July at the Movies: The 10 Must-See Films of the Month (and the 1 to Avoid at all Costs)

Oh hai! July here, presenting you with the five indies and five studio flicks to consider checking out this month, for better or worse, and one movie to avoid at all costs, for better x1000. This month, we have the movie that won Sundance, the one that got booed at Cannes and, because it’s July, the one with the monsters fighting the robots. Don’t cancel the apocalypse quite yet, it’s time for a look at the best movies to see this month.

THE WAY, WAY BACK (July 5) // READ OUR REVIEW

This Sundance hit that closed the Los Angeles Film Festival last week comes to theaters riding all sorts of hype. Although ads tout the film as being from the “studio that brought you “Juno” and “Little Miss Sunshine”", “The Way Way Back” is more similar in tone to directors Jim Rash and Nat Faxon’s Oscar winning screenplay “The Desendants”, leaning heavily towards the genuine rather than the quirky.

“The Way Way Back” is firmly grounded in reality (although Steve Carrell playing such a horrible human being does take some getting used to), as it tells a classic coming of age tale surrounding a 14 year old boy as he starts working at a water park and finds a mentor in Owen, the enthusiastically loquacious man in charge, portrayed with usual vigor by Sam Rockwell. Don’t wait too long to catch this one, as it might seem rather slight when held up against its early praise. Ultimately, “The Way Way Back” has its heart in the right place and is worth a watch, even if it might not be the sleeper Oscar darling Fox Searchlight is hoping it will be.

PACIFIC RIM (July 12)

Already stirring up controversy due to low tracking numbers, Guillermo del toro’s $200-million robot vs monster action extravaganza finally hits theaters a full year after fanboys and girls lost their collective s**t at the Warner Brothers panel at Comic-Con 2012. In this action movie set in the near future, monstrous creatures known as Kaiju have begun emerging from beneath the ocean, causing chaos and destruction everywhere they go. Naturally, the human race develops giant robots called Jaegers to fight back. “Pacific Rim” specifically chronicles the end of this war, as hope begins to wane and few options remain, but somehow the secrets to victory involve Charlie Day, Ron Pearlman AND Idris Elba. Expect dymaic fight scenes and appropriately bizarre B-movie humor, plus all of the conventions in place you would expect from a movie of this size, but without the cynicism evinced in blockbuster fare like the Transformers series.

CRYSTAL FAIRY (July 12) // READ OUR REVIEW

In this indie flick that made the festival circuit rounds to relatively positive reviews earlier this year, Michael Cera plays an American on vacation in Chile determined to have a hallucinatory cactus trip on the beach. In a bold move, Cera portrays his most unlikeable character yet as Jamie, a self-involved, judgmental twenty-something in desperate need of redemption. The stand out here, however, is Gaby Hoffman, as the titular free spirited woman who Jamie encounters along the way. It’s questionable whether or not this arthouse flick would have seen the light of day without the attachment of Cera, but if you’re willing to go on the journey, you may find that “Crystal Fairy” has lot to say about how and why we look inward and outward, playing with notions of perception and introspection in an easy, hands-off sort of way.

FRUITVALE STATION (July 12) // READ OUR REVIEW

Keep an eye on director Ryan Coogler’s Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner. If you want to be in on this conversation early, before the hype becomes too much to live up to, head to a theater this weekend to catch this fictionalization of the last day in the life of Oscar Grant (an outstanding Michael B. Jordan), the young man infamously and unjustly killed at Oakland’s Fruitvale Station by police officers in 2009.

THE CONJURING (July 19) // READ OUR REVIEW

This horror flick from James Wan (“Saw”, “Insidious”) has been appearing on the genre convention circuit since last year’s New York Comic Con, where its debut footage had 3,500 people audibly squirming and screaming. The film, based on the true story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) who take on the case of a family allegedly being terrorized by dark forces, is apparently so scary, it received an R rating despite having absolutely no gore, intense violence, nudity, or harsh language to speak of. Early reviews have praised the old-fashioned effectiveness of thoughtful, visceral scares that rely more on tension and imagination than blood and guts.

R.I.P.D.  (July 19)

Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges star in this adaptation of the popular Dark Horse title, “Rest In Peace Department”, about deceased cops who carry their jobs over in into the afterlife, catching and returning souls who try to escape death by disguising themselves as ordinary people on Earth. The first footage, which debuted at Cinema Con 2012, looked pretty fun and humorously on the nose coming off of Bridges’ performance in “True Grit”. But can Reynolds, whose last credited live action role was February 2012's “Safe House”, still draw blood at the box office? Do we even care?

Director Robert Schwentke certainly has a strange enough track record as the man responsible for “Flightplan”, “Time Traveler’s Wife”, and “Red” (the sequel for which is coincidentally opening opposite “RIPD” this weekend) and critics are already worried as the film isn’t screening until the night before opening. But…Jeff Bridges! Don’t suck. Come on. Ugh. This is totally going to suck.

Available in probably unnecessary 3D.

ONLY GOD FORGIVES (JULY 19) // READ OUR REVIEW

Warning: Nicholas Wending Refn’s next movie, the most anticipated of his career following break out hit “Drive”, is not a crowd pleaser. “Only God Forgives” is strange, slow, violent, morbid, disturbing, and absolutely nothing like “Drive” beyond the fact that Ryan Gosling stars in both and, for the most part, speaks in neither. It follows a mother (a deliciously diabolical and undeniably fantastic Kristen Scott Thomas) seeking revenge for her eldest son’s murder, and the role her youngest son (Gosling) plays in this misguided mission. “Only God Forgives” is a full sensory experience that Winding Refn himself likens to an acid trip. It may fascinate you, bore you, piss you off, or some combination of the three.

Not in 3D. Thank god.

THE ACT OF KILLING (July 19)

This unsettling documentary first made its mark at last years Toronto and Telluride film festivals and further demonstrated its popularity with sold out screenings at SXSW and LA Film Festival in 2013. This month is your chance to finally see this powerful, surreal and chilling doc in which Indonosian death squad leaders reenact the mass killings they themselves have committed, in the style of their beloved American movies. To further the strangeness, these men are considered heroes in their country, a notion fundamentally counterintuitive to what we as a people believe and are capable of perceiving. But if you have ever wanted to see the perpetrator of mass genocide star in his own western/musical/gangster flick about committing said atrocities, well hey, now is your chance! Do not miss your opportunity to catch this brilliant piece of filmmaking while it is in theaters and don’t be surprised to hear of it a hell of a lot more come Oscar season.

Film.com recently premiered a series of exclusive images from this astonishing film.

THE WOLVERINE (July 26)

Hugh Jackman returns to what he does best in this non-sequel to “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (which was itself a prequel to “X-Men”), this new film taking place directly after the events of “X-Men: The Last Stand”, that also might be universe crossing with “X-Men First Class”, a prequel to this entire universe, which has a sequel on the way that further crosses over with the later “X-Men” and “Wolverine” movies. What? You asked. This particular arc is based on the time Wolvie went to Japan and fell in love and crap, based on the 1982 arc “Wolverine” by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, a story that Guillermo Del Toro considers his personal favorite. The film doesn’t seem poised to be a critical success, but with director James Mangold (“3:10 to Yuma”) behind the camera, you have good reason to keep your fingers crossed.

Yes, it is in 3D, but post converted and eh.

THE TO-DO LIST (July 26)

In a move sure to rock indie romantic comedies everywhere, Aubrey Plaza makes the jump from quirky supporting character to quirky lead character in the feature length directorial debut of Maggie Carey, Funny or Die writer and wife of Bill Hader. Plaza plays a straight A square in the early 90s who decides she must become more sexually experienced before beginning college. Everyone ever who is funny appears in this movie, ranging from the Derrick Comedy boys (who Plaza worked with on 2009's “Mystery Team”) to Bill Hader, natch, to Clark Gregg to Adam Pally to Andy Samberg to Alia Shawkat and okay, maybe not everyone funny EVER, but lots of them, certainly.  Definitely go see it on a date with a fellow high schooler you hope to lose your virginity to.

TURKEY OF THE MONTH:

GROAN-UPS 2

Too easy, you say? Why this when “Turbo” and “Smurfs 2? and “Pacific Rim” (SHUT UP ALREADY!) are also opening? Because. This represents all that is sad about everything. Four comedians past their prime doing something stupid for money.  Not into it. And if it beats my baby “Pacific Rim” at the box office like everyone is predicting, I’m gonna have the biggest sad since “White House Down” opened nationwide at #3. We tried, Chan. We tried.

Ed note: Um, also there’s a new Woody Allen film this month! “Blue Jasmine” opens on July 26.

Categories: Features

Tags: Crystal Fairy, Fruitvale Station, July at the Movies, LoquaciousMuse, Only God Forgives, Pacific Rim, RIPD, The Conjuring, The Wolverine

The Out Take: Pride Month and the Need for a Queer Film Canon

The Out Take is a biweekly column about LGBT cinema. It runs on alternating Thursdays. 

Happy Pride Month! As I write this in San Francisco, the city is beginning to get ready for their big event on the last Sunday of the month. New York will join them that same weekend, with the usual three-day bash. Chicago kicks off its festival tomorrow, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have already paraded, and the list goes on. An increasingly unfathomable number of cities hold LGBT pride events, all over the world. The world’s largest is in Sao Paolo, while the smallest is (according to Wikipedia) in little Sligo, Ireland. It’s come a long way since 1970, from risky revolutionary march to international phenomenon.

And, of course, it’s a good time to make lists of movies. Out.com put together 10 Pride Pregame ideas on Netflix instant, Flavorwire has their list of “50 Essential LGBT Films,” and iTunes is directing uses to a gay pride rental channel. Pride Month is a good opportunity to recommend in bulk. As the queer community enters the spotlight in a jubilant, colorful and positive way, our movies have the chance to follow suit. LGBT films often have trouble finding an audience, even the best of them, so this is a moment to cherish.

It’s also an opportunity to get incredibly nerdy about lists and categorization. If you look at these two lists and compare them to last year’s Huffington Post list, for example, there is very little crossover. The overall trend similarity is striking, but they almost never cite the same individual films. I would hazard a guess that no matter how many different critics and LGBT movie fans you put together, you would get similar results. There is, simply put, no such thing as a Queer Cinema Canon. There is no definitive list of films, and even a smallish group of universally loved works would be almost impossible to put together. This is, for the sake of Pride Month list making, a bit of a double-edged sword.

The one problem is that even though these lists are full of different films, two trends often emerge. There are always an awful lot of films about white gay men, and there tends to be an overabundance of straight, white, male Hollywood directors. The Out.com list is full of the former, while the Flavorwire list is brimming with the latter. “Brokeback Mountain” is great, and the repression of “The Children’s Hour” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” should be reappraised, but it’s 2013. We’ve come too far to keep raving about the cultural importance of Tom Hanks in “Philadelphia” over exciting new films about lesbian or transgender characters.

See, this is the 44th year of Gay Pride. 1970 was the first, when events were held for the first time in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In those four and a half decades, LGBT culture and cinema has gone through change after change. “Paris Is Burning” is now over 20 years old. Back in 1970, it would be hard to imagine LGBT films popping up all over the world. Now I can go to the opening night of Frameline, the oldest LGBT film festival in the world, and catch a new gay noir from South Korea. It’s a good time to love queer movies.

What does Pride represent? In some cities, in a superficial way, it’s represents the ability of a lot of upwardly mobile men to celebrate themselves and their sex lives. Yet it’s so much more than that, in America’s major metropolises and around the world. Pride is a celebration of an open community, a shared love of love that stretches well beyond the boundaries of nations. We’ve passed the point at which we can think of LGBT culture as something containable. On the one hand the American gay community has begun to assimilate into the straight society around it. However, connections need to be made with others around the world. It may be crucial for the struggling queer people of Uganda and Cameroon, Russia and Serbia. Pride is what connects.

In a way, then, the lack of a canonical collection of international LGBT films that we talk about incessantly is a bit of a weakness. It can make us err in the direction of ignorance, forgetting about those not represented in our simpler films or even fellow members of our own acronym. Even when the battle over marriage is over, we’ll need to continue fighting for equality under the law for transgender people. Recognizing and embracing transgender narratives is crucial in that respect. Films like “Orlando” and “The Mouth of the Wolf” should be seen, discussed and remembered.

Of course, at the end of the day the lack of a canon is a strength. The LGBT films that rise to the top are those that we hold dear personally, not necessarily those with the most gravitas. For the queer spectator, the love of film comes alongside the act of self-discovery. We love those films that made an impression on us as we discovered who we are, that we know back-to-front from fevered re-watching in the excitement of identification. For one friend of mine that’s what sends “Maurice” to the top. For another it’s “High Art,” for yet another it’s “Trick.” For me, the formative films were “Bad Education,” “My Beautiful Laundrette,” and “Party Monster.”

So, let’s make a canon. It’s open and mutable, so anything counts. No judgment on whether it has the gilded glamor of a “Sight and Sound” list topper or even the requisite self-seriousness. This is a canon with camp, remember. Make your own Pride must-watch list, and then dive into some LGBT movies that have nothing at all to do with your own experience. Start with Oliver Hermanus’s “Beauty,” Aurora Guerrero’s “Mosquita Y Mari,” and Xavier Dolan’s upcoming “Laurence Anyways” and get back to me.

Categories: Columns

Tags: Brokeback Mountain, Daniel Walber, Laurence Anyways, Pride Month, The Out Take

June at the Movies: The 11 Films You Must See this Month

Maybe it’s the beautiful spring weather, maybe it’s the fact that we need some semblance of hope after this week’s episode of Game of Thrones, but we’re feeling pretty positive this month, electing to give you a preview of eleven movies to keep an eye on and no recommendations to avoid anything! Optimism! We even see the good in “The Internship”! $12 for two hours of air conditioning? Sounds like a good deal to us.

JUNE 7TH

“The Internship“

GGOOOOOOGLLEEEEYYY. Director Shawn Levy’s track record may be anything but comforting, but this movie was shot AT GOOGLE HEADQUARTERS so honestly who cares. I have strange criteria. No, but truthfully it seems as though the story behind the scenes here is way more worthwhile than the movie itself, which is already receiving poor reviews. Google agreed to let the film use its HQ and branding in order to appeal to a mainstream audience outside of the tech community. As the LA Times notes, Google perks including nap pods, beach volleyball courts, and free gourmet food all make appearances on screen. Since the movie is pretty much “The Wedding Crashers”, but Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson crashing Google instead of a wedding, the real appeal here is solely the Google element and might literally be the only reason anyone ever bothers to see it.

“Much Ado About Nothing”

Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated adaptation of the beloved Shakespeare play finally comes to theaters and the Whedonites of the world rejoice! This excellently executed take on the play emphasizes the dark, sensual side of the comedy and showcases another side to a slew of Whedon regulars, including Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz and Sean Maher and introduces the striking Jillian Morgese as Hero. The movie is everything you want it to be, regardless as to whether you see yourself as Shakespeare Fan, a Whedonite, both or neither. Enjoy.

Read our full review.

JUNE 14

“Man of Steel“

Zack Snyder directs this reboot of the Superman series, produced by Chris Nolan, starring Henry Cavil and Amy Adams as Supes and Lois Lane. Snyder has a lot to make up for in the fan community after “Sucker Punch” (although I liked it just fine WHATEVER) – could it be his sensibility paired with the serious, grounded tone of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy that brings Snyder back into the genre fan’s good graces? Luckily, early word is that the film delivers. Please oh please be true.

“This is the End”

How awkward is it that in a month with a new Superman movie, the sequel to my favorite Pixar movie and “World War Z”, my most anticipated studio film is a random end of the world comedy? The conceit is just too enticing: Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and James Franco play themselves, trapped at James Franco’s house as the world comes to an end. Sure, the subject matter was recently (and successfully) tackled by “It’s a Disaster”, with a serious take hitting the big screen in “Goodbye World” at LA Film Fest this month, but the meta aspect takes this well-tread concept to a whole new level. It’s a fascinating idea to have a film starring characters we think we know already, playing on our expectations of celebrity and eliminating the need for much if any exposition and back story. How can this movie not be at least a little bit awesome?

Read our full review.

“The Bling Ring“

Some love it, many don’t, but what else is new, Sofia Coppola? Being described as the slightest and therefore most accessible of her work, Coppola fans may find themselves somewhat disappointed, but perhaps it also means the film may become more of a commercial success than her previous outings. Mainstream appeal and Sofia Coppola are somewhat diametrically opposed – much like “Spring Breakers”, the cast may attract an audience expecting something a little less artsy, so keep an eye on the film’s Cinema Score and make sure to be following your teen during the film’s rollout! Reaction should be interesting to say the least. But hey, at the end of the day, the film didn’t get booed after its Cannes premiere, unlike Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette”, so, victory!

“Call Me Kuchu“

One of my favorite movies from LA Film Fest last year hits theaters in very limited release and it is your duty as a human to go see it. “Call Me Kuchu” chronicles the life and death of David Kato, gay rights activist in the startlingly homophobic country of Uganda. Filmmakers Katherine Wright Fairfax and Malika Zouhali-Worrall happened to be in Uganda following Kato and his movement when the activist was murdered for his beliefs. The film is difficult but powerful, moving and necessary viewing.

Read our full review.

JUNE 21

“Monsters University“

Sully and Mike are back on the big screen, 12 years after their first outing in “Monster’s Inc”, my personal favorite of the Pixar canon. In “Monster’s University”, we learn how the two expert scarers met and eventually became friends. This is director Dan Scanlon’s first time with a Pixar feature, and luckily for him, early word is positive (though one must remember that early word was similarly positive for last year’s “Brave”, and we all remember how that turned out. Poorly, guys. Poorly is how it turned out. In case you don’t remember).

“World War Z“

Brilliant book by Max Brooks. Epic, seemingly interminable production mired in problems. What happens when the two come together? Directed by Mark Forster, starring Brad Pitt, and partially re-written by love him or hate him Damon Lindelof (with help from Drew Goddard….based on drafts by J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Carnahan…featuring on set doctoring by Chris McQuarrie…oh boy) this adaptation has become notorious for its countless reshoots, budgetary problems and poorly received original ending. Will it all be worth it? The film was received well enough by UK critics at its London premiere, but it ain’t over till the fanboy sings and our brethren is very protective over the source material.

JUNE 28

“The Heat“

Real talk time. Are we still trusting Melissa McCarthy’s taste in material after “Identity Thief”? On the plus side, “The Heat, starring McCarthy and Sandra Bullock as an awkward FBI agent and equally awkward Boston cop partnered together, is directed by Paul Feig, who brought McCarthy to stardom in the first place (though she’ll always be Sookie St. James to me), and written by Katie Dippold, producer/writer on the always lol worthy “Parks & Recreation”. Not to mention, we’re always down to support a giant studio movie starring two women. So let’s all just pretend “Identify Thief” never happened and look forward to “The Heat,” shall we?

“White House Down“

The “Fast and Furious Six” of June! Is there really any other explanation required? More?! Fine. Policeman Channing Tatum is on a tour of the white house when armed invaders attack and it’s up to Policeman Tatum to protect President Jamie Foxx and save the day. Directed by Roland Emmerich because duh. Fact: You’re either super excited for this movie and have been since it was announced or you are going to half-watch it on HBO sometime in 2014 after having your wisdom teeth and/or appendix removed.

“I’m So Excited”

Pedro Almodovar’s latest and the opening night film of this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival finally hits American screens (in limited release) at the end of the month. The film is a comedy about the people on an airplane after a technical failure endangers all of their lives (also, massive doses of peyote are involved). Current reviews for the broad romp are mixed, and compare it to Almodovar’s earlier work, which could be seen as either a good or bad thing. Just don’t go in expecting “Bad Education”, “Talk To Her” or “The Skin I Live In” and you should be okay.

Categories: Features

Tags: At the Movies, Call Me Kuchu, I'm So Excited, LoquaciousMuse, Man of Steel, Monsters University, The Bling Ring, The Heat, The Purge, This is the End, White House Down, World war z

April at the Movies: 10 Films You Must See This Month

Rather then tell you details about every single movie opening every single month, we’re gonna switch things up around here and instead help you plan your month at the movies by picking the nine most notable films of the month and one we proudly award our Turkey of the Month. This month, indie movies outweigh studio movies and we rejoice!

ARPIL 5

“Jurassic Park 3D”

This should require no explanation. “Jurassic Park” is back in theaters 20 years after its initial release with what’s being called the best 3D conversion yet. The effects hold up, the terror feels just as real, the music is as transportive as ever, and the list goes on and on.

“Evil Dead”

The rumors are true. The “Evil Dead” remake, produced by original team Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, might be the goriest movie this side of NC-17 you will ever see. If that is your kind of thing, you’ll want to make sweet sweet love to this movie, and frankly, you probably will. The dialogue? Meh. The story? Double meh. But a remake of “Evil Dead” should be a little bit so bad it’s good. You should cringe just a tad when the characters deliver their wooden exposition or somehow the film would feel untrue to the original. In any event, it’s a great and wholly disturbing time at the movies. Get a group together and scream/cover your eyes/throw up together.

“Upstream Color”

Shane Carruth (“Primer”) premiered this mind binder of a film at Sundance to great acclaim / confusion. Now, just a mere couple months later, it opens in limited release before it hits home video in May. Watch what you read about this film – even the SXSW plot summary was deemed by many to be a massive spoiler. In order to experience it properly, go in cold and see what happens.

APRIL 12

“To The Wonder”

Doesn’t it kind of seem like all of a sudden Terrence Malick was like “And now, another movie!” and “To The Wonder just appeared? Well whether Malick actually shot this movie, or simply willed it into existence, his first feature since the Best Picture nominated “Tree of Life” comes to theaters in a couple weeks. The movie follows a couple, Neil and Marina (Ben Affleck and Olga Kurylenko) who move to small town America to start a life together. Soon after, Marina befriends a struggling priest (Javier Bardem) and Neil reconnects with a past love (Rachel McAdams) and things get complicated. Any and all explorations of any and all types of love and relationships have my name written all over it, so even if this movie just ends up being four actors frolicking around beautiful landscapes surrounded by an army of buffalo, I’ll still probably adore it. Especially if Britney Spears is involved. I mean one of the quotes is “You feel your love has died, perhaps it is waiting to transform into something higher.” MUST NEEDS SEE NOW MUST.

“It’s a Disaster”

If you follow my overly loquacious twitter account (get it?) you’ve probably caught on by now that I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Oscilloscope picked up the doomsday comedy after it premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, and the film has perhaps become best known for pulling an epic prank on the internets by being the first movie to be “distributed” on the popular App, Vine. The film is about eight friends who gather for couples brunch as a disaster occurs outside, forcing them to remain indoors even as their personal lives implode. It’s fast paced, with a unique tone and original sense of humor, and the ensemble, which includes Julia Stiles and David Cross, shines. Stay tuned to Film.com for an interview with writer/director Todd Berger next week.

Check out our LAFF Review.

“Antiviral”

Another little film that could that impressed on the festival circuit last year, “Antiviral” is the first effort from David Cronenberg’s son, Brandon. This unsettling body shock sci-fi film is about a world where people are so obsessed with celebrities, they buy and purposefully contract their diseased cells, and eat masses of “steak” created from their healthy ones. While the film’s narrative may falter here and there, the world it falters within is so strong, visually and viscerally, that you can’t help but appreciate the vision behind the camera and the potential for the rest of Cronenberg’s career.

Check out our AFI Review.

APRIL 19

“Oblivion”

Yeah, remember this movie? I don’t. Has there been a marketing campaign? Is it even real? Did someone at Universal see it, freak out at its awfulness and decide to just pretend it never happened? The fact that this film is directed by Joseph Kosinski (“Tron: Legacy”) means chances of it being worth anything beyond having an amazing soundtrack and being kind of cool if are on pot brownies, aren’t too great. Plus Tom Cruise is in it. So, muh.

APRIL 26

“Pain & Gain”

Mark Wahlberg and The Rock play body building criminals in this action dramedy directed by Michael Bay. And it actually looks kind of awesome. Wait. What? Based on a true story, the film follows three gym rats (the third played by Anthony Mackie) who decide to extort money from a mob boss (Tony Shalhoub) and all kinds of shenanigans ensue. Also featuring Rob Corddry, Rebel Wilson and Ken Jeong.

“Mud”

Two boys find a man named Mud on a Mississippi island played by Matthew McConaughey in Jeff Nichols’ follow up to 2011's “Take Shelter”. Word is McConaghey’s performance is top notch, even surpassing his strong work in a slew of films last year (“Magic Mike”, “Bernie”, “Killer Joe”) and the film itself has been receiving the highest of praise since premiering at Sundance. Considering how fantastic “Take Shelter” is, it’s nice to have confirmation that it wasn’t a fluke and talent like Nichols’ is here to stay.

Check out our review here.

TURKEY OF THE MONTH

“Scary Movie 5?

Wait, these are still happening? These still make money? Who is going to see them and why?! Although this edition does feature both Charlie Sheen AND Lindsay Lohan, so it does have that trainwreck ON TOP of a trackwreck factor. This time, the franchise is sending up “Paranormal Activity”, “Mama”, and “Sinister” and the cast also features Simon Rex, Mike Tyson and Ashley Tisdale. Sigh.

Others to keep in mind:

“Trance” (4/5)  Danny Boyle’s next film, starring James McAvoy. Our editor is not a fan.

“Simon Killer” (4/12) From the producing team behind “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Dark, troubling, fascinating. Check out our thoughts from AFI.

“The Brass Teapot” (4/12) This comedic fantasy about a teapot that creates money when you hurt yourself starring Juno Temple, Alexis Bledel, Michael Angarano and Alia Shawkat, hit my radar because of a booth at Wondercon – the indie film is based on a comic book series!

“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (4/26) Mira Nair’s (“Monsoon Wedding”) new film based on the acclaimed book of the same name, playing early at the Indian Film Festival of LA

“The Big Wedding” (4/26) From the director of “The Bucket List”, Robin Williams back on the big screen

“At Any Price” (4/26) Played at Telluride, Venice and Toronto, featuring Zac Efron attempting to prove himself again. Will it work?

Categories: Features

Tags: Antiviral, Evil Dead, It's a Disaster, Jurassic Park 3D, Mud, Oblivion, Scary Movie 5, To The Wonder, Trance, Upstream Color