X-Files has me believing again

In theaters Friday: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
New on DVD: The Great Debaters, Mad Money, Untraceable

The first trailer for X Files: I Want to Believe is online here, and my geek-o-meter just hit its 2008 high. Now, I may be in the minority, but I can’t wait for this movie. The trailer tells us almost nothing of the plot, but I’m OK with that. For X Files, a little secrecy is probably for the best. Cynics might say: Why the X-Files, and why now? So it’s been six years since the series finale and a decade since the last feature film version, you say? I say it’s time for a revival.

As a teenager, watching new episodes of the X Files was a regular Sunday night ritual with my dad. The thrills, the mysteries, the unexplained — we loved it. We rarely missed a show, and if we did, we taped it and watched the VHS as soon as we could. Between normal banter about school and sports, family dinners were peppered with questions and conjecture about Mulder and Scully, grizzly murders and the vast government conspiracies of this alternate world that writer/producer Chris Carter and actors Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny had created. A world of bizarre and horrific incidents, always cloaked in smoke and mirrors, but a world where “The truth is out there.” “Was practice hard today, Jeff?” “Yeah, Coach made us run a lot. Do you think the Smoking Man signed a deal with the aliens, so when they take over the planet he’ll get to live, and maybe control Australia or something like Lex Luthor in Superman II?” “Maybe we’ll find out on Sunday, but yeah, I think probably so.” Some conversations were kind of like that. I liked the show so much, I bought the soundtrack that included a trippy, dance club version of the theme song. Good driving music. The film opens wide June 19.

Another cool, underrated summer flick will be The Promotion, and the trailer is online here . I was lucky enough to catch an early screening of this little comedic gem at SXSW. In short, the dry, and occasionally off-the-wall humor reminded me of Office Space. Here’s my review from March 13. The Promotion gets a limited release to theaters June 6. Even if it is not a big hit at the box office, and this may be because it won’t be on a bajillion screens, I predict this one will develop a strong following on DVD.