The Cinema For 3/12/10: You May Enter The "Green Zone", But You May Not Be Able To Enter The Other 3

Matt Damon stars in another Paul Greengrass thriller, though they both may take a lot of heat for this one (Photo from Rotten Tomatoes)

After the historic weekend that Alice in Wonderland had last week (let's not even mention Brooklyn's Finest), four notable premiers are out this week hoping to somehow get near the Disney success.

Probably the weekend's leader for challenging Alice at the box office this weekend is the Iraq qar driven film "Green Zone." With Matt Damon reuniting with Paul Greengrass to cook up their "Bourne" magic, the thrilling characteristic of those movies are without a doubt captured.

However, the plot in a decent number of people's eyes is cliche' and speculates too much.

But that is what it is suppose to do thanks to the flim's basis on the groundwork of the ongoing illegal war that we are in.

Roger Ebert knows that despite unoriginal characteristics, the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat like few others maybe able to emulate this entire year:

The action in "Green Zone" is followed by Greengrass in the QueasyCam style I've found distracting in the past: lots of quick cuts between hand-held shots. It didn't bother me here. That may be because I became so involved in the story. Perhaps also because unlike the "Bourne" films, this one contains no action sequences that are logically impossible. When we see a car chase that couldn't take place in the real world, we naturally think about the visual effects. When they could take place and it's a good movie, we're thinking about the story.

"Green Zone" will no doubt be under fire from those who are still defending the fabricated intelligence we used as an excuse to invade Iraq. Yes, the film is fiction, employs farfetched coincidences and improbably places one man at the center of all the action. It is a thriller, not a documentary. It's my belief that the nature of the neocon evildoing has by now become pretty clear. Others will disagree. The bottom line is: This is one hell of a thriller.

Ebert said it exactly right. The politics of this movie, and how you feel about Iraq (which hopefully if you understood what has transpired will make you enjoy this movie even more) shouldn't be the focal point. Instead, the thrilling nature of it is where it draws its power from.

Moving on to a completely different movie, "She's Out Of My League" has some good moments, but isn't a comedy where you expect anything that standouts. So though it isn't terrible, it's really a mediocre film that isn't worth going to the theaters for.

In fact, Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post thinks it clearly plays off a much more famous and executed comedy along the same lines.

There are only two really good jokes -- or two really gross ones, depending on your sensibility -- in "She's Out of My League." Both of them are stolen.

The first one, in this crass comedy about an Average Joe who's dating a Way Above Average Jane, is little more than a riff on the infamous "hair-gel" scene in "There's Something About Mary," with the addition of a hungry dog. If you have no idea what I'm talking about -- or why that description is even vaguely disgusting -- you're too old for this movie. If, on the other hand, the scenario strikes you as simply, well, awesome, you probably already have your ticket in hand, purchased in advance through Fandango.

However, there are some prominent critics like Rolling Stone's Peter Travellers who actually enjoyed the film . But his feeling is more for the thought of the undog average guy getting the ridiculous gorgeous girl finally.

And that just shouldn't be enough to convince you to see this average (or even worse) movie.

The same should be said and more for the return to the big screen of one Robert Pattison. Yup, it's been four long months since "New Moon", oh how long he has been out of the game, oooohhhh!

Well those apart of his fan club may love "Remember Me" no matter how vapid it is, but a majority sure won't be sucked into seeing it.......I hope.

The big problem with the movie in most thoughts is its ending, which seems to have made everyone not happy with it at all.

James Berardinelli tells you about it:

The ghost of 9/11 hovers over this entire motion picture, making the date of its ending inevitable, although the moment when this happens feels like a sucker punch. Remember Me's first shot features a nighttime image of the Twin Towers, circa 1991. Later, in Tyler's political science class, there's a seemingly throw-away discussion about terrorists' motivations. The film allows events to move inexorably forward so we're aware of the clock ticking down: June, July, August, September. Despite all the foreshadowing, the way the event is presented reeks of exploitation. The ending might appeal to a die-hard nihilist, but I suspect the core members of the target demographic are going to be shocked and angered.

That still won't stop the Pattison fan club form thinking it's the best thing ever.

But a movie even worst than Remember Me that came out today is the dreadful wreck "Our Family Wedding." Please may your mind be divorced from any thought of seeing this thrash.

What in the hell were Forest Whutaker, Regina King, and America Ferrera thinking? And notice I didn't put Taye Diggs in that group. Because he has a tendency to be in cornball movies such as this.

Here is the whole explanation of this brutal movie from the Globe and Mail's Rick Goren:

To its everlasting credit, Our Family Wedding raises and then boldly addresses a question that has plagued many a Hollywood flick over many a decade. The time-honoured question is simply this: What does a movie do when it lacks even the semblance of a plot? Well, the three-part answer here is pure genius: (1) Play softball; (2) Start a food fight; (3) Cast a goat. Yes, a goat – I kid you not.

Oh gosh, they casted a goat in this movie? Well, I can definitely say that the "goat" acted a hell of a lot better than Carlos Mencia did.

So at week's end, the obvious choice of even thinking about seeing a movie from this week's releases is Green Zone. Every other selection will solidified your spot in the "Horror Zone" if you choose the see them.

That is this week's edition of "The Cinema", hoped your enjoyed.

FIN.

May this be the only thing you see of "Our Family Wedding" (Photo from Rotten Tomatoes)