This Weekend’s New Films
Even if you have been under a rock, you likely know that Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones is now in theatres. Seriously! You must know! You must also know what I wrote about it:
The 5th chapter in the “Star Wars” saga opens today and it has been much maligned in all facets of the press. And on one hand, I can see why. Parts of it are derivative of other films, and some of it could be construed as a bit slow. Meandering even.
But I didn’t see it that way.
Instead, in my afterthoughts of “Episode II” I keep coming back to something I wrote after I saw “Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace”:
“All that I want when I sit in a theatre to watch a ‘Star Wars’ film these days is to be magically transported back to a time when I was a young goofy kid and the films were unlike anything I had seen before. No matter the plot, effects or characters, as long as it delivers me to a place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, and make me feel 9 years old again, then the film has done it’s job.”
And “Episode II” has done it’s job. And done it quite admirably! For some reason, I will cut this film, and however many “Star Wars” films George Lucas wants to make, some slack. I don’t and I won’t hold it up to the same criticisms that I would other films because it made me feel like a kid again.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones” and I hope you do too! I’m not here to review it, I’m simply here to endorse it!
BUT THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER FILM THAT IS NEW THIS WEEKEND
Now, with all of the hype that has surrounded Star Wars: Episode II- Attack Of The Clones, it’s understandable that you might not know that there is another film opening in your local multiplex.
But there is! It is called About A Boy and it too is incredible!
The film’s pedigree is impressive. The producers (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner) are the men who sat in a similar chair for “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” The writer of the novel upon which “About a Boy” is based (Nick Hornby) is responsible for the source material for “High Fidelity.” And the directors came into prominence by doing unspeakable things to desserts in “American Pie.” Add to that the always-appealing Hugh Grant and the gorgeous Rachel Weisz, and is it possible to go wrong? If About A Boy is anything to go by, the answer is no.
About A Boy is not a daring film, but it is immensely likable. Every once in a while, a movie comes along that, despite traversing familiar terrain, is made with enough all-around skill that it overcomes its clichÈd origins. About a Boy is such a movie. In a summer when pyrotechnics, superheroes, sequels, and mindless action are sure to rule, this film gives us a feel-good human story to savor between bursts of testosterone and adrenaline.
Sniff, sniff…I think I need a tissue!
Hee hee hee! I love it when I make fun of myself!
Anyway, may the force be with you, enjoy the popcorn and I’ll see you at the movies!
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