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.
- Kingsman: The Secret Service – I will have a full review up for this tomorrow but it pretty much delivered on the fun trailer. Matthew Vaughn has definitely built a solid name for himself as a filmmaker. This doesn’t quite reach the heights of fun in Kick-Ass or the quality of X-Men: First Class, but it easily seems like the best movie so far in 2015.
- 50 Shades of Grey – So I am one of those people who actually read this book. Just the first one so far, and granted it was fucking awful. Seriously, one of the worst pieces of writing I’ve ever read. Sure there were the naughty bits and they were fun and dandy, but still really bad. I am positive that this movie will be much better than the book, just because it’s literally impossible that it wouldn’t be. I am going to see this… maybe in theaters. Just because, like all those posters and tv spots propose, I am curious. I think it’s fantastic that women directed (Sam Taylor-Johnson) and wrote (Kelly Marcel) this movie, because hopefully they offer some level of nuance to this sordid tale. I still think it should be consider illegal that they had Jamie Dornan shave his beard for the movie though.
- The Last Five Years – I will completely admit that the fact Anna Kendrick stars in this makes me certain that I’ll eventually see it. It does feel fresh being a modern day musical, and the format of the storytelling. It’s about a marriage falling apart, told in reverse by the wife and from the beginning by the husband. You switch between their lowest and highest points until the movie meets in the middle. I’m interested to see how it’s done although the trailer doesn’t necessarily have a must-see look to it.
See where it’s playing in select theaters here and available on demand. - What We Do In The Shadows – I’ve heard nothing but high praise for this mockumentary horror comedy since it played the festival circuit. That’s why it seems a shame that it’s barely getting a US release. It had to start a freaking Kickstarter just to partially fund getting into some theaters. It’s made my Jemaine Clement and his comedy buddy and sometimes Flight of the Concords collaborator Taika Waititi so you know it’s going to have some silly humor. It’s about a group of vampires living together in the modern age. I love the tone of the trailer and hope I get to see this sooner than later.
- Playing in very select theaters.
