There are some big ones opening this
weekend, folks. There's the off kilter romance, the decades later
comedy sequel, the dramatic feature film directing debut by one of
our least dramatic media figures, and another dramatic turn – zany
makeup and all – from a guy best known for being America's dumb
boss. And that's not even everything. As usual, there's so much to
see this weekend at the movies.
Beyond the Lights
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Gina
Prince-Bythewood
Starring: Gugu
Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Danny Glover
From a surface
glance, this looks like an case of Lifetime's influence stretching to
a wide Hollywood release. But for every moment that could be an
overwrought mess – in the trailer, at least – it is underplayed.
There doesn't seem to be much over acting going on in this
enterprise, which is a sign of a good cast.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
plays a pop star in the Rihanna/Britney Spears mold, with a
domineering stage mom played by Minnie Driver. In a bout of
depression, she tries to commit suicide, but before she can jump from
her hotel balcony, a police officer, played by Parker, grabs her.
Then they fall in love.
This sounds
dreadful on paper, but there's something going on in this short
preview that's enticing. The mismatched couple, the means by which
they met, and ideas about duty and ethics are present. That doesn't
mean the movie will explore these themes, or explore them well, but
it's ripe for drama.
Dumb and Dumber To
Directors: Bobby
Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Writers: Sean
Anders, Mike Cerrone, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, John Morris,
Bennett Yellin
Starring: Jim
Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle
The sequel I've
been clamoring for since I was five years old is finally here. Harry
(Daniels) and Lloyd (Carrey) reunite 20 years after their last
adventure to Aspen, “California,” which formed the basis for one
of the most re-watched movies of my life. Turns out Harry has a
daughter he never knew about, and she might be able to help him out
with a kidney. He and Lloyd, who is “hot for [Harry's] daughter,”
try to find her.
Could be good,
right? I sure hope so. I really do love the original. It was one of
those movies I snuck my way into watching with my older cousins when
I shouldn't have been allowed, and it has stuck with me, probably
because I watch it about once a year. But I have seen the trailers
too many times. It's one of those weird situations where, if you go
to the movies enough, you get stuck with that one film whose preview
you see before everything. I can't get that “na na na na”
song out of my head, no matter how many times I plead with my brain.
And sadly, the trailers all seem to be the same jokes as the first
movie, but said in different locations. But I'm holding out hope the
rest of the movie has new material to offer.
Foxcatcher
Director: Bennett
Miller
Writers: E. Max
Frye, Dan Futterman
Starring: Steve
Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Bennett Miller has
made two of the best films of the last 10 years. Capote may
mostly be remembered for Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning
inhabitation of Truman Capote, but there is some astonishing, austere
filmmaking on Miller's part that opens the film up to being more than
an acting showcase. Same thing with Moneyball, based on a book
about the least cinematic part of baseball: the analytics. Miller
made a movie about mindfulness, fatherhood, and outside-the-box
thinking that is one of my favorite sports movies.
And now here we are
with his third non-documentary, a based-on-a-true-story drama about
an mentally unstable multimillionaire John du Pont and his unhinged
foray into funding a wrestling team in the 1990s. Channing Tatum and
Mark Ruffalo play brothers, with Tatum being the Foxcatcher Wrestling
top prospect and Ruffalo his trainer. There's some disturbing stuff
on display in the trailer, and Carrel is in a neat transition in his
career where he's developing into a pure character actor rather than
a comedic heavy hitter. I'm very excited for this one.
Rosewater
Director: Jon
Stewart
Writer: Jon Stewart
Starring: Gael
GarcÃa Bernal, Kim Bodnia, Dimitri Leonidas
In a roundabout
way, Rosewater is responsible for Last Week Tonight with
John Oliver – if Stewart hadn't been off shooting this movie
last summer, Oliver would not have filled in at the Daily Show
desk and likely wouldn't have been offered the HBO gig, which is
one of the best and most unexpected places for investigative
journalism in television – so I am already eternally thankful for
its existence.
Now, whether Stewart has the chops to direct a movie, let alone one not in his comedic wheelhouse, I can't be sure. But he has brought with him Gael GarcÃa Bernal, whose turns in The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mamá También, and The Crime of Father Amaro, among others, have made him one of the strongest actors of his generation. Rosewater's story – a journalist is kidnapped while covering the failed Iranian “Green Revolution” and held by government forces because of trumped up charges he may be a spy – is a harrowing one. We'll see if the king of late night satire can make this work.
Now, whether Stewart has the chops to direct a movie, let alone one not in his comedic wheelhouse, I can't be sure. But he has brought with him Gael GarcÃa Bernal, whose turns in The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mamá También, and The Crime of Father Amaro, among others, have made him one of the strongest actors of his generation. Rosewater's story – a journalist is kidnapped while covering the failed Iranian “Green Revolution” and held by government forces because of trumped up charges he may be a spy – is a harrowing one. We'll see if the king of late night satire can make this work.
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