Theatrical Releases: Riddick

September 6, 2013 / Leave a Comment

RIDDICK || September 6th, 2013

	The story Freda Kelly, the Beatles’ secretary for 11 years, “Good Ol’ Freda” is the ultimate story behind the band. However, dodging the biggest questions, even in the trailer, I’m not sure how interesting the story of fan mail and super-stardom really is.	PASS
	Kudos to a film featuring Academy Award nominated Bêrênice Bejo starring in the supporting role, rather than at center stage. Set in the 50’s, “Populaire” follows a young woman who starts as a receptionist and becomes a typist for sport. With a kitschy sense of humor and a much too standard story-line, there’s not much in the film for me.	PASS
	Returning to most of its former glory, “Riddick” is a decent science fiction action film with a spirited showing from lead Vin Diesel. Following a similar plot to “Pitch Black” and completely abandoning the shlock that was “The Chronicles of Riddick”, this third installment brings back the survivalist element as Riddick (Diesel) attempts to adapt to an abandoned planet. Paper thin, macho action film dialogue aside, the screenplay from director David Twohy, is appreciatively basic, providing a ticking clock and enough characters to carry one’s attention.
	More so making me want to read “Catcher In The Rye” rather than run out and see this movie, “Salinger” looks like a decent story about a man that tucked himself away from the world at his prime, but honestly, it feels like the creators are making a bigger deal out of it than it should be. Having been told there’s a decent twist to this story, I am suddenly intrigued and will eventually have to sit down and find out for myself.	RENTAL
	Ellen Page and Rosemarie Dewitt are both actresses that I enjoy in most things, so “Touchy Feely” will definitely find its way into my DVD player at some point. The story of a masseuse (Dewitt) who can no longer stand to touch people, and with her life moving on around her, this looks like a heartfelt drama-comedy about people’s relationships to one another through trying to find out who they are.	RENTAL
	Picking up where the 2007 film “The Ultimate Gift” leaves off, “The Ultimate Life” is about a man’s journey in discovering the way to being on the righteous path by looking to his grandfather’s past. Tied heavy with religious undertones, the film is about the straight and narrow and feels more like a Hallmark special than a nationwide theatrical release.	PASS

	Much like the trailer, “36 Saints” is a little too under-produced and a little too hokey to take seriously. The concept that there are 36 righteous people that need to be killed for chaos in the world to ensue, the film bases itself in Manhattan and never leaves, making the film feel far too isolated to be a cataclysmic event.	PASS
	If Naomi Watts was my best friend’s mom, I’d probably be attracted to her too. “Adore” is the story of two close mothers with two close sons who embark on a vacation at a serene Australian seaside town. It’s there that one of the sons has an affair with Robin Wright (Watts’ best friend in the film). The spiral from there on is poetic and tragic, and will definitely make for some interesting drama.	RENTAL
	Garnering the accolade of being an Official Selection of Sundance is normally enough to make me aware of a certain film and want to see it, but even “American Milkshake” will take some more convincing than that. A deadpan comedy about a white boy in a mostly black school, his dream is to play on the basketball team and when he gets the chance…. he blows it. There’s definitely a humor there quite strong enough to garner my attention.	PASS
	The incredibly powerful story of Bob Forrest, a drug addicted musician turned drug counselor, “Bob and the Monster” discusses the “man who was” with the people that were around him at the time, including Dr. Drew and the band members of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Normally I would pass on a documentary about one person, but this is an inspirational story and not many of those come out of the punk rock music scene.	25% MAYBE
	A) How many times can you say the name of the movie (“Bounty Killer”) in a trailer before it loses all its meanings? B) How can I ever be on board with a film starring Gary Busey? There’s a distinct style to this film that almost begins to scratch the surface of my interest, but then the actual footage hits and is under-produced with low quality acting and then I realize you really can polish up a turd pretty nicely.	PASS
	Not only is “Butcher Boys” from the creators of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” but it’s basically a poorly produced remake of the film, minus the chainsaws. With cannibals and dining room imagery from the “Chainsaw” films, their not trying to hide the fact that is this a blatant attempt at recycling. However, there’s nothing scary about bad acting despite the thought of having to sit through it.	PASS
	What looks to be a nice jaunt into horror comedy, “Dead Before Dawn” does look a little bit too much like a blend of “Not Another Teen Movie” and every zombie film ever made. The visuals look decent and the comedy, completely ridiculous, but most of the time, these films fall short. It’s too bad to see Christopher Lloyd’s career fall so far as to be in an independent horror film spoof.	PASS
	Missed this on the releases last week, and thankfully I caught it, as it looks amazing. Found footage has found its niche is low budget horror films that look amazing. Five friends recreate a snowy mountain pass hike where nine people died 50 years earlier. When they get there, they discover something sinister and the visuals look so intense, I am instantly excited to witness this.	RENTAL
	I believe this film is everything is says it is, “moving”, “eye-opening”, etc. but that doesn’t change the fact that the trailer does little to sell any of this. As more of a collection of one-liners from influential people, “Fire in the Blood” is something about the state of which drugs are available to people but I have no idea what’s being contested or what will blow my mind. Although it points out the Sundance selection moniker, it was narrated by William Hurt and has no mention of that in the trailer.	PASS
	There’s been a small resurgence of movies from the 60’s and 70’s getting re-released and although I support this overall, I likely won’t be supporting it by buying a movie ticket.	PASS
	The creators of Reno 911! are at it again and like with all their comedies, “Hell Baby” looks crude and over-the-top. Containing a few laughs and an ‘R’ rating in all its glory, I’ll at least give this horror-comedy about a couple having a child in a haunted house a chance. Having heard an interview with one of the actors, apparently one of the jokes is seeing how long they can keep their friend Riki Lindhome nude in the film. Without sounding too much like a perv, that should be enough to sell the film right there.	RENTAL
	A tale as old as time, “Il Futuro” brings a young woman into the middle of a heist, in which she is to befriend a rich, aging actor and find his safe presumably full of cash. However, she falls for the man and the heist grows complicated. Yet another Sundance selection, the film looks sleek and sexy, with Rutger Hauer delivering a strong performance across from the gorgeous Manuela Martelli.	75% MOST LIKELY
	To all intents and purposes, “Mission Park” is a physically good looking film. A tad convoluted, I lost interest in the story about half through the trailer. Even with names like Vivica A. Fox and Sean Patrick Fannery, this film fails to hold my interest even for two minutes.	PASS
	Not exactly sure what angle they’re taking on the September 11th terrorist attack, all I can say is the imagery from the ground floor of the tower collapses is devastating and may need to be seen to be believed, but unless this film presents itself, I will not seek it out.	PASS
	Not only has the obsession with wine grown in the confounds of this documentary about Hong Kong’s desire for American owned wines, but wine has a subject matter has grown in the documentary form over the last five years, with new wine films coming out exponentially. “Red Obsession” delves into the world of foreign wine buyers, counterfeit production, and the growing demand with the same supply. Unfortunately, wine isn’t a strong interest of mine and this subject is lost on me.	PASS
	What continues to be a week of Sundance Selection releases, “A Teacher” is yet another another one from the festival, this one chronicling a high school teacher who has an affair with a student. Compared to the work of Michael Haneke (“Amour”), the film is also described as a character study of a woman looking escape the confines of being an adult.	50% PROBABLY
	Well-rounded and open to the world around me, I feel like I’m a well versed person. So when I pass on a film like “Things Never Said”, depicting the struggles of an adult black woman, I justify the disinterest as not being keen to this lifestyle and seeing it depicted too often in films. This does not mean I wish films like this wouldn’t get made, I simply do not wish to see them.	PASS
	Now that “Instructions Not Included” did so well in the box office, expect to see Hispanic oriented films like “Tio Papi” show up every where. Studios were basically unaware of the success that Hispanic films could have until a few weeks ago and now that they know there’s an untapped market, they’ll exploit it with every film that they can.	PASS
	With subject matter like this, you’d expect a film with a cast touting previous Academy Award wins and nominations in Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”) and Terrence Howard (“Crash”) to have some Oscar buzz, but “Winnie Mandela” has not been talked about what-so-ever, and for that, I fear that the film might not be so good. That being said, the trailer looks strong but not enough to peak my interest.	PASS