Pojo's Parti Pris: 10/10/08

Tomorrow sees the release of four major films, all of which, oddly enough, cover a wide range of categories.

First up is the new Bill Murray/Tim Robbins picture ‘City of Ember’. Despite the two large, adult celebrity names attached to the project, it is aimed at the kids and floats a nice PG rating. The film is only the second for director Gil Kenan, whose other work includes the animated Monster House. Quite a transition. Be on the lookout for Martain Landau (from many, many other films) as well as Mackenzie Crook (BBC’s The Office), though it might be a bit hard for the kiddies to recognize them. The film also stars that Atonement girl, Saoirse Ronan. The premise seems interesting, yet the trailer lacked inspiration. The script is based on a book of the same name by Jeanne Duprau and the script was written by Caroline Thompson, who, oddly enough, has spent a good deal of her life writing for Tim Burton on scripts like Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Edward Scissorhands. While this isn’t her first scripting work not to be directed by his talents, this is the first in over ten years. Also of note, Playtone (Tom Hank’s production company) appears thanks to Tom Hank’s producing credit.

Next in line is The Express, Disney’s fasttracked sequel to The Rookie; just kidding. The Express is the true story of professional football player Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman. That may have been a spoiler. Gary Fleder stands behind the camera, a man most known for his work in television, including episodes of October Road and Blind Justice. Oddly enough, he also directed tonight’s premiere of Life on Mars. Coincidence? The script, based off Robert Gallagher’s book, was written by Charles Leavitt, who’s been the talent behind Blood Diamond, K-PAX, and The Mighty. Be warned. Rob Brown stars as Mr. Davis, with Dennis Quaid appearing as a football coach, rather than a retiring pro quarterback (see Any Given Sunday), or a too-old-to-throw-pitcher (see The Rookie). Charles S. Dutton also has an appearance, though I doubt it will be as a janitor who inspires a young boy to not quite Notre Dame. The movie looks about as ‘feel-good’ as you can get with a sports movie and I’m sure it will have moderate success this weekend. The comparison to other successful sports films like The Rookie and Remember the Titans is an interesting one though, and seeing as how those were lesser known stories, I predict The Express to have a worse showing.

If neither of those impresses you, there’s always the political thriller, Body of Lies, starring that guy from Titanic and that guy from Gladiator (Leo Dicaprio and Russell Crowe). It’s directed by Ridley Scott and if it’s anything like Scott’s American Gangster last year, it will be a whopping success. If it’s anything like the three other films Scott directed before that (A Good Year, All the Invisible Children, and Kingdom of Heaven), you’ll be asleep before the credits roll. My money’s on sleeping. The film was scripted by William Monahan (The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven) and based off the book by David Ignatius, who happens to be a columnist for the Washington Post. I’ve been wrong before, but based off the trailers, it appears to be perfect for anyone suffering from insomnia.

Lastly we have Quarantine, the little indie horror flick looking to capitalize off the latest horror/realism success of Cloverfield. Quarantine is the first major release for director John Erick Dowdle, and was written by him and his brother Drew. The film is about a group of people quarantined inside an old building after discovering that something evil lurks inside. Jennifer Carpenter (Deb from the television show Dexter), Jay Hernandez (Hostel I and II, Hang Time), and Johnathon Schaech all star. Interestingly, all three actors have covered a wide range of horror with Carpenter starring in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hernandez in Grindhouse and Hostel(s), and Schaech in so many third-rate horror sequels I lost count. Either it’s a weird coincidence, or a certain casting director knew what he/she was looking for. It’s always a good sign for a horror film scheduled to release weeks BEFORE Halloween. It’s a safe bet that it sucks, but an even safer bet that the American audience will pay millions of dollars to see it.

I’d expect Quarantine to be the only film of the four capable of dethrone-ing that stupid little Chihuahua. If Quarantine fails, we will certainly be looking at a dog in the top spot again. That is, at least, until Saw 5 drops in two weeks.