Movie: Next (PG-13)
Released: April 27th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min.
Ticket Price: $7.00 Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel and Julianne Moore
Directors: Lee Tamahori

Rating: Worth a Rental

Synopsis: An FBI agent tracks a lowly Las Vegas magician with the power to see his future, in hopes that he can help prevent a nuclear terrorist attack.

Review: Next is an actioner based on the Philip K. Dick story, The Golden Man. He has written many science fiction stories that have been made into very good movies like Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. Next, however, won’t be added to that list. It is closer in quality to another film based on one of Dick’s stories, Paycheck.

Next stars Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider, National Treasure) as Cris Johnson, a man who can peek into the future, but only his and only about two minutes ahead. This comes in handy for his job as an off the strip lounge magician and playing blackjack for a few extra bucks. Until one day he gets a glimpse of a woman entering a coffee shop that is outside his normal two-minute limit. He has to find out why he can see farther than he ever could before. Seeing that, Liz played by the beautiful Jessica Biel (The Illusionist, Stealth) is the woman in question, that may not be his only reason.

Julianne Moore (Freedomland, The Forgotten) plays an FBI agent that thinks Cris could be the key to stopping a nuclear attack using his unique ability. She sets out to track him down and get him to help save possibly millions of people. He is not interested and a chase ensues.

Next is trying to take an interesting premise and create one of those sci-fi thrillers where the audience is left to guess what reality you are in. Is what you are seeing really happening, or is he seeing the future. You don’t know. The science fiction angle is appealing, but it doesn’t quite make the grade in the thriller department.

What you end up with is an action flick with some sci-fi elements and few thrills. Other than the cool factor of having a guy that can see the next couple of minutes telling you what to do during a fire fight, you have seen these action sequences before.

While it is amazing what they can do with CGI these days, it is also amazing how awful they can be sometimes. A good CGI effect makes your brain believe what you’re seeing, in the context of the movie, even though you know it’s fake. A bad CGI effect takes you out of the moment because it is so obviously a fake. Next mostly falls in the latter category.

If this is the next film on your list of things to see, you might want to wait for the rental. Just pretend as if I have looked into the future for you and this is your best result.

Have you seen Next? What did you think of it?

I have the ability to see into the future. I will be sitting in a theater seat tomorrow watching Next with Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel while eating some Swedish Fish. Unfortunately, that is as far as I can see. If only I could see far enough into the future to know whether when the movie is over, if I will have been entertained or wish I would have been sitting in the next theater over.

There were six movies for New Movie Friday to choose from this week. The Condemned has been condemned to the wait until it hits HBO, as it looks really bad. Kickin’ It Old Skool been kicked aside. The Invisible will not be seen until it gets added to the old Netflix queue once it is released on DVD. Movies like Wind Chill leave me cold, as it looks like just another useless horror flick like The Hitcher remake earlier this year. Now Diggers, actually sounds interesting and I like Paul Rudd, but the only place it is playing is downtown and I am not convinced it would be worth all the hassle to see it at a theater. So, it will end up being seen when that little red envelope shows up once it gets released on DVD.

That left Next as the best choice for Friday. What movies coming out this Friday look good to you? Is there anything that will get you to the theater this weekend?

There are nine new movies opening this Friday. Four are opening wide and five are in limited release.

Movie Opening Wide for Friday, April 27th:

Movie: The Condemned (R)
Starring: Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones
Genre: Action Drama
Synopsis: A bunch of prisoners are taken to a remote island and told only one will be leaving. It is kill of be killed, all for the amusement of a viewing audience.
First Thoughts: Sounds like a low rent version of Hard Target or The Running Man. Just because The Rock has been decent in a few films, doesn’t mean every wrestler should start doing movies, but they seem to be anyway.

Movie: The Invisible (PG-13)
Starring: Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva and Marcia Gay Harden
Genre: Dramatic Thriller
Synopsis: A kid with a big future is attacked and left for dead. He ends up in a state between dead and alive. From this limbo he has one chance to live by finding out who it was that did this to him and why they did it, but time is running out.
First Thoughts: The trailer has a good thriller vibe to it, but then so did Perfect Stranger and Fracture.

Movie: Kickin’ It Old Skool (PG-13)
Starring: Jaime Kennedy, Maria Menounos and Michael Rosenbaum
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: A guy wakes up after a twenty year coma with the knowledge and experience of a child, as he was 12 when he was injured while performing in a talent show with his dance team. Upon awaking, he wants to get the old gang back together again.
First Thoughts: While the prospect of reliving the glory days of the break dancing ‘80s should appeal to someone my age, this really sounds lame. It sounds like a good idea for a MADtv or Saturday Night Live sketch, but not a movie.

Movie: Next (PG-13) (Read Review)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jessica Biel and Julianne Moore
Genre: Action Thriller
Synopsis: A lowly Las Vegas magician with the power to see his future is tracked down by a government operative to try and stop a nuclear disaster.
First Thoughts: It looks like it could be a lot of fun or a complete waste of time. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story, The Golden Man.

Movies in Limited Release This Friday:

• Diggers – Paul Rudd stars in this story of a group of clammers who are watching their business and way of life disappear.
• Jindabyne – Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne star in this story of a group of fishermen who find a murdered women’s body and decide to delay reporting it until they finish their trip.
• Snow Cake – The story of a man who picks up a young hitchhiker and then is involved in a bad accident that kills her and the aftermath of that event.
• Ta Ra Rum Pum – Story of a racecar driver who suffers a bad accident and then faces a bunch of failures and then moves his family into a rundown trailer park. He and his do all they can to not let the kids in on what has happened to them.
• Wind Chill – Horror movie about a couple of college kids on their way home for the holidays that get stranded on a deserted stretch of road and are haunted by those that have previously died there.

Of these nine movies, the four wide releases, plus Diggers and Wind Chill are playing at a theater near me. That gives New Movie Friday six flicks to choose from. What shall I go see this Friday? What looks good to you? Is there anything here that will get you out to the theater this weekend?

Movie: Fracture (R)
Released: April 20th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike and Embeth Davidtz
Directors: Gregory Hoblit

Rating: Worth a Rental

Synopsis: A man finds that his younger wife has been cheating on him and plans to kill her. When the cops arrive at his home, he lets one cop in and admits that he shot his wife. He gets arrested and the case is given to a hotshot in the district attorney’s office to prosecute. It looks to be a slam-dunk. It turns out not to be so easy, as nothing is as it seems.

Review: Fracture is a slowly paced psychological thriller with a great cast, but a less than stellar plot. It is supposed to have many twists and turns throughout, yet when they arrive you are already there to greet them. The story is pretty easy to follow and set up well. It is the payoff that doesn’t quite measure up. As is stated in the movie, “If you look closely enough, you’ll find everything has a weak spot where it can break” and Fracture itself, is just more proof that the statement is true. You won’t even have to look that close.

Anthony Hopkins (Instinct, Silence of the Lambs) is great as the mastermind executing his plan to getaway with murdering his wife. Watching his character manipulate those that are around him is fun to watch. There are even a few one-liners that are pretty funny. He really plays the creepy smart guy very well.

Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Murder by Numbers) is also very good as the hotshot prosecutor on his way out to take a job in the private sector at a big law firm. He plays him with just enough quirks and zeal to be believable and keep you interested.

The rest of the cast make the most of their time on screen, which isn’t all that much. Embeth Davidtz (The Emporer’s Club), as the cheating wife, spends most of the movie in a vegetative state at the hospital, but is beautiful to watch, as always, until her character gets shot. David Strathairn (We Are Marshall, Good Night, and Good Luck) as the head of the district attorney’s office has great presence on screen. Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day) is good, as the boss at the new firm, but her character doesn’t serve much purpose other than as a love interest for our hero. And, in true Hollywood style that means they only have to meet once briefly, barely talk a couple more times and then are enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at her family’s house after they end up in the sack one night.

That was just one of the “weak spots” in Fracture. The other was the overall plot, while it is a good idea, the twists, not so much. Early on, you will find yourself thinking you know what happened. Then you will be almost positive what went on. Then you will be absolutely sure how it was done. Then you will be waiting for the characters on screen to catch up. When they finally do, you will be vindicated because you were right, but wish that you weren’t. As with a horror movie that doesn’t make you jump or a comedy that doesn’t make you laugh, a psychological thriller where you know what happened long before the hero does is less than thrilling and not what you paid to go see.

Fracture is a two star story with a one star plot twist and three star acting, making it a two star viewing experience and worth catching down the road at some point via Netflix or your favorite rental outfit.

What did you think of Fracture?