Friday, August 26, 2005
Movies: Opening Today: Or The Weekend of Lena Headey
Opening this Weekend:
Sources: IMDb.com, Yahoo.com, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic.com, Amazon.com, Epinions.com
Wide:
The Brothers Grimm
Fantasy, Adventure
Rated: PG-13, for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material
Starring: Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Heath Ledger (The Patriot, "Roar"), Monica Bellucci (Irréversible), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), Lena Headey (The Cave), Peter Stormare ("Prison Break"), and Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Gangs of New York)
Writer: Ehren Kruger (14 credits including The Skeleton Key, The Ring, Scream 3.
Director: Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, "Monty Python's Flying Circus")
About: The Grimm brothers wrote a bunch of fairy tales (which are darker in their original German, than many might recall from edited verisions they might be aware of from their childhood). This film follows the two brothers as the wander around killing demons and monsters for money.
1 hour 58 minutes
Tagline: Eliminating Evil Since 1812
Note: This is one of those movies that were "dumped" on the market to clean out Miramax's film pipeline.
Official Website: The Official The Brothers Grimm Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - Rotten: 40% liked the film (23 out of 57 liked the film)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - Mixed: weighted average score: 55 out of 100 (what this means)
Critic Collections: Epinions.com - no reviews yet (anyone can submitt reviews)
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 11 reviews - overall C+; Yahoo users rating: B- (36 users)
Christian Science Monitor: David Sterritt: "Gilliam has rarely been more inventive, energetic, or just plain funny. " - a 100 out of 100 score.
Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert: "A work of limitless invention, but it is invention without pattern, chasing itself around the screen without finding a plot." - a 50 out of 100 score. (Ebert gives the film 2 stars, out of 4 I believe).
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Not terrible so much as terminally silly." - a 30 out of 100 score.
The Cave
Horror/Thriller/Science Fiction
Rated: PG-13, for intense creature violence.
Starring: Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly), Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49), Cole Hauser (Paparazzi), Lena Headey (The Remains of the Day, The Brothers Grimm), Marcel Iures (Layer Cake), Eddie Cibrian (TV Series: "The Young & The Restless," "Baywatch Nights," "Sunset Beach," "Third Watch," 2005-"Tilt," "Invasion")
Writer: Michael Steinberg (also wrote 1994's Sleep with Me) & Tegan West
Director: Bruce Hunt (first film directed)
About: An American team explores a mile-deep cave in Romania and find never-before-seen creatures (many sources, most saying different things about what this movie is about).
1 hour 37 Minutes
Tagline: There are places man was never meant to go.
Official Website: The Official The Cave Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 27% of 22 reviews liked the film (6 liked, 16 disliked)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - scored a 33 out of 100 - overall - 33 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 5 reviews - average of a D; 25 Yahoo users - average of a D+
Los Angeles Times: Kevin Thomas: "It's increasingly hard to work up a fright on the screen these days, but even if The Cave doesn't exactly terrify, it's fun and looks great." - 70 out of 100
Variety: Robert Koehler: "Refreshing strokes of science-fact in the early sections give way to action strictly from the Ridley Scott-James Cameron playbook, but without a powerful helmer behind the camera or a memorable cast in front." - 40 out of 100.
Undiscovered
Comedy/Drama/Romance
Rated: PG-13, for sexual material including dialogue, partial nudity, language and drug content
Starring: Steven Strait (Sky High), Pell James (Broken Flowers), Kip Pardue (Thirteen), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), Ashlee Simpson ("Saturday Night Live"), Fisher Stevens ("Early Edition"), Perrey Reeves (Old School), Peter Weller (RoboCop), and Shannyn Sossamon (40 Days and 40 Nights).
Writer: John Galt
Director: Meiert Avis (Far from Home)
About: Another one with vastly different summaries on different websites, I'll just say that it seems to be about a bunch of young entertainers trying to make it.
1 Hour 37 minutes
Tagline: They Know Each Other By Heart.
Official Website: The Official Undiscovered Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 0% of 15 reviews liked the movie.
Critic Collections: Metacritic - score of 33 out of 100. based on 10 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - Critics (6) - C-; Users (25) - D+
New York Post: Kyle Smith: "It isn't a really good movie, but there's real talent in it." (63)
Variety: Robert Koehler: "As a cautionary drama on the price of fame, Undiscovered could not tread on more exhaustively discovered territory, and the result is a reel-by-reel trail of cliches. " (40)
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Tailored for the readership of Teen People magazine and about as thought-provoking as the average 500-word celebrity profile." (30)
Limited:
The Baxter (Metacritic page for The Baxter - 53 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Breaking News (Dai si gein)
Dirty Deeds (IMDb.com page for Dirty Deeds; Metacritic page for Dirty Deeds - 29 out of 100 based on 4 reviews)
Eternal (Metacritic page for Eternal - 47 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive)
Matando Cabos (Metacritic page for Matando Cabos - 42 out of 100 based on 5 reviews)
Technorati Tags: Movies
Sources: IMDb.com, Yahoo.com, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic.com, Amazon.com, Epinions.com
Wide:
The Brothers Grimm
Fantasy, Adventure
Rated: PG-13, for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material
Starring: Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Heath Ledger (The Patriot, "Roar"), Monica Bellucci (Irréversible), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), Lena Headey (The Cave), Peter Stormare ("Prison Break"), and Roger Ashton-Griffiths (Gangs of New York)
Writer: Ehren Kruger (14 credits including The Skeleton Key, The Ring, Scream 3.
Director: Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, "Monty Python's Flying Circus")
About: The Grimm brothers wrote a bunch of fairy tales (which are darker in their original German, than many might recall from edited verisions they might be aware of from their childhood). This film follows the two brothers as the wander around killing demons and monsters for money.
1 hour 58 minutes
Tagline: Eliminating Evil Since 1812
Note: This is one of those movies that were "dumped" on the market to clean out Miramax's film pipeline.
Official Website: The Official The Brothers Grimm Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - Rotten: 40% liked the film (23 out of 57 liked the film)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - Mixed: weighted average score: 55 out of 100 (what this means)
Critic Collections: Epinions.com - no reviews yet (anyone can submitt reviews)
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 11 reviews - overall C+; Yahoo users rating: B- (36 users)
Christian Science Monitor: David Sterritt: "Gilliam has rarely been more inventive, energetic, or just plain funny. " - a 100 out of 100 score.
Chicago Sun-Times: Roger Ebert: "A work of limitless invention, but it is invention without pattern, chasing itself around the screen without finding a plot." - a 50 out of 100 score. (Ebert gives the film 2 stars, out of 4 I believe).
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Not terrible so much as terminally silly." - a 30 out of 100 score.
The Cave
Horror/Thriller/Science Fiction
Rated: PG-13, for intense creature violence.
Starring: Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly), Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49), Cole Hauser (Paparazzi), Lena Headey (The Remains of the Day, The Brothers Grimm), Marcel Iures (Layer Cake), Eddie Cibrian (TV Series: "The Young & The Restless," "Baywatch Nights," "Sunset Beach," "Third Watch," 2005-"Tilt," "Invasion")
Writer: Michael Steinberg (also wrote 1994's Sleep with Me) & Tegan West
Director: Bruce Hunt (first film directed)
About: An American team explores a mile-deep cave in Romania and find never-before-seen creatures (many sources, most saying different things about what this movie is about).
1 hour 37 Minutes
Tagline: There are places man was never meant to go.
Official Website: The Official The Cave Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 27% of 22 reviews liked the film (6 liked, 16 disliked)
Critic Collections: Metacritic - scored a 33 out of 100 - overall - 33 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - 5 reviews - average of a D; 25 Yahoo users - average of a D+
Los Angeles Times: Kevin Thomas: "It's increasingly hard to work up a fright on the screen these days, but even if The Cave doesn't exactly terrify, it's fun and looks great." - 70 out of 100
Variety: Robert Koehler: "Refreshing strokes of science-fact in the early sections give way to action strictly from the Ridley Scott-James Cameron playbook, but without a powerful helmer behind the camera or a memorable cast in front." - 40 out of 100.
Undiscovered
Comedy/Drama/Romance
Rated: PG-13, for sexual material including dialogue, partial nudity, language and drug content
Starring: Steven Strait (Sky High), Pell James (Broken Flowers), Kip Pardue (Thirteen), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), Ashlee Simpson ("Saturday Night Live"), Fisher Stevens ("Early Edition"), Perrey Reeves (Old School), Peter Weller (RoboCop), and Shannyn Sossamon (40 Days and 40 Nights).
Writer: John Galt
Director: Meiert Avis (Far from Home)
About: Another one with vastly different summaries on different websites, I'll just say that it seems to be about a bunch of young entertainers trying to make it.
1 Hour 37 minutes
Tagline: They Know Each Other By Heart.
Official Website: The Official Undiscovered Site
Critics:
Critic Collections: Rotten Tomatoes - 0% of 15 reviews liked the movie.
Critic Collections: Metacritic - score of 33 out of 100. based on 10 reviews.
Critic Collections: Yahoo.com - Critics (6) - C-; Users (25) - D+
New York Post: Kyle Smith: "It isn't a really good movie, but there's real talent in it." (63)
Variety: Robert Koehler: "As a cautionary drama on the price of fame, Undiscovered could not tread on more exhaustively discovered territory, and the result is a reel-by-reel trail of cliches. " (40)
Washington Post: Michael O'Sullivan: "Tailored for the readership of Teen People magazine and about as thought-provoking as the average 500-word celebrity profile." (30)
Limited:
The Baxter (Metacritic page for The Baxter - 53 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Breaking News (Dai si gein)
Dirty Deeds (IMDb.com page for Dirty Deeds; Metacritic page for Dirty Deeds - 29 out of 100 based on 4 reviews)
Eternal (Metacritic page for Eternal - 47 out of 100 based on 8 reviews)
Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive)
Matando Cabos (Metacritic page for Matando Cabos - 42 out of 100 based on 5 reviews)
Technorati Tags: Movies
