Brooklyn Skeptic » Weekend at the Movies

Weekend at the Movies: Special Patriotic Edition!

Administrator — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:27:33 +0000

As we celebrate a day off on Friday by binge drinking and eating (God bless America and no place else), that leaves plenty of time on Saturday and Sunday to see some of these movies or to catch up on some you might’ve missed last weekend (see Wall-E).

Hancock

The Plot: Will Smith is a drunk superhero.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: It doesn’t sound like it. I know that Will Smith seems to have a lock down on the July 4th weekend ever since Independence Day, but this is getting pretty bad reviews thus far. Peter Berg seems to jump around a lot between genres (The Rundown, Very Bad Things, Friday Night Lights) but it’s clear that he works well with darker material. Unfortunately, any real dark humor that might’ve been in this film was flushed down the toilet when they gave it a PG-13 rating. It is however nice to see Jason Bateman being involved in something other than spreading rumors about the Arrested Development movie.

Just shut up and make it already (I’m not talking about you, George Michael and Maeby).

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Pavilion, United Artists on Court Street, Cobble Hill Cinemas.

The Wackness

The Plot: A kid smokes pot and tries to have sex in 1994. Not sure I can relate, I probably wasn’t doing that until 1998.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: I would say yes. It was a pretty big hit at Sundance (although, so was every movie ever made) but it’s getting some okay reviews so far, and at the very least, it’ll be a nice trip down memory lane for people in their twenties.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Sigh. The Angelika.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

The Plot: Johnny Depp narrates this documentary about Hunter S. Thompson.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: I met a girl outside a bar a few weeks ago who told me that she had cried when Hunter S. Thompson died. And then she took a “fridge-full of acid.” If you go to see this movie, and you should, try to avoid her. Definitely not a friendly.

Fear and LOLing in Las Vegas.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Angelika.

Kabluey

The Plot: A guy moves in with his brother’s wife and starts working as a mascot.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: The trailer is actually pretty funny. You know when you see people dressed up in big, fluffy mascot costumes and you have to resist the temptation to run and tackle them? Here you get to see it happen.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Cinema Village.

Weekend at the Movies

Administrator — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:03:50 +0000

The Love Guru

The Plot: Mike Myers juggles midgets, goofy accents and dick jokes while simultaneously beating a stampede of dead horses.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: No. The trailer for this, which I’m sure contains most of the funny jokes from the film, is painfully unfunny (with the exception of Justin Timberlake doing a Québécois accent). When your coworkers start spitting out catchphrases from this movie, it will be better to have not seen it and not know what they’re referencing. Trust me.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Pavilion and United Artists on Court Street.

Get Smart

The Plot: Steve Carell steps in for Don Adams as Maxwell Smart.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: Probably not, sadly. Although if you want to see a comedy this weekend, my guess is that this will be a hell of a lot funnier than The Love Guru. Steve Carell seems like a pretty good choice to play the bumbling super spy, and with cameos from Bill Murray, Patrick Warburton and James Caan, it’s probably pretty entertaining. And the Rock isn’t the Rock anymore, nor is he Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Now he’s just Dwayne Johnson. I think that’s cause for celebration.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Pavilion and United Artists on Court Street.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

The Plot: A little girl in the depression.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: I don’t really know anything about this. It’s barely getting a release though, so probably not. Unless you’re a ten year old.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Clearview Ziegfeld on 54th Street.

Brick Lane

The Plot: A young woman from Bangladesh moves to England and into an arranged marriage.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: If you’re my mom. I say this because we saw a trailer for it together and she whispered to me that she wanted to see it. So if you’re like my mom, or really want to be more like my mom (and why shouldn’t you?) then you should check this out.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Landmark Sunshine.

Full Grown Men

The Plot: Two losers try to re-capture their youth by taking a road trip to an amusement park.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: Yes. This looks great and is already getting some fantastic reviews. It doesn’t start until next Wednesday, but is definitely worth checking out. Matt McGrath and Judah Friedlander star as the titular pair. The film also stars Alan Cumming, Debbie Harry and Amy Sedaris.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Starts Wednesday the 25th of June at Cinema Village.

Mongol is opening at BAM and Cobble Hill Cinemas, and Tarsem’s The Fall is opening at Brooklyn Heights Cinemas. Grease is the midnight movie at the Landmark Sunshine tomorrow night, and Woody Allen’s Sleeper is playing at midnight tomorrow at the IFC Center.

Weekend at the Movies

Administrator — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:13:26 +0000

The Forbidden Kingdom:

The Plot: Some time traveling kid winds up in ancient China and has to fight an evil king with the help of Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: No. Putting actors like this together always seems a little forced, like when Pacino and Deniro starred in Heat (and the upcoming Righteous Kill). Just because the two of them are action stars doesn’t mean they’ll play well off each other. Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren weren’t that great in Universal Soldier, were they? Oh yeah, they were. Tango and Cash? Fine, fuck it, this is going to be the greatest movie ever.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: The Pavilion and the United Artists on Court Street.

88 Minutes:

The Plot: Al Pacino runs around and yells a lot.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: No. This is getting the worst reviews of the year. Who knew that Al Pacino would turn into such a one-trick pony. And if your pony started yelling out obscenities in a raspy voice while staring blankly into space, you’d probably take it out back and shoot it. I’m just saying.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: United Artists on Court Street.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall:

The Plot: A guy gets dumped, goes on a vacation to Hawaii, and finds that she’s at the same resort with her new boyfriend.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: There are a bunch of us here at Brooklyn Skeptic who are Judd Apatow whores (but classy whores who didn’t see Drillbit Taylor and won’t kiss on the mouth). This looks like a return to good natured, crass romantic comedies for the Apatow group. Also, the film stars Paul Rudd. I think a lot of us have decided that we would let Rudd perform open heart surgery on us just as long as he was smiling.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Pavilion, Cobble Hill Cinemas and the United Artists on Court Street.

The Life Before Her Eyes:

The Plot: A woman deals with the guilt of surviving a school shooting.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: From what I’ve heard, no. Two friends went to see an advance screening of this on Tuesday, and neither particularly liked it. The film was directed by Vadim Perelman, who also directed The House of Sand and Fog and is writing and directing his own adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (which is rumored to be starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie).

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Landmark Sunshine.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?:

The Plot: Morgan Spurlock travels to the Middle East to find Osama Bin Laden and talk to people about the war on terror.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: Early reviews aren’t too good actually. Park Slope resident Morgan Spurlock has made a pretty big name for himself over the past couple of years, between his documentary Super Size Me and his television show 30 Days. Yet his current film, which he spent quite some time filmin and even left his pregnant wife (in her third trimester) to go and make, is currently sitting at 31% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: Cobble Hill Cinemas, Pavilion, BAM.

Zombie Strippers:

The Plot: I think it’s all in the title.

Is it worth eleven dollars?: You pretty much know exactly what you’re getting into with this film. The early reviews aren’t great, but did you expect them to be? In any case, this movie, which stars porn star Jenna Jameson and Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) won’t be out for long before being released on DVD.

Where is it playing in Brooklyn/New York?: AMC Empire 25.

Otherwise, there’s a midnight screening of Blade Runner tonight at the Landmark Sunshine as well as El Topo is playing at midnight at IFC Center.

Weekend at the Movies

Administrator — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:32:43 +0000

Love in the Time of Cholera: Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s award-winning novel has been adapted into a film by director Mike Newell, and stars Javier Bardem and Benjamin Bratt. Thus far, the movie is getting pretty terrible reviews, shocking both because of the subject matter and talented director. Garcia Marquez (who is now eighty years old)

Weekend at the Movies

Administrator — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:35:13 +0000

Bee Movie: Jerry Seinfeld is getting on my nerves. I remember when I saw the first Bee Movie teaser, in which Seinfeld was dressed up in a giant bee costume. It was amusing enough, and I thought that there was a chance that I would see the film, perhaps even in theaters. And then came

Weekend at the Movies

Administrator — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:43:00 +0000

There are only two movies in wide release this weekend, as no one wants to go up against Saw IV. I honestly don’t know anyone that watches these anymore, but someone must be because they always seem to make a killing (and a torturous one at that).
Saw IV: Television has informed me that this weekend