Theatrical Releases: The Bourne Legacy, The Campaign, & Hope Springs

August 10, 2012 / 2 Comments

THE BOURNE LEGACY || August 10th, 2012

	THE BOURNE LEGACY \|\| Continuing the Bourne series without featuring Jason Bourne, besides simple mentions of his existence, this reboot/spin-off looks promising with the talented Jeremy Renner at the helm. Also starring Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton, this film is able to pull off action far better than the original trilogy, since Matt Damon never quite came off like an action star. Do not expect the level of say the James Bond series, but with Renner, expect an enjoyable experience.	THEATER
	THE CAMPAIGN \|\| Will Ferrell fills so many different shoes and somehow always finds a way to remain fresh, never taking on the same sort of role as any of his previous films. He’s been a news anchorman, a soccer coach, a race-car driver, a police officer, a basketball player, a figure skater, and a Christmas elf. So seeing him take on yet another new role as an elected Congress official is pretty impressive. Zach Galifianakis’ popularity has been on the rise ever since “The Hangover” and matched with Ferrell, this should be a great comedy.	THEATER
	HOPE SPRINGS \|\| “Hope Springs” is simply not for my age-group. About a married couple (Jones and Streep) who venture to Maine to find excitement in their marriage again, the film mainly takes place in their therapist’s (Steve Carrell) office talking about their issues while Tommy Lee Jones mumbles and grumbles about wanting to leave. The entire film is either far too emotional or completely awkward to the point of embarrassment for the viewer. All in all, this is one Meryl Streep movie I do not need to see.	PASS

	2 DAYS IN NEW YORK \|\| Reminiscent of a Woody Allen film, “2 Days In New York” is actually a sequel to a film that was also directed by Julie Delpy entitled “2 Days In Paris”. Chris Rock replaces Delpy’s boyfriend (played by Adam Goldberg in the original) and tends to not look very funny. Perhaps this is a new trend for actresses to find themselves their own starring roles by writing and directing their own parts, but something feels off about it, in much the same way “Friends With Kids” felt off being directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who was then the lead starring role.	PASS
	AFTER THE WIZARD \|\| Synopsis: Based on characters in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this is the story of a 12-year-old Kansas orphan who turns to the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman for help during a difficult time. She imagines things have not gone well in Oz since the Wizard left and that the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman must travel to Kansas to enlist Dorothy’s aid. The film, distributed by Philadelphia-based Breaking Glass Pictures, will be released on DVD coinciding with its theatrical release in selected cities.	PASS
	CHAMPIONS OF THE DEEP \|\| This basically looks like the 1995 version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, filled with hokey martial arts, absolutely zero acting ability and waves of monsters coming out of the sea. This isn’t fit for a straight-to-DVD release, let alone a theatrical release and would have played off better as an SNL skit or porn (minus the children of course). Bad, bad, bad.	PASS
	FREELANCERS \|\| Coming off like a straight-to-DVD release, “Freelancers” is far too star-powered to not get noticed. I did see this playing in one of the big AMC theaters, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have believed it, given the nature of the trailer and zero advertising, but containing two major Academy Award winners in Robert De Niro and Forrest Whittaker, this film looks good enough to compare to films like “Training Day” and “16 Blocks”.	STREAM
	NITRO CIRCUS: THE MOVIE 3D \|\| The new version of “Jackass” except with extreme stunts, “Nitro Circus” aims to help MTV reach the 3D market once again. With extreme sports guru Travis Pastrana and his band of loyal extremites, this group infuses dirtbikes, BMX, and monsters trucks into their “act” along with stupid, bodily-injury inducing stunts, much the same as Johnny Knoxville and his cohorts. With absolutely nothing original about this and basically just another episode of the show, “Nitro Circus: The Movie” is nothing to behold.	PASS
	OFFENDER \|\| Reminiscent of a film like “Bellflower”, with its raw natured cinematography, along with the grittiness of a foreign thriller like “A Prophet”, “Offender” is a revenge flick set inside a prison. Mixed with flashbacks to his girlfriend who can only be presumed dead, the protagonist, looks to get his revenge in jail. There’s an eloquence surrounding this trailer that might just get me to see the film.	STREAM
	RED HOOK SUMMER \|\| It’s no argument that Spike Lee is a big-time director, but “Red Hook Summer” just doesn’t match his previous releases. Perhaps this film connects with him on a personal level, but having not grown-up in Brooklyn and not being an African American teenager, there is little that I can relate to in this film and therefore it falls a little short, even in its trailer.	PASS
	SUPERCAPITALIST \|\| What feels more like a serialized television series or a made-for-television event like “Political Animals”, “Supercapitalist” does not have the feel of a theatrical release. Considered a foreign film, the entire film is in English and involves the burning of American dollars, which doesn’t make it very foreign in my eyes. Too melodramatic for its own good, there’s no draw in this film whatsoever.	PASS
	THIS TIME \|\| Once again, a documentary that is really aimed at one particular group of people, there’s very little to draw someone my age to go see this film, apart from a love of music. However, that love of music can only bring me so far and with this very stylized and focused documentary, I am not sure how I’d make it through this film.	PASS
	TWIXT \|\| So this is what has become of Francis Ford Coppola, creating limited release films starring Val Kilmer and Elle Fanning, who, I am not surprised to say, are this films only selling point. Coppola wrote and directed this film that is only opening in San Francisco this weekend, and with a heavily stylized “story” element to the film, I am afraid this will not be a return to glory for the eccentric director.	STREAM