There are two pretty interesting movies on the docket for this weekend. One looks to feature a great turn from a consistently great actor and return one of the great directors in the business to his signature style. The other looks to revel in campy satire as it turns horror conventions on their hormone-inundated teenage head. Not a bad draw for the middle of September.
"The Informant!" (Wide Release):
- It might not be a bank heist, but I'm more than willing to accept director Steve Soderberg returning to stylized sneakiness in "The Informant." Taking the ultra-chic brand of humor he patented in his remake of "Ocean's 11," Soderberg follows Matt Damon, a bumbling, incompetent vice president of a corn company as he turns into an even more bumbling and incompetent informant for the FBI as they investigate the business for corporate crimes. If his hilarious errors, such as staring straight into a hidden camera before a company meeting, are as funny as they are in the trailer, this one's going to be great.
- It's been too long since Matt Damon got to be genuinely funny. In this one it looks like he's going to get his shot and nail it. With a fantastically stereotyped glasses, hair and mustache combination and a blank stare that's almost too convincing, it looks to be a laugh-a-minute performance that will make audiences unable to believe this man was once Jason Bourne.
"Jennifer's Body" (Wide Release)
- I'm a guy. So you're going to have to cut me some slack on still being excited to see the incredibly hot Megan Fox as a she-devil with a hankering for teenage hunks. Anytime I get to look to see her on-screen without having to ignore the headache-enduing cluster-f--k of action of "Transformers," I'm going to give the movie a try.
- I'm also a huge fan of campy fun, and this one looks to have it in bunches. With a trailer that's filled to bursting with references to teen-horror cliches and an amazingly satiric story (Fox becomes a monster when her boyfriend played by Adam Brody sells her to the devil for a shot at indie-rock stardom) this one looks light it might be able to navigate the line between corny and entertaining quite well. Although I will warn you that most reviews I've read haven't seen it this way. I'm still willing to give it a chance.
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