A penniless writer (Cooper) begins taking a drug that allows him to access his brain's full capacity. Suddenly a wealthy and powerful man, he soon attracts the attention of a baddie (De Niro) who wants to use these new powers for his own purposes. I'm rooting for both Cooper and De Niro here but I'm guessing this will have a hard time finding an audience. It's kind of a concept film and those don't usually go over well. I'll check it out at some point, though.
"Paul" - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen
Two comic book nerds (Pegg and Frost) stumble on an alien (Rogen) outside of Area 51 and embark on a race to get their new friend to safety. Director Greg Mottola ("Scott Pilgrim," "Adventureland") is great at mixing juvenile, slapstick humor with witty banter having cut his teeth on "Undeclared" (underrated) and "Arrested Development" (best TV show ever). The trailer, while stupid, looks pretty funny, too, and I'm always up for nerd humor. Alas, the busy weekend ahead will keep me away.
"The Lincoln Lawyer" - Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei
Based on a Michael Connelly novel, McConaughey plays a sleezy lawyer who takes on a client (Phillippe) who calls his practices into question. So far, my favorite thing about this movie is the trailer in which some media outlet is quoted as saying this is the "best McConaughey performance in years." Which is AWESOME because it's kind of like saying one bout of hemorrhoids is better than another.
"Win Win" (limited) - Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor
A struggling attorney (Giamatti) takes a second job as a wrestling coach and somehow becomes the guardian of an elderly friend (Tambor). Then some other shenanigans happen. I'll never question the skill of Giamatti. He's a FINE actor. But he's almost an immediate out for me. Are there others of you out there who get really excited about a Giamatti picture? Am I just out of the target demographic? Because this is getting strong reviews but I can't muster up a single ounce of anticipation for a movie starring Giamatti. Sorry, Paul.
Giamatti is nearly always an "in" for me, actually. But I'm the guy who loved Lady in the Water. :P
ReplyDeleteI confess I have a bit of love for Lady in the Water as well. Like I said, I know Giamatti is an excellent actor, he just doesn't make movies for me, I think.
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