Movies today, SA!
Five new films open in South Africa today, and my 2 personal picks of the weekend are as follows:
1) Jennifer's Body - I've blogged before about this horror comedy, starring Transformers' Megan Fox and Mamma Mia's Amanda Seyfried, and based on a smart-talking screenplay by Juno's Diablo Cody. Basically it's a good girl vs. bad girl tale, in which shy blonde heroine Needy (Seyfried) must stand up to her sultry brunette best friend Jennifer (Fox), who has recently been possessed by a demon and is now intent on devouring all the high school boys in their small town.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that like Drag Me to Hell, Jennifer's Body may not be everybody's cup of tea. The meshing of humour and horror has always been something of an acquired taste. So it doesn't surprise me at all to see Jennifer's Body sitting at a middling 42% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm still keen for the film though, and desperately hoping it injects some wit and intelligence into what has become a very dull, very derivative genre.
2) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Again, I've blogged about this animated family film before. I wasn't a fan of the trailer at all, which felt overly wacky and, well, a bit dumb (and gluttonous) plot-wise: inventor saves his poverty-stricken town by creating a machine that instantly converts water into food. When said machine is accidentally sucked up into the sky, the clouds start raining massive-sized tasty treats. Riiiiiight.
Well, it turns out that my preconceptions may have been off the mark. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has been a massive success, critically and commercially. Currently sitting at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, this loose adaptation of a classic children's book seized the #1 spot at the American box office for 2 weeks in a row. Locally, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is showing in conventional format, 3D and at IMAX - although there has been no clarification as to whether the IMAX experience is 3D-enhanced like it was in some cinemas overseas. Personally I'd bet against it.
Other movies opening locally this weekend, some in more limited release than others, are:
Main aurr Mrs Khanna - Just in time for Diwali there's this Bollywood Drama set at a bustling international airport, where three very different, but interconnected, people are forced to make important life- and relationship-altering decisions. Starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan.
The Visitor - The acclaimed indie drama that gave Richard Jenkins his Best Actor nomination at this year's Academy Awards. The film centres on a widowed college professor who rediscovers his zest for life when he strikes up an unexpected friendship with an illegal immigrant couple: a Syrian drum player and a Senegalese jewellery designer. 90% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Informant! - Based on a true story, and non-fiction book, this dark satire of corporate corruption centres on Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistleblower in US history. Thing is, Whitacre, obsessed with becoming a hero, and imagining himself to be a secret agent, just can't keep his story straight when informing on his company's price fixing practices. Directed by Steven (Erin Brockovich, Oceans 11) Soderbergh. 76% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
1) Jennifer's Body - I've blogged before about this horror comedy, starring Transformers' Megan Fox and Mamma Mia's Amanda Seyfried, and based on a smart-talking screenplay by Juno's Diablo Cody. Basically it's a good girl vs. bad girl tale, in which shy blonde heroine Needy (Seyfried) must stand up to her sultry brunette best friend Jennifer (Fox), who has recently been possessed by a demon and is now intent on devouring all the high school boys in their small town.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that like Drag Me to Hell, Jennifer's Body may not be everybody's cup of tea. The meshing of humour and horror has always been something of an acquired taste. So it doesn't surprise me at all to see Jennifer's Body sitting at a middling 42% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm still keen for the film though, and desperately hoping it injects some wit and intelligence into what has become a very dull, very derivative genre.
2) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - Again, I've blogged about this animated family film before. I wasn't a fan of the trailer at all, which felt overly wacky and, well, a bit dumb (and gluttonous) plot-wise: inventor saves his poverty-stricken town by creating a machine that instantly converts water into food. When said machine is accidentally sucked up into the sky, the clouds start raining massive-sized tasty treats. Riiiiiight.
Well, it turns out that my preconceptions may have been off the mark. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has been a massive success, critically and commercially. Currently sitting at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, this loose adaptation of a classic children's book seized the #1 spot at the American box office for 2 weeks in a row. Locally, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is showing in conventional format, 3D and at IMAX - although there has been no clarification as to whether the IMAX experience is 3D-enhanced like it was in some cinemas overseas. Personally I'd bet against it.
Other movies opening locally this weekend, some in more limited release than others, are:
Main aurr Mrs Khanna - Just in time for Diwali there's this Bollywood Drama set at a bustling international airport, where three very different, but interconnected, people are forced to make important life- and relationship-altering decisions. Starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan.
The Visitor - The acclaimed indie drama that gave Richard Jenkins his Best Actor nomination at this year's Academy Awards. The film centres on a widowed college professor who rediscovers his zest for life when he strikes up an unexpected friendship with an illegal immigrant couple: a Syrian drum player and a Senegalese jewellery designer. 90% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Informant! - Based on a true story, and non-fiction book, this dark satire of corporate corruption centres on Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), the highest-ranked executive to ever turn whistleblower in US history. Thing is, Whitacre, obsessed with becoming a hero, and imagining himself to be a secret agent, just can't keep his story straight when informing on his company's price fixing practices. Directed by Steven (Erin Brockovich, Oceans 11) Soderbergh. 76% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Comments
Plus, it featured the voice of Lauren Graham...if briefly. That's a plus in my book.
This is what Hollywood should do with book adaptations: only do books that are about seven pages long, because it takes a lot more effort to screw the story up.
As for adaptations based on very short books, especially children's books, all we have to wait for now is Fantastic Mr Fox and Where the Wild Things Are to provide us with 3 recent, different examples.