by Dave Thomas

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
In a month that begins and ends with polemics about the Gulf, will anyone notice? Can Harry Potter save Hollywood from an oversimplified news story that won’t die, I mean, the slump, the horrible, horrible slump? And is there even the slightest chance that “Rent” won’t suck? The answers to all that and more, in this month’s preview…
(OK, I’ll tell you right now, “Rent’s” gonna suck.)
NOVEMBER 4
CHICKEN LITTLE
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Disney can live without Pixar. Oh, the pitch of the film? Animated chicken declares that the sky is falling…in alien invasion form. Yeah, I know, that’s a much more believable pitch.
WILL IT SUCK?
It’s from the guys who wrote “Brother Bear,” so, yes. And from the director of “The Emporer’s New Groove,” which wasn’t awful, but still. Nice voice talent, though: Zach Braff, Catherine O’Hara, Don Knotts, Joan Cusack, Amy Sedaris, Harry Shearer, Patrick Stewart, Adam West, Fred Willard, and Steve Zahn.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
“Zathura” could be an issue the following week. And after the abysmal returns for “Valiant” and the less-than-stellar performance of “Wallace & Gromit,” the kid flick scene seems dicey. $27mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I’m thinking you’re gonna need bigger guns than “Brother Bear” to play at that level.
————————————–
JARHEAD
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Remember the first Iraq war? It’s about that.
WILL IT (WELCOME TO THE) SUCK?
From Director Sam Mendes, who is quickly becoming one of my favorites. After “American Beauty” and “Road to Perdition,” the man is starting to establish himself as the king of the intimate epic. Not quite a modern day William Wyler, but it could happen. Screenwriter William Broyles Jr, on the other hand, had a hand in the “Planet of the Apes” remake. He also has “Apollo 13″ and “Cast Away” to his credit which, while being strong films, don’t seem quite on the level of what this is trying to achieve.
(more…)