New Movies: 9/11/09

This week's wide releases -
9
Sorority Row
Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Whiteout

Labor Day has come and gone and we are officially into normal time. Kids are back in school and we are not quite ready to head into Oscar season. This time will see lower box office totals each weekend, smaller crowds to fight, and films with lower expectations than you will find during the summer. That is not to say you will not find good movies, it will just be easier to see them without the usual throng of kids choking the cineplex aisles.

9. (2009, 79 minutes, PG-13, animated/science fiction)Co-writer and director Shawn Acker brings his vision of the future to the big screen in animated form, with the help of Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) acting as producers. The film is set in the future after a great war wiped out the human race. Left behind are a group of nine creations that were given life by their creator. The newest member of the group, 9, wakes up to a world where people are gone and nasty machines seek to eliminate them. I is is up to 9 to find out why the monsters are after them and what they can do to save the future. It looks like a blast. The voice cast includes Elijah Wood, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connolly, John C. Reilley, Christopher Plummer, and Martin Landau.



Sorority Row. (2009, 100 minutes, R, horror) I see the trailer for this remake and cannot help but assume it will be terrible. It brings to mind the I Know What You Did Last Summer series, which likely took its inspiration from the original Sorority Row. This is the story of a sorority prank gone bad. One of the sister's finds her boyfriend is a cheat. They play a gag pretending she's dead, she ends up dead, and the girls have secret they have to live with. Then, upon graduation their past comes back to haunt them. The cast includes Briana Evigan (Step Up 2 the Streets), Rumer Willis (daughter of Bruce and Demi who appeared in The House Bunny), and Carrie Fisher (if you don't know....). As bad as it looks, I still feel strangely drawn to it, perhaps it won't be that bad.



Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself. (2009, 113minutes, PG-13, comedy/drama) I have nothing against Tyler Perry, I just really have no interest in his movies. This one features Madea catching kids looting her house and then taking a persona interest in them as he takes them to their only relative, a lounge singer aunt.



Whiteout. (2009, 101 minutes, R, thriller) Funny, I have talked to a few people who were convinced that this was the remake of The Thing that has been talked about for awhile. No, this movie is based on a graphic novel set in Antarctica where a US Marshal, played by Kate Beckinsale, finds herself investigating the continents first homicide. In doing so she uncovers something that may cost her own life. I think the trailer looks pretty thrilling. Looking forward to checking it out.



Also opening this week, but not near me:

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
• Crude
• No Impact Man
• Walt & El Grupo

Box Office Predictions
This weekend has a few decent looking releases and should do pretty well. However, this is traditionally even slower than Labor Day weekend, as it is the first weekend after kids go back to school. I am hoping for a good showing from 9, but it may be a tough sell, I mean an animated feature that isn't a comedy? Watch out! I also feel that the new Tyler Perry fim looks like it should do decently and will likely win the weekend. Despite my non-interest in his films, I have learned to not underestimate their box office performance, they always do solid numbers.

Here is how I think it could play out.

Rank	Title	Box Office
1	Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself	$22 million
2	9	$13 million
3	Sorority Row	$11 million
4	Whiteout	$8 million
5	Inglorious Basterds	$7 million
6	The Final Destination	$6 million
7	District 9	$5 million
8	All About Steve	$5 million
9	Gamer	$4.5 million
10	Julie & Julia	$3.5 million