This week's premieres
photo: Tatrafilm
The Phantom of the Opera (Fantóm opery) - Musical by Joel Schumacher. Legendarily schlocky director Joel Schumacher (8MM, Batman and Robin) adapts the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on Gaston Leroux's novel that has already been made into a number of movies. Gerard Butler stars as the title character, a horribly disfigured musical genius who lives in the belly of an opera house so that he can avoid other people, who generally find him creepy. After he hears the beautiful voice of Christine (Emmy Rossum), he accosts her and takes her to his lair, where he promises to write a gorgeous opera just for her. But his violent jealousy is sparked when he discovers that Christine has fallen in love with Raoul (Patrick Wilson), a wealthy aristocrat. Soon Christine must decide if it is worth risking her life to catch the evil Phantom.
photo: Magic Box Slovakia
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (Pofajčíme, uvidíme) - Comedy by Danny Leiner. The director of Dude, Where's My Car? continues his quest to make the perfect stoner movie with this tale of a young Korean-American investment banker (John Cho) and an Indian-American wannabe medical student (Kal Penn) who spend a Friday night searching for hamburgers from a particular fast food restaurant (White Castle). But what they thought would be a simple drive turns into an epic journey that involves sexual hijinks, deep philosophical discussions, and copious amounts of marijuana.
photo: Tatrafilm
Ray - Drama by Taylor Hackforrd. Conveniently released a few months after Ray Charles died of liver disease, this biopic chronicles the life of the hard-living American musical genius. Jamie Foxx's performance as Charles has stirred up substantial praise and Oscar buzz, particularly since he took home the Golden Globe. The movie begins with Charles' childhood, when the poor young southern boy lost his eyesight and then began to devote more and more of his attention to music. It details how he combined elements of blues, R&B, gospel, and country to rise to the top of American music, all the while battling problems with drugs and women.
Other movies playing
photo: Magic Box Slovakia
The Aviator(Letec) - Drama by Martin Scorsese. This biopic also has high Oscar hopes; among its 11 nominations are Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio). Its subject is Howard Hughes (DiCaprio), the legendarily neurotic and obsessive compulsive playboy who spent his large sums of money on wildly expensive movies and new airplane technology. He also bedded a number of Hollywood's most glamorous starlets, such as Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). Though well-crafted and interesting (to those who are fascinated by Hughes or old Hollywood at least), the movie is far too uneven and directionless to be the classic many claim it to be.
Prepared by Jonathan Knapp
