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Weekend Movie Forecast: <em>Robin Hood</em> Vs. <em>Letters To Juliet</em>

One of the good things about Robin Hood premiering at, and opening the Cannes film festival is that all of the reputable film critics sent overseas could bang out their review for this before writing about more substantial material. There have been many interpretations of the story about the biggest punk in Sherwood forest and one wonders why we need another (other than to see Russell Crowe scream and Blanchett look pale and grave). This movie is predicted to fuel the flames of a certain conservative group as The Passion of the Christ riled up another certain conservative group a few years back. They could have just had Wes Anderson use his leftover puppets from Fantastic Mr. Fox and animate them to the audio of Disney's version, or at the very least just finish one of the Pablo Escobar movie's they've been talking about for years.Reviews have been mediocre with Karina Longworth from The Voice saying: "Instead of robbing from the rich to give to the poor, this Robin Hood preaches about "liberty" and the rights of the individual as he wanders a countryside populated chiefly by Englishpersons bled dry by government greed. Conservatives will never again be able to complain that Hollywood ignores their interests, but the driving agenda behind the Nottingham makeover was most likely economic: Robin Hood is, above all, a boilerplate origin story, finely engineered to set up a franchise."The directorial choices are, for the most part, so lazy, the blockbuster engineering so blatant, that Robin Hood often falls into self-parody. All the more reason for Sarah Palin to love it." — Gothamist

Published May 14, 2010

Modified May 14, 2010

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Click on the film stills for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include: Robin Hood, Letters to Juliet, Just Wright, Daddy Longlegs, Looking For Eric, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, The Cremaster Cycle, Punishment Park, From Dusk Til Dawn, and Survival of the Dead.