June 24th: Bewitched and George A. Romero's Land of the Dead
Summer Movie Preview
All ratings out of 4 stars.

6/24: Bewitched

 

The Story: An actor (Will Ferrell) trying to get his career back on track cast
himself as Darren in a new version of the classic sitcom. The show has been retooled
as a staring vehicle for Darren, but he doesn’t tell that to Isabel (Nicole Kidman),
who he casts as his wife. Little does he know that the slighted actress is actually
a real-life, practicing witch. Hilarity ensues.

The Good: Nicole Kidman tends to offer a minimal level of quality in whatever she
does, so that should be worth watching. Michael Caine, playing Isabel’s warlock
father, looks to be having fun, and he can be very, very funny when he has a good
time with what he’s given – think Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, or even Batman Begins.
Also, Bewitched was written and directed by the sister team of Delia and Nora
Ephron, who put together Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, and You’ve Got
Mail. At the very least, they know how to write romantic comedies.

The Bad: The trailers show Will Ferrell overacting to the point of irritation,
which isn’t anything unusual. He tends to surround himself with good people, though
not much seems to rub off on him. Also, the idea of a Bewitched movie that
recognizes the show as a separate entity fits into the “movies about people who
make movies” category, which I find hard to take in large doses. It’s a little too
close to biting the hand that feeds you, I think.

The Verdict: The strong supporting cast (Caine, Shirley MacLaine, David Alan Grier
and others) will give some laughs, but I’m still not convinced that Will Ferrell
can carry a movie. Especially not something with as weak a starting point as a
former sitcom. 

My Guess: * *

George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead

The Story: As if it really matters… George Romero returns to the genre he “created”
for another tale of blood, guts and the walking dead. The last surviving humans on
the planet have taken to a walled city, and while the wealthy ignore the outside
threat, revolutionaries plan to overthrow the authorities. A group of mercenaries
must stop the impending anarchy, all the while dealing with the zombie threat. It
certainly doesn’t help when the zombies start evolving.

The Good: While I don’t know if Romero quite invented the zombie survival-horror
genre, he certainly did more for it than any other single filmmaker. There’s no
doubt he knows what he’s doing. A cast of lesser know but still competent leads led
some support, but the real stars are the latex-covered undead, which look better
than ever. The sheer number of zombies alone should make for lots of fun action.

The Bad: The preview starts off with two of the weaker plots ever conceived. Still,
unlike Bewitched, most people going to see this movie aren’t going to care so much
about the plot. The idea of zombies evolving has me a little worried… doesn’t that
start to violate the definition of “zombie?” It’ll depend what Romero decides they
can do.

The Verdict: Mindless? Yeah, probably. Just like the stars. And that’s what will
make it fun. It’s not going to be something for the ages, but anyone going to this
one will get exactly what they expect – Romero doing what he does best.

My Guess: * * * 1/4