What To Watch (13th Feb)

In the Noughties, 'Friday the 13th' for cinema-lovers means one of two things:

1) An american gore/slasher horror pic will be released
2) The film will be hell-stirringly awful

This trend continues in 2009 where we are treated to yet another should-be-bargain-bin (read. drivel) remake of the original dating back to 1980. Now the original wasn't exactly the greatest of horror films (stalk and slash films had been around for a while by this time) but it's influence on the horror boom which blossomed in the 80's remains unchallenged. The legendary Evil Dead was released just a year later.

But this is not 1980, this is twenty-fricking-nine years later. So my question is where did the love go? Apparently not into the remake, into which critics (for those who have been granted the pleasure of advanced screenings) have been meticulously sticking forks in its ornate range of monstrosities.

As you can tell, avoid like the bubonic plague.

Other films looking to divulge tax payers money (not quite with such stealth) this weekend include:

Notorious, which is not the name of a Duran Duran musical, but a biopic of the late great Notorious B.I.G. who died choking on spit roasted marshmallows. I kid you. Surprisingly, reviews have been positive on the whole for this one, with special notices for Jamal Woolard who plays the bigger-than-life titlular character. For those with an interest in the rap-hip hop genre, this could prove to be a bittersweet but entertaining weekend viewing.

The final film of note this weekend, Hotel For Dogs, is your staple meat and potatoes weekly comedy release. The keywords here seem to be slapstick and dogs. Dogs of all smells and angles seem to be major box office draws nowadays, especially considering the box office bang of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, so if you like you some photogenic canines watch the film otherwise avoid it and go and see Bolt instead.

If none of these three films appeal to you, there are still strong films on general release from the past few weeks to catch up on! I'm sure next weekend won't be as much of a movie graveyard...