Thursday
25Dec2008
This Weekend in Theaters - 'Bedtime,' 'Button,' 'Marley,' 'Valkyrie,' 'The Spirit,' and More
Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 4:40AM
Ah, the joy of the Hollywood holiday season. Every year, the hit
factory shoves a bunch of product at you, figuring you've already successfully navigated a
buffet of food and relatives, so why not an overabundance of movies on the same day, too?
This year, there are six films popping up in theaters nationwide, and a few others opening
in select cities. As our gift to you, we'll focus on the major wide releases, with links to
our review of each film, posted earlier in the week.
Bedtime Stories
Adam Sandler may not be the big star he was just a few years ago. He's tried to do a few
more serious projects, like Reign Over Me and Spanglish, while his comedies
like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and You Don't Mess With the Zohan
have not performed as well as his earlier movies.
Our review of
Benjamin Button
Valkyrie
Based on a true story, Valkyrie chronicles one of the many attempts by members of the
German government and military to assassinate Adolf Hitler. You see, it turns out Hitler
wasn't very popular.
Our revew of
Valkyrie
The Spirit
There is, as you probably know, a shift towards more serious and artistic comic book movies
in Hollywood. It began with X-Men in its most recent push, so it was only natural
that in the intervening eight years, some of the artists and writers who created the comics
would get the call the to the big leagues to either write or direct their own films.
Our review of
The Spirit
Gran Torino
Thirteen years ago, Clint Eastwood reached retirement age. But rather than buy a house in
Boca, he became better at his job than he ever had been before. Get this: In just the past
four years, he's received seven Oscar nominations, three for directing, three for Best
Picture, and one for his performance in Million Dollar Baby. He is at the absolute
top of his game, with more Oscar nominations likely to come this year.
Our review of
Gran Torino
The Reader
The last of our films this week features another Oscar favorite, Kate Winslet. If there's a
run more remarkable than Eastwood's current streak, it might be this: In eleven years, she
has five Oscar nominations for acting, the most in that span. By the end of January, that
number could be bumped up to seven in twelve years. Keep in mind that Meryl Streep will earn
her 15th this year, and it took her 30 years to do it. At Winslet's current pace, she's have
15 nominations in 24 or 25 years. And when it happens, she'll be about 45.
Our review of
The Reader 
Reader Comments (1)
Saw Marley and Me with the Familiy on Christmas. so here's my review without spoiling the ending:
"Saddest dog movie since Old Yeller".
The entire audience left the theater in tears, and my dad's girlfriend actually went to the lobby with 30 minutes to left in the picture, never to return again!