Opening This Week

WIDE RELEASES:

• The Rite- From the director of 1408 and Derailed comes this Anthony Hopkins thriller.  He plays a priest, and this is something to do with exorcisms or something.  Or a standard early release schlocker flick that will likely open decently and be quickly forgotten about (think last years Daybreakers or Legion- oh how I loathe January films!)  Random musing-- when was the last Hopkins, one of the brightest and most dignified of actors to ever grace the screen, seemed to actually be trying?  My memory takes us back to 1996 and his turn as Nixon...anyone else?

• The Mechanic- Jason Statham is back in what appears an old school assassin-type thriller.  He's joined by Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland and Ben Foster.  Thinking of Foster, he really is due for a top role for some time now-- last year's terrific leading man turn in The Messenger proved that-- he deserves better than sidekick duty!  Sidenote: it means nothing so early this time of year, but The Mechanic so far I think has the best poster of 2010.

• From Prada to Nada- The bit synopsis on IMDb suggest this a "latina spin on Jane Austin's Sense & Sensibility, but I'm sure whatever audience this horribly titled film has won't care too much about that, and not to be cruel, but I've pretty much lost interest myself.

LIMITED RELEASES:

• Biutiful- After a pathetic release in late 2010, the grim Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu flick that earned Javier Bardem a leading actor Oscar nomination, as well a foreign-language berth, is finally getting a more substantial release.  So, if you're lucky enough to live in one of the cities it's opening in, and not too depressed by the idea of watching a two-and-a-half-hour movie about a man dying, this one's probably the best out there right now.

• Kaboom- Gregg Araki, a filmmaker who was once at the forefront of the indie queer movement of the early 1990s (his anarchic and sinister The Doom Generation is a ball-buster, and his 2005's Joseph Gordon Levitt flick Mysterious Skin is definitely a must see), returns, it seems, to his roots after the more crowdpleasing Anna Faris stoner flick Smiley Face.  Kaboom about sexual awakenings, and bi-sexual angst among college kids had it's premiere at last years Cannes Film Festival.  Araki is usually a very strong visual filmmaker, so this one might be worth it for the adventurous filmgoer.