[Kill The Critic] The Independent Entertainment Blog [Film-Theatre-Comedy]

Sweet Release Tuesday: Beyond "Sex and the City" Movie/DVD Fever

Go, Simon, Go!

I'm keeping this week's new DVD release update short and sweet, and not even starting with the movie that beat out the typical action/adventure summer blockbusters for box office gold. No, I'd rather discuss two other movies first - helmed by actors/writers and actors/directors. 

There's something about the multi-talented Simon Pegg that impresses and entertains me. His brand of humor (as a comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer) is a wildly successful U.K. export (see Shaun of the Dead - my favorite movie of 2004, and on my all-time favorites list). Pegg has achieved cult hero status among film geeks in Austin, appearing at the marathon of his Channel 4 series "Spaced" at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Ritz), dubbed Spaced-Numb-A-Thon. He continues building his writing cred and exercises his comedic acting muscles in Run, Fatboy, Run, which appears to be (loosely) based on a late '70s film Running. Pegg teams up with American buddy and "Friends" alumnus David Schwimmer, who does more than a decent job as director of Fatboy, and I look forward to their next project behind - and in front of - the camera. 

Pegg plays Dennis, an irresponsible, commitment-phobic man who jilt his pregnant fiancee at the alter, and tries to win her back by committing to training and running a marathon. The casting seemed a bit odd at first, with considerably older Hank Azaria playing Pegg's romantic foil, and the graceful Thandie Newton's Libby seems a bit out of fatboy's league. Maybe I shouldn't be so snobby, so I'm recommending to buy Run, Fatboy, Run or adding it in your top 10 on the Netflix queue if you can't rent a copy from a favorite local video store, like I ♥ Video, or Vulcan.

 

KTC Rating: 3 out of 5 (Spots of brilliance, but not Pegg's best work.)

Average Critc & Audience Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I've been impressed with George Clooney ever since he directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002, starring Sam Rockwell as "Game Show Producer/CIA Hitman" Chuck Barris), and co-wrote and directed the understated (and brlliant) story of Edward R. Murrow vs. McCarthyism, Good Night and Good Luck. With his third feature, Leatherheads, Clooney chooses a physically tougher and intellectually lighter subject, about the early days of gridiron, pro football. When I watched the preiviews, I knew it would probably have trouble at the box office, and not just because of the oddball love triangle between characters played by Clooney, Renée Zellweger, and John Krasinski (Jim Halper, "The Office"). I'm a fan of all three actors, but I can't say I'm a big fan of the story and overall execution of the adorably plucky historical comedy. Leatherheads got panned (or ignored) by many critics, also a bad sign at the box office if you're part of the Hollywood elite. 

The story of Leatherheads is simple: Set in the roaring 1920s, a golden college footballer is recruited by a coach, an injured has-been, and they spend the next hour and a half or so love tackling the not so innocent ingenue, the goldenboy's fiancee. But it's really about the early, rough and no rules ways of American football. I'm not a sports fan, let alone a sports movie fan, so this one doesn't get extra points for appealing to my romantic comedy side. 

KTC Rating: 2.5 of 5 (Forgettable at the box office, but a decent rental.)

Avg. Rating: 3 of 5

I want that dress. 

I won't bore you with details about Sex and the City: The Movie, now on DVD. Buy it, or rent it if you spent too much money at the shoe department at Macy's, throw a cocktail party and guess which one of your friends is like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, or Miranda.

KTC Rating: 3.5 of 5 (Good, but don't expect it to be like the HBO series.) 

Avg. Rating: 6 of 5 - kidding - 4 of 5

Next Week's Sweet Release: Iron Man!

~ diy danna