Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
August 26, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The September Issue – Opens Friday
I'm surprised at how tame Vogue editor Anna Wintour seems, considering a particular bestselling book and popular movie adaptation nicknamed her the "devil." Yes, the mag chief is believed to be the real life inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada, but you really wouldn't know it after watching the trailer to The September Issue, a documentary about the legendary boss and her huge team of fashion editors. Sure, she's short with some people here, or a bit snotty with others there. But honestly, even I could have taken her heat – and I have a fairly weak stomach.
Because her attitude was a bit of a "let down," the drama that The September Issue tries to stir up falls short, too. Wintour's empire probably creates some pretty fascinating moments on camera. (Elsewise there wouldn't be a docu). Yet this one doesn't look tremendously entertaining.
Grade: C-
Gamer – Opens September 4th
Gamer marks the instance where I'm intrigued by the premise, but the finished product totally blows. And by totally blows I mean if given the opportunity to stream the thing for free on my computer, I'd turn down the offer and watch Michael C. Hall kill some crazies on Dexter instead.
I'm honestly troubled that Hall would sign on for a pic like Gamer, where participants in a future online gaming system use real human beings as their players. He's developed such a brand for himself on the small screen – that of an incredibly, incredibly gifted actor – by first starring as David Fisher on Six Feet Under before nabbing the lead role in Showtime's Dexter, set to premiere in its fourth season in late September.
The money must've been right, because Gamer is not the movie you want to brag about as your first feature. Gerard Butler, Kyra Sedgwick and Ludacris also star.
Grade: D
Love Happens – Opens September 18th
Arrested Development has forever tarnished my mental image of Judy Greer. She could be in some Holocaust period piece, or better yet, a romantic comedy starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston, and I'd still picture her saying at any given moment: ""Say goodbye to these, because it's the last time!"
For randomly popping up in Love Happens' trailer playing one of Aniston's good friends, I actually had to give the preview another go – for distraction's sake.
Anyway... Love Happens, about a dude (Eckhart) who finds himself falling for a totally hot woman (Aniston) while still coping with the loss of his wife, may have that totally generic romcom feel – complete with Goo Goo Dolls soundtrack to boot – and yet the preview earns a solid B from me. It plain and simple looks like a really sweet movie.
Grade: B
Capitalism: A Love Story – Opens October 2nd
Is it a prereq yet for Michael Moore to appear with a bullhorn in his movies? He had one in Sicko and Fahrenheit 9/11, and probably Bowling for Columbine if I'm not mistaken. Well, he's at it again in Capitalism: A Love Story, where he's threatening at the top of the trailer to make a citizen's arrest of the board of directors of AIG.
Cue the groans.
Capitalism, in fact, appears to be Michael's funniest movie to date – even if its topic, the financial crisis of 2007-2009, is just as serious (if not more so) than anything else the man has made movies about.
By this time, Michael's practically a parody of himself. He's shown here talking to an Indiana representative who excitedly tells his wife on the phone that the famed director is conducting a man on the street interview with him at that moment. Other highlights include Michael joking with executives that his empty potato sack probably won't be big enough to fit the $10+ billion owed to Americans, and an elderly woman commenting that one of the only available jobs in her area – a gentleman's club dancer – just isn't for her.
It's instances like these we've almost come to expect from Moore, who this time around seems to grab as much of the spotlight as the movie's very topic.
Grade: A-
Youth in Revolt – Opens October 30th
Once again, we're treated to Michael Cera playing the stereotypical George Michael-y character we've seen a million times already. But wait! Before you ignore the rest of this entry, nibble on this important piece of info: He plays not one, but two characters. And the other guy is a studly Frenchie named Francois who rebels against authority and is irresistible to women.
Based on the 1993 novel of the same name by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt stars Cera as a troubled, sex-obsessed teen (Nick Twisp) who falls for a girl, Sheeni Saunders, who just won't love him in return. Enter his new alter ego, Francois, who instills the confidence in Nick to win Sheeni's heart. Steve Buscemi, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Fred Willard and Zach Galifianakis round out the cast.
Grade: B-