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January to March might be the cruellest months for good movies, but here are some surprises to get you through the slush.
Director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. And Mrs. Smith) jumps back into the action genre with Jumper (February 14), starring Mr. Dead-Eyes himself, Hayden Christensen, as a guy who can teleport himself anywhere any time.
Canadian heartthrob Ryan Reynolds might be the star of the rom-com Definitely, Maybe (February 14), but look for Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Sacha Baron Cohen’s fiancée) to steal the movie from him and that too-cute ray of Little Miss Sunshine, Abigail Breslin.
John Sayles’s Honeydripper (February 1) looks at the history of blues music in a drama set in 1950s Alabama. Heavy hitters Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton and Stacy Keach head up the cast, but a breakout performance by newcomer Gary Clark Jr. could steal this film. Can’t wait for the soundtrack.
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party) has emerged as one of the most imaginative, playful directors around. The trailers for his Be Kind Rewind (February 22), starring Jack Black and Mos Def as guys who cheaply remake movies on VHS, have been getting big laughs. I’m curious, though, about what Gondry had to fork over in copyright fees.
The first week of March 2007 was when the movie 300 stunned everybody with its mammoth box office receipts. The similarly numeric 10,000 B.C. (March 7) has that same opening spot, and its formula of period setting, scantily clad actors and lots of grunting could provide major déjà vu. Then again, director Roland Emmerich helmed The Day After Tomorrow and Godzilla.
