TGITDNMAR (10/12/07)

It's that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It's The Day New Movies Are Released. Again, for those that might have missed it, the official name will not be changing, but at least until Survivor finishes its season, consider this feature TGITDBNMAR, with the "B" standing for "Before." Rather than cramming for two Friday features, I've moved TGITDNMAR to Thursdays.

At long last, the fall movie season officially begins this week, as there are (potentially) high quality major releases (that's plural) coming out Friday. Big name stars, not-so-big-name directors - oh well, you can't have it all, I guess.

We Own the Night
Attention marketers of this film: "I'm done wichyou!" I'll pardon you if you haven't been subjected to the ads for this movie nearly as much as I have, but I'm sick to death of it before it even hits a theater. (It being the sole sponsor for an NBC.com-watched episode of Heroes didn't help, as I had to watch the same ad again and again.)

Anyway, Mark Wahlberg apparently liked his role in The Departed so much that he decided to do it again. Oh wait - this one takes place in New York, not Boston, and his friend/adversary this time out is his character's brother. I was way off base. The casting of the always great Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Duvall and Eva Mendes give this film a solid cast, but it just doesn't look that great. Also not helping matters (for me at least) is that it looks to be set in the mid-to-late 80s. I don't want to see Hill Street Blues mixed with The Godfather, thank you very much.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 19%


Why Did I Get Married?
Consider me shocked that the title of this flick doesn't start out with "Tyler Perry's..." as it seems all of his other films have. Perry is nothing if not a great businessman, but his recent feature in Entertainment Weekly paints him simultaneously as an inspirational Hollywood outsider and as a whining ninny, what with his constant bitching about not being asked to star in roles that might usually go to Denzel. Uh, Tyler - your flicks might have made a ton of money, but I don't think you have a rep as some sort of great actor. Writer, producer? Perhaps - but "starring alongside Adam Sandler in a buddy comedy?" That might not seem like that lofty a position, but just saying you want to do something doesn't mean you deserve to or will do it. On that note, I'd like to be paid handsomely to write reviews and other movie-related content for Premiere or The Akron Times. Oh wait...
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 0%


Elizabeth: The Golden Age
I have yet to see the first Elizabeth, but I plan on seeing both it and this sequel very soon. Blanchett has earned her title as one of the best actresses of today, and the trailer for this looks pretty awesome, if I do say so. Clive Owen is also prominently involved, and any film with either Geoffrey Rush or Samantha Morton is one that I'm probably interested in seeing.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 92%


Michael Clayton
Though I'm not too hot on the title (for some reason it simultaneously reminds me of John Travolta's Michael and A Civil Action - not good), and I get a feeling that despite the strong cast that it won't be excellent, I'm still up for seeing this. I'm a big fan of Clooney, and it ought to be nice to see him pissed off (a la Syriana), as he's often playing nice guy/happy-go-lucky characters a bit too often (though he does it well). This is director Tony Gilroy's first feature, after having written, amongst other things, two of the Bourne films and the good/bad The Devil's Advocate. Considering the Erin Brockovich-like story and Clooney's involvement, I'm surprised Steven Soderbergh isn't the director here. Oh well.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 67%


Lars and the Real Girl
Ok, this movie about a man who hooks with a blow-up doll (or something) actually sounds pretty terrible. But it's got Ryan Gosling in it! In a short period of time, Gosling has proven to be one of the best and most interesting actors of his generation, and I'm willing to give him a mulligan (or at least the benefit of the doubt) and check this out. Director Craig Gillespie was prominently involved in the making of Mr. Woodcock - warrants mentioning.
Fletch's Chance of Viewing: 26%