Are you ready for some thrills? Someone in Hollywood is certainly banking on that fact, because there are an awful lot of horror thrillers coming your way in the next few months. And many of them feature the living dead — so zombie lovers should definitely find something worth watching, including a new film from the zombie master George A. Romero.
A-list actresses, like Jennifer Connelly and Scarlett Johansson, are following in Naomi Watts’ “Ring”-like footsteps with thrillers “Dark Water” and “The Island.” Even Steven Spielberg's latest, “War of the Worlds” seems more like the spawn of “Jaws” than “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
You may also get a strange sense of deja vu from this summer's movies. From TV shows that get the big screen treatment, like “Bewitched” and “The Dukes of Hazzard” to a slew of remakes like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “The Bad News Bears.” Basically, everything old is new again.
Looking for laughs? The Frat Pack (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) may score the biggest laughs of the summer with “The Wedding Crashers.” And “Office Space” creator Mike Judge is back with a new, still untitled project.
No worries, art-house fans. Some great indie films sneak their way in between the blockbusters. Look for Sundance faves “Hustle & Flow” and “Me and You and Everybody We Know.” Also Bill Murray stars in Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers” and Wong Kar Wai’s latest visual poem is “2046.”
“Must Love Dogs”
Starring: Diane Lane, Elizabeth Perkins, Alli Hillis, John Cusack, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Dermot Mulroney, Julie GonzaloDirector: Gary David GoldbergStory: Lane plays a divorced schoolteacher who’s sworn off dating. When her sister (Perkins) pushes her into placing an online personal ad, she states that her suitor “must love dogs,” even though she doesn’t own a dog herself. When she meets John Cusack, who borrows a dog, has she finally found Mr. Right? Buzz: A male buddy recently asked me why all women seem to love John Cusack. I think it’s his combination of intelligence, good looks and humor — or it could be that we all wish we could have dated Lloyd Dobler in high school. Regardless, the combination of Cusack and Diane Lane is like catnip to those of us who enjoy the guilty pleasure of the occasional chick flick. Lane proved in “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “A Walk on the Moon” that she knows her way around the genre. Goldberg is probably best known as the creator of “Family Ties” and “Spin City,” as well as for being a writer on “M*A*S*H,” “Lou Grant” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”Web site: http://mustlovedogsmovie.warnerbros.com/
Note: This film has been pushed to August 26
“The Brothers Grimm”
Starring: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Jonathan Pryce, Monica Bellucci, Lena Headey, Peter Stormare, Mackenzie Cook, Richard RidingsDirector: Terry GilliamStory: The Grimm Brothers (Damon and Ledger) travel from town to town pretending to rid the villages of magical creatures. But when Napoleon’s French government employs them to investigate a haunted forest where girls have gone missing, they stumble upon an adventure that’s like something out of one of their fairy tales. The beautiful Monica Bellucci portrays an evil sorceress. Buzz: Though Gilliam is undeniably a talented director (“Fisher King,” “Twelve Monkeys”), his last foray into directing, when he attempted “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” was a bit of a disaster (see the fine documentary, “Man of La Mancha” for more on what happened). Johnny Depp was originally going to play one of the brothers, and he seems much better cast than Damon, who may be a bit out of his wheelhouse with this fantasy film. This film will either really work well or not work at all — and the buzz seems to point to the latter. Web site: NA
“The Dukes of Hazzard”
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson, Lynda Carter, M.C. Gainey, Michael Weston, Nikki GriffinDirector: Jay ChandrasekharStory: Unlike “Bewitched,” this TV series adaptation is playing it straight — just a fun romp with Bo (Scott) and Luke (Knoxville) Duke, as they try and save the family farm from the evil Boss Hogg (Reynolds). Simpson plays sexy cousin Daisy Duke and Nelson is on board as Uncle Jesse. Gainey plays hapless sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane. Buzz: The rumors that came from this set — of Simpson’s alleged affair with Knoxville — seem much more interesting than the actual movie. It’s hard to imagine who exactly is excited to see this movie — however, it’s hard not to see Reynolds and Nelson as inspired casting. This will probably be pretty silly — like the TV show — so go at your own risk.Web site: http://dukesofhazzard.warnerbros.com/
“Supercross”
Starring: Steve Howey, Mike Vogel, Daryl Hannah, Robert Patrick, Aaron Carter, Cameron Richardson, Ryan Locke, Carolyn GarciaDirector: Steve BoyumStory: Set in the high-octane world of Supercross, this film tells the story of two brothers (Howey and Vogel) who become competitors and rivals. Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”) plays the love interest. Richardson plays a female Supercross rider. Buzz: This looks like your basic, summer popcorn movie, designed solely to tap into that teenage boy market. The only thing that’s surprising about that this one is that it didn’t go straight to video.Web site: http://www.supercrossmovie.com/
“Red Eye”
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brittany Oaks, Kyle Gallner, Laura JohnsonDirector: Wes CravenStory: From horror master Wes Craven comes this scary tale of a woman (McAdams) who has a chance encounter with a man (Murphy) in an airport only to find out that he’s her seatmate on the plane. It turns out that Murphy is plotting to kill a businessman and that she is the key to his plan’s success. If she doesn’t cooperate, Murphy threatens to kill her father. What is she supposed to do while trapped on a plane surrounded by strangers?Buzz: This almost sounds more like an episode of “24” than a Wes Craven movie. McAdams is definitely turning into an “It” girl with good performances in two wildly different movies last year, “The Notebook” and “Mean Girls.” Murphy (“28 Days Later”) is also definitely a star on the rise year with his performance here and as The Scarecrow in “Batman Begins.”Web site: http://www.redeye-themovie.com/
“Domino” (note: this film has been pushed to Nov. 4)
Starring: Keira Knightley, Mena Suvari, Christopher Walken, Lucy Liu, Mickey Rourke, Macy Gray, Jacqueline Bisset, Edgar Ramirez, Mo'Nique, Shondrella Avery, Dabney Coleman, Delroy LindoDirector: Tony ScottStory: Based on the true story of Domino Harvey (Knightley) and how she rejected her glamorous life as a Ford model and the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey to become a bounty hunter. Domino’s latest case has her pursuing thieves who’ve stolen $10 million while being filmed by a “Cops”-like reality TV show. Edgar Ramirez and Mickey Rourke co-star as her partners. Buzz: Scott’s films (“Man on Fire,” “Spy Game”) have a distinctive look — almost washed-out lighting with lots of fast cuts and slow motion. With a great performance in “Sin City,” Rourke may be on his way to career recovery — it couldn’t happen to a better guy. Although, she’s slight in build, Knightley possesses a believable toughness which could serve her well here. Look for Walken to do a bit of scene stealing. This could be one of the late-summer sleeper hits.Web site: http://www.dominomovie.com/