Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Limitless - Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro The Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe Paul - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen
Movie of the Week
Limitless
The Stars: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro The Plot: A copywriter (Cooper) discovers a top-secret drug which gives him super-human abilities. The Buzz: Until recently, I couldn't stand Bradley Cooper -- and no, it wasn't his role in A-Team that won me over, it was, hearkening back a decade, his role in the television series 'Alias.' Yes, I'm a total johnny-come-lately when it comes to that show, but I love it, and I love Bradley Cooper in it. He can act, I was surprised to see. His success with 'Alias' ultimately launched his career, and now, ten years later, here he is approaching A-list status, starring in a fine-looking action film, sharing the screen with none other than, in the words of Ricky Gervais, "the greatest screen-actor to have ever lived" -- Robert De Niro. This film looks pretty slick, pretty energized. It'll be interesting to see how well the general populace embraces Cooper as their "main man." Seems to me he's perfectly cast here, and his character looks to be fairly fleshed out, and pretty fascinating really -- he looks to be a good-natured law-abiding American, whose reckless punk (lurking beneath) gets a chance to come out and party full-on. I find the whole premise pretty appealing, and I'm sure a load of guys will as well.
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New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (BD) - Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell Au Revoir Les Enfants [The Criterion Collection] (BD) - Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette Battle of the Warriors (BD) - Andy Lau, Sung-kee Ahn, Zhiwen Wang Dangerous Intimacy: The Untold Story of Mark Twain's Final Years (DVD) - Bob Cudmore, Leer Leary The Fighter (BD/DVD) - Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams Hemingway's Garden of Eden (DVD) - Jack Huston, Mena Suvari, Caterina Murino Hereafter (BD/DVD) - Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Bryce Dallas Howard Interplanetary (DVD) - Cary Borders, Alison Britt, David Brown A Shine of Rainbows (DVD) - Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn, John Bell The Switch (BD/DVD) - Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson Waste Land (DVD) - Directed by Lucy Walker & Karen Harley The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest (BD/DVD) - Conrad Anker, Hugh Dancy, Ralph Fiennes Yi Yi [The Criterion Collection] (BD) - Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issei Ogata
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
The Fighter
The Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams The Plot: A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his brother (Bale) who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s. The Buzz: I feel like The Fighter, though it did get a lot of attention thanks to the Oscars, was a little bit over-shadowed by the films True Grit, Black Swan and The King's Speech. I saw all of these films in the theater, and enjoyed them, but there's something really special about The Fighter. I feel that if it had been released in the Summer of 2010, it would have garnered a lot more attention. I thought this film was tremendous in every way, and was especially impressed with Christian Bale's performance. The realism in this film was top notch, and the poignancy of the story was well-delivered. Darren Aronofsky executive-produced this film, and one gets the feeling that it was more of a hands-on executive-producer's credit -- The Fighter feels a lot like an Aronofsky film, and therefore, I loved it.
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