Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > March > 06 > Entry
What’s Opening/A note on Patrick Swayze
This Friday brings my favorite current actress back to theaters, as well as one of my least favorite movies this year.
The Bank Job: This heist film with Jason Statham is getting very good reviews, suggesting Statham may have found a script with a brain this time.
College Road Trip: Dad Martin Lawrence escorts daughter Raven Symone on a (insert title here). Whenever a trailer shows a pig doing funny things, that’s desperate, unless the movie is Babe. Never mind college admissions. Pass the dunce caps.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: The actress most mentioned on this blog, Amy Adams, and Frances McDormand costar in a throwback to screwball comedies like Bringing Up Baby. I am SO there.
10,000 BC: The last time we saw him, Roland Emmerich directed The Day After Tomorrow. This time, he goes back the day before the day before the day before the day before (ad infinitum) yesterday with his prehistoric action movie. My review appears Friday, so for now I will only say that I could swear the 10,000 did not refer to the year.
I’ll also cover Tueday’s DVDs here since I skipped them Tuesday for my presidential poll
Awake: Hmm. Given what I’ve heard about this Jessica Alba thriller, maybe it should have the opposite title.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead: Sidney Lumet’s heist gone wrong movie attracted all kinds of praise, largely for the fact that Lumet is 83 and still ticking. I can’t quite heap on that level of praise; there have been so many botched heist movies, this one had a slightly “been there, done that” feel to it. That said, it revisis the territory quite effectively, with an excellent cast. GRADE: A-
Into the Wild: Sean Penn adapted and directed the film version of the Jon Krakauer book about Christopher McCandless, a man so disaffected by his life and society in general, he strikes out on a cross-country odyssey. The film is occasionally a touch too assured of its own importance, but there’s no denying its potency. GRADE: A-
101 Dalmatians: This Disney movie is great fun and all for Cruela De Vil alone, but this may be the rare Platinum edition I don’t buy, because this has never been one of my all-time favorites, unlike the much superior Lady and the Tramp. I’m waiting for the Pinocchio platinum edition next year. GRADE: B+
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: A movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman in a magic toy store would seem to have a lot of potential, but the buzz said this was a watered down Willy Wonka re-do.
Things We Lost in the Fire: This Halle Berry/Benicio Del Toro drama was on the short list of many Oscar prognosticators, and then the movie came out and people said, “Not interested.”; Still, it has some passionate defenders.
Finally, I was sorry to read about Patrick Swayze being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I know folks who have dealt with this, and it is an especially painful ordeal. So rather than engage in ghoulish speculation about his prognosis, or prematurely write a tribute, I simply wish Swayze and his family and friends well in this trying time.
Comments
By SRCputt
March 9, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this
Welcome Tom and thanks for demonstrating your ignorance. Who have been the most influential film critics in America? I would vote for Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris. They made how many films? Other would mention Siskel and Ebert. Ebert wrote a couple of scripts for Russ Meyer, but that’s it. Two main things are required to be a good film critic: 1) A genuine love of movies. 2) Writing talent. Guess what? Eric has both in spades. By the way, this is a newspaper blog. The average reader wants movie reviews from the point of view of a film viewer, not a filmmaker. If you want reviews from the point of view of a filmmaker, go read Film Comment or Cahiers du Cinema.By Tom
March 8, 2008 10:16 AM | Link to this
I’m just trying to figure out what qualifies Eric Robinette to critique movies. Must be all the movie making experience he has. Yeah right. Rush Limbaugh was more qualified to analyze football (at least he worked for the KC Chief’s organizaton).By SRCputt
March 6, 2008 3:01 PM | Link to this
I did a double take when I first read of Swayze’s diagnosis because of the sad coincidence of the recent death of guitarist Jeff Healey of cancer. Healey made only one film appearance in his career, and that was the Swayze film Road House.