TheOtherMan Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Indie Spotlight: New Releases for Sept. 25
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Foreign Language », Horror », Independent », New Releases », Columns », Indie Spotlight »
Here's a quick look at what's opening in limited release this weekend. If they're not playing where you live, keep an eye out as they make the rounds. And if all else fails, there's always DVD....Paranormal Activity (pictured) is finally coming to theaters after premiering two years ago at Screamfest. It's a simple horror concept: married couple believes their house is haunted; sets up camera to film the things that go bump in the night; pants-wetting ensues. Cinematical's Kim Voynar was terrified by it when she caught it at Slamdance 2008, and our Eugene Novikov was similarly enthralled at Telluride this year. At Rotten Tomatoes, all but one of the reviews are similarly positive. Hooray for low-budget indie thrillers! Now playing in Seattle, Boulder, Tucson, Baton Rouge, Columbus, Orlando, Ann Arbor, Madison, Wis., and Santa Cruz, Calif.
The Boys Are Back stars Clive Owen as a newly widowed father of two boys. It's directed by Scott Hicks, who made Shine and Hearts in Atlantis. Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel had praise for the film when it premiered at Toronto, saying it's occasionally great and often very sweet. At Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of the reviews are positive -- not a smash, but very solid. Playing in New York and L.A.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is based on douchebag-and-proud-of-it Tucker Max's memoirs detailing his escapades as a carousing womanizer and general tool. Matt Czuchry plays Max in the film, which takes the form of a road-trip buddy comedy. Now playing in about 120 theaters nationwide. Only 22% of the reviews so far are positive, with most critics calling it juvenile, derivative, and unfunny.
'The Other Man' Gets Neeson, Linney, Banderas, and Garai
Filed under: Drama », Casting »
Just after we headed into our new century, Bernard Schlink had a selection of short stories published called Flights of Love. One of the tales published in the collection was The Other Man. Just like its title suggests, the story is about a love triangle of sorts. After a man loses his wife to cancer, he receives a letter from her lover. What would seem like a huge blow to an already-mourning man actually does him good. The two men begin a correspondence, and the widower finds comfort in his letters to the other man.Now Variety reports that writer/director Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal) has adapted the story with Charles Wood, and has put together quite a cast to star -- Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Antonio Banderas, and Romola Garai. Sure, it's way too early to make any real judgments, but I'd be beyond surprised if this doesn't work itself into one hell of a film. However, I'm a bit curious about the plot. The story's layout sounds decent, but Variety describes the film this way: "the story of a husband who starts to suspect he's not the only man in his wife's life, and sets out to track down his rival."
If this is how the film will play out, that means he doesn't find out post-death, and that it's more a story of tracking down the other man than bonding, or finding comfort with him. On the other hand, a synopsis on IMDb says it's "the story of a widower's slowly-developing revenge against his late wife's secret lover," which "reveals to him his own compromises and failings." Who knows?! I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Production will get going next month, appropriately on Valentine's Day, in the UK and Italy.









