At long last, a hero has finally emerged from the wilderness to stop the seven-headed box office hydra that is “High School Musical 3.” That hero, of course, is the plucky Dreamworks picture “Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa,” sequel to the semi-fondly remembered kids’ film from 2005. Helmed once again by directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, the film also features a laundry list of vocal talents in Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ben Stiller, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter and scene-stealer Sacha Baron Cohen. Critics seem split, with a small margin preferring this to the original. Also of note: in addition to that mind-killing “I Like to Move It” song, the soundtrack features contributions from Hans Zimmer and the blight that is Will.I.Am. From the trailer, it looks like we can expect more frolicking lemurs, hippo romance and surly, cantankerous flying penguins. Looks like pretty low fare, but it’ll have to do until the next Pixar film.
Fans of the
Judd Apatow brand of comedy may be in for a bit of a letdown with the release of this weekend’s “
Role Models.” Directed by
Stella alum
David Wain and written by Wain,
Paul Rudd,
Ken Marino,
Tim Downling and
W. Blake Herron, this one seems a likely candidate for a “too many cooks spoiling the broth” sort of problem. Starring the reliable Rudd, professional bozo
Seann William Scott,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse (of McLovin fame), and 2008 It-Girl
Elizabeth Banks, the movie is apparently about two energy drink sales reps who, due to undeniably wacky circumstances, find themselves enrolled in the Big Brothers Program in order to avoid jail time. Presumably, hilarious hi jinks ensue. The
critics seem to find it funny, though we
weren’t quite so impressed. Nonetheless, in a weekend full of slim pickins, this might be as good as it gets.
Up next, “Soul Men,” a quasi-buddy comedy that stars Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac (in what is likely to be his last role) as two washed-up backup soul singers who find that they have to travel across the country together to perform a reunion show for their band leader. Although both Jackson and Mac do all their own singing and dancing, this looks like a pretty obvious retread of pretty much every musical road comedy of the past century. Director Malcolm D. Lee (“Undercover Brother,” “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins“) isn’t exactly known for his ability to breathe new life into played out genres, either, so this is likely not going to reinvent any comedic wheels. The critical consensus is much the same–and this is probably one to skip.
At the other end of the spectrum there’s “
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” a troubling but poignant tale set against the backdrop of the Holocaust. Directed by
Mark Herman (“
Little Voice“), it’s the story of a boy named
Bruno (played by
Asa Butterfield) who is the son of a high-ranking Nazi officer in Berlin. When the boy’s father (
David Thewlis) is transferred to a concentration camp outside of the city, Bruno and the rest of the family (including
Vera Farmiga of “
The Departed” fame) accompany their patriarch to the new post. While there, Bruno strikes up a reluctant friendship with another young boy who happens to be one of the prisoners in the camp. The result is a gut-wrenching examination of one of history’s darkest chapters, building to a brutally surprising ending. With a mildly promising
64% on RT, some praise the film for its bravery while others dismiss it as manipulative. Either way, it’s probably a more engaging use of your weekend than singing lemurs.
What have we done to deserve this? Repo! The Genetic Opera, the latest dismal-looking offering from Darren Lynn Bousman, the unstoppable jackass behind the first four ‘Saw‘ movies, opens in a selection of unfortunate cities this weekend. We’ve covered it ad nauseam in these pages before, so there’s not much point in beating this stupid, horrible, idiotic horse anymore. This thing stars Paris Hilton, Paul Sorvino and Nivek Ogre, amongst others. Predictably, it has a robust 26% over at Rotten Tomatoes. Anyway, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Some bright spots this weekend: first, the documentary “
Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” Directed by
Gini Reticker, it focuses on the tremendous efforts of a group of women to bring an end to the Liberian Civil War. With an amazing
100% thus far on RT, this looks like the brightest jewel amongst this weekend’s offerings. Also worth a viewing is the promising satirical fictional biopic-ish “
JCVD,” which stars international action punchline
Jean-Claude Van Damme as…himself! The film follows the Muscles from Brussels as he returns to his homeland after finding himself out of money and on the losing end of a custody battle with no promise of future film roles. While back in Belgium, Van Damme ends up taking part in an actual hostage situation (ala “Dog Day Afternoon”) and makes use of his legendary martial arts skills.
Currently sitting at an 83%, it looks like a solid addition to the action-comedy genre.
Otherwise, aside from a very-limited release of the Francois Truffaut film “
The Wild Child” (which also rates
100% at RT, only in NY currently), there’s not a lot out there this weekend. Unless, of course, the semi-religious horror flick “
House” looks like something you might enjoy. Anyway, good luck out there.
