Movie Muse

Here’s a list of movies not quite worthy of my Top 10 and not quite worthy of being branded as something you shouldn’t consider. I’ve also mixed in some indie movies as some films coming off the festival circuit are getting small releases these coming months. I call this my Watch List, because you’re supposed to keep an eye out for reviews and other indicators to tell you which way this movie swings come release time, or in the case of an indie film, if it’s coming out near you. If you missed any other parts of my Spring Preview, click the links below.

• Spring Preview Top 10 Pt. 1 (#10-6)
• Spring Preview Top 10 Pt. 2 (#5-1)
• Spring Preview Red Flags

Remember Me (Mar. 12)

The Word: As part of his deal with Summit for the Twilight films, Robert Pattinson stars as a rebellious young man at odds with his father (Brosnan, in one of his four movies in the first quarter of 2010, randomly) who gets abused by a cop (Cooper) for helping defend a guy getting beat up. He then learns the cop has a daughter (Emilie de Ravin of “Lost”) and the two form a relationship with anything but a solid foundation. It’s the screenwriting debut of Will Fetters who has some good projects in development. Allen Coulter (Hollywoodland) directs.

My Thoughts: I’ll take Pattinson as the rebel — I think this could help him climb out from the Twilight and Harry Potter shadow for sure.I certainly like the involvement of de Ravin too. The thing that gets me is in a story of four New Yorkers, two are Brits and one’s an Aussie. Can’t discredit the talent, however. Looks like it could be interesting, but in a busy March 12 weekend, it could get skipped over. (View Trailer) Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, here we go. Five movies to really look forward to these next couple of months. If you didn’t see the first half of my top ten, click the link.

I think at least three of these movies will be very good. Not just good, very good. Can’t exactly say which ones although I could figure. Either way, I feel unusually good about this spring line-up as compared to springs past.

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5. Hot Tub Time Machine (Mar. 26)

The Word: If any comedy this year has a chance at capturing even half the success of The Hangover, it’s the new time-travel comedy Hot Tub Time Machine from the writers of Sex Drive and Accepted director Steve Pink. For starters, outside of John Cusack it assembles a known but low-key cast with Craig Robinson (supporting role in every comedy you’ve seen in the last two years), Rob Corddry (the guy with one line in dozens of comedies) and Sex Drive co-star Clark Duke. The four friends travel to a ski resort and out of boredom, use a hot tub that happens to be a time machine. A time machine that takes them back to 1986.

My Thoughts: I’ll be the first to admit I’m a sucker for time travel movies. The humorous situations are endless. That aside, I think this unlikely group of four guys could make the comedy work. Robinson is always funny and Corddry can pull of the foul. Cusack is the glue and Duke the wildcard. With Spring Break placement, this movie is sure to do well for the ailing MGM. I’ve posted the link to the Red Band trailer which is much funnier than the all-audiences Green Band one. (View Trailer) Read the rest of this entry »

Winter might be the queen of bad movie season, but spring has plenty of weeds in need of killing too, you just have to squint a little harder. Rainy days in spiring lure a lot of moviegoers into bad films, but you can keep that umbrella for when you’ll really need it if you follow my advice.

As per usual, this list is loaded with awful rom com premises and family movies that will make you want to tear your hair out. I had added an untraditional sixth film to this list because I thought it only fair I add some other kind of genre to this list. Then in the midst of writing this post, the film was pushed back to May. At the same time, the five movies I put on this list for the winter received an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 18.6% and an imdb rating of 5.46, so I shouldn’t have felt obliged about anything.

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5. She’s Out Of My League (Mar. 12)

The Word: Following a long tradition of loser-gets-hot-chick comedies comes the awfully titled She’s Out of My League, also known as “She Happens To Be Just Than Into You Kind Of.” Jay Baruchel, product of the Apatow factory of guys that play good lovable losers kicks off a huge 2010 with his first of two star vehicles (the other is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nic Cage) plus voicing the lead in Dreamwork’s upcoming How To Train Your Dragon. The rest of the cast is unknown including co-star Alice Eve and Jay’s pals. The script was written by the guys behind Sex Drive and a film that’s actually on my good list this spring, Hot Tub Time Machine.

My Thoughts: Ever get the feeling that ten years later, comedies are still trying to hard to be the next There’s Something About Mary? The hot chick and the loser …  The trailer’s opening scene is of a lame guy and his group of guy friends explaining that he’s a “moodle.” How many times have films tried to introduce some slang vocabulary combining a word with “bro” or “man?” Well, that rubbed me the wrong way. The little every-ugy humor there was in this trailer is all kind of moot in my opinion with a typical bro comedy premise. No, moot is not a word I made up. (View Trailer) Read the rest of this entry »

Spring is in the air! Well, almost. Certainly can’t hurt to pretend, at least for the sake of my Spring Preview. March and April tend to pack the first decent big commercial releases of the year. Truthfully, ever since 300 had a huge opening weekend in March of 2007, everyone’s been trying to find a way to make a buck in March.

Here are the films that will vie to be the standout film of the first quarter of 2010 (if Shutter Island hasn’t already taken it). These are the first five of my Top 10, the rest will be posted on Wednesday.

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10. Repo Men (Mar. 19)

The Word: Jude Law and Forest Whitaker sound like a pretty original duo for a futuristic action movie about two men who repossess property for a major medical company when people don’t pay up. The catch is that this property is artificial body organs and these guys have to literally cut them out of people. The film was adapted by Matchstick Men novelist Eric Garcia from his book The Repossession Mambo. It is being released a pretty long time after it was completed. I’m pretty sure it’s been screened for test audiences for over a year now.

My Thoughts: This film could easily be moved four or five films up the list, but I’ve held it back here at No. 10 because it might just be too chaotic. The trailer is all over the place, but the sci-fi concept gives me  hope (in addition to two reliable leading talents). Based on Garcia’s Matchstick Men, I’m sure there’s a good twist to be had in this film and I suspect it could fare well at the box office against romantic comedy The Bounty Hunter and kid flick Diary of a Wimpy Kid. (View Trailer) Read the rest of this entry »