It’s an industry term that got some press over the weekend from The Los Angeles Times, and apparently it has been somewhat of a secret. Did you wonder why Bradley Cooper and Renee Zellweger look so young in “Case 39?” (The real question is did anyone actually see “Case 39?”) Here’s an explanation for why that may be:
“‘Case 39’ was stuck in a little discussed corner of the industry: movie purgatory, where films with marketable stars — not just Cooper but Matt Damon, John Cusack, Eddie Murphy and Mel Gibson — can linger for months, even years, trapped by marketing disagreements, creative clashes, executive shuffles, money shortfalls or the judgment that they are such surefire flops that it makes no sense to throw good money after bad and distribute them.”
The alternative to movie purgatory is, of course, direct-to-DVD release. I won’t watch a direct-to-DVD movie on principle, simply because if it’s not good enough to hit theaters, it’s not worth watching. However, “Slumdog Millionaire” was stuck in movie purgatory for a time, so we can’t say that all movies that are in such limbo are bad. But as far as I’m concerned, movie purgatory as a whole lot better than a straight-to-DVD release.
In less than two weeks, we are headed into October. More quality fall entertainment, more Oscar contenders. But really, “The Social Network” leads off the month and it’s all downhill from there. Sorry, every other movie coming out in my month of birth. AND PLEASE TAKE THE POLL AT THE END … I blanked and left it off for a few days, but please vote!
October 1
I’ve stated twice that I’m dying to see “The Social Network,” and I’ve predicted it twice now to win Best Picture. I’m counting on a great movie, and I’m planning on catching the first showing after school on Friday.
“Let Me In” reminds us of a time when vampires were still scary, not sexy. Chloe Moretz (best known as Hit Girl) plays the blood-sucking child in question in this remake of the 2008 foreign horror flick “Let the Right One In.” I think subtitles make anything creepier, but Hollywood sees English-language versions as a way to make things more accessible.
I love the book “Freakonomics,” and I think the documentary montage without any particular focus is a perfect complement to the bestseller. If it’s anything like the book, it will be fascinating and incredibly thought-provoking. It’s an interesting tactic to put it on iTunes before releasing it in theaters, and I’ve been asking myself whether or not I should wait for the big screen.
And on another note, poor Renee Zellweger has dropped so low as to start doing low-brow horror like “Case 39.” To think she won an Oscar just 7 years ago…
October 8
Ugh, “Secretariat.” Inspirational sports movies now give me an averse reaction. And there’s also more gross horror in 3D with “My Soul to Take.” Way to sell your soul, Wes Craven. With the only other wide release being a corny Josh Duhamel-Katherine Heigl romantic comedy, “Life as We Know It,” it looks like I may be seeing “The Social Network” for a second time.
On the indie side of things, I’ll be happy to see some of the offerings. For example, I’m sure “Inside Job” will be an illuminating (and probably slanted) view of what really went down with the economic meltdown in 2008.
“Stone” looks intense, much like “Brothers” appealed to me this time last year. With an impressive cast of Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton (Milla Jovovich to a lesser degree as well), it could be a pretty good under-the-radar movie.
“Tamara Drewe” has been playing at a lot of film festivals this year to mixed/positive reviews, most of the praise going not to director Stephen Frears but to leading lady Gemma Arterton. “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” has also been playing film festivals recently albeit to much less success. Despite the widespread acclaim the filmmakers’ past two movies, “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,” have received, this just hasn’t caught on. “Nowhere Boy,” the story of John Lennon, premiered at Toronto this week, but I didn’t hear anything about it. No news is NOT good news at a festival.
Purgatory – it’s real. At least for movies.
Marshall and the Movies 
Recent Comments