Chris Rock thinks he loves his wife. To top that, he also has the delusion that he has what it takes to make his fans love him for more than just being a comedian. He is under the impression that he is also a good writer and director – a thought that has him headed for disaster.

That potential disaster is a little film called I Think I Love My Wife, which coincidentally was written, directed and stars the iconic comedian as a bored married man who is no longer intimately acquainted with his wife and it is starting to get to him. Rock plays Richard Cooper, a successful financial broker with a wife (Gina Torres), two lovely children and all the problems that every married man is faced with – a monotonous routine and worst of all, no sex. The no sex part is something that Richard was learning to deal with, that is until the day that Nikki (Kerry Washington) popped into his life.

The old flame of a close friend, Nikki comes to Richard with the need for a job reference and the penchant for being a home wrecker. She is outgoing, uninhibited and sexy from head to toe. And on top of that she begins to show some interest in Richard, something that is the ultimate fantasy of any bored married man. Nikki’s only problem is that she is a bit over-the-top with her desire for Richard, to the point where you begin to remember that she is a fictional character – because we all know that in real life, hot young women are just not that into stale husband-types.

This over-the-top characterization, in conjunction with Chris Rock’s exceedingly energetic brand of comedy creates a movie that plays out more like campy sitcom than a silver screen comedy. That makes sense seeing as the two guys who wrote it, Chris Rock and Louis C.K. are both knee deep in their own popular television sitcoms. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the film goes through a bit of an identity crisis. It is easy to see that the minds behind this film wanted to make a more serious satire about the woes of marriage and the temptations of fate. But instead they get scared that maybe their audience won’t buy that, causing them to reach for laughs instead of writing an intelligent flick.

The film does get some laughs however, thanks to its leading man Chris Rock’s natural ability to be funny no matter what the situation. Steve Buscemi also lends a hand in the comedy department as Richard’s philandering business partner. Sadly though, a few laughs here and there aren’t enough to make this a good choice on any level. Chris Rock is funny, yes. And I will buy every comedy CD he ever puts out. But thanks to I Think I Love My Wife, the next time I see his name next to the words “Written and Directed by”, I may just look for something else.

Final Grade:

I Think I Love My Wife is in theaters March 16, has a running time of 90 minutes and is Rated R for pervasive language and some sexual content.

In Premonition, Sandra Bullock plays an apathetic housewife whose world is turned upside down when she finds out that her husband has been killed in a terrible car accident. To make matters worse, she wakes up the next day to find out that the accident has not yet happened, that it was only a premonition. After seeing this film I believe that I too have had a premonition. What did I see in the future? I saw that this film will draw in a decent audience this weekend at the box office, then proceed to disappoint it.

Why is such a good turnout expected? Simply because there are plenty of ladies out there who are either tired of seeing nothing but family comedies (a la Wild Hogs) and blatant guy movies (300) filling their local Cineplex. And when they see that Sandra Bullock is starring, they immediately associate that with a sappy romantic storyline. Sadly they are in for a rude awakening when they discover that the closest this film gets to romance is the near rekindling of flames lost through years of stale married life between Bullock’s Linda and her soon to be dead husband Jim (played by Nip/Tuck’s Julian McMahon).

Now the lack of romanticism in this flick is not quite enough to steer audiences away, as it is being marketed as a psychological thriller about being able to see into the future and make moral decisions based on those future events. The only problem there is the fact that in order to successful execute a decent thriller, you must be able to lead your audience down a path, surprise them and then at least explain what the heck is going on by the time the credits roll. This is where Premonition fails miserably, with an ending that is not even worth spoiling because it is so bad. It is one of those movies that, when the credits do finally arrive, you are forced to look at the screen and say “Huh?”

And it is not bad enough that the ending had to make absolutely no sense, the entire rest of the movie has to follow suit. The story takes place over the course of a week (Sunday to Saturday), but the days are lived out of order by Linda. One day she wakes up and it is Thursday, the next day she wakes up and it is Monday. This is not altogether an uncommon way to tell a story – in fact it is quite a unique premise with the potential to be very interesting if done well. The only thing that can go wrong is that if you are not consistent then your story falls apart. In the case of Premonition, if you take all of the days and separate them, then put them in the right order they would make absolutely no sense. Certain plot points never quite connect from one scene to the next, causing us to become detached from the story and annoyed with its inconsistencies – and that just doesn’t make for a fulfilling night at the movies.

In the end there really isn’t a way for me to stop people from seeing this flick no matter how certain I am that they will be disappointed. It is a simple suspense flick absolutely devoid of a payoff – unless you consider utter confusion and a stale taste in your mouth to be a good payoff for a Sandra Bullock movie.

Final Grade:

Premonition is in theaters on March 16, has a running time of 110 minutes and is Rated PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material and brief language.

Thursday is for trailers — and that whole “which movie is going to be good” guessing game. I am one of those who are blessed with being a critic (the website is a dead giveaway), so I pretty much know which films are going to delight the masses and which ones are going to flop. I should, I’ve seen them. That is why you come back every Friday to read my reviews. And of course, if you were watching Good Day Columbus this morning, you would have gotten a quickie version of my reviews. I stopped by and chatted for a few moments with Kent Justice, who has the coolest name in local news. But don’t worry, if you missed me on TV all is not lost. Below you will find some trailers to hold you over until tomorrow:

Premonition

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon
The Plot: A housewife is shocked when her husband dies in a car crash and reappears the next day. She realizes it was a premonition and tries to avoid the tragedy.
Click here to watch the Trailer

Shooter

Starring: Mark Whalberg, Kate Mara, Danny Glover
The Plot: A marksman (Wahlberg) living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why.
Click here to watch the Trailer

I Think I Love My Wife

Starring: Chris Rock, Steve Buscemi, Kerry Washington
The Plot: A married man who daydreams about being with other women finds his will and morals tested after he’s visited by the ex-mistress of his old friend.
Click here to watch the Trailer

Dead Silence

Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg
The Plot: There is an old ghost story in the sleepy town of Ravens Fair about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist who went mad. Accused of the murder of a young boy, she was hunted down by vengeful townspeople who cut out her tongue and killed her. They buried her along with her “children,” a hand-made collection of vaudeville dolls. Since that time, Ravens Fair has been plagued by death. The ghastly dolls from Mary Shaw’s collection have gone missing from the grave and reappeared over the decades. In the dead of night-wherever they are glimpsed-families are found gruesomely murdered…with their tongues torn out.
Click here to watch the Trailer

No, the “official” box office numbers are not in — it is still only Sunday afternoon. But thanks to Brandon Gray and the crack staff at Box Office Mojo, we do have some estimates. Those estimates, which are generally pretty accurate, show Zack Snyder’s epic 300 raking in $70 million dollars, a total that would make it the biggest March opening in history. Here are the estimates for the top 5:

Rank. Movie Title (Distributor)
  Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. 300 (Warner Bros.)
  $70.0 million | 3,103 | $70.0 million | 1

2. Wild Hogs (Buena Vista)
  $28.0 million | 3,296 | $77.4 million | 2

3. Bridge to Terabithia (Buena Vista)
  $6.9 million | 3,210 | $67.0 million | 4

4. Ghost Rider (Sony / Columbia)
  $6.8 million | 3,347 | $104.1 million | 4

5. Zodiac (Paramount)
  $6.8 million | 2,379 | $23.7 million | 2

Wild Hogs held onto the non-R rated lead, keeping the populous of non-fanboys and action lovers happy, while every other flick dropped below the $10 million mark. Now, these estimates may come as a small surprise seeing as Warner Brothers and many others initially placed 300’s opening in the $40-$50 million mark, but after a $27 million dollar Friday, $70 mil. wasn’t too far out of reach. Of course, we will anxiously await the final numbers that will be released tomorrow, but at this point 300’s success is one for the record books.

Related Reading:

• Review: 300
• Exclusive-ish 300 Giveaway!
• The Anti-300 Debate?
• Are you Ready to Dine in Hell?
• Weekend Update: 300 Marches Alone

March is traditionally not a month for big releases. The biggest opening weekend ever in the month of March was Ice Age: The Meltdown in 2006, earning over $68 million dollars in the final weekend of the month. That might as well have been an April release, though. Hell, even Wild Hogs made it as the #3 biggest March release all time when it roped in $39 million last weekend. What does that say about the month of March? Not a whole lot.

So it makes me curious that, for some reason, the heads of Hollywood decided that 2007 would be blessed with a bigger and better slew of March releases. We have already seen a few, including the afore mentioned Wild Hogs, the upcoming Adam Sandler dramedy Reign Over Me, the Mark Whalberg actioner Shooter, torture porn opus The Hills Have Eyes 2, and even the epic Will Ferrell figure skating comedy Blades of Glory. All in all, March looks to be a decent month with these films alone, but none of these films stand a chance against what will be March’s crowning achievement, the ultraviolent, highly stylized epic from Director Zach Snyder, 300. So which of these other March releases was chosen to match wits with 300 Spartans and their bloody saga? None of them. 300 gets the free pass this weekend, with 0 competition and all the hype in the world. Prepare for total box office annihilation.

Pick of the Week

300
Running Time: 117 min. Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
Despite a lack of competition with no other wide releases, 300 would have been my pick no matter what else was coming out. George Lucas could have released the next Indiana Jones installment, Michael Bay could have brought Transformers and Steven Spielberg could have brought anything and 300 would take the “Pick of the Week”, hands down. Director Zack Snyder has revolutionized the sword-and-sandals epic by taking Frank Miller’s visionary graphic novel and transposing it into the most violent and intensely entertaining cinematic experience of 2007!
Read my entire review
Grade: | Trailer

Also out this week

The Ultimate Gift [800 Theaters]
Running Time: 114 min. Rated PG for thematic elements, some violence and language.
Newly founded production outlet Fox Faith brings the morality to this weekend with an adaptation of Jim Stovall’s book of the same title. Drew Fuller (Close Call) plays a privileged man who is forced to rethink his life after the death of his grandfather. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) also stars as a little girl stricken with cancer. A timely release, which may cash in on Breslin’s Oscar buzz, will also catch the more Puritan movie-goers who are not interested in the savage intensity of 300 — but only in select cities.

Watch the Trailer

Opening in Columbus

Miss Potter [Opening at the Drexel East]
Running Time: 92 min. Rated PG brief mild language.
Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor reunite for the first time on-screen since the over-the-top romcom Down with Love. Miss Potter is being billed as an enchanting look at the life and times of Beatrix Potter (Zellweger), the acclaimed British author of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”. McGregor plays her editor and love interest as she works on the first of many stories that would ultimately make her one of the world’s most famous children’s author. This one has gotten some critical acclaim, which may be enough to make it worth a look on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Click here for showtimes.

Watch the Trailer

The Lives of Others [Opening at the Drexel Gateway]
Running Time: 137 min. Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.
Florian Henckel con Donnersmarck’s Oscar winning film is finally showing here in the Capital City. The Lives of Others, which snuck in and stole the Best Foreign Film Oscar from Pan’s Labyrinth, focuses on the horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany. The Buzz on this one is that it is a fascinating, well told drama that plays on the politically charged topic of a government watching its people a bit too closely. To the film’s credit, I am yet to read a negative review and well, it did win an Oscar. It may be worth a look. Click here for showtimes.

Watch the Trailer

So there you have it — one huge Spartan epic and a few smaller local releases to keep you busy. What this second weekend of March lacks in choices, it certainly makes up with quality flicks for a variety of audiences. My recommendation is that you shouldn’t miss 300 and you should use caution with the other releases. As always, which movies you see is up to you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Technorati Tags: New Releases, Movies, Box Office, 300, Epic

Moments prior to screening the film 300 a few days back, only one thing was going through my mind: Please don’t suck! After all of this hype, watching the trailer seemingly thousands of times, writing about the film constantly on various websites and even interviewing Director Zack Snyder, I would be truly disappointed if I were forced to set this one ablaze as I have countless films thus far in 2007. But I was comforted when I remembered the words of Zach Snyder, who said of his film, “I wanted to do a movie that when you walked out you were like ‘Fuck! That was awesome!’ And like, you wanna kick some ass.”

Upon seeing the film, I am in total agreement with its director – It was awesome! Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller (Sin City), 300 tells the story of 300 Spartans lead by their King, Leonidas (Gerard Butler) into the face of an insurmountable invasion at the hands of a million-man Persian army. Despite a lack of support from the Spartan council and a group of creepy elders who communicate with the Gods via a half naked teenage girl (in a scene that is alluring and tastefully done), Leonidas decides that rather than allow his nation to be conquered into slavery, he must take his best warriors, the Spartan elite, and do what he can to fend off the impending invasion.

From there the film explodes into a highly stylized, intense battle royale in which the Spartans, with their flare for battle and their constant arrogance, take on the vast Persian army led by the God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). The battle scenes themselves are something to behold, they are pulse pounding and intense yet not chaotic. Snyder has found a way to slow down the action enough to show us more without making it look over the top. The result is the most stylish and intensely violent action that you will see all year. It is a film so intense, it makes Gladiator look like a Disney flick. But then again, that is what you could have expected if you’ve seen the trailer at least once.

What you don’t expect is the intangibles that Snyder has gotten right in his film. There is more story here than previous Frank Miller book-to-movie adaptations such as Sin City. In addition to the bond between Leonidas and his 300, a sordid plot of political tension also rages back in Sparta between Leonidas’ wife, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) and the leader of the Spartan Council (Dominic West). In addition to that, Gerard Butler, who is a lesser known actor here in the states (besides his leading role in The Phantom of the Opera), gives a performance that should catapult him to the top of many people’s A-Lists. He does more than just shout to his men prior to an impending surge, he is charismatic, irreverent and ultimately embodies the vision of a Spartan warrior. I would not be surprised if you see much more of him in the future.

And Butler is not the only one who will benefit greatly from this epic film’s impending success. Director Zack Snyder, whose other notoriety came from his remake of Dawn of the Dead in 2004, has truly taken the action movie genre to a new level. Forget Gladiator, forget Troy and if you haven’t already, forget Alexander. None of these flicks can hold a flame to 300. And that is saying something.

If you are like me, and you hold a place in your movie-loving heart for films that just plain kick ass, then 300 is not to be missed. It is the single most intense cinematic experience I have had in a long time. It is as if the story and the visuals have been ripped directly from the mind of Frank Miller and transposed onto the silver screen without being spoiled by a Hollywood need to be realistic. Not since The Matrix has a film been so innovative that it may change the face of an entire genre, but this one may do just the trick. I hate to be cliché, but there is no other way to say it – no matter how you slice it, this is the film to see in 2007. Grab your Spartan helmet, sword and shield – it is time to kick some ass!

Final Grade:

300 is in theaters nationwide March 9, has a running time of 117 minutes and is Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.

Related Reading

• The Anti-300 Debate?
• Interview: Director Zach Snyder talks 300 and more…
• Are you Ready to Dine in Hell?
• Film School Rejects Official 300 Preview

If you search “movie guy” in Google, there are two results that you will get every single time: yours truly, the Columbus Movie Guy and Chuck the Movie Guy. And since you already know me, I thought I would introduce you to Chuck, who is a decent chap that scores tons of great interviews. One particular interview that showed up on my radar this week is when Chuck sat down to talk with 300 star Gerard Butler. Take a peek below:

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Movies, 300, Interview, Gerard Butler, Celebrity