New Movies to Crave: An Adjustment of a Beastly Chameleon - Take Me Home, Tonight!

By Chris Kavan - 03/04/11 at 11:14 AM CT

Well, box office numbers were so disappointing last week, I didn't even want to talk about them. When a three-week old movie about gnomes beats all new films, it's a sad week for new releases indeed. Luckily for us, this weekend provides a much more robust lineup that has the best chance yet of shaking the box office doldrums Hollywood has found itself in.

1) Up front is Matt Damon and Emily Blunt finding romance and fighting fate - literally, the people who control destiny, in The Adjustment Bureau. This seems like a concept that is both interesting, yet bizarre. It's billed as a romantic thriller, but it's obvious from the TV spots that the romance aspect has been pushed aside while highlighting the more exciting and almost sci-fi aspects of the film. We'll see if the marketing choice was a good one and if the film can draw in both a male and female audience to a strong opening.

2) Watch out gnomes, there's a new family-friendly film in town, and it has a big-name voice to back it up. Johnny Depp puts on a country twang and a little color in Rango - about a chameleon who finds himself an hapless hero in a lawless town. I know I would watch this over gnomes any day of the week and I have a feeling, depending on how families feel, that this could easily top the box office.

3) If you would rather sit back with an eclectic cast trying to capture the spirit of the 80s, then Take Me Home Tonight will scratch that itch. Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer and Chris Pratt lead the cast with names like Bob Odenkirk, Angie Everheart, Michelle Trachtenberg and Michael Biehn (amongst others) showing up for the ride. I have a feeling it's not going to be half as funny as the trailers are trying to make it out to be, but I would consider this at least a solid rental when it comes out.

4) If you haven't gotten your fill over the year, there is yet another updated Beauty and the Beast coming out in the form of Beastly. Looking yet again to capture that Twilight-loving audience with hot, young actors, I can't say this updated tale holds much interest for me. But, hey, Neil Patrick Harris makes an appearance - but I bet it won't be nearly as much fun as him snorting coke off a prostitute.

5) Finally, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention the limited release of Kevin Smith's Red State (which opens wide in October). If you're lucky enough to live in an area where it's playing, I highly encourage you to watch the horror is very real because it isn't about zombies or vampires, but perhaps the scariest thing of all: super fundamentalist religious right zealots. Only Smith would be so bold, and I for one am interested in how it plays out.

See you Sunday when I hopefully have some good box office news for this year.

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