Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright

Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue (uncredited)

Warner Brothers

The Official Site of Invasion

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Every ten years or so a movie remake is done of Jack Finney’s classic thriller, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Some are better than others but there are always certain things you can expect. A strong hero (or heroine this time courtesy of Nicole Kidman), intentionally robotic performances from the rest of the body-snatched, zombie-like cast (how does anyone out-robot Nicole Kidman?), and of course an underlying commentary on the chaotic nature of our society. That’s all there in this fourth version titled simply The Invasion but just because all the boxes are checked doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve got a hit on our hands.

In fact audiences have already spoken, giving Invasion a lower than expected 6 million-dollar slap in the face on it’s opening weekend. A huge surprise despite the warning signs including the movie being shelved for over a year, and a round of reshoots from uncredited director James McTeigue, who’s V for Vendetta and Matrix past are stamped all over this thing. One would think that the star power of an Oscar winner and the enormously popular brand new Bond (An underused but refreshingly breezy Daniel Craig) would be able to fill some seats, but for whatever reason, the stars (or moviegoers) are not lining up for this film.

Few movies that are remade actually need to be remade but when I heard about the latest take on Body Snatchers, I thought that this tale that follows the story of one woman who discovers she’s knee deep in the middle of an alien invasion, was one that could really benefit from the modern advances in special effects. Traditionally with the previous incarnations of Body Snatchers there’s been a certain level of camp that low budgets visuals accentuated. A big fake pod person won’t scare you to death but the earliest versions of this story entertained on a completely different level without losing their appeal or fundamental comment on society.

But the idea of this scary story shedding its campy beginnings sounded like a great one to me. I was excited about the possibilities of this dark thriller really living up to the same terrifying potential as the novel that inspired it.

The good news is that there’s plenty of tension throughout the movie, though little of it is actually frightening. The turned humans are endlessly creepy with their glassy stares and spit attacks but there was never a time where I felt like the remaining characters were ever in danger. Even as their trusted neighbors, coworkers and friends turned into pod people I knew everything would be ok. Hell, even as they begin to turn themselves (That’s kind of a spoiler but it makes you want to see how it ends doesn’t it!?) did I never once think things wouldn’t work out in the end. It’s the good mark of a movie that can be predictable but still compelling. Invasion falls just short.

For no fault of it’s star though. In fact, I don't know if it's her string of recent duds but I forgot how much fun Kidman is to watch on screen. While she may not be the most obvious choice to save the world, she's absolutely gorgeous and so persuasive that it's hard not to root for her a little. And though the star is put through extensive and pointless chase sequences the real motivation of the film hinges on her performance as a frightened parent desperate to find her child. It’s something you'd expect someone of Kidman’s skills to handle with ease, and she does despite those persistent chase scenes that try to distract her from doing so.

The only real benefits these chase scenes provide to the movie at all is in how they distract the audience from the plot holes that needed some fast-paced filling. And it’s frustrating because with the movie set in the modern age of technology you’d think that a smart heroine could find more creative ways of evading the alien onslaught then playing possum and ducking into an alley.

The social commentary actually took me a bit off guard, as it’s only casual tacked on to the background of one scene. A TV reports on Kim Jun-Il's agreement to disarm his nuclear weapons as well as President Bush’s peace talks with Venezuela’s dictator Hugo Chevez. An obvious message but somewhat depressing once it's clear that the only hope we ever have of function as a peaceful unit is as brainless zombies.

For the most part I enjoyed Invasion for the tense thriller it is, though the negatives of the film stand out as much as the positives. But it’s not the end of this classic story. Invasion will be cataloged and forgotten, and all we have to do is wait ten years and hope the next group gets that modern interpretation right.

Rating: 6 out of 10 Invasion is worth waiting to rent but is by no means the waste of time that the pathetic 6 million dollar opening weekend makes it out to be. You have to go back to 2001’s Moulin Rouge! to find a movie that Nicole Kidman starred in that actually connected with audiences. Still, she’s considered one of our biggest stars even if people aren’t actually going to see her shine first hand. It’s a shame because one of these days she’s goning to make a movie that everyone should see and most people will just write it off as “another movie from the chick that was in Bewitched “ or Stepford Wives or Invasion. It’s a shame.

Nah. I wish it were but the good isn’t good enough and the bad is a little too hard at times to ignore. But for those of you that did enjoy this movie, you’re in luck. They’ll be giving these things away after 2 months of no one buying/renting it.

The Forgotten - Invasion and the 2004 Julianne Moore thriller The Forgotten share a “supernatural� connection (I can’t really say more without ruining the big ending that the movie painstakingly protects to the very end) but it was the bond between characters that stood out the most as I was comparing the two films.

Both movies cherish the special bond that only a mother and child share. The audience’s emotional investment depends on the connection of these characters. Even more so in The Forgotten where a mother’s tie to her son is the true sentiment of the entire story. In both films it bounces between powerfully emotional and borderline corny. Perhaps I need to revisit my own relationship with my mother. Though there should be an easier way to reconnect with a loved one than an alien attack.

The Forgotten was a movie that I enjoyed but was slightly put off by in theaters. Its big surprise is a simple one but the build up is quite broad rambling, and I found it a bit too much to swallow the first time around. I’ve since caught the movie on TV a couple of times and enjoyed its development and sentiment. It has an interesting concept and sweetness at its core that I’ve enjoyed revisiting.

For the record, I DID give Wild Hogs a 7.5 and I really did enjoy it. Last week when it came out on DVD I had to try very hard to resist the urge to buy it straight away. It’s one of those movies that begs to bought used at Blockbuster for 7.99 in 3 months. I instead decided to rent it through Netflix and force Yeo to watch it with me. She was less enthusiastic about it though, complaining that Travolta is a bad actor and there wasn’t enough of Martin Lawrence. We’re big Black Knight fans.

3:10 to Yuma - The more I see of this rough and tumble western remake, the more anxious I am for it’s September 7th release date to roll around. It’s been a while since westerns had their place in Hollywood. In the past 20 years you can count the ones worth watching on one hand. Thank God for men like Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Sam Raimi for keeping the genre alive and credible long enough for the rest of us to catch on. Now, with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe on opposite ends of the law in 3:10 to Yuma (a title that refers to the time and destination of the train the captured Crowe is to depart on) there’s guaranteed to be some quality stand-offs in the middle of the road at high noon.

The movie has a fantastic cast all around but the one wild card is Ben Foster who most of you might recognize as Spacker Dave in The Punisher or Angel in X-men: The Last Stand. I’m a fan, I swear that I am but he’s way too unpredictable. Punisher and X-3 are bad examples of that but check out his work in Hostage or Alpha Dog and watch his freak switch get flicked.

He’s a maniac, that’s for sure, though part of me thinks it may have its place in a movie like 3:10 to Yuma. In the trailer his pupil’s glisten with insanity reflecting the roaring fire of the stagecoach full of people he just burned to death. As the second in command of Crowe’s followers that are now a “lost pack of wild dogs� without their leader, a little crazy might be just what the doctor ordered.

I was shocked to hear yesterday about Owen Wilson who has been hospitalized after a reported suicide attempt over the weekend. (The full story available at Cnn.com) Word is that he’s in good condition but to his fans this comes as a shock. The laid back ladies man seems like the guy that has it all going for him and this just goes to show you that what we see is only part of the story.

He’s alive but as a fan I’m obviously still concerned. Best wishes to him and his family and I hope he can find what he needs to move on. Stay Strong Owen, we love ya.