Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Cowboys & Aliens - Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde Crazy, Stupid, Love - Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore The Smurfs - Hank Azaria, Katy Perry, Jonathan Winters
Movie of the Week
Cowboys & Aliens
The Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde The Plot: In 1873, aliens land in Arizona with plans to take over the Earth. A posse of cowboys is all that stands in their way. The Buzz: The latest offering from director Jon Favreau (Iron Man).
When I first saw the original Iron Man trailer, I'll be honest, my gut reaction was, "wow, that looks horrible." However, upon the film's release I was pleasantly surprised, and found Iron Man to be extremely entertaining. I found it to be excellent on all fronts really, and the general populace certainly agreed.
When I first saw the Cowboys & Aliens trailer, my gut reaction was "wow, that looks really horrible." I'm hoping here that the "really" in that reaction doesn't matter too much -- I'm hoping for the same horrible-trailer/great-movie phenomenon.
Time will tell, I guess.
My only other thoughts here: Harrison Ford rules, though I must admit, I'm a little sad to see him so aged. Daniel Craig is a bore, it's a shame he's the lead. Olivia Wilde looks lovely as per usual. The premise and the FX both look a bit tired. I feel like this film's success will hinge upon whether or not the story is engaging. If the dialog is sharp, and the story's a good one, this could be a huge hit. I suppose Favreau does deserve the benefit of the doubt.
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New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
The Blues Brothers (BD) - John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd High and Low [Criterion] (BD) - Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai Source Code (BD/DVD) - Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
Source Code
The Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga The Plot: A soldier (Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown commuter and is forced to live and relive a harrowing train bombing until he can determine who is responsible for it. The Buzz: I've yet to see this film, but I've heard a lot of good things...
It looks to be a Quantum Leap meets Groundhog Day sci-fi action romp. 35 seconds into the film’s trailer, I half expected Jake Gyllenhaal to utter, “oh boy.” He instead exclaims, “no, no, no, no,” as if to echo my thoughts exactly — truth be told, I personally have zero interest in watching Gyllenhaal act the same “stop the terrorist on the train” scene, over and over and over again -- but after speaking with folks who've seen it, yeah, I've heard from many sources that this film is A-OK!
Despite its modest box office take ($55 million), I've heard nothing but good things about this film. Case in point: I have a close friend who NEVER goes to the cinema, and he went and saw Source Code twice -- now that's saying something.
In hindsight, I suppose it makes perfect sense that Source Code would be an entertaining ride, as it was directed by Duncan Jones, whose previous film was the brilliant Moon (2009). Loved that film.
I do maintain mild reservations about how much I'll personally enjoy Source Code, but based on word of mouth, I'm now willing to check it out.
Towards the end of the film's trailer, Jake Gyllenhaal asks Michelle Monaghan, “what would you do if you knew you had less than eight minutes to live?” And with a smile she answers, “I’d make those seconds count.” Gyllenhaal’s mouth curls up ever so slightly, hinting at the potential of a “less than eight minute long” love scene. Gyllenhaal, you dog!
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