Romance and Rom-Coms:
Summary:
The chronicles of five couples as they prepare to birth children into our
modern world. Filmmakers: Director Kirk
Jones has made three previous films, all decent (my personal favorite is Everybody’s Fine), but has
never made a great film. He does have a strong command of infusing drama with
comedic and lighter moments, which makes him a good fit for this project (which
is probably going to play more as a comedy than drama, but will certainly have
both dramatic and comedic beats). He is working with composer Mark Mothersbaugh (21
Jump Street), cinematographer Xavier
Perez Grobet (City of Ember)
and production designer Andrew
Laws (I Love You, Man). Cast: The film is packed full of celebrities,
comedians and good actors (you decide who is which): Elizabeth Banks, Brooklyn Decker, Genesis Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, Anna Kendrick, Rodrigo Santoro, Chace Crawford, Joe Manganiello, Chris Rock, Rebel Wilson, Megan Mullally, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Thomas Lennon, Matthew Morrison, Ben Falcone, and Rob Huebel. Expectations: What to Expect When You’re Expecting
is 2012’s He’s Just Not That
Into You (2009), Valentine’s
Day (2010) and New Year’s
Eve (2011), just minus Garry
Marshall (who also had nothing to do with the first one, probably why it is
the best of the three), which means we can expect something incredibly sappy,
tame and somewhat enjoyable involving multiple interweaving narratives all
focused around a common theme, in this case being pregnant. I think Kirk Jones
will eliminate some of the sappiness and present more realistic and richer
characters (which were very much lacking in the other films, especially the
holiday ones). I am also willing to rent this because I do like the work of
Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick and Chris Rock (who put himself back into our
collective consciousness killing
it at the 2012 Oscars). Trailer: Here.
Action/Adventure:
Summary:
While participating in naval war games, a fleet inexplicably comes
across an alien force bent on destroying the world. The alien ship creates a
force field around itself, which is impenetrable. Thus, it is up to the few
ships also within the force field, who are without communication or radar (you
know, they have to use their weapons blind sort of like the game), to destroy
the alien ship and save the world (don’t worry about how ridiculous this
premise is, just accept it and bask in the glory). Filmmakers:
Director Peter Berg has made a number of entertaining action films among
his six previous features (my favorite being The Kingdom), though nothing
quite of this scale. He is working with an action specializing group with
composer Steve Jablonsky (Transformers), cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler (who shot Hancock and The Rundown for Berg) and
production designer Neil Spisak
(who also worked on Hancock, but it better known for working on the Spider-Man trilogy). Cast: The film stars Taylor Kitsch, and features Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, and Jesse Plemons (making for a mini
Friday Night Lights reunion)
in support. Expectations: Battleship
essentially looks like another Transformers film – mindless, loud and wholly built
around spectacle over content and characters. Basically, this is perfect for
cinemagoers who just want a big summer blockbuster that is all thrills, bells
and whistles. For me, I will probably just Netflix it. Trailer:
Here.
Summary:
When Agent K suddenly ceases to exist in the present, Agent J must time travel
back to the 1960s, the origin of the MIB, to stop an alien from assassinating
his friend. Filmmakers: Director Barry
Sonnenfeld (who started his career as a great cinematographer; he shot the Coen Brothers’ first three films
for example) has never made a great film, mostly dabbling in broad comedies.
But, his Men in Black movies
have been well receive commercially, so he is back in the director’s chair
after taking a six year break from features to finish the trilogy. He is,
howver, working with a brilliant group with executive producer Steven Spielberg, composer Danny Elfman (scored the
previous two MIBs), cinematographer Bill Pope (who is one of the
best action D.P.s; he shot The
Matrix, Spider-Man
2 and Scott
Pilgrim vs. the World), and production designer Bo Welch (Thor).
Cast: Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return, while Josh Brolin, Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, and Michael Stuhlbarg are new to the
trilogy. Expectations: While I found Men in
Black to be a decently enjoyable sci-fi action comedy, number two was fairly terrible,
and I thought that I would probably never see another Barry Sonnenfeld or MIB
film again, but I am to be proved wrong on both accounts (as I did in fact see RV, but who knows why). Will
Smith’s wonderful charisma in the trailer for MIB III and the overall quality
of the cast have roped me back into giving this a rental (I know better than to
committing to seeing it in the theatre). If it is equal to part one, then we
should have a very fun cinematic experience. If it is equal to two or worse,
then I promise I will not see MIB IV, should one ever exist (yes Columbia
Pictures, that is a threat). Trailer: Here.
Comedy:
Summary:
General Aladeen is the lovable oppressive dictator of a Middle Eastern
country. However, during a visit to America, he is kidnapped and his beard is
removed (making him apparently unrecognizable to the world). Now, he must learn
to survive in New York City without the power and privilege he had grown
accustom to. Filmmakers:
Director Larry Charles
and writer/star Sacha Baron Cohen
are back together for their third collaboration. Charles is working with
composer Erran Baron Cohen
(who also scored Borat and Bruno), cinematographer Lawrence Sher (The
Hangover Part II) and production designer Victor Kempster (Charlie Wilson’s War). Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen stars and Anna Faris co-stars, with Megan Fox, Ben Kingsley, J.B. Smoove, B.J. Novak, Kevin Corrigan, and John C. Reilly in support (or
making cameos). Expectations: The success of
Borat and Bruno came from the wonderful comedy garnered through awkward and
uncomfortable moments that Cohen created interacting with real people not in on
the joke (or production). It is not entirely clear if there is an aspect of
this or not in The Dictator, as the trailer alludes to it being a comedy device
employed in the film. But, for the most part, this is a scripted comedy. While
the first trailer laid out a shallow series of jokes intended to offend people,
it did not look like a very good film. However, the second trailer, focusing
more on the character journey, presents what could be a good and funny comedy,
with jokes that will offend people. Trailer:
Here.
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