Upcoming movies in the next week

If the weather and the transit strike aren't keeping you down, there are a few new movies coming out in the next week for your enjoyment

Friday

Milk, 2008, from director Gus Van Sant. Stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, and Diego Luna. I caught this in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, and now it opens wider, including in Ottawa. I highly recommend it, and I have no doubt that it will garner some Oscar nominations.




The Day The Earth Stood Still, 2008
This remake of teh 1951 sci-fi classic hits regular and IMAX theatres as well on Friday. I'm a big fan of teh original, so I'll be checking this out for curiosity's sake, if nothing else, though I admit the trailer intrigues me.
Stars Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates, and Jaden Smith.




Outsourced, 2008
I have no idea what Outsourced is about, so:

"Outsourced opens in Seattle, where thirtysomething mid-level manager Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) oversees the call centre for Western Novelty, a company selling kitschy knick-knacks. In a ruthless cost-cutting maneuver, Todd’s shark of a boss informs him that Western Novelty is outsourcing the call centre to India. Unless Todd agrees to relocate to India for three to four months to train his replacement, he’ll not only lose his job, but his stock options as well.

Grumbling all the way to Bombay, Todd initially makes zero effort to embrace his new home or familiarize himself with India’s rich and varied culture, despite the unfailingly friendly efforts of his replacement, Puro (Asif Basra) to make him comfortable. Over time, however, Todd gradually overcomes his resistance to savour and celebrate the cultural differences between the U.S. and India. Of course, it helps that he has a lovely and spirited tour guide in Asha (Ayesha Dharker), his star employee.

Sweet but never saccharine, Outsourced benefits greatly from the pairing of Hamilton and Dharker, whose beguiling workplace romance feels natural, as the film mostly avoids the rank clichés found in the majority of contemporary romantic comedies. More impressively, the filmmakers depict the Indian characters with empathy and respect; they’re as puzzled by Todd as he is by them.

Outsourced is a happy surprise. What could have easily been yet another, patronizing fish-out-of-water comedy, about an American yuppie surrounded by zany ethnic stereotypes, turns out to be a smart, low-key charmer.
– Tim Knight, Reel.com"




If you're a Patti Smith fan, you'll be expecting, of course, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, which opens at the Bytowne on Friday. The trailer played in front of Resevoir Dogs on Monday, and it looked like your standard musician documentary.




and, if you want to know what you SHOULDN'T do with a power drill, check out Darren Aronofsky's debut feature PI, from 1998. I caught this at the Mayfair when it first came out 10 years ago, and I'm excited to see it again on the big screen this Monday night at the Bytowne. It comes just in anticipation of Aronofsky's latest work, The Wrestler, which should be out in January. It is worth seeing, buses or no buses.

caution, this trailer does contain some spoilers, apparently




Have fun!

Got Milk?

Back from vacation, and I did get to see a few films while I was away.

Milk
2008 dir. Gus Van Sant. Star. Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna.

Although it doesn't come out until this Friday here in Ottawa, I saw Milk last weekend in Vancouver with Paul and Heather at the Fifth Avenue and Burrard st. theatre. I had some popcorn and diet coke.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States. After a few failed attempts, Milk was elected at a City Supervisor in San Francisco in 1978. His election came as a result of the gay community amssing in district around the intersection of Market and Castro sts. This biopic, Van Sant's first mainstream film in almost a decade, shows Milk's life from his move to SF in 1970 up until his assassination at the hands of a colleague in 1978. Although the film is very straightforward in style, and is absolutely the typical biopic, this is made up for by the great performances, especially from Penn and Brolin, who will more than likely earn Oscar nominations.

If you live in Toronto, Vancouver, New York or similar big city, go check out this film. If not, check it out this weekend when it opens wide. And if you're a homophobe, you probably won't see it, but you should.

And lay off the twinkies.


4 stars out of 5