Then it’s right back to reality with Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman’s NANKING (January 25), a documentary showing what happens when an occupation really goes wrong, as with the Japanese Army in WWII in the title Chinese city. But if you prefer your warfare of the wish-fulfilling fantasy kind, there’s the return of Sylvester Stallone and his brand-new RAMBO (January 25).
Speaking of bloodshed, as Super Tuesday nears, the campaigns will be at their nastiest. Hillary Clinton will certainly be showing her TEETH (January 25), as will the teenager in Mitchell Lichtenstein’s bizarre black comedy: she’s developed a bad case of vagina dentata.
VIDEO: The trailer for Jumper
FEBRUARY
On Tuesday, February 4, 23 states will hold primaries and pretty much determine the nominees in both parties. So how will the candidates fare, movie-wise?
Hillary Clinton is very much in the picture, if I read the signs correctly. In Jonathan Levine’s ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE (February 1) the popular girl of the title (Amber Heard) is invited to a party and the other guests (Obama? Edwards?) mysteriously vanish.
In David Moreau and Xavier Palud’s THE EYE (February 1), a woman receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world. No doubt a political asset, but also a reason to be burned at the stake. Jessica Alba and Parker Posey are among those under scrutiny .
Jeff Lowell’s OVER HER DEAD BODY (February 1) might say something about the candidates’ tenacity — or domestic situation: a dead woman’s ghost tries to break up her ex’s relationship with a psychic. Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, and Lake Bell star.
Other candidates take a bow in this week’s openings. John McCain’s bellicosity takes a ribbing, as does the film 300 in Jason Friedberg’s MEET THE SPARTANS (February 1), with Method Man and Kevin Sorbo donning the leather jock straps. And maybe the troglodytic politics of Mike Huckabee crossed the mind of Fred Wolf in his comedy STRANGE WILDERNESS (February 1), as hosts of a TV nature show try to boost ratings by landing Bigfoot.
As for the general mood after Super Tuesday, the titles of two releases might say it all: PATHOLOGY (February 8), Marc Schoelermann’s thriller about medical students who compete to see who can commit the perfect murder, and FOOL’S GOLD (February 8), Andy Tennant’s tale of a couple whose marriage heats up during a treasure hunt. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson will try to strike some sparks.
Time for a breather. Who wouldn’t like to be able to teleport anywhere at any time these days? But as the guy (Hayden Christensen) in Doug Liman’s JUMPER (February 15) learns, such a talent will get you unwanted attention. More hidden conspiracies are uncovered in Mark Waters’s adaptation of Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (February 15), starring the inevitable Freddie Highmore and the unlikely Nick Nolte.
We haven’t even nominated anyone yet and already we’re thinking of bumping him, or her, off? In Pete Travis’s VANTAGE POINT (February 22) the attempted assassination of a president is told Rashomon style, from five different perspectives, including those of Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker. And if you’ve been having trouble keeping track of Mitt Romney’s contradictory policy positions, Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist’s thriller POSSESSION (February 22) might offer an explanation: Sarah Michelle Gellar’s brother-in-law and husband both enter a coma after a car crash; when the former comes to, he insists he’s the latter.
