'Old Boy' isn't dead after all

By Sarah Sluis

Back in college, shortly after 2005's Old Boy was released, the movie was a certifiable word-of-mouth cult hit. Recommendations for the movie passed from one freaked-out viewer to another. At that time, I had no idea that the movie was the 2004 recipient of the Grand Prize Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival. I just knew that this odd, compelling movie that was heads and tails above most movies that ten times as many people had seen.

Shortly after the Cannes triumph, there was talk of Steven Spielberg producing, and Will Smith starring, in a remake of the original. Now Mandate plans to produce the film with Spike Lee in talks to direct. Lee last directed the box-office disappointment Miracle of St. Anna in 2008, but he's also shown surprising chops at directing thriller/heist/crime fare like Clockers, The 25th Hour, and Inside Man, a far cry from the kind of film that originally gave Lee his cach, Do the Right Thing. Lee would know how to handle this action/thriller/drama.

Old Boy works because of its story as well as its style. Director Chan-wook Park awes with his creativity, especially in this long-take fight scene that's become a YouTube favorite, judging by the amount of videos that capsuled the scene. Park's most recent film, Thirst, showed a similar panache for creating an unsettling tone and striking visual landscape.

Lee, an auteur in his own right, will have to come up with his own take on Old Boy in order to match Park's acheivement. I hope that Will Smith is still considering the role. Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, another Smith film) has written the adaptation of the original screenplay, based on a popular manga. The story centers on a man who is imprisoned in a hotel room without cause for fifteen years. When he's finally released, he goes on a search to find out who kidnapped and jailed him. But it turns out his enemy's revenge plot isn't finished. In this case, revenge goes deep, with punishment that wouldn't be unfamiliar to Greek playrights. Just saying. Mandate is known for its smart, quirky projects (Juno, Whip It) along with its horror fare (Drag Me to Hell, Passengers). Maybe Old Boy will be both.

All eyes on Shia LaBeouf

By Sarah Sluis

While the presidential debates this evening will likely dampen box-office returns, a few good popcorn options will entertain the under-eighteens and, at least for New York City, those escaping the forecasted rain.

Eagle Eye, 3,510 theatres

Oh, Shia LaBeouf.  Just a few years ago, he played a dorky younger brother on Disney sitcom "Even Stevens."  After a turn in summer tentpole Transformers (soon-to-be-titled Transformers 1), a drunken driving charge, and a supporting role in mega-franchise Indiana Jones IV, he's starring in yet another action-thriller, Eagle Eye.  FJI reviewer Daniel Eagan called it "a B-movie with higher pretensions," and he just might be spot-on.  Executive produced by Stephen Spielberg, the film appears to be a Minority Report-light.  As a vehicle for Shia LaBoeuf, it couldn't be more interesting.  He has worked on three Spielberg (executive produced or directed) films to date: Transformers, Indiana Jones IV, and Eagle Eye.  With no upcoming projects, save the Transformers sequel and a rumored thriller, he will likely be able to leverage any favorable reception to this film into better roles and higher salaries.

Miracle at St. Anna, 1,185 theatres
A Glory for WWII, Spike Lee's epic effort to show the experience of black soldiers on the Italian front apparently suffers from his need to say and do too much.  David Edelstein from New York Magazine notes that "Lee's canvas is impressively vast. The shock is in how coarsely he fills it in," while A.O. Scott calls out the genre shifts (apparently it starts out as a film noir?), the "platoon picture" speeches, and the flashbacks-within-flashbacks as evidence of the film's overwrought nature.

Nights in Rodanthe, 2,704 theatres
Nicholas Sparks is quite the hot commodity, with two additional Sparks adaptations recently announced, albeit with younger stars.  For fans of Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe awaits you at the cineplexes, if you're too impatient for it to show up on cable.  Watch Richard Gere and Diane Lane swoon into their fated love in this "PG-13 romance porn."

Also releasing this week:

• Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams star in The Lucky Ones (425 theatres), an Iraqi veteran road trip picture.



• A dropout med student turns into a member of the marijuana-growing community in Humboldt County (10 theatres).



• A firefighter turns his attention to saving his marriage in Christian-themed Fireproof (839 theatres).



• Black comedy Choke (434 theatres), based on a novel by Chuck Palahnuik, centers on a sex addict who also works as a tour guide for a faux-colonial town.