Silver screen to light up with action thriller, horror flick
An action thriller (“Crank”), a sports tale (“Crossover”), a dark melodrama (“The Quiet”) and a horror remake (“The Wicker Man”) are landing in theaters on this Labor Day weekend. The new films (with all dates subject to change) opening at a theater near you include:
– “Crank,” with Jason Statham (“The Transporter”) and Amy Smart (“Just Friends”) in an R-rated action picture about a hit man who has poison injected into his body. The hoodlum then must keep his heart rate above a certain level to stay alive as he seeks the culprits and the antidote. The distributor declined to screen the film in advance for reviewers.
– “Crossover,” with TV favorite Wayne Brady (“The Wayne Brady Show”) in a PG-13 picture about a gifted college athlete who plans to use his basketball scholarship to study medicine at UCLA and skip playing for the NBA. His plans are threatened by an old friend who knows a secret and a romantic entanglement that could take his focus off of his future.
– “La Moustache,” with Vincent Lindon (“Hate”) in a mystery drama about a French man who has had a moustache for many years, shaves it off to see what reaction he will get from his significant other and friends and then discovers that they don’t even notice that it’s gone. He then starts to worry that there’s a conspiracy involving all of the people closest to him or perhaps he never had a moustache at all. The unrated import will be presented in French with subtitles.
– “The Quiet,” with Elisha Cuthbert (TV’s “24”), Camilla Belle (“When a Stranger Calls”), Edie Falco (HBO’s “The Sopranos”) and Martin Donovan (“The Sentinel”) in an R-rated suspense tale about a hearing-impaired young woman who goes to live with her godparents. She soon discovers that something is very strange about the relationship between the members of her new family.
– “13 (Tzameti),” with George Babluani (“L’ Heritage”) in a disturbing black-and-white thriller about a poor young guy who becomes involved in a sick Russian roulette game involving 13 armed men standing in a circle, pointing their weapons at the heads of the men in front of them and pulling the triggers at the same time. Gamblers then wager on who will be the last man standing. The unrated import will be presented in French with subtitles.
– “The Wicker Man,” with Nicolas Cage (“World Trade Center”), Ellen Burstyn (“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”) and Leelee Sobieski (“Eyes Wide Shut”) in a PG-13 remake of the 1974 British cult favorite about a sexually repressed policeman dispatched to locate a young girl who is missing from a remote island. The investigator soon discovers that the population consists of pagans and suspects that the child was the victim of a human sacrifice. Christopher Lee (“Horror of Dracula”), Edward Woodward (TV’s “The Equalizer”) and Britt Ekland (“The Man With the Golden Gun”) star in the original. The distributor declined to screen the remake in advance for reviewers.
At the buck$ office
“Invincible,” the inspirational fact-based story about Eagles player Vince Papale, scored at the box office last weekend. The PG-rated sports picture, starring Mark Wahlberg as Papale, opened with an impressive $17 million.
The NASCAR spoof “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” starring Will Ferrell, parked in second place.
According to boxofficemojo.com, the broad PG-13 comedy has grossed a total of $127.6 million in its first four weeks of release and is still going strong
According to the Associated Press and boxofficemojo.com, the top-10 movies last weekend were:
1. “Invincible” ($17 million)
2. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” ($8 million)
3. “Little Miss Sunshine” ($7.5 million)
4. “Beerfest” ($6.5 million)
5. “Accepted” ($6.47 million)
6. “Snakes on a Plane” ($6.4 million)
7. “World Trade Center” ($6.39 million)
8. “Step Up” ($6.2 million)
9. “Idlewild” ($5.9 million)
10. “Barnyard” ($5.4 million)
Coming soon!
The major titles scheduled to open Sept. 8 include: “Hollywoodland” (with Ben Affleck in a drama about George Reeves, the actor who had the title role on TV’s “The Adventures of Superman” and died under mysterious circumstances) and “Lucky You” (with Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore in a family drama revolving around a poker tournament).