1. Angels And Demons (Sony/Columbia, 3,527 Theaters, 138 Minutes, Rated PG-13): There have been three main discussion topics about this film. One, “Thank God Tom Hanks hair is better in this one,” two, “Wow, the Catholic Church isn’t as up in arms over this one,” and three “Will it be better than the first one”. And, in my opinion, too much precedence was given to the first two and not enough to the last one.
I have never read any of Dan Brown’s novel, so I have no basis for comparison, but I found The DaVinci Code needlessly convoluted and somewhat boring. And when you have Tom Hanks starring in a film, regardless of what his hair looks like, and it comes across as boring, then something has gone majorly wrong.
This film seems like it has more of the same–conspiracy theories, secret societies, and shadowing goings on. Only, this time Hanks is working with the church instead of against it.
And now, here is FilmBuffOnline head honco Rich Drees with a guest post we like to call “Indie Release Spotlight”. Take it away, Rich!
Big Man Japan (Magnolia, 2 Theaters, 113 minutes, Rated PG-13) – Opening on just one screen each in Los Angeles and New York City is the Japanese giant monster/documentary spoof Big Man Japan. A hilarious skewering of celebrity culture, the film focuses on the down on his luck protector of Japan. While he fights to keep Japan safe from a variety of the weirdest giant monsters to ever attack the country, the general public isn’t too enamored with him. Both his approval ratings and the ratnigs on his reality TV show are down and his manager is afraid that he will start loosing his lucrative endorsement deals soon. Some of the humor may be rooted in Japanese culture, but enough of it cuts across any language/culture barrier to appeal to fans of the genre anywhere.
You can check out our review here.
Big Man Japanwill going into a wider, but still limited, release in two weeks. You can check Magnolia Pictures’s website for dates and cities.
