The Weeksly Late Edition – 26/01/07

ood evening Ladies & Gentlemen, I’m Adam Weeks – and you’re not. Sorry, just been watching the first season of “Saturday Night Live” on DVD, and man is it good – John Belushi & Chevy Chase alongside guys like Dan Aykroyd is just brilliant to revisit – but anyhow, Good evening Ladies & Gentlemen, and welcome back to the very first “Late Edition” for 2007. This week is a touch different, I’m gonna give you my list of top flicks that I’m looking forward to in the coming year – then next week, I’m back to the regular deal:

Here’s my picks, in no particular order:

The Simpsons Movie

This isn’t really a case of remembering the good old days or anything like that for me – I know that “The Simpsons” has it’s fair share of detractors from people who have grown up watching it, but I still love it, and to me, it’s just as funny as ever. I remember the first time we got to see “The Simpsons” here in Australia was on the VHS copy of “The Abyss”, which featured one of the shorts from “The Tracey Ullman Show”. So far, I’ve laughed my ass off at the teaser trailers that have come up, and I can’t wait to see the full thing.

Release: U.S. – 27th July; U.K. – 27th July; Aus – 26th July

Grindhouse

In my mind, this is one of those films that could really go either way based on what I’ve seen of it so far – it could be cheesy as hell, or it could become an instant classic. I’ll make the full confession here that “From Dusk ‘til Dawn” is one of my favorite films, so knowing that Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez have teamed up to make two back to back flicks chock full of action is great – I love that Robert has made a Zombie flick, and having Kurt Russell in a QT flick is just as good – it just depends on the cheese factor that comes into play. Having Eli Roth, Edgar Wright & Rob Zombie contribute fake trailers just makes it a little more enticing in my book.

Release: U.S. – 6th April; U.K. – TBA; Aus – 19th April

The Bourne Ultimatum

After watching the first two “Bourne” flicks, I remember having the conversation with various people that it was what I wanted to see in a 007 flick – and “Casino Royale” answered my prayers. Matt Damon has done a great job in his first two shots as Jason Bourne, with “Supremacy” improving on the first in every way. With Paul Greengrass back in the Director’s chair, this is probably one of the top two flicks that I’m anticipating the most this year.

Release: U.S. – 3rd August; U.K. – 3rd August; Aus – 9th August

Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix

Here’s the deal with the “Harry Potter” flicks – I have yet to see one of them on the big screen (despite having been invited to previews of the last two), and with that in mind, the Potter flicks could well be my favorite franchise flicks, even topping the holy trinity of the original “Star Wars” flicks. Before you start screaming Isaiah Washington type slurs at me, let me explain…. Actually, fuck it, I don’t have to explain – I just love these films. I recently sat down and watched the first four flicks back to back, and they are all great films – I’m definitely gonna make it to the cinema for “Phoenix”.

Release: U.S. – 13th July; U.K. – 13th July; Aus – 12th July

Live Free Or Die Hard

First time I ever saw “Die Hard” was actually about a year after it got released on video here in Oz – Drive-Ins here in South Australia used to hold really kick-ass marathons on the night before public holidays where you could see something like 4 or 5 films back to back, and on this occasion, “Die Hard” was the last flick, and it was just a kick-ass event to watch. I’m in the minority of “Die Hard” fans in thinking that “With A Vengeance” was the best flick of the series (although you’ll never beat Alan Rickman as Hans in the first one). It always reminded me of that portion of “Dirty Harry” where Scorpio is making Clint run around town to get to phone booths and the like – I’m really looking forward to “Live Free”, in spite of the teaser trailer that came out a little while ago.

Release: U.S. – 4th July; U.K. – 6th July; Aus – 19th July

Hot Fuzz

I remember someone doing a review on Moviehole for “Shaun Of The Dead” that gave it a kind of “ho-hum” write up, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I finally saw it for myself – “Shaun” was friggin’ funny and a great story to boot. With “Hot Fuzz”, both leads return with Simon Pegg & Nick Frost, but with a supporting cast of Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, Edward Woodward, Timothy Dalton, Martin Freeman, Jim Broadbent & the great Bill Bailey, I’m there opening night.

Release: U.S. – 13th April; U.K. – 16th February; Aus – 15th March

Ocean’s 13

While I thought that “11” was great, I think it was pretty obvious that “12” was nowhere near as good. I like to think of myself as a reasonably focused viewer when I’m watching a movie but there was some pretty big leaps of logic in the second flick. I mean, at least in the first film – you actually saw the switches taking place, and at the end, there was some kind of “Ah-Hah!”, which never happened in the second one – you were just supposed to accept the courier bullshit and a lot of other junk. The good news for “13” is the locale being switched back to Las Vegas, and with the addition of Al Pacino to the cast, it’s good to have the gang back.

Release: U.S. – 8th June; U.K. – 8th June; Aus – 7th June

28 Weeks Later

Of the two sequels to good horror flicks coming out from Fox Atomic this year, the other being “The Hills Have Eyes 2”, “28 Weeks Later” is the one I’m betting on. Despite having original helmer Danny Boyle only on deck as a Producer, relative newcomer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has a great cast to work with including Robert Carlyle (Begbie!!!!!!!), Harold Perrineau & Rose Byrne. This time it’s about the U.K. getting back on its feet after the events of the first film, when an unknowing carrier of the “Rage” virus enters London….

Release: U.S. – 11th May; U.K. – 11th May; Aus – 10th May

Knocked Up

It’s good to see a guy like Seth Rogen get the top slot in a film, given how ass-kickingly good he was in Judd Apatow’s last flick “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, and with Katherine Heigl & Paul Rudd in the story of a regular Joe who manages to get a hot chick, this looks really funny – early word of mouth on it is that it tops the laughs of “Virgin” ten fold.

Release: U.S. – 1st June; U.K. – 24th August; Aus – 23rd August

Zodiac

Being one of the few people that seemed to actually like “Alien 3” (especially the special edition in the box set), I’ve been a fan of David Fincher’s from the beginning. “Se7en”, “The Game” & “Fight Club” were a trifecta of fantastic films, and even “Panic Room” managed to have at least a handful of great moments to it. With Fincher returning to the world of serial killers, and my love for Spike Lee’s “Summer Of Sam”, this one has me really interested.

Release: U.S. – 2nd March; U.K. – 16th March; Aus – 1st March

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End

I was kind of surprised at people dumping on “Dead Man’s Chest” when it came out, but realizing that it was the same kind of criticism that got leveled at “Back To The Future 2” as well – I guess the answer tends to be that people really don’t like cliff-hangers in their movies. I’m assuming most people have seen “D.M.C” by this point, so hopefully I’m not spoiling anything here – but I love that Geoffrey Rush is back in the game.

Release: U.S. – 25th May; U.K. – 25th May; Aus – 24th May

Alright gang, that does it for this week, feel free to drop me a line adam@moviehole.net about what you’re looking forward to this year, or swing by Myspace to show some love.

Cheers,
Adam Weeks.