What a bizarre week of releases. One half, a literal
gore-filled slew of horror franchise rehashes, the other a
solid set of under-the-radar releases from one must-see
director and another must-see actor. I'm puzzled, but
happily so.
As always, thanks for reading.
Hitting Theaters This Weekend:
HALLOWEEN II
Director:
Rob Zombie
Cast:
Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell
Summary:
The second in the Zombie-esque revamping of the semi-beloved
Halloween franchise. Michael Myers escapes again and
kills people, or at least that's what I'm assuming.
Thoughts:
Hmmmm ... the press on the first Halloween remake was
abysmal at worst, divided at best. What I've seen of
Zombie's work in the past (The Devil's Reject) was
enjoyably offensive but didn't prompt me to marathon my way
through the rest of his assorted, grim and grotesque
filmography. Also, and please throw sharp objects at me, I
saw the original Halloween a long while ago for some
film class or another and thought, if anything, that it was
boring. How many long takes of Laurie Stroud being silently
stalked by Michael Myers do we have to endure before the big
guy starts taking heads off?
Whatever, there's a built in audience for this shit, so I'm
sure it'll make enough money to prompt yet another sequel
remake.
Rotten Tomatoes Score:
N/A
TAKING WOODSTOCK
Director:
Ang Lee
Cast:
Demetri Martin
Summary:
A filmic adaptation of Elliot Tiber's memoir about
Woodstock and being gay.
Thoughts:
Ang Lee = must-see, regardless of subject matter, popular
opinion, or history of success. He's just looking at things
through a lens that no one else even owns. I'm curious
about Demetri Martin, I've always thought his comedy to be
slightly cutesy in a non-interesting way, and I'm curious as
to how he plays a multi-layered character. All that said
though, Ang Lee knocked one in to the river with Lust,
Caution, so I'm more than excited to dive in to his look
at the 1970s.
Rotten Tomatoes Score:
51%
THE FINAL DESTINATION
Director:
David R. Ellis
Cast:
Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella
Summary:The
fourth film in this splatter-fest of Death avoided and Death
revenged. I believe again someone, somehow predicts a
gruesome accident, but ends up watching their group of
friends picked off in zany ways one by one.
Thoughts:
If you're going to invest some time in current horror
franchise films, the Final Destination series is
really the only one worth even semi-peeking at. Sure, it's
dumb and bloody, but that's all it's trying for. I've only
seen the first entry in to the series, but damn if I didn't
watch it a few times as I was so entertained. It's assured
that this entry will have zanier kills, gorier deaths, and
even more scantily clad ladies. Thus, if that's your thing,
I know where you'll be this weekend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score:
N/A
BIG FAN
Director:
Robert Siegel
Cast:
Patton Oswalt
Summary:
The New York Giants (self-professed) biggest fan gets the
shit kicked out of him by his favorite athlete. Dark,
strange comedy ensues.
Thoughts:
Combine a former Onion editor's (and writer of The
Wrestler) dark humor with a stellar performance by a
perfectly hyped comic like Patton Oswalt and you've got a
film I'm dying to get at. The poster work has been
exceptional, and the tone of the film looks to border on
uncomfortable. I'm all for films about obsession, thus this
one is at the top of the list this week.
Rotten Tomatoes Score:
88%
Final Thoughts:
It's a pretty great week for cinema from crappy to
wonderful, but I'm throwing my hat in Big Fan's dark
little ring.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
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