Working for the Weekend

Moviegoers, this might be the weekend to catch up on some of those films from 2006 that you've yet to cross off your list. Offerings tomorrow look to rate from middling to poor.

First, Joe Carnahan is offering up Smokin' Aces, a film that seems to be gunning for the Oean's 11 strategy of "blind-em with the star power, hope they don't realize there's not much going on." Now that might be a little harsh on Sodebergh's film, but you'll have to forgive me, I've only recently learned that there's going to be a third, and let's just say I'm loosing my pateince. If you're looking for crazy guns and vertigo inducing editing, then this is your movie.

Then there's Blood and Chocolate, the soapy, horror flick about a secret werewolf pack, and the werewolf-human love that dare not speak its name. They're leaning really hard on the "from the producers of Underwold" angle for all the promotional materials, which probably isn't a bad strategy considering how that film fared. This one's more for the teens and tweens though, so if you're looking for a horror fix, best to stay away.

Catch and Release is a pretty crappy looking romantic comedy (is it even funny, the previews were kind of brutal?). It's got Jennifer Garner, who's been charming in the past, and Tim Olyphant, who has done nothing but plummet in my estimation, but that's mostly for the number of scenes he's fucked up on Deadwood.

Moving from boring to mind bogglingly stupid, we have Epic Movie. I could think of something to say about this one, but really, is it worth either of our time?

Finally, though, there's something of an interesting film in Seraphim Falls, a western that sounds to be much in vein of Outlaw Josey Wales. Liam Neeson--who rarely ever wastes your time, stars as a soldier who in the period after the Civil War seeks revenge on a man (Pierce Brosnan) who's perpetrated a heinous crime against the former's family (okay, so it sounds a lot like Josey Wales). The reviews aren't sterling, but it sounds to be loaded with action (the RT synopsis calls it a mix of First Blood and Cold Mountain, yowzers!), and it's pretty rare in this day and age to get any western love, so if that's your bag, you'll have to take it where you can get it.