April 2006

Here’s a new semi-annual feature for you folks.  We see tons of films and get to discussing them from time to time and often wax nostalgic on films we would rather see made than what we’ve just witnessed.  With the rash of comic book movies being made (this year alone there’s V for Vendetta, X3, Superman Returns and that’s just in the first six months!) here’s a film we comic junkies would like to see made.  A vengeful hero set on revenge that would make a perfect vehicle for Clint Eastwood to direct.  Give up?  Check out our first film idea…

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Okay, there may be some of you who don’t know The Spectre who was created by Jerry Segel (you may have heard of another of his creations who wears blue and red tights and flys around Metropolis).  The spirit of vengeance is a cosmic entity of near limitless power that grafted itself onto the soul of police detective Jim Corrigan who was killed in the line of duty.  Corrigan was given the chance to return to earth and bring justice to those who violated the law.  His methods went to extremes often killing the guilty in a variety of diabolical and terrifying means (turning them to wax and burning them alive, turning them to wood and running them through a sawmill, or committing genocide on an entire war-raging race). 

Clint Eastwood made an name for himself in the vengeance western (see High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales among others).  The Spectre is a natural character for Eastwood to return to his roots and make a comic book film that anyone would want to see.  Aaron isn’t quite sold on my idea of Anthony Stewart Head as Corrigan but that’s probably just his Buffy prejudice rearing its ugly head.  Though to be fair I’m open to other suggestions for the role.

You have an opinion?  Let us know.  Also if you’ve got other ideas for movies you’d like to see drop us a line and if we think it’s a good one we’ll help spread the word.

So what’s out there this week.  Well today we’ll take a look at the films scheduled to be released this Friday including yet another horror flick, Michael Douglas trying to kill the President (or is he?), and the satire of American Idol starring Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid and Hugh Grant.  All that and more; read on…

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Here’s what’s scheduled to hit theaters this week.  Want to know more, just click on the title for film info including a full cast list.  Want a closer look, just click on the poster to watch the trailer.

American Dreamz

Written and directed by Paul Weitz (In Good Company, About a Boy) the film focuses on the hugely popular reality TV show where amateurs try to sing their way to fame.  The biting satire of the American Idol craze stars Mandy Moore and Sam Golarzi as contestants.  The show is so popular it becomes the obsession of the President of the United States (Dennis Quaid with Willem Dafoe as the VP).  The cast also includes Marcia Gay Harden, Hugh Grant, Chris Klein, Judy Greer, and Jeffrey Ross.  About time somebody started taking jabs at this reality TV craze.

The Sentinel

Someone in the Secret Service wants to kill the President.  The agent in charge of the investigation David Beckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) struggles when all the evidence points to his friend and mentor Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas).  The plot also involves Neo-Nazis (in the old Hollywood formula that if you don’t want to create and develop a bad guy you just make him an Arab or Nazi) and sordid White House affairs.  Directed by Clark Johnson who gave us the cinematic gem S.W.A.T..  Adapted from the Gerald Petievich novel, the film also stars Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria. 
 
Silent Hill

A young mother (Rhada Mitchell) loses her sickly daughter (Jodie Ferland) on the road near the deserted town of Silent Hill.  In searching to find her daughter she discovers the town is inhabited by a few survivors and haunted by a variety spooks and creatures that includes a looming darkness that seems to devour everything it touches.  The film is adapted from a series of video games (well, we know how those turn out as films don’t we – like say last year’s Doom and Alone in the Dark).  Also starring are Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coats, Alice Krige and Tanya Allen.

Standing Still (limited release)

Young all-star cast (James Van Der Beek, John Abrahams, Amy Adams, Mena Suvari, Ethan Embry, Colin Hanks, Melissa Sagemiller, and Lauren German) in a film about college friends gathering and reconnecting for a wedding.  Director by Matthew Cole Quinn (whose only dot on his resume is the forgettable Mean People Suck) and a pair of fist time screenwriters (Matthew Perniciaro and Timm Sharp) don’t inspire too much confidence.  But the suggestiveness of some of these hot young stars getting together for some lurid fun might spark enough curiosity to do a fair amount of box office business.

Sommersault (limited release)

Young teenage girl Heidi (Abbie Cornish) leaves home after sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend.  Traveling around the sexually promiscuous girl finds sexual adventure but a rather empty life as she continues to search for something more.  The Australian film was written and directed by Cate Shortland (her first feature film) and has won several awards from its home country, sweeping the 2004 Australian Film Institute awards winning best actor and actress, best supporting actor and actress, best cinematography, costume design, direction, score, screenplay, and best picture.

In Her Line of Fire (limited release)

Mariel Hemmingway action star?  Hemmingway plays a secret service agent trying to rescue the kidnapped Vice President from the island where his plane crashed.  Originally planed as a made-for-TV-movie for the here! Network as “the first film with a lesbian action hero.”  Directed by B-movie aficionado Brain Trenchard-Smith (Voyage of Terror, and both Leprechaun 3 & 4).  The movie also stars David Keith, David Milbern, and Jill Bennett and is distributed by Regent Releasing (I can’t understand why Fox and Universal passed).