Not-So-Fresh New Releases #5

by Lani

The Oscars are just around the corner and, if you are lucky, your local theater may still be showing some of the nominated films. All of the Best Picture nominees are worth seeing; however, I can't say the same for most of the new releases this month, and according to the Rotten Tomatoes "freshness ratings" the critics agree with me. So, here is a round-up of some of the not-so-fresh offerings in theaters right now and suggestions for what to watch instead.

Just Go With It - 18% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes

• The French stage farce that inspired the plot of this sour Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy was also the source material for the 1969 film Cactus Flower. Goldie Hawn won an Oscar for her role as the young girlfriend of dentist Walter Matthau, a bachelor who has fabricated a wife in order to avoid commitment. When Matthau enlists his mousy, middle-aged nurse, played by Ingrid Bergman, to portray his soon-to-be ex-wife, she blooms into life and finally catches his eye.
• For a witty romance of mistaken identity, it doesn't get much better than Midnight (1939). In this light, clever comedy a millionaire helps a penniless showgirl (Claudette Colbert) pose as a glamorous baroness, in order to turn the attentions of a handsome cad away from the rich man's wife.
• Wait until March 16 and you can watch Sunnyside Up (1929) on Turner Classic Movies. In this upbeat musical, a rich society man cozies up to a charming store clerk to make his flirtatious flapper fiancee jealous.

The Roommate - 6% freshness rating

• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) is a stylish thriller about obsession that has everything The Roommate doesn't: great performances, stunning locations, and a truly unsettling story.
• Perhaps The Roommate's Leighton Meester could have picked up some pointers from watching Bette Davis portray a twin who steals her sister's identity in the melodramatic A Stolen Life (1946) and again in the twisty thriller Dead Ringer (1964).

The Eagle - 36% freshness rating

• The Eagle, which tells the story of a Roman soldier on a British campaign and his native slave, has been described as a throwback to the classic "sword and sandal" epics that just doesn't quite work. To see how it's done, watch Spartacus (1960) starring Kirk Douglas as a Roman slave who leads an uprising. It combines straightforward, robust action with a slightly subversive point of view.
• Another film that portrays the clash between indigenous peoples and foreign invaders, as well as warring tribes and cross-cultural romance, is The Last of the Mohicans (1992). Daniel Day-Lewis is electrifying as a frontiersman raised by the Mohican tribe - Eagle's Channing Tatum just doesn't compare.

Sanctum - 30% freshness rating

• This thriller about cave divers was produced by James Cameron, so the obvious comparison could be another Cameron film, The Abyss (1989). However, Sanctum is basically a film about an adventure gone awry. If that's what you're in the mood for, why not go whole hog and rent the quintessential "bad trip" film Deliverance (1972), in which 4 men must fight against the elements, and some unfriendly locals, on an ill-fated canoeing trip.
• Or, watch Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine struggle to stay dry in The Poseidon Adventure, in which a capsized cruise ship traps the most star-studded cast of 1972 in an underwater maze.