Paramount Home Entertainment has revised the cover artwork for the upcoming release of Gore Verbinski's "The Weather Man" on DVD. The film which stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. will be presented in seperate Widescreen and Fullscreen formats with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. The disc (seen on the right) will be available to own when it hits store shelves January 31, 2006.

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_7017.html

DEADPAN CAGE ALMOST SAVES DOUR COMEDY

By Robert W. Butler

Knight Ridder

 With ``The Weather Man,'' director Gore Verbinski turns away from the fun and games of the ``Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise and delivers a dour comedy that aspires to be the next ``American Beauty.''

It isn't. But at least Nicolas Cage is deadpan funny in the title role, now and then lifting the film from its prevailing misanthropic mood.

Cage's Dave Spritz is a bit like Joe Btfsplk, the Job-like character in the ``Li'l Abner'' comic strip who was accompanied by a dark cloud hovering above his head. The cloud comparison is apt since Dave is the weather forecaster at a Chicago TV station.

It's a good gig that earns him lots of money for making guesses, but Dave can't help thinking he's unworthy of his employment. He's not even a meteorologist. He reports what a real meteorologist tells him. His one skill is an ability to wave his arms meaningfully in front of a green screen.

In just about every other area of endeavor, Dave has messed up. His ex-wife (Hope Davis) can barely tolerate him and is engaged to another man. His daughter, Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena), is a depressed 12-year-old who already has a cigarette habit and oozes bored indifference. His teenage son, Mike (Nicholas Hoult from ``About a Boy'') has been caught with marijuana and now is in a rehab program, where he's being stalked by a pedophile counselor (Gil Bellows).

 No matter what Dave tries to do to improve things, it backfires.

Dave has striven without success to be worthy of his father (Michael Caine), a patrician writer with a Pulitzer on the shelf. So far, Dave has produced one unreadable novel that isn't quite science fiction. 

And for some reason Dave is always being attacked with fast food. Walking on the sidewalk or driving down the street, he's likely to be hit with a flying burrito, Big Gulp, Frosty, fried chicken thigh or hot apple pie. Some people, apparently, just don't like his face.

In the real world, none of this would be particularly funny. In fact, it would be a prelude to suicide. But Steve Conrad's screenplay allows us to hear what's going on in Dave's overworked head, and these obsessive internal ramblings, combined with Cage's patented sad sack persona, keep the film from becoming an unbearable downer, though it's close.

Verbinski approaches this material with formality, often depicting Dave frozen and alone against a wall or some other alienating backdrop, like a poster for isolation.

The film has been well photographed by Phedon Papamichael, who has perfectly captured the nose-numbing cold of a Chicago winter.

On the down side, ``The Weather Man'' practically knocks the needle off the Profane-O-Meter, and there's also a brief nude scene that feels unnecessary.

`The Weather Man'

 Rated: R (profanity, nudity)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Hope Davis, Michael Caine 

Director: Gore Verbinski

Writer: Steve Conrad

Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/eye/13019107.htm?source=rss&channel=mercurynews_eye

Hi,

I did some research on line, I found a possible date for release on "The Weather Man". Estimated for September 2005

http://videoeta.com/movie/70010

browniedgrrl

I guess it would help if I read  So, it looks like the movie has been delayed, so now that I figured that out when will the picture get released

browniedgrrl