Author: Scott Nye

This Weekend at the Movies: Transform Your 4th of July, Hanks Style

July 1, 2011 / Scott Nye

There are big weekends, and then there are MASSIVE weekends. The release of a new Michael Bay movie, the third film in the TRANSFORMERS franchise at that, makes this a gigantic weekend. But if robots aren’t up your alley, maybe Tom Hanks is. If not them, perhaps Selena Gomez. If none of those, screw you!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

When director Michael Bay was out stumping for the first Transformers film, he said that he’d love to make a small, character-driven film, just for a change of pace, but that he can’t help but make these huge gigantic movies because he’s afraid they’ll just stop making them. And while that seems absolutely insane with summer blockbusters trying to outdo each other year after year, there doesn’t seem to be any bigger movie this summer than Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Sporting a relatively modest Rotten Tomatoes score of 36% (the first scored 57, the second a mere 20), reviews tend to be on the side of “it’s fun, sure, but c’mon, robots?” Though even the negative reviews mostly note that the climax – a nearly hour-long rampage through downtown Chicago – is staggering to behold. And in 3D. In a relatively modest summer at the box office, with few breakaway hits, this could be one of the few huge ones.

Larry Crowne

I was always disappointed that Tom Hanks didn’t direct another movie after That Thing You Do, one of the most assured directorial debuts and a very fine music film that also, miraculously, gave us one of the greatest pop songs of all time. And while Larry Crowne is kind of taking a beating in the press, scoring lower than Dark of the Moon on Rotten Tomatoes, I know I’m not the only one perfectly happy to head out for a new Tom Hanks movie. This one concerns a middle-aged man (Hanks) who, after getting fired from his job for having never gone to college (which seems like a bad reason to fire somebody, but I guess we’ll see), sets out to do just that. And maybe kiss Julia Roberts in the process. MAYBE.

Monte Carlo

In a plot that could ALMOST be a screwball comedy, Selena Gomez is mistaken for an heiress and taken on a whirlwind tour of, you guessed it, Monte Carlo. The difference is that Selena Gomez plays two roles. And that the movie also provides a launching pad for a new hit single. Claudette Colbert would have none of that. NONE OF THAT.

Stay tuned next week for an ensemble comedy with a great cast, and a family “comedy” with Kevin James.

Action Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies

Julia Roberts Larry Crowne Michael Bay Monte Carlo Selena Gomez Tom Hanks Transformers Transformers: Dark of the Moon

This Weekend at the Movies: The Big Green Penguin Machine

June 18, 2011 / Scott Nye

Another summer weekend, another round of superheroes and kid flicks. And a quirky indie teen movie for good measure. Somehow, not a single one of them is getting good reviews.

Green Lantern

I tell ya, in this stacked summer, someone’s going to take the hit, and although the midnight box office was huge, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see this be the first real bomb. Oh, sure, they’ll find a way to spin a $40-$50 million opening into a success, but if the reported $300 million figure is right (including advertising), Warner Brothers will have a long journey ahead of them to make this profitable. Certainly not helping matters is the film’s current Rotten Tomatoes score, which while certainly representative of the reviews I’ve been reading, seems almost absurd. At a mere 23%, it’s the worst-reviewed major superhero film in years. I have a hard time believing it could be worse than Thor, but I’ll see for myself tomorrow (yes, I am absolutely the reason they keep making superhero films).

Hit the jump for more…

test

Green Lantern Mr. Popper's Penguins The Art of Getting By

This Weekend at the Movies: Still Not a Bummer Summer

June 10, 2011 / Scott Nye

Whether you’ve got kids, you still feel like a kid inside, or some combination of the two, this weekend has you covered.

Super 8

Super 8 is undoubtedly the big movie of the weekend, though many have called into question its ability to draw in audiences. With word still going strong on X-Men: First Class, and no classic selling points to attach to Super 8, the mutants may take another weekend at the #1 spot. Word has been pretty strong in Super 8‘s favor, and the fact that it’s already seeing a backlash in critical circles is a good sign that it’ll register with audiences. Plus, awareness is out there, even if it’s not as high as Paramount would like – people camped out for as long as eleven hours to see the film at a sneak peak in Hollywood last night. Will the film’s obvious bid for early 80s nostalgia be enough? Hey, it worked for Transformers…

Hit the jump for more.

test

Judy Moody Midnight in Paris Super-8

This Weekend at the Movies: Mutants, Mutants, Mutants

June 3, 2011 / Scott Nye

I’d be inclined to declare this whole weekend a massive multiplex fail if it weren’t for the fact that the only major release is actually getting really great reviews. And if you’re looking for something a little more low-key, this weekend is absolutely booming with opportunities provided you live in New York or Los Angeles. So onward we press into summer!

X-Men: First Class

Aside from its surprising ability to draw in very talented actors (its cast includes James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and January Jones), my hopes for this film were unfathomably low until a couple of weeks ago, when word got out that Matthew Vaughn’s fourth feature (he previously directed Layer Cake, Stardust, and Kick-Ass) was actually really, really good. I don’t know why it surprised me so; after all, I liked all of his films to varying degrees, but it seems like, at least this once, a film slipped through the famously rigorous Fox development process. Currently boasting an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is better than any superhero movie has faired since the 2008 one-two-three punch of Iron Man, Hellboy II, and The Dark Knight, X-Men: First Class is poised to make a big dent this weekend both culturally and financially. I’ll be wading through the masses tomorrow to find out for myself how it holds up. Join me!

Hit the jump to see what else is coming out this weekend in limited release, including one of my favorite films of the year thus far.

Action Movies, Animation, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, test

Beautiful Boy Beginners Film Socialisme First Class Lion of Judah Love Wedding Marriage Midnight in Paris Rejoice and Shout Submarine Tree of Life Women Art Revolution X-Men

This Weekend at the Movies: A Second Hangover, Animals Do Battle, and the Palme d’Or Winner

May 26, 2011 / Scott Nye

Memorial Day weekend used to mean the start of the summer movie season, but by now we’re already in full swing! Nevertheless, the studios have seen fit to give you two sequels to two massively popular films. And maybe some artsy stuff for the coasts.

The Hangover Part II

And yes, they’re going roman numeral style. This is some classy stuff right here. I saw this on Monday, and while there are a lot of funny moments with the same gang (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis), you will be shocked at how incredibly similar it is to the first. Way beyond the even standard “same premise, different locale” set-up you would expect. It robs it of some of the insanity the first, which I loved, had in spades. Rotten Tomatoes has it at a 32% fresh rating. Nevertheless, it opened to a whopping $10 million on midnight showings alone last night. With a five-day weekend in which to run rampant (Monday’s a holiday!), this is going to do some serious damage at the box office.

Kung-Fu Panda 2

Once known with the much sillier subtitle “The Kaboom of Doom,” this one seems to do what a good sequel should – offer the same delights as the original in a new package. It boasts a 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and while some critics fault it for hewing too closely to the original, many were too swept up by its charms to care. Kung Fu Panda became unexpectedly beloved upon its release, and many cite it as one of Dreamworks’ few great films. It’s hard to imagine those fans, and their kids, won’t come to see this in droves.

The Tree of Life

While the latest film from Terrence Malick certainly won’t make the same imprint at the box office as the previously-mentioned films, this is the film event for cinephiles this weekend. That is, if you live in New York or Los Angeles. I have my ticket to the midnight show tonight, and could not possibly be more excited. If you live elsewhere, don’t fret – you’ll be able to see the Palme d’Or winner within the next few weeks, as Fox Searchlight rolls it out across the country. Click here to see when your city is getting it. And although this doesn’t have the mass appeal of your kung-fu pandas or your 30-something frat boys, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of that Cannes buzz fuel it to a respectable hit for Fox Searchlight.

Beyond that, New York gets two art house release – Tuesday, After Christmas, a sparse study of infidelity that received solid reviews when it premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and United Red Army, an epic about a revolutionary group in Japan in the 1970s.

Next week, it’s all about the X-Men back on the screen again, while at least a couple of cities will get one of my favorite movies of the year so far. Stay tuned!