Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
August 6, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Hamlet 2 – Opens August 22nd
Little Miss Sunshine broke the Sundance Film Festival record in 2006 when Fox Searchlight bought the rights for $10.5 million. As we all know, the film turned into a critical and financial success, and racked up a crap load of awards, including two Oscar wins (from four nominations). Two years later, we have Hamlet 2, a comedy that nearly eclipsed Sunshine's total, missing it by just half a million following an all-night bidding war (ultimately won by Focus Features). Do you see where I'm going with this?
Featuring Jesus nonchalantly asking Hamlet whether he indeed has his cell phone number, followed later by a song titled, "Rock Me Sexy, Jesus," Hamlet 2 looks like it could very well be a lucrative buy for Focus Features. In Hamlet 2, Steve Coogan stars as failed-actor-turned-drama teacher Dana Marschz, who pens a sequel to Hamlet in hopes that his politically incorrect, albeit musical creation staves off the threat of theater department shutdown. Expert opinion would conclude that a sequel to Hamlet would be all but impossible, but not when you have a time machine! Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler and Elisabeth Shue (playing herself) also star.
Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: Death Race, The House Bunny, The Longshots, The Fifth Commandment, I Served the King of England, Cthulhu, Momma's Man
Ghost Town – Opens September 19th
Man, Ricky Gervais is one funny dude. I loved the Brit in The Office (the original, not Greg Daniels' equally funny Americanized version), and then again in Extras. Now he's made the transition to the big screen, with the clever Ghost Town marking the actor's first role as lead. In it, Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who gains the ability to see ghosts after a near-death experience during a hospital exam. After this discovery, a slew of ghosts constantly ask him to do them favors, and in particular Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who wants Bertram to stop his former wife (Tea Leoni) from remarrying a dud. If successful, Bertram's annoying new ability will disappear.
Gervais' character brought a lot of laughs in the sneak peek, especially in the cold open where he is seen doing whatever it takes to shut up an annoying client. You know what else was a plus? An appearance by funny girl (and current SNL player) Kristen Wiig, whose involvement in any sort of film is always a worthy mention.
Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: My Best Friend's Girl, Igor, Lakeview Terrace, Management, Taken, Tropa de Elite, The Duchess, Breakfast with Scot, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist – Opens October 3rd
Michael Cera certainly plays the exact same character basically all the time, no? But it's okay with me, really. He was awkward, sexually frustrated George Michael in Fox's Arrested Development; awkward, sexually frustrated Evan in Superbad and awkward, albeit less sexually frustrated Paulie Bleeker in Juno. Now, after watching the trailer to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, based on the 2006 novel by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, Nick O'Leary can safely be added to that list, too.
In it, Cera stars as title character Nick, who is a member of a rock band called The Jerk Offs. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Nick's luck takes a turn for the better when the college-bound Norah Silverberg (Kat Dennings) asks him to be her boyfriend for all of five minutes so that Norah can simply avoid speaking to one of her friends. Seemingly having nothing in common at the onset, save for similar tastes in music, their late-night encounter ends up becoming the start of a life-changing romance. The trailer had me laughing, but mostly because I find Cera to be so damn funny. The adaptation was also handled by the original novel's authors, so fans of the book should find a lot to like here.
Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: Beverly Hills Chihuahua, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, The Express, Appaloosa, Rachel Getting Married, Blindness, Religulous, RocknRolla
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – Opens November 7th
Okay, it must be said that if the makers of Grand Theft Auto went into the film business, its animated characters would look a lot like the ones in the sequel to Madagascar. No, I'm not saying at all that they're now doing drive-bys and spending quality time with some beautiful 'tutes. What I mean is that they're quite awful-looking, block-ish, really. I'd expect better from DreamWorks, the studio responsible for Over the Hedge and the entire Shrek franchise, among others. Of course, DreamWorks is no Pixar, but certainly Shrek, if memory serves me correctly, is much better to look at, no?
Not too much is revealed in the first look to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, sequel to the 2005 original that scored mixed reviews from critics. Only the assumed opening to the film – the animals boarding a plane, only to crash land in Africa – is really shown here. However, the scene is fortunately soundtracked by a remix to Reel to Real's 1994 dance hit, I Like to Move It, courtesy of the animals. Among those lending their voices to the film include Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer and Cedric the Entertainer.
Grade: C
Also expected to be released on this date: Quantum of Solace, Repo! The Genetic Opera, Slumdog Millionaire
Sex Drive – Opens October 10th
You know how Superbad turned out to be THE sex comedy of 2007? Well, Sex Drive will likely take the 2008 title. It's the story of one Ian Lafferty (Josh Zuckerman), a high school student whose biggest problem (like the protagonists in most teen sex comedies it seems) is that he may start college as a virgin – oh dear! To relieve this shortcoming, Ian resorts to finding a date on the Internet. Eventually, chicks begin contacting him, including one (named Ms. Tasty) who lives about 500 miles from Ian's Chicago hometown. And so begins Ian's cross country quest to consummate the deal alongside best friends Lance and Felicia, who get involved in all kinds of adventures during the trip to meet Ian's mysterious find.
Unlike Superbad, however, its comedy doesn't appear to be quite so in-your-face. And Sex Drive certainly won't shower viewers with an endless supply of vulgarities. There was something about the trailer that made it seem much more patient and subtle.
Grade: A
Also expected to be released on this date: Body of Lies, City of Ember, Quarantined, What Just Happened, Ashes of Time Redux, Happy-Go-Lucky, Little Ashes