Geez, there are a ton of movies opening this week. And it is a beautiful day outside. I can either spend a bunch of time trying to be relevant and resonant about Tom Cruise, and YA adaptations, or I can go outside and get some sun. So, I am gonna blow through these as fast as I can.
But first, welcome back to the BSR! Weekend Movie Previews. This one is for the weekend of June 6, 2014. As always, before we get started, a quick disclaimer. All of the film information presented here, including the plot summary, has been pulled from the Opening This Week page of IMDb (http://www.imdb.com/nowplaying/). I have not seen any of these movies at the time of this writing. Join us this week as we preview Edge of Tomorrow, The Fault In Our Stars, Trust Me, and more.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
PG-13 113 min – Action | Sci-Fi
Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
Summary: An officer finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.
Thoughts: I am actually pretty invested in seeing this. Tom Cruise is a complete outlier for me. Everything I have read about him and everything I see of him outside of his movies (interviews, etc) makes him seem like some kind of weird robot creature that is only pulled out of cryo for press tours. But there is always something to like about his movies – whether it is his all in, can do attitude or just the amount of craft and effort that he wills into existence in the production. The early reviews have all been good as well (our own Swank-mo-tron weighs in here).
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
PG-13 125 min – Drama | Romance
Director: Josh Boone
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern
Summary: Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel’s other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.
Thoughts: The trailer is making me bawl uncontrollably. No way am I going to see this movie at the theater. In public. Surrounded by a bunch tween girls and their moms. I will just have to wait for it on digital release. But seriously, I think this is probably going to be the box office monster of the summer. I can’t wait to see what they do in the sequel. Be sure to check out our own CitizenBot’s review here.
Obvious Child (2014) – [Limited]
R 83 min – Comedy | Romance
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Stars: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, Gabe Liedman
Summary: A twenty-something comedienne’s unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront the realities of independent womanhood for the first time.
Thoughts: I have a lot of familiarity with the Stand-up Comedy Scene, especially the bombing on stage part. I just wanted to say that up front, for no real reason other than I don’t think Stand-up Comedy will have a lot to do with this movie, other than backgrounder in which to stage exposition. Plus, the trailer just didn’t seem to ever want to end. No idea. Maybe it will surprise and be good, but, like any mediocre comic with stage fright just before going on, I have a bitter uncomfortable feeling about this.
Borgman (2013) – [Limited]
113 min – Thriller
Director: Alex van Warmerdam
Stars: Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis, Jeroen Perceval, Alex van Warmerdam
Summary: A vagrant enters the lives of an arrogant upper-class family, turning their lives into a psychological nightmare in the process.
Thoughts: Holy crap! What is this? It looks totally insane, but in a good European Art Film sort of way. No idea what is going on, other than a general “someone is going to die horribly and for a reason that will make little to no sense”.
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (2013) – [Limited]
R 85 min – Documentary
Directors: Beth Aala | Mike Myers
Stars: Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas, Shep Gordon
Summary: A documentary on legendary Hollywood insider Shep Gordon, who fell into artist management by chance after moving to LA straight out of college.
Thoughts: This is Mike Myers first real self-generated project since his semi-retreat from the spotlight. He really hasn’t made anything big for a while and has been kinda hovering under the radar for a couple of years. It will be interesting to check this out, since it seems very personal to him, and not something you would expect from him normally.
Anna (2013) – [Limited]
R 99 min – Drama | Thriller
Director: Jorge Dorado
Stars: Mark Strong, Taissa Farmiga, Brian Cox, Indira Varma
Summary: A man with the ability to enter peoples’ memories takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled sixteen-year-old girl to determine whether she is a sociopath or a victim of trauma.
Thoughts: I don’t know which is more creepy: poking around in the subconscious of someone else, or having Mark Strong be the person poking around inside your own subconscious.
The Sacrament (2013) – [Limited]
R 95 min – Horror | Thriller
Director: Ti West
Stars: Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg, Kate Lyn Sheil, AJ Bowen
Summary: A newsteam trails a man as he travels to an undisclosed location to find his missing sister. Upon entering “Eden Parish” and meeting the community’s leader, it becomes apparent to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems.
Thoughts: I’m joking. The film trailer embedded above is for a different movie with the same title. Here is the real trailer. Cults are super creepy. And so is VICE. This looks like a good combination of the two creepy thnigs.
Trust Me (2013) – [Limited]
R 90 min – Comedy
Director: Clark Gregg
Stars: Clark Gregg, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney, William H. Macy
Summary: In an attempt to sign a Hollywood starlet, struggling talent agent and former child star Howard Holloway must contend with her volatile father, a scheming long-time rival, and a producer and casting director who despise him.
Thoughts: I totally expected to hate this trailer and was planning on pulling the wiki entry for Life With Mikey to make fun of it, but holy cow, look at that cast! I am sure it isn’t ground breaking or new or anything, but great actors having fun and chewing scenery is always worth a watch.
Now, it’s your turn – if you have seen any of these movies, let us know your thoughts in the comments.