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The San Diego Union-Tribune • Xxxday, Month x, 2005
SUMMER MOVIE PREVIEW
“HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE”
“FUN WITH DICK AND JANE”
“LORDS OF DOGTOWN”
The highly anticipated new animation vision from the master of Japanese dreamscape realism, Hayao Miyazaki. The man who made “Spirited
Away” and “My Neighbor Totoro” continues to define and refine a realm
of childhood adventure populated by shape-shifters, old ladies, lovely
vistas and now a plucky hatmaker, a magician and insider references to
his previous triumphs. However surreal, ’twas a huge hit in Japan.
(Opens June 17). Buena Vista Releasing
The 1977 original didn’t exactly make critics electric with pleasure
(Pauline Kael: “A nitwit mixture of counterculture politics and madcap
comedy”), but where Jane Fonda and George Segal perhaps faltered,
Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni may succeed. A couple whose high-style
suburban dream turns to crime, and director Dean Parisot is next up for
an even touchier remake, “The Lavender Hill Mob.” (Opens June 24).
Sony Pictures Entertainment
No, not the sequel to “Dogville” you’ve been panting after like a fat bone.
This is Catherine Hardwicke’s dramatizing of Stacy Peralta’s script about
the famed Z-Boys skateboarding and surfer cult thing at Venice’s Pacific
Ocean Park pier (that’s California, not Italy) in the 1970s. It stars Emile
Hirsch, Heath Ledger and the always innovative Johnny Knoxville.
Awesome? (Opens June 3). Sony Pictures
➤ MOVIES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE E6
By David Elliott
MOVIE CRITIC
ollywood has graciously come up with
a philosophy that, if only we can rally
to it, may get us through summer:
“Life’s a party. Crash it!”
Such is the come-on for “Wedding
Crashers,” a July comedy that sums
up the coming binge-and-purge as
much as anything can. Now, if we can
only get through the new and final
“Star Wars” movie, which kicks off the
mania Thursday.
It is the Big Season again, longer
than ever, more jammed with the
movies you will soon be able, like Caesar, to thumbs-up or -down on DVD.
As David Duchovny said recently,
“Theatrical release has become like
an advertisement for home video.”
So what ads (oops, movies) will we
get? Let us amaze ourselves with the
manifold modules of magic:
Given the “why-be-original” princi-
“THE DUKES OF HAZZARD”
Two guys and a car: the essence of “The Dukes of Hazzard” with (from left) Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville. (Opens Aug. 5.)
Warner Bros.
pal that rules Hollywood creativity,
there are many remakes: “The
Longest Yard,” “The Honeymooners,”
“The Pink Panther,“ “Bewitched,”
“Bad News Bears, “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (at least
the title is remade), “Fun With Dick
and Jane” (ditto), “Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory” and (likely midseason king) “The War of the Worlds.”
To that effervescence add the sequels or prequels: first “Star Wars”
No. 6 (but call it Chapter III), then
“Batman Begins,” “Land of the Dead,”
“Herbie: Fully Loaded” and the conceptual capstone, “Deuce Bigelow:
European Gigolo.”
Just to balance the books, at least
for those keeping artistic accounts,
“FANTASTIC FOUR”
“BAD NEWS BEARS”
Now Billy Bob Thornton, not Walter Matthau, coaches the hapless but lovable
“Bad News Bears.” He’s in Richard Linklater’s July 22 remake with Sammi Kraft (left)
and Timmy Deters. Paramount Pictures
Chris Evans is one of the “Fantastic Four,”
and quite flamingly is the Human Torch,
in the effects-keen movie that starts its
box office burn July 8. 20th Century Fox
siter’s lengthy documentary on the effects of globalization on wine and its
traditions. May thrill fans of both “The
Corporation” and “Sideways.”
“Nina’s Tragedies” (Friday): Savi
Gavison’s Israeli film, set in artistic
circles in Tel Aviv, attempts magicalrealist touches as a teen boy has a
“taboo” crush on his alluring aunt.
“Brothers” (May 27): A tough one,
no doubt. Sean McGinly’s film interviews 31 men who lost brothers in the
vast tragedy of 9/11.
“The Holy Girl” (May 27): A multisource (mostly Argentina) work from
Lucrecia Martel, with a teen girl and
mature doctor wrestling with issues of
body and soul.
“The Longest Yard” (May 27): Yes,
they are remaking old Burt Reynolds
hits, this time with Burt back as the
prison coach, Adam Sandler his cocky
quarterback who throws a mean lip
bomb, plus Chris Rock, rapper Nelly
and James Cromwell under the direction of Peter Segal.
“Madagascar” (May 27): Animals
who have a plush deal at the Central
Park Zoo in Manhattan decide to bust
loose, all the way to the less-urban isle
of Madagascar. A DreamWorks animation show with voices by Chris
Rock, Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith,
Cedric the Entertainer.
“Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants” (June 1): Anne Brashares’
novel about four friends held together
by a special set of jeans, as their separated lives unfold. Zippered together
by Ken Kwapis, with hopefuls Amber
Tamblyn, America Ferrera plus Jenna
Boyd.
“Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava
Girl in 3-D” (June 3): Who needs
more than the title? Taylor Lautner,
13, stars as Shark Boy in the kick-rear
kids’ fantasy from the “Spy Kids”
visceral thriller set in the subway system of Budapest.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (June 10):
Probably not even a zilch relation to
the 1941 Hitchcock film, this comedy
is about married assassins (Brad
Pitt, Angelina Jolie) who spice marriage with serious sniping. Directed
by Doug (“The Bourne Identity”)
Liman.
“Rock School” (June 10): No, not
“School of Rock II.” Don Argott’s documentary treats the hopes and sounds
of the Paul Green School in Philadelphia. Green himself rocks, not always
charmingly.
“Up for Grabs” (June 10): Michael
Wranovics had the jones to make a
film about Barry Bonds’ highly disputed, valuable ball that lofted and landed
his 73rd homer, into the record books
and crazy litigation.
“Batman Begins” (June 15): Get
out the cape.
“My Summer of Love” (June 17):
A girlish affair, as a tomboy of humble
origin meets a toffee-nosed gal in Paul
Pavlikovsky’s English film, a sexually
charged hit at the Edinburgh fest,
with discoveries Natalie Press and
Emily Blunt.
“The Perfect Man” (June 17): Hilary Duff flashes her stellar cutes as
the tired-of-moving teen who decides
to match her struggling mom
(Heather Locklear) with Mr. Perfect.
Faster than you can say “Paul Giamatti,” that would be Chris Noth.
“Shake Hands With the Devil”
(June 17): Not the 1959 Irish thriller
with James Cagney, but Peter Raymont’s searching documentary on
Gen. Romeo Dallaire, whose U.N.
command during the Rwanda genocide raised major questions.
“Herbie: Fully Loaded” (June 22):
So, he turned into a drunk. No, actual-
there are returns from old masters:
Jean-Luc Godard’s “Masculine Feminine,” Sam Peckinpah’s “Major
Dundee,” Ingmar Bergman’s “Saraband,” and two talents still in late
prime, Werner Herzog with “Grizzly
Man” and Hayao Miyazaki with
“Howl’s Moving Castle.”
Spice the merry mix with films on
the wine industry, Chinese lesbians
and Vietnamese war refugees, Budapest subway louts and Rob Zombie’s zombies, L.A. street dancers and
New York ballroom dancers, Antarctic
penguins and a war hero pigeon, a
Boston Marathon runner and Disney
kid heroes and Marvel Comics heroes. Also a famous dirty joke, and a
rugby movie.
After a soft spring below its hopes,
Hollywood needs your cash. OK, it
will get it via DVDs later, but be charitable and buy tickets soon. As usual
with these things, some dates will slip
and August is very porous:
COMING ATTRACTIONS
“Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of
the Sith” (Thursday): What can we
really tell you? Grab your sabers.
“Layer Cake” (Friday): A retired
coke dealer is lured back into the
mean, bad game, in a Tarantino-esque
Brit crime thriller made by Matthew
Vaughn, with Daniel Craig and Colm
Meaney.
“Mondovino” (Friday): Or can we
say “Mondo Vino”? Jonathan Nos-
team. Yep, in 3-D.
“Cinderella Man” (June 3): Russell
Crowe gets to fist-up as boxer Jim
Braddock, a fabled underdog in the
top underdog era, the Depression.
Renée Zellweger is wife Mae, and Ron
Howard, who knows inspiration, directed.
“High Tension” (June 3): Girl
school chums on a weekend idyll get
the old rustic nightmare going with a
stranger who likes a knife. Alexandre Aja directed for horror, of
course.
“Lords of Dogtown” (June 3):
Woof!
“Mad Hot Ballroom” (June 3): A
documentary. New York City school
kids (ages 11 and 12) are swept up in
the world of junior ballroom dancing.
Arthur Murray, this one’s for you.
“Masculine Feminine” (June 3):
The return and restored of Jean-Luc
Godard’s 1965 film on “the children of
Marx and Coca-Cola.” It’s about love
and the sexes and, well, life, but purely Godard.
“Saving Face” (June 3): Finally, at
last, a film about a Chinese-American
lesbian and her initially disapproving
mom. Alice Wu directed Michelle
Krusiac and Joan Chen.
“The Honeymooners” (June 10):
To the moon, Alice, or at least a multiplex near you, as the fabled TV series
gets a new black spin with Cedric the
Entertainer (remember Jackie the Big
Entertainer?) as Ralph, Mike Epps as
buddy Ed, plus Gabrielle Union and
Regina Hall as long-suffering wives.
Keeping it subtle, no doubt, is John
Leguizamo.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” (June 10):
Best animation of summer? Likely.
“Kontroll” (June 10): Feature debut director Nimrod Antal got a
Cannes award for his train-rushed and
ly, Disney’s famous Volkswagen “bug”
is back and loaded with Lindsay Lohan. Plus Justin Long, Breckin Meyer,
Matt Dillon, Michael Keaton.
“Fun With Dick and Jane” (June
24): Fun is promised but …
“Bewitched” (June 24): The old
TV comedy series about a lady of special powers who gets a slick spiff-up
from Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell,
Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and
main shaper Nora Ephron.
“Land of the Dead” (June 24):
George A. Romero has a curious need
for dead people. The “Night of the Living Dead” auteur cranks up more bodies, living and dead and undead, in a
horror featuring Simon Baker, Dennis
Hopper, Asia Argento and always subtle John Leguizamo.
“Rize” (June 24): David
LaChapelle’s movie of dances emerging from the South Central L.A.
streets features Tommy the Clown,
among many others.
“Saint Ralph” (June 24): Adam
Butcher is the running Canadian teen
who’s told that winning the Boston
Marathon could be the “miracle” that
saves his mom’s life. Campbell Scott
plays the priest who trains him.
“The War of the Worlds” (June 29):
We take it on the chin again.
“Apres Vous” (June 24): A suicide
attempt leads to a romantic triangle, in
Pierre Salvadori’s French comedy
with Daniel Auteuil, Jose Garcia and
Sandrine Kiberlain.
“Mysterious Skin” (July 1): A
chiller from edge artist Gregg Araki,
about a teen sex hustler and a man
who believes in alien abductions, the
shocks involving Bary Corbet, Elisabeth Shue and Michelle Trachtenberg.
“Rebound” (July 1): Martin
Lawrence yuks around as the fallen
college basketball coach who must
amusingly redeem himself with a
team of high school flubs and dribblers.
“Yes” (July 1): It’s a big year for
Joan Allen, and now she’s an IrishAmerican scientist whose infidelity
with a Lebanese doctor causes upheaval, in Sally Potter’s film with Simon Abkarian as co-lead.
“Dark Water” (July 8): Jennifer
Connelly tries to start life over postmarriage, with her daughter, but the
apartment has problems, mostly from
dark water that just keeps coming.
John C. Reilly, Tim Roth and Pete
Postlethwaite factor into the chills.
“Fantastic Four” (July 8): Up
from Marvel comics and old TV service, the cosmically irradiated four
— Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd),
The Thing (Michael Chiklis), Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba) and Human Torch (Chris Evans) — contend
once more against Dr. Doom (Julian
McMahon).
“March of the Penguins” (July 8):
Luc Jacquet followed an emperor penguin flock through its tough Antarctic
year, as narrated by Morgan Freeman.
“Me, You and Everyone We Know”
(July 8): Miranda July’s film, a Sundance success about a shoe salesman
and performance artist teaming for romance, stars her and Ellen Gere
(daughter of Will).
“The Skeleton Key” (July 8): A
“supernatural thriller” in the spooky
bayous outside New Orleans. Kate
Hudson is the nurse of Gena Rowlands, and Peter Sarsgaard and John
Hurt slip into humid tensions directed
by Iain Softley.
“Hustle & Flow” (July 13): Craig
Brewer’s story of a pimp who decides
it’s time to rap. Stars Terrence
Dashon Howard, Ludacris and Isaac
Hayes.
“The Beautiful Country” (July 15):
Norway’s Hans Petter Moland’s film
about the long travails of a Vietnamese offspring of an American soldier in the war, with Nick Nolte in a
key role.
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (July 15): But don’t forget the
popcorn.
“Undead” (July 15): It’s about a
fishing town afflicted by meteorites
bearing grim zombine spores. No
need for stars, it has meteors.
“Wedding Crashers” (July 15):
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson love
.