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Though it opens Wednesday, I'm including The Darjeeling Limited in this guide because Wes Anderson is a director whose films you just automatically have to see and the more advance warning, the better. His latest jewel box follows three brothers (Wilson, Brody, Schwartzman) who decide to travel together across India in an effort to mend the rift that has grown between them all. Expect fantastical plot twists and plenty of whimsy.
Though many critics have somewhat derisively referred to The Kingdom as CSI: Riyadh, I'm expecting a taut, engrossing thriller from Peter Berg. The cast is first-rate (Foxx, Cooper, Garner, Piven, Bateman) and the subject matter is plenty meaty. Reviews have been below par, however, and the consensus appears to be that the film would have been better served with more American-Saudi political intrigue and less bang-bang-boom!
Now that The Game Plan is upon us, I think it's finally time to dispense with this whole "The Rock" business and just start calling him Dwayne Johnson. Taking a page out of the Schwarzeneggerplaybook, Johnson is transitioning from hard-core action movies to more family-friendly fare. In The Game Plan Johnson plays a star quarterback who finds out he has a bastard daughter--or, exactly what happened in Season 2 of Rescue Me.
Though its reviews have been mostly solid, I think most people were expecting more from Ang Lee's latest, Lust, Caution. While putatively an espionage thriller set in Shanghai during World War II, the film has received most of its attention for the intense sex scenes between Tony Leung and Wei Tang that are reportedly just short of the real deal. Despite what critics may naysay, however, it's an Ang Lee film. I'm going.
Feast of Love is another racy little number, but this one is in the hands of the more paternal Robert Benton. Reviews have been split, but Greg Kinnear and Morgan Freeman are two actors I love to watch work (Kinnear's performance in Auto Focus may be the best overlooked performance in years). Feast of Love looks to be a glorious mess (think Love Actually) which sounds good to me. Plus, Radha Mitchell is all kinds of naked in it.
Of course, there is a nasty, dark side to sex and that's represented this weekend by Trade. Kevin Kline stars as a Texas policeman who joins with a young boy to find the boy's sister who has been kidnapped by sex traffickers in Mexico City. Considering the compelling and topical subject matter, it's a shame that the filmmakers appear to have missed with this one--reviews have been consistently harsh.
Tickets & Showtimes
The Darjeeling Limited
The Kingdom
The Game Plan
Lust, Caution
Feast of Love
Trade
Previews
The Darjeeling Limited
The Kingdom
The Game Plan
Lust, Caution
Feast of Love
Trade
Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight and Focus Features
