Thursday, December 8, 2011

Weekend Movie Guide

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Mark Strong
Set during the Cold War, a superspy (Oldman) is called out of retirement to pinpoint a Soviet mole inside of MI6. Words cannot express my level of anticipation regarding this film and it all boils down to one reason: Gary Oldman. The rest of the cast is incredible, the film is based on a well-respected novel, and it received outstanding reviews overseas. But none of that holds a candle to the potential of Oldman in a starring role that seems tailor made for him. I'm just warning all of you in advance, there's a very good chance that my review (shooting for early next week) will be undeniably biased toward this film as I've been saying all year that this would be the role that would FINALLY get Oldman an Oscar nod and I'm already acting like I love this film. Can't wait.

New Year's Eve - Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Jessica Biel, Zac Efron
An ensemble that focuses on the lives of several New Yorkers on, you guessed it, New Year's Eve. This is a semi-sequel to Garry Marshall's 2010 "classic" Valentine's Day which somehow pulled in over $100 million despite being, you know, one of the five worst films of the year. (And I mean that. The fact that I was able to make it through my screening of that movie is a testament to my resolve to never walk out of a movie. Because boy, did I want to. That movie is horrible.) Amazingly, New Year's Eve looks even worse. You know your film sucks when you have cringe-inducing moments in the trailer! Watch the trailer again and think about how awful the dialogue sounds and then remember that all that was needed to advertise this film was three minutes of decent footage and the studio couldn't even find that. And yet, Rotten Tomatoes currently reports that 83% of users want to see this movie. This is why people hate America.

The Sitter - Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Sam Rockwell
A college student (Hill) with no long term job prospects is hired on to babysit some neighbor kids and winds up taking them on a wild ride as he tries to hookup with a crush (Graynor). In a year that has been overrun by lackluster R-rated comedies, it's no wonder that no one seems to be paying any attention to the final Fat Jonah Hill movie. Even the studio behind this film has sort-of abandoned it after a fairly heavy marketing campaign earlier this year. I'm less than interested.

Young Adult - Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson (Limited)
The reunion of director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody (Juno) brings forth a DARK comedy about a juvenile 30-something (Theron) who moves back to her small home town and begins pursuing an ex-boyfriend. Theron is very likely to receive a Best Actress nomination for her role and Oswalt is drawing some real attention in a down year for quality Supporting Actor work. In addition, all of Reitman's films are exquisitely put together and the idea of a woman-child character instead of the classic man-child is appealing to me.

W.E. - Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy (Limited)
Focuses on the romance between King Edward VIII (D'Arcy) and his romance with a divorced American woman (Cornish), which if you remember, was a subplot in last year's The King's Speech. Directed by Madonna, W.E. is receiving a one week theatrical run in order to qualify it for award consideration. Doubtful that this plan works.

We Need to Talk About Kevin - Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller (Limited)
The mother (Swinton) of a boy who went on a Columbine-esque killing spree attempts to deal with her grief and shame. This is another film that will run for only a week in order to qualify for award consideration. Also, is it Tilda Swinton's goal to never be in another movie that I have any interest in seeing?

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