Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

Last week, I pushed the BBC Earth series, LIFE, on you without having seen a single sumptuous shot.  My copy came in the mail shortly after I posted and I've been taking in as much LIFE as possible since then.  While I am not as blown away as I was when I first saw "Planet Earth", I have been thoroughly enjoying LIFE.  Rather than focusing more on the planet itself, this series, narrated by Oprah Winfrey in the North American version available in stores, focuses more on the planet's inhabitants and the crazy ways in which they have had to adapt and comport themselves in order to survive.  Flying fish defy all rules of nature; birds of paradise are also interior decorators; and who knew that reptiles were so damn fascinating ... and disgusting.  If you haven't been able to catch LIFE on the Discovery channel, be sure to rent or buy it.  It's like they say ... LIFE is beautiful.

In other Blu-ray news, here are the highlights of today's releases:

SHUTTER ISLAND

I will not mince words here.  The movies of 2010 have sucked hard so far.  Martin Scorcese's SHUTTER ISLAND is certainly no masterpiece but it is by far the most engaging and exciting film that Hollywood has released all year.  Watching it both requires and demands your full attention.  Not only is it a visual trip but the master mind melt is what will stay with you long after you're finished.  Scorcese's directorial decisions are deliberate and, while you can sometimes feel his hand shaking while trying to hold all the plot intricacies together, I always felt happy to feel his presence.  When I saw it in theatres, I knew further viewings would reveal more and more depth to the twisted story.  Now that I can watch it over and over again in my living room, I intend to find out just how far that depth will go.

CADDYSHACK

I don't have the greatest memory and I don't quite recall if I have in fact seen the supposed classic 1980's comedy, CADDYSHACK.  I'm sure I've seen at least parts of it but, other than the fact that it involves golf and a gopher, I couldn't even piece together a plot for you without reading the back of the box.  Warner Home Video is sending me a copy for review but I have yet to receive it.  My brother insists that I will not enjoy myself but I figure it deserves its day.  After all, it has been 30 years since the film was released and that gopher actually still looks pretty legit considering.  Not to mention, it will be good to see Chevy Chase and Bill Murray 30 years younger than they are today.  I'm not so sure how great it will be to see Rodney Dangerfield.  I can barely stand his face on the film sleeve.

HAPPY TOGETHER

Wong Kar-Wai's HAPPY TOGETHER is a bewildering film experience that leaves your breath taken.  Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung play lovers who have left their native Hong Kong for adventure in Argentina.  Instead of adventure though, they find themselves facing the demise of their tumultuous relationship.  As shot through the dazzling eyes of master cinematographer and regular Wong collaborator, Christopher Doyle, HAPPY TOGETHER is a visual feast that is matched in intensity only by the explosive tension between the two leads.  There are no new special features on the Blu-ray release but the film promises to be incredibly gorgeous in 1080P and should be seen by any fan of international or gay cinema.  This is one of my all-time favorite films, hands down.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK: The director of TAKEN, Pierre Morel, follows up with the disappointing, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.  And, as it is a pretty slow week it would appear, the only other major release is the Edward Norton starring, THE ILLUSIONIST.

Source: Blu-ray.com

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Box office analysts everywhere are freaking out because of how this summer's tentpoles have been underperforming.  I've gotta say I'm not sure how they didn't see it coming.  What movie has come out in the last month that actually incited any summer worthy excitement amongst audiences?  IRON MAN 2 roared but it is hardly doing any better than the first.  SHREK FOREVER AFTER has managed three straight weeks at number one, the only Shrek film to accomplish that feat, but it is still not going to match the grosses of its green giant predecessors.  Last week's disappointments continued to do just that, as PRINCE OF PERSIA and SEX AND THE CITY 2 both dropped off steeply, certainly due to poor word of mouth for both.  I actually saw them both last weekend and have been spreading most of that bad word of mouth myself.

And this week's batch of wide releases, no less than four, did absolutely nothing to inspire anyone.  GET HIM TO THE GREEK was the biggest "success" of the bunch, coming in second place with a total of $17 million.  It opened slightly lower than director, Nicolas Stoller's first film, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, but that one came out in April.  Still, it managed to narrowly beat the first major Katherine Heigl flop.  KILLERS, also starring Ashton Kutcher, in which a woman unknowingly marries a spy, opened to approximately $16 million and abysmal reviews should make sure it does not linger. Speaking of lingering, that smell in sixth place is the CGI extravaganza, MARMADUKE.  I'm glad at least to see that people are not just buying every piece of dog poop being forced on them this summer.  Audiences also did not buy the Adrien Brody-Sarah Polley thriller, SPLICE.  Bombing in eighth place means that even great reviews could not get people to see this one.  It just looked too scary for little old me.

NEXT WEEK: The summer continues with another two massive releases.  On the art house side of things, which, contrary to popular belief, does not just shut down during the summer months, handfuls of theatres will begin screening the Sundance favourite, WINTER'S BONE, as well as the documentary, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, and the stylish COCO CHANEL AND IGOR STRAVINSKY.  Opening on an arguably much larger handful of screens, 3000+ as it turns out, is the remake of THE KARATE KID.  I will be taking my chances on THE A-TEAM.  If it sucks, at least I will get to see those gratuitous shots of Bradley Cooper's chest.

Source: Box Office Mojo

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Written and Directed by Nicolas Stoller

Starring Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elizabeth Moss and Sean Combs

In director, Nicolas Stoller’s first film, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, North American audiences were formally introduced to Russell Brand, a British comedic sensation. Brand played rocker, Aldous Snow, the man responsible for stealing the title character from leading man, Jason Segel. You are supposed to hate this guy considering what he did to our quite lovable protagonist but there is just something about him that keeps you from ever getting there. Maybe it’s the seemingly uncontrollable vulgarity that flows from his mouth every time he opens it or maybe it’s just the way he struts around in his sister’s skinny jeans as if he were some sort of hyper-sexualized chicken. Whatever it is, it works.

It works so well that Stoller decided to focus his second directorial effort, GET HIM TO THE GREEK, with Brand’s Aldous as the central character. Aldous is now completely washed up and off the wagon once again. There is still hope though. Young music biz keener, Aaron Green, has decided to restage a famous concert Aldous once put on at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in order to miraculously awaken a dying music industry and save Aldous’s career. Both are a pretty tall order but anything is possible in the crazy world of rock ‘n’ roll and Stoller is banking on you knowing that in order to buy his movie. Aaron must get Aldous to the Greek on time but somehow, things go awry.

As comedic as Brand and Hill are together (complimented perfectly by refreshing turns from Mad Men's Elizabeth Moss and Diddy himself, Sean Combs), GET HIM TO THE GREEK is far too stepped in convention to be truly raucous. The jokes are crass and definitely funny but Stoller tries too hard to come up with the most outlandish rock star obstacles possible to deter them from their destination. When they’re crazy, it’s crazy. When they have lulls though, so do we. With this kind of set up, you should never want the twosome to get where they’re going. In this case, I wanted them to get there a good day earlier than they were supposed to.

Best of Black Sheep: FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

Written by Jason Segel

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd & Bill Hader

On the eve of Nicolas Stoller's GET HIM TO THE GREEK, Black Sheep takes a look back at his first feature, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, which spawned the character of rocker, Alduous Snow.  Russell Brand brings the character back and throws him even further in your face this time around and, alongside Jonah Hill, brings many a laugh with him.  But has Stoller grown too?  Read the Black Sheep review tomorrow.  In the meantime ...

The writer/star of FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, Jason Segel, is the kind of artist who isn’t afraid to let it all hang out there for everyone to see and subsequently appreciate or pick apart. He writes his pain on to the screen and isn’t afraid to get naked on the path to true understanding. In the writer’s world, naked is a fairly obvious metaphor for vulnerability but here it just means nude. And so, as Segal’s penis flaps back and forth against his painfully pale body, moments before Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks up with him, the Judd Apatow movie machine unleashes its latest raw comedy from the mind of the modern male.

This particular male is Peter Bretter (Segel), a slob who can barely pick up after himself but somehow manages to maintain a serious relationship with a gorgeous actress girlfriend and holds down a job as a composer for schlock television. He’s not unattractive nor without his charms but he does raise the question as to how he ever managed to get himself this well positioned. He also has no trouble at all finding numerous beautiful women to help him take his mind off Sarah. And while forgetting Sarah Marshall proves much more complicated than Peter had hoped - it doesn’t help that they have found themselves both at the same Hawaiian resort – he can at least have the last laugh by vilifying her as a horrible human being before the credits role. Without giving too much away, he will have the option, as the sympathetic character, to walk away happy but Sarah, as the heartbreaker, has been doomed since Hester Prynne was sent to prison with that darn scarlet letter across her chest.


If I were Apatow, I would be a little tired of hearing my name being attached to all of these projects. If anything, he should make sure to have a firmer hand in the process in the future. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is not without the hilarity and genuine character development that his past productions have captured so poignantly but its bizarre subplots and many rushed moments make it somewhat forgettable.

Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

We're going to try something new this week.  As I cannot always find figures on last week's sales on time to post this column, I will also begin each week with the most exciting Blu-Ray release announcements from the last week.  I assume you don't check these sorts of things every day like I do so I figure summing it up once weekly will work for you.  The title that gets all my attention this week is the Oscar-nominated, A PROPHET.  I caught this one just before the telecast, where it lost to the inferior THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, and I was floored.  It will be released on August 3.  Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are more likely to find a larger audience with the home release of THE RUNAWAYS, July 20.  And looking even further ahead for all you collectors out there, the original 1933 version of KING KONG will make its way to Blu-Ray on September 28.

As for this week's releases ...

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

The first time I saw Tim Burton's wildly successful version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, my ex had told me that morning that he was already seeing someone else just a short while after we split.  Needless to say, I did not have an easy time focusing on the explosion of matted colour on the screen.  The second time I saw it was the following weekend and, not to be outdone, I was on a date of my own.  I was able to see the film a lot clearer but I can't say I enjoyed it anymore the second time around.  Burton's vivid imagination is something of a cliche now that it is just being used by Hollywood to put a supposedly fresh spin on classic tales.  That hardly matters though when ALICE IN WONDERLAND is the biggest film of Burton's career and only the sixth film in history to cross $1 billion in international ticket sales.

LIFE

Unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic somewhere on the 401 yesterday when the good people at Warner Bros. tried to deliver this brand new BBC Earth series, LIFE.  Subsequently, I have not yet had the chance to watch any of it but I do know what I'm doing as soon as I post this.  The people who brought you the breathtaking series, "Planet Earth", are doing it again, but this time, they're going to focus more on the inhabitants of the planet instead of the planet itself.  The original series was narrated by Richard Attenborough, just like "Planet Earth", but most North American retailers will be carrying the version that played on the Discovery Chanel, narrated by Oprah Winfrey.  I'm somewhat skeptical of this but also certain that whatever imagery will be on my screen will quickly allow me to drown out any voice around.

THE WOLFMAN

I can't say I remember disliking this film as much as most of my colleagues did when the film played in theatres.  I gave the film two stars and a lot of people said I was still being pretty generous.  The truth of it is, THE WOLFMAN has very little to sink your ravenous, razor-sharp teeth into.  It is all show with very little substance and honestly, the show is only passable really.  You spend most of the movie in the dark, literally as the action has to take place at night for the most part, as to why you're even there to begin with.  This is because Joe Johnston infuses the classic horror tale with modern ideas like daddy issues and girl trouble and does a bad job selling that too.  Even more mind boggling is how such a great cast got roped into this mess.  The wolf himself, Benicio del Toro, even served as a producer on this.  I don't get it.

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY:

Tom Cruise teams up with Steven Spielberg for the surprisingly enjoyable and suspenseful, WAR OF THE WORLDS.  Will Smith and Martin Lawrence do wonders for their careers with BAD BOYS.  And a bunch of Clint Eastwood classics, from SPACE COWBOYS to THE ROOKIE with Charlie Sheen, make their way to Blu-Ray, either individually or as part of the new CLINT EASTWOOD COLLECTION.  And yes, I was being sarcastic when I said, "classics".

Source: Blu-ray.com

AGORA

Written by Mateo Gill and Alejandro Amenabar

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar

Starring Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella and Oscar Isaac

In 391 A.D., people still believed that the Earth was not only flat but that it was also the center of the universe and that the sun, along with the other wanderers, known to the Pagan Greeks of the time as the other planets, revolved around the Earth. How could one not have an ego with beliefs like that? It has been over 1600 years since then and it’s strange to see that AGORA director, Alejandro Amenabar, still has a bit of that same ego driving his filmmaking.

Generally considered to be the first female authority of mathematics and astronomy, Greek philosopher, Hypatia (played by a bold but overly confident Rachel Weisz), has always tried to teach her pupils that all humans are brothers; that between three people, if two of them are are of the same mind, then so is the third as this is what bonds them as brothers. Increasing shifts in religious beliefs shatter her faith as she must be subjected to watch the quickly growing Christianity crush her Paganism and move on past that to Judaism in Egypt, one of the last thriving places in the Roman Empire. The story is both huge in scope and vision but it is dragged down by focusing on the the petty problems of the people and the often poor acting performances afforded to these plotlines.




One automatically sees the correlation between religion being a serious driving force in keeping man divided, often violently, both then and now. Amenabar tells his story with such grandiose gusto though that it seems his ego is just too big to see that his point is monumental only to him and not only obvious to the rest of us but wearing thin as well.

SEX AND THE CITY 2

Written and Directed by Michael Patrick King

Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon

Carrie Bradshaw: That’s the thing about tradition; when you’re not looking, it just sneaks in.

When I first discovered the “Sex and the City” television series, I saw it as a tiny, little gift from heaven.  This series about adult women looking for love and refusing to settle for anything less in the big, beautiful city of New York was as insightful as it was titillating.  Being a young, single person myself at the time, I drew a lot of inspiration from the character of Carrie Bradhsaw.  I know she’s fictitious and that her entire life is scripted but her pursuit of happiness, whether single or not, helped empower me to find strength as a single person as well.  It’s been six years roughly since the series closed and I’m sad to say, the show that once inspired so many lost single souls to find their way has officially lost its own.

SEX AND THE CITY 2 picks up the lives of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha (Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall, respectively) two years after Mr. Big (Chris Noth) left Carrie at the alter only to have her channel her inner masochist and marry him anyway.  At the time, the four leading ladies had said that they would not have even considered the first movie unless the story was one that warranted being told.  I guess a “big” wedding is a natural progression of the story but I cannot see what exactly drew them back this time other than continued success in the only characters that have worked for them.  Carrie’s marriage is getting stale; Miranda’s job is stressing her out; Charlotte is having a hard time with motherhood; and Samantha struggles to remain sexual during menopause.  It seems to me that it isn’t her marriage going stale that Carrie should be worried about.

Writer/Director, Michael Patrick King directed some of the best episodes of the series but he needs the restrictions of television structure to control himself.  The first film ran way too long and this one is no different.  At a two and a half hour run time, even King knows that his old married people troubles are incredibly dull so he picks up the foursome and drops them in Abu Dhabi. Here, despite making respectful comments previously about the American economy, the ladies are immersed in extravagance.  They each have their own car, their own butler and three separate costume changes for one simple lunch in the desert.  Carrie runs into former lover, Aidan (John Corbett), in a market randomly (that may be the most understated usage of the word, “randomly” ever), and it isn’t long before she resorts back to being a 12-year-old.  Story, or at least a remotely believable one, is no longer a priority for King, it would seem. 

SEX AND THE CITY 2 is like getting together with friends you haven’t seen in a long time to catch up over brunch.  Sure, you’re happy to see them and sure you laugh some but when you leave, you know that your lives have grown apart and there is a reason you don’t see each other that often anymore.  I am still single, unlike three of the four characters in this film.  When I read on the screen that Carrie’s latest book was dedicated to all the former single girls out there, I couldn’t help but wonder if the show that once played like an anthem for modern singles everywhere had turned on its own and was now shunning those who hadn’t been lucky enough to fall in love.  What once made me feel like being single meant a world of possibility was now reminding me that time was running out.  And unfortunately, I had just wasted two and half hours of that time on this movie.

PS. Ladies, do not bring your men to see this movie.  You might have gotten away with it last time; this time, they may break up with you.

Best of Black Sheep: SEX AND THE CITY

Written and Directed by Michael Patrick King
Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Chris Noth


Carrie Bradshaw: You know that this is a fairy tale, right sweetheart? Things don’t always work out like this in real life.

It’s important to state right away that I am a devout fan of the “Sex and the City” television series. I have seen the episodes countless times and they still tickle me almost as often as they touch me. Clearly, what you’re going to get out of the SEX AND THE CITY movie depends on what you’re going in with. For anyone who cares as much as I did, and there are more than enough in my boat to sink it, these girls have been sorely missed. It has been four years since the boy who called love, Mr. Big (Chris Noth) found a crumbling Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) in Paris and told her finally that she was the one. Subsequently, it has been just as much time since Carrie foolishly believed him capable of feeling such things and forewent all her single sensibility for a crapshoot she called love. (It figures the one part of the series I would not like would be its conclusion). Who cares though? I still want more. When the lights went down and the sounds of that familiar theme began to rise (albeit just as a sample in some overwrought Fergie song), my romantic heart sped up just a little and an inevitable smile took over my face. But as the credits gave way to a recap of the characters’ arcs whittled down to their barest bones, I couldn’t help but wonder, who does director, Michael Patrick King think is seeing this movie that doesn’t already know all of this as well as the fit of their favorite shoes?


If you were not a fan of the series, this film will do nothing for you but remind you why. If you were a fan, you may feel some varying degree of disappointment but you’ll still likely see it and love it more than once. How could you not? I was mildly disappointed and I still cried at least three times. I missed these girls. They kept me company on so many restless nights. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) taught me how to let go of life long enough to let love in. Charlotte (Kristen Davis) taught me that you might not recognize love when it finally comes to you. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) taught me that old habits eventually need to be left behind if your life is ever to become what it could. And Carrie … oh, Carrie. Carrie taught me about the constant struggle to find happiness in yourself and your own life regardless of whether you’re fortunate enough to be sharing that with another person. So often did her poetic musings give me calm and resolve that the show became a necessary fix whenever I lost hope that love still knew where to find me.


Though the ladies may mean different things to different people, the need for the SEX AND THE CITY movie is palpable within its devoted fan base. The movie itself however creates none of its own urgency and does little to justify its own existence. Yes, I wanted the girls back but it would have been nice if they came back for a reason. Without divulging too much (as I believe the fate for spoiling this film is castration), the good times pick up again four years after we last left the streets of New York City. Miranda’s busy married life with Steve (David Eigenberg) has gotten stagnant; Charlotte lives in bliss with her husband Harry (Evan Handler) and their adopted girl, Lily; Samantha has made a life of monogamy and management with her young stud, Smith (Jason Lewis)in Los Angeles; and Carrie has somehow managed to domesticate Mr. Big, now known as John James Preston. It would even seem that they are headed toward wedded bliss. The big day comes though with expected big disasters and Carrie gets exactly what she should have seen coming all along.


As I was never happy that the quintessential single girl settled for a man who hurt her repeatedly and consistently, it was hard to feel satisfied watching her make the same mistakes on the big screen. On such a grand stage, I wanted to see Carrie blossom into the true state of confidence and individuality that her character was destined to, if only just to remind myself that I have that same capacity. Instead, her small screen magnificence only half fills the new digs and left me feeling rushed and unfinished instead of post-orgasm elation. And with the last round of cosmos now behind us, I got my much needed fix but I can’t tell whether SEX AND THE CITY (the movie) will keep the love flowing far into the future or finally put "Sex and the City" (the phenomenon) to rest.

Black Sheep @ Inside Out 2010

It is a beautiful day out there, Toronto!  If there is one thing you need to do today, it is to get outside.  And while you're out there, why don't you head on over to the lovely Isabel Bader Theatre to get yourself into the RUSH line for Inside Out's centrepiece gala presentation of Jvier Fuentes-Leon's CONTRACORRIENTE (UNDERTOW).  The film is completely sold out but fortunately I was able to catch this tender film at home thanks to a screener the festival organizers provided.  I sat down to watch it yesterday and had to share what a special film it is with you in hopes that you can score yourself tickets to the screening tonight at 9:30 PM.

Fresh from its win for the dramatic world cinema audience award at the 2010 Sundance film festival, UNDERTOW makes its Canadian premiere as part of the Inside Out LGBT film festival.  Strikingly shot, this is the story of Miguel and Santiago (Christian Mercado and Manolo Cardona), two lovers in a tiny Peruvian village.  Homosexuality is not discussed here unless through biting gossip and it is most certainly no practiced.  Miguel knows Santiago from his childhood and he is now married and expecting his first child shortly.  That doesn't stop Miguel from falling completely in love with Santiago.  While he most certainly falls, he is not capable of admitting it to himself or standing up for what he values.  Through tragedy though, life forces Miguel to take a long hard look at who he really is and what he is truly afraid of.

UNDERTOW is unexpected and sensual - although I must complain about the people who threw this screener together ... did you really need to have your watermark come up during both beach sex scenes?!  C'mon!  Give a boy a break here!  Anyway, it is well worth waiting in line to see and a great film for Inside Out to showcase as its centerpiece.

For more information on Inside Out 2010, just click here.

Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

This week's new releases are a delicious bunch, stuff you can really sink your teeth into.  And I do mean your teeth.  Specifically, I mean yours and not my teeth as I already sunk mine into the big release this week once before and I think I may have chipped a tooth.  It was definitely way too hard to swallow for me, but you all love it.  I don't see why you do but you do.  I am speaking of course of ...

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 2

I know you are probably expecting me to tell you what lies in store for Sookie and friends in the second season of the crazy cult hit, TRUE BLOOD but the truth of it is, I have no idea and I just don't care.  I watched Sookie go from a brave and interesting character at the beginning of the first season to a complete joke like everyone else on this show by the end of it and subsequently, I could care less what comes of her or of creepy, unattractive vamp boyfriend, Bill.  I want to see this season about as much as I want to drink the bottle of TruBlood I have in the fridge.  I got it at a promotional event and I can only imagine that it must be pure syrop sickness.  Still, it can't be any worse than the show itself.  I know you guys are fans though so enjoy!  I will be over here, watching another cult favorite instead ...

DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG

Originally conceived as an online project, DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG has become an underground musical sensation.  It has been available on DVD for some time now but today it makes its BD debut.  There isn't anything new on the BD but if you have never heard of this three act musical before, just pick it up.  Directed by the adored Joss Whedon, and starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible and Nathan Filion as Captain Hammer, this farce is far too savvy to miss.  The songs, written by Whedon and his brother, Jed, are complicated constructions but also hilarious and infectious.  Good vs. Evil has never sounded so great and also never been this gray for that matter.  BD extras include behind the scenes footage, commentary and a full length musical commentary, which features all new songs.  Give it a try!

THE ROAD

This little seen film is a haunting tale of one man and his boy struggling to survive after the apocalypse.  Sure, we've seen a lot of post-apocalyptic films these days.  Everywhere you look, the sky is falling.  The sky has never looked so many shades of dust and grey though as it does in this John Hillcoat picture.  Viggo Mortensen is the man in this movie (that is actually his character's name - its a "this could happen to anyone" thing).  His performance is haunting, heavy and was sorely overlooked during awards season.  Whereas most end-of-the-world movies heighten the sense of urgency and danger by having characters in perilous nature situations, THE ROAD allows for basic human needs to demonstrate the depravity of mankind.  It is certainly not an easy film to enjoy but definitely easy to appreciate.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK:The supposedly gorgeous, Channing Tatum, goes to war and gets by with letters from his girl at home, the supposedly popular, Amanda Seyfried, in DEAR JOHN.  If you're looking for something more substantial, you could rent pretty much anything but more specifically, look for classics, SPARTACUS and STAGECOACH, to make their way to BD for the first time.

Source: blu-ray.com

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

When is $71.25 million not worth shaking a big, green stick at?  When the fourth Shrek installment makes more than $50 million less than the previous installment, that's when.  Studio expectations were already very conservative, expecting SHREK FOREVER AFTER to pull in approximately $100 million, $20 million less than the record SHREK THE THIRD holds for the highest animated opening weekend in history.  I'm certain that this last Shrek tale will earn back its budget globally but it seems that Dreamworks is getting out of the Shrek business just in time.  The green has been made.

Still, it could be worse ... much worse.  You could be MACGRUBER.  This "SNL" skit inspired film inspired very, very little interest at the box office this  week.  It's a shame really as it was pretty funny but people assume the worst when it comes to these kinds of films.  With a per screen average of $1.6K, MACGRUBER may go on to make back its relatively small $10 million budget.  At least things didn't go the route of IT'S PAT!  That "SNL" film pulled in $60K in its entire run.

Sneaking into the Top 10 at number 10 is the multilingual film, KITES, in which a mortally wounded man left for dead in the desert keeps himself alive by focusing on winning back the love of his life.  Filmmaker, Brett Rattner, threw his name behind the film to get more people to see it and they did, with a decent per screen average of just under $5K.

NEXT WEEK: There will be no box office review next week as I will be in Montreal for the weekend but there will still be movies coming out.  Opening to early previews on Wednesday and officially on Thursday is the hotly anticipated SEX AND THE CITY 2.  I am very curious to see if the girls can pull it off a second time on 3400 screens.  I am also very curious to see for how much of PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME Jake Gyllenhaal is shirtless.  The video game inspired film opens on 3500 screens on Friday.  Art house films include MICMACS from the director of AMELIE, festival hit, AGORA, with Rachel Weisz and a re-issue of one of my favorite films, Jean-Luc Godard's A BOUT DE SOUFFLE (BREATHLESS).

Source: Box Office Mojo

MACGRUBER

Written by Will Forte, John Soloman and Jorma Taccone

Directed by Jorma Taccone

Starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Philippe and Val Kilmer

MacGruber: There's a big difference between winging it and seeing what happens.

On “Saturday Night Live”, MACGRUBER, a throwback to the 1980’s television series, “MacGyver”, is played up every now and then as a skit where a hapless dope (played happily by Will Forte) has to diffuse some bomb in some dire scenario at the last second.  Of course, he never succeeds and is constantly blowing himself up but he still comes back kicking even harder the next time around.  Now that MACGRUBER is hitting the silver screen, he goes very big and I see no reason why he should have to go home again to that tiny little set.

Under the direction of “Saturday Night Live” regular director, Jorma Taccone, “MacGruber” is a film that is serious in its conviction to the complete buffoonery of its title character but not at all serious about anything else.  There is nothing believable about a failed explosives expert who hasn’t progressed in the least since the 80’s  but by taking his joke of a life seriously, MACGRUBER becomes real.  More importantly, MACGRUBER is really funny.  Forte is unflinching as MacGruber and that can’t be easy to do when you have to strut like a chicken with a piece of celery sticking out of your butt.  Honestly, doesn’t that one sentence alone make you want to run out and see this movie already?  What if told you Val Kilmer plays MacGruber’s arch nemesis, Dieter Von Cunth? It’s completely asinine, yes, but that’s what makes it funny.  Still not good enough?  Kristen Wiig!!  C'mon!

How long has it been since we last saw a “Saturday Night Live” inspired film that was actually watchable, let alone funny?  Like most "SNL" films, you would think MACGRUBER would blow up in its own face.   Just like the character himself though, MACGRUBER the movie has shown up at the last possible second to save the “SNL” films from oblivion and this time, he manages to make it out before the bomb blows everything in sight.

Black Sheep previews Inside Out 2010

The first time I ever came to Toronto was to attend INSIDE OUT, Toronto's LGBT film and video festival.  It was about ten years ago so the festival was half as old as it is now.  And to be fair, INSIDE OUT was not my original reason for visiting Toronto for the first time.  No, that would have to be because I had tickets to see Mariah Carey's "One Night Only - Rainbow Tour" at the Air Canada Centre.  If this were ten years ago, this would make me about 23.  I was a Mariah fan for ten years before that and had never had the chance to see her in concert.  Unfortunately, diva ate some bad oysters a few days before the show and had to reschedule it for the one night all month that I could not go.  I would be lying if I said I did not cry at home that night like a teenage girl.  Anyhow, I couldn't get the deposit back on my bed and breakfast reservation so I switched the dates and decided to come in for INSIDE OUT instead.

As I eluded to earlier, INSIDE OUT turns 20 this year!  To celebrate, they are bringing back some past favorites as well as a slew of new pictures that will certainly honour this benchmark as it deserves.  The opening night gala is this evening actually.  By the time you read this, it will likely have already finished but don't worry; it was sold out anyway.  It isn't surprising considering the opening film is the first narrative work by Academy Award winning documentary filmmakers, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE CELLULOID CLOSET, PARAGRAPH 175, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK).  Their first foray into fiction filmmaking is called, HOWL, and centers on poet, Allan Ginsberg and his poem, "Howl".  Ginsberg is played by James Franco and HOWL will be released later this year by the good people at Mongrel Media.  On a side note, THE CELLULOID CLOSET, a brilliant exploration of the history of gay cinema, is being screened on Saturday at Buddies at 3:00 for donations.  The directors will be present at both screenings.

First run features that I am most looking forward to include I AM LOVE, UNDERTOW and GOING SOUTH.  I AM LOVE is a critical darling that has played intensely to festival audiences the world over already.  The Italian film stars Tilda Swinton as a Milanese aristocrat and from the look of the trailer, it is going to be a gorgeous effort from budding filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino.  UNDERTOW is the festival's centrepiece gala presentation.  From director Javier Fuentes-Leon, this Spanish language film tells the story of a hidden affair between two men in a Peruvian village.  GOING UNDER doesn't sound that different than Sebastien Lifshitz's previous masterpiece, COME UNDONE, but if it is anywhere near as good as that French film, I will be a very happy man.  If it is anywhere near as hot, I will be even happier.

Other classic films being screened at the festival include the 1958 German groundbreaker, MADCHEN IN UNIFORM, the Quebec classic, LILLIES and a restored print of the 1986 film, PARTING GLANCES will screen on the eve of its 25th anniversary at the Bloor Cinema.

Other festival highlights include Hot Docs leftover, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, TIFF leftover, LE REFUGE, from French director, Francois Ozon,  another Hot Doc film. MARK, about s local activist and how he changed lives with his beautiful spirit and PRIMA DONNA: THE STORY OF RUFUS WAINWRIGHT'S DEBUT OPERA (pretty self explanatory).

INSIDE OUT runs from May 20 to May 30 at a variety of different screening venues in Toronto.  For more information and for tickets, please click the following link: INSIDE OUT