Box Office Briefing

I find it most amusing that Hostel is the number one movie at the box office this weekend, followed by (ha-ha!) The Chronicles of Narnia. Isn't that wonderfully American? The happy and warm Christian family flick getting beat by the vicious, just-barely-R-rated horror film? I think so.

Anyhoo, I saw The Producers last week with my girlfriend and we both thought that it was one of the funniest films of the year. While the opening scenes had Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick trying a little too hard to be like Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder (the stars of the original film), things picked up a lot after Matthew Broderick did his big number, "I Wanna Be a Producer." It sure is nice to see that old stalwart genre, the Hollywood musical, finally get into the spotlight again. After the runaway success of Moulin Rouge and Chicago, there haven't been all that many other musicals that have sparked anyone's interests. I hope The Producers will change all that. Also, if you go see it, stick around 'till the end of the credits.

I'm also on my way out the door to see The Squid and the Whale, the new film from the co-writer of The Life Aquatic, Noah Baumbach. It made #7 on my list of the best reviewed films of 2005. I'll let you know how that goes.