The only real surprise this weekend is that the mom and pop and church outfit that put together Facing the Giants cracked the top five with their latest, Fireproof. Or maybe it’s just a surprise that you can crack the top five with single digit million grosses.

Sadly, you only have seven wide releases to choose from this weekend.

10/3

Wide

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Far inferior remake of Beverly Hills Chupacabra.

WILL IT SUCK?
The one good thing I can say about this movie is that the casting probably saved the life of its lead, a stray dog named Rusco. Early buzz is shockingly (albeit apologetically) good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
City of Ember doesn’t make things any easier the following week, but there are no other talking pet movies for miles. On the other hand, it’s called Beverly Hills Chihuahua. $18mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
We all know about the Academy’s bias against talking animals.

NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kat Dennings and Michael Cera stumble into a first date in NYC.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. The long overdue follow-up effort from Raising Victor Vargas helmer Peter Sollet. More interestingly, a teen romcom based on a novel.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The only other romcom in sight, last week’s Nights in Rodanthe, skews much older, and isn’t really a romcom. How to Lose Friends… isn’t strictly a romcom either, but will pull on much more of the same audience. But I think it’s safe to say Michael Cera is hotter than Simon Pegg right now. $48mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but there should have been more love for Cera in Juno.

BLINDNESS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
An epidemic of blindness leads to the victims being quarantined and going all Lord of the Flies on each other while Julianne Moore, who’s faking blindness to stay with her stricken husband (Mark Ruffalo) er, looks on.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed, which is disappointing since this is Fernando (Constant Gardener, City of God) Meirelles we’re talking about here. The writer’s no slouch, either, having penned the decent-but-unseen Childstar. Gael Garcia Bernal is up in here, too, but apparently that didn’t help.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Maybe pick a less crowded weekend. Maybe go limited, too. $31mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If it had got better reviews, maybe.

RELIGULOUS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Bill Maher, not a big fan of the religion.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is generally positive. Larry Charles was the perfect choice to direct this doc given the scarcity of punches pulled in Borat. Curious to see how dimensional Maher’s critique of religion turns out to be.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Let’s just say the American Carol crowd won’t dectract from Religulous‘ demo. Still, a limited release (and not just one that starts two days earlier) would have served this film better, especially in this crowded a market. $5mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
A doc nod isn’t out of the question.

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Simon Pegg tries to make it in the crazy world of New York magazine publishing.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Based on former Vanity Fair contributor Toby Young’s memoir. Good cast: Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges, Danny Huston, Kirsten Dunst, are all on board with Pegg. Curb Your Enthusiam vet Robert V. Weide should be able to wring out plenty of awkward at the helm. Also, the only flick I know of to promote itself with its own facebook app.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Infinite Playlist won’t help matters, and with Ghost Town returns proving that no one knows who the hell Ricky Gervais is, there’s no way they know who Simon Pegg is, either. $17mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Devil Wears Prada it ain’t.

FLASH OF GENIUS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
True story of a guy (Greg Kinnear) who sued the automobile industry for stealing his idea.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is generally good, if not full-throated.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will get lost in the shuffle. $10mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
It usually takes a stronger reaction to get that far.

AN AMERICAN CAROL

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The Conservative Satirists Strike Back

WILL IT SUCK?
David Zucker used to be much, much funnier than this. Although it all started to come off the rails with Scary Movie 3 and 4, so don’t necessarily blame it on the conservative slant. More here.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A lot of the male audience for this flick will turn to Body of Lies next week, but with the right marketing, this could hit an underserved market. $39mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Even if this were the most sophisticated skewering of liberals, which it ain’t, the conservatives in the Academy would get outvoted pretty handily.

Limited

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Rehab chick (Anne Hathaway) goes to her sister’s wedding.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. By the look of the trailer, Jonathan Demme is going mumblecore. Cast supported by Debra Winger, Anna Deveare Smith and Rosemarie Dewitt (who kicked ass on Mad Men) as the eponymous Rachel.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Probably about as well as Margot at the Wedding, with which it’s sure to get needlessly confused. $4mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
As the sole lead in Brokeback to not get a nod, Hathaway may see her fortunes change here. Dewitt getting some early notices, too.

BALLAST

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Three people react to a suicide in a small town.

WILL IT SUCK?
The darling of this year’s Sundance. Won for cinematography and direction. Early buzz is good, but not quite as fawning as all that.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Sundance darlings tend not to do well unless they have big stars. $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Ditto.

Next Week: Dammit! We’re going to find some Middle East movie the public will love!

Lest you think my absence of writing here equals absence of writing anywhere, here’s what I posted on FilmcriticBlogs this week:

Body Swapping Movies

Beware Coolio

And here’s my Filmcritic review of Eagle Eye, which I seemed to like more than most. I think it’s because I’m a sucker for, well, I can’t say what I’m a sucker for because it’s a pretty major spoiler, but I like stories about that particular thing. (No, it’s not jive-talking zombie android monkeys. But that would have been awesome, too.)

Click here if you want to know what the hell I’m talking about and don’t mind Eagle Eye being spoiled.

Lakeview Terrace? Really?

Really?

(Btw, love the fact that The Guardian UK just comes right out and calls it “an insipid weekend at U.S. cinemas.”)

9/26

Wide

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Spike Lee gets his WWII on.

WILL IT SUCK?
Suspiciously-timed criticisms of Clint Eastwood aside, Spike Lee is still one of the strongest filmmakers out there, and I’m curious to see what he does with the war genre. James McBride adapts his own novel. And Derek Luke, John Leguizamo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt should make for a powerful cast.

Early buzz, however, is not good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Audiences will have to shine to it way more than critics. $24mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Not with this buzz.

EAGLE EYE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
B-List Enemies of the State

WILL IT SUCK?
You know what? D.J. Caruso did a good job with Disturbia and a heckuva job with Salton Sea (and, yes, I’m totally ignoring Taking Lives and Two for the Money). I actually like Shia LaBouef and am continually impressed with Michelle Monaghan so I’m happy with the casting. Writers are basically unkown, though two of them are working on the Warriors remake. I don’t know if that makes me happy or sad. Probably sad.

Early buzz is not great.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The closest thing you’ll get to an event movie in September. $69mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No. But can we get Monaghan some retroactive love for Gone Baby Gone?

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Richard Gere and Diane Lane are swallowed by a prehistoric bird. No. Wait. I’m being told that’s incorrect. Actually, they fall in love at a beach house. (You can pretty much see the entire movie in trailer form here.)

WILL IT SUCK?
The director did Lackawanna Blues, which is supposed to be pretty damn good. Narnia scribe Anne Peacock is on board with Intolerable Cruelty writer John Romano. Based on a novel by Notebook author Nicholas Sparks. And that’s where I tune out.

Early buzz is meh.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The field is not exactly void of romantic films right now, but if they keep playing that Notebook card it might help. $44mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
There’s probably another Unfaithful in Diane Lane’s future, but this ain’t it.

Limited

CHOKE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Based on a Chuck Palahniuk novel, so expect some maleness.

WILL IT SUCK?
The writing/directing debut of “Hey! It’s That Guy!” stalwart Clark Gregg (the S.H.I.E.L.D. recruiter in Iron Man). Although combining Sam Rockwell and Palahniuk was all I needed to hear. Early buzz is good, including a Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Fight Club didn’t do all that well, and that had Brad Pitt. $9mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Maybe Sam Rockwell (it would be about damn time). Maybe Adapted Screenplay?

FIREPROOF

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
“Faith-based” story about a firefighter (Kirk Cameron) with a failing marriage.

WILL IT SUCK?
In case you were wondering, “faith based” is code for “We think you should accept Jesus, okay?” From the makers of surprise we-think-you-should-accept-Jesus hit Facing the Giants.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No reason for it not to do as well as Giants. It just won’t be a surprise this time. $14mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Now that would be a surprise.

THE LUCKY ONES

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Three Iraq War vets (Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, Michael Pena) who’ve just met go on a road trip.

WILL IT SUCK?
From the writer/director of The Illusionist, which didn’t suck (he also directed Interview With the Assassin, which you should check out). Early buzz is good. Psyched about the cast. Trailer makes it look pretty cheesy, but for the aforementioned reasons I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Iraq War films are a perennial tough sell. $6mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If I thought the Academy was comfortable with Iraq as a topic (outside of docs) and the trailer looked less cheesy, I’d say maybe.

Next Week: Conservatives can be funny, too. Right?

I liked Cop Rock. There. I said it.

When it first came on I watched and was fascinated. Great music. Great dialogue. Harsh plot lines. Somewhere along the line, though, I lost touch because I blinked and it was gone. All that was left was one of the best “Fuck You’s” to the establishment from an outgoing show since (well, before, actually) the Sports Night line “Anybody who can’t make money off of Sports Night should get out of the money-making business.”

I still remember the line, “No one has Equal Justice/Here at ABC.” Which is, of course, meaningless unless you remember the short-lived legal drama that replaced Cop Rock’s time slot.

So imagine my surprise when I found out that a friend of mine, Dr. Amber Watts, PhD., was not only using a clip from the show in her TV course at Wisconsin, but that it was one of the most popular moments in her class.

“First semester, it got applause. Second semester, it not only got applause, but about 30 kids–none of whom were actually registered for the class–got up and walked out afterwards. They had come just to see 3 minutes of Cop Rock.”

Here’s the clip in question:

I’m telling you there’s a Broadway adaptation in here somewhere.

No, not this one.

But maybe this one.

Or this one.

Or this one.

It’s hard to tell. I’m getting different opinions depending upon where I look in my WordPress account. But either way, Yay!

Put up a FilmCriticBlog post the other day about Conservative Humor.  Tell me what you think.

In a stunning demonstration of how we can all just get along, three of seventy-two films opening last week took the top spots with respectable hauls all within $3mil of each other. Although what I find even more surprising is that The House Bunny has legs (I swear that pun was not intended).

BTW, Burn After Reading is about a mid-level Cohen Bros. movie, although it contains one of my favorite lines from a Cohen Bros. movie. Something like, “Well, keep an eye on the situation and get back to me when…um…it all makes sense.”

9/19

Wide

LAKEVIEW TERRACE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Black cop terrorizes his white neighbor. Awesome!

WILL IT SUCK?
Sam Jackson and Patrick Wilson is strong casting. Period. And I’m curious to see what director Neil LaBute does with the material. Granted, he hasn’t hit one of out of the park since In the Company of Men. But one of the screenwriters wrote Dreamscape. Dreamscape!

Early buzz is so not good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Hard to see this doing better than the similarly-themed Changing Lanes. $34mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Little Children this ain’t.

MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Jason Biggs hires Dane Cook to look so bad that he looks good to Kate Hudson by comparison. It doesn’t work.

WILL IT SUCK?
Back in the day, director Howard Deutch was helming the girlier selections from the John Hughes oeuvre like Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful. Later he would direct sequels to movies that desperately didn’t need them, like Grumpier Old Men and The Whole Ten Yards. This looks more like the latter.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Is there any reason this should do better than Good Luck Chuck? Kate Hudson, you say? Fair enough. $44mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Remember when Kate Hudson was an Oscar nominee?

IGOR

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Remember the Mad Science Fair from that one episode of The Tick? Well, this is what would happen if an assistant entered.

WILL IT SUCK?
From writer Chris McKenna, who’s penned some American Dad’s. I don’t usually pay attention to the voice cast, but you gotta love Eddie Izzard playing a character named Dr Shadenfraude.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It is best not to underestimate family fare in September, especially when it has no competition. $71mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I think Wall-E and Kung Fu Panda have got that covered.

GHOST TOWN

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Kind of like The Sixth Sense meets Always. But funny.

WILL IT SUCK?
When David Koepp writes and directs (Stir of Echoes, Secret Window), he tends to be more consistent than when he just writes (everything from Carlito’s Way to The Shadow). Here he’s co-writing with Zathura scribe John Kamps. So there’s potential.

Early buzz is fantastic with more than one favorable comparison to Topper. Damn.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Can Ricky Gervais open a film? Under ideal conditions, yes. With fifty million competitors, not so much. $26mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No. But he deserves a nod for the series finale of Extras, even though it wasn’t a movie.

Limited

THE DUCHESS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
True story of an 18th Century duchess (Keira Knightley) who ended up in a loveless marriage. I understand that happened occasionally back then.

WILL IT SUCK?
Strong cast: Along with Knightley you’ve got Ralph Fiennes and Charlotte Rampling. Some good scribes up in here, too. The guy who wrote Stage Beauty and Casanova joins the guy who wrote After the Wedding.

Early buzz is good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The last two times they put Knightley in an indie period piece, it worked out well. $20mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Knightley got a Best Actress nod for Pride and Prejudice and while she wasn’t nominated for Atonement, the film was, seven times over including Best Picture.

APPALOOSA

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Ed Harris & Viggo Mortensen vs. Jeremy Irons, Western-style.

WILL IT SUCK?
Did I mention Ed Harris is directing, too? Yeah. It’s like that. Early buzz is solid.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Even in wide release, Westerns are a tough sell. $14mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Let’s see. The last time Ed Harris directed a movie, Marica Gay Harden won an Oscar and he got a Best Actor nod. Oh, and this has Little Miss Nod-bait Renee Zellwegger up in here, too.

BATTLE IN SEATTLE

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Stuart Townsend’s retelling of the events of November/December 1999 when demonstrators and police clashed at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.

WILL IT SUCK?
The writing/directing debut of Townsend, whom you might know from such films as Queen of the Damned and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Or not. Early buzz is good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The question is, do people still have an interest in this event? $6mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If Bobby couldn’t generate politicized event heat with its thousand actors, I don’t see this ensemble doing much better.

ELITE SQUAD

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Two brothers enter the Rio de Janeiro military police.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed about the latest from co-writer/director Jose Padilha. Audiences seem to think it’s even better than his Onibus 174, while critics have a more mixed response. Note: One of the writers penned City of God. Let the Fernando Meirelles comparisons begin.

Took the Golden Bear at Berlin and won just about every Cinema Brazil Grand Prize category out there.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Unless these films get huge buzz, nobody sees them. $500,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I think he’s one or two films away from that, unless Brazil decides to submit this for Best Foreign.

A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS

(Delayed from July)

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
The latest from Wayne Wang has a father (Henry O) visiting his daughter in the States as she goes through a divorce.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director Wayne Wang started out great guns with The Joy Luck Club and Smoke then took the express to Suckville with limp romantic comedies like Maid in Manhattan and Last Holiday. This appears to be a return to form.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I don’t see how moving this to an even more crowded weekend is going to help. $250,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Even Smoke didn’t get any Academy love.

Next Week: Shia LaBeouf grows facial hair.

My friend Justin once pointed out the amazingness that was the film year 1989:

Field of Dreams
Say Anything
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Dead Poets Society
Batman
Lethal Weapon 2
When Harry Met Sally
The Killer
Roger & Me
My Left Foot
Henry V
Do the Right Thing
Sex, Lies and Videotape
Cinema Paradiso

Later, I noticed a similar strength in 1999:

Rushmore
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Office Space
The Matrix
Election
The Blair Witch Project
The Iron Giant
The Sixth Sense
American Beauty
Three Kings
Fight Club
Boys Don’t Cry
Being John Malkovich
Dogma
Toy Story 2
Magnolia
Buena Vista Social Club

These are not just good films, per se, but films that, for the most part, became iconic. So, I have to wonder, (a) is there some end-of-the-decade tension that produces such great work and (b) will 2009 be nearly as interesting?

Here are a few films slated for release in 2009 with potential:

Youth in Revolt - Miguel Arteta (Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl) directs Michael Cera in a coming of age story with Justin Long and Steve Buscemi.

Watchmen - Well, duh.

The Wolf Man - Benicio Del Toro as the hairy lead in a remake written by Se7en scribe Andrew Kevin Walker.

Star Trek - I’ve liked just about everything else J.J. Abrams has done.

Up - Pixar. Natch.

Public Enemies - Michael Mann does his take on Mobsters with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis (Ness to Dillinger’s Capone), Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette (Dillinger’s squeeze) and Billy Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover.

District 9 - Not much more than a viral marketing campaign at the moment, but Peter Jackson’s stamp of approval makes it a little more interesting.

Shutter Island - Scorsese does Lehane with DiCaprio.

Where the Wild Things Are - Two words: Spike Jonze

Cabin in the Woods - Two more words: Joss Whedon

The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson joins forces with Noah Baumbach for this animated adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel.

Nottingham - Revisionist Robin Hood from Ridley Scott with his new BFF Russel Crowe as the sheriff.

The Surrogates - Interesting premise.

Avatar - Remember when James Cameron used to make movies?

The Princess and the Frog - Disney introduces a new princess, and she’s a sistah!

These are some of the more obvious contenders, but the fact of the matter is what made ‘89 and ‘99 great were the unexpected gems. Who could have seen Say Anything or The Sixth Sense coming?

Of course, nothing will top 1939.

I suppose all Labor Day weekends can’t be the worst box office in seven years, but given what they typically release on Labor Day, one of them kinda has to be.

9/12

Wide

THE WOMEN

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Remake of the 1939 Joan Crawford classic about a woman who finds out her husband is cheating on her. Witty female bonding ensues.

WILL IT SUCK?
The question isn’t so much did you like the original as it is did you like Murphy Brown? That show’s creator, Diane English, worked ten long years on recreating this film and is now in the writer/director’s chair.

Replacing Joan Crawford and the rest of the all female cast of the original are Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Eva Mendes as The Skank. Not bad, but I’ve gotta say the lineup for Friends With Money was stronger.

As pitched, this looks like a retread of Sex and the City, not an update of a Hollywood classic. Early buzz doesn’t even give it that much credit.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Minus the first week, this is a very crowded September, and Women (possibly to its credit) isn’t even trying to capitalize off the popularity of the original. $35mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Any year other than 1939, the original would have been swimming in nods. This one, not so much.

BURN AFTER READING

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Coen Bros. bring the funny.

WILL IT SUCK?
It’s the Coen Bros. Do we really need to have this discussion? Adding fuel to the fire is the anticipation of seeing them work with John Malkovich for the first time, plus J.K. Simmons, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and David Rasche. The red band trailer is pretty hilarious.

Early buzz is good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Righteous Kill will be an issue, but for all the movies coming out this weekend, it’s the Coens who’ve got Pitt and Clooney. $75mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Coens already done got theirs.

TYLER PERRY’S THE FAMILY THAT PREYS

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Tyler Perry sees white people.

WILL IT SUCK?
More interesting to me than Perry adding people of non-color to his palette is the fact that he’s attracting Oscar winners into his troupe. Kathy Bates plays one of the leads alongside Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Latham, Robin Givens, Cole Hauser and Prison Break’s Rockmon Dunbar. Will any of this actually make the movie better than any of his other efforts, none of which have received strong critical notice? In spite of a better-than-average trailer, I’m not holding my breath.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The Women will pull just a tad on the demo, but Perry’s track record is pretty solid. $56mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
We’re not there yet.

RIGHTEOUS KILL

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro play cops trying to track down a serial killer who may be a cop.

WILL IT SUCK?
Remember it wasn’t just the combo of De Niro and Pacino that made Heat rock. It was De Niro + Pacino + Michael Fucking Mann. Here we have De Niro + Pacino + The Guy Who Directed Fried Green Tomatoes. So I’m not as psyched. However, we also have the guy who wrote Inside Man. So, I’m interested again.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
In the De Niro/Pacino vs. Clooney/Pitt dust up, it’s going to be close. $57mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If they would, Overture would not be releasing a film with these two actors in September.

Limited

TOWELHEAD

WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Arab-American Teen

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, and I would expect nothing less from writer/director Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty scribe). Especially when tackling the hardcore source material by novelist Alicia Erian.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The “well-duh” controversy surrounding the title can only help sell tickets before a flood of indie product arrives the following week.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Look for newcomer Summer Bishil to stand a chance in the lead and Aaron Eckhart to sport a supporting nod in what looks to be one of his creepiest turns yet.

Next Week: “I have had it with these motherfucking yuppies on this motherfucking development!”

I’m in Colorado covering this. So, again with the no frequent blogging for a while. But I’ll be back soon.

In the meantime, here are some Filmcritic lists I contributed to recently…

#6, 3 and 1 on The 15 Best Movie Moms (Dr. Wife actually came up with the suggestions. I just wrote ‘em up.)

#15 on The 20 Best Movie Geeks

First entry on Ten Biopics We’d Pay to See