Action/Adventure:
Summary:
Upon visiting Rekall (a company that provides its clients with the illusion of
being someone else for vacation purposes), factory worker Douglas Quaid begins
to suspect that he is really a spy and a hunted man. He subsequently goes on
the run from the police. Filmmakers: Action
specialist Len Wiseman is directing. He is best known for his Underworld films (directing the
first two, but being involved in all four). He also directed Live Free or Die Hard. More
interesting for sci-fi action fans, however, is that the script is co-written
by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium). Wiseman is
working again with production designer (and special effects technician) Patrick Tatopoulos (I, Robot), as well as composer Harry Gregson-Williams (The Town)
and cinematographer Paul Cameron
(Man on Fire). Cast: Colin
Farrell stars with a great supporting cast including Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy, Ethan Hawke, John Cho, Bokeem Woodbine, and Will Yun Lee. Expectations: While I am not completely convinced
that this film is necessary, as Paul
Verhoeven’s Total Recall
still holds up relatively well, I do get the sense from what I have seen that
this is completely different tonally. It also looks visually impressive (and
different from Mars). I am not a huge fan of Wiseman’s work, as he is just sort
of a standard Hollywood action director, but I did enjoy Underworld and Die
Hard 4. More so than the director, however, it is the cast that has me eager to
see this, especially with supporting work from Cranston and Nighy. For a big
sci-fi actioner like this, if you are going to see it might as well see it in
theatres and get the full effect. Trailer: Here. Review: Here.
Summary:
Apparently, there was never just one – as the story centers on another
Treadstone operative Aaron Cross. Filmmakers: Writer-director
Tony Gilroy wrote the three previous Bourne films, but is making his franchise
directorial debut with this installment (though, it is his third film overall).
He has a great group working with him including composer James Newton Howard (The
Hunger Games), cinematographer Robert
Elswit (Mission:
Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and production designer Kevin Thompson (The
Adjustment Bureau). Cast: Taking over
for Matt
Damon (though there are rumors he will return in a subsequent sequel) is Jeremy Renner. Backing him up is
a great supporting cast featuring Edward
Norton, Rachel Weisz, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn, Oscar Isaac, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Stacy Keach, Zeljko Ivanek, and Corey Stoll. Expectations: Going into this film, there are
really two main questions (or concerns): 1) can Renner carry the film in a
manner than is on par with Damon? and 2) which Tony Gilroy will show up behind
the camera – the director of Michael
Clayton (which was nominated for Best Picture) or the director of Duplicity (which to make my
point was awful)? In Gilroy’s favor, the film has a fantastic cast; and I think
Renner will do a good job in the lead. He has shown he can act (The Hurt Locker) and is
action-ready (MI4). Plus, the film looks great – both action packed and
dramatically interesting. It should make a good addition to the series. Trailer: Here.
Summary:
The Expendables are back together for another mission, but when one of their
own is murdered, the mission becomes one of revenge. Filmmakers:
Action director Simon West is probably a good fit to take over for Sylvester Stallone (his best
known film is probably Con Air).
He is working with composer Brian
Tyler (who scored the first Expendables),
cinematographer Shelly Johnson
(Captain
America: The First Avenger) and production designer Paul Cross (Luther). Cast: Returning to the cast are Stallone, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Charisma Carpenter, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture. New to the cast
are Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Nan Yu, and Chuck Norris. Expectations: The Expendables 2 should be bigger,
louder and have more explosions – plus it has more (cheesy) action stars form
the 80s with bigger roles for Willis and Schwarzenegger and the additions of
Van Damme and Norris (if they make a third, may I summit some names: Steven Seagal, Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson, and Wesley Snipes). Will it be
better than the first film? I think it will be equally as good, so if you liked
the first you will probably like this one. Trailer:
Here.
Summary:
Wilee is a NYC bike messenger. It is a crazy adrenaline-pumping,
thrill-seeking job, which requires its riders to be able to do lots of jumps,
tricks and other cool bike related stuff. So when Wilee comes in possession of
an envelope that has the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues him throughout
the city, it is no problem – just another day in the life of the typical high
risk action-sports NYC bike messenger. Filmmakers:
Writer-director David Koepp is best known for writing scripts for many of the
biggest Hollywood films, such as: Toy
Soldiers, The Shadow, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Snake Eyes, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull, and Angels
& Demons. As a writer-director, he is responsible for the gem Secret Window (so yeah, I
decided to be snarky on this one – pretty much nothing is better off with Koepp
attached as a writer, and certainly not as a director). He is working with
composer David Sardy (Zombieland),
cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen
(Transformers) and
production designer Therese
DePrez (Black
Swan). Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars with Jamie Chung, Dania Ramirez and Michael Shannon in support. Expectations: Premium Rush might be entertaining,
but I think it is unlikely it will be a good thriller. Gordon-Levitt and
Shannon are good enough actors to make for engaging characters, but again
Koepp’s writing is just really boring and Hollywood-generic. Plus, from what I
have seen, this looks silly. At best, it is a rental for those looking for a
mindless Hollywood-style thriller. Trailer: Here.
Summary:
Charlie Bronson is hiding out in witness protection, formally being the getaway
driver. However, when his girlfriend needs his help to get to LA, Charlie must
avoid both the feds and his old gang as he races across the country. Filmmakers: The team of David Palmer and Dax
Shepard return for their second feature film (their first was the B-movie Brother’s Justice), with
Shepard writing the script and starring. They are working with an indie film
crew including cinematographer Bradley
Stonesifer (God Bless
America), production designer Emily
Bloom and composers Robert
Mervak and Julian Wass. Cast: In addition to Shepard, the cast features a decent
supporting group with David
Koechner, Ryan Hansen, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Joy Bryant, Beau Bridges, Tom Arnold, and Kristen Bell. Expectations: While I do not think Hit and Run
will be a good film, it does look fun and entertaining on some level. The cast
has some funny people in it, and being that it is an action comedy there is
certainly the potential for it to be an enjoyable rental. I have not seen
Shepard and Palmer’s first film, but based on its IMDB rating I can assume it
is not very good. This seems like it will be better. Action comedy fans may
consider renting this. Trailer: Here.
Comedy:
Summary:
Cam Brady is a reigning congressman in North Carolina, cruising to electoral
victory after victory running unopposed. That is all about to change when two
local CEOs want to oust him and put up a rival candidate (one that is pliable
to their will): the inexperienced and seemingly clueless and ill-suited Marty
Huggins. Filmmakers: Director Jay Roach
seems like a great fit for the material, as he has a good background in comedy
(directing films like Austin
Powers: International Man of Mystery and Meet the Parents) and arguably
an even better background in political drama (directing Recount and Game Change). He is working
with producer Adam McKay (Will Ferrell’s partner as a
producer writer and director), composer Theodore Shapiro (The Big Year), cinematographer Jim Denault (Game Change), and
production designer Michael
Corenblith (Frost/Nixon).
Cast: Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis star with Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, Brian Cox, John Lithgow, and Dan Aykroyd in support. Expectations: The Campaign does look funny, but I
think I am just burnt out on both Ferrell and Galifianakis, especially since
they are both basically just rehashing their same shtick yet again for this. I
will rent it, but in 2012 I do not think I am anywhere near as enthusiastic for
this as I would have been in 2005. That said, the supporting cast might bring
about just as many laughs as the stars (I am thinking about Lithgow in Orange County and Aykroyd in Grosse
Pointe Blank). Trailer: Here.
Horror:
Summary:
Norman is a misunderstood boy, who has the remarkable ability to talk with the
dead. This comes in handy when a centuries-old curse threatens his town
unearthing ghosts, ghouls and zombies. He and a group of friends must work
together to save the day. Filmmakers: Writer-director
Chris Butler makes his debut (but he did work as a storyboard artist on Coraline and Corpse Bride – this utilizing
the same animation style, perfected by Henry Selick), while Sam Fell
has directed a few British stop-motion films (like Flushed Away). They are working
with composer Jon Brion (Step Brothers), cinematographer
Tristan Oliver (Fantastic
Mr. Fox) and production designer Nelson Lowry (also worked on
Fantastic Mr. Fox). Cast: The voice cast is
very good with Kodi Smit-McPhee
starring and supporting work from Anna
Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman, Casey Affleck, Bernard Hill, and Jeff Garlin. Expectations: First off, why is Focus Features
releasing this in August and not in October for Halloween? I do not get it –
this really feels like a Halloween film. Anyway, that aside, this looks good
and should serve as great counterprogramming to all the action films this
month. Plus, it is really the only kid friendly film (that actually looks
good). With Brave
not being amazing, best animated film of the year is very much still up in the air
and this certainly has a good shot at it. Trailer:
Here.
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