Theatrical Releases: The Best Man Holiday & Nebraska

November 15, 2013 / Leave a Comment

NEBRASKA || November 15th, 2013

	Starting out completely uninterested in this documentary, “12-12-12” about the enormous benefit show with countless musicians, comedians, and celebrities to support everyone effected by Hurricane Sandy, after seeing the trailer, I am slightly more interested, with some great comedic selections from Chris Rock and Jeremy Piven on the phone lines, I’d like to see all of these people in one documentary.	25% MAYBE
	Trust me, I will take a “Best Man Holiday” over another Madea film any day. Expanding on the 1999 release “The Best Man” that no one’s ever heard of, the entire cast returns to pick up decades down the road. With mostly inside jokes, the sequel can only really be appreciated by those that have seen the original. With an amazing cast, including Terrence Howard and Taye Diggs, this is not the worst possible way to spend an evening and chances are I might even give this a shot.	25% MAYBE
	Geoffrey Rush is a fantastic actor and whenever he takes on a role that garners any praise, I am on board and in “The Book Thief” he has just that role. As an adoptive father of a young girl, he’s the quirky and all accepting man during the worst of times. Although the trailer doesn’t do this film any favors, making it look childish and too heartwarming, I faith that this film is more than its marketing and is likely a much stronger film than most expect it to be.	RENTAL
	“Nebraska” first and foremost is a touching drama, with comedic elements mixed in. Much like Payne’s previous work, it grasps on to certain emotional ideas and runs with them. The performances involved, especially from Bruce Dern and Will Forte are understated at best. Although I’ll debate whether black-and-white was necessary, overall I trust the film-maker and believe this to be one of his best works yet.

	For those of you wondering what happened to Screech from “Saved By The Bell” aka Dustin Diamond, we’ve found him in this dismal comedy titled “All Wifed Out”, about guys trying to convince their friend not to let his girlfriend move in with him by taking him out for a night of debauchery. The night looks stupid, the actors are anything but, and for some reason Eve is in the film.	PASS
	Despite horrible reviews, with a cast like Shia LaBeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen, Melissa Leo, and Rupert Grint, I have to see “Charlie Countryman”. The film is a shoot ’em up love story. After a man dies next to him on a flight overseas, Shia LaBeouf’s character comes into contact with the man’s daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood with an accent and gorgeous as ever. But her ex-husband, the über talented Mads Mikkelsen makes their life a living hell.	THEATER
	Although I appreciate the attempt at humor and family drama that “Cold Turkey” brings, the cast is not enough to bring this little Indie that can’t, to its feet. With the most familiar face being “Suburgatory’s” Cheryl Hines, the film could have benefited from some more star power. Instead it falls a bit flat and becomes family members screaming at each other, which isn’t very funny, even in the best of instances.	PASS
	Don’t get me wrong, I love “Calvin and Hobbes” as much as anyone, but this documentary is a little self-serving and celebrating something that may not be worth celebrating. That being said, I do enjoy the comic strip and could possibly devote some time to this documentary if given the opportunity, but I would probably rather trade that time to seek out a collection of the comic and experience it that way.	25% MAYBE
	Wow, this was not what I was expecting whatsoever. “Geography Club” is a gay-and-lesbian film about teens wanting to come out in high school, but not being able to and instead joining a secret support group that they call Geography Club. With the age old pressures of the star athlete with pressuring parents, this film takes “Varsity Blues” with less quality and delivers a same sex spin on things.	PASS
	Not to put labels on things, but “The Great Beauty” might be a little too artsy for me. The official entry from Italy into the Academy Award’s Best Foreign Language Feature category, the film’s trailer displays a man trying to live life to the fullest by partying, but the sequential images that follow are unrelated and hard to follow. From director Paolo Sorrentino, whose “Il Divo” popped up during the Oscars a few years ago, there’s still a strong possibility I will be seeing this, but not on my own accord.	PASS
	Will be submitting the habitual “PASS” on this Bollywood flick yet again, until I am shown the significance of these films. The visuals in “Ram-leela” look fantastic but there’s very little substance there or what I perceive as little substance.	PASS
	As much as I want to be completely convinced by “Sunlight Jr.”, sadly I am not. Naomi Watts alone is normally quite the draw and tossing in Norman Reedus after his success on “The Walking Dead” also almost sealed it, but the film is a heavy drama with Watts and Matt Dillon playing strange parts for their type. However, this could be a great film and will be hard to pass up if come across.	25% MAYBE