2015 is starting to
emerge from the chasm of less-than-good as the calendar straddles
January and February. For one thing, this week brings four new
releases that are mostly available wherever you go, so that's a good
thing from a variety standpoint. But more importantly, there's some
stuff with possible thematic and cinematic meat to it reaching
screens. Let's take a look at what's on tap for us at the movies this
weekend.
Black or White
Director: Mike
Binder
Writer: Mike Binder
Starring: Kevin
Costner, Octavia Spencer, Gillian Jacobs
I'm not going to
say this one excites me. I cringe every time I see something about
it, in fact. Part of that is Kevin Costner's presence, because he's a
guy who has always been the cinematic equivalent of a yawn. If you
were to take milquetoast to trial, exhibit A would be Costner, with a
couple exceptions here and there. But generally speaking, the movie
looks like the worst kind of a fuzzy good time when everyone learns
to accept each other because your skin color doesn't matter,
punctuated by easy culture clash jokes based exclusively on the
differences of skin color of the characters. You catch my drift.
Octavia Spencer is great, though, so her choice of starring in this
movie must be based on something worthwhile in the script or in the
filmmakers. There's always hope!
Black Sea
Director: Kevin
Macdonald
Writer: Dennis
Kelly
Starring: Jude Law,
Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn
This updates the
“men on a mission” genre to take place on a submarine searching
for sunken Nazi gold. Guys turn on each other, backs are stabbed, and
the stress tears everyone apart, especially Jude Law, now firmly in
his cool-looking tough middle-aged guy phase. There's a real
claustrophobia to the trailer, and if director Macdonald can keep
ratcheting up the tension, this could be a great early year thriller.
Project Almanac
Director: Dean
Israelite
Writers: Andrew
Deutschman, Jason Pagan
Starring: Jonny
Weston, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista
This is an update
on Primer for the mainstream and young people. These teenagers
band together once they discover one of their father's blueprints for
a time machine. They start with the typical “What would I do if I
could time travel?” question like winning the lottery by already
knowing the winning numbers and stuff like that. But, this being a
story, things can't stay rosy forever and conflict arises. Friends
start being erased, ripple effects start ruining the world, and
attempt after attempt to fix things only makes them worse. I'm
curious to see how the movie resolves it all, with slick Final
Destination-as-a-science-fiction-movie pizazz.
The Loft
Director: Erik Van
Looy
Writers: Bart De
Pauw, Wesley Strick
Starring: Karl
Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller
Another thriller
about men, although this time they might be framed for doing some
heinous stuff within the confines of their somewhat less heinous –
though still plenty icky – secret loft of debauchery. Their wives
and girlfriends don't know a thing about this place and they make it
a Las Vegas-type resort for themselves before someone ends up dead
and things start going to hell. Who knows where it goes from there,
but with Judge Dredd (Urban) and Cyclops (Marsden) meeting in the
same movie, maybe some crazy comic book action will ensue.
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