This weekend will be unlikely to
provide us with newly minted classics. This is okay. Each of the two
new major releases stands at least an outside chance at becoming a
favorite. And if not, beauty in two forms, massive CGI destruction
and the blissed out cliffs and volcanoes of Hawaii, should be enough
for a couple hours at the movies.
Aloha
Director: Cameron
Crowe
Writer: Cameron
Crowe
Starring: Bradley
Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Emma Stone
Bradley Cooper
stars as a workaholic military man returning to Hawaii, and a former
girlfriend (McAdams), to work at a base. While there, he meets a
young up-and-comer played by Emma Stone and the sparks fly. A love
triangle ensues, and we'll see where everyone ends up.
That does not sound like the best setup for a breezy summer entertainment, but it could be worse. The things that make me think this can work are the top notch cast – here's hoping Cooper does not make it a trend of being the only good thing about a terrible movie, a la American Sniper – and writer-director Cameron Crowe. Crowe is the filmmaker behind a movie that is probably in my personal top 10, Almost Famous, but unfortunately that was his last good movie, 15 years ago. That's a long time. I'm hopeful this could work, though. If not, I'll just rewatch Almost Famous for the umpteenth time.
That does not sound like the best setup for a breezy summer entertainment, but it could be worse. The things that make me think this can work are the top notch cast – here's hoping Cooper does not make it a trend of being the only good thing about a terrible movie, a la American Sniper – and writer-director Cameron Crowe. Crowe is the filmmaker behind a movie that is probably in my personal top 10, Almost Famous, but unfortunately that was his last good movie, 15 years ago. That's a long time. I'm hopeful this could work, though. If not, I'll just rewatch Almost Famous for the umpteenth time.
San Andreas
Director: Brad
Peyton
Writers: Carlton
Cuse, Andre Fabrizio, Jeremy Passmore
Starring: Dwayne
Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario
Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson is often considered a throwback to the days of Schwarzenegger
and Stallone, and in some ways that's true, but I'd wager he's a far
stronger performer. For all his musclebound adventures, he's a guy
with a ton of charisma and, more importantly, an ability to imbue his
characters with real pathos. That should come in handy as he stars in
this mega earthquake movie as a helicopter rescue pilot.
The creative team
probably doesn't inspire much faith in a lot of people, but
screenwriter Carlton Cuse, one of Lost's co-showrunners, knows
his way around character and concepts with huge scales. Director Brad
Peyton has worked with Johnson in the past on Journey 2 The
Mysterious Island, which, while not a huge darling of either
critics or audiences, at least implies they can work together in a
harmonious way. That can produce surprising results, like the effective way they drop out the sound in the trailer to focus only on the alarmed breathing of Johnson and Gugino.
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