It's getting to be the time of year for big time movie releases. I've watched a handful of trailers from upcoming movies and taken a few notes. And now I will give to you my thoughts on what the upcoming movie season has to offer based upon the trailers. So get a small bag of microwaver popcorn and read on!
Safe -- This action film stars Jason Statham as a former elite agent who goes up against the Russian mob, corrupt NYPD cops and the Chinese Triad to protect a young girl with perfect memorization skills who holds a very important safe combination in her head. OK. I like Jason Statham as an actor. But he cannot carry a movie on his own. He needs to be part of a larger cast as he was in The Italian Job and The Expendables. When he is asked to carry a movie on his own we end up with stuff like Crank, Death Race and The Transporter franchise. The combination of this with director Boaz Yakin's (Uptown Girls and Remember the Titans) first trip into the world of action movies, chances are this will be an epic fail.
American Reunion -- The original cast of American Pie returns as the class of '99 gathers for a high school reunion. Unfortunately they return without the charm and humor of this first film and has cameos from TO and Ochocinco. I'm sure some of the cast members did this strictly for the money (Hello Tara Reid, Mena Suvari and Shannon Elizabeth) and I'm sure some did it because they thought it was a good idea. The American Pie franchise has already spawned two sequels (both of which were moderately funny at best) and spin-offs (which most folks probably don't even know exist) about Jim's dad and Stiffler's brother. Watching the cast who are now supposed to be grown men and women act like doofuses with another high school virginity subplot thorwn in the mix makes for a reunion of the same old jokes. This slice of pie should be thrown in the garbage.
The Cabin in the Woods -- This horror film from Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, the writer of Cloverfield, was filmed in 2009 but will not be released until April. Usually, that is a bad sign for any movie. However, this movie appears to have borrowed some elements of the Saw series while adding in the seclusion of the Friday the 13th. Add in some star power with Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse), Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers), and Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) and this could be the horror film of 2012.
Rock of Ages -- The hit Broadway musical come to the big screen with Tom Cruise as 80s rock god Stacee Jaxx and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the sanctimonious bitch Patrica Whitmore. Strangely, this will work. Also starring Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Julianne Hough and Alec Baldwin and directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray, The Wedding Planner) Rock of Ages will no doubt rock the box office as well as having one the year's best soundtracks.
The Amazing Spider-Man -- The first - and most important - quality this reboot of the franchise has on its predecessors is a better cast. Gone are Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and in are Golden Globe nominees Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Emma Stone (Easy A) and Denis Leary (Rescue Me, which also earned him an Emmy nomination) as well as Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Martin Sheen (The West Wing) and Oscar winner Sally Field (Norma Rae, Places in the Heart). Second on the list of important qualities is the writing. Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the eight Harry Potter films as well as Wonder Boys (which earned him an Oscar nomination) and Fabulous Baker Boys, helped write the screenplay for this movie with Alvin Sargent, a writer from the first three films. The addition of Kloves will without a doubt make an improvment on the drivel which were the first three screenplays. The only question mark in the new start to this franchise is director Marc Webb, who up until this point had made his name directing music documetaries, most notably for No Doubt and 3 Doors Down. Let's hope the lack of a big name director doesn't end up being a mistake. Overall, the new look to the Spider-Man franchise looks amazing.
MiB3 -- We have been waiting a long time for the third installment in the adventures of the intergalactic peace keepers known as the Men in Black. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith played well off each others strengths in the first two movies and fans will be hoping for more of the same in this one. The antics however, appear forced and clumsy judging by the trailer. In this installment, Agent J must travel back in time to prevent changes in history due to an alien assination of a young Agent K. Oscar winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensability, Howards End) joins the cast as Agent Oh, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Milk) will play young Agent K and SNL's Bill Hader will appear as Andy Warhol. Making cameos in the movie will be Nicole Scherzinger and Lady Gaga. I'm sure this movie will rake in the bucks at the box office given its USDA prime opening of Memorial Day weekend, but I wouldn't expect the same quality of the first two movies.
The Dark Knight Rises -- The movie which will close the curtain on the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale chapter in the Batman saga. There is no question this will be 2012's highest grossing film. And for good resason: there is nothing bad to say about it. Like the two films before it, this movie will be well acted (despite the silly "Batman voice" from Bale) and directed. It was a surprise when Bane was announced as the villian for the final film in this Batman era (I'm sure another set of films will pop up sometime down the road) but it was a good choice. Many fans (myself among them) were hoping for The Riddler. However, in a movie which is to end this trilogy a violent criminal such as Bane is the best choice over a more methodical villian like The Riddler. I must say I am also interested to see what Ra's Al Ghul's role in the final film will be. The Dark Knight Rises will own the 2012 box office.
