1. Everybody’s Fine (Miramax, 2,133 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Wow, that is some bad photoshopping on the poster there. Granted, I know a star the magnitude of Robert DeNiro could not be expected to attend a photo session for the About Schmidt knock off that he made to pay the water bill on the Tribeca Grill, but you’d think that considering the film is in the most theaters this week, Miramax would spring for a composite photo where the lighting at least kinda looked the same.
The story involves a widower trying to connect with his estranged family over the holidays.
You can’t really go wrong with the diverse cast, but the film doesn’t really seem to be all that groundbreaking. And the fact they made the poster in 2 minutes makes it seem that this film is a bit too slap dash to really be good.
2.Brothers (Lionsgate, 2,088 Theaters, 110 Minutes, Rated R): Is it just me, or does this cast and director seem a little bit too upscale for the subject matter? It seems like this film should be directed by a recent film school graduate, star James Vanderbeek, Tom Welling and Leighton Meester, and air on the Lifetime network. Instead we get an multiple Oscar nominated director in Jim Sheridan, and intriguing trio of Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Weird.
Based on the Danish film of the same name, it features on a man who comforts his brother’s wife and family when the brother goes missing in Afghanistan. When the brother comes home, disturbed by his war experiences, he doesn’t like how close the wife and his brother have come.
I would just like to point out that this films stars Spider-Man, the guy who was in line to replace him as Spider-Man, and Queen Amadala. Just throwing that out there.
3. Armored (Sony/Screen Gems, 1,915 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Funny that this film is the one with the lowest theater count. It is the one that is most heavily advertised.
A crew of an armored car service hatches a plan to steal a cargo worth $42 Million. Everything goes well until a cop stumbles upon their hiding place. Then the crew begins to fall apart and the job, and their lives, are in jeopardy.
This film seems to be a cut above the typical heist gone wrong film. Matt Dillon, who can play these roles in his sleep, appears to go from a man who is helping out a friend in need to a desperate man trying to kill that man when he puts the caper at risk. That is a range of emotion to go through, and, if it is as it seems, provides a great character arc.
