April has come and gone. It gave me one of my favorites so far this year in The Cabin in the Woods along with two enjoyable comedies in The Five Year Engagement and American Reunion. May looks… not as promising. Let’s take a look.
MAY 4
- The Avengers – Lindsay wrote a review here. I initially didn’t expect too much from this, having not gotten tons of enjoyment out of any predecessors save for Iron Man, but obviously this is good stuff.
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (limited) – I don’t hate movies about old people. I thought It’s Complicated was delightful and am down with Jack Nicholson and/or Diane Keaton doing old people stuff in movies but this doesn’t really appeal to me. Maybe I’ll catch this sometime down the road but I certainly won’t go out of my way for it.
MAY 11
- Dark Shadows – You know, I don’t completely dislike what I’m seeing here. Yes it’s Tim Burton and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. But there’s also Chloe Moretz, and a few chuckles, and it might not be so bad. Obviously, I am not very convincing, even to myself. My apathy will probably lead me to missing this in the theater.
MAY 18
- The Dictator (Wed 16) – Rewatching Bruno the other day with Lindsay and Rob, we were all reminded of how wickedly hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen can be. Of course this is missing the high stakes, jaw-dropping aspect of the real-life approach, opting for a scripted story (he might be too famous at this point to get away with that despite his knack for assuming identities). The first trailers for this made me roll my eyes, but the most recent ones actually made me laugh. Even if it’s scripted, watching Baron Cohen doing wacky shit is still plenty entertaining. This is also the only comedy in May that I’m actually interested in seeing.
- What To Expect When You’re Expecting – On the other hand, this comedy does not make me feel much of anything. It just doesn’t seem to be working at all. It doesn’t help that this film seems geared towards a female audience, yet every time a woman is on screen she seems to be screaming and the main focus is on this pack of men in the park. I see what it’s trying to do, but maybe I just can’t relate to this demographic? I will be skipping this.
- Battleship – I really don’t like Rihanna. Like at all. Why are Alexander Skaarsgard and Liam Neeson in this? The real question we’ve been pondering this whole time is why was this even made? I guess the Transformers-at-sea approach was the best direction they could go with this. Like Taylor Kitsch’s John Carter this luckily has a decent overseas cushion before it even opens in the US.
MAY 25
- Chernobyl Diaries – I suppose it’s not foreign territory to use a real life tragedy to base a story for entertainment but it is a little off-putting. We are well removed from the 1980’s Ukranian nuclear disaster but I’m certain it strikes a nerve to those closer to the incident. That said, if it’s executed well it could still deliver some decent scares. Nothing terribly new to offer so I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort to see in theaters.
- MIB 3 – Let’s just say I was not in the group (they’re around somewhere I guess) that was demanding a revisit to this franchise. The only thing that sparked any interest during the trailer was Josh Brolin doing Tommy Lee Jones. That could be entertaining–the whole movie could be–but we’ll see.
- Moonrise Kingdom – Saving the best for last, obviously. I love everything Wes Anderson has touched and expect more of the same well-crafted execution, signature character/style, nuanced performances, and clever script work that he has delivered every few years since 1996. Nick is convinced this will be his masterpiece, and I absolutely cannot wait to find out!
What are you looking forward to watching this month?