The New Wave: 7/2/10

July 4th weekend is always a weird one, because studios try to get the jump on eachother by having their flicks come out on Wednesday, or even Thursday in some cases. So there's precious little here that most people haven't already seen or heard of. Just in case, though, I hope you'll enjoy my usual rundown of the week's new flicks, and be sure to check out our reviews before heading out to the theaters.

It's already set the record for highest grossing midnight opening ever, just ahead of it's predecessor, New Moon, and the 2nd highest single day haul in history. Guh.  You probably don't need me to tell you anything more about the misadventures of Bella Swan, Jacob Black, and Edward Cullen. What I will say about it is that it's the most fully developed story of them all so far. You can read my apparently surprising review of it here.

I just read an interview with M. Night Shyamalan where he said that he hadn't read any of the reviews for his latest film, an adaptation of the globally popular cartoon series. The interviewer then proceeded to inform him that everybody pretty much took one big collective dump on it. Same crap, different toilet for poor Shyamalan, who's found that his once promising career as the future Alfred Hitchock has ended up more like the future Uwe Bol. I still hold out hope that he'll reclaim his former glory. You can check out my review of The Last Airbender here.

I actually wrote about this one last week but since it didn't hit theaters until Wednesday I'll give it another brief mention. Love Ranch features Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci as Sally and Joe Conforte, owners of the first legal brothel in the United States. Sounds like the premise for somewhat seedy, Paul Thomas Anderson Boogie Nights type flick, right? Go in with that attitude and you might be disappointed, as Love Ranch is more a love story about Sally's indiscretions with a charming oaf of a professional boxer. Directed by Mirren's husband, Taylor Hackford, who we haven't seen since 2004's Ray. You can read my review of Love Ranch here.

By far the most anticipated film of the week for me. Studios have been trying to adapt Jim Thompson's 1952 novel about a small town sheriff with a murderous dark side for decades. Just looking at the wealth of talent that has been involved should prove the strength of the source material: Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise...and that's just the start. All efforts have failed for one reason or another. Now that it's finally out and featuring the younger and better Affleck brother as the disturbed Lou Ford, I can't help but think that maybe the wait was worth it. Even in the trailers Affleck is terrifying.