2014
2013
7/1
Working For It: It's Stephen Spielberg taking on a beloved children's book. It's got all sorts of agreeable faces like Mark Rylance, fresh off an Oscar win for his last Spielberg movie, Rebecca Hall, and Bill Hader (Some are giants. Some aren't. Other than Rylance, I'm not sure who's who). Few directors connect with childhood magic like Spielberg, so there's every reason to be excited about this.
Working Against It: Yet, I'm not all that excited about this. I'm sure it will be fine. For some reason, I can't get worked up for it. I wish there was something more concrete I could say than that.
Verdict: If I see this in theaters, it's a testament to how implicitly I trust the Disney machine.
Working For It: As far as I can tell, this is a Tarzan movie in which Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) has alreadty been domesticated and has married Jane (Margot Robbie). Robbie is getting much more of the focus in the trailers, which has me excited about the character balance. I get the sense that Robbie isn't just playing a damsel in distress, which would be fantastic. I'm confused by the decision to keep Tarzan out of the jungle as much as the trailers imply, but I could see how it could work. While I'm not the biggest Christoph Waltz fan, he's a great pick for this kind of villain. This is David Yates' film follow-up after the last four Harry Potter movies, so I have no worries about if he can handle a big budget feature like this.
Working Against It: Margot Robbie is the only thing keeping this from being "generic action movie" for me. I've seen a number of previews and I still don't know what this movie is. Tarzan is already married to Jane. Waltz is using Jane to bait Tarzan. I guess Tarzan gets some animals to stampede a village. That's about all I know. I'm worried by that.
Verdict: If I see this in theaters, it's a testament to how implicitly I trust Margot Robbie.
Working For It: I refuse to give up on the idea that these movies could be good. I don't know why I stubbornly believe that. I just do. Frank Grillo is back, this time, he's protecting a politician (Elizabeth Mitchell) who wants to end the Purge. This looks very similar to The Purge: Anarchy except with raised stakes. I'm sure it will be about as good.
Working Against It: I can't be the only one who thinks the Purge would be scarier if they didn't address it as an actual political movement. It should just be a way of life. Introducing the idea that Mitchell's character wants to end it means that it would've had to be passed as a law in the first place, which it never would've. Sorry, I'll save further picking at it for my inevitable Delayed Reaction in about a year.
Verdict: If I see this in theaters, it's a testament to how bored I get that weekend.
Working For It: It's a documentary about an autistic kid who used Disney's animated movies as a way to understand human interaction. Look, call it "How Disney saved a life", because that's all I got from it and that's why it caught my interest. If I ever need something inspirational to pump my fist in the air to, this will be in consideration.
Working Against It: This really looks like one of those documentaries that only has about a half hour of interesting material that gets stretched to 90 minutes. I feel like even a 5 minute cut as an extended trailer would do the trick.
Verdict: I wouldn't see it in theaters even if I got the chance. I may look for it on Netflix.
7/8
Working For It: Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza play slacker, stoner women who trick two brothers (Zac Efron and Adam Devine) into taking them to Hawaii for their sister's wedding. I just love the idea of Kendrick and Plaza getting to play really dirty characters. Plaza and Devine are old pros in comedy shows and movies. Kendrick and Efron are two actors who love getting to be funny. I'm a big fan of the whole quartet. And I can't wait to see how Sam Richardson, Kumail Nanjiani, and Stephen Root find ways to steal scenes.
Working Against It: The only thing I can say against this is that it shares an uncomfortable amount of DNA with Neighbors (Same screenwriters, Zac Efron, style of comedy) in a summer that just had a Neighbors sequel. I like Neighbors though, so hopefully it works as a supplement rather than cannibalizing the market.
Verdict: It's a complete lock that I see this. I love the cast too much not to.
Working For It: Damn you, Illumination Entertainment! I was ready to ignore this, then you cast Louis C.K. as the voice of the lead dog in this film about what your pets are really doing when you're away. This is a voice cast of really funny people including C.K., Ellie Kemper, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Lake Bell, Albert Brooks, Jenny Slate, and Hannibal Buress. Illumination and Dreakworks are both great at putting together voice casts that I would love to see together in a live-action movie. The previews have focused on all the side jokes as opposed to the main story, which is probably a wise move, since that's where its strength will lie.
Working Against It: Illumination Entertainment's history is this. Two Despicable Me movies (I hate the minions), Hop (forgettable), The Lorax (catchy songs, not great otherwise), and Minions (I hate the minions). In short, I'm still looking for a reason to like their product.
Verdict: Too many children in the theater. I don't dislike children, but they tend to take away from the viewing experience in too large of numbers.
Working For It: Viggo Mortensen is a father who has been raising his kids in the woods, away from civilization. When his wife/their mother dies, he's forced to introduce the children to the real world. It doesn't go smoothly. This has a nice dirty, indie vibe. Matt Ross from Silicon Valley wrote and directed this, so that aspect could be interesting.
Working Against It: I don't care much for movies that debate the merit of nature vs. civilization. Mortensen alone isn't enough to carry this for me.
Verdict: I don't like Aragorn that much.
Working For It: John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson team up for another Stephen King adaptation. This one is about all the cell phones in the world turning people into, zombies, I guess. The last time they teamed up that I remember was 1408 in 2007 which was pretty good. This could be as well.
Working Against It: I get when an art house film, a modest comedy, or even a slow burn drama gets held for limited release. Cell looks like a large scale thriller/action movie though. If it isn't getting a wide release, that's cause for concern.
Verdict: Why deprive myself from catching this at 3 A.M. on FX in a few years?
Working For It: An attractive girl goes undercover at a puppy mill to expose something nefarious. I could name the cast, but that's not going to help.
Working Against It: I'm never going to see this. I just found the poster to be funny, so I kept it in the list.
Verdict: Hard no...Except, puppies...No! Hard no!
Working For It: A Civil War dark comedy about a kind of awkward man and his brother. I don't recognize the director or any of the actors, but I can't get the trailer out of my head.
Working Against It: While the tone of it is intriguing, it could also end up lifeless with no jokes that land right. It premiered during last year's film festival circuit and I'm only hearing about it now. That's a bad sign.
Verdict: I'm going to let this one find me. The ball is in your court, Netflix or HBO Go.
Working For It: It seems like every few months another documentary comes out that looks back on the career of some icon. Brian de Palma had one recently, for example. A lot of the time, they wait until the person is dead. Lately, they've been picking live people so that they can interview them, which is a sound strategy. From the looks of it, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have assemble an impressive group of interviewees and Norman Lear has certainly done enough in his career to warrant this.
Working Against It: You know, I never cared for Lear's shows, and I think it's starting to reach a point where his significance is getting a little overstated. I'm probably wrong about that, but I don't really need to hear more about him.
Verdict: Only if I accidentally binge All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude, and Archer Bunker's Place and want to know more.
Working For It: Have you ever not wanted to do anything on a computer ever again? Well, the guy who brought you documentaries about Scientology, Enron, and Wikileaks is ready to take on the Stuxnet virus and how computers will lead to our eventual demise.
Working Against It: I'll be honest, when the computer apocalypse happens, I don't want to see it coming.
Verdict: I'd watch this if we were in the middle of a cyber attack worldwide and I wanted to know what was attacking us. Of course, in that scenario, I doubt I'd have access to a computer or a movie theater.
7/15
Working For It: The last time that Kristell Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Paul Feig all worked together was Bridesmaids. If that isn't enough for you, then we can't be friends. I'm mystified by the amount of uproar leading up to this movie. There's no reason for it. There just isn't. The worst-case scenario is that it will be forgettable. So, sit down, shut up, and enjoy the movie.
Working Against It: I mean, I guess you could not see it as some sort of a protest. That would kind of ignore the fact that the classic original movie was followed by an underwhelming sequel and mediocre animated series. It's not like someone is rebooting Citizen Kane.
Verdict: Absolutely seeing this.What's wrong with all of you haters?
Working For It: Bryan Cranston plays a U.S. Customs agent who goes undercover to stop Pablo Escobar's drug trade to the U.S. through Miami. It's a Brad Furman movie (The Lincoln Lawyer, Runner Runner) which means something to someone out there. I like seeing Cranston as a lead.
Working Against It: As much as I like Cranston, Diane Kruger, Amy Ryan, and Benjamin Bratt, I can't help but feel like this is a mid-level thriller at best. I'm not sure what new angle there is to cover in this story. Miami, Escobar, and the 1980s drug trade have been done to death.
Verdict: Probably not for a while, if ever.
Working For It: I believe this is Woody Allen's first movie from his deal with Amazon. It looks just like a Woody Allen movie which is a blessing and a curse. He has a new movie every year and they are rarely more than a couple steps away from being like the previous one. He's brought back Jesse Eisenberg and brought in people like Steve Carrell, Blake Lively, and Kristen Stewart. This one is a comedy about Hollywood during the Golden Age. It looks kind of similar to Hail, Caesar!
Working Against It: I always complain that Allen's movies tend to feel like first drafts (because he churns them out so quickly). My general rule is that I need to start hearing Oscar buzz or murmurs from friends before I bother.
Verdict: Too many other options in theaters. I assume that someday I'll work through his catalogue though, which would include this.
Working For It: A GKIDS animated movie about a boy in a wheelchair who is able to leave his body and fight crime as a hero named Phantom Boy. This looks simple and sweet. I like the idea of a disabled superhero (of sorts).
Working Against It: The movie looks like it's targeted hard at kids, which makes sense, but also puts me squarely out of the demographic. I still haven't seen any GKIDS movies and do need to change that at some point.
Verdict: Realistically, I won't see this and will never look back.
Working For It: Tom Stoppard's written another movie. That's always cause for excitment. This period piece about a wife having an affair behind her awful husband's back stars Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz, Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Holliday Granger, Zach Galifianakis (not a typo), and Judi Dench.
Working Against It: I think I'm supposed to love Tom Stoppard's writing a lot more than I do. Anna Karenina is an impressive practice in condensing source material down to something manageable. Shakespeare is Love is pleasant and a little overrated. Rosencrantz & Gildenstern Are Dead actually is pretty clever. Tulip Fever looks like Shakespeare in Love except played for fewer laughs.
Verdict: It's a lock that I'll see this eventually. I'm in no hurry.
7/22
Working For It: Not only is this franchise still going, but Continental Drift was the biggest movie in the series [for the rest of the world]. So, of course there would be another sequel. Thankfully, John Leguizamo, Ray Ramano, and Denis Leary aren't too busy to collect another check and the rest of that animated world is easy to populate. I'm curious to see how this one does.
Working Against It: They are painless movies to watch. There is no appeal to adults though (unlike a Pixar movie), so any time I'd see this in theaters, it would be in a theater full of children with parents who are mentally checked out. No thank you.
Verdict: Too many children in the theater and not enough reward
Working For It: I got a lot of It Follows vibes from the trailer. It's about a woman who can only be seen in the darkness and is terrorizing a mother and son. If the movie is willing to show any restraint, this could be really creepy. Otherwise, it'll be just a bunch of jump scares.
Working Against It: This is David Sandberg's debut feature. I recognize names like Teresa Palmer and Maria Bello. They aren't any immediate draws though. Oddly enough, with scary movies, the better that they can be presented in a trailer, the more I question how good they'll be. Here's a great test.
Verdict: I'm hoping to hear excellent reviews for this, because that will probably convince me to get to a theater.
Working For It: What happens when Star Trek meets The Fast and the Furious? It's time to find out. I have no idea what the story is. It has all the regulars back though (Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg - who helped write the screenplay, John Cho, Karl Urban, etc.) and Idris Elba is the villain (I think). That's all I need to know.
Working Against It: Star Trek Into Darkness was disappointing, so I worry about the direction of the franchise.
Verdict: Absolutely seeing it in theaters.
Working For It: I'm becoming a big Mike Bribiglia fan between his stand up and growing acting career. I was very impressed with his 2012 movie Sleepwalk With Me about his early days in stand up and battle with some crazy sleepwalking. Don't Think Twice is about an improv troupe instead and stars Keegan Michael Key, Gillians Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, Chris Gethard, and Bribiglia. I'm not sure this has broad appeal but it is right in my wheelhouse.
Working Against It: It doesn't look like a particularly nuanced work. I imagine that other people may look at this as disposable the way that I do with movies about retirees who are trying to find romance in their lives again (I see you, Diane Lane).
Verdict: I doubt I'll get a chance to see it in theaters, but it's a lock that I will seek it out.
7/29
Working For It: The Hangover writers have Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as mothers who have had enough of bake sales and trying to do everything perfectly. It's a fun idea and completes the accidental trilogy of Bad Santa, Bad Teacher, and now Bad Moms (no connection between any of the creative teams). I'll happily watch those three ladies battle the PTA establishment.
Working Against It: As much as I like Kunis and Bell, I kind of worry that their comic sensibilities might overlap a bit too much. I'll happily be wrong about that though.
And the bra joke in the trailer would be a lot funnier it The Boss hadn't done exactly that already this year, and with Bell too.
Verdict: There's a lot I don't trust about this despite a lot of actresses I enjoy being in it. I assume I'll skip it in theaters.
Working For It: They stuck with that title because The Bourne Repetition wasn't testing well. Paul Greengrass made what most consider the best of the Bourne movies (Ultimatum) so it's good to have him back with Matt Damon. Bringing in Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones is also a good move. Keeping Julia Stiles around is nice to see (Why doesn't she work more?).
Working Against It: I'm not deeply invested in this series and The Bourne Legacy left an awful taste in my mouth. This is a return to what worked, but it might be too late.
Verdict: I'm pretty agnostic about the Bourne movies, but this still feels like a lock.
Working For It: Emma Roberts and Dave Franco let the internet decide what they do for a night. As anyone who has been on the internet ever for even a minute already knows, that doesn't go well. It's from the directors of Catfish and Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, so expectations are all over the place. I'll admit, there's a high likelihood of me seeing this for the two leads and all the "TV All Stars (Kimiko Glenn and Samira Wiley from Orange is the New Black, Emily Meade from The Leftovers, Miles Heizer from Parenthood).
Working Against It: I have a long history with movies that are so teenager that they are too teenage to teenager. I saw Project X and Project Almanac in theaters. Unfriended too. Studios keep trying to figure out a way to use the internet and recent technology in a way that appeals to young people without being awful. Mostly, they fail, but I'm kind of determined to be there when they finally succeed. Nerve probably won't be the one to crack the code.
Verdict: This is the kind of movie I make time for in March. In the middle of Summer, that's doubtful.
Working For It: This is basically a female Wolf of Wall Street starring Anna Gunn from Breaking Bad. There's less cursing I'm sure. I like the idea of telling a Wall Street story from a different perspective and it makes me happy to see Anna Gunn getting a lead role like this.
Working Against It: Based on the trailer, I don't see anything about this that I haven't seen before. It looks like a mash up of The Wolf of Wall Street, The Firm, and a season of Damages. None of those top any of my lists.
Verdict: No chance I'll see it in theaters. Modest chance I'll seek it out later.
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