my week at the movies: ‘Martian Child,’ ‘Bee Movie,’ ‘Lions for Lambs,’ ‘Margot at the Wedding,’ more
It’s John Cusack, and that would be enough for me, because I’m one of that generation of women who has been ruined for romance forever by Say Anything.... But Martian Child [opens wide November 2] also has a geeky science-fictional bent, too: Cusack plays an SF writer, a widower, who adopts a troubled kid who thinks he’s from Mars. It’s based on a novel by real-life SF writer David Gerrold, who in real life adopted a son as a single (and gay) man. Cusack’s writer isn’t gay, I’m guessing the widower thing implies, because if he was, that whole generation of women would avoid this movie. Who am I kidding? Of course we wouldn’t.
I don’t know about Bee Movie [opens wide November 2]: it seems like it’ll be one joke that gets stretched out to the point where it’s no longer funny. If it even starts out funny. At least it has the voice of Patrick Warburton, who is always worth listening to. I just hope Jerry Seinfeld’s voice doesn’t get on my nerves...
Tom Cruise can haz Oscar role? Robert Redford directs the boy wonder in his first role as a presidential candidate -- that’s right, President Tom Cruise -- in Lions for Lambs [opens wide November 9]. Also, this one is all about the Endless War in the Middle East and how it chews up idealistic young Americans and turns pragmatic old Xers into even bigger cynics. I dunno: I’m making that part up. But I bet I’m right.
As if to thump Tom with a so-there, Nicole Kidman goes after another Oscar in Margot at the Wedding [opens limited November 16]. You can tell that’s what she’s doing, cuz she’s frumpy in this one. The Academy always thinks it’s brave when the Most Beautiful Women in the World let us see them like they really look when their hair and makeup team and their stylists have the day off. This one’s from the Squid and Whale filmmaker Noah Baumbach, so I expect lots of angst, even from cast members who look frumpy all the time, like Jack Black.
Indies on my radar for this week: Starting Out in the Evening [opens limited November 23], starring Frank Langella as an aging literary novelist and Lauren Ambrose as his academic fangirl. How to Cook Your Life [now playing in San Francisco; opens limited November 16] is, basically, Zen and the Art of Cookery, which sounds delicious. And Man in the Chair [opens limited December 7] is about a young man who’s a film fanatic. Sounds good.
(Technorati tags: Martian Child, Bee Movie, Lions for Lambs, Margot at the Wedding)
comments
posted by Deanne (Tue Oct 30 07, 10:32AM)
I'm feeling a bit suspicious of Martian Child. It's like someone in Hollywood realized that an entire generation of Lloyd Dobler obsessed Xer women are now child-bearing age, and decided to start making Cusack films in which he plays a widower opposite a succession of cute kids. (See also: Grace Is Gone.) Because, you know, women can't resist a cute, sad guy who does cute things with cute, sad kids. And all we ever really wanted was to have babies with him, right? That is what women want, right? This way we can do it by proxy! Maybe I'm being unfair. Part of me (the part that was ruined for romance forever by Say Anything) really wants to see Martian Child. It looks like it's probably sweet and geeky and benign, but the feeling that it's trying to pander to my uterus makes me feel more than a little icky.
posted by MaryAnn (Wed Oct 31 07, 12:13AM)
I've seen MC now, and I don't think it's pandering. It's a sweet, honest little film.