Hey folks, Harry here... The word I'm hearing on REMEMBER THE TITANS is very positive... Not only that, but it should be noted that Disney is going to be spending ludicrous sums marketing the film.... Not because of vast sums sunk into the film... but because their early screenings have been going so well, they feel this could be a huge fall hit for them. Now the director is this Boaz Yakin feller, what is doing that there BATMAN BEYOND film.... Now, I've been in... purchase Boaz movies mode to check up on this rascal... I met Boaz briefly at San Diego Con, but that wiley palooka didn't mention BATMAN BEYOND one ounce... and for that matter... neither did that Dini chap, who was with Boaz at the time.... I just thought they were buds. Que sera... Here's a look at the film he has coming out this month... and you'll see his name ALOT over the next year or so in regards to BATMAN BEYOND...
On Wednesday night, i went to the Star Southfield theater here in Michigan (probably the best theater in the Midwest) to see a screening of your favorite movie this year so far, Whipped. As I entered, there are two hallways to go in. Before i went into my hallway, a woman went into the other with a Disney screening pass in her hand. When i realized that there isn't a Disney film coming out soon, i went and checked out what movie it was for. To my surprise, it was for "Remember the Titans" with Denzel Washington. So....instead of seeing a movie that will only last a week at the theaters, i decided to sneak into a movie that doesn't open for a month (Sept. 29th). Needless to say, i made the right choice (even though it would have been nice to see Amanda Peet for 90 minutes).
I won't bore anyone with a long review so i'll try to keep it simple. This is based on a true story about Virginia in 1971 when two high schools were forced to combine to one; an all white school and an all black school. In the process, the two football teams had to combine as well. Instead of leaving the white football coach as the head coach (played very well by Will Patton) the school board put the black football coach in the top spot, played by Denzel. This puts Coach Boone (Denzel) in a tough spot trying to get everyone along with each other during these racial times. I won't go through much of this movie from here because i didn't know anything going into it besides this and was quite surprised throughout.
This is easily one of the best movies i've seen this year. And no, i'm not some sort of spy from Disney sending this in. The entire cast works so well together and you just get so attached with all of the players on the football team. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, but does not have that Bruckheimer feel to it. It was directed by Boaz Yakin and certainly does not have that Yakin feel to it because the only things worth noting that he directed were From Dusk til Dawn 2: Straight to Video, and The Punisher which both just missed the AFI Top 100 list. Mr. Yakin should finally make a name for himself with this movie.
Traditionally, September is when the studios put out most of the trash except for a few exceptions. This is one of those. This will make $50 million plus. Word of mouth is what will make this film successful. If this doesn't do over 50 million, i won't ever send in another review.
At the end of the movie, the entire audience applauded which i don't see a whole lot of these days. The last movie i saw where everyone applauded was "Battlefield Earth" but not because it was a good movie. Before the credits rolled, they went through the cast of Titans and wrote on the screen what they have done since 1971 and where they are today. That was a perfect way to end the movie as you will hopefully see. When that part ended, the audience clapped again. Everyone around me seemed to have the same feeling about the movie as i did.
I'm hoping after September 29th that those of you who read this will agree with me also.
--DJ HonkyLips
