Movie Preview- September 2013

September is usually a very slow month for movies.  It comes in just after the summer blitz has wrapped up, and August has dumped out the all the leftovers, but the (slight) boost given by Halloween horror rarely comes about before the last weekend or the first weekend of October.  Overall, it's mostly a neglected month, where the majority of the huge youth demographic is easing back into school, but the eclectic product that results has a few surprises, and smaller and/or less established fare may get their chance to shine.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your September 2013 wide release lineup:

September 6
RIDDICK  (Sci-Fi/Action) Directed by Dave Twohy; Starring Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff
R for strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
"The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he's encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty. The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won't leave the planet without Riddick's head as their trophy." -Official Synopsis, Universal Pictures

Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick

I still haven't seen the first of the series, PITCH BLACK (2000), let alone the less-reputable PG-13 sequel, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004), but judging by the cult status of the franchise, plus the return of the previous films' director, Twohy, I suspect that this will be a slightly specialized interest.  However, for the invested fans of the franchise, the darker and clearly more R-rated return to form is likely to please.  Financially, it will take some luck to be very successful, as the modestly-budgeted original was only modestly profitable, and the big budget sequel barely squeaked by a profit with the assistance of the international market; yet the previous installment was nearly a decade ago, and even with a more restrained budget, the R rating and potentially confusing sci-fi elements are likely to slim the possibilities for casual moviegoers.

September 13
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2  (Horror/Thriller)  Directed by James Wan; Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey
PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements.
"The famed horror team of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell reunite with the original cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins in INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, a terrifying sequel to the acclaimed horror film, which follows the haunted Lambert family as they seek to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world."  -Official Synopsis, FilmDistrict
The original INSIDIOUS was a surprise hit in 2011, grossing $97 million worldwide off a budget of $1.5 million, and even with the blessing of critics, a relative rarity for the horror genre.  Yet, even with the return of the major cast and crew members, this deserves skepticism; after all, when did you last see a quality horror movie sequel?  The original was probably a little bit of lightning (or a small spark) in a bottle, and the advertising is generic, but the return of James Wan as director just might be a saving grace, this following his critically-acclaimed hit, THE CONJURING, this past July.

THE FAMILY  (Action-Comedy/Crime)  Directed by Luc Besson; Starring Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron
R for violence, language and brief sexuality.
"In the off-beat action comedy "The Family," a mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni (Robert DeNiro), his wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer) and their children Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo) can't help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the "family" way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings in this darkly funny film by Luc Besson (Taken, Transporter)."  -Official Synopsis, Relativity Media
French director/writer/producer Luc Besson (TAKEN, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL, THE FIFTH ELEMENT) is a hate-him-or-love-him talent, and try as I might, I admit to being in the camp of less favorable opinion.  As is apparent in THE FAMILY's advertising campaign, his directorial style is fast and loose, with minimal attention to plot detail and credibility, mixed with a heavy portion of graphic violence.  If that's your thing, than this film is probably right up your alley, but you can keep it.

September 20
BATTLE OF THE YEAR  (Drama/Dance)  Directed by Benson Lee; Starring Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso, Josh Peck, Chris Brown 
PG-13 for language and some rude behavior.
"Battle of the Year is an international dance crew tournament that attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years. Los Angeles Hip Hop mogul Dante (Alonso) wants to put the country that started the Sport back on top. He enlists his hard-luck friend Blake (Holloway), who was a championship basketball coach, to coach his team. Armed with the theory that the right coach can make any team champions, they assemble a Dream Team of all the best dancers across the country. With only three months until Battle of the Year, Blake has to use every tactic he knows to get twelve talented individuals to come together as a team if they're going to bring the Trophy back to America where it started."  -Official Synopsis, Screen Gems
So-called "dance movies" used to be more along the lines of extravagant musicals that allotted extended periods of time for performers like Gene Kelly, the Sharks or the Jets to dance their creative choreography like mad men, and at least one dance movie was actually pornography (looking at you SHOWGIRLS), but sometime around STEP UP, we've found ourselves subjected to a surprising count of urban-set choreography showcases laden with hip hop, barely-dressed young men and women, and lots of twerking.  This is just another one of those.  Stop giving them money.

PRISONERS  (Crime Thriller/Drama)  Directed by Denis Villeneuve; Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano
R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout.
"Keller Dover (Jackman) is facing every parent's worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect's release. Knowing his child's life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?"  -Official Synopsis, Warner Brothers
The story seems a bit like LAW ABIDING CITIZEN except with a conscience, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the cast alone earns a second glance.  The previews we've seen so far have a seething intensity with Jackman colliding with Gyllenhall, and it looks very dark and gritty.  If you have a strong constitution, this will probably be worth a look; I would, however, watch the review trends first.

(Limited Release, Expanding September 27)

"Words Over Face."

RUSH  (Biopic/Sports Drama)  Directed by Ron Howard; Starring Chris Hemsworth, Olivia Wilde, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Bruhl
R for sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use.
"Set against the sexy, glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of a great sporting rivalry between handsome English playboy James Hunt (Hemsworth), and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Austrian driver Niki Lauda (Bruhl). The story follows their distinctly different personal styles on and off the track, their loves and the astonishing 1976 season in which both drivers were willing to risk everything to become world champion in a sport with no margin for error: if you make a mistake, you die."  -Official Synopsis, Universal Pictures
Ron Howard has quite an assortment of both excellent "Oscar-dramas" and crapfests, and now that we've gotten ANGELS & DEMONS and THE DILEMMA, Howard is due for that critical hit, and RUSH looks like a likely candidate.  Oscar buzz for this one actually started trickling in a while back, and the previews exude a sexy, rock-and-roll energy, with Chris Hemsworth, best known as Thor from THE AVENGERS, in the lead as a reckless Formula 1 driver with a death wish.

September 27
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2  (Animated/Family Comedy)  Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn; Featuring the Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Kristen Schaal, Andy Samberg, Will Forte, Terry Crews, James Caan
Not Yet Rated
"Inventor Flint Lockwood's genius is finally being recognized as he's invited by his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, where the best and brightest inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. Chester's right-hand-gal - and one of his greatest inventions - is Barb (a highly evolved orangutan with a human brain, who is also devious, manipulative and likes to wear lipstick). It's always been Flint's dream to be recognized as a great inventor, but everything changes when he discovers that his most infamous machine (which turns water into food) is still operating and is now creating food-animal hybrids - "foodimals!" With the fate of humanity in his hands, Chester sends Flint and his friends on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world again!"  -Official Synopsis, Sony Pictures
In 2009, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS was surprisingly hilarious, and probably the best work that the often abysmal Sony Pictures Animation studio has put out to date, under the talented direction of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, but as they've moved on to 21 JUMP STREET and THE LEGO MOVIE, the greenie team of Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn has been placed in their stead.  Given the new team's more-or-less freshman status, there's little to judge on what they might be capable of, but the advertising has been moderately amusing and severely punny so far.

DON JON  (Romantic-Comedy/Drama)  Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
R for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug use.
"Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to "pull" a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn't compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she's determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt."  -Official Synopsis, Relativity Media
This seemingly unconventional and hard-edged independent romantic comedy debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year to critical acclaim, and despite the trailer's showcasing of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tony Danza sporting "douche-looks," DON JON looks highly promising.  An auteur sort of project for writer/director/star Gordon-Levitt, it looks like an indie romance with a hard and tricky twist that could hurl it in Oscar's way come next January.

This could be the most romantic movie about pornography addiction ever.

BAGGAGE CLAIM  (Romantic Comedy)  Directed by David E. Talbert; Starring Paula Patton, Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Djimon Hounsou
PG-13 for sexual content and some language.
"Determined to get engaged before her youngest sister's wedding, flight attendant Montana Moore finds herself with only 30 days to find Mr. Right. Using her airline connections to "accidentally" meet up with eligible ex-boyfriends and scour for potential candidates, she racks up more than 30,000 miles and countless comedic encounters, all the while searching for the perfect guy."  
This is one of those movies that can best be described as, "it is what it is," and this looks like a stock romantic comedy aimed primarily at African American women; kind of like a Tyler Perry movie, except hopefully more balanced and consistently fluffed.  If that's your bag, then have at it.

AUTUMN MOVIE PREVIEW

The Fall Season for movies is parallel to the Spring season, and runs specifically from Labor Day Weekend, or after Labor Day Weekend, until the end of October, with pre-Thanksgiving November sometimes included.  It's a downtime for the film industry, but not necessarily a dumping ground like the Winter Season.  While Spring is often a testing ground for unproven franchises, Fall is sometimes used as a rehabilitation ground for broken franchises, although occasionally, a lower-rung would-be franchise may test the waters in September-October.  Most of the noteworthy films that are released in the Fall Season tend to be the early Oscar frontrunners; those that wish to avoid being bogged down in the December award-aspiring masses, but must depend on stamina to be relevant later on.  Oddly, only a few horror films come out during the fall season, but those that do are usually stronger bets than those that don't.  Following the colossal success of THE HUNGER GAMES in March 2012, some studios are experimenting with putting some of their tent-poles up in the traditionally slower seasons of Spring and Fall, but most of that won't come until November, which is often considered part of the big Holiday Season.  However, while those films would typically all come out starting with the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, there are some very big films coming out in the first couple weeks of November, like THOR: THE DARK WORLD and ENDER'S GAME.  Although it overlaps with the Holiday Season, this list covers the currently-slated wide releases for the full months of September through November, but part of November will likely be included in the Hoilday Preview, due in late October or early November.

SEPTEMBER
Sept. 6- 
RIDDICK  (Sci-Fi/Action)
Directed by David Twohy
Starring Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff
R for strong violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Interest Level: 2/5
Vin Diesel's sci-fi super fugitive returns; after being left for dead on a desert planet, Riddick once again finds bounty hunters intent on taking his head, but when an alien threat rears its head, he becomes the best hope for his captors.  Returning to an R rating, after the PG-13-rated THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, fans of the character will likely be pleased, but casual moviegoers aren't likely to heed an R-rated sci-fi horror nearly a decade after its last predecessor.

Sept. 13-   
THE FAMILY  (Action-Comedy)
Directed by Luc Besson
Starring Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones
R for violence, language and brief sexuality.
Interest Level: 2/5
French schlock writer/director/producer Luc Besson tries his hand at black comedy in this story of a Mafia family placed in the Witness Protection Program who find that their old habits die hard.  Besson's a somewhat limited taste, and most of his movies are of the love-it-or-hate-it persuasion.  I tend to hate them, myself.

INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2  (Horror/Thriller)
Directed by James Wan
Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins
PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and violence, and thematic elements.
Interest Level: 2/5
Horror sequels rarely, if ever, achieve the quality of the original, and the first INSIDIOUS was pretty shaky at that, but director James Wan is returning, right on the heels of his July critical-commercial hit, THE CONJURING, so there will probably be a few effective scares, but it will take nothing less than a movie miracle to have a decent story structure.

Sept. 20-   
PRISONERS  (Crime Drama/Thriller)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhall, Maria Bello, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis
R for disturbing violent content including torture, and language throughout. 
Interest Level: 3/5
Hugh Jackman plays a Boston father whose young daughter and her best friend disappear, and when a detective (Jake Gyllenhall) releases the only suspect (Paul Dano), believing him mentally incompetent, the father kidnaps the suspects and holds him hostage, torturing him for answers to the mystery of his daughter.  I'm hoping this isn't another disgusting piece of graphic vigilante porn like LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, but it does appear to be more self-aware, as Jackman's character is threatened by the dark places his desperation takes him to.  The cast looks stellar and the previews ooze with intensity.

Sept. 27-
RUSH  (Drama/Biopic)
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Natalie Dormer
R for sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use.
Interest Level: 4/5
Big hit-and-big miss director Ron Howard is due for an Oscar hit about now, and word is that RUSH just might be that, starring THOR-star Chris Hemsworth as real-life Formula 1 racer James Hunt and his rivalry with Niki Lauda in the 1970s.  The vibe is a sexy, party-hard, rough-riding sort, and almost definitely worth a look.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2  (Animated/Family)
Directed by Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
Featuring the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris
PG for mild rude humor.
Interest Level: 3/5
With next year's THE LEGO MOVIE hard at work, the first film's excellent comedy directing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller have not returned for CLOUDY 2, which will likely mean a dint in quality from the hilarious original, but there's not much to judge the minimally experienced new directors by, which could easily be good or bad.  Either way, kids don't really care anyway, and the pun-driven marketing has been moderately amusing so far.

DON JON  (Romantic Comedy)
Directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza
R for strong graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug use.
Interest Level: 5/5
This Sundance hit written/directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt has the look and feel of a charming but generic boy-meets-girl, independent romantic comedy, except that up until he meet the girl, the boy, a successful womanizer, finds his greatest romantic fulfillment in internet porn (solo, you know?), while she's a chick-flick nut.  It actually looks really good.

OCTOBER
October 4-  
GRAVITY  (Suspense/Thriller)
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language.
Interest Level: 5/5
The fact that this is Cuaron's first feature film since CHILDREN OF MEN in 2006 is reason enough to be excited, but this thriller about two astronauts who become stranded in space when a satellite collides with their space shuttle during a routine spacewalk has had some of the most ball-bustingly intense advertising in recent memory.  The fact that the film is largely just Bullock and Clooney stranded in space in their spacesuits sounds potentially dreary and boring, but experience has proven time and again how auteurs blossom so brilliantly in such risky concepts.  This is easily my pick for October.

MACHETE KILLS  (Action/Comedy)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
Starring Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
If your in on the joke, you might just love it; if not, you'll probably hate it.  Robert Rodriguez's filmmaking style is purely about fun, for better or worse, intentionally and lovingly making stinkers from juvenile children's films to ultra-violent shockers, but all with the same gleefully immature and stylized style.  The original was hilariously over-the-top badass as a salute to low-run "grindhouse" fare of the 1960s and 70s, with real-life ex-convict and Rodriguez's second cousin Danny Trejo perfectly cast in the title role, a hardcore Mexican Federale.  I, for one, am interested.

RUNNER RUNNER  (Thriller/Crime Drama)
Directed by Brad Furman
Starring Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Ben Affleck
R for language and some sexual content.
Interest Level: 3/5
Justin Timberlake plays a Princeton student, Richie Furst, who pays his bills with gambling winnings, but believes he's been swindled by an online gambling tycoon, Ivan Block, played by Ben Affleck.  Furst heads to Costa Rica to confront Block and gets swept up in the seedy and sexy life, but menace rears its ugly head when Block shows his brutal side and the FBI requests Furst's cooperation in bringing down the gambling empire.  It's being marketed as a sexy, suspenseful crime thriller, full of the good life and the fall that follows, which isn't too far from THE LINCOLN LAWYER, director Brad Furman's last film, which was well-received.

October 11-   
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS  (Thriller/Historical Drama)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini
PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use.
Interest Level: 5/5
Based on the events that filled the news in April 2009 when Somali pirates hijacked the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Alabama (the first successful pirate hijacking of an American vessel in modern times), where Captain Richard Phillips (played by Hanks) exchanged himself as hostage for the safety of his crew, this sort of material is not very far from Greengrass' excellent work on the 9/11 drama UNITED 93.  As did that film, the previews for CAPTAIN PHILLIPS an in-depth, realistic and multi-faceted portrayal of a real-life terrorist situation with a strong human angle.

October 18-  
CARRIE  (Horror/Thriller)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce
Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Gabriella Wilde
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
Originally slated for this past April, Kimberly Peirce's (BOYS DON'T CRY) remake of the 1976 Brian DePalma classic will now be just in time for Halloween.  As long as you don't have strong attachments to the original, this could be pretty great, with Peirce's indie background having covered some similar ground of cultural outsiders and religious hysteria, plus Chloe Grace Moretz, in the title role, is proving to be one of the best up-and-comers in the industry, including a spectacular other supernatural performance in LET ME IN.

ESCAPE PLAN  (Thriller/Action)
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Sam Neill, Vinnie Jones
R for violence and language throughout.
Interest Level: 1/5
Originally titled THE TOMB, Sly and the Governator's newest attempt to revive their careers and old school action stars the former as Ray Breslin, a prison security expert who breaks out of incarceration for a living to expose design flaws, but once he's inside the most secure prison ever built, he realizes that he's been set up and left inside to rot.  Together with a fellow inmate, Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), he schemes to get out and find out who framed him.  Unfortunately, such action legends seem to have lost most of their luster as they continue to turn in bland results, and this one has a script by the guy who wrote the direct-to-DVD ROAD HOUSE sequel and the guy who wrote MIRROR, MIRROR.

October 25-
THE COUNSELOR  (or THE COUNSELLOR) (Crime Thriller)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Starring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz
R for graphic violence, some grisly images, strong sexual content and language.
Interest Level: 3/5
Michael Fassbender stars as a lawyer who becomes involved with drug trafficking and gets in over head with crime lords after him when money goes missing.  It's the feature film screenwriting debut for Cormac McCarthy, best known as the author of No Country For Old Men, and Ridley Scott directs.  Scott can sometimes be hit-and-miss, but this looks promising as he's covered this territory before with some success (AMERICAN GANGSTER), and he has a cracker-jack cast.

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA  (Comedy) 
Directed by Jeff Tremaine
Starring Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 2/5
This movie suddenly cropped up on the scene after Paramount had second thoughts about churning out another PARANORMAL ACTIVITY sequel, which would have been their fourth annually.  Based on a character from the Jackass television/movie series, Johnny Knoxville, in old age make-up, plays 86-year old Irving Zisman on a cross-country road trip with his 8-year old grandson while they get caught up in stunts and pranks of all kinds of impropriety in the midst of real life situations.  Basically, it looks like a more dumb-ass take on the BORAT formula, but there's that dumb little area in the back of the mind that thinks it looks kind of funny.

NOVEMBER
Nov.1- 
ENDER'S GAME  (Sci-Fi/Action)
Directed by Gavin Hood
Starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
Not Yet Rated (PG-13 Most Likely)
Interest Level: 2/5
The source material, a 1985 science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, will likely be what makes or breaks this film.  Card, and ardent and acid-tongued anti-gay rights (or pro-traditional marriage) activist has alienated much of the film's potential audience, but the book is a science fiction classic with a strong reputation.  I've not read the book, but I'm apprehensive, given the militaristic tone, a weird "child army" theme and the fact that writer/director Gavin Hood's last film was X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, a stinker (which might be blamed on the screenwriters though).  Even still, I'm open to the possibility.

LAST VEGAS  (Comedy)
Directed by Jon Turteltaub
Starring Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Kline
PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and language. 
Interest Level: 3/5
An assortment of geriatric actors star in this comedy about a group of old, and in some cases, estranged, friends who reunite in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of a lifetime for one of them who's getting married to a woman who's half his age.  The preview has a mild charm and there's some mildly amusing gags, but it doesn't look like any sort of potential gut-buster.  The older you are, the more probable it is that you'll enjoy it, but in the end, it will probably be the prestigious cast that saves the day from director Jon Turteltaub, who has a weak reputation.

FREE BIRDS  (Children's Animated/Comedy)
Directed by Jimmy Hayward
Featuring the Voices of Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG)
Interest Level: 1/5
Reel FX Creative Studios' animated feature film theatrical debut is this computer-animated comedy about Reggie, a president-pardoned turkey (v. Owen Wilson), and Jake (v. Woody Harrelson), leader of the Turkey's Liberation Front, who hijack a top secret government time machine to travel back to the first Thanksgiving and prevent turkeys from becoming the holiday's main course.  From the director of HORTON HEARS A WHO and JONAH HEX (what a repertoire!), this looks barely a step above the animated tripe that the Weinstein Company puts in the slow seasons for some easy pocket lining, which is a shame, because there are so few actual "Thanksgiving movies."  Four-year olds will probably enjoy it, but take a look at the other stuff they enjoy and consider.

Nov. 8-    
THOR: THE DARK WORLD  (Action-Adventure/Sci-Fi-Fantasy)
Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings
(PG-13 Expected)
Interest Level: 4/5
After seven films released so far, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as they call it, has come to be a pretty safe bet.  Although THOR was one of the weaker films of Marvel Studios' "Phase One" series (which culminated in THE AVENGERS), it was still a fun film with a magnetic cast, especially Hemsworth and Hiddleston, the latter who stole the show in THE AVENGERS as Loki, and the follow-up promises something grittier and more epic, which is certainly preferable.  Under the direction of television director Alan Taylor (after MONSTER director Patty Jenkins, an intriguing prospect, was regrettably fired), best known for his work on Game of Thrones, the tone looks to be more LORD OF THE RINGS than the first film's Buck Rogers aesthetic.

Nov. 15-   
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET  (Biopic/Comedy-Drama)
Directed by Martin Scorcese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Christine Ebersole, Jean Dujardin
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely R)
Interest Level: 4/5
Scorcese remains one of the most talented filmmakers working today, so anything with his name on it is worth a look, but this zany black comedy based on the life of white collar-criminal Jordan Belfort, filled with Wall Street 1% excesses and starring Scorcese's new DeNiro, DiCaprio (their fifth collaboration), looks like an especially intriguing prospect, likely to be among the big names at the Academy Awards next year.

THE BOOK THIEF  (Drama)
Directed by Brian Percival
Starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Sophie Nelisse
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG-13)
Interest Level: 1/5
Judging by the single preview to date, this looks like another syrupy would-be-inspirational drama that uses the horrors of the Third Reich as a backdrop. The director, Brian Percival, is known for his work on the highly-popular television series, Downton Abbey, and the film is adapted from an acclaimed novel of the same title about a girl's relationship with her foster parents in Nazi Germany and steals condemned books to share with those in her household, including the Jewish refugee which her family harbors.

THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY  (Comedy/Drama)
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Starring Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG-13)
Interest Level: 1/5
This looks like a cliched niche product, with a formulaic story about old friends who reunite for the first time after fifteen years for a Christmas get together, and then find old rivalries and romances bubble up.  It's the same story that's been done a dozen times over, this time with African-American suburbanites, and of course, one of the women is unreasonably horny.  Still, there's probably a market for it, and it doesn't look as bad as Malcolm D. Lee's last movie, SCARY MOVIE V.

Nov. 22-
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE  (Action/Thriller)
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language.
Interest Level: 5/5
The single reason for any apprehension I have is that the director of the first film, Gary Ross, has been replaced by the somewhat less consistent Francis Lawrence, after Ross demanded a bigger cut, but Lawrence isn't all bad, and although I've not read the books, I hope it might get by on the strength of the source material. 

DELIVERY MAN  (Comedy-Drama)
Directed by Ken Scott
Starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders
PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, some drug material, brief violence and language.
Interest Level: 3/5
The premise of one man discovering that he inadvertently fathered 533 children as a sperm donor is a very amusing one, but Vince Vaughn has had a pretty steady string of bombs for the past few years, and here he plays what looks like his usual schtick as the put-upon underachiever.  It's also a remake of a French-Canadian independent hit, STARBUCK, with the same director on board for the American version.  The preview is moderately amusing, especially with Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt as Vaughn's best bud, but it could slip into hokey melodrama.  Keep an eye out for the reviews on this one.

Nov. 27-
FROZEN  (Family-Animated/Adventure)
Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Featuring the Voices of Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk
Not Yet Rated (Most Likely PG)
Interest Level: 4/5
Notes:  Although the only trailer so far, a teaser, was a very disappointing display of rote slapstick between formulaic Disney sidekicks, I have faith in this one.  With 2010's TANGLED and last year's WRECK-IT RALPH, Walt Disney Animation seems to have gotten back into their proper stride, and many of the same who worked on those films are behind this new film loosely-based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, a Disney project which has been in and out of "production hell" for decades.  The story, heavily modified from the original source, involves

OLDBOY  (Mystery-Thriller/Action)
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring Josh Brolin, Sharlto Copley, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson
R for strong brutal violence, disturbing images, some graphic sexuality and nudity, and language. 
Interest Level: 2/5
Controversey-meister Spike Lee hasn't had a hit since 2006's INSIDE MAN, but his new film already has a certain familiarity as a remake of the 2003 Japanese thriller/shocker of the same American release title, about a man mysteriously imprisoned for fifteen years who seeks revenge after escaping.  For those who've seen the original, this is a really tough sell, especially given the weight of the plot revelations, but the talent involved is otherwise promising.  Expect lots of gnarly carnage and gritty modern noir.

Back to School Movies!

Even though we tend to speak of returning to school as an autumn thing, most of us are actually more familiar with that event showing up just a little bit earlier, towards the end of August, still a little bit in the summer, but movies play along just fine, as the summer movie season only lasts through August, and not always clear through.  Academic institutions as a setting are a staple of movies, and many American film classics have been rooted within the high school and university environments.  There's very little in the way of elementary school-set films though, because little kids are boring and stupid, and junior high/middle school movies are usually the domain of the Disney Channel and their ilk, because only junior high/middle school students can tolerate junior high/middle school students.  While there are plenty of great films that are about school-age kids where school plays a minor role, for this list, we're going to stick primarily to the movies wherein school (or its directly associated issues) is a major factor.  Even still, this is not a definitive list, but merely a sampler, and unfortunately, the aptly-titled Rodney Dangerfield comedy, BACK TO SCHOOL, will not be appearing, because I haven't seen it all the way through.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB
Even if I didn't love THE BREAKFAST CLUB, there just isn't any way you can have a list like this without it present.  Of course, it's the kind of movie that everyone spouts praise for, but I was a little apprehensive myself at first, considering the anticipated levels of teen angst, griping and social clique critiquing, but even with its 1980s calling cards, it remains an enduring and insightful film that handles its characters and themes with honesty and enough realism, while also indulging in a little dream fulfillment.

SUPERBAD
This just might be my favorite film on this list.  It was one of the first R-rated movies that I ever saw, and when I first saw it, I thought it was hilarious and was shocked at its brazenness, but I didn't fully appreciate it until a couple years later.  It's not a terribly original concept, a few high school senior dorks on an epic quest to lose their virginity, in this case involving said dorks' pursuit of booze with which to impress their female interests at a party while subsequently inhibiting their judgements; but its heartfelt undercurrent, which blossoms up in the third act, is about lifelong friends reaching the end of a high school experience after which they'll be forced separate ways, and finding fulfillment in honest relationships.  Plus it's really funny and twisted.

ANIMAL HOUSE
The original National Lampoon movie, ANIMAL HOUSE ushered in a new era of film comedy, with the "Film Brats" generation behind the wheel.  I suspect its reputation soars more heavily on nostalgia and a couple of the performances (from a cast of rising stars) than quality, it's pretty funny at times and clearly has something going for it for how enduring it's proven to be.  There's not much of a concrete story, as the shabby fraternity Delta Tau Chi at Faber College, fights for their existence against the conniving Dean Wormer, and get into all kinds of frat-boy hijinks.  As loose a story as it is, it been played out time and again in subsequent imitators, most recently in this past summer's MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, but the real reason to see it is John Belushi in the role of definitive college badass, John "Bluto" Blutarsky.

Life in its prime.

MEAN GIRLS
This 2004 high school laugh riot was somewhat mismarketed (if not necessarily ill-served) as a chick flick, but to note that 30 Rock creator Tina Fey penned the screenplay and co-stars reveals more about what this film really is.  Already, it's something of a minor classic, especially amongst the past few high school student bodies, although it's certainly unfortunate how a large portion of its most enthusiastic fan-base are among those the film satirizes, but I guess that says something about how most teens feel about themselves.  The story is simple and not very original, as Lindsay Lohan (remember when she wasn't crazy?) plays a new student, previously home-schooled in Africa, and climbs the social hierarchy, stepping on unfortunates as she turns from nice new girl to queen bee, but the film soars on its comedy.

"Why are you dressed so scary?

EASY A
Sharp-tongued girl-next-door Emma Stone carries Will Gluck's salute to John Hughes up and out from what may have been a decent but forgettable teen comedy, using her considerable charisma and charm as Olive Penderghast, a well-behaved and under-the-radar young woman who inadvertently starts a rumor about herself having an active sex life, which she then uses to her social and financial advantage, like a strictly word-of-mouth prostitute.  It also has a great moral that is so often rejected in favor of the exact opposite in teen movies, that, as one character says, "Let your freak flag fly. Just make sure you have an exit strategy."  Be yourself, but don't f*** up your options.

ELECTION
While refusing to conclude with simplicity, ELECTION indulges us in a little bit of revenge fantasy, as high school teacher Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick) locks horns with obnoxiously chipper and overachieving student and student body president candidate Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon).  We've all known a Tracy Flick or two; the classmate or colleague with so much ambition layered over with thick, saccharine goody-goodness, and that darker side of us would love to see them crushed.  This black comedy knows well enough not to play as dream fulfillment, but it allows the viewer to handle these feelings comfortably and harmlessly with brazen hilarity.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
One of the best movies ever made about the high school experience, even in the midst of the high school movie-defining 1980s, the script was Cameron Crowe's film debut, based off his book which he wrote as a Rolling Stone magazine writer, reportedly undercover as a student in a San Diego high school.  The film follows the experience of several Ridgemont High students as they experience first loves, sex, breakups, academic obstacles and prepare to be thrust into the adult world.  It's one of the more realistic and heartfelt films about high school, while also milking such life experiences for gut-busting comedy.

HEATHERS
After the Columbine shootings, and other prominent school massacres since, HEATHERS, a 1998 black comedy, soared to a whole new level of disturbing.  It's the story of Veronica (Winona Ryder), a high school student who's fed up with the school's nasty clique, "the Heathers," just as she becomes acquainted with J.D. (Christian Slater), a psychotic student and social outsider, whose solution begins with scaring the hell of bullies (i.e. firing blanks at them in the cafeteria), but quickly escalates into murder and full-blown massacre.  Tonally inconsistent, it shifts jarringly between dark comedy and very dark thriller, but Slater's performance is intensely riveting.  Over the years, it's become a cult classic, but be careful about the mental stability of those you let watch it.

BACK TO THE FUTURE
A genuinely feel-good film if there ever was one, and the definitive time travel tale of modern times, BACK TO THE FUTURE is an American classic that reminds us the 1950s were fun and a little bit dirty, and that without a comeback for the DeLorean, time travel will never be worth our time.  Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a rock-and-rollin' lad of 1985 who just doesn't get his dorky parents, is accidentally sent back in time to 1955 while assisting eccentric scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) in an experiment, then accidentally alters history, threatening his existence.  In the midst of his efforts make amends before returning to 1985, Marty discovers how much in common he has with his parents, and the similar urges and insecurities they went through as well.

AMERICAN PIE
Other films may have done it better since, and the merciless barrage of sequels (especially the shoddy straight-to-video cash-grabs) may have soiled its reputation some, but the 1999 film the breathed new life into the raunchy teen comedy was funny and heartfelt prototype for the Judd Apatow hits that were yet to come.  The story about four high school chums who make a pact to lose their virginity before graduating may be an unsettling concept, and yes, there's lots of disgusting shock humor and raunch, but deep down, it has a sweet and gooey center.

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
The quirky independent sleeper hit that gave Idaho an identity and revised junior high-high school lingo for a few years, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is too quirky for some, but for many, its representation of high school life in a rural area, where farmers abound, llamas are pets and local industry is scant and necessarily innovative, is honest and relatable, and very funny to boot.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
Although it barely manages to stay afloat, this decent high school rom-com is well-recognized as the teen chick flick that was adapted from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.  Kat (Julia Stiles) is the resident bitch at her high school, but her younger sister, Bianca, is not allowed to date until Kat does, so  Bianca's suitors arrange for Patrick (Heath Ledger), a sullen teen rebel, to seduce her.  It plays a lot of the cliches and strains credulity at moments, but Stiles and Ledger (his breakout American role) make for magnetic leads with strong chemistry.  If you need a date movie, you could do much worse.

21 JUMP STREET
The 1980s television series from which this film was adapted had a shaky credibility as a drama to say the least, in which baby-faced cops went undercover at a high school through infiltration as students, so when the comically-brilliant directing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (previously known for the family animated feature CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS) turned it on its head as an R-rated comedy, it works better than ever before.  Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill play the buffoonish cops who are assigned to take down a synthetic drug ring in a local high school, but while Tatum was the popular jock and Hill the picked-on nerd during their 1990s school years, they find the social hierarchy switched around, with Tatum's image-conscious brutishness making him an outcast and Hill's awkward savvy puts him in the in-crowd.  And the results are gut-bustingly hilarious.

FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF
THE BREAKFAST CLUB's main contender for most popular John Hughes film, FERRIS BEULLER takes a more fantastical route by indulging bad behavior fantasies and an overall fluffier and funnier tone, as Ferris (Matthew Broderick), the paragon of the high school senior's dream, lives a carefree life with his hot girlfriend and uptight best friend while taking an epic day off from school, while the obsessed vice principal, Mr. Rooney (Jeffery Jones) pursues him to no avail.

Some people have high school-related nightmares where they forget their locker combination; I have nightmares about sitting through another teacher's "Bueller?  Bueller?" imitation.

BLACKBOARD JUNGLE
While it's strongest claim to fame is for popularizing the Bill Haley and His Comets song "Rock Around the Clock," thus marking the cultural introduction of rock and roll for the cinema (reportedly, certain theaters cut the song from their prints), it was also an early hit for Sidney Poitier and the screen debut for Vic Morrow.  Mostly though, it's a super over-the-top shock drama stuck in the 1950s, and good for laughs, especially a switchblade fight that plays out between a teacher and a crazed student in the film's climax.

DEAD POETS SOCIETY
Some movies are so sincere and ambitious in their desire to inspire that society will inevitably love it so much that the film eventually suggests farce, and DEAD POETS SOCIETY is one such.  If you can block out your cynicism and cultural awareness, it is still a well-crafted and thought-provoking film.  If you've ever been subjected to the words "carpe diem" by a peer consumed with self-grandiosity, you can blame DEAD POETS SOCIETY, which brought the phrase into mainstream popularity, and if you've ever seen a hokey drama about young people coming of age in their school uniforms (produced post-1980s), it's undoubtedly on of the many imitators.  Believe it or not though, the original is not quite so annoying, and even powerful at times, although I'm sure it was more actually "inspiring" in 1989.  It's not like it didn't inspire hundreds of people to become teachers the way RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK inspired future archeologists, after all.

GREASE
This really is much more a movie for the ladies, which is fine and all, but guys like myself aren't nearly as likely to connect.  It's the kind of story to give parents cold sweats; a high school romance between a good girl and a greasy guy, with an overall moral that if it's true love, the lady will give up her prudish standards, the queen bee's pregnancy scare will prove false and lover's will drive away into the clouds in a flying T-Bird; and all of this accompanied by catchy, high-energy, innuendo-laden musical numbers.  It's astonishingly politically-incorrect, enormously popular and seductively energetic.  On a side note, ironically, this is a musical wherein an unredeemed character is ridiculed with anti-gay slurs for comedic effect... in a musical.

MATILDA
It may star the insufferably saccharine and lispy 1990s child star Mara Wilson, but do not be fooled; this fantasy comedy directed by co-star Danny DeVito is another excellent showcase for his talent for black humor, and it has a delicious mean streak, even if its nerve softens by the end.  Matilda Wormwood is a hyper-intelligent little girl in a family of unscrupulous morons, and when she goes to school, she faces a ridiculously sadistic principal who hurls children by their pigtails and forces fat kids to eat grotesque amounts of chocolate cake at school assemblies.  If your a sappy parent with concerns for your impressionable children though, fear not, there's a benevolent teacher and a happy ending.

It's too awesome that "elements of exaggerated meanness and ridicule" was an official reason for the PG rating.

SCHOOL OF ROCK
Richard Linklater is best known for a formidable career in independent filmmaking, but in 2003 he teamed up with ORANGE COUNTY-writer Mike White to foray into the mainstream scene (or, at least, more mainstream) and made comedian Jack Black a household name, starring as burnt-out rocker Dewey Finn, who finds a way to make ends meet by intercepting a substitute teaching gig from his roommate.  While teaching cynical and inappropriate lessons to the private school class, he devises a plan to win the Battle of the Bands with his new students.  The film was a huge surprise hit, and critically acclaimed by critics.  Its PG-13 rating, primarily for a couple comic dialogue references to drugs and some sparse crass phrases, may be misleading, given that it's more appropriate for elementary school kids than some of the PG-rated tripe that's frequently marketed at them.

"Get off your 'ath,' let's do some math!"

Review: THE WORLD'S END

THE WORLD'S END  (ACTION-COMEDY/SCI-FI)
Three and a Half Stars out of Four
Directed by Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan
R for pervasive language including sexual references.
Verdict: Although it's too soon to fully assess where it fits into the "Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy," THE WORLD'S END finishes the trilogy strongly, and is a fast, funny and layered comedy.  It's of a slightly different brand than its brothers, SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, but usually in good ways, such as flipping the tables on the Simon Pegg-Nick Frost character dynamics, and it's just an overall fascinating twist on the Body Snatchers tale.
YOU MAY LIKE THE WORLD'S END IF YOU LIKED:
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
HOT FUZZ (2007)
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (2010)
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
SLITHER (2006) 

English writer/director Edgar Wright is a great filmmaker rising fast within the industry, despite never having directed a major hit (although he co-wrote Steven Spielberg's international hit, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN).  His films, however, have consistently had more successful shelf lives as cult classics with highly-devoted fan-bases, and hopefully he'll be able to hit mainstream popularity in 2015, when his addition to Marvel's Avengers, ANT-MAN hits theaters.  What may remain the crown jewel of his career though, or, at least for the early stage of his film-making career, is the "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy," also known as the "Cornetto Trilogy," or the "Blood & Ice Cream Trilogy."  For us Yanks unfamiliar with the brand name, Cornetto is a brand of ice cream, which, much like a Drumstick ice cream cone, is a store-bought, factory-packaged ice cream cone.  In the 2004 zombie apocalypse comedy, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, it was strawberry; in the 2007 satiric buddy-cop action-comedy, HOT FUZZ, it was the "original blue" (whatever the hell that means).  A more relevant connection through the trilogy is the teaming of writer/director Wright, writer/star Simon Pegg and co-star Nick Frost, while paying homage to a sub-genre of film, from zombies, to super-cops, and now, alien invasions.
THE WORLD'S END is the deepest, and seems to be the most personal, of the trilogy, covering themes of middle age, alienation from and obsession with selected memories, human individuality and societal order.  Quite an assortment of ambitions for a low-brow sci-fi-comedy, no?
In 1990, five friends, with their ringleader, Gary "The King" King (Simon Pegg), set forth on an epic quest in their hometown of Newton Haven.  Their goal: the Golden Mile; and infamous pub crawl through twelve pubs, a pint of ale for each man at each pub.  The final pub on the map was The World's End, but none of them ever made it so far, and it was the greatest time of Gary's entire life, so the prologue informs us.  Twenty years later, the boys; Gary, Oliver "O-Man" Chamberlain (Martin Freeman), an uptight Bluetooth-wielding real estate agent; Steven Prince (Paddy Considine), a recently-divorced architect who still holds a grudge over a romantic rivalry with Gary;  Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), the wimpy tag-along of the group who now sells cars for with his dad; and Andrew Knightley (Nick Frost), a stuffy lawyer who used to be Gary's best mate before something happened that destroyed their friendship; have all grown-up and moved on, except for Gary, who remains hopelessly trapped in the dreams of that one night when he was King, drank 11 pints and had a moment with Oliver's sister, Sam (Rosamund Pike), in one of the pub bathroom stalls.  But they never did make it to The World's End, and so, very much like a wraith returning from the past, Gary shows up to pull his old mates back together so that they can return to Newton Haven and go for the Golden Mile once more.  Once there, however, they make a series of discoveries that indicate the town that they thought they left behind is not what they thought it was, or even what it really was, parallel to the discoveries that they make about one another and who they really are, as opposed to who they thought they were.

In a summer that had an IRON MAN movie, Gary King is still the biggest asshole of a protagonist.

I love SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ (with SHAUN getting a slight edge), but it took a couple of viewings to really appreciate them for myself, and I suspect repeat viewings are warranted for THE WORLD'S END to be better appreciated, but even then, the value of repeated viewing is clear here simply to pick out all the parallels and contrasts between the interwoven layers of this intelligent film.  There are quite a few things going on here, and a lot of it has multiple meanings at play, even when the most apparent going-ons may seem so ridiculous.
Wright's top-notch knowledge of cinema makes it especially fun for movie buffs, as the film pays tribute, both very subtle and unspecific, and directly addressed, to classic films, in this case, largely of the sci-fi conspiracy thrillers that hit their peak during the second Red Scare and which John Carpenter revived in the 1980s, such as THEY LIVE!, among others.  Those who are not cinema aficionados are unlikely to feel left out though, as the jokes are fast and hilarious, the action is inventive and furious, and the relationships and emotions are real and honest enough for almost any audience member.
As THE WORLD'S END wraps up a very lackluster summer full of bland and generic bombast, it's a pleasant consolation to get something as refreshing, inventive, wise and heartfelt as this.

Review: BLUE JASMINE

BLUE JASMINE  (Drama/Comedy)
Three and a Half Stars out of Four
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard
PG-13 for mature thematic material, language and sexual content.
Verdict:  The boldly unlovable BLUE JASMINE is one of Woody Allen's better films as of late, taking his fondness for neurotic characters with vain personalities to a darker level, similar to his 1989 minor classic, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS.  It's difficult to say what about the film is so appealing, be it schadenfreude, the craft or whatever else, because it's so acidic and ultimately a downer, but the more devoted faction of moviegoers are likely to recognize an uncomfortably pleasurable value to it, while casual moviegoers may be less consistently pleased.  However you receive the film though, Cate Blanchett's performance as the titular character is irrefutably absorbing and a definite contender at the upcoming Oscars.
YOU MAY LIKE BLUE JASMINE IF YOU LIKED:
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989)
ANNIE HALL (1977)
THE AVIATOR (2004)
AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)

I don't care much for the A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, the story of a Southern Belle woman fallen from grace after her husband's suicide, who has a total meltdown and moves in with her lower-class sister and her greasy, brutish lover.  It's a classic, I know, but watching Vivien Leigh flutter about a New Orleans apartment while dreamily reminiscing and criticizing and griping in her wispy Southern twang makes me want to break things.
Ironically, I did enjoy Woody Allen's latest film, BLUE JASMINE, though, which could be well described as a "re-imagining" of the classic Tennessee Williams play, later adapted as an Elia Kazan film, relocated to a contemporary San Fransisco setting.  And yet, I cannot quite pinpoint what it is that makes it so satisfying; I doubt that it would be a pleasant experience for most mainstream audiences, but perhaps it is a form of satisfaction not bound to entertainment or pleasantries.  Still, it might merely be the sensation of schadenfreude from watching terrible people do terrible things and then reap the terrible consequences.
Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett plays the titular character, Jasmine Francis, the high-strung and vapid wife of Hal, a Wall Street aristocrat (Alec Baldwin).  After Hal is incarcerated for running a Bernie Madoff-like investment scam and commits suicide in his prison cell, Jasmine is forced to turn to her blue-collar adoptive sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins).  Jasmine's fragile, pill-popping state-of-being is strained by living in her sister's cheap apartment with Ginger's two boys, working as a receptionist in a dental office where her boss makes relentless advances, and as she clashes with Chili (Bobby Cannavale), Ginger's grease monkey fiance.
Jasmine is a narcissistic and utterly unpleasant woman with an elegant demeanor constantly on the brink of collapse; an unlikely person to choose to spend an hour and forty minutes with, but somewhere between the combined talents of Blanchett and Allen, they make it work.  Don't mistake me; she is not likable, and hardly sympathetic, but there is something oddly endearing about her which allows the audience to root for her as she bemoans her just desserts and hurts those around her; goodness knows why.
The cast is excellent all around, but Blanchett's performance deserves special recognition as certainly stunning and absorbing, and she's sure bet to be nominated (again) in the Best Actress category at this year's Oscars, although the cynics who go in for this sort of movie can easily enough point out that as stellar a performance it is, it's still pretty standard Oscar-material, i.e. mental instability, bitterness, pill-popping, etc.
It's relevant and engaging, but it's tricky to identify a point.  It is, in all ways, a downer, and yet, I found myself grinning quite a lot.

Review: THE BUTLER

LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER  (DRAMA/BIOPIC)
Three Stars out of Four
Directed by Lee Daniels
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, John Cusack, Liev Schreiber, James Marsden, Robin Williams, Minka Kelly, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Alex Pettyfer
PG-13 for some violence and disturbing images, language, sexual material, thematic elements and smoking.
Verdict:  Given the perils of so-called "important film"-making, it's a testament to the talent and/or luck involved that THE BUTLER isn't a wreck, and could be hailed alone for being as much as a "good" movie.  But for as important as themes of the film are, a fact of which the filmmakers are enormously aware, it's a missed opportunity that THE BUTLER is no more than merely good.  The cast is one of the most impressive ensembles ever put together for a film and Daniels deserves huge commendations for facing the ugly realities of the Jim Crow South and Civil Rights Era tensions head on, but the enormous ambitions and perilously difficult "story of a life" material are almost too much to be managed here.
YOU MAY LIKE LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER IF YOU LIKED:
FORREST GUMP (1994)
JFK (1991)
PRECIOUS (BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE) (2009)
THE GREAT DEBATERS (2007)
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER (previously titled THE BUTLER, before another studio's claim on the title for a little-known 1916 film resulted in the Weinstein Company adding their director's name to the title) deals with some of the most ambitious and precarious topics known to the film industry.  It aims to tell the story of a man's life, beginning with his childhood and concluding in his old age, as he witnesses history in the making, from the violence and oppression of the Jim Crow South, through the breaking point tension of the Civil Rights Era, and right up to as far as the 2008 presidential election.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences loves this stuff (just ask FORREST GUMP), but it's also a huge risk that invites cynicism as nostalgia, manipulative sentimentality and self-importance are naturally-occurring common factors to such material.  THE BUTLER stumbles into these pitfalls more than just a few times throughout its 132 minutes, and while it falls well short of the greatness it aspires to and ought to be, it is a remarkable feat alone that it manages to at least be a "good film," if nothing more.
THE BUTLER is inspired by the true life story of Eugene Allen, an African-American butler who served at the White House for 34 years, through eight presidential administrations, and retired in 1986 as the head butler.  In the script, written by Danny Strong (known for the HBO political drama, GAME CHANGE), Eugene Allen is changed to Cecil Gaines (played as an adult by Forest Whitaker), who grows up on a Georgia plantation in the 1920s, working in the cotton fields with his parents, when one day, the plantation master drags Cecil's mother (Mariah Carey) into the barn and rapes her.  When Cecil's father tries to protest, he's shot through the head, and Cecil's traumatized mother never speaks again.  All but parent-less,

Whitaker and Oprah looking as dramatic as possible

Cecil is from then on raised as a "house-n*****," learning to serve the household silently and invisibly until he leaves as a teenager and is hired as a servant in a bakery, where he further refines his trade under the tutelage of the master servant.  As an adult, Cecil becomes a servant in an upper-class club, from which he is recommended by an Eisnehower Administration member to the White House service staff.
As a butler, Cecil serves elegantly under eight presidents played by an all-star set of actors including Robin Williams (yes, the Robin Williams) as Eisenhower, James Marsden as Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Johnson, John Cusack as Nixon and Alan Rickman as Reagan; the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter years are brushed over with archival footage montages.  In his private life, Cecil struggles to balance his devotion to his work and to his wife, Gloria (Oprah Winfrey), while periodically clashing with his son, Louis (David Oyelowo), over the years as Louis rides the waves of the Civil Right Movement and Cecil keeps a low political profile for his work (as his superior informs him, "There is no tolerance for politics in the White House.").

Comedy legend Robin Williams as Pres. Eisenhower, our funniest president.

A particular issue for THE BUTLER, which strains its credibility, is the "political landmarking," as Cecil's freedom-fighter son is conveniently present most of the major Civil Rights Era events, from youth sit-ins, to the Freedom Riders to the Black Panthers, as if the participating groups were largely made up of the same people going from place to place.  While FORREST GUMP can get away with that kind of thing thanks to a whimsical demeanor, a necessarily more-grounded film like THE BUTLER might have done better to use other methods of involving those events, while directly placing its characters in fewer of them.
In the last scenes, in which the presidential election of Barack Obama becomes very prominent, the film almost begins to smack of being a full-blown campaign commercial, were it not for Obama already having won his second and final term (that is until he eradicates the two-term limit, declares himself Supreme Overlord and abolishes religion; don't laugh, it's true!), although this is almost excusable, given that the official source material that inspired the script was an article that coincided with the 2008 election.
The film's cast is one of the most impressive ever assembled, with even some of the very minor characters being played by big-name stars, i.e. Mariah Carey as Cecil's mother who has less than a minute of screen-time and perhaps a single line at most, or MAGIC MIKE-hunk Alex Pettyfer, who briefly appears as the plantation owner who rapes Cecil's mother before shooting Cecil's father.  This is occasionally to the film's disadvantage though, when recognizable faces show up with facial prosthetics and imitating historical figures, especially Cusack as Nixon, who plays the part blustery enough, but looks like Cusack wearing a false nose.  Rickman, the excellent English actor known for playing Hans Gruber in DIE HARD and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, looks the part of Ronald Reagan surprisingly well though, while Robin Williams gets by fine as Eisenhower, by doing his usual dramatic schtick of playing toned down and

Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda as the Reagans

soft-spoken.
One of the worst things a Civil Rights drama can do is to gloss over the violence, like the lukewarm but popular 2011 film, THE HELP.  It downplays the threat and sacrifice that was there and dishonors those who fought for their rights as free people, and in a potentially very saccharine and sentimental drama like THE BUTLER, it could be downright fatal.  Lee Daniels does not avoid the issue at all though, as he forces us to flinch at the terror that really was, which boosts the film by being honest and true to its material, while also balancing out the more syrupy moments.  Despite the PG-13 rating, some scenes of the Jim Crow South and civil protest backlash are fairly graphic and not for the weak of constitution, so there's your warning.
Finally, although the subject matter and many of the people involved should make evident, this is a rather liberal film.  I'm sorry conservatives, but the Civil Rights Era, and civil rights in general, have just never really been your strong suit, so the material is naturally more of a liberal persuasion, but add on top of all that that this is a film that stars and is co-produced Oprah (along with 40 other producers and executive producers!), and stars Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan and John Cusack as Richard Nixon, it should be super obvious that this movie about politics has a liberal opinion.  Apparently not though, as all the whispering and muttering shot off in the central Utah screening I was at, as Reagan refused to impose sanctions on South Africa for Apartheid and Cecil cried as the television announced Barack Obama's election.
We'll see what Oscar thinks next January, but I suspect they'll look for the best way to honor it without too prominently praising the Oscar-bait.  Either way, it's a pretty good film, that simply isn't as important as it clearly knows it should be when it dedicates itself to those who fought for their human rights.

Summer Catch-Up Blitz

Sometimes I don't get around to seeing a movie until well into its release, at which point I generally figure most people who were particularly interested have already seen it and moved on, so I don't feel the posting of a full review is necessary.  However, for the sake of completion, here I'll fill in on those films from the Summer 2013 season in an efficient, brief manner.

MUD  (Adventure/Thriller), Directed by Jeff Nichols, Starring Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Reese Witherspoon and Sam Shepard
PG-13 for some violence, sexual references, language, thematic elements and smoking.
Three and a Half out of Four Stars
This Mark Twain-inspired coming-of-age adventure set on the banks of the Mississippi River where two young boys agree to help a fugitive reunite with his "true love" is occasionally a tad cryptic and distant, but is mostly a gripping and flavorful piece with beautiful, rustic scenery, and an excellent performance by McConaughey, whose recent return to darker, more complex independent roles has proven to be very fruitful.

NOW YOU SEE ME  (Mystery/Thriller), Directed by Louis Leterrier, Starring Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, Melanie Laurent
PG-13 for language, some action and sexual content.
Two and a Half out of Four Stars
The story of the "Four Horsemen," in this case, a troupe of illusionists who pull off elaborate heists in the midst of their performances, is truly bizarre at times, as they follow instructions from a mysterious benefactor, and hit-and-miss director Leterrier can't add much substance to the material, but the set-ups, flashy spectacle and performances all have an electric energy that sucks the viewer in anyway, if loosely and in purely an escapist sense.  The interrogations, as highlighted in the advertising, are especially witty and entertaining.

THE HEAT  (Action Comedy), Directed by Paul Feig, Starring Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy
R for pervasive language, strong crude content and some violence.
Two and a Half Stars out of Four
THE HEAT is a film with simple desires; it is a buddy cop film that switches out the gender of its main characters.  Sandra Bullock is FBI Special Agent Ashburn, a straight-laced overachiever up for promotion, whose showy precision gets on the nerves of her co-workers, while Melissa McCarthy plays Boston Police Detective Mullins, a foul-mouthed loose cannon.  The two are forced together on the case of a new drug lord, and clash at first and need to come to terms with each other.  Obviously, it's a very standard formula, but the real point is pairing together Bullock and McCarthy, who provide plentiful laughs, with McCarthy predictably coming out in the lead.  Occasionally the weak script shows through when the gag rate slows, and the two-hour running time is much too long, but overall, it's            enjoyable fare.

DESPICABLE ME 2  (Family Animated/Comedy), Directed by Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, Featuring the Voices of Steve Carell, Kristin Wigg and Benjamin Bratt
PG for rude humor and mild action.
Two and a Half Stars out of Four
Confession time: I am not among the numerous fans of the DESPICABLE ME-brand.  I don't actually hate it, but I think it's terribly overrated, especially the Minions, which I think are based in an overly broad sense of slapstick humor.  Even still, while not busting a gut, I did think the sequel had some pretty funny moments.  While the original had a mostly formulaic story, the sequel is very thin on plot altogether, but the fact that it's funnier made it a more enjoyable experience for me than the first.