How to Spend $20
By Kim Hollis
February 24, 2009
For all my librarian friends - I know your lives are a lot more exciting than you let on: The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice
My passion for the Librarian film series has cooled somewhat since seeing the sequel, Return to King Solomon's Mines. The first movie, Quest for the Spear, was high-spirited, goofy fun. Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, Jane Curtin and Sonya Walger (currently playing Penny on Lost) all are clearly having a blast and turn a movie that should have been B-movie tripe into something that rises above that.
Return to King Solomon's Mines was still fun, but the passion seemed to be gone. I was disappointed that Walger didn't return (even though I like Gabrielle Anwar very much). I'm still excited to see the third movie in the series, though. Curse of the Judas Chalice will have our hero, Flynn Carsen (Wyle) doing battle with Vlad the Impaler - aka Dracula. Gone is Anwar, and in her place is Stana Katic, whose new series Castle premieres next week. I'm always up for a little bit of Dracula lore, so putting Flynn into that world is a welcome plot twist for me.
For people who are dying for another American Pie film: Sex Drive (Unrated and Cream-Filled)
Sex Drive kind of arrived in theaters without much fanfare, and it sure didn't stir up enough interest to make any kind of impact. And yet, I find myself sort of intrigued by it. Sure, it looks like any run-of-the-mill sex comedy. The story has a young man looking for love online, disguising himself as a buff dude when in fact he's pretty much a nerd. He encounters a chick known as Miss Tasty, and he and his friends set off on a road trip to meet her.
Sounds pretty generic, right? So why would I be interested in it? For starters, one of the leads is Clark Duke, who's pretty funny even if most people have no idea who he is. Together with Michael Cera, Duke wrote and starred in the Web series Clark and Michael, which followed their travails as they tried to get their screenplays and TV scripts discovered in Hollywood. He's also a regular on the TV series Greek. The show also features Seth Green, who site regulars will understand that we love thanks to his portrayal of Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And finally, the movie features James Marsden, who I believe is a highly underrated comic performer who is underestimated because people can't think of him as anything other than Cyclops from X-Men. Anyone who has seen him in Hairspray or Enchanted knows the dude is funny. And charming, to boot.
It's for these reasons that I'll give this film a look, even though I'm sure I'm bound to be let down a little bit. Still, if any of these performers deliver on even half of what they typically promise, it should be entertaining enough.
For people who think Chace Crawford is dreamy: The Haunting of Molly Hartley
In October, a little PG-13 rated horror flick opened to $5.4 million. While this may not seem too special, the film was The Haunting of Molly Hartley and that $5.4 million exceeded the production budget, and eventually led to a $13.4 million domestic gross. Freestyle Releasing was probably pretty okay with that, especially since this is the type of movie to make a lot of its revenue on DVD.
The Haunting of Molly Hartley didn't really strike a chord with North American audiences, and critics were generally unkind (it's rated at a horrid 3% at RottenTomatoes). Still, the film does feature Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford (who I maintain would have been a far superior choice to play Twilight's Edward than Robert Pattinson), and it's directed by Mickey Liddell, who brought us the delightful television series Underwood. I'm probably not really going to watch this movie, but it's a pretty darned slow week otherwise, frankly.
February 24, 2009
Badland (2007)
Battle Planet (2008)
Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season (2-DVD Set) (2008)
Broken Windows (2008)
Countdown: Jerusalem (2009)
Coup D'Etat (1980)
Cyclops (2008)
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Epitaph (2007)
Frame of Mind (2009)
Freezer Burn: The Invasion of Laxdale (2008)
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2008)
The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)
Jam (2006)
The Legend Trip (2006)
The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008)
Lullaby (2008)
Man Walking on Snow (2001)
The Pear Tree (1998)
Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge (2008)
Red Sands (2009)
Retrograde (2004)
S.I.S. (2008)
Scourge (2008)
Sex Drive (Unrated and Cream-Filled) (2008)
Strictly Sexual (2008)
Summer Heights High (2007)
Windcroft (2007)
Yella (2007)
Continued:
1
2
|
|
|
|
Print this column
