Ned would be a better title than Our Idiot Brother.
Columbiana looks awful.
agree on both counts
I saw Colombiana a couple weeks ago. It is sooooo awesome. I’m not usually a fan of these types of action flicks but I enjoyed myself. Yes, the plot is ridiculous (most Luc Besson plots are) but Zoe Saldana is SOOOO hot that I was engaged the whole way through. I don’t typically go to see movies just because it has a good looking actress in it (I haven’t seen most of Saldana’s films) but I have to say that if you like Saldana, her alone is reason enough to check out the film.
As for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, I saw that one also. Terrible film. Not scary at all. Stupid. Very stupid.
did you see anything else coming out in near future
just curious
Yeah, I’ve seen:
- DRIVE (loved it)
- DREAM HOUSE (hated it)
- IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (hated it)
- IMMORTALS (bleh)
- RESTLESS (loved it)
I’m seeing IDES OF MARCH next week (super excited for this one).
you are a lucky man.
lol – one of the few/only benefits to living in southern California.
from variety:
Harris – Jack Thompson
It’s been nearly 40 years since the shockingly scary TV movie “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” terrified a 9-year-old Guillermo del Toro, who would make a career recycling what thrilled him as a kid into classy highbrow horror pics. Pairing a sinister old house with the sort of creatures that haunt one’s dreams, the 1973 telepic inspired del Toro’s first outright remake — a suspenseful yet markedly less insidious update he penned with writing partner Matthew Robbins and handed off to comicbook vet Troy Nixey to direct. Del Toro’s name should entice more than just genre auds to this Miramax orphan, since adopted by FilmDistrict for an Aug. 26 release.
During the decades “Dark” spent festering in his imagination, del Toro had plenty of opportunity to embellish the pic’s meager plot, which centers on a woman named Sally who unseals a heavy grate in the basement fireplace, only to release a bunch of darkness-dwelling creatures. In del Toro’s version, Sally is a 9-year-old girl dragged into a supernatural situation beyond her grasp, not unlike the protagonists of “The Devil’s Backbone” or “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
After an unsettling prologue demonstrates that Blackwood Manor is not at all a safe place to raise children, “Dark” warily observes the arrival of young Sally (Bailee Madison, “Brothers”) to the creepy, run-down estate, where her architect father (an unusually dull Guy Pearce) and his much-younger girlfriend (Katie Holmes) have been doing extensive restoration. More than a century earlier, Emerson Blackwood and his son mysteriously disappeared inside the house, and though they’ve left the premises blessedly ghost-free, the monsters that snatched them are still lurking in the darkest recesses of the basement furnace.
From the beginning, the screenplay gives audiences an advantage over the characters, who are all oblivious to Blackwood’s dark history — all except the groundskeeper, Mr. Harris (Jack Thompson), who has made some sort of secret pact with the creatures (one of several direct nods to the original that makes no sense in the story’s newly expanded context). Ominous cutaways reveal that Sally’s arrival has awakened the monsters in the basement, who won’t be satisfied until they’ve feasted on children’s teeth.
Working closely with del Toro, Nixey instinctively understands the tension will be greatest if he withholds the creatures at first, relying instead on the shadowy figures’ teasing whispers to establish their menacing intentions. Once it comes time to reveal the ugly buggers, Nixey prolongs the suspense by doing so in pieces, showing glistening eyes behind the basement grate, crab-like claws as they scuttle through the air ducts and, finally, the nightmarish alien faces dreamt up by horror-surrealist Chet Zar.
So why aren’t they frightening? Whereas the telepic wheedled its way into one’s subconscious by suggesting that malicious homunculi might be conspiring to kill people after the lights go out, del Toro’s creatures are complicated by a more robust mythology. Still, the guidelines are far from clear: If the rule is “one life must be taken,” then why don’t they take a life already, rather than wasting time harassing everybody? And what effect does light have on these photosensitive monsters exactly?
In perhaps the most curious divergence from the ruthlessly efficient, subplot-free original, del Toro and Robbins’ script tries to tie these urchins to the tooth-fairy tradition, which just feels silly. Far more effective is the addition of the uneasy dynamic between young Sally and her stepmother-to-be, with these two rivals becoming allies when confronted with the supernatural (strangely, Madison looks more genetically similar to Holmes than Pearce). The part of Sally calls for an exceptional young actress, and Madison — Drew Barrymore-cute, but nobody’s angel — not only aces the role’s emotional demands but also brings an unexpectedly dark undertone to the character.
No less important is the Australian house that serves as Blackwood Manor, carefully appointed to evoke the Victorian settings seen in classic horror movies while still supplying a wholly original location. Thanks primarily to a predictably sharp combination of lensing, editing and suspense music, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” succeeds in stinging the audience with a few shock scares, including a terrifying sequence in which one of the creatures manages to creep under Sally’s bedcovers. Still, rather than trying to frighten adults, this entire R-rated exercise feels engineered to emotionally scar any younger auds who should happen to see it — much as the original did del Toro back in the day.
from Hollywood Reporter:
A pile-up of poor judgment that resolves miraculously in the end, “My Idiot Brother” shambles along with all the purposefulness of its title character, a kind of near-beer Lebowski who’s neither reckless enough to cheer for nor misguided enough to disdain.
Paul Rudd’s Ned Rochlin, recently released from jail and broke, wanders through his three sisters’ homes, inadvertently revealing that each has as much to answer for as their brother who sold dope to a policeman in uniform. Each episode yields laughs, but the many parallel screw-ups don’t build to the kind of crescendo the film needs; it may be no worse than Rudd’s latest vehicle, How Do You Know, but it’s yet another leading role that fails to live up to Rudd’s talent, and it’s hard to imagine it approaching the commercial success of his more high-concept studio comedies.
The script doesn’t play to anyone’s strengths, in fact, requiring each member of this top-flight cast to play a part slightly (sometimes more than slightly) duller and less likeable than his usual fare. Sisters played by Emily Mortimer, Zooey Deschanel and Elizabeth Banks are, respectively, de-sexed, dumbed-down, and unbelievably self-centered; their ample flaws might have been humanized if it weren’t for the contempt they show their only brother. READ: Elizabeth Banks Q&A
The filmmakers aren’t so kind to Ned, themselves. Screenwriters Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall try to have it both ways by assigning a “give everyone the benefit of the doubt” philosophy to his seemingly low-IQ behavior, but this rationale appears in just one small chunk of dialogue, and hardly explains the clueless things they require Ned to say and do.
Much is made of a dog named Willie Nelson, stolen from Ned by his hateful hippie ex-girlfriend and seemingly the only entity (aside from his alcoholic Mom) who offers the kind-hearted lug the unconditional love he deserves. Willie serves as the fulcrum of the movie’s ludicrous redemption sequence, but more persuasive evidence of Ned’s soulfulness languishes on the sidelines — a friendship with his overprotected nephew, derailed by an accident so dumb viewers might decide, protestations notwithstanding, that this movie really doesn’t think much of its hero.
@Santino
…but Zoe Saldana is SOOOO hot that I was engaged the whole way through. I don’t typically go to see movies just because it has a good looking actress in it (I haven’t seen most of Saldana’s films) but I have to say that if you like Saldana, her alone is reason enough to check out the film.
I don’t go to see films because of good looking actresses, either—but I’m still skeptical. Besson’s action films after Leon and Le Femme Nikita are really bad, imo—which is another reason for my skepticism. What say, you, Santino? Still think I should see this? (And I love good action movies. Did you see Miike’s 13 Assassins btw?)
Didn’t see 13 Assassins but I will take the shocking position that I enjoyed Colombiana more than Le Femme Nikita. I’m sorry but that movie does not hold up very well – it felt extremely dated. I’ve never been a huge fan of Leon either (although I don’t dislike – I just don’t get all the hullabaloo). I did enjoy Taken though (even though it’s a ridiculous movie).
btw – Note I say “enjoy”, not “better”. I won’t argue about whether Colombiana is “better” than Le Femme Nikita. Just that I enjoyed it more.
Point taken. And I’ll probably see it (as I’m generally desperate for decent action).
If you like action, I’d say give 13 Assassins a shot. It’s one of the better action films I’ve seen in a long time (which isn’t saying much).
look at the kick she does at 0:56 seconds of the trailer… now that is cool :O)
and then she smokes in the bathtub… not cool :O(
Whispers to Jazz – not a big fan of Asian films (especially Asian action films).
Dennis Brian
Colombiana is another Luc Besson doodle directed by the director of Transporter 3. If it is anything like the other revenge pic from Besson Taken, zoe saldana is a huge downgrade from Neeson; I shall avoid.
This is a miramax project that looks like either quirky fun or a failed attempt at quirky fun. Rudd is always hit or miss but seems sincere, very necessary for the character played here. He has able supporting cast around him (I tend to mistake Elizabeth Banks for Parker Posey but she is good too)and the film will probably at least be decent, may rent.
A first time feature director takes on a doodle from Guillermo del Toro. Since del Toro is involved it will likely be weird gothic horror that makes Burton seem good. I have yet to find someone of value in del Toro, all that being said, my finacee wants to see this so I will probably have to give it a look.
Also Midnight in Paris getting a rerelease this week, will catch that to help the film reach 50 million US.