Opening This Week: The Taking of Land of the Lost 123

There are two remakes making their debut on Malaysian screens this week. One of which I'd watch in the theater; the other, I wouldn't. Read on to find out what is which and which is what. Let's goooo!

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
Starring: John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Luis Guzman, John Turturo, James Gandolfini, Ramon Rodriguez
Director: Tony Scott
USA release: June 12
Msia release: July 23
USA gross: $62,900,310
Worldwide gross: $67,779,996
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Runtime: 2 hours
Rated in USA: R for violence and pervasive language
Rated in Msia: 18SG
IMDb User Rating: 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 51%

When a bunch of terrorists hijack a subway train and demand a hefty ransom be paid in an hour before they start killing hostages, it is up to a transit operator to save the day.

Tony Scott teams up with Denzel Washington once again to do this remake of the original 1974 The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three. When you have Tony Scott and Denzel together, you can't really go wrong. Case in point - Man On Fire and Deja Vu. Actually, even if you just have Denzel alone, you can't go wrong. He is just a phenomenal actor, especially when he plays a negotiator, which is the case in almost all his movies. What I'm trying to say is that any Denzel movie is worth watching, including this one. So go see it this weekend but don't bring kids. Rated 18SG and R for violence and pervasive language. =)




Land of the Lost (2009)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel
Director: Brad Siberling
USA release: June 5
Msia release: July 23
USA gross: $48,608,305
Worldwide gross: $56,359,046
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure
Runtime: 1 hour 33 mins
Rated in USA: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language including a drug reference
Rated in Msia: PG-13
IMDb User Rating: 5.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 28%

Based on the 1974 TV series Land Of The Lost, this movie is about a forest ranger together with his two children who stumble upon a mysterious land - a land that is almost forgotten and no one really knows about its existence. In his adventures on the lost land, he encounters strange creatures like the reptilian Sleestaks population and also the monkey people. [Cinema Online]

Will Ferrell is undoubtedly one of the industry's most popular and well-known funny men, up there with Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy and the rest of the SNL comedians. But I've found it hard for me to like Will Ferrell. Only on few occasions I've found his sense of humor entertaining, like in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Blades of Glory and Step Brothers. All the other times, even on SNL, I've found it hard to like his funny mojo. From what I've seen in the trailer for Land of the Lost, it looks like its going to be classic, goofy Will Ferrell. As far as the general reception of the movie went, it got panned by movie critics and did not do well at the box office. Although this movie might have its funny moments, I have a feeling that the majority of the movie will be smothered with incredibly unfunny, awkward and crude stuff. If that's your kind of thing, by all means catch the movie this weekend. I, for one, though, would rather jump on the Pelham 123 train and get held hostage by John Travolta and get rescued by the man himself, Denzel. But that's just me.

Source: IMDb, Cinema Online, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo