edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

Upcoming

July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A

Variety's Justin Chang is calling

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Variety's Justin Chang is calling Gore Verbinksi's The Weather Man (Paramount, 10.28) "one of the biggest downers to emerge from a major studio in recent memory...an overbearingly glum look at a Chicago celebrity combing through the emotional wreckage of his life." This view has been understood by Paramount for some time, and is one reason why they put off opening it earlier this year. (The theory apparently being that gloomy films play better in the fall.) "Aiming for an Alexander Payne-style synthesis of wry comedy and unflinching character study," Chang continues, "pic has been made with the utmost sincerity, but the frankly lugubrious material and barely compensating spasms of humor are all but impossible to warm to, spelling an uncertain B.O. forecast for Paramount." I saw The Weather Man several months ago and I'm afraid I agree. It's one of the most grossly depressing films I've ever endured. It's right up there (or down there) with Peter Brook's black-and-white King Lear ('71) with Paul Scofield. And Nic Cage's sad-sack weather man is one of the most intensely dislikable characters I've ever reluctantly spent time with in a screening room. His hair style alone is enough to ruin your evening.

Funny The Legend of Zorro<< previous | next >>Just to be clear, I

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 24, 2005 at 10:02 AM