May 12 2011

Movies Opening May 13, 2011

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 1:21 pm

A whole bunch of movies come out this week, but the only one that looks worth seeing is Bridesmaids. That looks like a laugh out loud comedy while everything else looks like it could be forgotten quickly.

Nationwide Releases

 Bridesmaids
 Priest



Bridesmaids
Directed
: Paul Feig
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Michael Hitchcock
Trailer

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Synopsis: A mix of women who do not have a lot in common, try to come together for a bachelorette party. It’s the female version of The Hangover.

 RT Score: 90%
RT Consensus: A marriage of genuine characters, gross out gags, and pathos, Bridesmaids is a female-driven comedy that refuses to be boxed in as Kristen Wiig emerges as a real star.

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May 06 2011

Movies Opening May 6, 2011

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 4:16 pm

Thor is kicking off the summer movie season with the first superhero movie of the year. There are two romantic comedies debuting this week as well. I’m not sure if Something Borrowed is better as a novel it is based on, but the movie appears to be a shallow wreck. Jumping the Broom is a mix of romantic and family comedy with a good cast that elevates it higher than the concept would make it out to be.

In the limited releases, Hobo With a Shotgun joins Snakes on a Plane for sharing the plot in the movie title, The Beaver involves Mel Gibson and a talking puppet, and Passion Play is a movie that was so horrible it was supposed to go straight to DVD but then got this limited release for reasons unknown.

Nationwide Releases

 Thor
 Something Borrowed
 Jumping the Broom



Thor
Directed
: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore
Trailer

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Synopsis: The God of Thunder gets exiled to Earth since his ego gets too big for him and he has to figure out how to get back to his home.

 RT Score: 77%
RT Consensus: A dazzling blockbuster that tempers its sweeping scope with wit, humor, and human drama, Thor is mighty Marvel entertainment.

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Apr 29 2011

Movies Opening April 29, 2011

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 8:12 pm

It shocks me that there is not only a fifth movie in The Fast and the Furious series, but it is also the one with the best reviewed one. Is it really stellar or have the reviewers just given up on a quality film and accept it as a  no-brainer action flick?

Nationwide Releases

 Fast Five
 Prom
 Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil
 Dylan Dog: Dead of Night


Fast Five
Directed
: Justin Lin
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Matt Schulze, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Elsa Pataky, Joaquim De Almeida, Dwayne Johnson
Trailer

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Synopsis: The Rock joins everyone else for more car chases.

 RT Score: 78%
RT Consensus: Sleek, loud, and over the top, Fast Five proudly embraces its brainless action thrills and injects new life into the franchise.

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Apr 22 2011

Movies Opening April 22, 2011

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 12:22 pm

Robert Pattinson tries to move onto a more adult role after the Twilight movies, but seems miscast in Water for Elephants. Tyler Perry has made another movie that should be an embarrassment for anyone. Why does he keep making these horrible comedies? In the limited releases, it is interesting that someone made a vampire movie that is more like a zombie movie than viewing the vampires as romantic leading men. It probably would have been a bigger splash if it came out in the late 1980s when there were other similar vampire movies out.

Nationwide Releases

 Water for Elephants
 Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family
 African Cats

Water for Elephants
Directed
: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz
Trailer

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Synopsis: Sometime in the thirties, a love triangle takes place in a circus.

 RT Score: 61%
RT Consensus: It’s a tale tastefully told and beautifully filmed, but Water for Elephants suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry between its leads.

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Apr 15 2011

Movies Opening April 15

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 3:35 pm

I find the only interesting movies this week are a couple of foreign films that start out romantic and then lead to fighting. Fun!

Nationwide Releases

 Rio
 Scream 4
 The Conspirator

Rio
Directed
: Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Leslie Mann, Jermanine Clement, Rodrigo Santoro
Trailer

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Synopsis: An owner takes her blue macaw to Rio to find another one of the last remaining blue macaws, but the birds are kidnapped.

My Take: It doesn’t look funny. It seems more annoying than anything else.

 RT Score: 71%
RT Consensus: This straightforward movie reaches great heights thanks to its colorful visual palette, catchy music, and funny vocal performances.

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Apr 08 2011

Movies Opening April 8

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 3:33 pm

Ignore the bad remake (Arthur), the unfunny medieval comedy (Your Highness) and the sappy one-armed surfer (Soul Surfer) and instead pay attention to the teenage killing machine, Hanna.

Nationwide Releases

 Hanna
 Arthur
 Your Highness
 Soul Surfer

Hanna
Directed
: Joe Wright
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng
Trailer

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Synopsis: A rogue CIA agent has raised his daughter in seclusion in the woods and trained her to be a soldier so she can seek revenge on those from his past.

My Take: It looks really kick ass.

 RT Score: 71%
RT Consensus: Fantastic acting and crisply choreographed action sequences propel this unique, cool take on the revenge thriller.

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Apr 01 2011

Movies Opening April 1

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 1:44 am

The most interesting movie released this week is not in the wide releases, but in the limited releases. It is the horror film Rubber about a killer tire. Yes, you read that right. It is getting good reviews. Craziness!

Nationwide Releases

 Source Code
 Hop
 Insidious


Source Code
Directed
: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright
Trailer

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Synopsis: A guy relives the same 8 minutes over and over again so he can find the bomber of a commuter train.

My Take: Twisty, mind-bending stuff from an awesome director and you get to stare at Jake Gyllenhaal. Win win!

 RT Score: 92%
RT Consensus: Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller.

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Mar 25 2011

Movies Opening March 25

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 9:25 pm

The nationwide releases deal with movies aimed at boys either young (Diary of a Wimpy Kid2: Rodrick Rules) or slightly older (Sucker Punch). In the limited releases, there seems to be much love for the 1970s since two of the movies take place in that time period.

Nationwide Releases

 Sucker Punch
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules

Sucker Punch
Directed
: Zack Snyder
Starring: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, Oscar Isaac
Trailer

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Synopsis: Tarted up girls need to escape juvenile detention so they put on their best fake eyelashes to do it and kick butt in make-believe land.

My Take: Eye candy fluff with no substance so it would be excellent to watch if your brain is turned off.

 RT Score: 23%
RT Consensus: It’s technically impressive and loaded with eye-catching images, but without characters or a plot to support them, all of Sucker Punch’s visual thrills are for naught.

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Mar 18 2011

Movies Opening March 18

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 1:59 pm

Simon Pegg is back with one of his parodies about aliens visiting Earth in Paul. Matthew McConaughey is trying to prove that he can be a serious actor again in The Lincoln Lawyer. Finally, Bradley Cooper is riding his popularity bandwagon for as long as he can by leading a movie about a crazy drug that makes him super smart in Limitless.

Nationwide Releases

Paul
The Lincoln Lawyer
Limitless

Paul
Directed
: Greg Mottola
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Seth Rogen
Trailer

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Synopsis: Some geeks headed to Area 51, pick up an alien on their road trip.

My Take: It is like a twisted take on E.T. It doesn’t look super funny, but I’ll watch it since it has Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

RT Score: 72%
RT Consensus: It doesn’t measure up to Pegg and Frost’s best work, but Paul is an amiably entertaining — albeit uneven — road trip comedy with an intergalactic twist.

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Mar 11 2011

Movies Opening March 11

Category: 2011,Movies,Openingvelveetahead @ 2:37 pm

This week there are two alien invasion movies. One deals with it more traditionally while the other is an animated movie where aliens want to take moms. The other major movie is a retelling of  Red Riding Hood but with some kind of Twilight twist with werewolves.

Nationwide Releases

Battle: Los Angeles
Mars Needs Moms
Red Riding Hood


Battle: Los Angeles
Directed
: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo, Michael Peña
Trailer

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Synopsis: Aliens invade and people run around!

My Take: I find invasion movies very entertaining, but usually if they focus on some key characters reacting to it. This looks like mostly a bunch of people running away from the aliens, but no one in particular to root for.

RT Score: 34%
RT Consensus: Overlong and overly burdened with war movie clichés, Battle: Los Angeles will entertain only the most ardent action junkies.

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