TGITDNMAR (11/9/07)

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

Lions for Lambs
The Kingdom bombed. Rendition ain't doing so hot, either. The buzz now is, will Lions for Lambs, the latest current events/Iraq war film, share the same fate? I tend to think so, but not just for the shared theme. Personally, I'd like to see the film, but even I admit that I know almost nothing about it. In other words, for the style of film that it is, the trailer is awful.

Sci-fi flicks and comic book movies can get away with teasers, either due to some really cool sh*t in the teaser or because the audience may already be somewhat familiar with the characters/story, but that's not the case with a "serious drama." Sure, star power plays a role, but not so much here. Neither Redford nor Streep have been box office draws in decades (to say nothing of their quality), and Cruise has been plagued by craziness and/or bad press for the past three years.

Short story long: I don't see L4L doing big business, and I think it was badly marketed. Oh, and people might be tiring of Iraq war-themed movies.
Fletch’s Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 62%

No Country for Old Men
Can't you hear it already? "The Coen Brothers return to form!" "Call up Oscar and save the Coens a seat!" "Blah blah blah Coens blah blah Blood Simple!"

There's a good chance I'll be on board as well, though I never really felt like the Coens fell off the track or anything. I must be one or four people that liked Intolerable Cruelty, though I never saw The Ladykillers or The Man Who Wasn't There. The fact is, they've yet to make anything close to a bad movie, so it should be no surprise that this more serious entry is getting broad kudos. Though it does mark the next step towards Josh Brolin slowly taking over the world. First The Goonies, then a whole lot of not much, then Hollow Man (where everyone looked awesome compared to Bacon and Shue), then Planet Terror, and now this and In the Valley of Elah and American Gangster all coming out within weeks of each other. It's a banner year for James' son.
Fletch’s Chance of Viewing: 89%

P2
Whither Wes Bentley? The onetime hot name from American Beauty is now starring as a creepy bad guy in some awful parking lot torture-porn flick? Really?
By the way, the tagline for the film is "A new level of fear." I find this highly entertaining. I just might have to break down and catch this on cable, though I still can't get over what happened to Bentley's career. He was good in Beauty! Really good! I'm flabbergasted. Meanwhile, Matthew McConnauasadfadghey ought to be releasing some lame man-child romantic comedy within the next 12 minutes.
Fletch’s Chance of Viewing: uh, no

Fred Claus
A couple weeks ago, I got the idea to do a "Build 'Em Up, Tear 'Em Down" feature for Vince Vaughn, as I was convinced that he was worthy. Here's a guy that had the world handed to him after Swingers, and yet I wasn't thinking that he had done all that much with his stardom.

Well, I was right and wrong. Though it seems like the comedies of the 00s pale in comparison to prior decades, he has been involved in some of the better ones lately (Old School, Wedding Crashers), and though he seems to have all but given up on dramas, he was in some interesting ones (The Cell, Clay Pigeons). Sure, there were a few misses and/or clunkers along the way (Psycho, Made, Domestic Disturbance), but nothing that I would deem as being pure evil or anything like that. I guess, if anything, it's his settling on what's essentially the same role over and over that bothers me more than anything, since he's a more-than-capable dramatic actor. Then again, he'd probably be getting grief from someone else for not doing enough comedy if he avoided it. Can't please all the people all the time, I guess.

Anyway, this one looks bad. Real bad. Despite an all-star cast, it's hard not to see this as North Pole Crasher. And no one wants to see Paul Giamatti naked.
Fletch’s Chance of Viewing: 6%