New Movies to Crave: Watching Birds, Dancing and One Cold Alien

By Chris Kavan - 10/14/11 at 02:01 PM CT

Two remakes (well, one remake and one "prequel"), some bird-watching comedy and Pedro Almodóvar's latest, twisted film all fight for the top spot this week - but will anyone be interested?

1) While no films truly stand out for me this week, I'll go with the one I would most likely watch at some point in time: The Thing. Now, remakes or reinterpretations or prequels - whenever you're dealing with an existing franchise, you run the risk of, well, ruining it. I only recently watched John Carpenter's The Thing, and it's a classic claustrophobic tale of suspicion and dread. This remake looks a little too slick (and the preview give way too much away) compared to the 1980s version. However, it's much harder to screw up horror than it is pretty much any other genre, so even if it turns out to be a dud, it should at least be an entertaining dud.

2) On the other hand, I don't have nearly as much hope for the remake of Footloose. The original is fun in a "hey it's the 1980s, let's throw on some Kenny Loggins, make a story about a town that outlaws dancing and run with it". Once again, this remake looks way too slick to be anywhere near as goofball fun - no matter how the dance moves look, I just can't see myself ever really wanting to watch this one. I've already heard it for the boys, I don't need to revisit this story again.

3) The premise behind The Big Year seems completely crazy for a Hollywood film: bird watchers who compete and try to spot the rarest North American specimens for a prestigious event. I mean, whoever came up with the pitch must have been damn good for it to get made. Then again, Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin are some pretty good names - though nothing I've seen in the previews has screamed "laugh-out-loud" to me, so I'm a bit skeptical. However, with the names involved, it at least holds a slim interest in me.

4) Once again, I must showcase a film that isn't playing in nearly as many theaters, but is probably the most interesting of the bunch. Director Pedro Almodóvar is not one to shy away from intense subject matter. His latest, The Skin I Live In, is no different. A gifted plastic surgeon who comes up with a unique way to exact his revenge. Unique and twisted. Another one I want to see out of sheer curiosity.

There you have it - will any newcomers be able to knockout Real Steel from the top spot this weekend? Stay tuned on Sunday to see the results.