1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (3,215 Theaters, 91 Minutes, Rated PG): Hollywood is killing me. Do we really need 6 films released on the first week of October? I certainly don’t think so.
This film hearkens back to an era when having the words “a Disney film” attached to a movie wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Way before Pixar and before The Little Mermaid, in the late 70s to early 80s, Disney put out a bunch of lackluster movies that really only had a camp appeal if anything.
This film seems to be cut from the same cloth. It is about a pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua who gets lost in Mexico and needs to rely on the local dogs to survive.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not looking forward to this film. I don’t know why. Maybe Paris Hilton ruined chihuahuas for me for ever. Or maybe it was the Taco Bell dog. Or maybe it is the fairly common plot. But if I was a kid, I would know enough to stay away.
2. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2,421 Theaters, 90 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Michael Cera certainly is becoming the king of the teen movie romances, isn’t he? What with Superbad and Juno and then this film, he could be the new Tom Hanks for the younger generation.
I guess it is because of his charm. He has a more-laid-back-Woody Allen kinda of thing going for him.
In this film, he plays Nick to Kat Dennings Norah. They meet in a club and pretend to be dating to tick off both of their exes. This leads to an all night adventure through New York City as the pair falls in love for real as they search for a secret showcase for their favorite band.
The plot has a John Hughes/early Chris Columbus feel to it. So the kids will go see it because it speaks to their generation and the adults will go see it because it reminds them of movies they used to love.
3. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (1,750 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): Nothing could send a person running more than having a film described as a “male The Devil Wears Prada,” like this one is. Nothing against the Meryl Streep/Anne Hathaway hit, but it just doesn’t seem to need to be given a male slant.
A mitigating factor to this is Simon Pegg. I think its safe to say that we’re fans of Mr. Pegg here at FilmBuff Online because is resume is filled with quality work. He can make something good great and something awful bearable.
Which one would we have here? It seems to be more slapsticky than Prada but that doesn’t mean that it is better. It is based on the story of a English man who worked at Vanity Fair magazine and never quite fit in. Doesn’t sound that special but we’ll have to see what Pegg brings to it.
Oh, and just a warning. This is the International Trailer, so be warned: There is a curse within the first 45 seconds. If you are easily offended, don’t watch it.
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4. Blindness (1,690 Theaters, 120 Minutes, Rated R): A virus is released almost all the world’s population to go blind. Only one woman retains her sight and she must decide whether she should keep this fact a secret or use her sight to help people.
This is a high concept if there ever was one, and one that asks you not just to suspend disbelief but shatter it. But will it be a good movie? I don’t know.
This seems to be one of these films were bad thing keep happening to people. We keep seeing man’s in humanity to man and the shallowness of the human spirit.
It might be well executed, but that type of movie isn’t one I normally want to see. If I wanted to see bad things happen to good people, I read a newspaper. I really don’t want a movie to depress me unless it moves me as well. I don’t think this one would do that.
5. An American Carol (1,639 Theaters, 83 Minutes, Rated PG-13):You know what? It’s about time a movie like this hit theaters. Too long liberal Hollywood has let muckraking pseudo-journalists like that Commie Pinko Michael Moore run rampant. Now, finally, at long last, the political right has a movie that speaks for them! Because Rush Limbaugh just couldn’t do it by himself. Well, Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly. And Ann Coulter. And Bernard Goldberg. And Sean Hanity. And, well, you get the point.
There’s a bit of a pity party going on here by the Right, saying that, with this movie, they are finally getting their say. But, in reality, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a right-wing pundit on TV, in books or in magazines. So that argument doesn’t hold water.
Don’t get me wrong, Michael Moore kind of deserves to be poked fun at. I agree with most of what he says and still there are time when he irks me. But this film seems like a ham-fisted attempt as parody that an actual good parody film. And that is something the right doesn’t need.
6. Flash of Genius (1,098 Theaters, 119 Minutes, Rated PG-13): You would think the story around intermittent windshield wipers wouldn’t be interesting enough to build a movie around, but you’d be wrong.
This film is based on the true story of the inventor of the above item who had his idea stolen by the automobile companies. His struggle to get the money and, more importantly, the credit he deserved makes up the meat of the film.
It is your classic David versus Goliath story. I mean, you probably have seen plots like this before. But if you are choosing a film this week about people struggling with adversity, this one might have a happier ending than Blindness.
