THE POPCORN REEL EDITOR'S DESK - a weekly word about the movies
editor@popcornreel.com                      

IT'S JULY -- TIME FOR THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE
Monday, July 3, 2006


                                                                                                            
 

July has just started and summer enters its first full calendar month.  After a June filled with Supermen, Nachomen and Click-o-maniacs, several films this month that feature women working in mysterious (or mischievous) ways.  Meryl Streep was a devil and a half on the last day of June in "The Devil Wears Prada", but if you think she was good at being bad, just wait until you see Uma Thurman in "My Super Ex-Girlfriend."  Ms. Thurman slings Luke Wilson from pillar to post after he breaks up with her and his life is a living hell for it.  The trailers for the film show Ms. Thurman as a ruthless dominatrix of sorts, giving new meaning to the phrase "I am woman, hear me roar."  She slings a shark through the window of Mr. Wilson's apartment at one point during an intimate encounter with his new lady.  The new film directed by Ivan Reitman, opens on July 21.  On the same day M. Night Shyamalan returns to the big screen with his latest mystery thriller "Lady in The Water."  The director's fifth film stars Bryce Dallas Howard as a woman who may be a mermaid or an otherworldly evil being.  Paul Giamatti tries to figure out which she is. 

It is hard to say just how much mysterious and mischievous women will carry the day at the box office this month, but films with strong centered women have been quite good for box-office returns.  A case in point is "Kill Bill Vol. II", were the aforementioned Ms. Thurman stars as The Bride.  Her role as a survivor of a bullet to the head during her wedding day to become a heroine who slays her attempted assassin after a long and perilous journey to confront him.  Many critics were struck by Ms. Thurman's performance.  The film made just under $100 million at the box office.

Time will tell -- with "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "Lady in The Water" coming this month, whether otherworldly women or mere superwomen will grace the big screen with big style, grace and power, all the while entrancing movie audiences the world over.


Sincerely,
 

Omar P.L. Moore
Editor
The Popcorn Reel
www.popcornreel.com