—Myrna E. Duarte
August 15
The Expendables 3
More guns, more action, more explosions, more actors, more of everything. The Expendables 3 is directed by Patrick Hughes (Red Hill) and written by Sylvester Stallone andOlympus Has Fallen scribes Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt. Barney (SylvesterStallone), Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill…or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables, but Barney has other plans with a new era of Expendables team members, younger, faster and more tech-savvy.
The Giver
The Giver is directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Saint, Catch a Fire, Salt) and adapted by newcomer Michael Mitnick. The haunting story, adapted from Lois Lowry’s young adult book of the same name, centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep also star in the film.
Dinosaur 13 (Limited)
Dinosaur 13 is a compelling enough film about a fierce legal battle that ensued for the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that most of the public knows as Sue. The doc focuses on the diggers who found the skeleton and shows an exhausting and frustrating court case determining the rights to this history-making dino.
Frank (Limited)
Frank is directed by Lenny Abrahamason (What Richard Did) and written by Jon Ronson (author of The Men Who Stare at Goats) and Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). The film follows Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins a band of eccentric pop musicians led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender) and his terrifying sidekick, Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Frank’s uniqueness lies in the fact that he makes music purely for the joy of creating and because he wears a giant fake head. Could that be enough to make them a hit?
Life After Beth (Limited)
Life After Beth is written and directed by Jeff Baena (I Heart Huckabees) and premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Dane DeHaan stars in the film as Zach, devastated by the unexpected death of his girlfriend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza). But when she miraculously comes back to life, Zach takes full advantage of the opportunity to share and experience all the things he regretted not doing with her before. However, the newly returned Beth isn’t quite how he remembered her and, before long, Zach’s whole world takes a turn for the worse. John C. Reilly, Anna Kendrick, Molly Shannon, Paul Reiser and Cheryl Hines all star in the film
The Trip to Italy (Limited)
Following their tasty, international comedy The Trip in 2010, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are back for seconds with The Trip to Italy. The comedy sequel debuted at Sundance earlier this year, and is already airing for our friends across the pond on BBC. But here in the United States, the film will hit theaters sometime this year, and the first trailer has arrived to show off more fantastic impressions, in depth discussions on particular music, and in a bit of meta writing, the merit of sequels.
Let’s Be Cops
Let’s Be Cops is directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) who co-wrote the film with Nicholas Thomas (“Canoga Park”). When two struggling pals (Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr., both of the series “New Girl”) dress as police officers for a costume party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line. Rob Riggle, Nina Dobrev, James D’Arcy and Andy Garcia also star in the film.
Like us, follow us, or just say hello:
moviefiednyc.com 