New Movie Friday!

In the two weeks that I've been out with my cursed broken arm, I have missed exactly...NOTHING. The stink fest that is 2010 got even nastier, delivering some of the worst movie options in recent memory. September as a whole looks very feast or famine but we might be able to pull out enough good stuff to make it worthwhile.

"The American" - George Clooney
Clooney plays a hitman who typically takes on a final mission that turns out to be more trouble than its worth. The verdict is still out on whether or not I should expect this to be good. Clooney, though, is in a small class of actors who bring up the quality of any movie they participate in. Here's hoping this turns out well, I need something worth watching.

"Machete" - Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba
A mercenary-type (Trejo) wages war against the organization that betrayed him. I know this is incredibly hypocritical of me considering how excited I was about "The Expendables" but I'm just not interested in this. I'm glad Trejo is getting a chance to headline because he deserves it; one of the hardest working dudes in the industry. And I'm glad De Niro is embracing the idea of a supporting character because it's what he desperately needs to do at this point in his career. But I'm not a fan of director Robert Rodriguez, I'm completely uninterested in "Planet Terror" which this movie is spun-off of, and I just don't have room in my viewing schedule for another over the top, unabashedly ridiculous and cheesy action movie. Maybe on DVD but even then, it's doubtful for me.

"Going the Distance" - Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Jason Sudekis
Two young professionals looking for nothing serious in their new relationships end up falling for each other when one moves across the country. I'm rooting for this not to suck if for no other reason than there hasn't been a half way decent date movie on the big screen since "500 Days of Summer" last year. I can't remember the last time the Lady of the Box Office and I saw a romantic comedy that didn't make one or both of us want to strangle a cat. For the record, though, I whole heartedly believe this will be mediocre at best.

There's also a host of independent films debuting this week but most are sticking solely to New York and LA. We'll cover them at some point when they start making their way to the rest of the country.