Meet the Robinsons
directed by Stephen J. Anderson
In this latest animated film from Walt Disney Studios, Lewis (voices of Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry) is an overachiever. His science fair experiments are ambitious, but they result in explosions so often that his teacher pleads with Lewis not to kill anyone. Lewis doesn’t have mayhem on the brain, though. Instead, he’s desperately searching for the family he’s never met. Lewis gets sidetracked when he’s plucked from the present and taken into the future to “Meet the Robinsons.” The Robinsons are a family he’d love to have, full of quirky eccentrics, but as Disney likes to browbeat, the only family you should yearn for is your own. Also starring the voices of Angela Bassett, Matthew Josten, Adam West, Tom Kenny, Paul Butcher and Tom Selleck.
The Lookout
directed by Scott Frank
The tagline for this thriller is “Whoever has the money has the power.” The punchline could be “…to deviously remake Memento.” Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) suffers short-term memory loss after a car accident, forcing him to write stuff down to remember it. When he gets a job as a bank janitor, a maybe-former classmate manipulates Chris into helping him rob his employer while promising to help him overcome his memory problem. Nothing is what it seems… yadda yadda yadda… the credits roll. Audiences should heed the tagline: You have the money and the power to keep movies like this from clogging theaters. Also starring Jeff Daniels, Isla Fisher and Matthew Goode.
Blades of Glory
directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Will Ferrell has sent up television news and NASCAR, so the next logical step is, of course, men’s figure skating. Ferrell is a gruff, Journey-lovin’ figure skater and Jon Heder is his dainty, leotard-wearing rival. After they butt heads and cause some damage, they’re banned for life from singles skating. But thanks to a loophole, they’re able to put their differences aside, embrace each other’s styles and become a duo. If you’ve seen Anchorman or Talladega Nights, you know what kind of non-sequitor, classic rock-inspired humor to expect. Also starring Craig T. Nelson, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, William Fichtner and Jenna Fischer.
Peaceful Warrior
directed by Victor Salva
It’s not every film that gets ringing endorsements from both Sting and Deepak Chopra, but Peaceful Warrior gets one. In this Zen/New Age sports movie, Dan Millman (Scott Mechlowicz), a star gymnast with everything going his way, becomes paralyzed after a horrific motorcycle accident. During his recovery, he meets a mechanic named Socrates (Nick Nolte) who calls himself a “peaceful warrior” and acts as Dan’s Ghost Dog, teaching him how to become a peaceful warrior himself. It might sound a little hokey, but in an era of emotionally transparent, overcoming-the-odds sports movies, Peaceful Warrior has something going for it–perhaps earning the praise of Sting and Chopra. Also starring Amy Smart and Tim DeKay.
After the Wedding
directed by Susanne Bier
Another 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nominee gets a wider release this week, as After the Wedding, a thriller-drama from Denmark, makes its way into theaters. Mads Mikkelsen, recently seen as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, is Jacob, the head of an orphanage in India that’s in desperate need of money. Rolf Lassgard is Jorgen, a Danish businessman who offers a lot of money to help the orphanage-if Jacob attends his daughter’s wedding. When Jacob makes eyes-and other things-with Jorgen’s wife, all kinds of bad things happen. In English and Danish. Also starring Sidse Babett Knudsen, Stine Fischer Christensen and Mona Malm.
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