Past the Popcorn film roundup—Not Much on Santa’s List
Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.
A lot of naughty, and not much nice—that’s what’s in store for moviegoers this week.
The nicest of the lot is the much-anticipated Will Smith sci-fi vehicle I Am Legend. The good news is that it’s not an over-blown packed-to-the gills summer release; the less good news is that it doesn’t quite live up to the level of its hype. Still, says Jeff Walls, it’s “sure to be a blockbuster for the Holiday season and another success for Will Smith. I would have liked to have gotten more, but I am nevertheless pleased with the result.”
Another much-anticipated film adaptation, The Kite Runner, has a third act that almost pure naughtiness, says Greg Wright—and not in a cute or appealing way. “when the climactic confrontation between Amir and his nemesis takes place, the villains finally become laughably pathetic kick-boxing pederast stick-figures who can’t shoot straight and manage to lock themselves in their own compound… I’m just not sure that munching popcorn while being ‘entertained’ by a film that treats certain groups of Muslims with such blatant disdain and hatred is such a good idea.” Some real adult discernment is required, he warns.
Kathy Bledsoe, meanwhile, is highly disappointed in The Perfect Holiday, which she likens to an empty wrapped package: “I really cannot recommend this film even as babysitting material while mom and dad finish shopping. Even a child’s admission fee is too much for something that delivers nothing.”
In smaller releases, Jennie Spohr finds much to admire (and object to!) in Starting Out in the Evening, while finding The Walker to be mostly a failure. Greg Wright finds too much of John Turturro’s more annoying film characters bleeding through in his odd musical Romance and Cigarettes, and Jeff Walls wishes that The Amateurs just hadn’t been released.
