It’s an almost ridiculously weird weekend at the box-office. Five films are opening wide with little to no buzz are going to hog up screens for a few weeks before they can sneak away to DVD. It may not be Thanksgiving yet, but someone let the turkeys run wild. Actually, some of them aren’t terrible, but “The Expendables” in its second week should mow over the competition. “The Switch,” “Piranhas 3D,” “The Lottery Ticket,” “Nanny Mcphee and the Big Bang,” and “Vampires Suck” graze pastures across this great land starting today. In much brighter art house news, we’ve got a few solid releases to look forward to including a couple of docs getting much critical love “A Film Unfinished” and “The Tillman Story.”
In Wide Release: “Blades of Glory” co-directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck finally bring Allan Loeb‘s celebrated script (it was an entry on the prestigious Black List) to the screen with “The Switch.” Seven years after an unmarried 40-year old woman (Jennifer Aniston) turned to a turkey baster to get herself pregnant, she finds out that the sperm was switched with that her her best friend (Jason Bateman).While the fresh take on the old unplanned pregnancy comedy had promise, we were disappointed to find the film doesn’t stray too far from the tired rom-com forumla. Bateman and Aniston aren’t given much to chew on, but the supporting cast featuring Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis and a great Patrick Wilson are far more interesting. RT: 47% Metacritic: 54.
“Piranhas 3D” just hits theaters today, but the awards campaign kicked off earlier in the week. Taking the “Snakes on a Plane” late summer schlock slot, the horror-comedy concerns a group of killer fish suddenly released into the oceans after an underwater tremor sets them free. The wildly eclectic cast includes Elizabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Jerry O’Connell, and Ving Rhames. We’ll have our review up soon, as the film didn’t screen for press. RT: 82% Metacritic: n/a.
A young man, played by former rapper Bow Wow, much survive a three day weekend in the projects after his neighrbors discover that he is the winner of a $370 million jackpot in “The Lottery Ticket.” Co-starring Ice Cube, Charlie Murphy and Mike Epps the film doesn’t do much with its clever set-up trading in what could be breezy comedy for an “uplifting” third act shift. RT:32% Metacritic: 53.
Also opening wide this week: The sequel to the surprise hit “Nanny McPhee” sees Emma Thompson returning to both adapt the screenplay and star as the magical nursemaid. “Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang” should make for a solid family outing if you have young ones in your life, especially with a top-notch supporting cast that includes Maggie Smith, Rhyns Ifans, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ewan MacGregor, and Ralph Fiennes. RT: 79% Metacritic: 52. “Vampires Suck” is a low-budget parody of the recent tidal wave of vampire movies. RT: 3% Metacritic: 21.
In Limited Release: Yael Hersonski‘s award winning documentary “A Film Unfinished” explores the infamous nazi propaganda film “Ghetto.” A reel was recently discovered, sitting undisturbed in an East German Archive since 1942. The missing footage gives a whole new perspective on the actual conditions in a Warsaw ghetto and the Nazi’s attempts to manipulate the reality into something wholly different. RT: 89% Metacritic: 88.
“The Tillman Story” is documentarian Amir Bar-Lev‘s look into the tragic death of Pat Tillman, the NFL player who left his million dollar contract to enlist in the military. The Army covered up the facts surrounding his death in Afghanistan, turning the tragedy into a propaganda tool in the process. RT: 90% Metacritic: 87.
A light, ensemble driven comedy “Soul Kitchen” is the latest from celebrated Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin (“Head On,” “The Edge of Heaven“). The film tells the story of an eccentric restauranteur (co-screenwriter Adam Bousdoukos) and the colorful characters who frequent his disorganized establishment. We found the film a bit uneven, but a nice change of pace from the dour existential dramas the director is known for. RT: 75% Metacritic: 81.
