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Holiday Convergence Arrives In Local Theaters

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By KEVIN WALKER

kwalker@tampatrib.com

Published: December 25, 2008

Today is a special day.

Sure, it's Christmas, and we're looking forward to seeing family and gaining 5 pounds as much as the next person. But Christmas happens every year. What's going on at area movie theaters happens far less often.

Starting Christmas Day and running through the weekend is a movie lover's paradise: a happy convergence of big-budget, nationwide releases and small independent films finally reaching our market. It's enough to make a person get out of that comfy chair after Christmas dinner and drive down to the local multiplex.

Let's look at the big-budget films first.

One favorite to come out on top at the box office this holiday weekend is "Marley & Me," which stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston as married newspaper reporters living in South Florida. They buy a Labrador and soon come to think of him as the worst dog in the world. They have good reason, as he's chewing everything in sight when he's not humping someone's leg. It's sweet. It's got a dog. It's a tear-jerker. That's box office magic.

So is Adam Sandler (usually). And his new film, "Bedtime Stories," could also end up on top. It's about a handyman named Skeeter who tells his niece and nephew bedtime stories - and then the stories start happening in real life. It's a family comedy on a long holiday weekend, when families are searching for entertainment. Gold.

Another one generating buzz is "Valkyrie," although the buzz mostly concerns whether anyone can take Tom Cruise seriously again. In the film, Cruise portrays a German military officer leading a plot to kill Adolf Hitler during World War II. The good news for Cruise fans is he's surrounded by a killer cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Terence Stamp.

Anticipation is also high among comic fans for "The Spirit," the directorial debut for Frank Miller, the writer/artist who revolutionized comics with graphic novels such as "The Dark Knight Returns," "Sin City" and "300." All three have led to hit movies (if you credit Miller with influencing Batman directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan, which you should). "The Spirit" is based on the comics of the same name, created by the late, great Will Eisner. Unfortunately, early reviews have not been kind.

Brad Pitt also hits the big screen this weekend, this time in a tale based on one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's stranger short stories. In "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Pitt is a man who is born old and ages backward. This makes his life extremely complicated, especially when he falls in love (with Cate Blanchett, as anyone would). The film reunited Pitt with David Fincher, who directed "Fight Club."

We've saved the best for last: There are three smaller films coming to town, all of which look excellent.

Ron Howard is the director of "Frost/Nixon," which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the interviews between British journalist David Frost and former President Richard Nixon. At the time, people expected Nixon to handle Frost easily, but the two ended up in a verbal chess match that riveted millions. What's more interesting, however, is what happened behind the scenes.

In "Doubt," Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a priest accused by a nun (Amy Adams, who most people last saw singing to the roaches in "Enchanted") of having an improper relationship with a boy at the school where they both work. Meryl Streep is the nun running the school. John Patrick Shanley directed and wrote the movie, based on his own play.

Finally, there's "The Reader," in which a teenage boy and a woman twice his age (Kate Winslet) have an affair after she nurses him back to health in post-World War II Germany. She mysteriously disappears, but 10 years later, the man (Ralph Fiennes) runs into her - defending herself at the Nazi war crimes trials. Holy unexpected twist, Batman!

You won't see many weekends like this one, movie lovers. Enjoy.

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