TheTimeTravelersWife Tagged Articles at Cinematical

In my last rambling screed against certain release dates, I noted that I couldn't speak for the latest hiding place for The Time Traveler's Wife, the oft-delayed adaptation of the acclaimed romance novel. From the look of things, though, Warner Bros. has bumped back the equally romantic Final Destination 4 3D back to August 28th in order to give the weekend of the 14th to Wife.

And what a summer this has become for star Eric Bana (he's the time traveler, not the wife). Between this, Star Trek in May and Funny People in July, the main Munich man has a nice marquee streak going for him, and of course, any excuse for a little more Rachel McAdams beyond April's State of Play is nothing to sniff at either (unless this thing turns out to be quite the tearjerker).

The move puts Wife up against the likes of family comedy Bandslam and sci-fi mystery District 9, while Destination now opens opposite Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, which is exactly the type of horror offering that would make me want to see FD4-3D instead.

Last month, I weighed aloud the notion of relocating oft-delayed con man crime caper The Brothers Bloom just one more time, to somewhere out from under the shadows of many May blockbusters. Summit's reaction to that piece was prompt yet delicate -- they merely blackmailed Universal into moving Bruno away from Bloom's NY/LA bow.

This time around, my latest open letter to futility is being CC'ed to Warner Bros., as my concern now lies with the latest move of Richard Kelly's bumped-and-then-some thriller, The Box, starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple forced to weigh the cost of one life against a chance at considerable wealth. (In other words, they get to slip into the shoes of Hollywood executives.)

All the movie studios are just hellbent on messing with my fall season. Australia is the latest movie to get the old switch-a-roo, as Variety reports that Fox is moving its release date from November 14 down to November 26. I know, it's only a matter of weeks, but it's just the principle of the thing. And it's now pitted against The Road, forcing me to chose which one to see opening day. I don't need that kind of stress, particularly on Thanksgiving which isn't exactly the most relaxing of holidays.

The delay is apparently the result of director Baz Luhrmann needing some extra time to polish the film. He brought everyone back for some pick-up shots, which explains the paparazzi shots I've seen of Hugh Jackman riding around Oz in full drover gear. I thought he just did that sort of thing all the time.

The fact that Australia's delay means it now neatly dodges the release of Quantum of Solace is, I'm sure, mere coincidence. I suspect we'll see more November rearranging -- Variety is reporting that The Time Traveler's Wife is also coming out on the 26th, though IMDB is still showing a Christmas release. If Variety is right (and why wouldn't it be?), I wouldn't be surprised if it ran to the 14th to steer clear of competing with another romance. Plus, I just don't think America could handle Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, and Eric Bana all having a movie out on the same day -- not when us girls are supposed to be home making pumpkin pies and turkey.

After making a fair impression in 2004 with Mean Girls and The Notebook, and then pulling a hat trick the following year with Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, and The Family Stone, it seemed to me that Canadian cutie Rachel McAdams was primed to take off in the years to come... and yet, here we are in 2008, with her one release since having been in the not-bad period drama Married Life (which grossed a not-great $1.5 million this past spring).

However, it looks her profile is about to rise yet again, between the star-studded drama State of Play next year and two other releases this fall: the long-awaited adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife and, before that, the Iraq War drama The Lucky Ones, in which she, Tim Robbins, and Michael Peña all play returning vets who bond on an impromptu road trip to Vegas.

Judging from the trailer, it really seems to be a change of pace for director/co-writer Neil Burger, as he follows up the modest success of The Illusionist. Do I honestly believe that some bar skank would pull such open mockery if she wasn't scripted to? Not at all, but do I believe that McAdams' character would react as she does? Absolutely.

Regardless, it's just nice to see a genuine talent working her way back into the limelight. Who knows, maybe audiences can convince her to stay there.