how she move Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Here's a dirty little secret: sometimes film critics don't want to see movies. It's true. When we start out, ambitious and full of energy, we'll sit through any old thing, but after a while, when the formulas begin to wear on you, you can smell a turkey from watching the trailer. Sometimes you can smell a stinkbomb just from the title alone. I thought, for fun, I'd go over some titles I haven't seen and give you an idea of what might go through a critic's head. Of course, some of this is self-justification for not being able to see every single movie that comes through town. Frankly, it's impossible for one person to do, and so we resort to a porcupine-like defense, just in case anyone asks us about a movie we haven't seen: "It looked terrible."

Here's one: How to Cook Your Life (1 screen). What is that? Without even looking, it sounds like a bunch of actresses on a single set with too much dialogue, probably a lot of violin music and tears. And what could it mean? Why would I want to cook my life? It sounds painful, doesn't it? (It's really a film by the German director Dorris Dorrie about trying to equate cooking with Zen philosophy.) Then we have Hitman (9 screens), which irritated critics to no end, but seems to have pleased a fair number of moviegoers. Question: how many hitman movies have you seen in the past five or ten years? Is there an actor working today who hasn't played a hitman? What kind of brass cojones must it have taken to actually use the title "Hitman" on a middling, forgettable piece of work like this one?

I've seen about a half-dozen "urban teen dance movies" in the past couple of years, even going back to watch Save the Last Dance, which may have sparked the current craze for this genre. The best movies have naturally been the ones with the most interesting and energetic dance numbers -- the storylines are interchangeable and unmemorable, and the characters tend to be stock types. The latest in this genre is How She Move, a Canadian film about step dancing, that was bought at Sundance in 2007 right after the similar Stomp the Yard stomped the box office.

How She Move has some electrifying dance numbers, but the plot treads in the same steps as its predecessors. Raya (Rutina Wesley) is an ambitious teen studying hard at a private high school -- she doesn't want to suffer the same fate as her older sister, who just died from a drug overdose. But her sister's tragic troubles drained the family income, so Raya must return to her parents and go to the local public school until she can win a scholarship. She soon learns that other teens in her neighborhood are able to earn some cash at "comps" -- step competitions -- so she decides to make money for her schooling in this way. But which step team should she join: the all-girls group headed by her longtime neighbor Michelle (Tre Armstrong), the boys' team managed by her old friend Bishop (Dwain Murphy), who has a little crush on her, or the tried-and-true winners ruled by the guy who led her sister astray?

As expected, in addition to kicking the Statue of Liberty's butt, Cloverfield beat back the competition to be the clear winner this past weekend, breaking a couple of records in the process. The giant monster flick now has the highest January opening weekend on record (a record previously held by the 1997 release of the Special Edition of Star Wars) as well as being the top earner for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend (previously held by Black Hawk Down). 27 Dresses opened to less stellar, but still respectable numbers, while last week's other release, Mad Money, finished sixth. Here's the rundown:

1. Cloverfield: $41 million.
2. 27 Dresses: $22.4 million.
3. The Bucket List: $15.2 million.
4. Juno: $10.3 million.
5. First Sunday: $7.8million.

We've got four new releases this week, and between the laughs, greased pecs, automatic weapons, and dancing, there should be something for everyone.

How She Move
What's It All About: After her sister's death from a drug overdose, a girl must leave the private high school she's been attending and return to the drug and crime-infested neighborhood she came from. An opportunity to take part in a dance competition traditionally dominated by males gives her the hope of winning enough money to continue her education.
Why It Might Do Well: It should have strong youth appeal and has an 80% Fresh rating over at Rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: English teachers everywhere will be shrieking in agony over the grammatical atrocity committed by the title, and I've got to tell you its got me cringing too.
Number of Theaters: 1,500
Prediction: $12 million

Meet the Spartans
What's It All About: In the style of the Scary Movie franchise, Not Another Teen Movie and Date Movie comes this lampooning of 300.
Why It Might Do Well: Anything's possible.
Why It Might Not Do Well: This type of parody has been done to death.
Number of Theaters: 2,600
Prediction: $10 million