Sunday, September 28, 2008

Nights in Rodanthe, never reaching the end ...


Four new newbies! Is this a record? ...probably not. And frankly, such instability in the hit movie market doesn't give me consumer confidence, or even normal confidence. Oh, shudder. But as my statistical methods improve over time, I'll be able to say with greater confidence the average number of debut movies that debut to my beloved Top 10 in any given week. Anybody want the job?
Up first, Eagle Eye. No surprise there. Why, I'm sure even Box Office Guru saw that coming. Better watch it, Bruckheimer! First Spielberg steals Michael Bay from you, now people are copying Bay's style! What next? DreamWorks renegs on Verbinski's contract? A good friend of mine said it looked like Enemy of the State, but I didn't see the similarity.
At #2, the terrible wrath of Nicholas Sparks rears its ugly head once again. I mean, he's no Nick Hornby or Roddy Doyle; on the other hand, he's no Dan Brown yet. And I'm talkin' about Unfaithful 2: Nights in Rodanthe. Or is it Three? Don't these people ever get tired of making all these movies together?
At #3, Lakeview Terrace hangs in there with much tenacity. A lot of old hands in front of the camera on this one... Damn you, Eckhart! Were you so unavailable? In his place, it's relatively fresh-faced Patrick Wilson who shines. What, was Cole Hauser so unavailable?

At #4, Fireproof. I tell you what, if this is still in the Top 10 next week, we're doing Auteur Watch: Alex Kendrick! ...unless I forget.
And rounding out the top 5 is my beloved Burn After Reading. You know, actors love working with the Coens. Even Manolo, right? What, was Luis Avalos so busy?
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At 6 to 10 as usual, we come to the dregs. I got no new quips this week, so I'll just give either a brief Shout Out or Oh, Snap! to Mr. Spike Lee and his WWII epic, Miracle at St. Anna. I think I know what happened: you didn't give yourself a good enough part. ...wait a minute! You didn't give yourself a part at all! No grandfather of Mars Blackmon? No Mookie the First? You're not doubting your gift, are you, brother? Say it isn't so! Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you anyway come Oscar time next year. But Inside Man 2 is still on, right?

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