Chaos Theory:
The Plot: Uptight suburbanite decides to embrace chaos.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: Probably not. Advance reviews aren’t great, and the director’s last effort, Pretty Persuasion, was a big mess of a movie. That being said, the trailer is amusing and dark, and Ryan Reynolds can be very funny when given the proper material. I doubt this will expand much however.
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: The Landmark Sunshine.
Street Kings:
The Plot: Keanu Reeves is a pissed off LAPD officer who exposes some police corruption, cleans up the streets, plays by his own rules and…other cop clichés.
Is it worth eleven dollars? I’m actually going to say yes. If you like movies about corrupt cops, this is probably going to satisfy you. It’s based on a James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential, The Black Dahlia) story and from director David Ayer (Harsh Times, and writer of Training Day). So the people behind this movie certainly know their material. With a backup cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Cedric the Entertainer, Common and Jay Mohr (!), I think this is going to be a kick ass cop movie for the whole corrupt, gun-toting, drug dealing family.
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Park Slope Pavilion, United Artists on Court Street.
Prom Night:
The Plot: Murderer kills students on prom night.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: Uh…yes? Tell me what would be more entertaining than sneaking beer into a theater on Friday and watching a bunch of annoying teens get stalked by a serial killer? Nothing. That’s what.
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Park Slope Pavilion, United Artists on Court Street.
Smart People:
The Plot: A professor has health problems, has his half brother move in with him and starts dating a doctor.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: It’s hard to say. Parts of it look exactly like Sideways. Instead of Paul Giamatti as a failing writer, we have Dennis Quaid as a depressed Carnegie Mellon English professor. Instead of Thomas Haden Church as the crass and selfish best friend, we have…uh…Thomas Haden Church as the crass, selfish adopted brother. Also, here are a few things that we can determine about Smart People just based on the poster art (below).
- Smart People have facial hair.
- Smart People dress like they’re in the seventies, often wearing schoolgirl outfits, corduroy and tweed.
- Smart People make goofy expressions.
- Smart People like Scrabble. But unless they’re hitting some double word scores or triple letter scores, they should realize that the words “smart” and “people” aren’t worth a whole lot of points. Not so smart now, are you?
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Park Slope Pavilion and Cobble Hill Cinemas.
Dark Matter:
The Plot: Chinese astrophysics student comes to study in America. Things go wrong.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: At the very least, this sounds intriguing. It is an indie movie (and it looks it) that drew the attention of both Aidan Quinn and Meryl Streep. The film hasn’t gotten a whole lot of press thus far, but here are some spoilers (SPOILERS!) that might make one believe that the film will get a bit more attention after this weekend.
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: CC Village Cinemas East in Manhattan.
The Visitor:
The Plot: A middle-aged teacher befriends an illegal alien who teaches him to play the African drum.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: The Visitor is from the director of The Station Agent and stars Richard Jenkins. Jenkins is an actor who you’ve probably identified as “ohh…that guy!” in several thousand movies. He has worked with everyone from The Farrelly Brothers to David O. Russell and is finally becoming a leading man (strangely in a drama instead of a comedy). Advance reviews are great.
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Landmark Sunshine.
Richard Jenkins. That guy.
Young @ Heart:
The Plot: Old people sing rock songs.
Is it worth eleven dollars?: Apparently this is a good documentary. It’s about old people singing songs by The Ramones, Coldplay, The Clash, etc. I’m a little skeptical (hence, the site name). Once you get over the gimmick of old people singing songs, is there really that much more to this movie? Won’t it play like an extended version of the grandma in The Wedding Singer singing Rapper’s Delight?
Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Union Square.
Pink Floyd’s The Wall is playing at the Landmark Sunshine tomorrow night at midnight, and the Dogma 6 film Julien Donkey-Boy is playing at the IFC Center tomorrow night at midnight. Planet B-Boy has also opened at BAM.
