July 27, 2007, - 4:12 pm
Weekend Box Office: Semi-Robust Set of Offerings
By
There is a semi-robust set of offerings this weekend at the box office. “I Know Who Killed Me,” starring coke-addict/drunk driver Lindsay Lohan, was not screened for critics, usually a hint that it’s a bomb, but not da bomb. I did not screen “Who’s Your Caddy?” (a race-baiting hip-hop offering pitting heroic Black rap purveyors against evil White country club members), as the only screening coincided with the only “The Simpsons Movie” screening. But here’s what I did see:
* “Rescue Dawn“–Best movie of the year presents the story of Navy pilot and patriot Dieter Dengler and his brave escape from a Laotian Viet Cong POW camp.
* “The Simpsons Movie“–Just okay, but why pay $10 to see what you can see at home for free on TV?
* “No Reservations“–Chick Flick Alert. Uptight, perfectionist head chef (Catherine Zeta-Jones) at a swanky New York City restaurant loses her sister in a car accident and must raise her 9-year-old niece. She must also contend with a more free-wheeling sous-chef (Aaron Eckhart) newly hired to work with her. They fall in love, and she becomes less uptight, less perfectionist. They live happily ever after. The end. Starts out as a sad story about a sad woman who is even sadder with her sad niece and ends up happy. Very predictable.
Still, mildly entertaining broth, if not nearly spicy enough. Banal with a slight bit of charm. A light movie that starts out less light. Don’t go on an empty stomach. Lots of visuals of food and eating. Meant to appeal to the Food Network crowd at the movie theater.
* “Sunshine“–The strange-looking, androgynous Cillian Murphy stars in this space movie that’s not really a space movie and tries to hard to be many things, along with beautiful visuals. It starts out interesting and promising and degrades into a confusing mess with a fictional sun-monster, etc.
The plot: It is 2057, and instead of global warming, we have global freezing. The sun has lost its power and strength, so much so that a crew on a spaceship travels to deliver a nuclear payload to strengthen its energy, heat, and light directed toward earth. During the ride, crew members go into special viewing rooms to take in the mesmerizing heat and light of the sun.
Also while on its mission, the crew of the ship, Icarus II, discovers the lost Icarus I. Crew members fight over whether to go off course and see if Icarus II crew can be rescued or at least their food and water utilized. Others argue against going off course, saying it will jeopardize their mission to save earth. Do they end up going to rescue the first Icarus at their peril? Do they make it to deliver payload to the sun?
Tags: Aaron Eckhart, car accident, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cillian Murphy, Debbie Schlussel There, Dieter Dengler, energy, food, free-wheeling sous-chef, I Know Who Killed Me, Icarus I. Crew, Lindsay Lohan, New York, New York City restaurant, No Reservations, perfectionist head chef, Rescue Dawn, Semi-Robust Set, Sunshine, The Simpsons Movie, USD, Viet Cong POW camp, Who's Your Caddy?
Seriously, why would you give away a seemingly major plot point in “Sunshine”? Nowhere in the trailers (even the extended one) is there mention of them finding the first Icarus ship (or that there even was a first one). It doesn’t improve the review, nor does it come with a “Spoiler” warning. In the future, try to be more considerate of those of us who don’t want to know everything that happens in a film before we see it.
THIS IS NOT A MAJOR PLOT POINT AT ALL. IT TAKES PLACE TOWARD THE VERY BEGINNING OG THE MOVIE, AND IT’S BEEN MENTIONED IN MANY REVIEWS, INCLUDING THAT OF DETROIT FREE PRESS CRITIC, TERRY LAWSON. NOT A SPOILER IN THE LEAST. I KNOW YOU ENJOY LOOKING FOR REASONS TO ATTACK ME, BUT THIS IS REALLY STRETCHING IT. IF I DIDN’T INCLUDE THIS PART OF THE MOVIE IN THE REVIEW, I MIGHT AS WELL NOT REVIEW IT AT ALL AND JUST SAY IT’S ABOUT A SPACESHIP. THE END.
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL
D*Rek on July 27, 2007 at 4:37 pm