TGITDNMAR (9/21/07)

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

A day early for a change!

In terms of the last few weeks, this feature has managed to lose its purpose. Due to a lack of good product being released (at least in the Phoenix area), there hasn't been much that has come out that I've wanted to see, or have seen lately. According to the number of reviews posted in this space (a review is written for every film seen in the theater), I only saw four movies in August and only four thus far into September. Boo me.

As for the recent releases: 3:10 to Yuma? We almost saw it the other day, but something more important came up. Eastern Promises? Doesn't come out until today. The Brave One? Reviews have been middling to say the best, and the fact that Death Sentence just came out as well ain't helping. I'd like to see No End in Sight but haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, and A Fistful of Quarters isn't playing here. Boo. Anyway, here are this week's entries into the fray - there might even be a couple interesting ones in the bunch.

Resident Evil: Extinction
I've seen parts of the first one on cable, and none of the second. I've never played the video game, don't think much of Milla as an actress (outside of Dazed & Confused and maybe The Fifth Element), and generally don't care about this series. Still, it's set in (ghost) Vegas, so it has that going for it, which is nice.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 3%



The Jane Austen Book Club
Hahahahaha! You're kidding, right? Even for a chick flick, this looks horrendous.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 1 in a million






The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
I was excited for this film the first time I heard about it. Unfortunately, that was something like three years ago. For being an actor, Brad Pitt sure hasn't been in much lately, considering his bit parts in Babel and Ocean's Thirteen were no doubt filmed after this film was made. That said, he has six other films in some stage of production (one in post-production - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, one currently filming, two in pre-production and two announced), so there might just be a wave of Pitt films in the near future.

Despite whatever troubles the producers might have had in getting Jesse James to the screen (there has been talk of clashes between the director and studio over the pacing and tone), it's still an appealing film, for the two stars if nothing else.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 72%


Good Luck Chuck
Could the previews look much worse? Aside from the gratuitous (only in its overuse; I'm sure it plays an important part in the film) shots of Alba in her little penguin panties, this looks to be a waste of celluloid. Particularly annoying is the heavy set best friend character that would have been inhabited by a vastly superior Jeremy Piven had this been made ten years ago. But really, Dane, leave these retarded rom-coms (yes, I realize that the abbreviated "rom-com" is retarded in and of itself) to Ben Stiller - he's got the market cornered.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): .6667%

Into the Wild
If you see one really depressing movie about a guy who moves to the middle of nowhere and slowly dies, make it this one. Hope I didn't give away anything; I read that in an Esquire feature of director Sean Penn. From all accounts, this is a very good-possibly great film featuring a(n even more) star-making turn from Emile Hirsch (whose charm helped carry the underrated teen flick The Girl Next Door to Hughes-ian levels). Throw in an Eddie Vedder-led soundtrack and Penn's excellent track record as a director (The Crossing Guard, The Pledge) and you've got an intriguing pic.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 68%