This week's new movie releases - August 28, 2009

Opening this week are David R. Ellis' "The Final Destination"; Rob Zombie's "Halloween II" with Tyler Mane; and Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" with Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch and Imelda Staunton.

THE FINAL DESTINATION (will open in 3D)

Synopsis: On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning.

First thoughts: I'm sure we will see more of the same in "The Final Destination," but I'm also convinced the 3D effect will kick things up a notch in terms of action. That's pretty much the only thing that gets me moderately excited. "Destination" scores a 6/10 on my excitement meter.

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HALLOWEEN II (with Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell)

Synopsis: Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) returns to his home town of Haddonfield, bringing death in his wake, to bring closure to the secrets of his past. An unlikely individual steps up to put an end to Michael.

First thoughts: I am among those who didn't like Zombie's first "Halloween," so I'm obviously not too thrilled about this sequel. Zombie said it would be his last installment, so that's good news at least. Sorry, this one has 4/10 on my excitement meter.

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TAKING WOODSTOCK (by Ang Lee, with Demetri Martin)

Synopsis: The film, based upon the book of the same name, follows the true life story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), an aspiring Greenwich Village interior designer whose parents owned a small motel in Upstate New York and at the time held the only musical festival permit in the entire town of Bethel, New York. Tiber offered both the motel and the permit to the Woodstock Festival's organizers.

First thoughts: I've seen "Taking Woodstock" and really enjoyed it. It's not a Lee masterpiece, but I found it incredibly easy to watch this one. Review will be up Firday at midnight and my rating for this one is 7/10. Don't miss it.

Comments

[Ben Wasden]

I'm excited to see both Final Destination 4 and Halloween 2, but I haven't heard anything about Taking Woodstock. My excitement scale for these three new releases are as follows: Final Destination 4- 8/10.
Halloween 2- 10/10. Taking Woodstock- 2/10. I'm a die-hard slasher movie fan and horror fan in general, so I'm excited to see which of these horror films opening this weekend takes the crown. Halloween 2 is the one I'll see in theaters though, since it looks scarier.