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.
- Addicted – This movie has the jump on Fifty Shades of Gray by a few months. It’s based on an erotic novel by Zane (pen name obviously). It’s about a woman who, despite having a successful career, home life, and sexy husband, steps out and has affairs with other men. You might even say that she is addicted to cheating. Well that’s what the movie is saying at least. It seems to mix the sensual and hot affair scenes of Unfaithful with the foreboding cautionary message of Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. It features 100% more Tyson Beckford and Cuban chiseled William Levy though. Bless you. This looks like a complete throwaway movie that’s not really worth seeking out unless you’re a bored wife or bored late at night flipping through cable… basically if you’re bored.
- Dracula Untold – I haven’t personally been clamoring for an origin story for Dracula, but here it is. The trailer pretty much reveals a majority of how it happened – a man makes a deal with an evil sorcerer to protect his family and is granted powers and the curse of blood thirst. It all just feels sadly unnecessary. There’s action punched in and some boring stylization, but there’s absolutely no draw to this movie. Especially when we’re just getting into prime movie season (not that any of the wide releases this week reflect that).
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – Not my thing. This is even lower on the list than any random animated movie. I’m obviously not the demo here, but this doesn’t even look sort of harmlessly okay. It’s just obnoxious. Steve Carrell gets kicked by a freaking kangaroo. How am I even supposed to be alright with that?
- The Judge – What is this movie? Is it an emotional courtroom drama about the hardships shared in an estranged relationship between father and son? Is it a humorous romp about a son representing his father in court? The trailers and tv spots want it both ways. I guess they are hoping you either see one or the other, because when you see both the movie looks like a tonal mess. It’s relying heavily on the charm and zip of Robert Downey Jr.. As much as I want him to be, he can’t always be Tony Stark though. It would be nice if there was a more deserving film for him to flex his acting skills in.
- St. Vincent – We’ll have a review up for this one tomorrow, but I caught the screener and it is a pretty funny, sweet movie. It’s freaking Bill Murray so I have a hard time critiquing it, but it is definitely by the numbers. The thing is you can look past how conventional it is and just focus on Murray doing his own version of Royal Tenenbaum. Maybe not a must see in theaters, but it’s worth a watch for sure.
Opening in select theaters and expanding on October 17th. - Whiplash – This film received a phenomenal response out of Sundance and it appears to just keep rolling it. Miles Teller plays a drummer being taught by a master jazz musician played by JK Simmons. It’s a thriller though so this little teacher-student relationship is going to be a bit rough. In the trailer you can see a lot of that intensity as Simmons harasses Teller to extremes. Comparisons to Black Swan have been quite common, which is obviously a great sign. I have to say I’m not 100% sold, one because I don’t want to overhype it and two I’m not a Teller fan so far. Maybe he can finally leave a great impression on me here, but what I’m more excited to see is Simmons in a fantastic role. For a man who’s usually delegated to side characters I’m happy to see this recognition. This is one I will certainly check out, just to see if it’s buzz holds up.
See where it’s playing in select theaters here.
