Weekend Box Office (January 27 - 29, 2006)

By Gitesh Pandya, BoxOfficeGuru.com

Two new comedies opened much better than expected giving a potent one-two punch to the North American box office. Martin Lawrence's undercover sequel Big Momma's House 2 led the way while Emma Thompson's family pic Nanny McPhee was impressive in the runnerup spot. The weekend's other new wide release, the military drama Annapolis, premiered in fourth place with respectable results. Overall, the marketplace was healthy ending a solid first month for the new year. For more analysis, visit BoxOfficeGuru.com, the definitive resource for weekend box office results.

Weekend Box Office Top 10:
1- Big Momma's House 2
2- Nanny McPhee
3- Underworld: Evolution
4- Annapolis
5- Hoodwinked
6- Brokeback Mountain
7- Glory Road
8- Last Holiday
9- The Chronicles of Narnia
10- The Matador

DVD Review: Good Thief, The (C-)

The Good Thief
Directed by Neil Jordan
Starring Nick Nolte, Nutsa Kukhianidze, Ouassini Embarek, Tchéky Karyo and Marc Lavoine
MPAA: R
Grade: C-

Review by Scott Standish

The Good Thief is about as cliché as a heist film can get and yet it still has a certain allure to it. Neil Jordan (director of the excellent films The Crying Game and Interview With The Vampire) tries to punch up the mix with lots of drugs and sex, but nowadays, that's not that original either.

Nick Nolte (god bless him) is horribly miscast as Bob, a junkie in the South of France that comes of out of gangster retirement for one last score. He is being chased by a hooker with a heart of gold named Anne who helps him detox just in time for his heist of a lifetime. Nolte does a good job with what he has to work with, but let's face it - it's hard to buy the grizzled cop from San Francisco as a suave gambling con man in France.

The Good Thief has a nice look to it, and the young actress Nutsa Kukhianidze was very good. If you love heist thrillers I guess you could give this one a shot, but don't expect too much.

Buy Good Thief On DVD From Amazon.com

DVD Review: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music (B)

Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003)
Directed by Mark Moormann
Starring Tom Dowd, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers
MPAA: UR
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

This one took me by surprise. I mean, who the heck is Tom Dowd? I had never even heard of the guy but after watching this film, I am totally amazed. Tom Dowd & The Language of Music is a fascinating documentary on a brilliant music producer and sound engineer.

Tom's life is a bizarre one. He worked on the Manhattan Project helping to build the atomic bomb. He recorded classic doo-wop tracks like the Drifters "Save The last Dance For Me" and Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash". Then, as naturally as he worked in that genre, he would switch over to hard rock, working with Eric Clapton or Lynyrd Skynyrd. Funk and soul? Sure, he's shown working all the early tracks with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and even Otis Redding. This guy was a true chameleon.

Its hard to label a producer or sound engineer a "genius" but many people in this film apply that label to Dowd. Is he a genius? Maybe not, but one thing is for sure, he is a heck of a producer and a very interesting person. Tom Dowd & The Language of Music is a very entertaining documentary and its one that I recommend highly.

Buy Tom Dowd & The Language of Music on DVD From Amazon

DVD Review: Birthday Girl (C)

Birthday Girl (2001)
Directed by Jez Butterworth
Starring Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz
MPAA: R
Grade: C

Review by Scott Standish

Nicole Kidman's stellar performance as a Russian mail order bride can't save this film from falling flat in the end. Birthday Girl, directed by Jez Butterworth, has all the makings of an indie hit: great opening storyline, a little bit of sex appeal, and a respected top tier actress in the title role. However, the script loses its edge as the story plods along, and by the end, of the film, the cliches are everywhere.

Here's the setup: John, a lonely banker in his 30's orders a bride from a Russian web site called "From Russia With Love". Nadia (played remarkably well by Nicole Kidman) shows up, but unfortunately she doesn't even speak English. John realizes he made a mistake and attempts to return her several times - until she seduces him. She also discovers his secret stash of kinky pornography and decides to indulge his kinks in order to further along this relationship. They fall in love and John gives her a Russian-English dictionary.

Things are looking up for John at this point as well as the audience. Birthday Girl has set up a pretty interesting premise: lonely 30-something banker with a taste for light bondage orders up a smart Russian bride that must learn a new language and fit into a completely new world. The problems that would lie ahead for this internet marriage by itself would make for a good drama. However, the screenwriter forces the movie to a higher intensity level, and things quickly turn predictable.

On Nadia's birthday the two decide to have an intimate party. Much to John's dismay Nadia's uninvited "cousin" and his weasel friend show up from Russia. They all get drunk and celebrate but in the morning, things start to turn for the worse. I won't reveal the twist here, but in the movie you can see it coming a mile away. By the end of the film, you are left wondering what original directions this promising film could have ventured instead of the tried and true formula that we are forced to endure.

If you are a fan of Nicole Kidman's then this is a movie you definitely want to check out. Her acting in this film is incredible and she carries this movie about as far as the plot will go. Unfortunately we've been down this road before.

Buy Birthday Girl On DVD From Amazon.com

DVD Review: Lost in La Mancha (B+)

Lost in La Mancha (2002)
Directed by Keith Fulton
Starring Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jean Rochefort and Jeff Bridges (narrator)
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

Most documentaries focused on the making of another film are usually biased, contrived and worst of all, boring. Lost In La Mancha, a documentary about a film project that completely falls apart, is certainly none of the above. It showcases just how hard it is to make a major motion picture these days. The bizarre circumstances that beset the people involved are entertaining, to say the least.

Brilliant but eccentric director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Fisher King) had been trying for years to bring the book Don Quixote to the silver screen. This documentary follows the project from green light, to production, and to its utter collapse only weeks into shooting. Actors don't show, and when they do, they fall deeply ill. Military planes constantly roar overhead, causing sound problems and massive delays. The most ridiculous moment occurs when the film crew sets up for a shooting the desert, only to be rained out with a massive flash flood. Murphy's Law was truly in effect and Gilliam's project completely disintegrated.

Watching a brilliant idea for a movie (with brilliant directors and actors on board) collapse really makes one appreciate how hard it is bring a great motion picture to the screen. Lost in La Mancha is fascinating and highly recommended.

Buy Lost In La Mancha On DVD

DVD Review: Trials of Henry Kissinger

Trials of Henry Kissinger, The (2002)
Directed by Eugene Jarecki
Narrated by Bryan Cox
Starring Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, Seymour Hersh and William Safire
MPAA: UR
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

I have to admit that I came into this film thinking "Kissinger on trial? For what?". The honest truth is that although I had heard the random criticism of Kissinger over the years, the majority of the information I was fed was along the "incredible diplomat, wise strategist" lines. The Trials of Henry Kissinger completely opened my eyes to a darker side of the man, and it has certainly changed my opinions of him (exactly what these documentarists where shooting for undoubtedly).

The Trials of Henry Kissinger focuses on the political career of (of course) Henry Kissinger and it really picks up steam as Kissinger works his way into positions of power in the Nixon administration. Based on a book by author Christopher Hitchens, this film alleges that he A) was behind the assasination of democratically elected Chilean president Salvador Allende, B) lied to Congress about the bombing of Cambodia, C) intentionally dragged out the war in Vietnam for his own political gain and D) gave tacit approval to the genocide in East Timor. Recently de-classified U.S. government documents back up the filmmakers arguments and witnesses give their one-sided opinions.

A film that is unashamedly biased, The Trials of Henry Kissinger does succeed in raising lots of questions. There have been calls for Kissinger to answer these allegations but until then, this film will have to serve as public notice: our famous diplomat is not everything that he has been made out to be.

Buy Trials of Henry Kissinger On DVD