Out this week (29/05/09)

Box Office wise it could be any one of 4 films taking the top spot this week, including the Jonas Brothers tour video (not previewed), and it'ss be interesting to see how Drag me to Hell, Obsessed and 12 Rounds perform. For me though there can only be one winner - Sam Raimi wants my soul in hell and I'm not going to disappoint. (Obviously I'd rather recommend Lifelong Yearning, but I'm not sure that would be in the spirit of this column.)



Drag me to Hell

Sam Raimi returns to his horror comedy roots with this tale of a loan officer cursed to be "dragged to hell". The buzz from Cannes and early reviews suggest it walks the fine line between the genres very well. Expect gags and gag reflexes galore.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○



Fermat's Room

French horror film, about a group of mathematicians invited to solve a difficult mathmatical puzzle. When they arrive, and are put into a small room to solve it, the walls start closing in and they can only be stopped through mathematical calculations. Now, I did a degree in Maths, and most of my lecturers wouldn't have gone to the next floor to solve a problem so I'm not sure about the realism, but kudos for the idea.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○


Fireflies in the Garden

I'm incredibly curious about this ensemble pic from Sophomore director Dennis Lee, based on Robert Frost's poem. Not least because of the tremendous sounding cast (Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Ryan Reynolds, Carrie-Anne Moss, Ioan Gruffudd, Hayden Panettiere!), however it looks like distributer The Works UK have really fluffed it.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●○○○○


Fugitive Pieces

Greek/Canadian co-production (with sections in Yiddish and German) about a young Jewish boy running from the Nazis and being adopted by a Greek fisherman. Not sure if it brings anything new to our understanding of the period.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○


Obsessed

Beyonce's Fatal Attraction for the 90's film has done well with her fan base in the US, taking over $66m in receipts, doubt it will repeat that success over here, but it's an odd week for releases so you never know. Personally I'd much rather see it if the former Destiny's Child star was reprising the Glenn Close role and not the Anne Archer one.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●○○○○○○○○


12 Rounds

WWE star John Cena climbs buildings, jumps from helicopters and generally kicks ass in order to save his wife from a vengence seeking terrorists. There's a market for this sort of thing.

Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●○○○○○○○