TGITDNMAR (9/14/07)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released.

It's hard to review movies if you don't go see them, and as I've documented a lot lately, there hasn't been all that much to see. Finally, that's changing this Friday (which also happens to be FletchFather's birthday - Happy Birthday, Dad!).

Lots of new releases this week, but many are limited and will probably never make it to any of our respective wood necks (Phoenix is one of the worst big cities in terms of this. Boo!). That said, let's just look at the major releases:

Eastern Promises
I'm a big Viggo fan, a so-so Naomi Watts fan, and generally not a fan of David Cronenberg (the high comedy of Crash notwithstanding). Likewise, Mrs. Fletch isn't a fan of ultraviolent pics. That said, we both enjoyed (but didn't love) the last Mortensen-Cronenberg collaboration (A History of Violence). It will probably come down to how bad we want to see a movie and what we've already seen. I'm up for it, but I can live with waiting, too - unless word of mouth turns out to be fantastic or something.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 38%


Mr. Woodcock
You've got to be kidding, right? Look, we all pretty much know that Billy Bob can be an immensely talented guy, right? Sling Blade rightfully put him on the map, Bad Santa was a bad but pretty funny movie, and his character work over the years (Tombstone) is excellent. But...maybe Billy Bob shouldn't be the star of movies anymore? It's not from a lack of talent, it's from a history of horrible choices. Maybe going the Steve Buscemi route might be the better career path. Oh, and Pushing Tin is one of the worst movies of the last 15 years. Gawdawful.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): -50%


The Hunting Party
This looks good. Dick Gere and Terry Howard star as a news correspondent and cameraman, respectively, who have been to hell and back and are out on the road for "one last adventure." Ok, so the premise isn't all that groundbreaking, and for some reason, I picture all of their real-life counterparts screaming at the screen and how ludicrous it may be, but I'm a fan of post-1990 Richard Gere (no Sommersby, please). Mrs. Fletch? Not so much. Hmm...might be a week of movies by myself.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 33%


The Brave One
The more I read and see about this one, the less I want to see it. Again, there's a good cast here (Foster, Howard and Lost's Naveen Andrews), but, even though I might think that Death Sentence looks mostly awful, I can't help but be bothered that it gets a bad rap while this one skates by on the dignity of its star. They're the same movie!! This one just strikes me as pompous now (admittedly, through no fault of its own). No thanks.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 11%