Trailer Hitch
By Eric Hughes
January 13, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The Karate Kid - Opens June 11th
From the day I came to know of a Karate Kid remake with Jackie Chan and Will Smith's offspring, Jaden, as its leads, I committed myself to constant wait-and-see mode. If the trailer looked promising, then great. If no, then I wouldn't be too torn up about it. I'm a fan of the 1984 original movie, but by no means consider myself a fanboy who'd protest the shit out of the project if it turned out to be less than appealing.
Well, here you go: The Karate Kid looks awesome. Cheesy? Yes. Cutesy? Also a yes. But I'm thinking that my ultimate feelings about the movie will be driven by the same feelings that caused me to have mostly kind things to say about Drew Barrymore's Whip It. Sure, Whip It's substance was futile, but in the end the film turned out to be pure entertainment and, well, fun. For whatever reason, The Karate kid's trailer leads me to believe that the reboot will do about the same for me.
Oh, and I'm totally in love with The Karate Kid's playful homage to its 1980's era predecessor. At the tail end of the trailer, Jackie Chan's character goes to snag a fly from the air with chopsticks – much like Mr. Miyagi did in the original – only to smack the pest with a fly swatter using his free hand. Jaden Smith adds: "Um, that's nasty."
Subtle brilliance.
Grade: A-
Fish Tank – Opens Friday
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival – and, as its trailer states, the most honored British film of the year – Fish Tank is the coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old introvert (newcomer Katie Jarvis) who's in need of some inspiration after being dealt what she thinks is a terrible family and even less forgiving surroundings. She finds solace, however, through her secret passion for hip hop dance and her mother's charming new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender), who tries to teach her how to make sense of both the little things and the "big picture."
From just the two minutes I've seen to warrant entry in my column this week, I'll admit that the critics likely have it right about Fish Tank. We get coming-of-age movies seemingly every weekend, but this one certainly stands out among the pack – principally for its production design and cinematography, as well as the lead actress' acting chops. Jarvis appears to have a real handle on her troubled character, which makes the news of this being her first feature a pleasant surprise. In case you hadn't heard, a casting agent working for Fish Tank's director, Andrea Arnold, spotted Jarvis having a real argument with her boyfriend at a railway station and approached Jarvis about auditioning for the flick. Of course, she accepted, nailed the audition and now has her first big acting credit. I'm anxious to see what she gets into next.
Grade: B
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang – Opens TBA 2010
I hate to crap on anything involving Emma Thompson. She's a delight on screen – and the same likely holds true in person. A Nanny McPhee sequel, however, is something I just can't support, even though A) the first one did well with critics, B) it's based on a series of books and C) Thompson herself is in charge of adapting the screenplay.
Maybe it'd be fair on my end to actually go out and see a Nanny McPhee movie to better understand the appeal. (Thompson neglected to reprise her role as Professor Sybill Trelawney in the final Harry Potter movies because Nanny McPhee was apparently more important to her). But, until that happens, I'll continue to question what there is to like about Emma parading around in a faux nanny get-up about 1000x uglier than Mrs. Doubtfire.
In the sequel, the second movie in a planned trilogy, Nanny McPhee gets work from a hopeless family who can't figure out a way to make their farm children and city kids evacuated to the country during wartime get along with each other.
Grade: D+
The Bounty Hunter – Opens March 19th
The Bounty Hunter is a great example of an instance when Hollywood gets it wrong. Sometimes, a concept is created – say, God is in need of a vacation and calls upon a down-on-his-luck TV news field reporter to take the reins – and success is deservedly had. (Of course, there are far better examples than a silly Jim Carey movie, but you get the point). But more often than not, a concept is created that is not just silly, but downright stupid. That category, my friends, is filled with movies like The Bounty Hunter. In my opinion, you'd be a fool to go see this thing.
In the movie, Gerard Butler plays the former lover of Jennifer Aniston's character and is, as the title suggests, a bounty hunter. Opportunity knocks when he's handed the job of tracking down his bail-jumping ex. Things get complicated when Jennifer informs Gerard that, if jailed, she'll risk losing a possible lead on a murder cover-up.
Andy Tennant, who previously directed popular titles Sweet Home Alabama and Hitch before hitting a significant rough patch with Fool's Gold, continues his downward slide with this new release. Pegged as an action comedy, The Bounty Hunter is seriously lacking in the latter genre.
Grade: F
She's Out of My League – Opens March 12th
So two "comedy" items this week in Trailer Hitch are what I'd consider epic fails. I wouldn't be so rude as to make that three, would I? Well, kinda sort of no. (Kinda). At times She's Out of My League looks like it works. At other times I simply shake my head. The comedy in this thing is troubled, but for reasons unknown I'm pulling for this movie – which was finished way back in 2008 – to do well.
A lot of that has to do with its lead, Jay Baruchel, who's poised to have a big 2010 with The Sorcerer's Apprentice and his voice work in How to Train Your Dragon. I like the guy; he's grown on me since having smaller roles in Million Dollar Baby (he's the dude that gets beat up) and Knocked Up. He's a hardworking lad who, in my opinion, deserves a vehicle. Too bad it came in the form of
She's Out of My League, which is spotty in its comedy delivery.
In it, Baruchel plays a 5 to Alice Eve's 10. That is, his character is a lot geekier than Alice's, a blonde who is strangely attracted to him and wants to date him. Playing off the he-is-a-whole-lot-uglier-than-me idea we previously saw in Knocked Up, Jay's initial excitement peaks as his friends and family – and his own insecurities – threaten to sabotage his budding romance.
Grade: C-