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The Lego Movie |
February 7
The LEGO Movie written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) follows Emmet (Chris Pratt), a completely ordinary, law abiding, LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to save the world!
Directed and co-written by George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March) with his producing partner Grant Heslov, this adaptation Robert M. Edsel’s book of the same name, follows the true story of a hand-picked group of art experts chosen by the U.S. government to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis. Clooney also stars in the film along with Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban and Hugh Bonneville. I can’t help but wonder if the Coen brothers shouldn’t have directed this?
When brokenhearted Stan (Michael Stahl-David) flies to Austin for the weekend in hopes of running into his ex-girlfriend Cathy (Ashley Bell), he arrives to find their best friends in the middle of their own vicious breakup. Battle lines are drawn–and with the Air Sex World Championships in town, anything can go down. Love & Air Sex was written and directed by Bryan Poyser.
And yes there is such a thing as Air Sex World Championships. http://www.airsexworld.com
Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), a loving husband, father and good Detroit cop is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp (great creepy corporate name) sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on the fact that there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice. Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton also star in RoboCop from director Jose Padilha and writer James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man). Peter Weller (original RoboCop) you are irreplaceable in eyes.
February 14
Directed by Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) and written by Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), About Last Night is a contemporary remake of the David Mamet film of the same name from 1986. The story follows two couples as they find new love, journeying from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world. Kevin Hart (The Five Year Engagement, Think Like a Man) stars with Regina Hall, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant in tow. I’m losing track of how many films Kevin Hart has made this past year. This is one hard working man.
Writer-director Shana Feste (Country Strong) tells the story of a privileged girl and a charismatic boy whose instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart. I’m waiting for the Lifetime release.
Vampire Academy
Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday, Mr. Popper’s Penguins) directs Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters adapted from Richelle Mead’s bestselling series of young adult books. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, half human/vampire, guardians of the Moroi, peaceful, mortal vampires living discretely within our world. Her legacy is to protect the Moroi from bloodthirsty, immortal Vampires, the Strigoi.
Winter’s Tale is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind). It’s a fantasy romance set in a mythic New York City and spanns more than a century. Colin Farrell plays a thief who falls in love with a dying young woman (Jessica Brown Findlay) after he breaks into her palatial home on Manhattan’s West Side. But Russell Crowe plays a gangster boss hell-bent on making sure Farrell doesn’t end up happy. This is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, the age-old battle between good and evil, and of course never-ending love. And yet I’m still not sure what to make of this.
Date and Switch directed by Chris Nelson (Ass Backwards) tells the story of two guys who make a pact to lose their virginity before prom. Their friendship is tested when one of them comes out of the closet.
February 21
Following in Liam Neeson’s (Taken) career footsteps, we have Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves) continuing on a bit of a comeback after Man of Steel and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. 3 Days to Kill is directed by McG (This Means War, Terminator Salvation, Charlie’s Angels) and written by Luc Besson (Taken, The Transporter) and Adi Hasak (From Paris with Love). Costner is a dangerous international spy, determined to give up his high stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter. But first, he must complete one last mission (cue over the top dramatic music), which requires hunting down the world’s most ruthless terrorist while having to look after his teenage daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) for the first time in ten years. Sound familiar?
It’s Gladiator meets Dante’s Peak in Pompeii, the newest film from Resident Evil franchise director Paul W.S. Anderson. Anything else you need to know?
Barefoot is a very quirky romantic comedy starring Evan Rachel Wood and Scott Speedman. As is pretty much the usual, it’s about two people at odds who eventually fall in love after being brought together. The cast includes J.K. Simmons, Treat Williams and Kate Burton. This doesn’t look that bad, but doesn’t look that good either. Barefoot is directed by Andrew Fleming (The Craft, Nancy Drew, Hamlet 2) from a screenplay written by newcomer Stephen Zotnowski.
Legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) final animated film, will be called Kaze Tachinu or The Wind Rises. It’s an adaptation of Miyazaki’s most recent color comic as well as a novel by Tatsuo Hori, about the man who designed the Zero Fighter airplane which was used in World War II. At the very least, the visuals alone are reason enough to get excited for this movie. Good luck at the Oscars!
February 28
Liam Neeson (Unknown) reunites with director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) for Non-Stop. The danger lies 40,000 feet in the air as Neeson plays a U.S. Marshal tasked with negotiating a mutli-million dollar payment to an unknown terrorist or the passengers on his flight will be killed one by one every 20 minutes. A simple straight forward plot, I’m just curious as to how this bad guy is killing people on a plane with nobody noticing.
I wonder what this one is about? Son of God is directed by Christopher Spencer (The Bible) from a script co-written by Colin Swash, Nic Young & Richard Bedser (all writers of The Bible). Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion, and ultimate resurrection. The film features a score by Hans Zimmer.
A group of teens embark on an adventure when they discover secret plans to build a time machine. Welcome to Yesterday is directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Dean Israelite, from a screenplay by Jason Pagan & Andrew Stark (Paranormal Activity 5).