June 27-29 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Wall-E (Disney) $63,087,526

2. Wanted (Uni) $50,927,085

3. Get Smart (WB) $20,211,242/$77,477,031

4. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks) $11,692,061/$179,276,754

5. The Incredible Hulk (Uni) $9,577,245/$115,859,210

6. The Love Guru (Par) $5,340,895/$25,222,377

7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $5,179,960/$300,085,447

8. The Happening (Fox) $3,907,948/$59,120,854

9. Sex and the City (New Line) $3,808,288/$140,170,362

10. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) $3,175,214/$91,190,129

Superb openings from the wonderful "Wall-E" and the obnoxious "Wanted" fueled the box office to sky-high levels. Next week brings Will Smith as "Hancock" and "Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl"

"Death Racers," more from The Asylum

Death Racers, coming this September from The Asylum, the California-based production company-distributor of so-called "mockbusters" (their version of Journey to the Center of the Earth hits DVD this Tuesday) is just the latest such film, mocking Rogue Pictures' "Death Race" starring Jason Statham, which is scheduled for theatrical release in late August.

The plot synopsis for The Asylum version goes something like this: In this grim vision of the future where brutality is a virtue and mercy will cost you your life, contestants participate in a cross-country death race where killing is how you win the game.

Sounds like it could be fun if done right. Judging by the trailer found at the company's official website (http://www.theasylum.cc/), their take is low-brow but offers nonstop sex, violence, and nudity so it should have an audience. Certainly looks like inspired mayhem, at least until it turns into a glorified music video during the last part of the trailer.

Coming soon from The Asylum:

Sunday School Musical and The Day the Earth Stopped. No, I'm not joking and I can't believe it either, especially the former. The Asylum really is going to make a musical? Now that I have to see!

"Insanitarium"

According to Home Media Magazine, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Insanitarium to DVD on July 15.

The film concerns a man (Jesse Metcalfe) institutionalized with a doctor (Peter Stormare) he soon realizes is intent on turning his patients into flesh-eating psychopaths. Sounds intriguing and Stormare is one of those actors who are always fun to watch. Interesting that it's going to be released on the same day as "Asylum," another horror film about a crazy doctor experimenting on his patients. I, for one, very much look forward to seeing both.

"Impact Point"

According to Home Media Magazine, Sony has set the thriller Impact Point for release on July 8.

The film concerns a professional beach volleyball player (Melissa Keller) who begins to be stalked by an obsessed fan (Brian Austin Green) so she consults a detective. If I was being stalked by Brian Austin Green I'd be plenty upset too! I mean, he was on Beverly Hills 90210 and was/maybe still is engaged to "Transformers" hottie Megan Fox. Why would he need to stalk anyone?

"The Legend Of Bloody Mary"

According to Amazon, Lionsgate will release The Legend of Bloody Mary September 16 on DVD.

The film concerns a brother haunted by his sister's disappearance during a seemingly harmless game of "Bloody Mary" a decade ago. Looking for answers, he brings in a priest, hoping to break what he believes is the curst of Bloody Mary.

There have been a number of films about this particular urban legend, none of them particularly good. Let's hope this one finally gets it right.

"Baby Blues"

According to Home Media Magazine, Allumination FilmWorks will release the horror-thriller Baby Blues on August 5.

The film tells the story of a mother who is suffering from a severe case of post-partum depression and soon starts hearing demonic voices telling her to kill her children. Eek! That sounds incredibly disturbing and almost could be the story of Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her children while suffering from PPD. Baby Blues is one to look for come August 5.

Brief review: "Cut Off"

Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment



A cast of semi-famous actors flounder around in director Gino Cabanas' attempt at an action/comedy/western/heist film.

Cut Off tells the story of spoiled heiress Patricia Burton (London-born Amanda Brooks), distraught after she finds out that her billionaire father (Malcolm McDowell, not as angry as usual). So what does our intrepid spoiled brat decide to do? Make like a much dumber modern-day version of Bonnie & Clyde and go on a bank-robbing spree with her druggie boyfriend Pauly (Thomas Ian Nicholas, seeming to drop in and out of consciousness, literally). Too bad their very first attempt to rob a check-cashing store goes bad, leading them to hijack an ambulance and head for the border, driven there by all too cooperative EMT named Benny (Clint Howard of all people). Meanwhile, Burton's now divorced parents (McDowell and Faye Dunaway) fret and otherwise act concerned about what their daughter has gotten herself into. Daddy even begins to feel just a little guilty about abandoning her to live on a boat and sleep with women young enough to be his daughter. And oh yeah, a whole bunch of cops and FBI are on their tail.

If Cut Off sounds interesting, you'd be right. It does "sound" interesting from the synopsis and even the first forty or so minutes. The acting is decent across the board as well. McDowell especially is always fun to watch. Too bad the jumbled mess of styles begin to rear their respective ugly heads all too often late in the game, culminating with one of the worst cop-out endings I've seen in a long time. Without explicitly spoiling anything, I thought that these kind of audience-cheating endings had been done away with but apparently not. Feeling outright angry after watching this movie is not out of line, that's how bad the ending is.

Unfortunately, a bad ending isn't the film's only problem. The film decides that portraying the cops as bumbling dolts didn't go out of style about thirty years ago. From drinking beer in their squad car to telling off-color, racist, and just plain dumb jokes ad nauseum, the cops in this movie are an insult to the viewer's intelligence. Hell, they really never once provide entertainment to the movie and really don't do anything of note until the very end so why exactly did we need to keep cutting back to them? Just to hear another stupid joke about how Mexicans pay their bills at Taco Bell? Hardy har-har.

Cut Off could have been a fun genre stew. Instead, terrible writing hinders it every step of the way, making for a lame motion picture not worth anyone's time.

"Jekyll"

The DVD coverart has finally been released for Jekyll. This latest take on the classic story comes to DVD July 8 via Lightyear Video.

"The Wizard of Gore"

According to Fangoria, Dimension Extreme will release the remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis' cult classic on August 19.

The always entertaining Crispin Glover stars as a magician whose stage tricks lead to the gruesome deaths of participants. Word is that the film is quite gory and Glover delivers a fun performance. Count me in!

DVD Releases: July 1/8

July 1:

All About Us (Vivendi Visual Entertainment drama)
Birthrite (RiverCoast Films horror)
City Of Men (Miramax drama)
Dead And Gone (Lionsgate horror-comedy)
Drillbit Taylor (Paramount comedy)
Get Smart's Bruce And Lloyd Out Of Control (WB comedy)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (Asylum Entertainment sci-fi)
My Blueberry Nights (Weinstein Company drama)
Sex And Death 101 (Anchor Bay comedy)
Time Bomb (PeaceArch drama)
Triloquist (Weinstein Company horror)
Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns (Lionsgate drama)
Vantage Point (Sony thriller)


July 8:

305 (Allumination FilmWorks comedy)
Bone Eater (Lionsgate horror)
Death On Demand (MTI horror)
Death Of A Ghost Hunter (Well Go USA horror)
Dungeon Girl (Lionsgate horror)
Flakes (IFC comedy)
Haunting Of Marsten Manor (York horror)
Hybrid (Genius Products horror)
Impact Point (Sony thriller)
Jekyll (Lightyear Entertainment horror)
Key (York Entertainment thriller)
Pledge, The (RHI Entertainment western)
Ruins, The (DreamWorks horror)
Sleepwalking (Anchor Bay drama)
Stop-Loss (Paramount drama)
Superhero Movie (Dimension comedy)
Toxic (Weinstein Company action)
Tracey Fragments (THINKFilm drama)
Witches' Night (Rivercoast Films horror)


First off, July 8 is backloaded with a bunch of horror titles. Some of them should have moved to July 1, which just has two. Speaking of which, I'm interested in seeing Triloquist because while sometimes cheesy, the "Leprechaun" series was fun and Triloquist is from the director of the first film in that series, the one that starred Jennifer Aniston of all people.

I am anticipating seeing The Ruins again when it hits DVD on the 8th. It was a fantastic film. In fact, I plan on checking out every single one of the horror releases streeting July 8. All of them hold interest for one reason or another.

June 20-22 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Get Smart (WB) $38,683,480

2. The Incredible Hulk (Uni) $22,136,060/$97,055,430

3. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks) $21,934,716/$155,830,875

4. The Love Guru (Par) $13,907,130

5. The Happening (Fox) $10,482,146/$50,749,495

6. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $8,540,313/$290,961,044

7. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) $7,453,215/$84,308,418

8. Sex and the City (New Line) $6,532,394/$132,452,769

9. Iron Man (Par) $4,030,272/$304,816,141

10. The Strangers (Rogue Pictures) $2,122,410/$49,759,735

Impressive opening for "Get Smart," handily surpassing the opening for "Bewitched," another TV show adaptation. On the other hand, Mike Myers flopped spectacularly with "The Love Guru." Perhaps the relentlessly unfunny TV spots and trailers are to blame. How long before we hear of an "Austin Powers 4?"

"Iron Man" continues it dominant ways, crossing the 300 million mark and in good shape to remain the highest-grossing movie of the year. It all depends on how well "The Dark Knight" does next month.

Next week a double dose of the letter "w" in "Wall-E" and "Wanted."

Brief review: "Doll Graveyard"

Distributor: Wizard Entertainment/Full Moon Pictures



Producer/director Charles Band revisits his love of all things dolls with Doll Graveyard, a disappointingly straight-faced horror piece with serious pacing problems.

Guy Fillbrook (Jared Kusnitz) is a high school Freshman who loves all things sci-fi. He especially likes to collect action figures, or as his sister calls them, "dolls." So imagine his excitement when he digs up four antique dolls in his backyard. Too bad for him and his sister Deedee (Gabrielle Lynn), who is having a few friends over while dad is away. For the dolls are possessed by the (angry) spirit of a young girl murdered and buried with her dolls by her malicious father.

Doll Graveyard has the premise and promise of a cheesy but fun b-movie. Too bad writer August White and director Band decided to play everything so straight. As a result, the film is a bore, even at barely over an hour in length once you deduct the opening and closing credits, both of which are hilariously prolonged.

The plot, what little there is, is stretched to its limit as Band fills time countless scenes of the teens partying and/or taunting Guy while sister Deedee makes out with her boyfriend. A half-developed romantic subplot for Guy is even thrown in in the form of one of his sister's friends, who, much to his surprise, likes to collect action figures too. Then this plot is unceremoniously dropped a few minutes later for no apparent reason. When the dolls finally do decide to come to life with about 30 minutes left in the film, their scenes of death and destruction are funny for all the wrong reasons.

For example, a scene in which an eventual victim reaches for a cellphone perched next to a doll she knows is alive because it just tried to attack her yet she puts her hand within inches of the doll anyway. What the hell kind of moron is she? It shouldn't come as a shock that the doll bites her and then attacks her face, biting her cheek. Funny thing about that too is that the blood appears on her cheek before the doll even bites her... The dolls also move so incredibly slow that why the teens aren't able to easily run away from them is something probably best left attributed to their stupidity. Better that than filmmaker laziness.

The less said about the acting, the better. Let it be known though that since this is the first film for most of the cast, they might still move onto bigger and better things, developing their craft along the way. We can only hope because if this ends up as a career highlight for any of them...

I sincerely hope Full Moon's next film, "Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust" is better than this. At least it looks like it could be with a title like that.

"Rest Stop: Don't Look Back"

Continuing where the 2006 original left off, Rest Stop: Don't Look Back tells of more unsuspecting travelers who are terrorized by the killer at the title locale, along with the creepy family with the deformed son in the RV. The original, called simply "Rest Stop" was a mostly decent little exercise in back to basics thrills. The only problem was that the writer was a veteran of "The X-Files" and threw in some unnecessary supernatural elements that detracted from the film. I hope that they are toned down for the follow-up and instead, the filmmakers focus on creating a breakneck thrill ride that contains a terrifying element of realism. The whole appeal of the original was that it could happen to anyone so the supernatural angles greatly detracted from that. Let's hope they have righted wrongs the second time around.

Rest Stop: Don't Look Back hits DVD October 7 via Raw Feed Films and Warner Bros.

"Son of Sam"

Son of Sam is another true crime serial killer film, this time from Lionsgate. It details the reign of terror orchestrated by the titular "son" during the 1970's in New York. When he was arrested, he told the police that he was "influenced" by a satanic cult.

It'll be interesting to see whether the film focuses more on his killing spree or what happened after he was caught. A nice mix of both would be ideal but difficult to pull off as well.

The film hits DVD September 9.

First Look to distribute two in September

Ghouls concerns a college student who returns with her father to his home country only to discover her family holds a dark secret that involves her. Just guessing that ghouls and/or goblins are involved at some point. The Romania-lensed production premieres July 12 on The Sci-Fi Channel before its DVD premiere a few months later.

Flu Birds, sporting the oddly hilarious DVD artwork above, involves, you guessed it, disease-ridden birds that do their best to infect and otherwise harm humans in this entry into the nature run amok genre pantheon.

Both films are scheduled for DVD release on September 30.

Two Anchor Bay titles coming in September

Bryan Loves You is about a cult that systematically takes over a small town, turning its residents into mindless followers as a select few try and fight it. The plot is definitely interesting and the cast is intriguing, what with the combination of scream queen Tiffany Shepis and "Norm" from TV's "Cheers" in George Wendt. I, for one, will definitely check it out.

Breathing Room concerns a group of people thrown together naked in a room, forced to play a deadly game orchestrated by an unknown menace. Sounds like yet another in an increasingly long line of "Saw" knockoffs but the coverart is brilliantly eye-catching, enough that I'll look for it when it hits DVD.

Both titles street September 30 via Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment.

"Children of the Corn" to be remade!

According to Variety, Anchor Bay and The Sci-Fi Channel are teaming up to remake the 1984 horror film "Children of the Corn" to be written and directed by the original's producer, Donald P. Borchers.

While the original is quite cheesy to watch now, I don't hold out much hope for this redo because of The Sci-Fi Channel's involvement. Their original movies are, more often than not, poorly-made and corny (but not in the fun way). Witness Lake Placid 2, a film that dumped all of the sly charm of the first film and replaced it with dead seriousness and a CGI airplane that we saw WAY too much of. Nonetheless, I hold out a sliver of hope that Anchor Bay's involvement will aid the quality of their "Children of the Corn" remake.

"Ninja Cheerleaders"

Now I think I've seen everything. A film about cheerleaders who are trained ninjas and fight crime? Really??!?! It's hard to believe, even with the coverart staring back at me. That said, at least the premise is unique, to say the least. If done right, it could be fun. Ninja Cheerleaders hits DVD August 12 via PeaceArch Entertainment.

Brief review: "Player 5150"

Distributor: First Look



Player 5150 is a disappointing look into the perils of gambling addiction.

Ethan Embry plays a successful day trader named Joey with a gorgeous, caring, politically active wife (Kathleen Robertson). He seems to have everything going for him. Except there's one problem: he can't stop betting on football games and this addiction has gotten him into trouble with his bookie (Christopher McDonald), who, in turn, owes a substantial amount of money to his superior (Bob Gunton) and is willing to do anything necessary in order to get it from our day trader.

The film is basically a web of different people owing different people money and the lengths they go to get the money and the lengths those they owe will go to get what's theirs, including physical and psychological torture. The problem is, Player 5150 plays it very safe with the premise. As a result, it never once goes somewhere you don't expect and quickly becomes predictable to a fault.

For instance, when Joey goes to Las Vegas in order to get a loan, you instantly know that he won't be able to resist going into a casino and gambling all of it away, complete with a montage of him losing the money at the Blackjack table. Also hurting the film is that the production values are a little suspect at times. The sets look surprisingly cheap considering the decent cast assembled. Guess most of the money went to said cast instead of other areas.

What about the cast? Are they able to save the subpar material? Unfortunately, no. Embry shows one note here, the wide-eyed guy addicted and not knowing what to do about it. He never once rises above the material, giving a serviceable but bland performance. As his violent bookie, Christopher McDonald chews scenery like he is wont to do often considering he likes to play these villain roles. At least he looks like he is enjoying himself. As his girlfriend, Kelly Carlson has next to nothing to do except wearing revealing clothing and show passing affection towards him. As for Bob Gunton, he adapts McDonald's style and chews scenery, just barely hiding his contempt for the material.

Don't bother meeting Player 5150. If you do, disappointment lies ahead.

June 13-15 Box Office

From Variety:

1. The Incredible Hulk (Uni) $55,414,050

2. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks) $33,612,594/$117,289,932

3. The Happening (Fox) $30,517,109

4. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) $16,370,344/$68,760,685

5. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $14,741,834/$276,524,265

6. Sex and the City (New Line) $9,788,353/$119,522,016

7. Iron Man (Par) $5,620,375/$297,918,329

8. The Strangers (Rogue Pictures) $4,024,485/$45,287,220

9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) $3,165,013/$131,904,474

10. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $1,667,587/$75,755,145

Very nice opening for "The Incredible Hulk" considering how widely hated Ang Lee's 2003 film was. Expect decent word-of-mouth as well and a finish around $150 million.

Also, a nice recovery for M. Night Shyamalan with "The Happening" after the debacle that was 2006's "Lady in the Water." Sure, the legs likely won't be great but the opening is enough to ensure that the film makes at least 60 million worst case scenario.

Next week brings two comedies in "Get Smart" and "The Love Guru."

"The Morgue"

The Morgue involves six strangers who find themselves trapped between the world of the living and the dead after a late-night visit to a morgue. Hmm, how did they get trapped in limbo after visiting a morgue? Guess all will be revealed when the film hits DVD September 2 via Lionsgate.

A trio of DVDs coming in the next few months

Hybrid is about a man who undergoes a "cross-species transplant" with a wolf after an accident. Deadly animalistic side effects ensue. The coverart is sure intriguing. Hybrid hits DVD July 8 from Genius Entertainment.

3 A.M. is a ghost story about a ghost who constantly appears at the titular time period in a man's room. After doing some investigation, he discovers a wide-ranging mystery surrounding the ghost and the time. Sounds interesting, depending on how the mystery angle is handled. York Entertainment distributes starting August 12.

Something Beneath, starring B-movie/TV show veteran Kevin Sorbo, concerns a group of eco-scientists preyed on by an environmental monster while attending a summit on Global Warming. The irony! Genius Entertainment releases the film September 9.

Brief review: "Otis"

Distributor: Warner Home Video/Raw Feed



The fourth film in WB's Raw Feed line of horror films (after Rest Stop, Sublime, and The Believers), Otis is not only easily the best film of the bunch, it's also one of the best horror-comedies in a very long time.

As you might have guessed, the film concerns a guy named Otis (Bostin Christopher). He's a fat schlub with a brother who can't stand him (Kevin Pollak) and parents who have long since died. He lives by himself because his brother won't let him near his own wife and kids ever since Otis was caught smelling his wife's underwear. Yeah, Otis seems odd. He's not just odd though, he's one sick bastard. He wasn't very popular back in high school (shocking, I know). He has a twisted way of rectifying the situation: he kidnaps attractive high school girls, chains them in his basement, calls them "Kim" (for reasons not fully explained) and then makes them "go to prom" with him. What that entails is him recreating a prom-like experience, complete with a disco ball and a dance floor. Oh yeah, he also makes the girls have sex with him, even if they don't want to (which, of course, they don't). Those who don't comply with his demands end up dead and dismembered.

Too bad for Otis then that his latest would-be victim (Ashley Johnson) manages to get away and tell her parents (Illeana Douglas and Daniel Stern) where he lives. Instead of telling the bumbling, completely useless FBI agent in charge of the case (Jere Burns), they decide to take matters into their own hands.

Otis is part of that ever-so-tricky horror-comedy sub-genre. When done right, they are often ingenius (see: "Slither" and "The Evil Dead"). Problem is, they are usually quite awful (too many examples to list). It's very difficult to get the balance of horror and comedy just right so that the film doesn't come across as oddly off-putting and otherwise uninvolving. Thankfully, Director Tony Krantz ("Sublime") gets it right, handling the often bizarrely humorous one-liners and situations of Erik Jendresen and Thomas Schnauz's screenplay incredibly well. It's not easy to make lines like "I was going to blend his fingers and toes into a smoothie and make him drink it" funny but this film manages to do just that. Ditto on the garishly cheap prom setup Otis has ready-made in his basement. One can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

A lot of the credit has to go to a game cast led by newcomer Bostin Christopher as Otis. He plays the insecure, insane, and bear-like Otis perfectly, making him at once the monster that we know he is but also strangely identifiable, enough so that his motives make some sense even though they are obviously based in psychosis. As his latest captive Riley, Ashley Johnson is darn near a revelation. She's sweet, intelligent, and endearing; we at once know why Otis was drawn to her and desperately want her to escape for the very same reasons. As her vengeance-minded parents, Illeana Douglas and Daniel Stern have great chemistry. Their scenes of bickering on how best to kill someone come across like they're arguing over who should do the dishes; the contrast between tone and topic creates a jarringly hilarious dichotomy unlike perhaps anything I've ever seen.

All this makes Otis a film to see ASAP. Horror aficionados will love it and those usually not inclined to watching, let alone enjoying such films may also find themselves falling in love with the eccentric charms of Otis.

"Restraint"

Restraint concerns two fugitives who take a hostage, hoping the hostage buys them time. Too bad the hostage harbors secrets that could get them killed in this crime thriller from Australia. The cast is filled with relative no-names (Palmer might have had her profile raised considerably had she not be dumped for unknown reasons from the cast of the upcoming "Transformers" sequel) but the plot promises some decent thrills and intrigue if done right. We'll find out soon enough.

Restraint hits DVD August 19 via Lionsgate.

Brief review: "Finish Line"

Distributor: RHI Entertainment



Finish Line is perhaps the perfect example of a trashy yet consistently entertaining action film.

The film concerns Mitch Camponella (Samuel Page), a hotheaded minor league stock car driver kept in check by his caring father (Dan Lauria). Mitch lands a job as a private mechanic for a shady businessman named Frank Chase (Scott Baio). Unbeknownst to him, Chase is a an arms dealer making illegal deals with foreign terrorists for a new form of chemical weaponry termed "Red Mercury." Making matters worse, Mitch finds himself attracted to Chase's sultry daughter, Jessie.

Sure, it's sometimes quite cheesy and very reminiscent of early 80's actioners. So what if the biggest name is Scott Baio himself, a long way from his days as Charles 'Chachi' Arcola on "Happy Days, damn if I didn't find Finish Line entertaining, sometimes inexplicably so.

Under the steady hand of director Gerry Lively, Finish Line keeps things moving, a key asset because the plot itself is rather straightforward and if things dragged, would be almost unbearable. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, the film never once gets boring. The ably shot action sequences are surprisingly few and far between, but they do the job when present. What makes the film really entertaining though are the performances.

The cast lends the film some decent performances but what is most important, not one performance is really, really bad, something found in many direct-to-DVD films of all types. In fact, the three leads give decent to good performances. Page is likable as the protagonist, Cole does sexy and bitchy with the best of them, and Baio chews scenery with aplomb. Baio provides a lifetime's worth of cheesy entertainment here. He's fun to watch.

Nothing too original to be sure, but one could find far worse ways to spend 80 minutes. No need to race to it, but Finish Line is a fun movie and that's all I ask for when watching an action flick.

"The Boston Strangler: The Untold Story"

The Boston Strangler: The Untold Story puports to examine the lesser known angles of the infamous serial killers' story. What those angles are remains to be seen. True crime veteran Andrew Divoff, who last did the film "Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck," released last year by Lionsgate, stars. Joining him is David Faustino, best-known for playing "Bud Bundy" on the sitcom "Married...With Children." Sure seems like an odd casting choice but at least it's different enough to catch one's attention. I'm intrigued as to what kind of performance Faustino will give in the film, that's for sure.

The Boston Strangler: The Untold Story hits DVD July 22 via The Weinstein Company.

DVD Releases: June 17/24

June 17:

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (IFC drama)
Alive or Dead (Lionsgate horror)
Be Kind Rewind (New Line comedy)
Boxes (Pathfinder drama)
Caramel (Lionsgate drama)
Chaos Theory (WB comedy)
Cut Off (Anchor Bay action/thriller)
Fool's Gold (WB comedy)
It's a Boy Girl Thing (Anchor Bay comedy)
Jack & Jill vs. the World (First Look romantic comedy)
Just Add Water (Sony comedy)
Love & Other Disasters (Image romantic comedy)
My Mom's New Boyfriend (Sony comedy)
National Lampoon's Bagboy (Hart Sharp comedy)
On the Doll (PeaceArch horror-thriller)
QuarterLife Crisis (Echo Bridge comedy)
Rails & Ties (WB drama)
Sitter, The (Genius Products thriller)
Super High Me (Universal comedy)
Under the Same Moon (Fox drama)
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Universal comedy)


June 24:

10,000 B.C. (WB action)
Banshee (Image drama)
Birthrite (Rivercoast horror)
Bonneville (Fox drama)
Careless (ThinkFilm comedy)
Charlie Bartlett (MGM comedy)
Curse of the Weeping Woman: J-ok'el (Maverick horror)
Dark Heart (MTI drama)
Definitely, Maybe (Universal romantic-drama)
Erotic Werewolf in London (PopCinema horror-comedy)
Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust (Full Moon horror-comedy)
Guantanamero (PeaceArch drama)
Hammer, The (Weinstein comedy)
Hell To Pay (York action)
Honeydripper (Universal drama)
In Bruges (Universal comedic-drama)
Lodge, The (Monarch horror)
Nobody Loves Alice (Indie Pictures horror)
Persepolis (Sony animated comedy/drama)
Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (Lionsgate drama)
Spiderwick Chronicles, The (Paramount fantasy)
Tattooist, The (Sony horror)
Wig, The (Genius Products horror)


Alive or Dead holds some interest as the trailer (found on recent Lionsgate horror) DVDs) makes the film look competently-directed and reasonably tense.

On the Doll looks intriguing because of its bizarre storyline of those who work in the sex industry, some of which are filled with vengeance and other similar emotions. Brittany Snow ("Prom Night") stars.

Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust also looks like something worth renting, if only because the title is hilarious, if not a few years late. The original film did not deliver on the cheesy potential of the premise so I hope they've rectified things with the follow-up.

The Tattooist looks different enough to stand out, telling the story of tattoos that take on a life of their own, complete with supernatural powers in this Sam Raimi-produced tale.

June 6-8 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks) $60,239,130

2. You Don't Mess with the Zohan (Sony) $38,531,374

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $22,793,630/$253,014,750

4. Sex and the City (New Line) $21,218,305/$99,177,283

5. The Strangers (Rogue Pictures) $8,941,970/$37,298,770

6. Iron Man (Par) $7,477,439/$288,847,640

7. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) $5,658,836/$125,977,010

8. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $3,437,801/$72,267,894

9. Baby Mama (Uni) $806,750/$57,931,215

10. Made of Honor (Sony) $804,055/$44,689,497

A very nice performance by the two openers, with Sandler surpassing last summer's opening weekend of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" and Kung Fu Panda becoming the biggest non-"Shrek" opening for DreamWorks Animation.

Next weekend brings "The Incredible Hulk" and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening."

Brief review: "Backwoods"

Distributor: RHI Entertainment


A generic but not altogether unexciting film, Backwoods (not to be confused with "The Backwoods" with Gary Oldman, already reviewed on this site) is worth your time if you liked "Wrong Turn" and "The Hills Have Eyes."

The film concerns a group of seven computer programmers ("Final Destination 3"'s Ryan Merriman and Haylie Duff from "Napoleon Dynamite" among them) who venture into the wilderness for a corporate retreat weekend of paintball and leadership building. Unfortunately, it's not long before they're besieged by a clan of religious fanatics intent on killing the men and using the women for breeding.

As you can tell, the plot is hardly original, closely mirroring that of "Timber Falls," what with its group of probably inbred (this point is never made clear) religious fanatics. What this film doesn't have though is the gore of any of the three films mentioned. Instead, Backwoods is played more as a straight ahead thriller or a really tame horror movie, take your pick. Also dispiriting is the lackluster explanation of the villains. We don't get to see enough of them to really make an impact, and a subplot involving an underground lab of theirs goes completely unexplained to the point that one wonders why it is even included in the film. During these scenes, I kept asking myself when some semblance of explanation would come; it never did. While it is certainly disappointing that the film skimps on the gore and travels down a familiar path, all is not lost.

The film benefits from better than average performances, especially from the more well-known cast members. As the skeptic of the group, Ryan Merriman is intelligently likeable without being arrogant, a feat more difficult than it seems based on the number of films that make the smart characters unbearable know-it-alls. As one of the two women in the group, Haylie Duff is witty, sexy, and easy-going, lending her character more pizazz than is on the page as her character especially is sometimes woefully underwritten.

The action sequences are also worth mentioning. Director Marty Weiss ably films them, making do with what was obviously a fairly limited budget to bring some excitement and scope to the film.

Overall, Backwoods is worth seeing for the good performances. Just go in knowing that the storyline itself is something you've seen before and you'll enjoy the ride.

Adam Sandler to produce horror movies

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adam Sandler is going to launch a companion production company to Happy Madision called Scary Madison dedicated to producing horror-thrillers. The first film will be "Shortcut," about two teens who wonder why a shortcut in their town is avoided, only to find out why in violent and perhaps deadly fashion. Nick Goosen, who directed "Grandma's Boy" for Happy Madison.

I hope it's good as Sandler is a very affable guy. It will be interesting for sure to see whether the company's films inject comedy into the proceedings or play it completely straight. I'd guess that comedy will be present just because it seems unlikely that they'd go completely away from what they're used to. We'll see though. "Shortcut" begins filming next month in Canada.

3 titles coming in July and August

Dark Honeymoon, as you might expect based on the coverart, concerns couples being stalked by a killer while on their honeymoon. Not the most original premise to say the least but the cast is decent and Lindy Booth has shown herself to pick good horror films to star in, from "Wrong Turn" to "Cry_Wolf." The film hits DVD July 22 via Anchor Bay.

Lost Boys: The Tribe really needs no introduction as it continues the saga of the SoCal vampires,with the unrivaled Corey Feldman returning as Edgar Frog. The trailer, found on most recent Warner Bros. titles, is actually promising and Autumn Reeser was surprisingly good on the final season of "The OC." Yes, I'm embarrassed to have watched that show. The sequel hits DVD July 29 via Warner Premiere.

Skinned Alive certainly has eye-catching artwork there. The official synopsis from Lionsgate involves a cannibalistic prostitute! Different spin on the serial killer sub-genre. That said, I'll reserve judgment until I see a trailer as a unique premise does not a good movie make. The film hits DVD on August 26 via Lionsgate.

"I Spit on Your Grave" next on the remake train

According to Variety, CineTel Films has acquired rights to remake "I Spit on Your Grave," the 1978 female revenge film directed by Meir Zarchi that was reviled for its depiction of sex and violence.

In the original, a woman is abducted, brutally attacked and raped and then left for dead. She survives, hunts her attackers and dispatches them in graphic ways.

Another 70's shock film, the second after Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left," to get the remake treatment recently. Production on the "Last House" remake has wrapped, seemingly just in time for this project to get underway, filling a void only seen in the minds of Hollywood producers for ultra-violent, pointless remakes.

One hopes that CineTel treats this project with care and doesn't crank it out like it sometimes appears they crank out cheapo monster films for The Sci-Fi Channel. It's not like they'll need a large budget so it fits with their affordability model. Not only that, given its surely low budget, it is almost guaranteed to make them money. Therefore, can't say it's not a smart business decision. However, it remains to be seen whether it is going to be a film worth the attention of horror fans. We can only hope.

"The Ruins"

The Ben Stiller-produced (yes, that guy) horror film hits DVD July 8 in rated and Unrated form via DreamWorks, with 6 additional minutes in the Unrated cut. The film was brilliantly entertaining; the single best horror film of the year thus far. Very tense, adeptly paced, well-acted, and gory, The Ruins has something to offer every horror fan. I, for one, look forward to seeing it again, let alone the additional footage.

"Starship Troopers 3: Marauder"

Caspier Van Dien, the star of the original film, returns as Johnny Rico in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. Edward Neumeier, the writer of the first two films, makes his directorial debut and Jolene Blalock (TV's "Star Trek: Enterprise") costars.

The first sequel "Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation" was a decent time-waster but lacked the tongue-in-cheek humor of the first. Early word has this latest sequel resurrecting said humor along with the requisite giant bug killing action. Sounds like fun!

The film hits DVD August 5 via Sony.

May 30-June 1 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Sex and the City (New Line) $56,848,056

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $44,754,615/$215,635,899

3. The Strangers (Rogue Pictures) $20,997,985

4. Iron Man (Par) $13,541,264/$276,166,336

5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) $12,704,545/$115,362,725

6. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $6,681,097/$65,904,971

7. Speed Racer (WB) $2,259,031/$40,677,371

8. Baby Mama (Uni) $2,194,320/$56,117,805

9. Made of Honor (Sony) $1,913,035/$42,878,354

10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Uni) $1,059,840/$60,485,980


Spectacular debuts by "Sex & the City" and "The Strangers" coupled with a decent hold by Indy made for a great weekend at the box office. And look at "Iron Man," rapidly nearing $300 million!

This coming weekend the DreamWorks CGI comedy "Kung Fu Panda" and Adam Sandler in "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" both open.