1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (3,452 Theaters, 98 Minutes, Rated PG): As a Star Wars fan, I am of two minds over this movie. Part of me is excited that the Star Wars mythos is continuing on in this form. A whole new generation can experience Star Wars on the big screen like they should.
And animation does not have the boundaries that live action has. We can go back and fill in the holes in the mythos. Another live-action film starring Han, Leia and Luke seems unlikely, but in CGI it’s wholly possible.
On the other hand, this seems like a cheap way for Lucas to cash in on his most successful franchise. Of the original cast, only Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, and Christopher Lee are returning to their roles of Mace Windu, C-3PO and Count Dooku. Granted, some might say that this only means that someone else will be imitating Alec Guinness other than Ewan McGregor. But hearing Yoda voiced by someone other than Frank Oz is almost sacrilege.
And what this movie boils down to is basically a big screen pilot for the Clone Wars TV series. And will this movie cover different ground than the other Clone Wars cartoon from a few years ago? I don’t know.
2. Mirrors (2,664 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): Haven’t we just about run out of Asian horror movies to remake? Seriously, this is like the 15,000th one to come down the pike in the last 10 years. And during that time, we’ve gone from Japan to China and now to South Korea. What’s next?
Anyway, this film stars Kiefer Sutherland, making his return to movie lead roles, as an ex-cop/current mall cop who stumbles across a bunch of demons who live in the mall store’s mirrors. Unfortunately, the demons follow him home and pester his family.
Some of the scenes I have seen are pretty creepy. The whole “whatever you mirror image does happens to you in real life” is a nice touch.
Just a warning: the trailer below is a “red band” trailer. Meaning it is designed to be shown before Rated R movies. There could be content in the trailer that our younger readers might find offensive. So, don’t watch it.
3. Vicky Christina Barcelona (692 Theaters, 96 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Woody Allen is a marketing genius. When he released the teaser trailer several months ago, he made sure to include the scene that would get everybody the talking: the scene where Scarlett Johansson kisses Penelope Cruz.
Of course that wouldmake a splash with a world full of gossiphounds and purveyors of the prurient. But, let’s face it. A lot of men dreamed they’d see Scarlett Johansson kissing another woman in their lifetime. And I bet a lot of men thought the same about Penelope Cruz. The fact that both are kissing each other in this movie mean they’ll definitely be buying a ticket.
Imagine their surprise when they get a rather tame PG-13 tale of an artist seducing a couple of Americans while dealing with a crazy ex-wife–with the focus more on the seduction than on the results of it.
