5 MOVIES in a DAY!

1. The Wicker Man (Remake) - '06 ...1.5 Stars...9:00AM-11AM
2. When Will I Be Loved - '04..........2.5 Stars.....1:30PM-3PM
3. A Dirty Shame - '04......................2.0 Stars.....3:30PM-5PM
4. It's All Gone, PETE TONG - '04....3.0 Stars.....5:30PM-7PM
5. The Pursuit of Happyness - '06...3.5 Stars....9:00PM-11PM

I have been really trying to find a good day off to bum around and watch a movie marathon and after weeks of waiting I did it today.

THE WICKER MAN ~ (1) - Writer/Director Neil LaBute has made a name for himself with scathing black comedies like In The Company of Men-'97 , Your Friends and Neighbors-'98 , Nurse Betty-'00 & The Shape of Things-'03. Hopefully he'll go back to making them right away. The Wicker Man is a classic british horror/thriller about the religious occult. LaBute's Nicholas Cage version is so inferior to both, the original film and LaBute's prior films that I can't believe what a disaster it was. To leave out the religion and the male characters in favor of an all-female citizenship on Summersisle, the island of disappearing interest. All the nudity and chanting and scariness is replaced by Nick Cage riding a bike around on long grass hills. There must be a story behind this uninspired remake. Do yourself a favor and rent the original.

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED ~ (2) - Likewise writer/director James Toback's reputation is for gritty independent films like Two Girls and a Guy-'97 and he stays true to form on this IFC Production. Neve Campbell & Dominic Chianese are real surprises in the re-casting of a NYC version of INDECENT PROPOSAL which doesn't sound great but it was very good. This film is about a woman's emergence into her own sexual power. A femme fatale movie with bookended nude shower scenes, a lesbian scene and a foursome in Central Park that maintains it's integrity throughout...wow. There's really nothing cooler as a movie-goer than being pleasantly surprised. Check it out.

A DIRTY SHAME ~ (3) - Typical John Waters movie. Ya know, a charmingly vulgar suburban-Baltimore gross-out laughterfest! ....if that's you're thing, I mean. Other incentives are Tracy Ullman's talking vagina, Selma Blair's porn-name Ursula Udders and, of course, Johnny Knoxville as Ray Ray the 'Sexual Healer'. Good raunch. But not as good as his last three films: Serial Mom, Pecker, or Cecil B. Demented.

IT'S ALL GONE, PETE TONG ~ (4) - MOCKUMENTARY about a famous DJ who goes deaf, loses everything, and then figures out how to be DJ and a deaf man at the same time. This movie is so good that I don't want to spoil any of it. Put it this way, if you like DJ/Club culture live from Ibiza, Spain you got it. How about great interview footage with the greatest House DJs in the world (dj tiesto, paul van dyk, etc.) and live scenes filmed in all the best clubs? Or like most people you can get turned off by the stupid title and miss a great film.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS ~ (5) - First of all, if you've seen the trailer, you've seen the film. But not in a bad way. The trailer is great and the movie delivers a longer version of a great trailer. But I wouldn't call this an excellent film. First of all, acting with you're real son is a little...and who doesn't love their kids? But wait, hold on! There is something much bigger going on here. This is real. This really happened to a guy. Sleeping in buses, trains, bathrooms, etc. with a young son. Overcoming great odds and succeeding. This is a great vehicle for Will Smith, period. He's excellent. A really good biography of a terrific human being but still not an excellent film.