We Bought a Zoo is about a recent widower with two children who wants to start over so he finds a house out in the country that happens to be connected to a zoo. It then turns into a guy with no experience trying to run a zoo while still mourning his dead wife. It sounds ludicrous, so it has to be based on a true story or no one would believe it. Amy and I went to see it for our Snazzle Review. Then we got together to discuss what we thought about it. Warning, we do discuss some plot points so if you don’t want things spoiled, you might want to skip it.
When I first saw the trailer for The Town, I thought I had already seen the entire movie, but I guess there is much more. Critics seem to like it and I guess Ben Affleck is much better when he’s directing than acting in other movies. I heard that Catfish created quite a buzz when it was shown at Sundance earlier this year. People loved it, but not everyone believed it was a documentary. I didn’t think it was one when I watched the trailer, so that’s news to me!
Nationwide Releases
The Town Easy A Alpha and Omega Devil
The Town Directed: Ben Affleck Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper Trailer
Synopsis: One of the guys in a bank robbing team decides to start dating the hostage, which angers the other guys in the crew since they think she can identify them even though they were wearing masks.
My Take: I thought the entire movie was shown in the trailer, but I guess that is just the set up and there’s much more. With the critic praise, I’m willing to give it a try.
RT Score: 95% RT Consensus: Tense, smartly written, and wonderfully cast, The Town proves that Ben Affleck has rediscovered his muse — and that he’s a director to be reckoned with.
Put the Kraken back in its hole because Clash of the Titansis getting horrible reviews. Even though the original was campy, this one isn’t any fun or campy. Also, the 3D is supposed to be horrible so if you are going to see it, it is probably best in 2D. In the sappy territory, Miley Cyrus stars in the latest Nicholas Sparks’ dreck. The other wide release movie is the latest from Tyler Perry. He’s another person that keeps making the same movie over and over again.
Nationwide Releases
Clash of the Titans The Last Song Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?
Clash of the Titans Directed: Louis Leterrier Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Mads Mikkelsen, Sam Worthington, Jason Flemyng, Alexa Davalos, Gemma Arterton Trailer
Synopsis: Remake of the cheese-tastic movie where the gods are fighting and a man born from one of them is in the middle of it.
My Take: I was looking forward to this remake since I thought the story with better special effects would just be better, but apparently it is boring and sad.
RT Score: 30% RT Consensus: An obviously affectionate remake of the 1981 original, Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans doesn’t offer enough visual thrills to offset the deficiencies of its script.
This weekend there is a workplace comedy that looks similar and probably not as funny as Office Space, a slightly different version of Death Race, and a stalker “comedy”.
Nationwide Releases
Extract Gamer All About Steve
Extract Directed:Mike Judge Starring:Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck Trailer
Synopsis: A company owner has to deal with it a workman compensation issue when he’s trying to sell his company.
My Take: It appears to be more in the funny vein of a Mike Judge movie, like Office Space, rather than the trying too hard and failing movie of Idiocracy.
RT Score: 64% RT Consensus:Extract has some very funny moments and several fine performances, but the film feels slighter and more uneven than Mike Judge’s previous work.
The wide releases are not too impressive so I would recommend paying attention to the limited releases, especially Food, Inc., which appears to scare you into supporting your local farmers and Moon, which appears to scare you from living on the moon in isolation. It’s scary movie time!
Nationwide Releases
Taking of Pelham 123 Imagine That
The Taking of Pelham 123 Directed: Tony Scott Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli Trailer
Synopsis: A guy takes a subway train hostage in this remake since everything is a remake these days.
My Take: John Travolta isn’t scary at all or maybe I’m imagining him in Battlefield Earth.
RT Score: 42% RT Consensus: Despite a strong cast, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 suffers under the excesses of Tony Scott’s frantic direction, and fails to measure up to the 1974 original.
Smart People Directed: Naom Murro Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, Ellen Page, Ashton Holmes Trailer
Synopsis: A self-absorbed, depressed professor is not much of a role model for his type-A high school daughter, but then he hooks up with his former student who is now a doctor and his slacker brother moves in to show him and his daughter you can have fun in life.
My Take: While it has the potential to be a charming movie, it comes across as thinking it is it is too clever and might end up being condescending to its audience.
RT Score: 48% RT Consensus: Despite its sharp cast and a few laughs, Smart People is too thinly plotted to fully resonate.
Extract
