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A truly scary movie, say reviewers like Rogert Ebert and Owen Gleiberman. Maybe cocaine was distributed through the airco during the screening at Sundance, because the only scary thing I noticed was in my imagination. The imagination of ticket-paying movie-goers sitting through this movie without a fast forward button at their disposal. I luckily did, but for reviewing’s sake, I only skipped the non-verbal scenes. Which, actually, is still quite a lot.
To describe this movie in one word, amateurish would do just fine. Filming with a cheap digital camera may save money, but if you think back to the Blair Witch Project, it doesn’t really assure quality on the silver screen. Then throw in two C-actors, a few cute little sharks and nothing can really scare you anymore. The dialogues that follow are childish and yawn-inducing.
Another case of “don’t believe the hype”, your money is better spend on a day in Seaworld.3.

Nicolas Cage is still treasure hunting at the top spot, spending another $33.1 million on National Treasure. The Incredibles are still strong supercharging the total box office to $214.7, with this week’s earnings at $24.1 million.
The first Christmas movie this year is for Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. Christmas with the Kranks opens at number 3 with $22.7 million.
At number 4, The Polar Express gains speed, taking in more than last week. $20.1 million brings the grand total to $82.2 million. Still needs double that to break even.
Also still doing well is The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, with $17.8 million at number 5.
And the only one not to really gain in this Thanksgiving holiday weekend is the supposedly great Alexander. Oliver Stone directed and Colin Farrell starrer movie did anything but conquer the box office with just $13.5 million, just enough for a top 6 spot.

As the title suggests, it’s not your average weekend movie, and you’d better not go for enjoyment. It’s something of a documentary with slight dramatisation (an ending like this doesn’t need much anyways) filmed with a mostly impartial lense. The end is of course, well known, but the director is still able to create an anxiety driven atmosphere. As for the feared humanisation of Hitler, don’t. While there might be moments that could validate this, you just can’t feel sorry for someone you don’t understand. The movie doesn’t give insight into the character, no how’s or why’s, you just get to see a few character traits. The big surprise for me was that the acting is pretty well done (as I don’t get to see many German movies), especially Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler deserves two thumbs up.
If you go for historic value, you won’t find much, besides the obvious ending. If you go for entertainment, order a few bottles of your favorite liquor and drink away a depressing weekend.7-.

It’s a quality Disney/Pixar production, as always, but not as incredible as expected. First impression is the old Superman cartoon turned 3D (both in mood, music and visual style). Second impression is a normal Saturday morning Marvel Cartoon (all characters and superpowers can be traced back, with the Fantastic Four being the main template). After the lead in, comes the settling down. Both literally and figuratively. This can be long stretch, but actually creates a bit of depth previous animation didn’t have. And then slowly, it climbs back to the all action finale where everything happens just the way most people like it. The danger in this kind of movie is that you never have the feeling something really bad can happen. The build up drama doesn’t hold and you’re left with nothing too special or daring. Still it’s enjoyable, even though the laugh out loud moments are harder to find than usual.7½.

A treasure indeed, and worth $35.3 million it is too. Nicolas Cage starrer National Treasure ends up at the top spot this week. The kids, however, are keeping a close tab, right behind with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, good for $33.5 million. Third week all-rounder, The Incredibles, hangs on to nr. 3 with $26.8 million.
The Polar Express has to fight off some chilly stormy weather, and ends up at the fourth place with just $15.2 million. It might never reach its final destination unscathed, as it’s still short of $220 million to break even. Steady at number 5 is Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason with $10.1 million.

A nice mix of drama, thriller and action styles shows Tony Scott didn’t lose his gift (which I feared after a boring Spy Game). Directing with a gritty atmosphere and dynamic camera angles and movements keeps even the “boring” moments interesting. Diving directly into some character exploration helps to set up the movie, while action and some more straightforward storytelling fills the second half.
Denzel Washington plays a multilayered troubled man, while the talented young Dakota Fanning (mini-series Taken) is as disarmingly cute as ever. The rest of the cast keeps up pretty well, even Marc Anthony plays a believable character.
While there’s no room for intense drama or nailbiting, it’s still powerful along the way. Even during the more standard storylines, the depth of the characters keeps this well above avarage.8-.

The Incredibles use their superhero powers to cling on to the first place with a magnificent $51 million. The WB however, must’ve gotten a real cold chill down their spines, as the $270 million worth of producing and marketing of The Polar Express (which features 5 times the “performance capturing” of Tom Hanks) led to a second place with only a $23.5 million premiere. Now that’s what I call a cold reception.
At 3, Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek star in After the Sunset, stealing $11.5 million. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason opened at number 4 with $8.9 million. Seed of Chucky, the fifth of its series already, is worth$8.8 million rounding off the top 5.

Hanging in the phone in Phone Booth must have inspired this movie (Well, actually, the pitch is from the same writer. The script however, is not). So, comparing it to the “original”, I can say it tries it on a whole other level. While Phone Booth was fought out on the psychological level, this one has the usual cat and mouse chase approach. Kim Basinger is a very able cryer, and for comic relief you have up and coming Chris Evans (to be seen in next year’s Fantastic Four as Johnny Storm, alongside Jessica Alba’s Susan Storm) and the typecasted William H. Macy. Using conventional but proven methods, it blasts away from the very start, and keeps going on munching away on rare coincidents along the way. If you leave your mobile phone, I mean, brains, at home, it’s quite enjoyable.7+.

For an independent movie, this movie feels pretty bland. Usually, due to a small budget, they excel in storytelling. And if not that, there should be some other special thing to be found.
Not this one though. With three periods to be seen (kid, teen, mid-twenties, with the first being the most meaningless), the drug use and overall gayness make it hard to feel any emotional attachment. The story itself is pretty straightforward, laced with subtle hinting and veiled feelings. In any other well written script, that would make you think and feel, but this movie doesn’t touch you at all, it just flies by (and at a slow pace too). Luckily, the end is always near (only 90 minutes or less away), and when the credits start rolling, you’re left feeling, Is this all ?? 5.

Incredible opening for the group of superheroes The Incredibles, storming the number one position with $70.7 million.
Jamie Foxx as Ray, stays at number 2 with $13.8 million. Third is last week’s number one, $13.5 million for The Grudge. Another Halloween left-over is Saw, with $11.4 million at number 4. Alfie opens at number 5 with $6.5 million, obviously Jude Law isn’t as charming as Michael Cain’s original Alfie from 1966.

A stellar cast pulls off a mediocre performance in this sixties remake. It’s not really the actors fault, the director, writer and producers are really to blame. A farfetched story to begin with, is designed in a such a revealing way, 95% of your guess work will be shown to be correct later on. Not only that, story threads are are resolved sloppily, something you’d better steer clear off with an unbelievable story as this one. Type casting all the characters, even in the tiniest roles, is the next mistake, and that means, no suprises to be found. Then comes character interaction, another design gone awry. It feels like either a lot of scenes have been cut up, or the character just don’t behave really normal. In any case, it’s noticable.
And last but not least, Jonathan Demme delivered some nice character driven movies in the past (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), but this event driven movie isn’t worth mentioning at all. This movie would’ve probably been best served as a direct-to-video.6-.

The Grudge and Halloween make a nice pair. The low budget horror flick (produced by Sam Raimi) is still on top with $22.4 million.
At number 2, Oscar buzz is loud for Jamie Foxx’s performance as Ray Charles in the bio called simply, well, Ray.
Another well-timed low budget horror is Saw at number 3 with $17.4 million. Oldies fill the rest of the top 5. Shark Tale at 4 with $8.0 million and Shall We Dance ? at 5 with $6.3 million.

The combination of two franchises culminate into a pretty mediocre result. Trying to be an all-out blockbuster, it tries to please the crowd so much, it only chews out the usual cat-mouse games and a whole bunch of cliches. The budget has been used well, as the production value really show. That way, all the second rate actors hired to be cannon fodder for these aliens aren’t that noticable. While it lags in all the other departments, it’s still a mildly entertaining movie, best enjoyed if you don’t spend too much money on it. Only worth a rent if you’re into this genre.6-.

What actually was a budget conscious decision, was pushed into this world as a novelty. But this full CGI/green screen setup, to put it mildly, is a slight disappointment. From the very beginning, you’ll notice the shadowy undetailed backgrounds. Combined with the continuous sepia filter and a few very low budget shots, the eye candy is just a plain cube of sugar. While the effect of watching an old cartoon book does transfer well, it’s still not an immersive experience.
That would leave a great story and superb acting to compensate. Sadly, not so. The story is a standard deployment of cliches and the acting is ice cold.
All in all, a short original Superman cartoon (those from the forties) matches the visual style and has more depth to boot. Takes less time to watch too.6-.

The mob still has a firm grip on the box office, with Shark Tale still topping the list, another $22.1 million. Also still number 2 is Friday Night Lights, with $13.1 million.
A team of puppets took a hold of number 3, Team America: World Police, by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. With just $12.3 million, the puppet sex hype and the R rating didn’t do much.
Shall We Dance ?, a romantic comedy starring the voluptuous endowed Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere move their way into the fourth place, opening with $11.6 million.
And again, Ladder 49 drops two rungs, at number 5 with $8.6 million.