1. Old Dogs (Disney, 3,425 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG): You know you are in trouble when the ads said “Brought to you by the makers of Wild Hogs.” I actually saw Wild Hogs in the movie theaters. As I recall, the film had a better cast than it deserved and a plot that redefined formulaic.
I expect the same from this one. Heck, even the names are similar. The plot revolves around two aging bachelors who through movie magic become responsible for the care and welfare of two young kids.
I don’t know about you, but if the gags you find represent your movie so well that the need to be in the trailer concern a prescription medication mix-up (and what prescription med causes you sense of depth perception to go off kilter?) and Seth Green being cuddled by a gorilla, the film is in trouble.
2. Ninja Assassin (Warner Brothers, 2,703 Theaters, 99 Minutes, Rated R): Of course, “From the makers of V for Vendetta” might not, for some, be better than “from the makers of Wild Hogs“. But I like that movie quite a bit.
That isn’t the only thing going for it. Rumor has it that the Wachowski Brothers, the producers of this film, hired Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to do a complete rewrite in the script. That is a good thing, although the need for a total rewrite is not.
This film smells like a video game adaptation, but I cannot find anything to confirm this. Granted , I didn’t look too hard, but still. It details a man raised to be, well, a ninja assassin who makes a break from the clan that trained him and plots his revenge.
3. The Fantastic Mr. Fox (FOX, 2,033 Theaters, 87 Minutes, Rated PG): If you wanted to, you probably could go see all three movies opening tomorrow in just over 4 and a half hours. Keep that in mind if you feel the need to get away from your relatives on Thursday.
There are natural comparissions between Where the Wild Things Are and this film. Both are classic kid writing brought to the screen by two indie film auteurs, Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson.
But this one is done in stop-motion animation, a method of animation not done too often nowadays. And it has a pretty good voice cast of Oscar winners and Anderson regulars. Considering the other releases going wide today, it might not be a bad alternative for your Thanksgiving viewing pleasure.
