July 20: At the Movies
A horror spoof (“Black Sheep”), a British import (“Cashback”), a historical drama (“Goya’s Ghosts”), a rousing musical (“Hairspray”) and a broad comedy (“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”) are the top titles arriving on this third weekend of July. For complete descriptions, critical evaluations of previewed films and explanations of the Motion Picture Association of America ratings in terms of violence, language and sexual content, please refer to the Movie Capsules.
The new films (with all dates subject to change) at a theater near you are:
“Black Sheep,” with Jonathan King directing an unrated New Zealand import in which a genetic experiment transforms gentle farm animals into creatures who become hungrier for blood than Hannibal Lecter. Expect plenty of gory scenes during the horror spoof. The special effects are by Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshop, responsible for the visuals in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
“Cashback,” with Scottish actor Sean Biggerstaff (“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”) and English actress Emilia Fox (“Keeping Mum”) in an R-rated British import about a guy who suffers from insomnia, takes a job in an all-night supermarket and then starts to have strange artistic visions.
“Goya’s Ghosts,” with Javier Bardem (“Collateral”) and Natalie Portman (“Leon, the Professional”) in an import involving painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard of “King Arthur”), who was known for his grim depictions of the brutality of war and life in 18th century Spain. In the R-rated drama, which unfolds at the end of the Spanish Inquisition and the beginning of Napoleon’s invasion of the country, the gifted artist becomes aware of a hateful scandal involving his muse and church officials who want to exploit her. Oscar-winning filmmaker Milos Forman (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”) directed.
“Hairspray,” with John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction”), Queen Latifah (“Chicago”), Michelle Pfeiffer (“Scarface”) and Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”) in a rousing PG-rated adaptation of the Broadway musical – based on a 1988 John Waters movie – about a plus-sized teenage girl fighting prejudice in Baltimore. The colorful picture, choreographed and directed by Adam Shankman (“The Wedding Planner”), provides more toe-tapping fun than any other film so far this summer.
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” with Adam Sandler (“Reign Over Me”), Kevin James (TV’s “The King of Queens”), Jessica Biel (“The Illusionist”), Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible”) and Dan Aykroyd (“The Blues Brothers”) in a broad PG-13 comedy about two straight, single firefighters who pretend to be a same-sex couple in order to receive domestic-partner health benefits.
At the buck$ office
Teenage sorcerer Harry Potter exhibited plenty of box-office magic last weekend.
“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” opened with more than $77 million.
The PG-13 sequel was followed by the toy-story sensation “Transformers,” which grossed $36 million. The total gross of “Transformers,” reported the Associated Press, is now $223 million and still going strong.
According to AP, the top-10 movies last weekend were:
1. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” ($77.4 million)
2. “Transformers” ($36 million)
3. “Ratatouille” ($18 million)
4. “Live Free or Die Hard” ($10.9 million)
5. “License to Wed” ($7.4 million)
6. “1408” ($5.01 million)
7. “Evan Almighty” ($5 million)
8. “Knocked Up” ($3.7 million)
9. “Sicko” ($2.65 million)
10. “Ocean’s Thirteen” ($1.9 million)