Thanksgiving is this week. That means it’s time for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and telling every one of your extended relatives that yes, school is going fine, and no, you still don’t have a significant other. Families are great, of course, but spending a whole weekend with them? I don’t know. Unfortunately, the Seahawks are playing on TV on Thursday, so there won’t be any good football over the holiday.
Luckily, there are plenty of movies coming out that make for the perfect excuse for getting away from your drunken uncles and that creepy older cousin who secretly has a crush on you. Plus, you can forgo the popcorn and just smuggle in some turkey.
Australia
This movie, believe it or not, is set in Australia. It stars Nicole Kidman as a helpless and bony English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch and more than 2,000 heads of cattle in the northern outback of pre-World War II. Marlboro man Hugh Jackman comes to her rescue when he helps to thwart a takeover plot by rambunctious Aussie cattle pirates. A love story then ensues. The two get caught up in the Japanese bombing of Darwin and a colossal epic breaks loose from the director who already brought us the epics “Moulin Rouge” and “Romeo + Juliet.”
Milk
Finally, Gus Van Sant took a hint. The one-time acclaimed Portland director returns to using real actors after the collective abortion that was the death trilogy of “Elephant,” “Last Days” and “Paranoid Park.” “Milk” is a sharp return to form and sanity for Van Sant only a year after releasing the universal hate crime that is the ungodly, meandering, masturbatory, glorified skate film “Paranoid Park.” Sean Penn, whose acting range sees no limit, could save Van Sant’s career as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. In 1977, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and would go on to become a hero to working Americans before his untimely death only a year later. The supporting cast is excellent, featuring Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco. It should be a good one.
Four Christmases
It has Vince Vaughn in it, it’s rated PG-13, it’s about Christmas. I guess you could take your grandma to see it. This is director Seth Gordon’s first venture into narratives after directing the wildly successful documentary “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.”
Transporter 3
Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin in the third sequel (fourth if you count the rip-off “Crank”) to “The Transporter.” By now you know what to expect: a lot of shooting, car chases, fast-paced editing and dudes getting pistol-whipped. Statham’s films have clearly carved out a niche, and if you are a part of that niche, you’d best go see it. But if you’re like the rest of us, we already got our fill from “Quantum of Solace,” thanks.
Otto; or Up with Dead People
An interesting take on the zombie genre. Otto is a goth kid who is pretty sure he is a zombie. He looks and smells like one, dines on human flesh and never sleeps, but is still hesitant to pin the label on himself. He randomly finds a poster announcing auditions for a zombie film – a gay zombie film that leads a revolt against consumerist society. At the same time, the zombie movie director begins to make a film about Otto, whom he is convinced is the perfect embodiment of the effect on capitalism on individuals. The movie fables about alienation as Otto tries to unwrap the emotions he felt for people prior to his zombification. It’s a politicized, coming-of-age zombie tale.
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