This weekend is the weekend of movie déjà vu. You will be struck with the nagging feeling that all of the major films new to theaters seem oddly like something you've seen before. But repertory programming out in Brooklyn or in the West Village will provide a much needed shot of creativity to counter balance the same old, same old.
A remake of the '70s disaster classic, Poseidon opens this weekend with Josh "the poor man's Matthew McConaughey" Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss and Kurt Russell. A rogue wave capsizes a luxury liner and the surviving passengers must run, run, run for their lives before further catastrophe befalls them. Hasn't someone already made this romantic comedy about a lucky girl who looses her touch after she kisses a mysterious boy? It sounds so familiar, but surely that acting giant Lindsay Lohan will make it her own in Just My Luck. A young boy with a dream of making it big in sports -- we've never seen that one before. Re-rent Rudy or go for the cuter Kuno Becker in the Disney film Goal! The Dream Begins which opens this weekend. PS. There are two more of these boy with a soccer dream sequels already in the can, isn't that exciting?
If you loved that episode of Entourage where Jeremy Piven agonized over his daughter's bat mitzvah, a feature length version of the same kind of Piven goodness is out this weekend, Keeping Up With the Steins. Piven isn't Ari here, he's a Dad with the burning desire to make a bigger and better party for his 13 year old than their Brentwood neighbors. A slight foreign language teen comedy about an international group of friends staying in a wacky youth hostel from a few years ago, L'Auberge Espagnole, gets the sequel treatment with Russian Dolls. Though at least adorable Audrey Tautou is back, that could be worth a viewing if you were a fan of the first film.
And now for some things you hopefully haven't seen a zillion times before. Film Forum in the West Village has compiled a feature length program of 8 new short cartoons for their program, "Cartoons: No Laughing Matter?" which runs for the next two weeks. The picks include Son of Satan directed by JJ Villard which is adapted from a Charles Bukowski short story and features music from Iggy Pop and Ludwig Von Beethoven and Debra Solomon's musical comedy about fertility, Everybody's Pregnant.
Be the first on your block to decide if Lindsay Lohan deserves to be in the same breath as Meryl Streep. Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center will be showing A Prairie Home Companion, a film those two very different actors co-star in, on Friday at 8:30 pm. Garrison Keillor, who appears in Robert Altman's film and originated the radio program, will be on hand for a Q&A following the film. Tickets cost $30 for film society members and $40 for the rest of you rabble. FYI, APHC comes out in regular theatrical release in June.
Gothamist Pick:
Bringing that Utah creative energy from the Sundance Institute to Brooklyn, BAM kicks off today an 11 day festival of films from the festival, live music from emerging composers, discussions with filmmakers and programs on the creative process. Friday night, they are screening the screenwriting prize winner from this year's festival, Stephanie Daley starring Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn. Swinton plays a pregnant forensic psychologist who's investigating whether a young girl (Tamblyn) murdered her newborn son. There's also a discussion on Saturday afternoon at 3 pm with the film's director Hilary Brougher moderated by the film's producer Ted Hope about Brougher's experience making the film, and in particular the workshop work she did on her movie with the Sundance Institute.
BAM Rose Cinemas // 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn // film Fri. May 12, 9:30 pm // panel Sat. May 13, 3 pm // $10 each
