FRIDAY PREVIEW: MAY 13th

Another week gone by, another week ahead of us. Here were last weekends big money grabbers:

1st Place: Thor ($66 Million)

2nd Place: Fast Five ($32.5 Million)

3rd Place: Jumping the Broom ($13.7 Million)

4th Place: Something Borrowed ($13.2 Million)

5th Place: Rio ($8.2 Million)


I apologize, I forgot to preview Jumping the Broom last week, so I'll sum it up real quick:

Don't see Jumping the Broom. Although I must say, my favorite part of the trailer is Don Lafontaine's awesome, gritty voiceover that doesn't fit at all. Pure genius on the marketing department's... part.

Anything worth your time this week? Hit the jump to see if this week could do any better...


Priest

Directed by: Scott Charles Stewart
Written by: Cory Goodman (Screenplay), Min-Woo Hyung (Graphic Novel)
Length: 1 hr 27 mins
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q
Trailer

Synopsis: 

A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece. (IMDb)

Wait, didn't Scott Charles Stewart make this movie last year, with Legion? Also starring the recent sellout Paul Bettany, Legion failed at the box office, probably because it was a terrible idea for a movie, that was awfully executed. Although I've liked Bettany in the past (The DaVinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, and Master & Commander), he has been getting far too 'mainstream' and losing any credit he had. Skip Priest, and rent Master & Commander. Don't let one of your Friday the 13th nightmares be seeing this movie.


Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig

Written by: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Length: 2 hrs 5 mins

Rated: R

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy

Trailer

Synopsis:

Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie (Wiig) looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids. (IMDb)

I'm thinking this might already be the movie of the week. Just based on the trailer, Kristen Wiig made me chuckle a few times, with both her script and co-stars. Directed by Paul Feig (who has directed a few episodes of The Office and Arrested Development, as well as an episode of 30 Rock), I'm pretty sure this raunchy ladies comedy will have enough laughs in it for everyone.

Hesher

Directed by: Spenser Susser

Written by: Spenser Susserm, David Michôd, Brian Charles Frank

Length: 1 hr 40 mins

Rated: R

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu

Trailer

Synopsis:

Hesher is a loner. He hates the world and everyone in it. He has long greasy hair and homemade tattoos. He is malnourished and smokes a lot of cigarettes. He likes fire and blowing things up. He lives in his van, until he meets TJ. (IMDb)

This is more like it. Hesher looks to be an absolutely unexpected movie, giving rising star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and another sellout, Natalie Portman a few roles that they weren't born for (which is the best kind of roles one can witness). I don't know much about the plot or what in the hell this movie will be about, but I expect it to be a good time either way. For it's originality and cast, I'd recommend Hesher.

Go for It!

Directed by: Carmen Marron

Written by: Carmen Marron

Length: 1 hr 30 mins

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Aimee Garcia, Al Bandiero, Jossara Jinaro

Trailer

Synopsis:

Carmen is a good student with a bad attitude who lives for dancing in the underground clubs of Chicago. She yearns to be 'somebody' but is afraid to believe in herself. Her immigrant Mexican, working-class parents want her to stay in school and get an education, so she attends junior college while working at a grocery store. Carmen's professor catches her performing one day in the neighborhood and challenges her to audition to a formal dance school in California. She gets into a fight with her chaotic family and runs away to her best friend Gina's place only to find out Gina's been getting beat up by her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Carmen's boyfriend, Jared wants her to commit and move in with him. Pulled apart in every direction, her dream of dancing fades. Can Carmen overcome her fears and take the biggest chance of her life, or will she succumb to her self-doubt? (Los Angeles Film Festival)

Long enough synopsis? Apparently writer/director Carmen Marron never watches movies, because I think this would be the 13th rendition of the exact same film, Step Up. Amateur acting mixed with an overdone genre just isn't going to cut it.

Skateland

Directed by: Anthony Burns

Written by: Anthony Burns, Heath Freeman, Brandon Freeman

Length: 1 hr 38 mins.

Rated: PG-13

Starring: Ashley Greene, Shiloh Fernandez, Heath Freeman

Trailer

Synopsis:

In the early 1980s, in small-town Texas, dramatic events force a 19-year-old skating rink manager to look at his life in a very new way. (IMDb)

This is Adventureland mixed with Waiting... mixed with Friday Night Lights. Another story about some punk teen who is lost, doesn't know what to do with their future (join the club), and some antics go down along the way. Another amateur cast in an overdone story, Skateland is sure to surprise no one. Sometimes limited release is a good thing.


Conclusion:

Two movies worth your time: Bridesmaids and Hesher. Although neither might have anything you're looking for, I would say they are the most solid choices for the mass public. Skateland, Priest, and Go for It might have some entertainment mixed in with the cesspools of frames someone put together and decided to call a film, but I'm doubting any of these three movies will be worth anyone's time, in a sea of already flooded genres.

Be careful this Friday the 13th, don't see something you'll regret.

Watch responsibly.