Welcome back for the latest edition of PREVIEW WEEKLY - a one stop glance at the releases for this week. At least a couple pictures here that peak my interest - enjoy!
I LOVE YOU, MAN (DIR. JOHN HAMBURG)Some may remember HAMBURG'S last big screen outing in the cute but paltry ALONG CAME POLLY and one would imagine with the skyrocketing popularity of PAUL RUDD and JASON SEGAL, I LOVE YOU, MAN will be a hit. For those OFFICE fans out there, RASHIDA JONES has the female lead, although thats not saying much in a film who's title is a proclamation of heterosexual manttraction. Expect direct, if not raunchy, humor. Three stars may be high hopes, but a break from the lengthy APATOW sex comedy is welcomed. Should open to at least $7M, if not $10M and do fairly well over the next 4-6 weeks (let's not forget this is rated R).
KNOWING (DIR. ALEX PROYAS)It's getting harder and harder to take NICHOLAS CAGE seriously, or even ignore him enough to enjoy a film. However, DIRECTOR ALEX PROYAS gave us the near-cult classic, DARK CITY, and has a resume that also includes I, ROBOT. The biggest challenge facing KNOWING will be if there's anything left for the audience to pay attention to after all the action set-pieces and plot gimmicks run dry. A masterpiece is a long shot, but a bomb would surprise me. Don't forget what sells in Hollywood and many executives will sleep well "KNOWING" this will rule the box office, taking $20-30M.
THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD (DIR. SEAN MCGINLY)THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD could be a great surprise or a great disappointment. I was shocked to find myself previewing it at three and a half stars considering MCGINLY hasn't really done... well, anything. But leave it to well crafted promotions featuring the talent of JOHN MALKOVICH to put my mind at rest. Also with COLIN HANKS, TOM HANKS and the (newly?) popular EMILY BLUNT. In limited release this week, but the buzz seems positive enough for it to have a good theatrical run. An American story at its roots (MALKOVICH a fading star on the brink of a huge comeback) should have audiences relieved to be rooting for someone.
DUPLICITY (DIR. TONY GILROY)GILROY exploded onto the directorial scene in 2007 with the cleverly and carefully crafted MICHAEL CLAYTON. Can he repeat with DUPLICITY? As sexy and star-studded JULIA ROBERTS and CLIVE OWEN are, it seems almost inevitable that they'll cancel each other out (as opposed to say... complement one another a la ROBERTS and CLOONEY in OCEAN'S). But this isn't OCEAN'S world, its the fast-paced international double agent espionage stage and GILROY has proven he can manage storylines without overstepping stylistically or becoming sloppy with the details. I hope its better than the two stars I suspect, but why dump this off in MARCH if its worth anything? $10-20M and the PG13 rating keeps this around for a while.
SIN NOMBRE (DIR. CARY FUKUNAGA)To say SIN NOMBRE was well recieved in the festival circuit would be an understatement and the picture features the acclaimed direction of CARY FUKUNAGA. NOMBRE follows the journey of a young Honduran woman and teenage Mexican gang member as they travel across Latin America towards the United States. It's premature for OSCAR murmurs but NOMBRE has garnered a couple awards already. Will be in the art-house theaters for some time, or whatever local venue features foreign language films.
