By Chris Kavan - 11/01/11 at 11:59 AM CT
A little romance to warm up the coming winter - and something to keep the kids occupied while you snuggle away.
1) Out of the two romantic options, I'm throwing my weight behind the one that's also a comedy. Crazy, Stupid, Love
also has the benefit of having a great cast, including Steve Carell, indie favorite Ryan Gosling and just cute-as-a-button Emma Stone. If I have to be subjected to romance, at least I know I'll be entertained by a standout cast as well. Not my usual cup of tea, but I would at least be willing to give this one a shot.
2) While it didn't enjoy a big bang at the box office, no doubt the children will still enjoy Cars 2
. I never really liked the first Cars all that much - I still think it was the weakest of the Pixar films - but I think it was also the most marketable, which is why you're seeing a sequel to this instead of, say The Incredibles. I'll leave this to the young ones and stick with Up or Wall-E instead.
3) For fans of more dramatic romance, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson try to make you feel all weepy in Water for Elephants
. These are the type of films I just tend to avoid - the only serious romantic film I think I've ever cared for is Casablanca, everything else just pales in comparison. Plus, it's based on a popular book, which worked for The Notebook, but this film performed only average at the box office. Unless you tied me down, I don't think I would watch this one.
4) Finally, a movie that arrived and left so fast, I bet you plum forgot it was even in theaters. The period drama Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
received little love from critics and was pretty much ignored by audiences at large. A film about the bond between female facing some painful, some would say torturous, social standards for the time - I wonder why it didn't find a wide audience? Some people may appreciate this, but unless you are interested in the history I don't see the appeal.
On the Blu-Ray front, Bill Murray gets a jump start on the Christmas season with the release of Scrooged
. While this doesn't reach the same holiday achievement as say, It's a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story, this rather twisted take on A Christmas Carol is certainly entertaining. Plus Murray is just fun to watch, especially when getting smacked with a toaster. A lesser Steven Spielberg effort, Hook
, is also getting the Blu-Ray treatment. It's not a terrible film, but the casting is just strange for me - Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman just don't fit the parts for me. I'll stick with the animated version of Peter Pan or even Finding Neverland for my fix. Finally, if you need your Nicolas Cage fix, you can find it in the almost-straight-to-video release of Trespass
. I think this was released in limited theaters, but I doubt many people have seen this regardless. It can't be worse than Wickerman, right? Right!?
If you want to explore all the great films coming out this week, please visit the FilmCrave New DVD Releases and FilmCrave New Blu-Ray Releases pages today.
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