The Weekend Blend

By Josh Tyler: 2006-06-16 00:00:00

Pixar threw up a solid performance last weekend with the debut of Cars, and with such a diverse group of new releases this weekend there’s a good chance that Cars could repeat at number one again. But the week’s biggest audience getter might end up as yet another Fast and Furious. Both of the previous street racing films did big numbers powered almost entirely by teen turn out. Though this new sequel changes cast and location, it’s not a stretch to assume that the same massive teenager turn out will show up again. Let’s hope not. There are better ways for moviegoers to spend their time this weekend.

Here’s our usual weekly look at what’s opening new this weekend in American theaters:

6/16 – 6/18

Limited Releases(Opening in fewer than 500 theaters.)
It’s summer, which means blockbusters and not limited release indies. A few will try this weekend anyway, including the Patrick Creadon documentary Wordplay. It pops out in a blistering two theaters to tell the no doubt fabulously exciting story of a crossword puzzle editor. But if you’re dead set on skipping summer blockbusters to see something arty, and Wordplay sounds a little too high octane for you, there’s Loverboy in four theaters nationwide. It’s directed by Kevin Bacon. You remember him, he used to be famous. That was before he got rich, decided he didn’t give a damn if people liked his movies, and started making quiet, quality films on tough, socially relevant topics. Loverboy stars his “Closer” wife Kyra Sedgwick as a possessive mother who, in the words of the film’s official synopsis: “loved too much”. Hey, have you heard about Nacho Libre?

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Opens in 3,026 theaters.)

Few thought this franchise would ever make it to three, especially without any of the original’s stars. But here we are, hitting the streets of Tokyo and proclaiming drifting the hot new thing. For this one, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have been replaced by the lower priced Shane Black, playing a guy who runs to Japan as a way to escape a prison sentence. There, he’s sucked into the world of underground street racing, and soon finds him squealing tires through the streets of Godzilla’s favorite snack city in a car full of various exotic, explosive fuels.

Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (Opens in 2,945 theaters.)

Here’s yet another sequel no one ever thought would happen. It has, and Garfield is back to torture his owner. This time, he’ll make things miserable for the British too as Garfield, Jon, Odie, and Liz head to Europe, the place where all American movie franchises go to die. In London, Garfield encounters a twin who’s cat royalty. The two inadvertently switch places and John Arbuckle’s fat housecat ends up with a castle full of servants. Oh and the other characters do some stuff too. John is dazzled by Liz’s magnificent um… figure and tries to propose marriage, and Odie pees on some Brits. Consider taking your kids to see Cars again, won’t you?

The Lake House (Opens in 2,645 theaters.)

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves reunite on screen for the first time since Speed in an American remake of a surrealist Asian film called Il Mare. The Lake House is a surreal mix of fantasy and romance, as Bullock and Reeeves’ play characters who’ve bought the same house… but in different time periods. Though they’re living several years apart, they communicate, and fall in love via letters left in their house’s magic mailbox. When the flag goes up, a letter has just been transported through time along with a complimentary Keane song. It’s getting mediocre reviews, but the allure of seeing Sandra and Keanu together again may be too much for some to resist.

Nacho Libre (Opens in 3,070 theaters.)

After a break for serious monkey business, Jack Black returns to comedy in a film from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess and School of Rock writer Mike White. The result is an awkward sort of greatness, as Black plays a downtrodden Mexican monk named Ignacio with dreams of stardom as a famous Luchadore (the wild Mexican version of wrestling). But wrestling is a sin, and Ignacio grapples with the morality of kicking ass while making subpar meals for his monastery’s orphans. Finally, sick of feeding them nothing but refried beans, Ignacio throws on a costume, finds a partner, and leaps into the ring to make his dreams come true. That Jack Black would be hilariously funny as a monk turned wrestler is a given, what’s surprising about Nacho Libre is that it’s also kind of sweet. Hess’s style is only improved by White’s writing and Jack’s impish grin and the result is a more memorable film than the overrated Napoleon Dynamite.

STILL IN THEATERS AND WORTH YOUR TIME: Cars

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