Here to take a look at the films coming out in wide and limited release this coming weekend. I’ll give you my thoughts to help you decide what’s worth checking out.
- Draft Day – Wow, this movie either has the weirdest trailer or is a seriously misguided effort. Is it a comedy or a riveting drama? Is it trying to be more along the lines of The Replacements or Moneyball? I’ve seen trailers that seem to be going for one thing of the other, and pretty much looking like a silly attempt at either. Does draft day really have the weight for this type of “achieve or lose your job” story? I mean I am sure it happens, but can you really tell how successful a draft is off the bat? Don’t you kinda need to see how it plays out during the season to decide that?
- Oculus – This horror movie is about a mirror that causes possessions, hallucinations, psychosis, and death in whoever owns it. When two adults want to prove that this is what happened when their parents were brutally killed, they open themselves up to all of those horrors. This looks promising for sure and there hasn’t been a decent horror movie in theaters for awhile, so this is pretty welcome. The trailer shows a lot of scary and interesting visuals. As long as it’s not half as bad as the last haunted object movie I saw, The Possession this should be an entertaining watch.
- Cuban Fury – Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, and Rashida Jones? What’s not to like? This doesn’t look like the best comedy any of them have been involved in, but it looks fun enough. Frost plays a man trying to win the affections of Jones through their mutual interest in dancing. He’s got some self esteem issues though, not helped by O’Dowd who plays an office bully. I’ve heard it’s pretty formulaic, nothing as original as what I’ve mostly seen Frost in, but it could still be a fun enough viewing.
See where it’s playing in theaters here.
- Joe – After a stretch of comedies from the instant classics to the lesser efforts, David Gordon Green has gone back to his more indie roots with last year’s Prince Avalanche and now Joe. This one is about a man played by Nic Cage, who has been trying to keep his darker side at bay. He meets a boy (Tye Sheridan) who is abused by his father, and in his efforts to protect him his violent impulses come to the surface. It’s had such a good feedback so far (especially about the two leads) that it definitely seems worth the watch.
Available on Video on Demand and see where it’s playing in theaters here. - Only Lovers Left Alive – This Jarmusch film is about two centuries old vampires who’s romantic connection is tested in the modern world. I’ve heard only fantastic things about Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston’s performances. The tone of the trailer is what gets me–it just looks incredibly moody and everyone is starring so intensely. Hopefully it’s pretty good and an interesting take on vampires that’s a little more adult than the teen fare and a little more serious than the campiness of True Blood.
See where it’s playing in theaters here.
