Movie Minutiae - Weinstein Company Preview - Fall/Winter 2006
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Below is a list of upcoming releases through December for The Weinstein Company and the studios it represents. The
synopses come straight from the studio - you know I'd never use such flowery language to describe these films. My
expectations and insights are included. Release dates are subject to change. My opinions are subject to be highly
accurate. Yeah, this is the same stuff I said for the 20th Century Fox Preview
and the Universal Studios Preview. You gonna sue me or something?
THE PROTECTOR - September 8
Synopsis: In this relentlessly kinetic action film spiced with sensational Muay
Thai moves, a young Thai fighter (Tony Jaa) ventures to Australia to retrieve stolen elephants originally
promised to the King of Thailand. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, he must take on all he
encounters, including a gang led by an evil woman and her fierce and deadly bodyguards.
Johnny's Take: I have a bit of a problem. You see, Tony Jaa
was in the movie Ong Bak and whenever I see his name I instinctively start singing "Ong Bak" to the tune
of Hanson's Mmm Bop. I really need to find a way to get past that else this movie will never stand a
chance.
Having watched the trailer, I must say that it looks like every other martial arts movie ever made, but hey,
it should be a decent action flick with tons of high-flying Muay Thai moves. Just don't expect much in terms
of story, and don't expect this to appeal to everybody. Although I guess we should give them an 'A' for
effort for having the hero rescue kidnapped elephants rather than a kidnapped girlfriend?
View the trailer.
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SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS - September 29
Synopsis: In this hilarious comedy, director Todd Phillips (Old School) tells
the story of Roger (Jon Heder), a dejected traffic cop who enrolls in a "confidence building" class. Roger is
tired of being walked all over and wants to win the affection of Amanda (Jacinda Barrett), the girl with whom
he is in love with. Roger and the rest of his classmates get much more than they bargained for when their
professor (Billy Bob Thornton) exhibits some unusual teaching methods and sets his own sights on Amanda.
Suddenly, the mild-mannered geek squad must go from zeroes to heroes in order to stop being pushed around and
win the girl back.
Johnny's Take: Sigh. Do we really need more Jon Heder
movies? Plus, how good can a movie with Horatio Sanz be? My guess - not very. Ah well, Billy Bob Thornton
and David Cross are in it, so maybe it has potential. Let's check out the trailer...
Huh. Is this supposed to be an unfunny "re-imagining" of Rushmore? That's certainly the vibe I'm
getting. I think I laughed once, maybe twice during the trailer. Johnny's setting his expectations at LOW on
this one. Can we sue the studio for including "hilarious" in the synopsis and not delivering? FALSE
ADVERTISEMENT!
Or maybe this is one of those rare films that's keeping the jokes out of the trailer and saving them for the
film. Oh wait; Jon Heder and Horatio Sanz are in this, never mind.
View the trailer.
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STORMBREAKER ALEX RIDER: OPERATION STORMBREAKER - October 6
Synopsis: Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a normal teenager who lives with his uncle,
a nondescript bank manager... or so it seems until his uncle - Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor) - disappears under
mysterious circumstances. Alex soon learns that his uncle was a spy for Britain’s secret intelligence service
MI6, and he is recruited to take on a dangerous mission for the British secret service to infiltrate the
organization of a sinister billionaire (Mickey Rourke). Within days he’s gone from schoolboy to super spy -
but will Alex’s first assignment be his last?
Johnny's Take: Man, I was right with this synopsis until I
got to the "he's gone from schoolboy to super spy" bit. But I'm a fair man, so I'll take a look at the
trailer before passing further judgment...
I should probably be ashamed to admit this, but the movie doesn't look half bad! Sure, it seems to be somewhat
targeted towards children, considering a teenager is a world-class spy, but that genre needs something to
wipe everybody's memories of Agent Cody Banks. I'm gonna give this one a chance.
Why are all movie billionaires sinister?
You can check out the trailer at the official site.
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DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE - October 20
Synopsis: Based on Tecmo's best-selling "Dead or Alive" videogame franchise, DOA:
DEAD OR ALIVE features four beautiful women who begin as rivals in a secret invitation-only martial arts
contest, but find themselves teaming up with one another against a sinister force.
Tina Armstrong (Jaime Pressley) is a superstar in the world of women's wrestling. Christie (Holly Valance)
is a beautiful cat-thief and assassin-for-hire. Princess Kasumi (Devon Aoki) is an Asian warrior-aristocrat,
schooled by martial arts masters. Helena Douglas (Sarah Carter) is an extreme sports athlete whose tragic past
binds her to the remote palace in Southeast Asia where the Dead or Alive tournament takes place.
Johnny's Take: After watching the trailer, I can safely
rule out any possibility that this could possibly be a "good" movie. The "bra scene" alone kills any
off-chance that it might have had. However, I have no doubt that this will be a "movie of the year"
contender for many a' teenage boy.
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KILLSHOT - October 20
Synopsis: A Quentin Tarantino presentation. From Academy Award nominated director John
Madden ("Shakespeare in Love") comes Hossein Amini's wry adaptation of Elmore Leonard's best-selling crime novel.
The beautiful Carmen Colson (Diane Lane) and her husband Wayne (Thomas Jane) become entangled in a scam with a
bumbling, small time con artist (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and his over-the-hill hitman partner the Blackbird (Mickey
Rourke). Ultimately, it all comes down to one wife, one husband, two killers ... and one lethal killshot.
Johnny's Take: A very interesting cast (Mrs. Josh Brolin,
baby!) and the quirky storyline have me eagerly anticipating the trailer.
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BOBBY - November 23
Synopsis: Bobby, written and directed by Emilio Estevez, revisits the night
Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. With an incredible ensemble cast portraying
fictionalized characters from a cross-section of America, the film follows 22 individuals who are all at the
hotel for different purposes but share the common thread of anticipating Kennedy’s arrival at the primary
election night party, which would change their lives forever. This historic night is set against the backdrop
of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class
differences.
Johnny's Take: Sharon Stone, Ashton Kutcher, Nick Cannon,
and Christian Slater all in one movie? Um, yeah. And this is what they define as an "incredible" ensemble
cast? Who can I punch in the face for that?
Sounds halfway interesting but with the Sheens involved I'm sure there'll be a huge agenda that will detract
me from the film. I'll wait for the trailer before I say anything else, but the cast really has me
wary.
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BLACK CHRISTMAS - December 25
Synopsis: In Black Christmas a sorority house is terrorized by a killer who
makes frightening telephone calls before murdering the sorority sisters during the Christmas break.
Johnny's Take: Apparently Hollywood felt we didn't have
enough horror remakes so they've decided to give us a nice little Christmas present with yet another one.
Hey, at least Lacey "Poor Man's Jennifer Love Hewitt" Chabert is getting work!
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MISS POTTER - December 29
Synopsis: Beatrix Potter has delighted generations of children with her books. But she
kept her own private life locked carefully away. Oscar-winning star Renee Zellweger is now bringing her secret
story to the screen in Miss Potter, the first film directed by Chris Noonan since his charming 1995
movie, Babe. It is set in the high summer days of late Victorian and Edwardian England, during which
Beatrix develops her natural skills as artist and story-teller. When she finally publishes her debut book,
The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she becomes a writing celebrity. It also leads to courtship and her first love
with publisher Norman Warne, played by Ewan McGregor. Their relationship and his marriage proposal in July,
1905, was to change Beatrix’s life forever.
Johnny's Take: There was another paragraph in the studio's
synopsis but I deleted it because I almost fell asleep reading it. I'm sure all you ladies who love "period
pieces" and Ewan McGregor will enjoy this, but on the surface this is the kind of movie that would cause me
to start chewing the ol' arm off to escape the theater.
"Would you be shackled to the seat or something? I don't understand why..."
Just go with it, OK!
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BREAKING AND ENTERING - December TBD
Synopsis: A story about theft, both criminal and emotional, Breaking & Entering
follows three people whose lives intersect in the inner-city area of King's Cross. When a landscape architect's
(Jude Law) state of the art offices in a seedy part of town are repeatedly burgled, his investigations launch
him out of the safety of his familiar world.
Johnny's Take: If you just read the synopsis (and are able
to get past the use of "burgled") then this sounds potentially decent. However, now that I see that the
director is Anthony Minghella - the man responsible for three of the most boring movies of the 90s (The
English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain) my interest just hit rock
bottom and pulled out a shovel.
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