July4th Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's pretty easy to pick out Christmas movies and Halloween movies, and it's not too hard to find a New Year's movie, or even Arbor Day or Memorial Day movies. But how do you select a Fourth of July movie? Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) takes place during the Fourth of July, when the sheriff (the late, great Roy Scheider) tries to close the beach to protect the people from the killer shark and the greedy mayor wants to keep the beaches open to make lots of money. And who can forget Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991), with its image of a cackling, cigar-smoking Robert De Niro looming over the helpless, passive family, while fireworks explode overhead? These movies may not be entirely appropriate, or they may be all-too-appropriate symbols of America in 2008, but either way, they're both terrific movies.

The road movie is a uniquely American genre; unlike other parts of the world, Americans have the freedom to drive across 3000 miles of open land without getting hassled. It also involves cars, for which Americans have a singular passion. There are dozens of great road movies (not surprisingly), but let's go with three of the most unique examples. Tim Burton's cult classic Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) brings the title hero on the road to find his stolen bicycle; the film also has the best hitch-hiking sequences since It Happened One Night. Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) is the ultimate existential car movie, and David Lynch's The Straight Story (1999) is the road movie transplanted to a power lawnmower (which is pretty American, too, when you think about it).

(Skimpy week!)

Recent Theatricals

The Libertine (WeinsteinCo) -- Johnny Depp apparently does very naughty things in this period piece I've not yet seen and therefore cannot logically comment upon. (director commentary, featurette, 10 deleted scenes)

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (Sony) --  Someone told me it's a sequel to Tron. I think they were kidding. (filmmaker commentary, original short film)

The Matador (WeinsteinCo) -- Pierce Brosnan is drop-dead freakin' hilarious in this movie. I know, I was surprised too. (two commentaries, featurette, 11 deleted scenes, radio interview)

Stoned (Universal) -- The allegedly, maybe, somewhat potentially fact-based story of the young Rolling Stones -- or at least the guy who quit the band and drowned at 27. (no extras)

Catalog Picks

My Chauffeur & My Tutor (Brentwood) -- Nothing says "sex comedy" like the possessive "My." How did nobody think to make My Hooker? (no extras)

(Happy 4th!)

It would be such easy marketing for a Fantastic Four movie to open on the 4th of July. The original even had it down at first: Four on Four! It was the easiest release date to remember since Independence Day. Ok, so last year the 4th was a Monday and no films opened, and ID4 opened on the 3rd of July back in 1995. Sometimes it is just the general neighborhood of time that studios need us to remember. Still, F4 didn't get to open close enough to the holiday last year to seem appropriate, because War of the Worlds took control of the big date and pushed the little comic book blockbuster out of the way to the 8th.

Now, as you know, 20th Century Fox is making a sequel (which said out-loud sounds like a Hitchhiker's Guide reference) and seemed to be hoping for a July 4th, 2007 opening, as the date is on a Wednesday and therefore ripe for releasing. Unfortunately, the franchise is still too weak to claim the big-league day as its own. With the Michael Bay-directed Transformers scheduled to come out on the 4th, Fantastic Four 2 has once again been shoved to the side, this time two weeks earlier (June 15th). So, now Fox might want to do a little planning. The next time the holiday falls on a release day is 2012. I'm not sure they should wait for Part 3 or just keep it going up until then, but either way, they need to take siege now. And if any other films attempt another bit of bullying, I say its clobberin' time!