Attractions January 2006

Welcome to a new year. 2006 promises a full slate of films for all tastes.

January brings BloodRyne by Uwe Boll, director of the locally shot Dungeon Siege. Hoodwinked is an animated and updated look at the Little Red Riding Hood Story. The movie I’m hoping will rule the first month of the year is Underworld: Evolution, a sequel to the 2003 Vampire vs. Werewolf spectacular and if part two does well expect to see the franchise continue.

The Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival runs January 27 to February 5 and is a great way to see films that usually fly under the media’s radar. The festival is full of films for the ten days, but there is also a weekend full of events from workshops and seminars to art shows and forum panels. Be sure to get a catalog and a membership; you MUST have a membership to see any of the films. Check out www.vifvf.com for more details and watch victoriawood.blogspot.com for constant updates.

January ends with Oscar Nominations early in the morning on the 31.

February starts with some good comedies, including the animated Curious George and Steve Martin in The Pink Panther. But if action is king, it will be one of Cameron Bright’s two films premiering at the end of the month. I have a feeling Ultraviolet may move its February release date in favor of Running Scared.

March starts with the Oscars and a really lackluster slate of films. The few break outs include Cameron's third film of the year, Thank You For Smoking, about an tobacco industry spokesperson (Aaron Eckhart) who questions his career when he realizes the effects his job has on his son (Bright). Warner Bros. takes another DC comic property to the big screen with V for Vendetta as the Wachowski brothers take Natalie Portman into a confrontation with Hugo Weaving in this Alan Moore created tale. March’s breakout film will be the anticipated Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.

April is almost washed out as the showers prep us for the fantastic summer season that starts with May’s Memorial Day Weekend.

May’s final weekend has traditionally been the kick start to the summer season and some real block busters, but this year a lot of films have lined up before the long weekend to try and jump start the run to the box-office, such as Mission Impossible III, Poseidon, and The Di Vinci Code, but I think it will be X-Men 3 holding the memorial weekend and number one box-office spot when it’s all over. The other notable film in the month of May is the localy shot In The Land Of Women staring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody.

June brings us the final Pixar and Disney movie, Cars, about the adventures of a race car, and what Warner Bros. hopes will be a five movie series starts when Superman Returns.

July is keelhauled as many summer movies moved out of the way for Captain Jack Sparrow and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The second film in what promises to be at least a hat trick sails in to theatres for the Independence Day weekend, and I for one will be front and centre.

August has really only one highlight, and that’s the X-menesque The Return of Zoom, based on a Graphic Novel by Jason Lethcoe and staring Tim Allen in a super hero version of Galaxy Quest.

September is the return to school for many and the end of summer for some but it shouldn’t be the end of the box-office as it seems to be this year. Three years ago there was a prospective blockbuster scheduled for every weekend, but as I scan the release dates there are huge gaps in time between good films.

October doesn’t have any great films but at least they’re suitable for the month of Halloween. A Texas Chainsaw prequel, the Saw second sequel, and The Grudge 2 all scream into movie houses this month.

November sees Tim Allen back in the Santa suit with the Santa Clause 3 and Bond is back at the beginning in Casino Royale, this time staring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench.

December ends the year with Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happiness and Dakota Fanning in Charlotte’s Web.

Lastly we remember the following people’s achievements in life. Frank Kelly Freas, Will Eisner, Johnny Carson, Ossie Davis, Arthur Miller, Jack Chalker, Sandra Dee, Hunter S. Thompson, Dave Allen, Andre Norton, John DeLorean, Barney Martin, Pope John Paul II, Dale Messick, Philip Morrison, Frank Gorshin, Thurl Ravenscroft, Anne Bancroft, Jack Kilby, Paul Winchell, John Fiedler, Luther Vandross, Byron Preiss, Gerry Thomas, James “Scotty” Doohan, Peter Jennings, Joe Ranft, Robert Moog, Michael Sheard, Bob Denver, Robert Wise, Gordon Gould, Tommy Bond, Don “Gadget” Adams, Jerry Juhl, Rosa Parks, Lloyd Bochner, Michael Piller, Pat Morita, Stan Berenstain, Gregg Hoffman, Robert Sheckley, Richard Pryor, and just recently John Spencer. These people have departed this realm but memories of their work remains with us. If you don’t recognize a name, google it and learn what made them unique and noteworthy.