This week sees the release of four new films to theaters, but rather than all coming out on Friday, they are staggered. Presumably to take advantage of kids on Spring Break, and the buildup to the Easter weekend. I am sure that the weekend will see a bit of a downturn, so why not try and get some momentum during the week? Two films opened this past Wednesday, one on Thursday, and one more on the normal release day of Friday. These four films give you the choice of family comedy or horror. The stars arriving this week include Ice Cube, Hilary Swank, Kurt Russell, Bruce Willis, and Rosario Dawson.Firehouse Dog. (2007, 111 minutes, PG, family, trailer) I'm not sure what to make of this movie, I have only seen a couple of commercials for it, and I can't say that they have excited me. It is the story of a stunt dog who gets separated from his owner and ends up at a firehouse, where he helps a young boy and his father get the house on track and stop an arsonist. The one thing that may be good about it is Josh Hutcherson, he is a good young actor who has already impressed this year in Bridge to Terabithia. It was directed by Todd Holland who has spent much of his time on the small screen, directing episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, Wonderfalls, among others.
Are We Done Yet? (2007, 92 minutes, PG, comedy, trailer) Sequel to Are We There Yet? sees Ice Cube and Nia Long settling down and moving the family out to the country. I never saw the original, no interest, but I do like Ice Cube and the easy going charisma that he has on the screen (excepting xXx: State of the Union, of course). This looks to be a none too great family comedy that could very well be sweetly entertaining film. It looks like it is going to anchor on the fish out of water type story as these former city dwellers come face to face with nature. Another thing that the movie has going for it is John C. McGinley (Scrubs, Wild Hogs)who seems to be comic gold in whatever he does lately. This was directed by Steve Carr, who has also helmed Rebound and Daddy Day Care.
The Reaping. (2007, 96 minutes, R, thriller, trailer) This is the kind of movie that could go either way. I am hoping it will be good, but expecting it to be, well let's just say not so good. It stars Hilary Swank as an investigator who sets out to disprove supposedly miraculous occurences. She is a woman who lost her faith and turned to her career of debunking, she arrives at a small town that is being confronted with what appear to be the Biblical plagues. Swank must figure out what is going on, which may be having an affect on her faith. David Morrissey (Basic Instinct 2) and AnnaSophia Robb (Josh Hutcherson's Bridge to Terabithia co-star) co-star. It was directed by Stephen Hopkins who has had some success in the horror/thriller realm with A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Predator 2, and The Ghost and the Darkness to his name.
Grindhouse. (2007, 165 minutes, R, horror, trailer) Now here is a project that I have been anticipating for quite some time. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino got together and decided to pay tribute to the grind house double features of the 70s. For those of you who may not know, a grind house was a theater that would run exploitation double features in run down theaters that may only have been cleaned once a year. It was the only place to go and see films that exploit anything and everything, the films would be old and marked up, there may be missing frames or reals, and they tended tobe low budget affairs. In other words, this is where you would find any young horror fan in training. Anyway, each director has directed a feature film, complete with a low budget look, and prints that will be purposely less than stellar. Rodriguez has the zombie flick Planet Terror, featuring Rose McGowan with a gun for a leg, while Tarantino has the car chase slasher flick Death Proof, featuring a scarred Kurt Russell as a serial killer out for a night of fun. In between the features will be a series of fake movie trailers to complete the effect. Man, I cannot wait to sink down into the dakrned theater and be violated by this project.
An Unreasonable Man. (2006, 122 minutes, unrated, documentary, trailer) This documentary is opening at the local arthouse this week. It is a documentary centered on Ralph Nader, featuring archival footage and over forty on-camera interviews. It follows his career from his rise to prominence in the 1960's to the present day. As a special attrraction, Ralph Nader will appear in person for a post film Q&A on Saturday 4/7 following the 1pm showing.
The Animation Show 3. (2007, 81 minutes, PG-13, animation) I have to say that I love this series, I may not love every part of it, but the idea is great. It is a collection of animated shorts from around the world, put together by Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt. They put together these films that many would never have the opportunity to see and takes them on tour. The first two volumes were recently released on DVD.
Also opening this week, but not near me:
- Black Book
- The Hoax
- The TV Set
Box Office Predictions
This is going to be a hard weekend to predict. I suspect the holiday will put a damper on movie going, so I suspect that business will see a downturn from recent weeks. I also think that this was a bad weekend to open Grindhouse on, that combined with the length of the double feature, not to mention that it is a bit of an odd project (that I cannot wait to see) will result in a low weekend total. I am also of the opinion that The Reaping will pull mediocre numbers, potentially below Grindhouse. Then there are the two Wednesday releases, looking to capitalize on Spring Break and the family oriented holiday weekend. Firehouse Dog hasn't had much of an ad campaign, at least not that I have seen, whereas the new Ice Cube comedy has been everywhere, I suspect that will be the winner.
Here is how I think the top ten field will play out:
| Rank | Title | Box Office |
| 1 | Are We Done Yet? | $25 million |
| 2 | Blades of Glory | $21 million |
| 3 | Meet the Robinsons | $16 million |
| 4 | Grindhouse | $15 million |
| 5 | 300 | $8 million |
| 6 | The Reaping | $7 million |
| 7 | TMNT | $5 million |
| 8 | Wild Hogs | $4 million |
| 9 | Shooter | $3.5 million |
| 10 | Premoniton | $2 million |
What are you seeing this weekend?
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