.
Unfortunately, that isn’t translating at the box office. Duplicity has made just $25.6m in the United States over its first two weeks. That’s well behind the god awful Knowing (which has $46.2m in its first 2 weeks) and I Love You, Man (which has $37.0m from the same period). It’s reality, I know, but it’s still tough to stomach. People would rather go see some Church Of Scientology inspired apocalyptic movie with terrible acting, than a smartly written thriller / drama / comedy / romance with two great actors. How can this be? Am I out of touch? Have I lost my sensibility?
Bring On The Germans!
The French Film Festival wrapped up last weekend and next on the menu is the German Film Festival. It kicks off on April 22 at the Palace cinemas and hopefully, as mentioned in my Film Pie last week, they’ll be showing some non World War II movies. I do enjoy my German cinema. I’ve had one of their films in my top 10 list for 3 of the past 4 years. The Lives Of Others was my favourite film of 2007. I’ll provide more details on the Festival in the coming weeks.
See you next week.