March 20, 2011 - 4:36pm
Weekend Movie Guide — 3/19/10
BY KAVI PANDEY
It’s never fair to outright trash movies without actually watching them, but few people will dispute that this weekend’s wide releases look outright awful. Opening on Friday are a formulaic romantic comedy and a futuristic action thriller that would have been sent straight-to-DVD if not for its Oscar Nominated/Winning cast.
“The Bounty Hunter”
Sadly, it’s not the lost saga of Boba Fett. Gerard Butler is a bounty hunter who is hired to bring his ex-wife, played by Jennifer Aniston, to jail. But is she really guilty? Will Gerard Butler’s emotional core be exposed? Will the couple defeat the real villains, realizing that they truly love each other and reconciling at the end? You betcha.
The best/creepiest part of the film’s trailer is the appalling levels of battery Gerard and Jennifer inflict upon each other, supposedly for the purposes of humor. Gerard cackles with sadistic glee as he throws Aniston in a trunk, threatens her at gunpoint and football-tackles her in an open field. Jennifer gets her shots in, too — she tazes a just-out-of-the-shower Gerard and vigorously punches him in the groin. This is perhaps the most male-female brutality since Lars von Trier’s “Antichrist” (look it up). Except here, it’s supposed to be funny.
After last summer’s pathetic “The Ugly Truth” and now this, Gerard Butler has discarded all levels of badassitude he amassed after the alpha-male jamboree that was “300.”
Whatever happened to this guy?
As for Jennifer Aniston, thankfully, she only has a few more of these left in the tank before her charm wears out and she’s stuck with playing “mom” roles (sorry, I’m on Team Jolie).
“Repo Men”
This film’s title is really confusing, because there’s a cult 1984 Emilio Estevez film named “Repo Man.” But while Estevez was repossessing vehicles, Jude Law and Forest Whitaker repossessing human organs —a new pancreas is quite expensive, after all — in the futuristic “Repo Men.” Though the plot may seem to be twisted and darkly humorous, the idea of human organs as a commodity was already used in 2008’s “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” And that was a rock opera starring Paris Hilton.
It’s never surprising when bad movies feature a great cast — this film managed to wrangle Oscar Winner Forest Whitaker, Oscar Nominee Jude Law, Tony Winner Liev Schreiber and Grammy Winner RZA (!) —but nevertheless, I am going to dedicate the rest of this post to chastise the career of Forrest Whitaker since he won his Oscar.
Since Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2006, playing dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland,” Whitaker has stuck to excessively mediocre films — “Vantage Point,” “The Air I Breathe,” “Street Kings,” “Our Family Wedding,” among others. Whatever happened to the Forest Whitaker of “Panic Room,” “Phone Booth” and especially “Ghost Dog”? There’s a fine line between working for paychecks and wasting your talent. And that’s all I have to say about that.
As for a glimpse of the future:
“The Karate Kid” Trailer Review
It’s always tricky to remake a film, especially one as beloved as 1984’s “The Karate Kid.” But the original doesn’t have nearly the same emotional connection and resonance to today’s kids as it does for older generations. What teenager today can quote the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi or execute a proper Crane Technique?
That’s why a remake isn’t necessarily a bad idea. It has the potential to be as inspirational and admired as the 1984 version. With Jackie Chan as the new mentor, it’s bringing a adored figure to play an iconic role, and I’m not a detractor of Jaden Smith (son of Will), who takes over the Ralph Macchio role. After his solid performance in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” Jaden looks to be a case of nepotism done right.
Plus the change of scenery is a brilliant idea — both by economic and narrative standards. Smith and his mother, for some unknown reason, move to China. Naturally, Smith is an outcast (there aren’t many African-Americans in China, last time I checked) and is bullied by some bullies. This is an impressively creative cultural clash and the setting also opens up the possibility for some awesome training montages (jogging across the Great Wall!).
Business-wise, the film’s foresight is exceptional. China is becoming the next global superpower and more and more Hollywood films are going to be exploring the relationship between our nations. The new “The Karate Kid” is just the beginning.
Here’s hoping the film the film rocks and makes “put on your jacket/take it off” the new “wax on/wax off.”
