This weekend’s first big hitter is “
Bolt,” an animated Disney comedy about a dog who plays a superhero on television and believes himself to actually be a superhero. When the canine is accidentally shipped across the country to New York, he breaks out and goes on a quest to rescue the young girl who co-stars on his television program
. According to the trailer (which feels like it’s been playing for a year now) the adventuring pup makes friends with an eager hamster fan (voiced by
Mark Walton) and a nervy cat (played by the generally vulgar commedienne
Susie Essman).
John Travolta voices the plucky title dog and media juggernaut
Miley Cyrus lends her disturbingly husky vocal talents to Penny, Bolt’s co-star. So far, the film is doing quite well amongst critics with a generous
86% at Rotten Tomatoes. Does this mean it will measure up to
Pixar’s gem
Wall-E from this summer? Actually, probably not, but as far as animated comedy go, it looks like you could do worse.
Speaking of doing worse, this weekend finally sees the opening of “
Twilight,” the teenage vampire romance that has dominated entertainment headlines for what feels like decades. Based on the insanely popular series of novels by
Stephanie Meyer, it’s the story of a misfit teenage girl named
Bella Swan who, after moving to a new town, embarks on a whirlwind romance with a dashing young man named
Edward Cullen (
Robert Pattinson) who turns out to be a vampire. Fortunately for Bella (played by
Kristen Stewart of “
Zathura” fame), her undead lover happens to be part of a noble group who feed on the blood of animals rather than humans. As often happens in these situations, though, their beautiful arrangement is threatened as Cullen finds himself increasingly tempted to suck the blood out of Swan, as well as by the arrival of a troupe of less friendly night-stalkers. Helmed by director
Catherine Hardwicke (“
Thirteen“), this one seems to be marketed mostly toward the twelve-to-eighteen female demographic. Critics say
that fans of the book will like this thing but it won’t do much for neophytes. Let that and the fact that it’s sitting around the 40% mark right now inform your decision. Or, you know, whether or not you’re a teenage girl.
Should cartoon animals and statutory vampire love somehow fail to get your motor running, there’s a few offerings this week opening in limited release. First up is “
The Betrayal,” a film co-directed by first-timers
Ellen Kuras and
Thavisouk Phrasavath. Focusing on the often forgotten American bombing of Laos during the ultimately unsuccessful campaign to halt the advance of communism in Southeast Asia and its consequences, the movie is an autobiographical account of Phrasavath’s journey from a war-ravaged and communist Laos, where he was arrested and torn from his family, to New York City. Once Phrasavath and his family are reunited, however, they discover that America might not be quite the land of opportunity they had believed. Though reviews are limited right now, the film is currently sitting at a stellar
100% on RT.
Elsewhere, the provocatively inane-looking romantic comedy “
I Can’t Think Straight,” which focuses on the homosexual relationship that blossoms between two young women in London. Since one of the pair is engaged to be married and the other comes from a very traditional Indian background. Presumably, hilarity will ensue, though the
25% rating that the film currently holds gives me some doubts as to that. Toward the other end of the spectrum is the documentary “
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29,” directed by former
Michael Moore cameraman and “
The Atomic Cafe” director
Kevin Rafferty. The film focuses on a 1968 matchup between the two Ivy League teams that remains an odd finish for a football game. More than football, however, Rafferty (who himself attended Harvard and is a cousin to George W. Bush) examines the era of upheaval surrounding the ’68 teams and, after a fashion, the 2000 presidential election. Also of note–Tommy Lee Jones, a Harvard alum and member of the 1968 team appears in interview footage.
With a respectable 82%, this could make for an engaging night out.
If you’re up for a real adventure into the world of crap film, there’s always “Lake City,” which has a whopping 9% on the Tomatometer. The movie, which appears to be an not-very-fresh take on an even older story. Troy Garity (from “Sunshine“) plays a dude who returns to his hometown after running into some drug trouble. Like you’d expect, this causes all sorts of problems but eventually strengthens his strained relationship with his mother, played by Sissy Spacek, who apparently hates being in good movies these days. Anyway, it’s apparently some sort of examination of going back and going home and blah blah blah. Interetingly, the film co-stars Rebecca Romijn. Bafflingly, it also co-stars Dave Matthews. Probably one to skip…Dave Matthews? Seriously??
The weekend rounds out with “Henry May Long,” about which there is no info on RT right now, apart from the revelation that it’s about a drug addict in 19th century New York. There’s also “Special” starring Michael Rappaport as an everyman who gains special powers after participating in a clinical drug trial and “Were the World Mine,” which also features pretty scant details right now (apparently some sort of high school musical type thing…sounds familiar). Anyway, it’s a pretty weak weekend, all things considered, but perhaps you’ll find something to enjoy. Happy viewing!
