New this Week: '50/50,' 'Dream House' and 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon (DVD)'
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
50/50 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick Courageous - Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes Dream House - Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts What's Your Number? - Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor
Movie of the Week
50/50
The Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick The Plot: A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy's cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease. The Buzz: I don't know, I'm not that excited about 50/50, but it's gotta be better than Dream House, right? Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are both great actresses, generally known for choosing good films, but this Daniel Craig guy, really? He's looking so haggard, like he's strung out on heroin, and he just emanates this brooding whininess, and I sense zero acting talent within. How in the world did he become a leading man? I'm just really tired of him -- and yes, I'm doggone bitter that he's Bond. Thank goodness MGM went bankrupt.
Moving on...
50/50 looks like it might hit on all comedy/drama cylinders. So many films try to do that nowadays, they try to be as over-the-top as possible in their humor, all the while still trying to maintain a serious emotional overtone. It's very hard to pull off, most filmmakers whom attempt such, fail (at least in my opinion anyway). Joseph Gordon-Levitt is solid though, and he should provide the film with enough weight so as to exist as an acceptable teeter-totter comedy/drama. Seth Rogen has overstayed his Hollywood welcome (again, my opinion), I'm tired of his voice, and he plays himself in everything he does. I'm not overly stoked about 50/50, but it definitely gets my vote for Movie of the Week, especially considering the competition.
Every Friday we'll have new reviews of the latest films. TSR's complete Film Review Database
New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
Basket Case (BD) - Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner Ben Hur (BD) - Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman (DVD) - Masanobu Andô, You Benchang, Liu Xiaoye Carlos [Criterion] (BD/DVD) - Édgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Alejandro Arroyo Footloose (BD/DVD) - Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow L'amour Fou (DVD) - Yves Saint-Laurent, Pierre Bergé, Betty Catroux The Ledge (BD/DVD) - Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Patrick Wilson Mimic (BD) - Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin The Phantom Carriage (BD/DVD) - Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg Torso (BD) - Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Luc Merenda Transformers: Dark of the Moon (BD/DVD) - Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson Treasure Island (BD) - Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, Oliver Reed
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson The Plot: The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets. The Buzz: In a January interview regarding Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Michael Bay offered, “I got rid of the dorky comedy. We have a more serious story this time, and I’m trying to make up for the other two. It’s dork-free Transformers!”
Sadly, this only turned out to be half-true. I probably should have been more subdued in my optimism — based on how unbearable Tranformers: Revenge of the Fallen was, especially the 2nd half of that film — but it couldn't be helped, I couldn't turn off my stokedness, as I had had the pleasure of "acting" as an extra in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and was just too danged excited by the potential of seeing myself amongst CGI robots. Ultimately, I found the film to be just OK, and as narcissistic and self-congratulatory as this is: the best part about the whole experience, was seeing myself on the big-screen as a panicked/witless civilian. I think my character survived too, whatever his name was.
Many years ago, I'd been an extra for a couple days on Sam Raimi's Spiderman, and that was great too, but that experience taught me to be more realistic, to be more cynical about my chances of avoiding the cutting room floor. After those couple days of shooting Spiderman, I thought for sure I'd end up in the final cut, but alas, I was nowhere to be found (not clear enough or large enough to be recognized anyway). Tempered by that experience, I went into my first screening of DOTM with a healthy sense of skepticism, and so when I did end up seeing myself, undeniably, I was well pleased.
To continue down this path of self-centered celebration, I must say I'm rather excited to check out the Blu-ray -- the slow-motion button will certainly be employed.
If you haven't done so already, you can read more about my experience working with Michael Bay here: My Day as an Extra on ‘Transformers: DOTM’