Preview Reviews

IMDb reports that five new movies will be released to cinemas this Friday:

1.  Cloverfield

The director Matt Reeves seems to have taken a hiatus from feature-length movies…his last one was The Pallbearer in 1996 and since then he has spent most of his time working with television.  That said, there is an incredible amount of buzz going around about Cloverfield and I would be pretty shocked it didn’t turn out to be at least decent, nor would I be surprised to find that it’s actually quite fantastic.

The idea sounds ridiculous, but a group of people are having a going-away party when a creature begins attacking New York City and they must band together to fight for survival.

It’s rated PG-13 by the MPAA and is getting very positive early reviews.

2. Mad Money

Starring Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Diane Keaton, and Queen Latifah Mad Money tells the story of three Federal Reserve employees who decide to try to steal a bunch of cash that is destined to be destroyed due to wear.

Director Callie Khouri is responsible for a lot of movies I haven’t particularly liked such as Thelma & Louise, , and her previous directorial feature-length movie was Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  A scan of her resume seems to say that this movie is going to be terrible from a critic’s perspective, but probably well-received by those who love chick flicks.

It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA and seems to be getting mixed early reviews.

3. 27 Dresses

Directed by Anne Fletcher, who is simultaneously very experienced in the movie world in many aspects, but a virtual unknown in a role as director, 27 Dresses stars Katherine Heigl and Judy Greer in a movie that tells the story of Heigl’s character, who after having served as a bridesmaid 27 times is now asked by her sister to be a bridesmaid at the wedding where her sister will marry the man she is secretly in love with.

It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA and is likely going to be loved by fans of chick flicks and loathed by most everyone else.

4. Teeth

Mitchell Lichtenstein writes and directs Teeth with virtually no directorial experience at either the Hollywood or independent film level.  The idea behind this film is that a young lady at a high school discovers that she has a talent when she becomes the object of some violent males.

Early reviews are leaning towards this being a below average movie and I certainly won’t be seeing it until it’s cycled out of theaters and into the movie channels, if at all.

It is rated R by the MPAA and due to the limited release, may not be available in all markets.

5. Cassandra’s Dream

While the above movie with a limited release looks pretty terrible, this limited release seems very promising.  Famed director Woody Allen tells the story of a clever young woman in London who takes advantage of two Cockney men vying for her affection whom she drives to criminal activity in their efforts to prove they deserve her affection.  The movie stars Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as the two Cockney men mentioned, and Hayley Atwell as the object of their affections.

I’m a big fan of  Woody Allen and Ewan McGregor and I expect very good things from this movie, which is getting positive early reviews from the critics lucky enough to already have screened it.

It is rated PG-13 by the MPAA and due to the limited release, may not be available in all markets.

6. Taxi to the Dark Side

Taxi to the Dark Side comes to us from Alex Gibney, an experienced and renowned director of documentaries and who is probably most famous for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. The time he examines the torturous practices of the United States in its War on Terror, war in Afghanistan, and war in Iraq by following a specific incident in which a completely innocent Iraqi taxi driver was tortured and killed in 2002.

While the content is certain to be grim, it is an important movie in this time of flexibility with our national morality about torture and though it will be released exclusively in Los Angeles and New York City, since it’s a documentary, that really can’t be helped.  Look for it when it is released on DVD, though.

It is rated R by the MPAA and has been nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay 2008 by the Writers Guild of America, and has already won Best Director and Best Documentary at the Chicago International Film Festival, and Best Documentary and the Jury Award at Ojai Film Festival.

IMDb reports that three new movies will be released to cinemas this Friday:

1. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Directed by Uwe Boll, this movie is really pre-destined to be terrible.  Seemingly every movie he attaches himself to becomes so ridiculously awful as to actually make them unreviewable.  What’s most surprising is the cast he’s been able to assemble to make this!  They include Leelee Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies, Jason Statham, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, and even Ray Liotta.

The plot outline given by the IMDb is that “a man named Farmer sets out to rescue his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of his son — two acts committed by the Krugs, a race of animal-warriors who are controlled by the evil Gallian.”

2.  First Sunday

I am not at all familiar with David E. Talbert‘s earlier work, but this film’s plot is reported to be: “Durell and LeeJohn are best friends and bumbling petty criminals. When told they have one week to pay a $17,000 debt or Durell will lose his son, they come up with a desperate scheme to rob their neighborhood church. Instead, they end up spending the night in the presence of the Lord and are forced to deal with much more than they bargained for. ”

It stars Tracy Morgan, and Ice Cube.  It’s hard to expect much, even from them, with that kind of plot, but I suppose we’ll see after it starts screening.

3. The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie

Mike Nawrocki directs this title having come from a long career of work related almost exclusively to VeggieTales.  It’s animated and doesn’t seem to feature any terribly memorable actors to point out.

The plot summary given is: “Three lazy misfits – very timid Elliot (Larry the Cucumber), lazy Sedgewick (Mr. Lunt) and no self-confident George (Pa Grape) – dream of the day of putting on a show about pirates. With their own problems of might not having this dream come true, they soon find themselves traveling back in time into the 17th century and begin a quest to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant, and learn about being pirates. ”

Based on the plot summary I guess I just hope it’s a limited rather than a wide release.

That’s all for this week, so unless you’re planning on seeing something released last week, you might not even bother going to the theatre.  It looks like nothing especially interesting is coming until the following Friday.