september dawn Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The power of the adolescent libido and the need for a good laugh were proven when the teen sex romp Superbad outdid all the competition on its opening weekend. Rush Hour 3 and The Bourne Ultimatum covered the two and three spots, with the fourth-place The Simpsons Movie clinging to the top five for the fourth consecutive week. When all was said and done, this is what the final tally looked like.

1. Superbad: $31.2 million.
2. Rush Hour 3: $21.8 million.
3. The Bourne Ultimatum: $19 million.
4. The Simpsons Movie: $6.7 million.
5. The Invasion: $6 million.

There are six five new contenders this week for the top five positions, so the competition should be fierce. Here's what coming out on the weekend of August 24.

Mr. Bean's Holiday
What's It All About: Rowan Atkinson returns as the little-spoken Mr. Bean, who wins a church raffle for a vacation in Cannes, France.
Why It Might Do Well: Even if I've always preferred his Black Adder series to Mr. Bean, Atkinson is a comic genius.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 1997's Bean scored only $2.2 million on its opening weekend, (though it should be noted that was for a limited release of only 242 theaters) and the British style of humor may not sit well with mainstream U.S. audiences.
Number of Theaters: 1,580
Prediction: $9 million.

The Nanny Diaries
What's It All About: In this film based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin, Scarlett Johansson stars as a young woman hired to care for the child of a snooty New York City couple.
Why It Might Do Well: Paul Giamatti plays the upper crust dad, and he's always worth watching (Big Momma's House notwithstanding), and it should appeal to those who like their comedy on the heartwarming side. Ms. Johansson captured my heart in Lost in Translation, and I'm always game to see what she's up to next.
Why It Might Not Do Well: That booger-eating joke in the trailer was enough to keep me away.
Number of Theaters: 1,800
Prediction: $8 million

Resurrecting the Champ
What's It All About: Josh Hartnett plays a sports reporter who discovers a boxing legend (Samuel L. Jackson) living on the streets.
Why It Might Do Well: Dude, it's Sam Jackson, and the film is sporting an 85% fresh rating over at rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The title may fool the general public into thinking this is the world's first zombie boxing movie.
Number of Theaters: 1,550
Prediction: $11 million

September Dawn
What's It All About: A romantic drama set against the backdrop of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, which involved the deaths of over 100 California-bound Arkansas emigrants in southwestern Utah at the hands of Mormon settlers.
Why It Might Do Well: Jon Voight makes one scary-ass religious zealot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Again, Jon Voight makes one scary-ass religious zealot.
Number of Theaters: 850
Prediction: $7.5 million

WAR
What's It All About: War? Huh. Good God y'all. An FBI agent hunts down the assassin who killed his partner.
Why It Might Do Well: Things blow up and with Jet Li in the cast you can bet there will be spinning back kicks aplenty.
Why It Might Not Do Well: When I heard Jason Statham say "They killed my partner!" or words to that effect in the trailer, my cliché alarm went off and refuses to stop buzzing.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $15.5 million

Here's how I reckon next weekend will turn out:
1. Superbad
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. War
4. Rush Hour 3
5. Resurrecting the Champ

Here's how the last week's competition ended up:
1. Matt: 12
1. Curt: 12
1. Porcalina: 12
1. Gregory Rubinstein: 12
1. Paul D: 12
1. Bubba8193: 12
1. El Borracho: 12
1. Withasong: 12
1. Andre: 12
2. Josh: 11
3. Anna07: 10
3. Rufus: 10
3. Mario: 10
4. Ethan Stanislawski: 8
4. Jasonsmusicpage: 8
4. Ray 8
5. Mike: 7
5. Blair: 7
5. Tangoeco: 7

Please post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below before 5:00 PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. Come on, make us proud.

True, the Montreal World Film Festival wasn't actually pronounced dead two years ago. But the vultures were definitely circling. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, both local government film financier SODEC and its federal counterpart, Telefilm Canada, withdrew funding in 2005 and prospects for the festival looked bleak. Happily, things have changed for the better. Founder Serge Losique now declares that the festival is in good health with "renewed financial commitment from all levels of government," according to a story in the Montreal Gazette. The upcoming 31st edition of the festival will screen 230 features and 210 shorts from 70 countries.

Twenty films are part of the official competition for the "Grand Prize of the Americas." Monika Bartyzal wrote about the contemporary drama Spinning into Butter a few days ago; it stars Sarah Jessica Parker and is one of two US films in the competition. Matt Bradshaw wrote about the other one, September Dawn, back in January. The US release date for this historical drama starring Jon Voight has now been set for August 24. Other titles competing for the Grand Prize include Abel Ferrara's Go Go Tales and veteran French director Claude Miller's A Secret, which will also serve as the closing night presentation.

New directors have their own section: 21 will be presented in the "First Films World Competition." Ten horror films, including Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, will be screened in the new "Midnight Slam" program. Among the documentaries, Running With Arnold caught my eye because I remember that Cinematical's Jette Kernion had strong words about the film's fairness when she saw it at South by Southwest. But what's a festival without a little controversy? At least this one is alive and well. The Montreal World Film Festival runs from August 23 to September 3; much more information is available at the official site.

As The Shadow was fond of saying: "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit." Crime may not pay, but it often makes for compelling cinema. This week on trailer park we look at some recent trailers in which people, for one reason or another, find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Shooter
Mark Wahlberg plays a retired sharpshooter pressed back into service to prevent a Presidential assassination. His attempts to foil the hit go wrong and he ends up framed by his former employers and on the run. The story is nothing we haven't all seen before, so it all comes down to the execution (pun most definitely intended). Wahlberg has developed a formidable screen presence, and I suspect he'll be able to pull it off. The most interesting thing about seeing the rapper formerly known as Marky Mark up there on the screen, is the fact that you no longer care that it's Marky Mark. This film is not to be confused with the similarly-plotted The Shooter starring Wesley Snipes. You can read Chris Ullrich's take on this trailer here.

Smiley Face
Regardless of your views on marijuana, possession and use of it remains a crime here in the U.S. Martha Fischer first mentioned this film here on Cinematical back in March. This stoner comedy is from Gregg Araki, the director behind The Doom Generation, a nightmarishly messed up but fascinating film. Smiley Face stars Anna Faris as a young actress who really likes pot. After mistakenly eating an entire batch of cupcakes laced with the stuff, things start to get silly. Faris is probably best known for the Scary Movie series, and she does a pratfall in the trailer that will remind you of that fact. As sophomorically stupid as those films can be, I like Faris, and she's usually memorable in even small roles like the ones she played in Lost in Translation and Brokeback Mountain. I think this will be one to look out for.