Week in review: 3/17 - 3/21

This week saw two big Hollywood players, Sofia Coppola and Andy Serkis, sign on to direct projects for the benefit of the little people -- kids, that is. A cult classic celebrated its 10th anniversary, we were treated to our first look at classic cartoons in 3D form, and a critic made an impassioned plea for accomplished short films to be taken as seriously as any modern classic feature. While we're on the subject, Golden Era-Hollywood choreographer and director Busby Berkeley, he of 42nd Street fame, will be the subject of a new movie, thanks to producer (and most likely, star) Ryan Gosling. Unfortunately, Gosling's Busby biopic is not a Sony project, which is too bad, as the studio could use a hit, or quite a few, right now.

Our final pick of the week has no direct ties to the world of film, but is nonetheless an interesting read for anyone interested in art and entertainment criticism (and spats) in general.

What have we missed? Let us know by sounding off in the comments below!

Sofia Coppola to helm 'The Little Mermaid,' Deadline Hollywood

Andy Serkis to direct 'The Jungle Book' for Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter

Blessed Are The Forgetful: Remembering Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on its 10th Anniversary, Indiewire

You're a CGI-rendered Man, Charlie Brown in the Peanuts 3-D Teaser, The A.V. Club

Does the Cinema Need Short Films?, The New Yorker

Ryan Gosling Producing Busby Berkeley Biopic, May Also Star, Indiewire

Sony Interactive Group Shuts Down as Layoffs Begin, The Hollywood Reporter

Rosen: In Defense of Pop Criticism, Vulture

'HSM3' voted 'Most Likely to Succeed' at weekend box office

By Sarah Sluis

In the all-time top twenty for advance ticket sales, High School Musical 3: Senior Year (3,623 screens)
will rule the box office this weekend, with prognosticators estimating at least $30 million for the weekend. The series first made waves two years ago, when gift card-rich kids put the musical's singles in iTunes' top ten after Christmas.  The launch of the series into mainstream culture inspired the same mix of bafflement and resentment as when Harry Potter books hit the New York Times bestseller list. 

I always had a soft spot for Disney original movies, with their film school-inspired Busby Berkeley shots (look for them in the HSM series!) and buoyant, cheesy innocence that high schoolers and above recognize as a guilty pleasure.  The G-rated movie will have the most resonance with aspirational grade school and middle school students, who imagine their high school experience will be Just. Like. the. Movie., but certainly high schoolers will turn out to see the series they grew up with and have watched several times through its endless replays on the Disney Channel.

Horror sequel Saw V (3,060 screens) should compete for some of the older high school audience, but there are signs that the series has lost steam--unlike HSM3, which is the first big-screen version of the franchise.

Crime-and-intrigue Pride and Glory (2,585) releases this week to little fanfare.  Based on an actual corruption scandal, the film centers on a police officer, part of a family legacy of cops, who uncovers rampant corruption involving his family members.

Changeling (15 screens), Synecdoche, New York (excl. NY/LA), Let the Right One In (4 screens), and Passengers (125 screens) all open in limited release this week, with plans to expand.  Changeling has received so-so reviews, with FJI critic Daniel Eagan dismissing the film as "a period version of a movie on Lifetime," and both Eagan and the New York Times review dubious about a genre shift that occurs towards the film's climax.

Let the Right One In's Rotten Tomatoes listing boasts a lone dissenter to the sublimely fascinating Swedish horror character study, which I discussed earlier this week.

Intricate Synedoche, New York, another Charlie Kaufman world-within-a-world film, has inspired a whole new level of meta activity among critics attempting to mimic his layered realities--Wired did a "profile of a profile of Charlie Kaufman" you can check out here.

Anne Hathaway's Passengers might be a blink-and-you'll-miss-it airline crash thriller, depending on its performance and expansion from its limited release. I've Loved You So Long (NY/LA), Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains (1 screen, NY) and Fear(s) of the Dark (1 screen, NY) also open this week, for those in the city of skyscrapers or highways, respectively.