What’s it say that one of the most promising films of the upcoming winter/spring movie season is something called Death to Smoochy? Of course, we’re all familiar with the axiom of not judging a book by its cover — or, in this case, a movie by its moniker. With Danny DeVito directing and Edward Norton and a non-sentimental Robin Williams starring, this dark comedy has a shot at being one of the more memorable films of the next few weeks, which, given the track record for this time of year, would make it an exception to the rueful rule.
Usually, the first few months of the year are when Hollywood studios tend to throw out their more dubious offerings. But it’s never all doom and gloom. Some limited-release Oscar hopefuls open nationally during this period, as well as some interesting-looking indie products. After all, let’s not forget that last year’s best film, the sleeper art-house hit Memento, came out during the first part of the year.
In the hope that there’s another Memento lurking in the shadows, here’s a lightning-quick look at the 50 titles scheduled for local release over the next few weeks.
January 18:
BLACK HAWK DOWN, based on Mark Bowden’s best-selling novel about the 1993 battle of Mogadishu that brought out the best qualities in America’s fighting men (but which also led to numerous deaths), has been transformed into Columbia Pictures’ prime Oscar bait, opening wide after a limited December release in New York and Los Angeles. Pearl Harbor‘s Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore head the large cast; Ridley Scott provides direction. . . .Steve Oedekerk, writer of such ghastly affairs as Patch Adams and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, signs as on writer, director, producer and star of KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST, a broad spoof of dubbed karate flicks. . . .In THE SHIPPING NEWS, the adaptation of Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a newspaperman (Kevin Spacey) coping with personal tragedy gets a new lease on life after he returns to his ancestral home in Newfoundland. The grade-A cast includes Julianne Moore, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. . . .A Miami dentist (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) learns to love the cold after he inherits a team of sled dogs in Disney’s SNOW DOGS.
January 25:
Sounding like an intriguing cross between The Wolf Man and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon yet taking place in a Dangerous Liaisons setting, France’s BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (LE PACTE DES LOUPS) centers on the exploits of two men (Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos) hired by King Louis XV to stop a beast that’s been savaging the local populace… .The latest screen version of Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO stars Jim Caviezel (Angel Eyes) as the wrongly incarcerated man who escapes from prison, fashions himself into a nobleman, and plots revenge against the former friend (Guy Pearce) who betrayed him. . . .Sean Penn plays a mentally challenged man fighting the courts to retain custody of his young daughter (Dakota Fanning) in I AM SAM. Michelle Pfeiffer co-stars as his attorney. . . .In what sounds like an old X-Files script found lying around, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES (based on John Keel’s book) stars Richard Gere as a newspaper reporter who investigates possible UFO sightings in West Virginia. . . .After small roles in The Princess Diaries and Dr. Dolittle 2, 17-year-old pop star Mandy Moore lands her first lead role in A WALK TO REMEMBER, a love story based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel and set in North Carolina.
February 1:
At just around the time Nicole Kidman learns whether her performances in The Others and Moulin Rouge siphoned enough votes off each other to deny her an Oscar nomination for either, she’ll star in BIRTHDAY GIRL, about a Russian mail-order bride who ends up with a shy British clerk (Ben Chaplin)…. A college nerd blackmails three jocks into setting him up with a beauty queen in SLACKERS. I saw this film’s trailer back-to-back with the one for Showtime (see the March 29 entry), making me fret that this might be a looong movie season.
February 8:
The title BELOW refers to where the members of a US submarine during World War II stumble across a supernatural entity. David Twohy (Pitch Black) directs. . . .Originally scheduled for an October 2001 release but delayed for obvious reasons, COLLATERAL DAMAGE stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a firefighter whose wife and child are killed after a terrorist (Cliff Curtis) bombs downtown LA. When it becomes obvious that the assassin is “untouchable” due to reprehensible US policy, the angry widower decides to settle the matter himself. . . .One of last year’s best films, MONSTER’S BALL is a hard-hitting tale about a gruff prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) and his relationships with his bigoted father (Peter Boyle), his confused son (Heath Ledger), and a struggling waitress (Halle Berry) he meets right after overseeing her husband’s execution. . . .Bosnia’s entry into this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race (and boy, does it deserve a nomination) is NO MAN’S LAND, a drama-cum-black-comedy about a Bosnian and a Serb who are stranded together in a trench located between their respective camps…. ROLLERBALL is a remake of the 1975 film about a future society in which all expressions of violence are forbidden except on the playing field of a popular new sport. Chris Klein (Election) handles James Caan’s old role; the cast also include reliable French actor Jean Reno, model Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and music stars LL Cool J and Pink.
<February 15:
Three high school girls travel across the US in order to enter a music contest in CROSSROADS. Figuring she can’t do worse than Mariah Carey in Glitter, Britney Spears tackles her first major film role as one of the trio. . . .In a World War II prison camp, a young officer (Colin Farrell) must defend an African-American soldier (Terrence Howard) against a murder charge in HART’S WAR. Bruce Willis receives top billing as a fellow officer in the POW camp. . . .After learning that absolutely no one (including the insurance company) will help his son receive a heart transplant that would save his life, a father (Denzel Washington) holds the operating room hostage in JOHN Q, co-starring Robert Duvall and Anne Heche. . . .Disney is releasing so many belated sequels straight to video (including the same month’s dreadful Cinderella II) that it’s puzzling why RETURN TO NEVER LAND, a follow-up to Peter Pan, has been singled out to receive theatrical treatment. At any rate, this centers on the adult Wendy’s 12-year-old daughter Jane, who’s kidnapped by Captain Hook and aided by Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. . . .En route to a monster truck rally, two couples (Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Patrick Swayze and Natasha Richardson) quietly weigh the benefits of “mate swapping” in WAKING UP IN RENO.
February 22:
Patch Adams director Tom Shadyac directs Kevin Costner in DRAGONFLY, a drama about a doctor whose late wife may be trying to communicate with him. . . .A high school nerd (DJ Qualls) undergoes a complete personality change that allows him to emerge as a stud at his new school in THE NEW GUY. . . . Despite the fact that 1994’s Interview with the Vampire made over $100 million, there’s never been any mention of any follow-ups reuniting that film’s principal cast and crew. Thus, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, in which the vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend) turns up as a rock star and hooks up with another all-powerful vampire (Aaliyah), makes it to the screen with completely new personnel.
March 1:
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS refers to the length of time a young man (Josh Hartnett) vows to remain celibate; naturally, he meets the perfect woman (Shannyn Sossamon of A Knight’s Tale) during this stretch and must make a difficult decision…. THE SALTON SEA casts Val Kilmer as a man who embarks on a dangerous journey of self-discovery after his wife is murdered…. Braveheart scripter Randall Wallace is at the helm of WE WERE SOLDIERS, directing Mel Gibson in a fact-based drama about a few hundred US soldiers surrounded by thousands of enemy fighters during the Vietnam War.
March 8:
A bounty hunter (Ice Cube) and his prey (Mike Epps) team up to rip off a gang of diamond thieves in ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. . . .David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) directs Jodie Foster in PANIC ROOM, a thriller about a woman who defends her home against three violent criminals. . . .In a last-ditch effort to acquire free housing, three college kids (Barry Watson, Harland Williams and Michael Rosenbaum) don dresses and pose as sorority girls in SORORITY BOYS. . . .George Pal directed an above-average version back in 1960, but nevertheless, H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE will be brought back to the screen for another spin around the time and space continuum. Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential) stars as the scientist whose new-fangled contraption takes him 800,000 years into the future. . . .A heavyweight boxing champ (Ving Rhames) suddenly finds himself behind bars, at which point he’s forced into the ring to take on the prison’s best fighter (Wesley Snipe). That’s the premise of UNDISPUTED, the latest from director Walter Hill (48 HRS.).
March 15:
Actor-director Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is behind the camera for CLOCKSTOPPERS, a comedy about a scientist whose latest creation allows time to stand still. . . .Danny DeVito’s projects (whether as director, producer or star) usually have some welcome edge to them, which bodes well for the dark comedy DEATH TO SMOOCHY (for which he’s director and co-star). Robin Williams, apparently not pandering to audience sympathies for once, plays the venal host of a children’s TV show who plots his revenge after he’s replaced by a likable guy (Edward Norton) who bills himself as Smoochy the rhinoceros. . . .The animated family film ICE AGE centers on an eclectic group of animals that decide to protect a human infant from all manner of danger. . . .The wildly popular video game RESIDENT EVIL, in which a group of highly skilled combatants must battle a house crawling with zombies, has been transformed into a live-action feature film. Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) and Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight) head the cast.
March 22:
Everyone’s favorite alien (well, next to Carrot Top) returns to the big screen in the 20th anniversary reissue of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. . . . Everyone’s favorite vampire hunter (well, next to Professor Van Helsing, Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter D, Buffy, etc.) returns to the big screen in BLADE 2. Wesley Snipes reprises his role as the vampire slayer who’s part bloodsucker himself.
March 29:
Based on a true story, THE ROOKIE tells the story of a high school baseball coach (Dennis Quaid) who never got his chance to be a pitcher in the major leagues; spurred on by the kids on his team, he decides to give it a final shot. . . .A year after headlining the horrendous 15 Minutes, Robert De Niro is back in SHOWTIME, a comedy whose wretched preview does it no favors. Here, he plays an LA detective who’s forced to co-star in a reality TV show with a cop with thespian ambitions (Eddie Murphy). Rene Russo and William Shatner also star. . . .A party girl (Cameron Diaz) finally meets the man of her dreams (Thomas Jane), only to panic when he suddenly drops out of sight. She then takes to the road in an effort to track him down in the romantic comedy THE SWEETEST THING. . . .The title character (played by Ryan Reynolds) in VAN WILDER is a college kid who hopes to stay on campus forever, in this comedy from the folks at National Lampoon.
April 5:
Held from its original September 21, 2001, release date because of a climax involving a bomb on a plane, BIG TROUBLE finally surfaces, although there’s been no word on whether the ending has been altered. The main thrust remains the same: A suitcase containing the aforementioned bomb causes consternation for various Miami denizens, including a jittery salesman (Tim Allen) and an unhappy couple (Rene Russo and Stanley Tucci). . . .In HIGH CRIMES, a high-powered lawyer (Ashley Judd) is stunned when her husband (Jim Caviezel) is accused of a heinous crime; needing help, she turns to a maverick attorney (Morgan Freeman) to help her win the case.
April 12:
This date may or may not bring JASON X, the 10th film in the Friday the 13th series and the first one set in outer space(!). . . .A mechanic (Joshua Jackson) gets involved with mobsters in the thriller LONE STAR STATE OF MIND, directed by TV series vet David Semel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Beverly Hills 90210). . . .MURDER BY NUMBERS offers the usual routine: A hotshot detective (Sandra Bullock) is paired with an inexperienced rookie (Ben Chaplin) as they try to break open a tantalizing murder case.
April 19:
A prequel of sorts to The Mummy Returns, THE SCORPION KING finds wrestling star The Rock reprising his role from that summer 2001 blockbuster; this purports to show how his character rose from lowly peasant to respected warrior to fearsome ruler.
April 26:
New York street gangs are at the center of DEUCES WILD, starring Matt Dillon, Stephen Dorff, and Blondie’s Debbie Harry. . . .FRANK McKLUSKY, C.I. casts comedian Dave Sheridan as the title geek, a cowardly insurance claims investigator who becomes embroiled in a murder. Dolly Parton and Randy Quaid co-star. *
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2002.
