The New Wave: 6/11/10

It gets harder and harder to shock me every week when it comes to my expectations for certain movies, but I have to admit this week had me completely floored. Going into the nostalgic tandem of The Karate Kid and The A-Team, I was expecting to have two more deep scars blemishing my childhood favorites. Both films are the only major releases to hit this weekend, and I think people will walk away completely surprised by each of them.

In a summer that has felt less like blockbuster season and more like the Spring malaise, The A-Team is a breath of fresh air and the first film since Iron Man 2 to truly feel like a big budget crowd pleaser. Bouncing off the fan-favorite 1980s TV show about a clandestine team of former Army Rangers convicted of a crime they didn't commit, it perfectly captures it's frenetic pace and light tone. Directed by Joe Carnahan of Smokin' Aces infamy, The A-Team should be Plan A if you're lookin' for an escape at the theaters this weekend. You can check out my review here.

When it was first announced that Will Smith had bought up the rights to The Karate Kid with hopes of installing his son Jaden into the title role, I screamed bloody murder. My emotions on the subject stayed pretty much the same throughout. At one point I think I decided not to even cover the filmmaking process, choosing to ignore it. Call it The Kung Fu Kid if you want, I don't care. I'm an idiot. Or at least, it's nice to know that I can still be surprised. Without goin into too many details, let's just say that I think people will be pleased by approach taken here by all involved. Not so much remaking as reimagining the classic 1984 film, The Karate Kid is a powerful film that retains the heart of the original. Check it out for yourself and become a believer. You can read my review of The Karate Kid here.

Dig this cast: Michael Douglas, who's on a serious upswing with this and Wall Stree 2; Susan Sarandon; Mary Louise-Parker; Jesse Eisenberg; and Olivia Thirlby. If that's not a recipe for success, then also recognize that Douglas is playing an arrogant, cocky businessman with a mean appetitite for the better things in life. It's a role that's right up his alley. Right now you can only catch it at Landmark Bethesda in the DC Metro area, but if you can it's worth going out of your way for. You can check out my review of Solitary Man here.

I'm so tired of hearing about how creative and inventive Micmacs is. At this point I just want to see it and get it over with. Stealing the show at last year's Toronton International Film Festival, it's the story of an unemployed loser who goes off on a violent crusade against the corporation who produced the weapons that killed his father and left him injured.

I love a good spy flick, but you know what I like even more? Spy spoofs. From Our Man Flint starring James Coburn to Top Secret featuring a young Val Kilmer, it's a genre that never seems to get old or run out of material. I've never for a second heard of the French film, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, but it's got my attention now. Based on the wildly successful series of OSS 117 novels and films(which predate James Bond by four years), this latest incarnation takes a different tact, choosing to parody the stuff that came before. That's an interesting idea. Can you imagine if James Bond went the same route? It might actually get interesting again.