Best indie
For one negative minute, it didn’t seem to matter that so many movie-lovers – many of them women – adored Sally Potter’s “Yes” (July 8) at last year’s Telluride Film Festival. But Sony Pictures Classics bought this poetic gem about a London woman of a certain age and class embarking on a romantic fling with a Lebanese man. Above, Joan Allen – continuing one heck of a run – stars as “She.” Simon Abkarian plays “He.” “Yes” takes place entirely in Shakespeare’s meter of choice, iambic pentameter.
Dumbest tie-in
Always the hardest pick to make, we expect no end of “Fantastic Four” Pringles or “War of the Worlds” Pile of Action Rubble. We finally settled on an obvious choice. It’s the “Star Wars” Darth Vader Sprinkler, for $18.99 at www.starwarsshop.com, standing all of 10 inches tall and spraying a lethal column of water.
Best trailer
Some of the best summer trailers offer the prospect of either boffo box office or a slow train wreck. That’s the sense we get from Billy Bob Thornton’s drunken smirking for “The Bad News Bears” remake. Thornton is doing his best to give it “Bad Santa” buzz: One of the trailer lines has the coach telling his players, “You all swing like Helen Keller at a pi ata party.” Above, Thornton and Timmy Deters.
Best swag
We don’t judge a movie by the promotional junk sent to critics. But if we did, “Bewitched” (June 24) would win out by a cleverly twitching nose. It’s been months since the straw broom wrapped in orange cellophane, right, arrived in a big cardboard box. Low concept, you say? Cheap? Why yes, though not as cheap as the chunk of lumber we got for last year’s “Walking Tall” redux, or the wrench that came with a quote from “DodgeBall” glued to it: “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”
Most pressure
They’ve put it all on Christian Bale’s shoulders. The dormant “Batman” franchise now rests with one of Hollywood’s favorite oddballs. The actor, left, went from child star in “Empire of the Sun” to nut-case roles in “American Psycho” and most recently “The Machinist.” No one can doubt Bale’s intensity, and he may bring some brooding depth to “Batman Begins” (June 17).
Other familiar faces
Thank goodness for a steady stream of leads of a certain age signing up for support roles: Jane Fonda in “Monster-in-Law” (May 13), Shirley MacLaine in “Bewitched” (June 24), Burt Reynolds in “The Longest Yard” (May 27) and “The Dukes of Hazzard” (Aug. 5). Character actors doing what they do best: John C. Reilly in the thriller “Dark Water.” And learning Patricia Clarkson (“Pieces of April” “The Station Agent”) plays the headmistress in the psychological horror film “The Woods” (Sept. 2) took that film from a “whatever” status to pins-and-needles anticipation. Anyone for “The Primal Scream of Miss Jean Brodie”?
Best ensemble
So much summer casting feels like the work of marketing lab technicians tinkering with new formulas, or in the case of “The Longest Yard,” starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, old recipes. But an organically grown cast is a wonder to behold. The publicity still for Jim Jarmusch’s “Broken Flowers” (Aug. 5) screams one-man show. But Bill Murray, above, is joined by a cast with the right stuff, including Julie Delphy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton and Sharon Stone as some of his former lovers. Most enticing of all, Jeffrey Wright steps in as Murray’s dear friend and neighbor.
Best big movie
All you hear about “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (June 10) is one word: “Bradandangelina.” But there are other big names involved in the blockbuster romantic comedy/action thriller, including director Doug Liman. He may be just the man to shepherd the gossipy favorite of the season, with the masterful timing and sly humor he displayed in “The Bourne Identity.” Left, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
