Friday film roundup: Something for Everyone, But Nothing for Everyone
This week’s film roundup from Past the Popcorn:
It’s niche-marketing time this week with a light release schedule of medium to small-sized films. Of broadest interest is the small-town-baseball flick The Final Season, courtesy of director David Mickey Evans and Executive Producer (and star) Sean Astin. It tells the true story of the Norway, Texas Tigers, whose high school team won 20 state championships in 25 years, including their final season — conducted under the shadow of a closing school. As a movie, the PG-rated film is not all that good, says Greg Wright, but adds that he has “a strong, strong hunch that this film’s target audience — folks from small towns that really do revolve around the success of their sports teams — would be best off completely ignoring critical opinion” and heading out to see it anyway.
In bigger releases, Cate Blanchett reprises her role as Queen Elizabeth in The Golden Age (PG-13), which Michael Brunk calls “a visual treat” featuring a “captivating” central performance — even if the film’s reach is overly ambitious and at times overwrought. And clocking in at an R rating is the latest from alt-film wonderboy Wes Anderson, The Darjeeling Limited. Greg Wright says that the film is, oddly, “the closet thing we’ve seen to a Beatles film since The Beatles.” In the final analysis, says Greg, “those who struggle with their own baggage and long to throw it off will probably enjoy the college-literature intelligence of Anderson’s film, as will those whose spiritual journey has only recently embarked. More jaded spiritual and cinematic travelers will likely be less impressed.”
But the strongest recommendation this week is for a film that few people will likely have a chance to see in the theaters: Outsourced, a romantic comedy about an American worker whose job is sent to India. Mike Gunn says that this PG-13 independent film is “one of the more delightful, original, and funny movies that any company has put out in over a year.” Look for it soon on DVD.
