Weekend Preview: Feb. 10-12, 2012
There are nine new releases this week. We have previews for six of them below.
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Trailer Watch: Tim & Eric’$ Billion Dollar Movie
My brain tried to escape my head after seeing all the wrongness in evidence.
Tim & Eric'$ Billion Dollar Movie
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Plot Summary: A pair of knuckleheads set out to film the greatest movie in history but have absolutely no idea how. Release Date: March 2, 2012 |
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Rating: C- Commentary: There's too much cheese to really take the poster seriously. However, that's what the producers want. It's not very brazen when your manipulation is this obvious. |
Rating: D+ Commentary: The trailer is designed to bounce from cameo to cameo and comic set piece to set piece, leaving little room to expect more than a brain-crushing waste of time. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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What to See: Feb. 3-5, 2012
On Sundays, we list the weekend's upcoming films along with previews of trailers and posters. On Wednesdays, we preview all of the upcoming new wide and limited releases hitting the theaters the coming weekend. On Fridays, we'll now tell you what you should see. We pose two questions each week to our contributors and their responses are posted below.
Wesley Lovell
1. Which of the three new wide releases would you choose to recommend above the others?
I have two options of films I'd like to see, but one is so clearly ahead of the other that I have to recommend The Woman in Black.
2. Are there any limited release features this week that you would recommend (and why)?
None of the films releasing on a limited pattern appeal to me other than The Innkeepers.
Peter J. Patrick
Trailer Watch: Detachment
This title is what I feel about Adrien Brody's work.
Detachment
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Plot Summary: A substitute teacher tries to reach out to his students in his short education gigs, but his past threatens to catch up with him. Release Date: March 16, 2012 |
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Rating: C- Commentary: Choosing a scene from a film can be a positive step in building a rapport with the audience. It can also be a bit too pushy for its own good. That's one of the biggest problems with this one. |
Rating: C Commentary: As much as the talent involved in the film looks spectacular and it got some decent reviews, the trailer is so unexceptional and filled with cliched moments that I can't bring myself to wanting to see it. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: I would say unlikely, but one never knows how a film like this will play in the intervening months. |
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Trailer Watch: 28 Hotel Rooms
So far it doesn't look like much, but Chris Messina's a fairly interesting actor, so it could be.
28 Hotel Rooms
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Plot Summary: A pair of travellers connect for a one night stand while both are in separate relationships, but their encounter could lead to something more. Release Date: Coming Soon |
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Rating: C+ Commentary: Putting people in the bed from the poster for Shame seems a bit underwhelming. |
Rating: C+ Commentary: There's just enough tantalizing detail to maybe draw an audience, but not enough to become much of a success. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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Looking at the Weekend: Feb. 3-5, 2012
Will Daniel Radcliffe show the Twilight trio how to open a movie? Very likely, though more for the fact that the film will target a sizable fanbase than for the fact that Radcliffe is in it.
Consensus
Below is a list of what we have come to a general consensus on. The number in parens represents the percentage of our contributors who agree with the statement.
Big Miracle: Predictable crowd pleaser may be more the former than the latter.
Chronicle: An interesting concept that needs excellent execution to be a success.
The Woman in Black: Atmospheric. Creepy. It's the kind of movie that should do well out of the gate.
The Innkeepers: A limited release to build up word of mouth may work for some films, but horror doesn't tend to permit that type of release schedule.
Trailer Watch: Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds
Occasionally, the man makes a film that doesn't look too bad.
Tyler Perry's Good Deeds
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Plot Summary: A regimented businessman thrust into his career by a family business turns over a new leaf when he must step outside of his comfort zone and let his heart guide his every move. Release Date: February 24, 2012 |
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Rating: D+ Commentary: I know Tyler Perry's a selling tool in and of himself, but this type of self-promotion is far too crass. |
Rating: B- Commentary: Although I probably won't catch the film, Thandie Newton alone makes this one look like one that could be worth watching. It still has far too many cliched elements, but it might be palatable diversion. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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Trailer Watch: The Vow
I guess this will be my Valentine's Day recommendation this year even if i'm sure it will be undeniably pedestrian.
The Vow
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Plot Summary: A woman loses her recent memory, forgetting the man she married and he must win her heart again. Release Date: February 10, 2012 |
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Rating: D+ Commentary: Far too meager an offering to be exciting. It might, and I do stress might, be able to sell enough tickets on the attractive faces on the cover, but not nearly as well as they hope. |
Rating: C+ / B- Commentary: Trailer 1: The first trailer is a bit too informal. It sets up the premise, but doesn't make it look like anything special. / Trailer 2: Whatever tweaking they did to the first trailer, however mininmal, ended up making this a much better trailer and looking more like a watchable film. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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Weekend Preview: Feb. 3-5, 2012
There are seven new releases this week. We have previews for seven of them below.
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Trailer Watch: Project X
Not a film about rescuing chimpanzees. This is a movie about an out-of-control kegger. Not nearly as interesting.
Project X
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Plot Summary: A teenager's attempt to throw the greatest birthday bash in history turns into one of the loudest, drunkest, most brash parties ever. Release Date: March 2, 2012 |
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Rating: C Commentary: A rather simplistic poster featuring a raging party in the background and the sky-exploring hosts sprawled on the ground gets an added boost of pointlessness with a balloon-launched dog added for purported amusement. |
Rating: C; F Commentary: Trailer #1: The first trailer makes for an innocent romp. When I first saw the title, I thought the studios had once again dipped into the murky '80's water and pulled out the cute, anti-animal testing, Matthew Broderick drama for a modern update. This is not that. / Trailer #2: Relying too much on the producer credit to The Hangover director Todd Phillips already turns me away from the film, but the trailer merely exists to excite pre-pubescent minds about what constitutes a rocking party. It's going to be a hit simply by all the youngsters it draws in, but that doesn't make it a well crafted trailer. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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What to See: Jan. 27-29, 2012
On Sundays, we list the weekend's upcoming films along with previews of trailers and posters. On Wednesdays, we preview all of the upcoming new wide and limited releases hitting the theaters the coming weekend. On Fridays, we'll now tell you what you should see. We pose two questions each week to our contributors and their responses are posted below.
Wesley Lovell
1. Which of the three new wide releases would you choose to recommend above the others?
It's so hard to decide between three different types of cheese. So, I'm going with Man on a Ledge because I like Sam Worthington better than modern Liam Neeson or any kind of Katherine Heigl.
2. Are there any limited release features this week that you would recommend (and why)?
The premise is interesting enough to make Declaration of War a solid choice for this weekend.
Peter J. Patrick
Trailer Watch: Thin Ice
This could be described as Fargo-light.
Thin Ice
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Plot Summary: Having maxed his credit cards and found himself in thick financial danger, a businessman attempts to steal his father's prized, valuable violin; however, the man he hires to secure the house and set up the heist to steal the violin turns out to be a psychopath not afraid to kill to protect himself and his quarry. Release Date: February 17, 2012 |
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Rating: B Commentary: Attempting to build on the popularity of Fargo's homespun trailer from 1996, the poster designer does a decent, but not exceptional job. |
Rating: C Commentary: This black comedy, like the Coen Brothers' Fargo, seems to be running on the fumes of its stars presenting nothing original or exciting that would wow potential viewers. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: None. |
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Trailer Watch: The Flowers of War
Is this even a foreign language film? The trailer does not make it seem that way.
The Flowers of War
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Plot Summary: An American priest in China finds himself protecting a group of troubled women as the Japanese invade China in 1937. Release Date: January 20, 2012 |
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Rating: B- Commentary: It's a pretty design, but fairly vacuous. It has plenty of film-centric images to tie it into the picture without finding an inventive method of execution. |
Rating: B- Commentary: The film refuses to avoid conventional storytelling elements pitting war against "innocence" with the potential for betrayal and redemption. The trialer doesn't suggest anything more than a passive historical saga that will be engaging without being foreward thinking. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: The film was submitted for the Foreign Language Film Oscar, but the film didn't make the final short list, which could be a testament to the fact that there's too much English language dialogue. Maybe they used it all in the trailer, but it doesn't sound like a foreign lingo pic to me. Although it wasn't on the Academy's nine-film final shortlist for the Foreign Language Film Oscar, it did release in time to be considered for other categories. Only Art Direction and Costume Design seem like feasible categories and even that is pushing it. |
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Looking at the Weekend: Jan. 27-29, 2012
When it comes to box office success, no one has a better chance of doing it than Liam Neeson. None of his recent films have really appealed to me, but there's no denying that he is one of the most dependable box office stars out there.
Consensus
Below is a list of what we have come to a general consensus on. The number in parens represents the percentage of our contributors who agree with the statement.
The Grey: Liam Neeson draws people to the box office, but doesn't draw the Academy voters.
Man on a Ledge: It may not be an original premise, but it may be gimmicky enough to be successful.
One for the Money: Katharine Heigl isn't the most bankable movie star (either financially or in terms of quality).
Declaration of War: The film that could have been a Foreign Language Film threat is now simply an also-ran.
Trailer Watch: Madagascar 3
The third film in a franchise that didn't look initially like a franchise. That's not necessarily a good thing.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
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Plot Summary: The most successful escaped animal quartet in film history finds new adventures as they attempt to capture the elusive penguins in the grand cityscape of Monte Carlo. Release Date: June 8, 2012 |
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Rating: B- Commentary: The clever imagery of a giraffe so far elevaed over the rest is the lone element that keeps this poster relevant. It's not the funniest thing they could have done, but it works well enough. |
Rating: B Commentary: I enjoyed the first film, but never got to the theater to watch the second, so I'm not particularly excited to see this third film. There are a handful of amusing moments in the trailer, but not enough to make me think it's going to compare equitably to the original. |
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Preview Link: CLICK HERE for link to the trailer, more posters (if available) and other commentary not featured here. Oscar Chances: It may be on the shortlist (otherwise known as the eligibility list) for the Oscar for Animated Feature, but I doubt it makes it any farther than that. |
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