So what’s on the menu this week for new flicks? What will August 14th deliver for us movie obsessed folks?
Well, we got ourselves another sequel, guys misbehaving, futuristic chases, funny Brits, funny zombies and an off beat musician.
So, lets begin with…..
What’s it about? In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the “real” world.
My thoughts? I haven’t read The Giver in years, but I remember really loving it as a kid. I also knew that when I first read it (I was probably 12) I thought about how I would make it into a movie. I will be the first to tell ya, I didn’t imagine it to be as Sci-Fi looking the new movie is. Now, maybe the book had the world be described to be more sci-fi like than I remember, but I can definitely sense the Hollywoodizing of the flick (thought I’m glad to see the black and white element be so prominent in this trailer). No real word on how the adaptation is, but I might be down to check it out at some point. It’s crazy to think that the two books that I grew up reading (this one and Enders Game) where stuck development hell for years. Now they’ve both finally came out. Look forward to hearing how this one will turn out.
What’s it about? Two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party and become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line.
RED BAND TRAILER
My thoughts? I like Damon Waynes Jr. and Jake Johnson. These two are going to be the main draw for this one, and it looks like it’s going to have some solid laughs in it. Will it change the world of comedy movies? No, but it looks entertaining enough, and folks that’s all this movie has to be.
What’s it about? A young man’s recently deceased girlfriend mysteriously returns from the dead, but he slowly realizes she is not the way he remembered her.
My thoughts? Another one that I call a NOT-REMAKE REMAKE (Trust me, this will be a thing.) The flick this one is NOT-REMAKE REMAKING? The little seen Return of the Living Dead 3….
Of course I’m only teasing. Base similarities aside, these two films have very little in common. Life After Beth is going for the comedy angle. While I could do with out seeing another Zombie Comedy flick the solid cast and some pretty funny moments in the trailer are enough to get my interest in this flick.
What’s it about? Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri.
My thoughts? I’m that jerk that never saw the first film, The Trip. I know, I know…I hear it’s great. It’s on my never ending list of movies I’ll get to on Netflix. Until then, if you’re one of those non-jerks who did see the first film, then I think you are gonna enjoy this one too. This really does look pretty damn funny…..I really should get to seeing the first one. I’m a jerk.
What’s it about? Jon, a young wanna-be musician, discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
My thoughts? When I woke up this morning, I was just thinking to myself..
“Self….when is that movie Frank coming out? That one about Michael Fassbender wearing a weird head and being a crazy musician? Man, I’m just gonna watch the trailer again to remind myself how cool this one looks.”
And I did. I watched this trailer on my iPhone three times in a row. I actually regret not doing a write up on the trailer months ago when I first saw it.
So to my surprise, the damn movie is coming out this week! I can’t wait to see it. Fassbender is delivering a performance that is forcing him to not use that handsome face of his, and he is going all out with it. This looks hilarious, off beat, and downright fun.
What’s it about? Barney augments his team with new blood for a personal battle: to take down Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables co-founder and notorious arms trader who is hell bent on wiping out Barney and every single one of his associates.
My thoughts? Lets be clear….The Expendables movies are not really movies.
They are things that collect a bunch of nostalgia for the ’80s-90s action movies, and placed them in a bubble that they call a “plot”.
They are nothing more then excuses to see action stars (then and now) in one place and to see them blow shit up in a easy to digest and easily forgettable way.
So of course I’m gonna see this one.
HUH?! Bet you didn’t see that coming.
Look, I didn’t think much of the first Expendables. It was ok on action, but so so on character work. It mostly felt like a buddy action film with Stallone and Staham, with the other guys thrown in there when the movie remembered them.
The second one did a better job using all the team equally in the action scenes, but it still didn’t deliver on the one important element in the flicks……
I don’t know a DAMN thing about any members of the Expendables. I have no clue why they are friends. I don’t know what their personalities are despite the charisma that some of the actors already bring to their roles. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY RANDY COUTURE IS IN THIS SERIES?!?!?!?! He adds nothing to the movies, he’s boring on screen, and they won’t shut up about his cauliflower ear.
So why the hell am I seeing this one? Because…the guys who are strangely nostalgic for those ’80s-90s action movies? I’m in that demographic. This is easy entertainment, and one that I will be down to see eventually. First weekend movie? Maybe not. But a few weekends down the line? Sure.
See, I stopped accepting them as movies with a narrative, but just accepted them as excueses for action movie stars of old to meet up, and fight.
It’s kinda the same reason the Rat Pack made movies back in the day.
They didn’t make movies to make art and to tell stories. They made movies as an excuse to hang out and to get paid for it.
That’s what the Expendables flicks are. It’s this big party that has a ton of fireworks…and they are inviting YOU to join them. If you watch these “movies” with that mentality, you might find out you could enjoy them a bit more.
So what movies are you most looking forward to this weekend? Tell us in the comments below!