TEN FOR 07

Another year, another couple hundred color, black and white and paisley movies. We’re steering away from the trendy non sequiturs like Alien vs. Predator 2, Fantastic Four 2, Ocean’s Thirteen, Rush Hour 3, Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean At World’s End, and Spider-Man 3, the last three alone opening in May. Dates tend to change so we didn’t use them, and there is no pecking or alphabetical order by which the following ten films are listed.


3:10 To Yuma – James Mangold’s follow-up to Walk the Line is a remake of a 50s western with Van Heflin and Glenn Ford. Huh? If you’ve never seen it, check it out for a definitive psychological thriller dressed in cowboy duds. Tom Cruise was originally cast, dropped out, but you can’t beat the pairing of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel.

I Am Legend – This novel from Richard Matheson has already been made before as The Last Man on Earth (Vincent Price, 1964) and The Omega Man (Chuck Heston, 1971). There was an attempt to do I Am Legend over a decade ago with Ridley Scott at the helm and Arnold Schwarzenegger that fell apart do to budget concerns (the script is on the Internet). The 2007 version stars Will Smith. A disease has turned people into zombies and the last human searchers for a cure.

Grindhouse – A pastiche of B-Movie presented in the style of a retro drive-in double bill, complete with mock trailers. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez at the helm, with Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan.

300 – Frank Miller (Sin City) inspired tale of the battle of Thermopylae, with the titular Spartans holding off the Persian army. The premise hints at far out graphics with a gripping historical plot.

The Simpsons Movie – Yes, Matt Groening got the name for the paterfamilias of the popular television cartoon series, now turned feature film, from a Nathanael West novel about decadent 1920s Hollywood, The Day of the Locust.

No Country For Old Men – A new Coen Brothers film always deserves a look see, and the story here is mired in smuggled heroin, abandoned money, and border politics. Just like Tom Joad, I’ll be there.

Underdog – Speed of lightning anyone? It’s a live-action/CGI re-deux of the cartoon with a beagle Underdog (voice of Jason Lee). Would you pass up a flick with a femme fatale named Polly Purebread (Amy Adams)?

Sicko – Michael Moore takes on the American health care system. We all know there are millions of citizens without health benefits, still it’s intriguing to see what bumbling bureaucrat’s mug Moore sticks his camera into.

American Gangster – This script has been floating around Hollywood for a long, long time. Finally made it stars Denzel Washington as a crime lord in 1970s Harlem. Russell Crowe co-stars, with Ridley Scott directing. At one point years back, the film was set to go into production with Denzel attached in a pay or play deal. The plug got pulled, but when it was revived Denzel was back on top getting paid twice for the same single acting gig.

There Will Be Blood – Paul Thomas Anderson has finally directed another film. (Thompson was the insurance contracted director on stand-by for Robert Altman on Prairie Home Companion.) Anderson helms a turn of the century Texas oil family tale, based on an Upton Sinclair novel.