A heavy slate of new releases this week and the debut of a new way of presenting these. Instead of commenting on every new limited release under the sun, we will only trot out our commentary on ones that have people talking about them. In addition, I’m going to try to better summarize our thought sin the consensus section, though still keeping it to short sentences.
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 Adjustment Bureau: A great cast and an interesting premise make this one to catch (67%), but one that isn’t likely to tickle Oscar’s fancy (100%).
Beastly: An unnecessary reworking that doesn’t have much going for it (67%) and that holds true for Oscar (100%).
Rango: We are mostly just tired of Johnny Depp, so the film isn’t something we’re interested in (100%), though it could be a minor Oscar contender, but probably won’t be (67%).
Take Me Home Tonight: What is the point? We can’t figure it out (100%) and Oscar won’t either (100%).
HappyThankYouMorePlease: Could be a decent film, but definitely for at-home viewing (67%) and Oscar voters aren’t likely to remember it at that point (100%).
Uncle Boonmee: A bona fide critics’ favorite makes this a film we’re all likely to see at some point (100%), though it may have missed its only Oscar window in the Foreign Language Film category this past year (67%).
WIDE RELEASES
| THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU | ||||
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ThoughtsWhat a cast. Even if the premise didn’t seem intriguing, I’d probably sit down to it just to see this cast. |
ThoughtsMatt Damon and Emily Blunt are always interesting and with Damon’s Bourne producer making his directing debut, it might be worth a shot. |
ThoughtsThis looks like an interesting thriller, and the cast is certainly intriguing, and could be a good Spring movie. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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| BEASTLY | ||||
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ThoughtsThis looks like a stale, trite re-imagining of the Beauty and the Beast story with characters that don’t seem that interesting. It’s already been done well, there’s no need to try to modernize it. |
ThoughtsIt’s been twenty years since the last big screen version of Beauty and the Beast, so why not? |
ThoughtsAn unintriguing cast in an unnecessary looking film. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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| RANGO | ||||
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ThoughtsJohnny Depp alone could keep me away from the film, but the concept doesn’t look that interesting, the graphics are too clean and the humor too common. |
ThoughtsNot my cup of tea, but doesn’t look bad for what it is – another cartoon. |
ThoughtsI’m getting tired of Johnny Depp’s new shtick, and this looks painful. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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| TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT | ||||
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ThoughtsAlthough I like some members of the cast, this isn’t your typical sit-down-to-the-cast kind of feature (like The Adjustment Bureau). The film just looks like a warmed over pastiche with no redeeming qualities. |
ThoughtsLooks like another unfunny comedy and a stupid waste of time. |
ThoughtsIf you were wondering why no one had ever made a Labor Day film before, this is proof of why. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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LIMITED RELEASES
| HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE | ||||
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ThoughtsDespite the presence of Josh Radnor who I’ve liked on How I Met Your Mother, I can’t really see a good reason to shell out money for this. Maybe on DVD, but possibly not even then. |
ThoughtsLooks as schizophrenic as its title. |
ThoughtsA real good, up and coming cast could make this an interesting rental. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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| UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES | ||||
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ThoughtsIt’s had such strong word of mouth, that you can’t completely avoid watching it at some point in the future, though when is anyone’s guess. |
ThoughtsCritically acclaimed Thai film about a dying man was passed over for this year’s foreign film contention, it’s not likely to garner too many awards now that’s it’s finally in release in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be seen. |
ThoughtsThe word of mouth from people in the know is that this is a wondrous film. |
ThoughtsPENDING |
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