FRIDAY PREVIEW: JUN 17th

Yep.

Here are last weekends top grossing films:

First Place: Super 8 ($35.5 Million)
Second Place: X-Men: First Class ($24.1 Million)
Third Place: The Hangover Part II ($17.7 Million)
Fourth Place: Kung Fu Panda 2 ($16.5 Million)
Fifth Place: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($10.9 Million)


Note how four of the five are part of a franchise with plenty of movies already on the market. Pirates being the fourth in the series, and X-Men being the fifth, this only means one thing: there are too many sequels out. It's good to see an original film, Super 8, actually doing well in theaters. Talk about a summer refreshment.

A few more summer blockbusters are still on their way, hit the jump to check out the latest releases for the weekend of June 17th.

Green Lantern

Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg
Length: 1 hr 45 mins
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong
Trailer


Synopsis:

A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. (IMDb)

Now, I like superhero movies as much as the next guy, and especially anything in the DC universe. However, is it just me or does it look like every superhero movie this year is going to suck? I understand that they need to make as many of these not-so-well-known superheroes a little more common knowledge, so that both the Avengers and Justice League movies can be released without a hitch (whenever they were planning on doing that). But, starting with Thor, moving through the Green Lantern, and soon Captain America, this years superhero blockbusters look like absolute junk. Ryan Reynolds now has a character in both the Marvel and DC universes, with Deadpool in the terrible, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Chris Evans will soon have TWO characters in Marvel, with Johnny Fire or whatever his name is in the Fantastic Four, and Captain America later this summer. A shortness of dreamy, muscular men has led Hollywood to recycle actors for essentially the same movie over and over again. Directed by Martin Campbell (who has some fantastic movies in his filmography, including Goldeneye and Casino Royale), I just don't think that the Blake Lively/Ryan Reynolds romance in Green Lantern will cut it, since it looks like such utter crap. If you're a fan of the comics, I might even recommend avoiding this one, your hero will be ruined. By the way, a Deadpool movie is in pre-production, according to IMDb.


Mr. Popper's Penguins

Directed by: Mark Waters
Written by: Sean Anders, John Morris & Jared Stern (Screenplay), Richard Atwater & Florence Atwater (Novel)

Length: 1 hr 35 mins

Rated: PG

Cast: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Jeffrey Tambor, Clark Gregg

Trailer

Synopsis:

The life of a businessman begins to change after he inherits six penguins, and as he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel. (IMDb)

I love me some Jim Carrey, just about any day of the week. He has done some fantastic films across the entire spectrum of genres, including Man on the Moon, The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Grinch, and Bruce Almighty. I have a feeling that Mr. Popper's Penguins won't find it's way on to my favorite Carrey films, however I do expect it to be an enjoyable adventure with a simple plot that won't challenge the kids minds too much, but is sure to have a good moral in the end. Directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls and Freaky Friday) and co-starring the cougar, Carla Gugino, I would have to recommend Mr. Popper's Penguins to just about anyone.


Page One: Inside the New York Times

Directed by: Andrew Rossi
Written by: Kate Novack, Andrew Rossi

Length: 1 hr 28 mins

Rated: R

Trailer

Synopsis:

Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity. (IMDb)

Movie of the week? Probably. Stay with me. Centered around the quickly declining news-print industry, this documentary looks at one of the most prestigious and recognized newspapers in the world, and how cut-throat being a reporter for the New York Times can be. Being a fan of classic reporting (I hate television news, but love printed media), I'm very interested to see how these reporters and editors are fighting with one another, while trying to stay afloat in the failing paper industry or jumping the boat for the mainland that is online social media. Check out the trailer for this movie, and then check out the movie. If it was only closer to the Oscars, we might even see a nomination...


The Art of Getting By

Directed by: Gavin Wiesen
Written by: Gavin Wiesen

Length: 1 hr 24 mins

Rated: PG-13

Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano

Trailer

Synopsis:

George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit. (IMDb)

There is something I don't buy about the romance between Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Emma Roberts (Valentine's Day, Scream 4). Maybe it's my eternal crush on Emma Roberts, and even though I will never meet her, I still want her to remain single. Maybe it's the fact that Highmore still looks like a 12 year old, and is still (and always will be) over a year younger than Emma Roberts. Maybe it's because Emma Roberts should look for a real man named Mark and not some damned kid named Freddie! Directed by Gavin Wiesen (nothing you have ever seen), The Art of Getting By looks like that same old movie you've seen a million times: a kid is in that awkward phase with school, when he slacks off more than he can, and doesn't know how to interact with pretty girls who are obviously interested in him (my auto-biography much?). Another coming of age film, just starring different people saying slightly different lines. The only reason you'll catch me watching this one is to feed my daydreams about Roberts, but if I really want to do that, I'll just watch something worth my time. Like Nancy Drew.

Conclusion:

The two movies worth your time: Mr. Popper's Penguins and Page One: Inside the New York Times. The former is guaranteed simple, surface level entertainment that contains the usual funny animal-doing-human-things stuff. The latter is going to be much more mind-intensive; you're going to learn about real people doing what I'm sure is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and something I could never do myself. The two worth passing: Green Lantern and The Art of Getting By. The former looks like complete junk (watch the trailer), and the latter looks like that same old recycled script that is released every two months. 

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