1. What’s Your Number? (Fox, 3,002 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated R): One question about this film—did Katherine Heigl pass it up? Because it seems like the kind of high-concept romantic comedy that composes her film career. Maybe she didn’t and this was Anna Faris’ film all along. But it has Heigl’s name all over it.
This film is about a woman (Faris) who goes through her 20 past relationships to see if she inadvertently missed out on Mr. Right. However, she finds that Mr. Right was there in front of her all along.
The film has a pretty good cast and was written by women (adapted from a novel written by a woman as well), so the perspective should be right. The trailer had a laugh or two, and the biggest one was rather ribald so that R rating should be justified.
2. Dream House (Universal, 2,660 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated PG-13): This film is directed by Jim Sheridan, a man with 6 Oscar nominations to his credit. The cast is full of Oscar nominees, with a winner in Rachel Weisz. The question you have to ask is twofold–A) how did they get attached to a piece of schlock like this and B)can a film with this kind of pedigree in the cast and director department really be as bad as it looks in the ads?
Daniel Craig plays a man who moves into a house with his wife and two children that was the scene of a gruesome murder. It appears that years earlier, a man killed his wife and two children in that very home. Now, it appears that the killer is stalking Craig’s family as supernatural events take place in the house. He must find out the mystery before the killer attacks and his wife and kids suffer the same fate.
Well, at least that’s how the TV ads make it out to be. The theatrical trailer reveals a pretty sizable twist in the subject, and then reveals a twist to that twist. The first twist is predictable, the second idiotic. But be warned if you click that trailer after only seeing the TV ads, a major plot point will be revealed.
3. 50/50 (Summitt Entertainment, 2,458 Theaters, 99 Minutes, Rated R): Finally, a buddy comedy about cancer!
Okay, the film doesn’t seem to be as callous as that. It is loosely based on the true story of Will Reiser, a young writer striken with cancer. It tells the story of how he handled the diagnosis at such a young age and how some of his friends had a hard time handling the news themselves. Seth Rogen, Reiser’s real-life friend, plays the best friend of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Reiser doppleganger.
Your first instinct is that nobody would want to see a comedy about a person dying from cancer. However, I personally know one cancer survivor who would like to see the film with a friend who helped her through her battle with cancer. Don’t know if there are enough people like that in the world to make this film a hit, but it should count for something.
4. Courageous (TriStar, 1,100 Theaters, 101 Minutes, Rated PG-13): I hate weeks like this. As if three films to write about wasn’t enough, we get a low-budget film with no advertising and a no name cast that I know absolutely nothing about that I have to write enough words to make it past the poster. Grrr.
This film, according to IMDB, is the story of four cops whose lives are turned upside down when a tragedy hits close to home. Their faith (not the inclusion of this word) is tested and their relationships with their families shift and change.
This is a film with a religious, faith-based message. This does not mean that it is a bad film. But just be aware this film might be presenting a line of faith-based thought that does not match up with your own.
