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The Screening Room

By Kelley Lyne

The Screening Room was ready to throw in the towel after reviewing the current weeks’ box office receipts. Believe it or not, Jackass: Number Two led the pack of recent releases making over a whopping $29 million – that’s way more than twice as much as its closest follower, Jet Li’s Fearless, coming in with a paltry 10 mil.

Next in line was Gridiron Gang with a mere 9.7 million bucks in ticket receipts. All three releases star “action” guys; Johnny Knoxville, Jet Li and Duane ‘The Rock’ Johnson respectively. More cerebral newcomers such as probable Oscar contenders All the King’s Men and Little Miss Sunshine barely made a blip on the profit radar. What does that say about us as a movie going public?

Speaking of which – Screening Room devotees should make sure to keep an eye out for the upcoming DVD release Idiocracy. Directed by Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butthead, Idiocracy is about an average Joe played by Luke Wilson (Old School, My Super Ex-Girlfriend). After being put into experimental hibernation by the government, our hero wakes up 500 years later to discover that he is the smartest man in the nation because America has been so “dumbed down” over the years. Hmmm. Let’s watch out for life imitating art imitating life.

The Illusionist ***1/2 Rated PG13
On the flipside, The Screening Room was extremely pleased to experience the joy of a great movie going experience with The Illusionist. Written and directed by Neil Burger (Interview With the Assassin), The Illusionist takes place in 19th century Vienna.
Edward Norton (Fightclub, The Italian Job) plays Eisenheim, the son of a cabinet maker who flees the restrictions of class to travel the world. He resurfaces years later as an illusionist whose performances captivate the Viennese public, much to the chagrin of Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). The lovely Jessica Biel (Into the Blue, The Fantastic Four) proves once and for all that she is much more than a pretty face with her top-notch performance as Sophie Von Teschen, childhood friend of Eisenheim and would be princess to Leopold. Everything about this movie is right. It looks gorgeous, it’s very true to its time period and has the quintessential co-starring performance with Paul Giamatti (Lady in the Water, Cinderella Man) as the voice of the film, Chief Inspector Uhl. One of the best releases of the year, this highly entertaining tale should be on everyone’s short list of movies to see!

Fall means movie time in a big, big way. Here are some of the soon to be released pictures coming to a local Cineplex near you…
October 6

Employee of the Month – Dane Cook (Waiting) competes for the attention of Jessica Simpson (Dukes of Hazard) with a Costco like store as the backdrop. Can’t wait – wink,wink.

Half Nelson – This movie got great reviews at its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Stars Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) as a teacher battling a drug addiction who befriends one of his students.

October 13
The Queen – A satire based on the current Royal Family starring one of the true British legends in the biz, Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect). Who would want to miss that?

The Grudge 2 – Need we say more?

Man of the Year – In this comedy, Robin Williams (Goodwill Hunting, The Final Cut) plays a TV comedian who decides to run for President – and wins.

October 20
Marie Antoinette – The much awaited follow-up to the award winning Lost in Translation by director Sophia Coppola. This is the highly stylized tale of one of the most hated women in all of history. Stars Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman) as the young queen.

Flicka – Remake of 1943’s My Friend Flicka with Allison Lohman (White Oleander) as the teen who tames the wild horse.

November Releases
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Claus
Saw III
Bobby
Fast Food Nation
Fur
Casino Royale

As always, happy viewing!