Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.

The gloves appear to be off as the studios dump the last of their summer fare on us at the tail end of August.

The lone bright spot in wide release is, somewhat surprisingly, an adult-oriented Hitchcockian thriller starring Woody Harrelson. Jeff Walls calls Transsiberian “a terrific thriller. Anderson and co-screenwriter Will Conroy kept me on my toes and I was never quite sure where the film was taking me next. The snow-covered, barren landscape is photographed beautifully, reminding me a bit of Fargo“—as does the rating. Even the best film this week is rated R.

Walls also enjoyed The Rocker, a PG-13 social satire starring Rainn Wilson. It’s raucous teen fare, like many of the summer’s film—but not excessively crude, as many of them have been. “I enjoyed this film from beginning to end,” says Walls. “Unlike the recent Step Brothers, which is a funny joke stretched into a movie, The Rocker is simply a funny movie—and believe it or not, it’s actually less heavy-handed when it comes to the inevitable life lessons.”

On the arthouse circuit, Greg Wright found Tuya’s Marriage intriguing. “Just be sure to take a patience pill before you buy your ticket,” Wright warns about this Chinese parable about Mongolian sheep herders… and sexism. “This is old-school filmmaking, after all: the furthest thing possible from The Dark Knight.”

Mike Brunk enjoyed Death Race, as well—as long as you recognize that you’re going in to see an R-rated film about “cars, guns, and explosions.” Brunk elaborates: “It’s hard to imagine anyone watching the trailer and being confused about what they’re going to see when the lights go down and the movie starts. Either you like this kind of action movie and you plan to see it or you don’t. I don’t think there’s much gray area involved!”

On the distinctly rough side, Greg Wright warns that In Search Of A Midnight Kiss will likely strike you as “something akin to inviting insanity into your presence… and then being asked not to pass judgment on that insanity”; Kathy Bledsoe finds Hamlet 2 to be excessively “sexual and profane,” deserving of an NC-17 rather than the R it got from the MPAA; and Jeff Walls felt that his “intelligence declined” while watching The House Bunny.

Wow. Things should quiet down—and shape up—soon, as we head into the Oscar-race season.

By: Andy. This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Film, Film roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.