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| Slow dancing in a burning room. |
Stumbling their way into the box office this weekend are three major releases. Source Code - a Jake Gyllenhaal time bending thriller, Hop - a live action/CG hybrid about the Easter Bunny's slacker son, and Insidious - a good ol' haunted house movie from one of the original Saw directors.
Which will be more worth our time and money? I'm willing to bet all three have what it takes to entertain, and I'm willing to bet even more that Insidious will be much better than I'm anticipating. But, I'll be seeing Source Code without fail.
Let's take a closer look at the three, shall we?
Source Code. PG-13.
Parts of the trailer just scream "12 Monkeys", but that's never a bad thing. And I can't help but be thrilled that Duncan Jones is getting major studio support. His first feature Moon, with Sam Rockwell, from 2009, wasn't the biggest release ever, but it's an incredible film and it shows that Jones has a unique understanding of science fiction and knows how to get his audience on the trip with him. It's too early to call him a visionary of the genre, but he's certainly someone to watch. All that, plus the incredible cast here - Vera Farmiga, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Jeffrey Wright... I love it already.
Hop. PG.
Watching an animated Russell Brand crap jelly beans on James Marsden's car is enough for me to want to see this. It'll be one of those delirious kinds of comedy where you'll laugh, won't be able to figure out why, but you'll keep laughing anyway. Then a day or two later, you'll tell your friends it was stupid. And then maybe you'll pick it up on DVD because you "laughed all the way through it". That's what I anticipate. But, Hank Azaria plays an evil baby chicken, and it's from the creators of Despicable Me. So, it'll be crude, but it'll have a lot of heart, and at least one noteworthy performance (from Azaria, most likely). That's enough for me to buy a ticket.
Insidious. PG-13.
Okay, so maybe I lied when I said "good ol' haunted house flick". But, it is partly that. Of course, the trailer gives away something massive. But I can only assume the studio is smart enough to let that not ruin the fun for everyone. I'll count on another twist or five being tossed in along the way. Again, though - and this seems to be the recurring theme this weekend - I'm in it for the cast. I loved James Wan's direction of his Saw film, and I can only hope that he'll continue to keep me as impressed as he has so far. I often find myself wondering why Patrick Wilson isn't a bigger star, so maybe this film will do something about that? Plus, it has Rose Byrne. And I blindly throw money at her whenever I can. I might actually be seeing this sooner than I originally thought... time to watch the trailer for the fortieth time and try not to scream when the red/black faced demon yawns behind Patrick Wilson.
There we have it folks. Part two of this (I know I've said that before. Shut up. Crap happened.) will be on Tuesday, with the independent/limited releases for the week. There are a slew. Stay tuned.
Go see a movie. You've earned it.
