Theatrical Releases: Bad Teacher & Cars 2

June 24, 2011 / Leave a Comment

BAD TEACHER || June 24th, 2011

Tons of films releasing this week, with “Cars 2” probably a shoe-in for raking in the cash both domestically and foreign. “Bad Teacher”, despite its lack of wear-with-all, will assumedly not do too shabby either. Next week, being a holiday week and with “Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon” hitting theaters as early as Tuesday, I feel that I will not be hitting the theater seats until then.

	BAD TEACHER \|\| The only reason that I would actually go see this film would be to see Jason Segal. And since he is barely in the film, it is really not worth seeing Cameron Diaz be a bitch for an entire film. Justin Timberlake is not a selling point either. Unless you are a teacher, work with teachers, or have an infatuation with any of the actors/actresses in the film, there appears to be little reason to see this.	STREAM
	A BETTER LIFE \|\| Portraying a Hispanic father working out of his truck to afford a better life for his son, “A Better Life” actually looks like a touching story with a great mixture of emotions. Not only does the acting look excellent from the trailers, but there might actually even be some relevancy to real life contained within. Go figure!	RENT
	CARS 2 \|\| The first “Cars” was all right. It was in no way the best Disney/Pixar film of all-time, but it had its moments. Though the second one has been getting rather good reviews, I just do not see paying to see this one in the theaters, at least on its first run. Perhaps I will hear even more great things in the next few days, but until then, count me in for the cheap seats.	THEATER

	BEGINNING OF THE GREAT REVIVAL \|\| The visual effects and set design of this film make it look interesting, but the trailer also leads you to believe that there will be a lot of dead time in the film. With mixed feelings, I will probably see this later, rather than sooner.	STREAM
	THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST \|\| Neil Patrick Harris is enough to sell a film, but just not enough to drag me to the theaters to see it. This film looks hilarious in its own, straight-to-DVD way, but other than that, I find it difficult to sell this type of film as a theatrical hit. The concept looks unique enough and Shooter McGavin lands a major role in this New York comedy.	STREAM
	CONAN O’BRIEN CAN’T STOP \|\| How could a film about Conan O’Brien not be awesome? I am looking forward to seeing this. Not that I will be running out to catch it, but, yes, I will probably catch this one in the theater.	THEATER
	GENERAL ORDERS NO. 9 \|\| Though I am not sure you should have your trailer bill your film with the tagline “makes Malick look like a straight shot of Hollywood”, due to the mixed reviews on “Tree of Life”. Though the imagery is stunning, there is no coherency to the trailer, much like that of “Tree of Life” a few months ago. Do not get me wrong, I loved “Tree of Life” and look forward to seeing this film just to find out its general purpose, on the other hand, I do not see many people going out of their way to see this film.	RENT
	IF A TREE FALLS \|\| This documentary looks amazing and I really look forward to seeing it. Documentaries seem to just be getting better and better these days and this one is no different, truly speaking on an important topic of the Earth Liberation Front and their fight against corporate America. There is a middle ground that is felt, even in this trailer and getting to understand the events that take place in our country are sometimes eye-opening. “Gas Land” was a great example of a documentary nominated for an Oscar last year that truly opens your eyes to problems our country faces that many people know nothing about. “The Cove” is another all-time favorite documentary that does the same thing. I have a feeling this documentary is going to be very good, however, I will probably be seeing it from the comfort of my own home.	RENT
	LEAP YEAR \|\| The trailer does not give much away on this foreign film, but the reviews have been sensational, with Rotten Tomatoes already scoring it with 100% and over 20 reviews. The film does look sexy, but other than that, there is not even a hint of what the story could be. I look forward to eventually seeing this, just not likely in theaters.	STREAM
	A LOVE AFFAIR OF SORTS \|\| Not going to sugar-coat my thoughts on this one; this film looks horrible. Not that the quality is bad or anything, but the fact that most of the film is shot on a camera phone truly expresses the dying art of film. Documentaries are getting muddied up with these horrible “dramatic docs” that are probably partially real and partially full of shit, shedding negative light on other films that come off slightly full of it, like “Catfish” which was an amazing film and was most likely real, but because of films like this, everything becomes inherently fake.	PASS
	THE NAMES OF LOVE \|\| Very few foreign comedies have ever riled my anticipation to want to see them. The recent release of “Heartbreaker” was one of the only in its genre that struck me as a must-see and, for the most part, did not disappoint. “The Names of Love” appears to be another winner. The actress alone portrays the film nicely and with comedy and sex at full force, this film feels just quirky enough to work. I will probably try to see this film soon, but may not get a chance to until it hits DVD.	RENT