Opening this week at a theatre near you:
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
A Good Day To Die Hard – Source: Twentieth Century Fox Film
John McClane (Bruce Willis) travels to Russia to try get his son (Jai Courtney) back on track. What John doesn’t know is his son isn’t a kid bumming his way through Europe, he’s a CIA operative trying to stop the sale of nuclear weapons. Now John must team up with his son to keep the world safe.
A Good Day to Die Hard Website
What to Watch For: After the recent box office failures of Sylvester Stallone (Bullet to the Head) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Last Stand), the big question is, do people still think that Bruce Willis is a big action star?
Word on the Street: The fans of the series are encouraged by the R rating of this film. Many fans feel the previous Die Hard film, Live Free or Die Hard (2007) was hampered by its PG-13 rating and amped-down violence.
My Take: It’s a big gamble for the studio to put relatively unknown TV actor Jai Courtney in such an important role as John McClane’s son.
Safe Haven (2013)
Safe Haven – Source: Relativity Media
Katie (Julianne Hough) is running away from a dark secret, one that no one can ever find out about. She suddenly finds herself in a small North Carolina costal town, trying to make a new life. Her world starts looking up when she meets a young widower (Josh Duhamel) and his two children. But Katie’s past may catch up to her and hurt the people she has started to care about.
What to Watch For: The film is based on the Nicholas Sparks bestselling novel of the same title and is opening on Valentine’s Day. I have a feeling it will do pretty well opening night. Guys might want to get their tickets now.
Word on the Street: So will this romantic film do for Julianne Hough that previous Nicholas Sparks films did for Rachel McAdams and Mandy Moore – make her a star?
My Take: The director of the film is three time Oscar nominated Lasse Hallstrom, so I have high hopes for this film.
Beautiful Creatures (2013)
Beautiful Creatures – Source: Warner Bros.
Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) is bored and wants to leave his small town in the worst way. But things change when the mysterious new girl in town, Lena (Alice Englert), starts paying attention to him. Their new-found love will be tested as there are forces gathering in the town and Lena is the center of attention.
What to Watch For: The film is based on a series of bestselling Young Adult novels by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, so the film should have a built-in audience from the book fanatics.
Word on the Street: While the two leads are not well known, the rest of the cast is, including Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson.
My Take: The studios are desperate to find the next Harry Potter or Twilight series. I am not sure that this film will be the heir to the teen movie going throne.
Escape From Planet Earth (2013)
Scorch Supernova (Brendan Fraser) is the ever dashing astronaut from the planet Baab. Scorch is known for his daring feats in space, overshadowing his nerdy brother Gary (Rob Corddry). After Scorch goes on a mission to a strange planet called Earth, it’s going to be up to Gary to save the day.Escape From Planet Earth Website
What to Watch For: The film is animated and was made in 3-D.
Word on the Street: The film boasts a great supporting cast, including William Shatner playing the evil Shanker, Jessica Alba as Lena, head of the space agency, and Sarah Jessica Parker as Gary’s wife Kira.
My Take: The film is the first feature film of Rainmaker Entertainment, known mostly for their animated television shows such as Beast Wars and ReBoot, so there isn’t much of a track record to judge them.
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If you can’t make it to the theatre this weekend, then stay at home and watch movies on CW69.
Saturday
1:00 pm: Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)- Joe (Daniel Craig) is a has-been actor who once was at the top of his game but now spends his days drinking and sleeping with as many women as he can. When he learns his childhood friend has died, it causes Joe to look back at his life and think about how things would have been if he had taken a different path.
3:00pm: The Grand (2007)- One Eyed Jack Faro (Woody Harrelson) enters a poker tournament in Las Vegas in an effort to keep his family’s hotel/casino which is ten million dollars in the hole. But he’s up against the Schwartzman twins (Cheryl Hines/David Cross), Harold Melvin (Chris Parnell), Andy Andrews (Richard Kind) and The German (Werner Herzog). Can One Eyed Jack win the big one and save his business, or will he go bust?
Sunday
1:00 pm: Chances Are (1989)- Louie is married to Corinne (Cybill Shepherd) and things are great. But on their one year wedding anniversary, Louie is killed in an accident. Life isn’t done with Louie, and he is reincarnated as Alex Finch (Robert Downey Jr.) and 20 years later he comes back into Corinne’s life, complicated by the fact that he starts remembering his former life.
3:00 pm: Like Mike (2002)- Calvin (Bow Wow) is an orphan who loves basketball. Following his favorite team the Los Angeles Knights, Calvin obtains an old pair of Nike sneakers with the initials MJ written on them. Now Calvin can play basketball better than most professional players, and the question is, is it the shoes or is it Calvin?
