FRIDAY PREVIEW: JUL 8th

Oh man, July 4th weekend was huge. One of the biggest movies of the year was released, pulling in more money than I will ever make in my lifetime. Here are last weeks cash grabbers:

First Place: Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($97.4 Million)
Second Place: Cars 2 ($25.1 Million)
Third Place: Bad Teacher ($14.1 Million)
Fourth Place: Larry Crowne ($13 Million)
Fifth Place: Monte Carlo ($7.6 Million)


Transformers 3 killed all of the competition, with two of the other new releases coming in fourth and fifth, behind Cars 2 and Bad Teacher, which had a weeks head start on the pair. A couple new comedies come out this week, which are sure to destroy any chance Bad Teacher has at a third good weekend.

Hit the jump for the new releases for the weekend of July 8th...


Horrible Bosses

Directed by: Seth Gordon
Written by: Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, Johnathan Goldstein
Length: 1 hr 40 mins
Rated: R
Cast: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Colin Farrel, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey
Trailer


Synopsis:

Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness. (IMDb)

My Opinion:

I have two very strong ideas about this movie, both in total opposite directions. First, the negative: I think the plot to this movie is about as dumb as it gets. Three guys hate their bosses, so they conspire to kill them. Okay, in real life, everyone hates their bosses, but hating someone to the point of wanting them dead seems a little extreme. How about they quit their jobs instead, find new ones, and get on with their lives? Because that wouldn't make a good movie. Perhaps the movie will show why these guys don't instead quit their careers and mention some serious motive for wanting their bosses dead, but until then, I think the premise is far below par. Now, my positive thoughts on the movie: I think both Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) and Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are two of the funniest actors around, and if anyone is going to be rectifying this movie from its lame plot, it will be them. Director Seth Gordon has an interesting track record (Two documentaries: The King of Kong and Freakonomics), as well as a few episodes of Parks & Rec, The Office, and Community. I have faith that this movie could be hilarious, but am somewhat cautious since the plot is so over-the-top dumb.



Zookeeper

Directed by: Frank Coraci
Written by: Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick, David Ronn
Length: 1 hr 44 mins
Rated: PG
Cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Donnie Wahlberg
Trailer


Synopsis:

A group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help their lovable zookeeper (Kevin James) find love -- without opting to leave his current job for something more illustrious. woman. (IMDb)

My Opinion:

Kevin James was funny on The King of Queens. One might even say hilarious. However, I'm just not appreciating his humor when it's in a film that is a near complete replica of the fantastic Night at the Museum. Sure, replace some statues with animals, and a kid with a girl, and you've got the same plot. Easy humor sometimes doesn't cut it, especially in a PG rated movie. I'm going to pass on Zookeeper and instead enjoy Ben Stiller in the original.



The Ward

Directed by: John Carpenter
Written by: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
Length: 1 hr 28 mins
Rated: R
Cast: Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker, Jared Harris
Trailer


Synopsis:

A thriller centered on an institutionalized young woman who becomes terrorized by a ghost. (IMDb)

My Opinion:

Before watching this trailer, I really was hoping it'd be good. After watching the trailer, I knew it wasn't. I really was hoping that John Carpenter's (Big Trouble in Little China, Halloween, Escape from New York) latest would remind me of a classic horror/thriller, but no dice. I was instead filled with fleeting images of Shutter Island and for some weird reason, Silent Hill. As much as I like Amber Heard (Pineapple Express), I just don't think The Ward will be either as scary, entertaining, or original as it looks.



Ironclad

Directed by: Johnathan English
Written by: Jonathan English, Erick Kastel, Stephen McDool
Length: 2 hrs 1 min
Rated: R
Cast: Jason Flemyng, Paul Giamatti, Kate Mara, Brian Cox, James Purefoy
Trailer


Synopsis:

In 13th-century England, a small group of Knights Templar fight to defend Rochester Castle against the tyrannical King John. (IMDb)

My Opinion:

Please note that this film is directed by Johnny English. Now that I got my Rowan Atkinson reference out of the way, on to my impressions about Ironclad. This is another movie that could go either way for me. Although I don't expect any sort of Kingdom of Heaven style authenticity or quality, I feel like the world is due for a good siege movie. Starring Oscar nominated Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Golden Globe nominated Brian Cox (Super Troopers), and the ever lovely Kate Mara (Shooter), I'm sure that Ironclad will have plenty of gore and action, although it might be lacking in the story department. This one is a big maybe, watch at your own risk.



Project Nim

Directed by: James Marsh
Length: 1 hr 33 mins
Rated: PG-13
Trailer


Synopsis:

Tells the story of a chimpanzee taken from its mother at birth and raised like a human child by a family in a brownstone on the upper West Side in the 1970s. (IMDb)

My Opinion:

The only Green Light of the week, Project Nim comes from James Marsh, the director of the Oscar winning film, Man on Wire (as well as the not so well-remembered, Wisconsin Death Trip). The trailer of Project Nim reminds me quite a bit of Man on Wire, it's a documentary filmed about 30 years after the event happened. Consisting of home footage and interviews of a half-remembered hippie trip, the film explores the intelligence of a single chimp, raised like a human. I'm very interested to see how this movie plays out, since the trailer hints that just about everything in the experiment went wrong. As usual though, every independent movie that I look forward to has a very restricted release, so it might be a few months before I get the pleasure.



Conclusion:

Green Lights:
Project Nim- Definitely an interesting idea for a documentary, although most of the information compiled was put together about twenty years late. Director James Marsh has a good track record (including an Oscar), so I'm on board.


Yellow Lights:
Horrible Bosses- I could see this movie being absolutely hilarious, since both Charlie Day and Jason Bateman have hit my funny bone in the past. Although the story looks pretty terrible, I'll probably end up seeing this film in the near future.


Ironclad- I needed a good siege movie at least once this year, and it looks like this will be it. Sure to be full of action and at least some on-par acting, I think Ironclad's only downfall will be it's storytelling, which could go either way.


Red Lights:
Zookeeper- No thank you. Night at the Museum didn't need to be remade so quick, with talking animals and plenty more physical comedy. Kevin James has made me laugh in the past, but the unoriginality of this plot is enough to keep me away.


The Ward- John Carpenter's latest just doesn't look like it'll scare me enough to be worth it. With what I'm sure will be predictable 'scare tactics', as well as a cookie cutter story, Amber Heard won't be able to break this one out the the asylum it's getting itself locked into.