Movies of the Month: February 2012

February is the month of love and lovers, so there are a number of romantic comedies coming out this time of year. Some of them might even be watchable. It’s thin pickings at the cinema unless you want to woo your lady friend. A few of the non-rom-com films coming out certainly look interesting, however, so there are enough films in the month to keep bachelor guys like me entertained.

Week of February 3, 2012

The Woman in Black

The Plot: A young lawyer travels to a small village where he must contend with a vengeful spirit haunting a lonely mansion in the marsh. Can the lawyer lift the curse from the local townspeople and end her reign of terror?

Who’s in it? Daniel Radcliffe

Ultimate Fate: The trailers for this one look really creepy. This is also Daniel’s first post-Potter starring role, and I’m very interested to see what he does with it. I hope that it’s as scary as it promises to be and that Radcliffe can flex his acting chops in a role that is very different for him.

Chronicle

The Plot: A few teenage kids gain super powers and then spend their time doing what any teenagers with super powers would do, creating chaos.

Who’s in it? Three kids I don’t know.

Ultimate Fate: This film has two major strikes against it.

The first is that it’s in the ‘found footage’ genre. It plays as a mock documentary with the kids videotaping their exploits. I’m really tired of this genre. Most of the recent ‘found footage’ films would have played better if they were shot as a regular film. Why waste making a special-effects heavy film if it’s presented to the audience by a shaky-cam?

The second major strike is that this film shows what happens when ‘real people’ get magical superpowers. I prefer my superheroes to battle it out with supervillians. Give me mutants versus mutants in X-Men, Thor versus Loki, even Iron Man versus a superweapon. A superhero without an equally powered supervillian is not a fair fight, and I lose interest. I’m guessing that at least one of the kids is a bad seed and does some evil stuff or else this one could be very dull indeed.

Big Miracle

The Plot: Three grey whales get trapped in the winter ice near Barrow, Alaska. It’s up to the local community to band together to save them.

Who’s in it? John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore

Ultimate Fate: Sure why not? Dolphin Tale was a big success, and this is a film in much the same vein. You know it’s going to have some cute moments that will be suitable for every audience. For a while the animal-themed movies were all about penguins. Now they’re about marine mammals. I can’t wait for the ‘manatee in peril’ film.

Where I’ll be this weekend: I can’t wait to see what Daniel Radcliffe does in a post-Potter world. Plus, it looks pretty spooky.

February 10

Safe House

The Plot: A CIA agent must look after a fugitive is a South African safe house. Things get crazy when the safe house is attacked and both the agent and fugitive must run.

Who’s in it? Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington

Ultimate Fate: It’s a pure action film starring a couple of good actors. It has a chance to be a decent film.

The Vow

Barf.

The Plot: A car accident causes a young wife to lose the past five years of her memory. Her husband must romance her again to show her that they really were meant to be together.

Who’s in it? Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum

Ultimate Fate: I’m sure the ladies will love this film. It’s got a cute guy professing his undying love for a beautiful woman. It’s certainly February. Gag.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

The Plot: A couple of kids and their bodyguard hunt down their grandfather on Mysterious Island, an island forgotten by time where fantastical creatures roam.

Who’s in it? Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Michael Caine, Vanessa Hudgens

Ultimate Fate: The spiritual sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth this time replacing Brendan Fraser with The Rock. That’s a good upgrade, I would say. Johnson is hyper-charismatic and this is a great role for him. I’m betting this film is a bigger success than the first. Take the kids for a mindless adventure flick.

Star Wars: Episode I 3D

You should know all about the plot and who’s in it, so I’ll cut straight to…

Ultimate Fate: George Lucas has decided to go back to the Star Wars well once more, this time by giving all of the films the 3D treatment. If it works for Disney, then it should work here too, right? I bet it looks stunning in 3D, especially the pod race, but I don’t sense much excitement here. We just got the entire saga on Blu-Ray last fall, and this is arguably the worst film in the series. I’m sure it will draw an audience who want to see the film on the big screen, but I don’t see it performing gangbusters.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Safe House for me. It features two good actors (okay, one good actor and one so-so actor) squaring off in a shoot-em-up across South Africa. I’m game. You couldn’t drag me to The Vow with any amount of persuasion.  

February 17

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

The Plot: The Ghost Rider tries once again to lift the curse on his soul, this time by stopping the devil from taking human form.

Who’s in it? Nicholas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Lambert

Ultimate Fate: This movie looks bonkers. It’s directed by the guys who did Crank, so there should be no shortage of insanity, but that’s no guarantee it will be any good. You never know which Cage is going to show up for any given movie. It could be the cracked-out lunatic Cage (in a good way) or the cracked-out lunatic Cage (in a bad way). I don’t know what to think about this one, except for my general amazement that this sequel actually exists.

This Means War

The Plot: Two best buddy CIA agents find themselves dating the same girl. Their friendship turns to all-out war to win the girl.

Who’s in it? Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon

Ultimate Fate: This might actually be a decent date movie. It’s got two of the coolest leading men in an action movie fighting it out over one of Hollywood’s leading ladies. I wish it were a lady a bit more, I don’t know, provocative than Reese Witherspoon, but what the heck, I’ll play along. The film also took the brilliant strategy of shifting its release to February 14. That’s right, a decent-looking date flick opening on Valentine’s Day. It’s going to kill that night.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Well, The Human Centipede: Full Sequence comes out on Blu-Ray in an unrated directors cut version on Valentine’s Day, so I’ll probably be recovering from watching that over the weekend. It’s a terrible film on every level, yet I feel compelled to watch it.

February 24

Act of Valor

The Plot: Navy SEALs take on a mission to save some CIA operatives and uncover a terrorist plot in the US.

Who’s in it? Several actual Navy SEALs

Ultimate Fate: The filmmakers are hyping up the realness of this film. It stars Navy SEALs and many of the set pieces are taken from actual SEAL missions. It is supposed to be a glimpse into how those guys accomplish their incredible missions time and time again. Given the media coverage of the SEALs lately, particularly of SEAL Team Six after their takedown of Bin Laden, this could be another way to draw some positive attention their way. It’s too bad these guys are silent warriors; they deserve all kinds of credit.

Good Deeds

The Plot: A third generation successful businessman takes a single mother under his protective wings.

Who’s in it? Tyler Perry

Ultimate Fate: It’s a Tyler Perry film, but not one of his Madea outings. Perry cut his teeth with his own brand of comedy and drama films that catered primarily to the African American crowd, which is a fairly limited movie-going audience. He appears to be taking a more mainstream approach with this film, which could make it be a broader success.

Wanderlust

The Plot: A couple of recently unemployed socialites from New York City find themselves living in a commune in the woods with a bunch of hippie free-love types.

Who’s in it? Jennifer Aniston, Paul Ruud

Ultimate Fate: This film seems like a return to the safe romantic comedies that are Jennifer Aniston’s bread and butter. Her bold performance in Horrible Bosses must have been an anomaly. The premise seems a touch goofy, and it involves a commune full of hippies, which is seldom a good thing. It might be decent, but I doubt it. Hippies have a way of sucking the fun out of everything.

Where I’ll be this weekend: I have a lot of friends in the military, and a few who aspire to be Special Forces. I’m curious to see what Act of Valor has to offer.

Movie of the Month: This one’s actually easy for me. It’s all about Radcliffe this month. I’m really amped to see The Woman in Black. If a horror film isn’t your style and you’re looking for a romantic comedy in February, then maybe you’ll fancy Act of War. 

Thanks for reading the previews. I hope you guys find a movie in there that you like. Let me know in the comments below, and while you're at it, Follow me on Twitter!

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Stallone tones down The Expendables 2

Yesterday brought great news from the film industry with the announcement that Cormac McCarthy sold a spec script. Today brings negative news regarding one of my most-anticipated films of 2012, The Expendables 2.

Earlier today, director Sylvester Stallone confirmed that his upcoming sequel to the 1980’s action star reunion film, The Expendables 2, will be presented not as an R rated film like the first, but with a more family friendly PG-13 rating.

How is it possible that the sequel to one of the coolest films of 2010, which is set to increase the insane star power of its lineup by including Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme, can be downgraded from the R rating of the original to a PG-13 rating? The original was conceived as a PG-13 film, but somewhere along the line, Stallone wizened up at converted it to R by sprucing up some action bits, livening up the language, and adding digital blood effects. It seems strange that Stallone would go back to the PG-13 format, which will limit the violence, gore, and language, when the The Expendables was very successful even with the R rating.

Apparently, Chuck Norris petitioned for the lower rating in the sequel. See, Chuck is a nice guy, no matter what your t-shirt says, and he doesn’t want to be involved in a project with gratuitous violence. Stallone acquiesced and made some changes to the script to tone things down for The Expendables 2.   

The action fan in me doesn’t want to see the film neutered to a PG-13 rating. It seems a shame to have the likes of Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Randy Couture, Dolph freaking Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the aforementioned Stallone, Van Damme, and Norris all appearing in one film without letting them all go ballistic. As it is, this news is a bit disappointing, but I’m going to go with the mantra “In Stallone We Trust”. I mean, you can blow up half of the free world and still maintain a PG-13 rating as long as you don’t show people being blown to smithereens. Here’s hoping that we get a good blow-‘em-up film in August, even with the lower rating.

Cormac McCarthy just made my day

In what I consider to be the best news I’ve heard all week, Deadline is reporting that Cormac McCarthy has sold a spec script to the production company responsible for bringing us The Road. McCarthy is one of my favorite writers; I have all of his novels on my bookshelf, and more than a few are dog-eared from multiple read-throughs.

The plot synopsis sounds like great fodder for McCarthy. “The protagonist in The Counselor is a respected lawyer who thinks he can dip a toe in the drug business without getting sucked down. It is a bad decision and he tries his best to survive it and get out of a desperate situation.” Who wants to bet that the lawyer suffers nine different kinds of hell once he heads down that dark road?

This is the first time that McCarthy has written a screenplay. His previous novels that were adapted for the screen, All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men, The Road, were adapted by other writers. He actually surprised his agents, who though he was working on another novel, by handing them this instead. They quickly found a buyer for the screenplay, and the production group currently are looking for a director.

A sold spec script is a long way from a finished film, but given the quality of McCarthy’s work, hopefully it won’t be long before a studio and director pick up this project. I’ll be waiting anxiously to see how this develops in the coming months. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

One of the worst movies ever made, and one that the sick, depraved part of my brain loves dearly, will soon be released on home video. That’s right, the unrated director’s cut of The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence is coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray a few months from now. 


The date of release? February 14, 2012. 


Now I have something to look forward to this Valentine’s Day!

Top 10 of 2011

2011 was a great year for film, and I certainly saw my fair share of them. According to my Movies Seen in 2011 list, I count 188 movies this year. Many of them were DVDs and Blu-Rays from my collection (750 titles at last count), but I saw quite a number in the theater. Some were good (Hanna, Thor), some were terrible (Apollo 18, Conan the Barbarian), some were really far out there (The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence), and a handful were fantastic.

Here are my highlights of 2011. The Top 10 of the year, the ones I wish I had seen, and some other film notes worth mention.

Just missed the Top 10:

Fast Five, Thor, Attack the Block, The Descendents, X-Men: First Class, Melancholia

Didn’t See:

Shame, The Artist, 13 Assassins, A Dangerous Method, Bridesmaids

10. Tintin

Steven Spielberg was destined to make this film. In his first time directing a motion-capture film, Spielberg tells a tight, fast-paced, often funny and always exciting adventure story based on the popular Belgian kid detective. Every frame bursts with color, energy, and excitement, and Spielberg pulls off some shots that he simply could not do in a live-action movie.

The movie is more than a technical showcase for Spielberg though. It’s a very well done film with likeable heroes and despicable villains. It has smart twists and turns, and it remains easy to follow. Plus, it features a fight in a shipyard with freakin’ cranes. Cool!

Overall, it’s a fun adventure movie by one of the best directors in the business, and it finds a spot in my Top 10.

4 Stars out of 5

9. Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots is the spinoff movie starring the awesome cat character from the Shrek franchise. Puss is a loveable scoundrel of a cat who is as fantastic with a sword as he is his wit and charm. He’s a great character and does well in his own film.

As you might imagine, the story is heavily intertwined in fairy tale lore. It follows Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) and his childhood pal Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianacis) as they try to steal magic beans from Jack and Jill so they can acquire the eggs of the Golden Goose. There are several great characters in the film, including Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), but the real star is Puss. He carries the load here. Plus, he looks a lot like my own cat, which somehow makes it more enjoyable.

The story itself may not be spectacular, but it’s serviceable enough. Puss in Boots, aka., Diablo Gato,  makes it a memorable movie and worthy of a spot in my Top 10.

3.5 Stars out of 5

8. Horrible Bosses

I don’t normally go for comedy films, but this one absolutely killed. It’s a smart, fun film with a nonstop flow of laughs. The chemistry between the leads is wonderful, and the chaos in which they find themselves is glorious. Who would have guessed that three friends trying to kill their bosses would be so outrageous and fun? A cracking script and fun characters made this one comedy that I really enjoyed, which is saying a lot coming from me.

3.5 Stars out of 5

7. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Holy cow, Tom Cruise! This movie cracks the Top 10 on the basis of the incredible Burj Khalifa Tower scene alone. You know, the scene where Tom Cruise jumps out of a window 130 stories off the ground. It’s madness I tell you. Glorious madness.

This film stands out as one of the best action films of the decade, and probably the best of the four Mission Impossible films, which have all been exciting action films. It’s a simple story of an outcast group of superspies who must prevent global nuclear war. The exotic locales provide great backdrops for the action, and the ever-ticking clock ramps up the intensity. You’ll have to remember to breathe when you watch this film.

4.5 Stars out of 5

6. Super 8

This movie represents a great throwback to the action films of the 1980s. The plot synopsis has a group of kids wrapped up in an adventure involving a monster escape and the military containment and cover-up that follows. But, it’s more than just a monster movie. It’s also a great story of friendship and family, and it captures the spirit of what it means to be a kid. The chemistry among the kids really lets the movie pop off the screen. They have some great back and forth banter, and it reminds you what it was like when you were on the playground with your pals making up your own imaginary adventures.

Director J.J. Abrams maintains great pacing throughout the film mixing in intense action and character development. His direction, a great story, and superb acting make Super 8 a real treat and one of the standout films of 2011.

4 Stars out of 5

5. The Muppets

I’m an unabashed Muppets fan. It’s no secret that this was one of my most anticipated films of the year. I’m pleased to say that it met those expectations and then some. Fans of The Muppet Show will love this film. A great deal of love and care went into crafting the story with lots of winks and nods to the original show.

It’s a real Muppets movie with all the fun songs, great jokes, adorable characters, and heartfelt and witty story that you expect from them. Loved it!

4.5 Stars out of 5

4. 50/50

This is a heartfelt movie that takes a look at the harsh realities of life with cancer and manages to make it sweet and funny and sincere. It’s hard to state how finely crafted this movie is. It never gets too sappy, self-important, or self-pitiable. Instead, it seems like the story of real people dealing with a serious, life-threatening situation. It’s a great bit of cinema, and it’s sure to make you laugh and cry. You’ll feel good about life after this movie.

4.5 Stars out of 5

3. Drive

From the opening scene, Drive grabs you and never lets you go. It oozes style and atmosphere. This story of a getaway driver and the slow spiral of danger in which he finds himself just builds and builds in a slow burn that leaves you breathless. Director Nicolas Winding Refn and star Ryan Gosling combine to create one of the coolest films of the year.

Drive takes its time to develop characters and set up the story, and then it unleashes all that pent up energy in a torrent. Once the fuse is lit on the powder keg, there’s an amazing explosion on screen. It has appeared on a number of Best of 2011 lists for good reason. It’s the coolest film of the year.

5 Stars out of 5

2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Who would have guessed that a continuation of The Planet of the Apes saga, one that conveniently ignores the horrible 1999 reboot attempt and sticks to the convoluted timeline of the original series, would be on anybody’s top ten list? Each of the Planet of the Apes films has been interesting, but few of them have been “good”. This one, however, goes straight past “good” and lands somewhere in “fantastic” territory.

The story of the ape uprising is extremely well crafted. Caesar, played by a motion-captured Andy Serkis and brought to life by technical wizards at WETA, is a fantastic character. He is a miracle ape, one whose intelligence has been elevated far beyond that of the average ape by a medical experiment. His intellect and awareness forces him to battle with his place in life – does he settle for being a glorified pet, or does he make the bold choice to lead an uprising of fellow apes? It’s amazing to see such human issues played out through the eyes of a chimpanzee. It’s a bold choice for a storyline, one that could have collapsed on itself without the technical genius of WETA since so much of the emotion hinges on Caesar.

The movie is packed with a wide range of emotions touching on Alzheimer’s disease, family drama, friendship, animal cruelty, medical ethics, and more, and it presents each character and storyline in a tight, coherent, and powerful package. It also has wonderful action that keeps things flowing along. In any other year, this would easily have been my number one film.  However, another film that continues its own long-running franchise ultimately takes that spot.

5 Stars out of 5

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Harry Potter comes to an end. The last major event for the franchise that first came to the big screen in 2001 finally concluded in 2011. The eighth movie does the esteemed franchise justice, leaving us with the best entry we’ve seen. The movie is an emotionally powerful finale and leaves Harry Potter fans with a bittersweet end to the series we love – we’re happy to have such a fantastic movie and sad that it’s the last.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is an incredibly emotional experience for those of us who grew up with the series. While watching the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort and The Battle for Hogwarts, it is impossible not to reflect on the previous seven films. Each of the movies has done a great job of adapting J.K. Rowling’s ambitious tale of friendship, love, life and death, but this one features the best script, direction, cinematography, special effects, and acting of the entire franchise. This movie culminates in a fantastic send-off for the Harry Potter fans, and it stands out as my top film of 2011.

5 Stars out of 5

Anticipated films of 2012

2012 is shaping up to be an incredible year for film. There are a ton of great movies coming out in the next twelve months that you should all be excited about. There's going to be great action, thrilling horror, fun comedies, and beautiful love stories in theaters later this year.  Here, I give a rundown of some of the highlights on the release calendar, what’s coming and why you should be excited. In no particular order…

The Dark Knight Rises: The final film in the Christopher Nolan-directed and Christian Bale-starring Batman films. The first two films have been a fantastic marriage of style and action. They capture the look and feel of the character from the comic books extremely well, and they’ve become one of the biggest cinema phenomena of the early 2000’s. In this final chapter, we see the climactic end of Batman. I know I’m not the only one who’s excited by the conclusion of this trilogy. I’ve shared the trailer and a poster already on the blog, so check them out.

Prometheus: Ridley Scott comes back to one of his greatest accomplishments, the horror/suspense film that terrifies as effectively today as it did in 1979: Alien. What started as a prequel to the original film became a separate story set in the same universe but removed from Ripley and Xenomorphs. Making this film has reenergized Scott and allowed him to stretch his creative muscles in a familiar setting. The trailer is eerie and atmospheric and hints of great action. We’ll all be at the edge of our seats watching this one.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Peter Jackson is coming back to J. R. R. Tolkien, this time adapting the tale of Bilbo Baggins. It’s another fantasy tale from the Lord of the Rings world, and we all know the amazing things Jackson did the first time around with the LoTR trilogy. Here’s hoping that another trip through the Shire will be as joyous and amazing as our last.

Brave: Pixar’s new film is set in Olde Scotland and mixes in healthy doses of mythology and magic in a tale of a young princess who accidentally unleashes an ancient evil. It’s a Pixar film. Those guys know what they’re doing (I’ll turn a blind eye to the whole Cars franchise) so you know it’s going to be sweet, funny, and generally a good time for all. Every Pixar film is an event to look forward to.

The Amazing Spiderman: A reboot of the Tobey McGuire franchise that started in 2002 and wrapped up in 2007. This one brings in a younger cast, I assume to appeal more to the ‘tweener’ crowd, and shows us his origin story over again. I’m not sure we need another Spidey origin story, but comic books do this sort of thing all the time. I’m curious to see what is so different from the previous three films aside from a younger cast. I’ll be in the theater opening weekend with everyone else, but I’m not sure what we’re going to find. At least we get to see The Lizard this time around.

Skyfall: Daniel Craig’s third outing as British super-spy James Bond. Casino Royale was a great debut from Craig, but problems behind the scenes have plagued the rest of his tenure as Bond. Quantum of Solace was crippled by the writer’s strike of 2007-2008, which forced the production to shoot without a finished script. Financial woes of MGM delayed the start of filming this one by a few years. Finally though, we will see Craig in a new Bond film with all the luxuries afforded to a big-budget production. I consider this a more suitable follow-up to Casino Royale.

The Avengers: Marvel Studios has been building up for this one for the better part of a decade. Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America have had at least one film dedicated to them, and underlying each of them was the potential group film that unites them against a common enemy. They are also using The Avengers as a launching pad for even more comic book heroes such as Hulk and Hawkeye. It’s going to be big and bold and the culmination of a decade-long masterplan. Let’s see if the buildup was worth it.

Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino filming an original script about white plantation owners in the Deep South and their efforts to put down a slave uprising? Sign me up. Tarantino’s last film, Inglourious Basterds, was a great WWII film that took great liberties to tell an alternate, yet very cool, history of the war. With Django, he has assembled another killer cast to tell a killer story.

Lincoln: Steven Spielberg has wanted to film a Lincoln biopic for a long time. He finally gets his chance with none other than Oscar-winner Daniel Day Lewis in the title role. The story focuses on Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War, which you know was ripe for drama. Spielberg gets to take his amazing eye for shooting action and war scenes to a conflict that hasn’t been the subject for a big-budget film in a long while. 

The Hunger Games: So, I’ll admit that I’m not very familiar with this book series. But, judging from the huge piles of books stacked in Barnes & Noble, I gather that it’s pretty popular. The plot synopsis makes it sound like a mash-up of The Running Man and Death Race. I’m not sure how valid that is, but I’m intrigued. Even though the novels are classified as young adult literature and I’m told are quick, fun reads, I’m probably not going to read them before the first film hits theaters. I’m neck deep in George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series and won’t be finished with those massive tomes of awesome for some time.

Total Recall: A remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s awesome action flick, this time starring the significantly less bulky Collin Farrell. While the Governator’s movie took the action to Mars where he has to save the day, the remake plays up the unknown identity aspect of the story. Farrell plays a factory worker who isn’t sure if he’s a spy or for whom he is working. It’s the kind of remake I can get behind, one that doesn’t just copy the original but plays out the themes at the heart of the original by telling a slightly different story.

The Bourne Legacy: The first Jason Bourne without Matt Damon. Jeremy Renner takes over the role of the amnesiac superspy. I’m actually not sure if they are doing a James Bond thing and just bringing in a different person for the lead role or if they are focusing on a new character from Bourne’s failed spy training program. Also new this time around is director Tony Gilroy who steps in for the departed Paul Greengrass. It may seem dire for the star and director to be replaced four films into an established franchise, but Gilroy has had a writers credit on all three previous Bourne films. He knows the franchise and the people involved. Hopefully his vision for the future of the franchise involves less shaky-cam.

There are a ton of other films coming out in 2012 besides these I’ve selected for mention here. Among them:

World War Z

Battleship

The Expendables 2

Wrath of the Titans

Men in Black 3

G. I. Joe: Retaliation

John Carter

Snow White and the Huntsman

Madagascar 3

Ice Age 4

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

The Woman in Black

Premium Rush

The Raven

The Three Stooges

Dark Shadows

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Plus, you never know what hidden gems might be out there that we know nothing about yet. Exciting times lie ahead!

Movies of the Month: January 2012

So, being late on my monthly movie preview is probably not the best way to start out the new year, but, hey, I’ve been busy doing other things for the Holidays. And, I spent a week in Charleston at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference where I presented some of my dissertation research. Gotta get that research out there for the masses to chew over, you know.

Anyhoo, now I’m back with an update for January, which traditionally is a slow month for cinema. January often is used as a dumping ground for films that studios have had sitting around gathering dust. The good news is that the month usually has a fairly diverse group of films coming out, but the bad news is that they are generally smaller films. You probably have a bunch of movies released in December to catch up on anyway.

Week of January 6, 2012

The Devil Inside

The Plot: A woman murders three people during an exorcism. Twenty years later, her daughter tries to find out if her mother really is possessed and enlists the help of a couple of high-tech priests for another exorcism.

Who’s in it? Nobody you would recognize if they passed you on the street.

Ultimate Fate: Paramount picked up this film really cheap and wound up with a surprise hit. I’m getting really tired of the exorcism and mock documentary genres, but I must be in the minority here since this one brought in a ton of cash for the studio. I’m guessing it won’t be long before we hear news of a sequel.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Charleston, South Carolina giving a twenty-minute presentation entitled “Using fractals to describe morphology and ontogeny of lateral line canals of Xiphister (Cottiformes: Zoarcoidei: Stichaeidae) with comparisons to other stichaeids”. Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds.

Week of January 13, 2012

Contraband

The Plot: A former smuggler is drawn back into the game in order to save his brother-in-law and wife from a dangerous drug kingpin.

Who’s in it? Marky Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale

Ultimate Fate: This could be a fun action movie or a total stinker. More likely, it sits in the middle of the road as a perfectly serviceable action film with a few fun moments and lots of forgettable ones. But it does feature Wahlberg scowling, which is worth the price of admission.

Joyful Noise

The Plot: Witness the internal turmoil of a choir group torn between two divas who each think they can lead the group to glory at a national choir competition.

Who’s in it? Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton(!)

Ultimate Fate: Your mother and grandmother will want to watch this while you sneak into Contraband. I guess it could be a funny and uplifting movie for the right audience. I’m not exactly the target demographic for this movie, so I’ll never know. I do know it’s been almost twenty years since Dolly Parton was in a movie, and this was exciting enough for her that she came back. Again, the things that excite Dolly Parton are not likely the things that excite me.

Beauty and the Beast 3D

The Plot: You already know this, right?

Who’s in it? A beauty and a beast

Ultimate Fate: Disney has had a lot of success with re-releasing its classic animated films in 3D format. Lion King 3D was supposed to be a one-week release to coincide with the release of the blu-ray disc, but it stayed in theaters for quite a lot longer and brought in loads of cash for Disney. Don’t be surprised if this one actually takes Number 1 for the weekend, and expect Disney to keep mining their library for the 3D upgrade. They already have Finding Nemo 3D ready to go later this year. They’ll stop doing this when the only film left in the vault for the 3D treatment is Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch will never be forgotten as long as my heart still beats and I still draw breath. Contraband for me!

Week of January 20, 2012

Underworld: Awakening

The Plot: The war between lycans and vampires continues, but this time the humans are drawn in as well. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) escapes from captivity to battle against super-werewolves and human enemies.

Who’s in it? Kate Beckinsale in leather.

Ultimate Fate: It’s an Underworld movie, so it’ll be silly and actiony, and this time it will be presented in 3D for extra excitement. I happen to like these films in a big dumb brute sort of way, although that might be because Kate’s prancing around in leather the whole time.

Haywire

The Plot: Steven Soderbergh brings us a tale of a black ops hitman (er, hitwoman?) who is almost rubbed out by her employer. Now she turns the tables to exact revenge.

Who’s in it? Gina Cerano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender

Ultimate Fate: Soderbergh is a good director, which can hopefully elevate this beyond a standard hitman film. It seems like a basic plot setup to me with the hook being that it’s a girl doing all the vengeance.

Coriolanus

The Plot: Shakespeare wrote it, and Ralph Fiennes updated it for the modern day. Coriolanus (Fiennes) is a soldier who comes home from war a hero and soon finds himself branded a traitor. He then sides with his former enemies to exact vengeance against those who betrayed him.

Who’s in it? Fiennes, Gerard Butler

Ultimate Fate: A modern day telling of Shakespeare’s can either turn out great or mediocre. The story itself will be good, but directing is a new gig for Fiennes, so it remains to be seen if he can pull off the movie. I have high hopes for this one; it has some good elements going for it.

Red Tails

The Plot: Ever seen HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen? It’s that film redone in a big screen format. African American airmen in World War II must prove their worth by defending bombers in some of the most dangerous killing fields over Europe.

Who’s in it? Cuba Gooding Jr., Brian Cranston, Terrence Howard, Method Man

Ultimate Fate: The story of the Tuskegee airmen is a good one with plenty of social, race, and military conflict to provide drama. It’s also set up well as an action story. Aerial dogfights involving P-51 Mustangs will always be fun to watch on the big screen. I’m not sure what they’ll do different to set it apart from the great HBO film though.

The Flowers of War

The Plot: Set during the rape of Nanking in 1937, a western priest shelters a group of women during the siege on the city.

Who’s in it? Christian Bale, Xinyi Zhang, Ni Ni

Ultimate Fate: This film is notable as it served as Batman’s vacation. Christian Bale signed on to star in Yimou Zhang’s period epic mostly because it was an opportunity work in China for a few months. He stars as the western priest in one of the few English-speaking roles in this film by the great Chinese director who brought us Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower. Who know’s if it’s any good, but Zhang knows how to shoot an epic period piece. I’ll be interested to see Bale’s performance, for sure.

Where I’ll be this weekend: I can’t pass up Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leathers fighting her way through a horde of werewolves. Red Tails might also be worth a look.

Week of January 27

The Grey

The Plot: An oil drilling team is lost in the wilds of Alaska with only their wits and Liam Neeson to protect them against a pack of wolves.

Who’s in it? Liam Neeson

Ultimate Fate: This Joe Carnahan directed movie promises to be a pretty fun thriller. The trailer shows Neeson’s character strapping shards of broken glass onto his gloves and fighting a wolf in hand-to-hand (hand-to-snout?) combat. That can’t be so bad, right? I like Carnahan as a director, and I like Neeson in these types of roles.

Man on a Ledge

The Plot: A man accused of stealing a diamond escapes from prison and tries to prove his innocence by… stealing the diamond he was initially accused of stealing. He creates a major distraction for the heist by threatening suicide from the upper floors of a skyscraper.

Who’s in it? Sam Worthington

Ultimate Fate: I happen to like Sam Worthington, so I’m happy anytime he’s on screen. I’m not sure if the rest of the world feels the same way though. Let’s hope that the crazy premise doesn’t collapse into itself in some sort of weird cinematic black hole of suckiness.

One for the Money

The Plot: This is the first novel from the Stephanie Plum series of novels by Janet Evanovich, which I’m sure my mother has read but which I certainly have not. In this first outing, Stephanie decides she should become a bounty hunter after she loses her job. I know a few bail bondsmen (they’re just friendly acquaintances, I swear!), but none of them look like Katherine Heigl.

Who’s in it? Katherine Heigl, Joe Leguizamo

Ultimate Fate: I’m sure this will be a movie that’s popular with the female and date crowd. If it has any success, then Evanovich has about thirty of these books that could be mined into a film franchise.

Where I’ll be this weekend: The Grey. I’ll pay money to watch Liam beat up a wolf with his bare hands. Plus, a good plane crash survival film should keep me on the edge of my seat.

Movie of the Month: As I said, January is one of the duller months at the movie theater, but The Grey seems like it could be the best bang for your buck.