Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
December 31, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
[tm:4491_]Not Easily Broken[/tm] – Opens January 9th
Based on a novel by T.D. Jakes, Not Easily Broken stars Morris [tm:1224_]Che[/tm]snut as little league baseball coach Dave Johnson, a man who would like to spice up his marriage a bit by adding a child into the mix. His wife, Clarice (Taraji P. Henson), has second opinions about the subject, considering the extra responsibility a kid carries and how it would affect her job performance. At the same time, Dave confronts a friend on how he's raising his son, who Dave believes is being mistreated.
I've gotta say I like what I see here. Not Easily Broken has the makings of a good Tyler Perry melodrama, but without that attention whore, Madea. The leads appear to give honest performances, and even Niecy Nash (of Reno 911! fame) lends a hand as Clarice's friend, Michelle. Hey hey hey!
Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: [tm:4189_]Bride Wars[/tm]; [tm:4291_]The Unborn[/tm]; Che, Part 1: The Argentine; Che, Part 2: Guerrilla
Possession – Opens January 23rd
Sarah Michelle Gellar in yet another thriller-horror? It's good to see she's branching out. The movie this time is Possession, co-starring Lee Pace and Michael Landes. In it, Gellar stars as Jess, a woman who becomes distraught after her husband, Ryan (Landes), and brother-in-law, Roman (Pace), end up in a coma following an automobile accident. When Roman wakes up with Ryan's memories, Jess doesn't know whether to believe in one of two crazy ideas: that Ryan's spirit jumped into Roman's body (totally plausible) or that something even darker is at work (even more plausible). I hate it when that happens.
From time to time I'm all for unrealistic stories – and they don't necessarily have to be as high profile as Benjamin Button either. But Possession, based on a 2002 South Korean film called Taken, just looks awful. At this point I'd rather be forced into watching another Grudge sequel.
Grade: D+
Also expected to be released on this date: The Dark Knight (rerelease), [tm:1932_]Inkheart[/tm], Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans, Taken, [tm:2592_]Outlander[/tm], [tm:2238_]Killshot[/tm]
Taken – Opens January 30th
He's a better pick than someone like, say, [bp:859_]Nicolas Cage[/bp]. But in the end I just can't buy Liam Neeson as an ex-member of the CIA who must recall his training in the secret service to hunt down the mysterious people who have kidnapped his daughter. He's too stiff, too clunky, too...Daniel from Love Actually. He can't be trying to take down insane people in France. He's got Sam back home in England who needs important dating advice from daddy!
Because of this, Taken's trailer is all but ruined for me. Neeson's jumping off bridges, blowing up cars, shooting people. At least from this specific preview I couldn't get into it.
Grade: C-
Also expected to be released on this date: The Uninvited, Chilled in Miami
The International – Opens February 13th
Clive Owen plans to put on his action-thriller shoes early next year in The International, the first of two flicks featuring the star scheduled to be released in the time frame. (The other is the Ocean's 11-like spy movie Duplicity, which was reviewed in this space late last month). In The International, Owen stars as Interpol Agent Louis Salinger, a man determined to bring down one of the world's most powerful banks alongside Manhattan ADA Eleanor Whitman ([bp:7_]Naomi Watts[/bp]). Performing illegal activities like money laundering and arms trading, the bank has remained untouchable for one important reason: persons who have investigated its operations in the past have wound up dead. Alright.
The International looks pretty generic, which is why I've given it a rather ordinary, let alone average, C. Its trailer didn't excite me all that much, but I'd be willing to bet Owen and Watts put in good performances, as per usual.
Grade: C
Also expected to be released on this date: Confessions of a Shopaholic; They Came From Upstairs; Friday the 13th; Miss February; Under the Sea 3-D; New York, I Love You; Gomorrah; Two Lovers
State of Play – Opens April 17th
Adapted from a six-hour British TV miniseries that aired on BBC One in 2003, the condensed, two-hour State of Play (from scribes like Michael Clayton's Tony Gilroy and [tm:3942_]Frost/Nixon[/tm]'s Peter Morgan) stars [bp:124_]Russell Crowe[/bp] as Cal McCaffrey, a street-smart journalist who investigates the suspicious death of a Congressman's mistress. When evidence points to a possible conspiracy, Cal finds himself in the middle of a full-blown case, rather than an easy-as-pie story. Among many things, the project explores the relationship between politicians and the press.
With [bp:773_]Helen Mirren[/bp], [bp:5725_]Rachel McAdams[/bp], Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels, State of Play looks tempting, especially if it can live up to its televised predecessor, whose consensus appears to be that it maintained its quality through its entire six-episode order. Also, is it just me or does the soundtrack that picks up at the 1:50 mark (and even more so at 2:10) sound eerily similar to the theme from Requiem for a Dream?
Grade: A-
Also expected to be released on this date: 17 Again, Crank 2: High Voltage