CinePhillyist

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Persepolis
This film adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, which was co-directed and co-written by Satrapi herself, along with Vincent Paronnaud, is getting amazing reviews. It follows the trials and tribulations of an outspoken Iranian girl during the Islamic revolution. The English language version of the film being screened here features the voices of Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands, and Iggy Pop, with Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni reprising their roles from the original French-language version.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Steep
A documentary about the sport of mountain skiing which explores the athletes' motivations. That doesn't sound the least bit interesting to us, and reviews are mixed, so... no thanks!
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Cassandra's Dream
Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play brothers - one a chronic gambler, the other in love with a beautiful actress - who "become entangled into a sinister situation with intense and unfortunate results." That sounds intriguing, we love these two actors, and hey, the thing was written and directed by Woody Allen! But the critics are not being too kind to this one. Might be best to give it a miss.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz East

27 Dresses
Katherine Heigl stars as a living cliche: the woman who's always the bridesmaid but never the bride. In this case, she's been the bridesmaid a whopping 27 times, and is preparing to go through the whole thing again for a 28th time for her sister, when she finds herself falling for the groom (James Marsden). Most critics seem to agree it's just another bland, formulaic romantic comedy.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview

Most Likely to Rule: Cloverfield
Look for a review of this J.J. Abrams-produced event movie later on this morning.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview, The Bridge

Most Likely to Suck: Mad Money
Diane Keaton plays a well-off house wife who is suddenly thrown into the job market when her husband (Ted Danson) is down-sized. She ends up as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank, where she hatches a scheme to rob the place with a couple of her coworkers (Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah). The presence of Diane Keaton in the cast used to be a good sign for a movie, but now it's exactly the opposite. We feel similarly about Queen Latifah and Ted Danson. And don't even get us started on the subject of the wooden, brainwashed Katie Holmes. Besides the fact that it's the worst reviewed film coming out this weekend, this movie just looks terrible. Definitely one to avoid.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview, The Bridge

Image via Internet Movie Posters Award Gallery