Police drama, war epic and comedy to hit big screen this weekend
A police drama (“Dark Blue”), a war epic (“Gods and Generals”), an issue picture (“The Life of David Gale”) and a broad comedy (“Old School”) are the major titles arriving in theaters on this post-Presidents’ Day weekend. The new motion pictures (with release dates subject to change) scheduled to open today at a theater near you include:
– “Dark Blue”: A no-nonsense Los Angeles policeman (Kurt Russell of “Escape From New York”) known for his tough street tactics is challenged by a superior officer (Ving Rhames of “Mission: Impossible”).
The R-rated police thriller is set in 1992 just days before the riots that followed the acquittal of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King. Brendan Gleeson (“Gangs of New York”), Scott Speedman (TV’s “Felicity”) and Lolita Davidovich (“Blaze”) co-star. Ron Shelton (“Bull Durham”) directed.
– “Gods and Generals”: This PG-13 prequel to the 1993 epic “Gettysburg” focuses on the South as Gen. Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall of “The Godfather”) and Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson (Stephen Lang of “Tombstone”) prepare to lead their forces into the opening battles of the Civil War. Ted Turner personally bankrolled the $54 million production, which runs almost four hours, is based on the novel by Jeff Shaara and features more than 800 Civil War re-enactors during the battlefield scenes. Jeff Daniels recreates his role as Union officer Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Ronald F. Maxwell, who also helmed the original, directed. – “The Life of David Gale”: The controversial subject of capital punishment anchors this R-rated melodrama about a disgraced Harvard-educated philosophy professor (Kevin Spacey of “American Beauty”) who’s convicted of murder in Texas and has four days remaining until his execution. He asks an ambitious reporter (Kate Winslet of “Titanic”) to prove his innocence and save his life. Laura Linney (“The Truman Show”) co-stars. British filmmaker Alan Parker (“Angela’s Ashes”) directed.
– “Lost in La Mancha”: The ill-fated journey of director Terry Gilliam (“Brazil”) to bring his $32 million dream project, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” to the screen is chronicled in this fascinating R-rated documentary. Numerous production problems caused Gilliam to abandon the project in October 2000 after six days of filming, despite the presence of major star Johnny Depp. He stars in a key role as an ad executive who travels through time to the 17th century and is mistaken by Don Quixote (French comic actor Jean Rochefort) for Sancho Panza. Jeff Bridges narrates. Temple University graduates Louis Pepe and Keith Fulton, whose first joint project was “The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys,” an insightful documentary on Gilliam’s Philadelphia-shot “Twelve Monkeys,” co-directed.
– “Old School”: During this sex-and-booze fueled romp, three 30-year-old buddies (Luke Wilson of “Rushmore,” Vince Vaughn of “Swingers” and Will Ferrell of TV’s “Saturday Night Live”) decide to take a break from their bland middle-class lives by returning to college, starting a fraternity, guzzling beer, chasing coeds and partying constantly.
The R-rated comedy features Leah Remini (TV’s “The King of Queens”), Ellen Pompeo (“Daredevil”), Snoop Dog (“Bones”), Seann William Scott (“American Pie”), Juliette Lewis (“Natural Born Killers”), Jeremy Piven (“Rush Hour 2”) and – in his screen debut – smug TV host Craig Kilborn (“The Late, Late Show”). Todd Phillips (“Road Trip”) directed.
At the buck$ office
Snow didn’t keep moviegoers away from “Daredevil” over the Presidents’ Day weekend.
The PG-13 tale based on the Marvel Comic character easily took the No. 1 spot at the box office.
The top 10 films last weekend were:
1. “Daredevil” ($47.3 million)
2. “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days” ($21 million) 3. “Chicago” ($15.5 million)
4. “The Jungle Book 2” ($15.1 million) 5. “Shanghai Knights” ($12.8 million) 6. “The Recruit” ($7.5 million)
7. “Final Destination 2” ($6.4 million) 8. “Kangaroo Jack” ($5 million)
9. “Deliver Us From Eva” ($4.6 million) 10. “The Hours” ($3.8 million)
Coming Soon!
Major titles scheduled to open Feb. 28 include: Jet Li and DMX in “Cradle 2 the Grave,” an action thriller about a diamond heist; Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro in “The Hunted,” a suspense tale about a tracker hired by the government to locate an assassin; Eddie Griffin in “Dysfunktional Family,” a documentary on Griffin’s stage act and personal life; Ashton Kutcher and Tara Reid in “The Guests,” a comedy about a worker trying to seduce his boss’ daughter; and Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in “Gerry,” an art film about two friends who go hiking and get lost.