Friday, December 17, 2010

LET'S ALL GO TO THE LOBBY:  Okay, moviegoers, what'll it be this weekend among the new releases -- Black Swan, How Do You Do? Know, Yogi Bear, The Fighter or Tron 2: Electronic Boogaloo?

If you're contemplating Black Swan please review the NSFW trailer below the fold, which suggests its ties to a favorite film of mine -- plus, below the fold, a new Yogi Bear trailer you'll appreciate:





31 comments:

  1. I'm thinking I may finally get around to Tangled since I've got a backlog.  Tron and Black Swan are likely at some point, with How Do You Know possible (I like Brooks' older stuff and the cast, but the reviews are so meh).  And you missed The Fighter, which goes wide today, and which I will also almost certainly see.  Yogi Bear is playing non-stop in 3D over at the multiplex in the Third Circle of Hell, so I'm planning on avoiding it.

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  2. Meghan9:00 AM

    I probably won't go to any movies this weekend, but if I were, it would be Black Swan, most likely.

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  3. No, I included The Fighter -- or did you think the Aykroyd/Timberlake film was titled "Yogi Bear, The Fighter"?

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  4. Carmichael Harold9:21 AM

    For some reason, a couple theaters in DC were part of the initial early release of Black Swan and so I saw it a couple of weeks ago.  Despite (or, perhaps, because of) very low expectations, I thought it was fantastic and it has stuck with me.  I'm not sure it is for everyone (there were a couple of walkouts), either because of style or content, and I'm not sure the actual script works, but it had a visceral hold on me.

    As for the other ones, I think the Fighter is the only one I'm interested in seeing.

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  5. Watts9:23 AM

    I'm seeing Black Swan, although I think I'm going to approach it as a comedy, after hearing Becca's reaction to it.

    I'm planning a stiff drink beforehand because swans, in general, kind of freak me out.

    Also, I've read something about a particularly detailed scene about how effed up ballerinas' feet get and I wish I knew exactly when that was so I'd know to leave the theater.

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  6. Watts9:24 AM

    Enjoy Tangled.  I really did.  I thought the "underminer mother" character was the cleverest part of the whole thing, even though other parts were equally funny.

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  7. Maggie9:47 AM

    It's pretty close to the beginning of the movie.  There were a few parts where I closed my eyes...that being one of them.

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  8. Eric Snider, on, well, the bear movie:

    <span>As you are probably aware, Yogi is a binge-eating kleptomaniac with a particular fetish for picnic baskets. He rarely speaks of their edible contents -- he seems to be more interested in the baskets themselves, regardless of what specific foodstuffs may be found therein. He is enabled by Boo Boo, an adult bear who is much smaller than Yogi, possibly due to a chromosomal condition such as dwarfism. Yogi and Boo Boo both wear neckties, but only Yogi wears a hat, because he is in charge.

    Both bears are also capable of human speech -- English, specifically, though it is conceivable that they could learn other languages, as their ability to read is also implied -- and this fact is noted by the humans around them. It isn't like in some movies, where the animals talk to each other but people only hear regular animal noises, or where they only talk when humans aren't around, or where only certain humans can understand them. Yogi and Boo Boo converse openly with one and all. But Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) and Ranger Jones (T.J. Miller), the only two employees at the enormous Jellystone Park, find Yogi's habit of stealing visitors' food far more noteworthy than his ability to speak. A nature photographer named Rachel (Anna Faris), who wants to make a documentary about Jellystone, is eager to meet the talking bears for novelty's sake, but soon becomes blasé about it. Her interest in the park is related to the grandeur of its natural beauty, not the fact that talking bears live in it. </span>

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  9. Seeing either The Fighter or Black Swan tonight, and might try to fit in the other one on Sunday.

    I was looking forward to How Do You Know, but it's moved down on my "must-see" list after reading several bad reviews.  I'd also like to see "The Company Men."

    And even though I know nothing about Tron, and care little about Tron, I might get dragged to it at some point by the husband. 

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  10. Marsha10:42 AM

    I had a very similar reaction. I'm still thinking about it nearly 2 weeks later. It's a highly disturbing film - really filmed like a horror movie, and I don't watch horror movies. That said, it was very good, and I'm glad I saw it.

    This weekend, no movies for me, but the Official Day O' Movies is Sunday, January 2, 2011. Multiplex and list of films still unknown. If anyone is interested in joining me (I'm in Chicago), let me know - details of the plan will be posted at my @nagorsky twitter feed.

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  11. Marsha10:43 AM

    Sue, perhaps we will fit in some movie-going this week?

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  12. Tron will happen ASAP, but likely not this weekend.  Maybe, but not likely. 

    All interest in Black Swan evaporated when a facebook friend described it as "Single Whilte Ballerina".

    Kind of giddy with anticipation for True Grit.

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  13. Anonymous10:51 AM

    I had the same reaction too.  I thought about 2/3 of the way through that the film had gone completely off the rails, but I ended up really loving it. 

    This weekend... well, I would probably pick How Do You Know, but my husband and I are writing something in the same sort of dramedy/romantic triangle genre, and usually we avoid movies that are too similar to something we're drafting.  We haven't seen Tangled yet, so we may check that out.

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  14. Oops -- the above Guest is me.

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  15. J. Bowman11:18 AM

    Pretty sure the w wants me to see Black Swan. Not saying I'm going to fight it, just that I'm pretty sure that's what we're seeing.
    I probably need to get her to see the original Tron before I can get her to go to the new one, and even then it might be a tough sell. She was also surprised to hear TG was a remake, so the original is in the Netflix queue. The new version might end up being the Dec. 31 movie.

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  16. Carmichael Harold11:34 AM

    I heard that about Black Swan before I saw it (part of why I had low expectations), and while it has some elements that could lead to viewing it that way, I don't think it's a particularly useful comparison for gauging interest.

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  17. Devin McCullen11:49 AM

    Already saw Black Swan, and I thought it was great, but it's definitely not going to be for everybody.  Under any reasonable definition, it's a horror film.

    I'll get to The Fighter at some point, but I'm not rushing.  Tron will probably depend on whether my friends want to go, and they're never in a hurry. 

    If I see something this week, it will probably be Tangled.  (BTW, what's the consensus on 3D or not 3D for this one?)

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  18. Still haven't seen Tangled and would like to.  When I was at the Tellurdie Film Festival this year I heard nothing good about Black Swan.  Had I heard good things, I would have seen it there.  The Fighter seems to be Rocky with some other stuff and based on a true story.  Blech.  How Do You k
    Know looks dull and predictable to me.  The only way I would watch Yogi Bear is if you tied me up and forced those things on my eyes like in A Clockwork Orange.  What's left is Tron 2, which could be great fun, although I am very sorry they couldn't find something for David Warner to do.  I am also looking forward to True Grit. 

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  19. I'm really excited for The Fighter.  An undersized working-class white guy who brawls his way up from the streets to become a contender?  Great idea for a movie -- can't believe Hollywood didn't get around to this earlier.  My bet is that it'll spawn several successful sequels as well (and then a couple of really bad ones).

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  20. Paul Tabachneck12:17 PM

    Jacob Clifton has been tweeting and facebooking about Black Swan all week because it opened early in Austin, so you know I'm going to go see this thing, because he's got me believing it's the best thing that ever happened to anybody.   

    I'm definitely in for Tron, 2.0, too.

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  21. My understanding on Tangled is maybe a slight preference for 3-D, but that it's not that important (in NYC, it's almost impossible to find a non-3-D showing--total 2-D prints in Manhattan for it?  3. 

    (Tron, on the other hand, 3-D is its raison d'etre.)

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  22. bella wilfer1:28 PM

    I posted this in a different thread but not sure if anyone was still reading at the time.  If you haven't seen this, it's well worth the watch.

    http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/12/14/yogi-bear-parody-jesse-james/

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  23. Yes!  I was hoping we could do that.  Any movies you want me to hold off on seeing?

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  24. Begging the question: who's the Mr. T of 2014?

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  25. The best way to think about Black Swan is as a piece of Aronovsky's other work. It's very much a companion piece to The Wrestler (obsessed outsider ruining body for his/her art, this with a messed up daughter/mother dynamic rather than father/daughter).

    Also, the film it most reminds me of isnt something like Single White Female, but rather Polanski's early film Repulsion.

    If a mash-up between Repulsion and The Wrestler set in the ballet world sounds good to you, then run, don't walk to catch this film.

    As far as other films out there only Tron appeals, even though I expect it to be visually arresting, ploddingly plotted, as most of these effects laden films tend to be recently (yet watchable anyway, since visuals count).

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  26. Adam, that would be an AWESOME movie.  Can it be directed by Tarantino please?

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  27. Marsha3:15 PM

    Nah - I haven't seen much.

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  28. Maggie4:39 PM

    Seeing The Fighter tomorrow and may try to squeeze The King's Speech or I Love You Phillip Morris in on Sunday.

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  29. isaac_spaceman4:51 PM

    Tron:  so like the original, right? 

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  30. The Pathetic Earthling10:13 PM

    Did we already put up the Assassination of Yogi Bear by the Coward Boo-Boo?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6w0r-ScEG4

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  31. Becca1:48 AM

    Yep, I agree, there are a few spots where you'll probably want to cover your eyes, though the spot you're referring to is in her apartment, in front of the mirror, early on. Black Swan is clearly this year's Lost in Translation for me, so feel free to ignore my opinions entirely!

    I just saw Tron: Legacy this evening, and while the plot absolutely makes no sense, everyone's pretty good in it, doing the best they can with what there is of a script. True Grit's fantastic, but Bridges has nothing to be ashamed of here, IMO.

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