1. Max Payne (3,200 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated PG-13): I have to admit, I’m not a big video game fan. I used to be. I used to make it a point to rent every game that came out if only to play it just once.
I do know one thing when it comes to games being made into movies–they usually suck. This looks like it could break that trend, since it has Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg in the lead. But head honcho Rich Drees has already seen it, and will have the skinny as to whether it is good or not up on the site soon.
What I don’t understand, the ads for the game I saw seems like it was a revenge driven shooter, one that never escaped the real world. The ads for the movie feature angels and demons and all of that. Was that in the game? And if it was, did people really like it?
2. Sex Drive (2,400 Theaters, 109 Minutes, Rated R): Ah, the teenage sex comedy. I’m so glad the morals of the country have turned so this type of movie can once again become popular.
This film sounds similar to The Sure Thing. A teenage virgin goes on a cross-country car trip to have sex with a girl he met on the internet. He brings along a female friend of his to play the Daphne Zuniga part. I bet you he falls in love with his friend before he ever gets to his internet paramour.
This was another film that was marketed at the San Diego Comic-Con. I have a air freshener from the movie in my collection of swag. I don’t know what the film has to do with Comic-Con, but it was marketed there anyway.
3. W. (2,000 Theaters, 129 Minutes, Rated PG-13): So, what will this movie be? An even handed portrayal of the sitting president? Or a hatchet job on one of the most unpopular president’s in recent history?
I think the answer is: it depends on what your ideology is before watching the film. Bush supporters, if any still exist, will probably think the film is way too harsh. Bush critics might think Oliver Stone hasn’t gone far enough.
But it is unique that this film was not only rushed through so that it arrived when Dubya is still president, but also just a few short week before the election for the person who will replace him. I really can’t see how the film will affect the election, but it is an interesting move nonetheless.
4. The Secret Life of Bees (1,400 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated PG-13): And rounding off the films this week, is one that could very well fall into the “chick flick” category. Truly, this is a week that has something for everyone.
The film is based on the 2002 novel by Sue Monk Kidd and tells the tale of Lily, a 14-year old girl who lost her mother at an early age and has a stressful relation with her father. She travels with her caretaker to South Carolina where she finds peace of mind for herself.
The book was a best seller, but have the moviemakers changed too much (the Boatwright Sister are now 30 years younger and Dakota Fanning is not an exact match for how her character was described in the novel)?
