Movies releasing for the long weekend: Werewolves, cowboy chameleons, distressed lovers, economists and dancing Irishmen
Given it's a long weekend in South Africa, the cinema chains are releasing a glut of new movies to keep the whole family entertained, Friday to Monday. I'll get to my picks of the week in a moment, but first here's a rundown of the other new releases.
Blue Valentine is a Oscar nominated indie drama about a young couple, once passionately in love, whose marriage is painfully dissolving. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star. 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Comedy Just Go With It has Adam Sandler recruiting his office manager Jennifer Aniston to act as his ex-wife. This is after his hot new girlfriend Brooklyn Decker finds the wedding ring he uses as a pick-up tool, and assumes he's cheating. 18% Fresh.
Freakonomics: The bestselling pop-economics book gets the movie treatment in this collaborative documentary effort from the makers of Super Size Me, Jesus Camp, The King of Kong and more. 66% Fresh.
Lord of the Dance 3D: One of the world's most popular theatrical productions, combining Irish song, dance and myth, has been captured in 3D for a limited number of cinema screenings. 25% Fresh.
That then leaves my top 2 geek-friendly picks for the weekend as:
Rango: Profiled as this week's Trailer Tuesday choice, is this CGI-comedy Western featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy. The quirky adventure starts when a pampered pet chameleon (Depp) is stranded in the Nevada desert and stumbles into the rundown animal enclave of Dirt. Immediately our hero seeks to impress by adopting the made-up identity of Rango, a tough loner drifter. Which is all good and well until the locals call on Rango's heroic services.
Despite, or perhaps largely because of, its apparent weirdness Rango has an exceptionally strong score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Evidently the Nickelodeon animated movie is witty, creative, enthusiastic and well beyond kiddie audiences. Still, you have to wonder if the film's surrealism isn't a bit alienating at the same time - much like the offbeat Fantastic Mr Fox.
Red Riding Hood: The well-known folktale drops the "Little" from its title and gets the Twilight treatment in this horror romance whodunnit from Twilight 1 director Catherine Hardwicke. Amanda Seyfried stars as Valerie, a young woman caught in a love triangle with secret beau, woodcutter Shiloh Fernandez, and her wealthy betrothed Max Irons. The situation is complicated when the village in which they live is terrorised by a werewolf, and acclaimed werewolf hunter Gary Oldman is called in to identify and execute the person responsible.
Red Riding Hood is a pitiful 12% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is nothing more than a pretty-looking Twilight clone that takes itself too seriously. Many reviewers have called it unintentionally hilarious, although Seyfried has once again garnered praise for a magnetic performance... in an otherwise rubbish film.
Blue Valentine is a Oscar nominated indie drama about a young couple, once passionately in love, whose marriage is painfully dissolving. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star. 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Comedy Just Go With It has Adam Sandler recruiting his office manager Jennifer Aniston to act as his ex-wife. This is after his hot new girlfriend Brooklyn Decker finds the wedding ring he uses as a pick-up tool, and assumes he's cheating. 18% Fresh.
Freakonomics: The bestselling pop-economics book gets the movie treatment in this collaborative documentary effort from the makers of Super Size Me, Jesus Camp, The King of Kong and more. 66% Fresh.
Lord of the Dance 3D: One of the world's most popular theatrical productions, combining Irish song, dance and myth, has been captured in 3D for a limited number of cinema screenings. 25% Fresh.
That then leaves my top 2 geek-friendly picks for the weekend as:
Rango: Profiled as this week's Trailer Tuesday choice, is this CGI-comedy Western featuring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, and Bill Nighy. The quirky adventure starts when a pampered pet chameleon (Depp) is stranded in the Nevada desert and stumbles into the rundown animal enclave of Dirt. Immediately our hero seeks to impress by adopting the made-up identity of Rango, a tough loner drifter. Which is all good and well until the locals call on Rango's heroic services.
Despite, or perhaps largely because of, its apparent weirdness Rango has an exceptionally strong score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. Evidently the Nickelodeon animated movie is witty, creative, enthusiastic and well beyond kiddie audiences. Still, you have to wonder if the film's surrealism isn't a bit alienating at the same time - much like the offbeat Fantastic Mr Fox.
Red Riding Hood: The well-known folktale drops the "Little" from its title and gets the Twilight treatment in this horror romance whodunnit from Twilight 1 director Catherine Hardwicke. Amanda Seyfried stars as Valerie, a young woman caught in a love triangle with secret beau, woodcutter Shiloh Fernandez, and her wealthy betrothed Max Irons. The situation is complicated when the village in which they live is terrorised by a werewolf, and acclaimed werewolf hunter Gary Oldman is called in to identify and execute the person responsible.
Red Riding Hood is a pitiful 12% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is nothing more than a pretty-looking Twilight clone that takes itself too seriously. Many reviewers have called it unintentionally hilarious, although Seyfried has once again garnered praise for a magnetic performance... in an otherwise rubbish film.
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