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New This Week
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The Last Exorcism
Directed by Daniel Stamm
Written by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Caleb Landry Jones
The Word: This film’s big endorsement comes from “Hostel” creator Eli Roth (also known as “Bear Jew”). It’s a found footage/faux documentary horror movie about a minister’s “one last job,” only it’s not a heist, it’s an exorcism.
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% (good)
My Thoughts: Horror films in August tend to surprise some times, at least at the box office. At least this is different than your typical exorcism film, if that makes any sense. The faux-documentary style should suit it well.
Recommendation: If you need your fix in a horror-deprived summer, this is your shot, otherwise you have to wait until mid-September/October.
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Takers
Directed by John Luessenhop
Written by Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop, Avery Duff
Starring: Chris Brown, Hayden Christiansen, Matt Dillon, Idris Elba
The Word: More interesting than this typical large-cast heist premise featuring a multi-cultural cast is that “Takers” will be the first film that allows for futures and commodities trading based on box-office returns, which might finally get me interested in investing.
Rotten Tomatoes: 35% (bad)
My Thoughts: Heist films are always worth noting, but when one gets dumped at the end of August, that’s not exactly what you’d call a vote of confidence. On the other hand, the rap/R&B stars present could give “Takers” a box-office push.
Recommendation: If you like an occasional fun heist with a soundtrack provided by its stars, rent this.
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Avatar: Special Edition
Written and directed by James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang
The Word: Most films get a special edition DVD, but when you’re the most successful film in movie history, that warrants a re-release. If you missed “Avatar” in theaters, this is your chance, only you have to sit a little while longer, but only a whopping eight minutes.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% (great)
My Thoughts: I haven’t seen “Avatar” since theaters and I don’t even own it yet as I’m waiting to be rich and have a giant HD television and Blu-ray player. That’s because this movie needs to be seen on a big screen. I don’t think eight minutes is worth it for fans who’ve seen it before, but otherwise, it deserves a re-release.
Recommendation: If a film was meant to be seen on a big screen, this is it. If you’ve just seen it on a 2-D television, you probably don’t know what all the fuss is about and it’s definitely worth going.
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Also in Theaters
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Vampires Suck
Written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer
Starring: Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Chris Riggi
Summary: A spoof of the readily spoof-able “Twilight Saga,” a little more specific of a focus than “Superhero Movie,” “Epic Movie” or “Disaster Movie.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 5% (horrible)
My Thoughts: These films have never been any good, so why should a timely vampire-focused one be any different?
Recommendation: By now you know if these films are up your alley. If you don’t, you have your warning.
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Piranha 3D
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Written by Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg
Starring: Adam Scott, Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elizabeth Shue
Summary: Loosely based on a B-horror classic, these pre-historic chompers wreak havoc on a small town in three dimensions.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% (great)
My Thoughts: It’s been awhile since movies reminded us that it’s not safe to be in the water. I can’t say that this is revelatory horror cinema, but a good time is not out of the question. Aja has directed some interesting horror films in “Mirrors” and “The Hill Have Eyes” remake. 83% has cult classic written all over it.
Recommendation: Another one of those films that you simply know if you like. Either the title of this film appeals to you and the blood, boobs and laughs that come with it — or it won’t.
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Nanny McPhee Returns
Directed by Susanna White
Written by Emma Thompson, Christianna Brand (characters)
Starring: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ewan McGregor
Summary: The wart-nosed nanny returns and this time she uses her magic to help a young mother with her children and their spoiled cousins while the father is at war.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% (very good)
My Thoughts: As far as family-friendly goes, this modern magic incarnation of Mary Poppins has been getting the job done. There’s no question, however, that there’s a reason Nanny McPhee has had a limited appeal in the States.
Recommendation: For the kids.
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The Switch
Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck
Written by Allan Loeb, Jeffrey Eugenides
Starring: Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum
Summary: Aniston’s character throws an artificial insemination party only Bateman’s character gets drunk and switches his seed with that of the donor (Patrick Wilson).
Rotten Tomatoes: 49% (mixed)
My Thoughts: Bateman’s involvement holds the only promise for this film. It still might get lost in the August dumping ground anyway, but it’s worth noting.
Recommendation: Probably worth a rental, but if you’re looking for a date movie, it’s a better alternative to “Eat Pray Love.”
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Lottery Ticket
Directed by Erik White
Written by Abdul Williams and Erik White
Starring: Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton
Summary: He’s not ‘Lil anymore. Bow Wow stars in this comedy about a small community that’s rocked and divided when his character gets a winning lottery ticket.
Rotten Tomatoes: 32% (bad)
My Thoughts: The premise/promise of social commentary could make this comedy an interesting watch.
Recommendation: Clearly targeted at an African-American audience, which hasn’t been catered directly to since May’s rom-com “Just Wright.”
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The Expendables
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
Written by David Callaham, Sylvester Stallone,
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Jet Li
Summary: A team of black ops soldiers are brought in to South America to depose a dictator. The range of stars is wide from former wrestlers and current UFC fighters to the action stars of yesteryear and today.
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% (bad)
My Thoughts: Without the names, I can’t say what would excite me about this film, already the third “action team” movie of 2010. Either the presence of all these names gets you jacked for this kind of movie or you’re going to be critical of it. It’s not surprising that the Rotten Tomatoes top critics have given it 36% compared to 80% from everyone else.
Recommendation: How much testosterone do you like with your steroids? You know if this film appeals to you, there’s not much middle ground.
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Eat, Pray, Love
Directed by Ryan Murphy
Written by Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt, Elizabeth Gilbert (memoir)
Starring: Julia Roberts, Viola Davis, James Franco, Javier Bardem
Summary: One of the most popular memoirs on bookshelves combined with Julia Roberts, EPL follows a woman on a soul-searching trip to Italy, India and Bali.
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% (bad)
My Thoughts: All I can presume is that the memoir is probably better. There’s a reason few memoirs get adapted into films. I suppose you can expect a lot of Roberts voice-over narration.
Recommendation: Women have been pretty deprived at the movies lately, so if you fit that category, it’s hard to tell you no, even if this might well amount to a rental.
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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Directed by Edgar Wright
Written by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright, Bryan Lee O’Malley (graphic novel)
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkan, Jason Schwartzman
Summary: Scott (Cera) meets the girl of his dreams but learns he must first defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends in this eclectic comedy juiced with video-game and pop-culture references.
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (very good)
My Thoughts: Read them here.
Recommendation: Another film with a clear demographic. Targeted to teens and twenty-somethings, anyone who feels on the outside of pop culture and is older than 30 would like this film a whole lot. As long as you fit in that 13-30 age window, this is a must-see.
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The Other Guys
Written and directed by Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton
The Summary: Ferrell and Wahlberg play “the other guys,” in buddy cop movies, the ones who do the paperwork and get none of the glory, but a new case revolving around a billionaire investor opens up their best chance at the big time — if they can tolerate each other first, of course.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% (very good)
My Thoughts: A worthwhile summer comedy. Read my review
Recommendation: This summer, comedy fan have been getting the shaft. “The Other Guys” does as good a job as any at trying to counter that. Definitely enjoyable.
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Step Up 3D
Directed by Jon Chu
Written by Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer, Duane Adler (characters)
Starring: Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Alyson Stoner
The Word: This summary from Disney says it all: “A tight-knit group of New York City street dancers, including Luke (Malambri) and Natalie (Vinson), team up with NYU freshman Moose (Sevani), and find themselves pitted against the world’s best hip hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown that will change their lives forever.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% (mixed)
My Thoughts: I don’t care much for watching dancing that’s not live so there’s certainly nothing 3D can do that will change my mind.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed these previous films and love choreography, by all means go.
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Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Directed by Brad Peyton
Written by Ron J. Friedman and Steven Bencich, John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (characters)
Starring: (voices) James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Bette Midler
Summary: A sequel nine years in the making sounds like a weird thing to say about a movie few people remember in the first place. In this film cats and dogs must work together to stop the evil Kitty Galore.
Rotten Tomatoes: 13% (awful)
My Thoughts: There are few Hollywood head-scratchers these days and this is one of them. Talking animals mixed with real people has always generated receipts, but when the original came out before the kids who will see this one were even born, there’s no fan base here for Warner Bros. to please.
Recommendation: Please don’t. There are so many good kid-geared films out there this summer that “Cats & Dogs” can’t possibly be something you need to see.
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Dinner for Schmucks
Directed by Jay Roach
Written by David Guion, Michael Handelman, Francis Veber (French original)
Starring: Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis
Summary: A remake of a 1998 French film, “Schmucks” tells the story of a businessman who in order to appease his bosses must bring a stranger who is a total idiot to a weekly idiot dinner where the men make fun of the bizarre guests.
Rotten Tomatoes: 51% (mixed)
My Thoughts: July has been extremely week on comedy, so “Dinner” could satisfy your appetite. It sounds as though the humor is crazy nonsense with some solid lead performances. If you loved the farcical nature of the original, expect a much different film.
Recommendation: If silliness is something you enjoy in movie theaters and you haven’t had enough lately, this is your cup of tea. Otherwise it sounds like a good rental possibility this fall.
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Charlie St. Cloud
Directed by Burr Steers
Written by Craig Pearce, Lewis Polick, Ben Sherwood (novel)
Starring: Zac Efron, Amanda Crew, Ray Liotta, Kim Basinger
Summary: A college-bound teen gets in a car accident that results in the death of his younger brother. He begins to see his brother in the woods and teaches him to play baseball, while everyone in his small town thinks he’s crazy.
Rotten Tomatoes: 27% (very bad)
My Thoughts: Dramas are always hard to pull off in the summer months despite this film being very much a summer movie. I think Efron has the dramatic chops, but I don’t think very much of this story, which the trailer pretty much entirely gives away.
Recommendation: Either you can skip this entry in your Zac Efron collection or wait for the DVD.
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Salt
Directed by Philip Noyce
Written by Brian Helgeland, Kurt Wimmer
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Summary: Jolie stars as an agent on the run when she’s accused of being a Russian spy sent to kill the president.
Rotten Tomatoes: 58% (mixed)
My Thoughts: Jolie is very good at what she does and what she does is kick some serious ass, fem style. Director Noyce and writers Helgeland and Wimmer are seasoned in many respects, so I expect this an enjoyable alternative to seeing “Inception” a third time.
Recommendation: If you’ve seen “Inception” already, you’d be hard-pressed to find another movie that will suit your tastes better than a dash of “Salt.”
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Ramona and Beezus
Directed by Elizabeth Allen
Written by Laurie Craig, Nick Pustay, Beverly Cleary (novels)
Starring: Selena Gomez, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel
Summary: The classic kids books about an imaginative little girl and her older sister come to life for Fox in one of the few live-action family offerings of the summer. Expect a lot of heart and PG humor.
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% (very good)
My Thoughts: In a year where animated films are dominating the family market, my only thought is to expect “Ramona” and co. to crash. I don’t doubt the film’s heart, but I haven’t even seen any promotions. If I hadn’t sought out the trailer because I blog, I wouldn’t know this movie existed.
Recommendation: If you can take kids to “Despicable Me” or “Toy Story 3″ and be entertained by it yourself, why see this film?
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Inception
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard
Summary: A group of idea thieves enter the subconscious and steal people’s ideas, but this time are hired to actually implant one in someone’s head. Using a process called “dream sharing” they can enter the mind and create worlds to help dupe their subject into revealing his/her deepest hidden places.
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (great)
My Thoughts: Read about them here … but don’t steal them!
Recommendation: As long as you don’t absolutely despise movies that are hard to understand and leave you wondering what you just saw, you must go. Even so, try it out anyway. It’s worth it.
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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Written by Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Monica Bellucci
Summary: A film expansion of the infamous “Fantasia” scene with Mickey Mouse and the animated broomsticks, this story follows a college student (Baruchel) plucked from the masses to become an apprentice to an infamous “good” sorcerer (Cage) in the midst of a centuries-old battle between good and evil.
Rotten Tomatoes: 41% (not good)
My Thoughts: Turtletaub and Cage delivered pure fun with the “National Treasure” films, but this is another ballgame. I’d like to think with the talent that this could be an underrated movie full of humor-injected sorcery, but early reviews leave me exceedingly skeptical.
Recommendation: If you enjoy mindless fantasy on occasion, this is something to get on DVD. With a poor first weekend of $17 million, it should be available in that format shortly.
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Despicable Me
Directed by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Written by Ken Daurio, Sergio Pablos and Cinco Paul
Starring (voices): Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Jason Segel
Summary: The world’s number two greatest supervillain is Gru (Carell) and his plant to steal the moon and outdo his arch nemesis becomes a bit more difficult when he has to take care of three orphaned girls.
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% (very good)
My Thoughts: These days, when buzz is pretty good surrounding an animated film, you have to believe it. Though little has rivaled Pixar, many have come close and it looks as if “Despicable Me” is right up there, adding another venerable animated film to the list of hits over the last two years.
Recommendation: If you’ve seen “Toy Story 3″ already, you have my clearance go see this one. 3-D appears to be worth it from early reviews: it takes advantage of the gimmicky side of the extra dimension.
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The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Directed by David Slade
Written by Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Summary: The all-powerful Twilight franchise’s third installment amps up both action and love triangle as Bella is forced to decide with which man her allegiances truly lie after a growing mass of vampires descends on Forks to wreak havoc.
Rotten Tomatoes: 53% (mixed)
My Thoughts: I always felt if David Slade couldn’t make this series better, no one could and the reviews thus far are decidedly more mixed than ever before, so perhaps this could be the one actually watchable film in this entire franchise.
Recommendation: Borderline Twilight fans with Twi-hard friends, if there’s ever been a movie in this series worth putting up with, it’s “Eclipse” with a 50% RT rating and just a two-hour run time.
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Grown Ups
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Written by Adam Sandler, Fred Wolf
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade
Summary: A group of buddies reunite (along with their quirky families) for the first time since middle school when their beloved basketball coach dies. In addition to having fun together, they hope to fix their family lives.
Rotten Tomatoes: 10% (horrible)
My Thoughts: Read them here
Recommendation: Sandler fans looking for some easy laughs should wait for the rental. It’s not as bad as the RT scores makes it out to be, but it’s not all that better.
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Toy Story 3
Directed by Lee Unkrich
Written by Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
Starring: (voices) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Joan Cusack, etc …
Summary: Andy’s off to college and the toys find themselves donated to a day care facility where countless new toys await from Barbie’s mate Ken to their fearless fuzzy leader, Lots-’O-Huggin the bear.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% (excellent)
My Thoughts: This is “Toy Story 3.” My comments are pretty moot at this point, but read them here
Recommendation: Worth admission. No need for 3-D.
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The Karate Kid
Directed by Harald Zwart
Written by Christopher Murphey, Robert Mark Kamen
Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson
Summary: A remake of the ’80s classic, in this version a young boy moves to China with his mother and after being bullied at his school, meets a kung fu master who teaches him more than just self-defense.
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% (very good)
My Thoughts: I think this has potential for a younger generation to enjoy something that their parents loved growing up. We’re talking really young parents here, but still, it has been that long.
Recommendation: Worth admission for kids with no concept of the original and parents who’d like to show them what “wax on” (or for this movie “jacket on”) is all about.
