MyLifeInRuins Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Year One (Unrated)
The marketing made it look like it was all about Jack Black and Michael Cera as primitive cavemen, when in reality it's very much a Biblical comedy. In either guise, it fails to fire on all cylinders, never igniting into a full-blown laugh romp. Still, Black and Cera display enough rambunctious charm to keep the proceedings moving along nicely. And maybe the unrated edition will restore some much-needed adult-oriented humor. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

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Imagine That
As I wrote in my review, Eddie Murphy gives a very warm, very funny performance as a stressed-out financial executive trying to be a better parent to his seven-year-old daughter, but the film springs to life only at rare moments, which are surrounded by so much fatty tissue that you fear the movie will die of a heart attack before it huffs and puffs its way to the end credits. Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.

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My Life in Ruins
No, no, Nia! The unexpected star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding has been struggling in vain to recreate that magical lightning strike, but not even a trip to Greece could interest audiences -- or critics. "It often feels flat and forced," wrote Jette Kernion, "and even the landscapes seemed blah." Also on Blu-ray. Skip it.

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Also out: Trick 'r Treat, The Children, Ken Burns: National Parks - America's Best Idea.

The other day I watched My Life in Ruins out of curiosity and because I was bored. In the past, I've been quite cynical about the movie and Nia Vardalos's upcoming film I Hate Valentine's Day, but when all was said and done, I was a captive audience. And you know what? I like Nia Vardalos. I want to root for her. But it was in spite of myself that not only did I like it... I cried.

Yes, despite the hackneyed plot – woman uproots her life, is cranky and miserable and loveless, then gets her groove back, along with a hunky fellow; despite the use of every possible ethnic and sexual stereotype possible; despite a love interest whose name is Poupi Kakas; and despite the complete lack of innovation in terms of the romantic comedy genre.... I liked it. And I cried. And I was very embarrassed.

I cry at a lot of movies, which is awkward, since I see a lot of movies, often with colleagues, friends, and publicists. After seeing The Fall, which I adored, another viewer asked me if I was okay. I bawled during the excellent movie Bright Star, although I am 99 percent sure everyone else did too. I even cried during Seven Pounds, one of the most ludicrous and manipulative "feel-good" movies I've ever had the trauma of sitting through. And after seeing The Family Stone one Christmas, hoping for the light-hearted comedy that the trailers promised, I left the theater dazed and angry at how mean-spirited and sad it was.

There are certain things that set me off, but even the lamest Sunday afternoon guilty pleasure can get me sniffling.

Are you a movie crier? Which movies have you cried at? (No need to get gory with whys and wherefores.) Were you in a public theater? What do you do when you start tearing up (or sobbing)?

Up's 35% second-weekend drop -- allowing it to barely hang on to first place with $44.2 million, at least according to Sunday estimates -- is remarkable, placing it very nearly in Finding Nemo territory. (It's currently running around $7 million behind Pixar's highest grosser.) I am loving Up's success, not just because it's a terrific film, but because it has the least obviously commercial concept Pixar's ever tackled. (Though, as I mentioned last week, Wall-E -- which Up will now surely top -- is actually the more challenging film.)

The Hangover, meanwhile, rode great buzz and good reviews to $43.3 million, which is the second highest opening weekend ever for an R-rated comedy, behind American Pie 2. (Unless you subscribe to the ludicrous notion that Sex and the City is a comedy, in which case it's third.) If you've seen the movie, you know why it's been rapturously received. If you haven't, you should.

On the other hand, Land of the Lost was punished by reviews and a muddled marketing message, landing in 3rd place with $19.5 million. The folks at Universal tried hard to push this into the summer blockbuster A-list, but I think they would have been better off pushing it as what it is: an above-average Will Ferrell comedy. As it stands, the funny film got its ass kicked by Semi-Pro, which is sort of unacceptable.

Drag Me to Hell had a disappointing second weekend, with hopes that good word-of-mouth would help it overcome its weak opening weekend evaporating. I suppose the movie was likely inexpensive enough that its $40-million-or-so domestic final won't be seen as a total bust.

Nia Vardalos' half-hearted comeback attempt My Life in Ruins grossed $3.2 million in 9th place, which is... exactly how much Connie & Carla made in its first weekend in 2004. Oh well.

The full top 10 after the jump.

Throughout My Life in Ruins, a couple of characters are frequently reminded that they are not as funny as they think they are. Unfortunately, this also applies to the movie itself. It wants to be a bubbly and occasionally zany comedy with a touch of romance surrounded by gorgeous Greek scenery ... but it often feels flat and forced, and even the landscapes seemed blah. It's being touted as a follow-up to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with the same lead actress (Nia Vardalos), but it doesn't have the pleasing blend of comedy and family sentiment that made its predecessor a success.

The movie is about a five-day tour of legendary ruins in Greece (thus the title). Georgia (Vardalos), a former history instructor whose stopgap job as a tour guide has extended for years. She hates her job, fusses because she's being assigned "second-class" tourists, and finds fault with everything in Greece that isn't at least 2,000 years old. Various Greeks -- her boss, her bus driver -- tell her that she has lost her kefi, a Greek word meaning joie de vivre or mojo or the ability to not annoy the audience. She just needs to relax and get laid and stop worrying her pretty head about things.

This past weekend marked Pixar and Disney's tenth consecutive number one opener as Up took the box office by storm. Sam Raimi's new scare-fest Drag Me To Hell did okay taking third, but was still nudged down by last week's leader Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Here's the top five:

1. Up $68.1 million
2. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $24.4 million
3. Terminator Salvation: $16.4 million
4. Drag Me to Hell: $15.8 million
5. Star Trek: $12.6 million

All three of this week's new releases are going for laughs but in very different ways.

The Hangover
What's It All About: Four friends head to Vegas for a bachelor party blowout, but the next morning the groom is missing, there's a tiger in their hotel bathroom and someone has left a baby with them. Yeah, if I had a nickel for every time...
Why It Might Do Well: Based on the trailer, this is the sort of drunken escapade everyone wishes they could brag about. At the moment Rottentomatoes.com is giving the flick a pretty sweet 100% fresh rating.
Why It Might Not Do Well: There's a lack of star power and some serious competition.
Number of Theaters: 3,200
Prediction: $26 million

Land of the Lost
What's It All About: In this reimagining of the classic Saturday morning TV show, Will Ferrell plays a scientist who finds himself transported to a world full of dinosaurs and lizard people.
Why It Might Do Well: Between the nostalgia factor and Ferrell's box office appeal, there will be some money made here.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Will Matt Lauer's fans keep away after the dissing he takes in the trailer?
Number of Theaters: 3,300
Prediction: $35 million

Did the Marx Brothers ever get serious? Pixar seems to have perfected the art of mixing dramatic themes into their comic adventures, pleasing audiences both young and old. (Moviefone's current poll of readers on Pixar's best reflects this as well, with a top choice that may surprise you.) Up is a rather magnificent tale that's filled with witty dialogue, visual gags, and laugh out loud moments, even as it "moves smoothly from romance to drama to fantasy to comedy to action-adventure and then back to sentimental drama again," in the words of Jette Kernion. Sam Raimi took modern horror in a new direction by coupling jolts with jokes in The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, expertly playing one against the other. His latest, Drag Me to Hell, marketed as a straight-up horror tale, is, in fact, "a convulsively funny movie with chills and thrills," as I've written before. Really, it's more of a comedy than anything else.

This week's widest releases appear to be more straightforward comedies: Todd Phillips' The Hangover stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as three friends who stumble around Vegas after a bachelor party gone wild; Brad Silberling's Land of the Lost stars Will Farrell as a scientist who stumbles around a prehistoric world with dinosaurs and fantastic creatures. Meanwhile, Donald Petrie's My Life in Ruins looks more like a traditional romance with comedy and drama, starring Nia Vardalos as a Greek tour guide.

How do you like your laughs? Do you prefer your comedy straight up, no chaser? Or would you rather have other elements added to the mix: drama, horror, adventure? Take our poll and let us know.

Nia Vardalos, who wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and stars in the Tribeca closer My Life in Ruins, has another rom-com on tap. I Hate Valentine's Day, which she wrote and directed, pairs her up with onscreen hubby from Greek Wedding John Corbett. Remember him back when he was the philosophically inclined DJ from "Northern Exposure," back before he went on "Sex and the City" and started a country band? Those were the days.

Nia Vardalos is a single NYC gal who refuses to go on more than five dates with anyone. Naturally, her resolve is tested when John Corbett and his debonair ways come calling. Will she change her mind? Does she have some secret heartbreak in her past? Will there be lots of jokes about chin hair and Windex? My Spidey sense says yes! And somewhere in there, Zoe Kazan (The Exploding Girl, Revolutionary Road), Rachel Dratch ("Saturday Night Live"), and Judah Friedlander (30 Rock, abuser of trucker hats) come in.

In lieu of last night's hush-hush premiere of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot in Austin, to a crowd fully expecting to see mere clips and then The Wrath of Khan instead, we checked our Inbox of the Future (patent pending) to see what other shenanigans the Alamo Drafthouse might have in store for these coming months...

April 15th -- An admitted sneak screening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was preceded by the director's cut of Australia, with Hugh Jackman himself collecting money at the door as "a favor to Baz." However, many stayed to take advantage of the opportunity to literally stone Roger Friedman in the parking lot. Several Austinites returned their bongs to their cars when they realized that this didn't mean whatever they thought it meant, while others were commissioned to restrain Hitfix's Drew McWeeny when he took to chucking nearby scooters towards the tied-up Friedman -- a sight which left AICN's Massawyrm in equal awe and fear for his property.

May 5th -- What was alleged to be a screening of Piranha II: The Spawning turned out to be the informal premiere of McG's Terminator: Salvation, to the disappointment of many fanboys who had their fingers crossed for Avatar, but would settle for this instead. Compounding the frustrations was the appearance of Linda Hamilton, who proceeded to narrate the film live in person to an annoyed crowd. Tangents included all those weeds she pulled in the garden last week and that couch Jim took in the divorce.

My Life in Ruins
Nia Vardalos, writer and star of the My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its mercifully short-lived TV version My Big Fat Greek Life stars as an American working as a tour guide in Greece. Apparently she finds romance with a creepy bus driver who likes to be called "Poopy," which is one of the reasons something stinks so badly about this one. The ruination begins on May 8.

Watchmen (Japanese trailer)
I'm almost at the point where I think I should stop watching the new Watchmen trailers (yes, I know, "Who watches the Watchmen?"), but I've read the graphic novel many times so the possiblity of spoilers is slim. There's some footage here we haven't seen before including shots of a cranky old Richard Nixon and a look at how the Kennedy assasination plays out in the Watchmen universe.

The Hurt Locker
Based on reporter Mark Boal's experiences in Iraq, this one is about a team of soldiers whose specialty is the disposal of explosive ordnance. No release info yet.

The Slammin' Salmon (Red Band Trailer)
"You have to dominate the swordfish. Only then can you sautee it," explains Michael Clarke Duncan's character in this comedy from the folks behind Super Troopers, right after he punches said swordfish in the face. The title refers to the restaurant where the film is set, a place where shenanigans reign supreme apparently. This may have some moments but I predict a long life in rotation on Comedy Central. No release info yet.

Dance Flick (International Trailer)
This new international trailer has footage we didn't see in the domestic version but I'm still not seeing any compelling reason to go see this latest from the Wayans brothers. If you disagree you'll have your chance on August 14.

Captain Berlin Vs. Hitler
Although the trailer promises a February 2009 release I doubt we'll be seeing this German super hero comedy here in the states any time soon. I question whether the premise is even strong enough to carry a feature, but this preview is pretty neat in a schlocky kind of way. The disembodied brain of Hitler and Dracula threaten to destroy all that is good in the world, but standing in their way is "the one and only German super hero: Captain Berlin!" This appears to be a filmed stage play but the most interesting part is that Jorg Buttgereit is behind this. Buttgereit directed Nekromantik (a story about a love triangle involving a man, a woman, and a corpse) which was one of the darkest most unpleasant films I've ever seen, so I'm curious to see his take on a super hero comedy.

New this week on AOL Moviefone:

• State of Play - Feature remake of a British TV mini-series about a reporter's investigation of the murder of a congressman's mistress. Check it out right here:
  
  
• Monsters vs. Aliens - Animated comedy that pays homage to science fiction films of the 1950s. Here's the trailer:
  
  
  
• Yonkers Joe - Family drama about a con man and seeking the ultimate scam to help care for his mentally challenged son.
• The Proposal - A high level executive played by Sandra Bullock is about to lose her status as a U.S. resident and hatches a scheme to marry her assistant played by Ryan Reynolds.

Cinematical has just been informed that Nia Vardalos' My Life in Ruins has scheduled a May 8, 2009 release date, which, so far, puts it opposite Star Trek as the weekend's only other wide release. And yes, we're told it will be a wide release, and that a brand, spanky new trailer will arrive soon (pay no attention to the one leaked online earlier in the month). Produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Ruins stars Nia Vardalos as she returns to her Greek roots (and to the country itself) as a tour guide who discovers her romantic side while showing a ragtag group of tourists around. Directed by Donald Petrie (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), Richard Dreyfuss and Rachel Dratch also star.

Fox Searchlight must have a good feeling about this flick if they're throwing it out right at the beginning of the summer -- and opposite the giganto Star Trek -- though the film's low-key vibes and romantic scenery will counter the ridiculous Trekker fanboy-ish quite well. Will My Life in Ruins bring Vardalos some more big, fat Greek luck? We shall see ...