If you're the type
of person (lunatic) who sees every movie that comes out, this weekend
will be a busy one for you. There are five new releases, each of a
different genre. As you bounce from one movie to the next, you won't
have to worry about everything feeling same-y. Superheroes and family
drama, thrillers and stop-motion animation, more and more, you get
the idea. Let's see what awaits you.
Fantastic Four
Director: Josh
Trank
Writers: Simon
Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, Josh Trank
Starring: Miles
Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell
Four young people
get subjected to science-y mumbo jumbo that gives them elemental
powers. Reed Richards (Miles Teller) can stretch his body to obscene
lengths, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) lights on fire, Sue Storm
(Kate Mara) turns invisible and can move things with her mind, and
Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) becomes a big rock. They have adventures and
brood a bit.
This is the second
attempt to make a Fantastic Four movie on a serious level,
after a two-film series a decade ago was received with lukewarm
shrugs. This time around, the CGI technology is at a place to
properly render the Thing as a believable monster with a heart of
gold.
Ricki and the Flash
Director: Jonathan
Demme
Writer: Diablo Cody
Starring: Meryl
Streep, Rick Springfield, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer
Jonathan Demme and
Diablo Cody are good at movies. Both have done excellent work in the
past (with their highest points probably being The Silence of the
Lambs and Young Adult, respectively) and now they have
teamed with Meryl Streep to tell the story of a worn out cover band
singer trying to reintegrate herself into the lives of her estranged
family.
That's enough. Sign
me up.
The Gift
Director: Joel
Edgerton
Writer: Joel
Edgerton
Starring: Jason
Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton
The mysteries of a
man's (Jason Bateman) past begin to unravel when he and his new wife
(Rebecca Hall) move into a mansion and run into an old acquaintance
of Bateman's, played by Joel Edgerton, who makes his feature
writing-directing debut here. From the trailer, it appears Edgerton
has a knack for handsomely composed shots and deep focus, so it
appears he knows what he's doing behind the camera as well as in
front of it.
It may all amount
to a big ball of nothing, but there seems to be a genuine fear
soaking through the frames of the clips currently available. The
trailer announces a big twist, which may only be part of the rug
being pulled out from under the audience. It seems worthwhile.
Shaun the Sheep: The Movie
Directors: Mark
Burton, Richard Starzak
Writers: Mark
Burton, Richard Starzak
Starring: Justin
Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili
A family of
stop-motion animation sheep get lost in the city, some go to jail,
and an escape plan is hatched. Plus there's a doofus-looking guy with
a goatee trying to capture them, presumably for their curly wool.
It all looks fairly
paint-by-numbers, but the critical reception to the movie has been
downright rapturous, so the old “if there's smoke, there's probably
a fire” saying applies here. It appears there is no traditional
dialogue, with everything coming through as grunts and other sound
effects, so that's interesting. Other than that, it's a fairly big
mystery to me.
Best of Enemies
Directors: Robert
Gordon, Morgan Neville
Writers: Robert
Gordon, Morgan Neville
William F. Buckley
and Gore Vidal were celebrities for being smart about politics and
culture. That doesn't really happen anymore. For that depiction of a
bygone era alone, Best of Enemies would probably be a
fascinating documentary to catch. Apparently, though, beyond their
televised sparring, the two men really despised each other. This
wasn't a Siskel and Ebert competition thing, but they did not want
the other – or, perhaps more accurately, the other's ideas –
to succeed. I'm curious to see how that relationship, driven by
conflict for TV ratings, changed over the years.
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