There are four new wide releases this weekend, none of which are going to make any money, and the summer is going to get sadder and sadder for the people in Hollywood whose jobs depend on making people go to the movies.
“Get Him to the Greek” is a fairly solid R-rated comedy from the director of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” focusing on the hedonistic rock star character from that movie. It’s a spin-off! Like on TV! It’s OK, not great.
“Splice,” which played at Sundance, is a squirmy, giddy, insane suspense-horror-dark-comedy thingee in which Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley are scientists who make a creature. Terrible things ensue. Most of the reviews have been positive, but those who don’t like it really, really don’t like it.
And hey, two of Hollywood’s Shameful Secrets®! It’s been a while! “Marmaduke,” based on the comic strip that no one has ever cared about, has Owen Wilson as the voice of the dog, who doesn’t talk in the comic strip, but who cares? “Killers” is about Katherine Heigl finding out her perfect husband, Ashton Kutcher, is a professional hitman who’s now being targeted himself. “Marmaduke” actually screened for press in a few major cities, but “Killers” was kept under lock and key until today. Review to come. In the meantime, at Film.com, I imagined an R-rated “Marmaduke” and speculated on the pitch meeting for “Killers.”
For “Eric’s Bad Movies” at Film.com, I hit “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” which is alarmingly similar in theme to “Splice,” although “Splice,” sadly, does not contain an obese Marlon Brando being followed by a tiny doppelgänger.
“What’s the Big Deal?” focused on “12 Angry Men,” from 1957. In the process of writing that column, I got to wondering how many directors have been nominated for Best Director Oscars for their first films, like Sidney Lumet was for “12 Angry Men.” So I compiled a list and wrote it up at Cinematical. Trivia is fun!
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I have agreed with all of your Eric’s Bad Movies, but not this time. I really like both versions of the movie for different reasons. Its the very quirkiness of the characters in the re-make that gives it interest. Basically, the humans are as screwed up as the animals (and I think that is the point, or should be if it wasn’t). Everything is crazy and that is what makes it fun.
Long-time DSniderphile, second-time commenter. Here’s another category for the Miscellaneous Data section of your Year-End Round-up:
Comedies Released on June 4th In Which a Party-Animal Jumps From a California House’s Roof into A Swimming Pool, in Presumable Homage to ALMOST FAMOUS: GET HIM TO THE GREEK, MARMADUKE.
(Having not seen the latter, I only assume there’s a pool in that scene).
Also, If we change that category to “Movies Released on June 4th In Which Generally-Wild Characters Are Poised to Fall From Rooftops”, then SPLICE could be included.
Two things: Thank you so much for writing a new pitch-meeting. I love them.
Second, YOU compiled a list? I’m pretty sure Twitter says otherwise . . .