2014
2013
1/6
Kate Beckinsale is back as a kick-ass vampire in the middle of a full-scale war between the Lycans and vampires.
Working For It: I like Kate Beckinsale...and, uh...
Working Against It: I'm not a fan of the series. I'm not caught up on the series. This looks indistinguishable from the other films in the series. They established an audience since 2003 and I'm not part of it.
Verdict: Despite Love & Friendship reminding me that I enjoy Kate Beckinsale, this isn't happening.
I, Daniel Blake [Limited]
Last year's Palme d'Or* winner is about a middle aged carpenter who bonds with a single mother over their similar difficulties with the state welfare program in Britain.
Working For It: The Palme d'Or doesn't mean nothing, even if I've seen only 2 of the last 10 winners.
Working Against It: This looks pretty generic. I remember it was mocked for winning at Cannes last year. And, it's not a coincidence that I've seen so few of the winners at Cannes.
Verdict: I'm going to trust my mistrust of Cannes' winners.
*The grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival
1/13
About a monster who chases you the more you think about him.
Working For It: It's January, so that means it's time for the counter-programming horror release (Thanks, White Noise). It's a clever enough idea: being chased by your own awareness of a fear.
Working Against It: I'm not a jump-scare kind of person and this appears to be highly dependent on those.
Verdict: I'd have to hear some incredible reviews, and even still, that didn't get me to see Don't Breathe last summer - which I do regret.
A Nickelodeon live-action film about an alien (or something) who takes over a guy's car and the guy and alien become friends or allies.
Working For It: I'm sure this will appeal to kids well enough.
Working Against It: ...except, I'm not sure it will. This looks like a January bury. It's a different take of Herbie the Love Bug that looks pretty generic. It's not the kind of movie I see a lot of parents bringing kids to see because it is on the wrong side of the annoyance threshold*.
Verdict: Hard no.
*Annoyance Threshold - The point at which a children's movie becomes too annoying for an adult/guardian to put up with. Oogieloves In The BIG Balloon Adventure is a great example of this.
Jamie Foxx is a cop caught in the middle of casinos and gang members, trying to rescue his kidnapped son.
Working For It: Jamie Foxx can certainly lead a gritty action movie like this. The cast is solid but unspectacular, featuring Dermot Mulroney, Michelle Monaghan, Sccot McNairy, T.I., and Gabrielle Union.
Working Against It: God this looks generic. I've watched the trailer and a couple TV spots and I don't have a sense of what the movie is. Foxx is a cop. He's in over his head. He sure looks cool doing it. I think that's the movie.
Verdict: Jamie Foxx is a deterrent for me, making me unlikely to ever see this.
Jason Suideikis' wife (Jessica Beil) dies. He copes with it by befriending Maisie Williams, a local homeless girl who wants to build a raft for some reason.
Working For It: That's a fun cast with some TV All Stars rounding out the supporting roles (Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Orlando Jones). The preview looks rather somber or saccharine, but if that's actually masking a lighter tone, this could be pretty good.
Working Against It: It seems like every TV writer/director (which Bill Purple is) ends up making a dramedy when they make their move to film. I'm not crazy about those results.
Verdict: Don't get me wrong, I anxiously await adding it to my Netflix queue, but that's about it.
The Comedian [Limited]
Robert De Niro is an aging comedian who is down on his luck, until he befriends Leslie Mann and stumbles into a late career resurgence.
Working For It: I'll tend to give anything about the comedy world a shot even if I end up hating it (Punchline). I still consider De Niro a plus casting move and Leslie Mann tends to be better than whatever role she's given (See The Other Woman). There's potential for a lot of fun cameos by [primarily] older comedians.
Working Against It: I'm hoping that they really don't make De Niro and Mann's relationship romantic, because that 30 year age difference is a little uncomfortable. Also, for someone who I've seen so many of his movies (Ray, The Devil's Advocate), I sure don't have a sense of what director Taylor Hackford is about.
Verdict: Enough praise for Leslie Mann may be enough to get me looking for this. Still doubtful though.
1/20
The story of Ray Croc, the founder of McDonald's and how he essentially stole the company from the McDonald brothers.
Working For It: Michael Keaton is committing to the Ray Croc role. John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman look like fun McDonalds brothers. The movie did the Oscar tap dance for a while but appears to have given up on that (except maybe Keaton for Lead Actor), which is probably for the best. I'm more excited for this one than I should be.
Working Against It: I do worry about why this kept getting pushed (originally slated for release this past Fall). Is it like Monuments Men, where, despite the pedigree of the people involved, it just wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, or is it not very good?
Verdict: Absolutely going to find this, even if the reviews are savage. The trailer has me hooked.
A former child star (Brett Dalton) get sucked into a local Church's Easter play as part of his community service.
Working For It: It's not often that you see Brett Dalton, Neil Flynn, and WWE legend Shawn Michaels in a film together.
Working Against It: I'm not a big fan of these religious movies that have the production value of a Disney Channel Original (if that) with writing to match. There's an audience for this who will enjoy it. I'm not one of them, and it's not for religious reasons.
Verdict: Maybe if it was a Hallmark movie called "Jesus Christ ChildStar"...no. Even then, still no.
Three girls are kidnapped by a man (James McAvoy) with 24 different personalities and must work with the helpful personalities to escape.
Working For It: It's an M. Night Shaymalan movie. I know what he's about by now and this could be fun. I like McAvoy and one of the kidnapped girls is Anya Taylor-Joy, who was great in The Witch.
Working Against It: I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to not chuckle at how much this is requiring James McAvoy to overact.
Verdict: I'm not saying "no", but I am saying "unlikely".
Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) is back for another mission that he will get done however he wants, looking as cool as he wants.
Working For It: This is an even less serious cousin of the Fast and the Furious movies. By casting Deepika Padukone, Ruby Rose, and Nina Dobrev, I think they are being pretty clear about the appeal of the movie. I don't imagine I'd have a bad time watching this.
Working Against It: I don't feel a pull to see this. It's completely disposable, which is both its selling point and to its detriment. I can't tell if this will be a fun mess or just a mess.
Verdict: Leaning toward no. Probably more than leaning.
An animated Studio Ghibli film about a man (and, later, a woman), who is trapped on a desert island for several years.
Working For It: I've heard some high praise for this wordless [I believe] feature. Studio Ghibli isn't known for delivering sub-par movies.
Working Against It: Despite the high praise for Studio Ghibli, the latest of their movies that I've seen is Spirited Away, so I clearly don't put them as a priority. That's on me. I do intend to look for this one though.
Verdict: Eventually...
1/27
Ed Helms and Luke Wilson find out that their mother has been lying to them about their dead father for years. They hunt down their real dad (J.K. Simmons) and he is not pleased to meet them.
Working For It: I like Wilson and Helms when they have a good partner. Simmons is a natural for a role like this. While this is director Lawrence Sher's debut feature as a director, he's amassed a strong resume as Director of Photography history over the last decade (The Hangover I, II, and III, I Love You Man, Due Date, The Big Year) and this movie is fitting with all of those.
Working Against It: I'm not sold on the Helms/Wilson pairing. They both like to fill similar roles in movies. There may be too much overlap here. And, it's already too easy to confuse this with a half-dozen other movies.
Verdict: Weak no.
Josh Gad is the voice of a dog who is reincarnated into four different dogs over 50 years, telling the story of each life and each owner.
Working For It: The trailer alone tugs at my heartstrings enough to make me interested. Add in Britt Robertson and Dennis Quaid and that probably seals it.
Working Against It: When it's this obviously tugging at my emotions, it might be better to see this at home rather than a sure-to-be dusty theater.
Verdict: Toss up. I don't think I'm going to know if I'll see this until I'm sitting in the theater.
The sixth and final installment of the franchise brings Milla Jovovich back one more time to finish off the Umbrella Corporation for good.
Working For It: Milla Jovovich, Ruby Rose, Ali Larter, Rola. Gee, I wish there was a way to determine the casting strategy for this. They are committing to calling this the end, and the story appears to be giving the film massive stakes.
Working Against It: I know what you're thinking: Didn't they just release one of these movies earlier this month? No, that was Underworld, but I understand your confusion. I havent seen any of these movies and I probably never will.
Verdict: Just as soon as I see the first five.
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