FRIDAY PREVIEW: JAN 21st

Another Friday is approaching, but as usual, not fast enough.


Maybe this week, the weekend simply has nothing in store. With the Holidays over, the only movies coming out are the ones either trying to generate some Oscar buzz or fill the gap in these cold weeks. Looks like this week we got the latter. 


Hit the Jump to check out the new movies coming out this Friday.




No Strings Attached

Length: 1 hr 50 min
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Written by: Elizabeth Meriwether, Michael Samonek
Cast: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline




Official Synopsis:

In this comedy, Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are life-long friends who almost ruin everything by having sex one morning. In order to protect their friendship, they make a pact to keep their relationship strictly "no strings attached." "No strings" means no jealousy, no expectations, no fighting, no flowers, no baby voices. It means they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, in whatever public place they want, as long as they don't fall in love. The questions become - Can you have sex without love getting in the way? And can their friendship survive?

My thoughts? It's unfortunate that Natalie Portman had to go from Black Swan to this. Just another rom-com with a no doubt predictable ending. I'm sure that as usual, the film will make up for it's lack of story with some decent comedy, but I doubt it will be enough to have it stand out from the rest. Hey, Hollywood, sex isn't so funny after you beat it to death. Pun intended.


The Way Back

Length: 2 hr 11 min

Directed by: Peter Weir

Written by: Slavomir Rawicz (Novel), Keith R. Clarke & Peter Weir (Screenplay)

Cast: Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris

Official Synopsis: 

Directed by six-time Academy Award (R) nominee Peter Weir, The Way Back is an epic story of survival, solidarity and indomitable human will. Shot in Bulgaria, Morocco and India, the film stars Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, The Other Boleyn Girl), Ed Harris (Appaloosa) and Colin Farrell (In Bruges) as prisoners of a Soviet Union labor camp, who, along with four others, flee their Siberian Gulag and begin a treacherous journey across thousands of miles of hostile terrain.

From the trailers, I just wish that they had pulled a Valkyrie and not gone with the Russian accents. As much as I think Jim Sturgess has potential, I don't think this is going to be his shining moment. I'm guessing that this will be an exciting movie and everything, but I don't think it'll cut much deeper than the surface.



The Company Men

Length: 1 hr 49 min

Directed by: John Wells

Written by: John Wells

Cast: Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee-Jones

Official Synopsis: 

Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) and Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. 

Maybe the good movie of the weekend, The Company Men might have a chance at showing how much it sucks to lose your job of nearly-countless years. I like the cast, and John Wells has written some episodes of one of my favorite shows, Southland, so it has some potential. We'll see just how well it does though.


Johnny Mad Dog

Length: 1 hr 38 min

Directed by: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Written by: Emmanuel Dongala (Novel), Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Screenplay)

Cast: Carlos Badawi, Teddy Boy, Christophe Minie

Synopsis: 

A vicious child soldier armed with weapons of death and willing to use them at the slightest provocation serves as the focal point for this drama highlighting the need for greater humanity in a country ravaged by absurd wars. Johnny is a fifteen year old soldier with a small commando unit, and together this team robs, pillages, and kills everyone and everything in their path. Laokolé is a sixteen year old girl who spirits her disabled father around on a ramshackle wheelbarrow and looks after her eight year old brother Fofo while dreaming of ways to leave the city and build a better future. As Johnny advances and Laokolé falls back, miniature warlords leading diminutive armies kill each other over such trivialities as misplaced words or television sets. (Written by Jason Buchanan, Rovi)

The one interesting movie that might actually be worth seeing, naturally on limited release. I think that the no-name cast and seriously interesting subject will generate some serious buzz around this indie picture. I could definitely see this film opening peoples eyes to the problem of child soldiers in Africa, but with it's limited release and the general publics limited world-view, I don't think too many people will have the luxury to check it out.




Conclusion:
Since it's going to be a longshot that Johnny Mad Dog is near you, I'd either recommend The Way Back or The Company Men. But this does seem to be a pretty balanced weekend, The Way Back has something for action, WWII buffs; The Company Men has something for more mature, drama viewers and; No Strings Attached is definitely for the ladies who need some Ashton. 


Only time will tell which does best, both with the critics, and at the box office.