OK, so there are three new wide releases this week, and I didn’t see any of them. I am not to blame, however! I am blameless.
Tyler Perry’s “Madea’s Big Happy Family” wasn’t screened for critics at all. I caught it Friday afternoon and reviewed it for Film.com. Eh, it’s all right, whatever. The Disney nature documentary “African Cats” screened in the largest markets but not the mid-sized ones, goodness knows why.
“Water for Elephants” — starring R-Pattz and Reese With her spoon — screened everywhere, but I couldn’t attend the local screening due to the local publicist’s longstanding policy of being insane. I will probably catch it at some point, on account of I liked the book and I like old-timey circuses.
I’m at the Tribeca Film Festival for the week, so follow me on the Twitter for updates and stuff, if you want.
New movie reviews:
“Madea’s Big Happy Family” (C+) [Film.com]
Movie columns:
— Eric’s Bad Movies: “Can’t Stop the Music” (1980), starring the Village People. I know it goes without saying, but wow, is this ever bad. Just embarrassing, baffling, what-were-they-thinking? incompetence. I actually had to turn it off halfway through and finish it the next day because it was becoming unbearable. It’s on Netflix Instant. You should watch the first few minutes of it, just to get the idea. [Film.com]
— What’s the Big Deal?: “Network” (1976). I’d been meaning to do this one for a while, but it took the death of the director, Sidney Lumet, to finally motivate me. I accept full responsibility for Mr. Lumet’s death. [Film.com]
— How “Gulliver’s Travels” could have been fixed. [Film.com]
— Why the “Don’t think about it!” argument is dumb. [Film.com]
My other stuff:
Snide Remarks: “Soccer Punch” — Portland gets a new national pastime.
Miscellaneous merriment:
— The venerable and cuddly online film journalist Drew McWeeny wrote what appears to be the first chapter in a fantastic superhero-oriented story. It’s really a fun read, and he says more is coming soon. [Mulholland Books]
— A very talented fellow named Terje Sorgjerd shot time-lapse photography on the Spanish mountain El Teide. This video compilation is breathtakingly beautiful. [Vimeo]
Subscribe to “In the Dark,” a weekly e-mail with the latest movie reviews, DVD releases, and other pertinent info.
Listen to “Movie B.S. with Bayer and Snider,” a weekly Internet radio show featuring Jeff Bayer and Eric D. Snider, at Cascadia.fm. It’s live at 11 a.m. (Pacific) every Friday, then downloadable as a podcast. Ignore the iTunes “explicit” tag; we always keep it PG.
