March 2
Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano, Julianne Moore,
Directed by Paul Weitz.
Based on the memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn, this is about about Flynn's (played by Dano) time working in a Boston homeless shelter where he re-encounters his estranged father (a self-proclaimed poet and con man) and the struggle with letting him back into his already unstable life. It was a pretty good book (how could I resist that title?) and the cast is impressive, so this is a definite maybe.
Voice talents of Danny Devito, Zach Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms.
Directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda.
I have mixed feelings on this one. You see, I grew up on the story and the 70's animated version with the bright colors, orchestral music, and the voice of Bob Holt proclaiming for the trees. DeVito, while a good enough actor, has a very distinctive and recognizable voice which, for me, brings up memories of The Penguin or Martini. I fear this may create a disconnect for me if/when I see this flick. Also, Dr. Seuss wrote short books for short people, so I'm curious about the story treatment and added elements that they've given the original work to pull it out into a full length animation. I did think that Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me was pretty cute/funny, so that gives a glint of hope to this.
March 9
Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Kristen Wiig, John Hamm.
Directed by Jennifer Westfeldt
Best friends Jason and Julie forego the bullshit by deciding to have a child together while remaining platonic, thus avoiding the toll kids can have on a romantic relationship. Yeah, that'll work. But I enjoy odd relationship movies. Also, look at that cast list, it's like a mini Bridesmaids reunion!
John Carter
Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong.
Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong.
Directed by Andrew Stanton
At first I knew very little of this story and it's history and based my then lackluster thoughts of this flick on the casting of Kitsch and Collins, who were cast-mates in the the abysmal X-Men Origins:Wolverine movie. Then a good friend gave me a good synopsis of the story and explained the history of the John Carter of Mars stories (aka the Barsoom series) to me; that they were over a century old, some of the original materials on which many of today's sci-fi tropes are based, and originally written not as serials. My interest has been piqued by this information and the fact that the supporting cast is stellar - Ciaran Hinds, THomas Hayden Church, James Purefoy, Bryan Cranston - and the director is the same responsible for WALL-E and Finding Nemo. Also, there have been several articles about the fact that Disney has marketed this movie all wrong; to the point that a fan edited together their own trailer, which makes it look tenfold more interesting and cool. So I've turned around and want to see this flick. I want to read the stories even more though.
March 16
Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, William Peterson, Bryan Cranston, James Caan.
Directed by Tony Kaye
Brody plays a substitute teacher, used to drifting among schools and classrooms, who finds a connection with the students and teachers at his latest assignment. The producer of The Hurt Locker teaming up with American History X director Kaye? Yep, I'm in. I wonder if Cranston will play a science teacher?
March 23
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Helmsworth, Woody Harrelson, Lennie Kravtiz.
Directed by Gary Ross
Based on the popular AND excellent YA series by Suzanne Collins. Katniss must find a way to survive a barbaric annual event where each of the 12 districts that surround The Capitol must give, via lottery, two "Tributes" (one boy, one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18) to play in the titular arena until only one is left. I love dystopia sci-fi and this series. Everything I have read to this point about the film leads me to believe it will be a well done and fairly faithful adaption of the book. This is my must-see movie of the month!
March 30
Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill,
Directed by Michael Dowse
Scott plays a bouncer who's not the brightest crayon in the box, but overcomes a ton of odds when he's hired to lead a hockey team of misfits to semi-pro glory one punch at a time. I just have to say; HOCKEY MOVIE!!! w00t!!! There simply aren't enough of these around compared to other sports-centric films. This has some definite nods to slap shot from the look of the trailer.
Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosemund Pike, BIlly Nighy, Danny Huston.
Directed by Jonathan Liebsman
Yes, they made a sequel...and it looks awesome. Sam Worthington is back as Perseus, who must save his father, Liam Neeson as Zeus, from the underworld where he's been kidnapped by his son, Ares, and brother, Hades, as they unleash the Titans upon the human world. Seriously, the trailer looks great and features Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" cover. Check out those effects!
WTF o' the Month
21 Jump Street the movie? Starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill? Sooo...somebody was feeling reminscent of 80's TV while shitting a gruesome combo of Taco Bell and White Castle onto a script page? And booze probably had something to do with this creation. Lots of booze. Likely cheap beer.
