Sid's Blog: January 2012

In Theaters

Opening This Week - February 3

THE BUZZ: This is a great transitional film for the former Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe could have had his pick of roles (correct?) and we admire him for first taking it to the stage in Equus, then the revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. His lawyer here i positioned at the start of adulthood, seemingly principled yet naive, which is smart characterization. CBS Films has made a string of doofy movies out of the gate, but this thriller and their upcoming Gambit remake will hopefully realign them as a hit-making studio. Meanwhile, director James Watkins could see Eden Lake, his underrated thriller, get rediscovered this year (FYI: it co-stars Michael Fassbender).

THE BUZZ: Hmm, a secretive plot tinged with equal parts mystery and horror? Sounds like Fox has lifted a page from the J.J. Abrams playbook. The Pacific Northwest is a perfect setting for anything dark and gloomy, and Max Landis's highly respected script has been called Cloverfieldmeets Unbreakable.

THE BUZZ: Probably the most gentle motion picture of the year, from the writers of The Shaggy Dog. We'll have to see if this is going to be more of a family film, date movie, or waste of an excellent supporting cast.

THE BUZZ: It's been quite a road for Ti West since The House of the Devil earned hipster approval and we all waited to see what he'd bring to Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, where things went awry during post-production and West unsuccessfully lobbied for his name to be removed from the project. Back inside another spooky dwelling, The Innkeepers hasn't quite generated Devil-level buzz, but West has emerged as a formidable creator of mood, deliberate pacing, and off-beat humor from memorable character interactions. Rumor has it Sara Paxton rules in the lead role and hopefully this will lead to more opportunities for the underrated actress.

THE BUZZ: Ben Wheatley's follow-up to Down Terrace is reportedly one of the toughest sits in recent memory for most indie film writers. I feel like UK filmmakers such as Wheatley should make an omnibus genre film with the current crop of Australian writer-directors. That said, Wheatley is one of the people who have directed shorts for the upcoming The ABCs of Death.

THE BUZZ: Sadly, it's getting progressively easier to dog on Madonna, especially when she makes a movie. Her directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, was as bad as many people wanted it to be, and though her sophomore effort received mixed praise initially, it's gone the way ofSwept Away now that its awards-baiting quiet release has arrived. OK, that's not entirely accurate, but this is no King's Speech-like contender.

THE BUZZ: It's tough for documentary filmmakers when similarly minded projects are put on the festival circuit simultaneously. That's what happened, I think, with Laura Israel's work, which was outshadowed by Ondi Timoner's Cool It. Is alternate energy even on the radar this election year? I thought that was a one-time promise.