Fracture Filled With Hot Fuzz This Friday
There are three movies coming out this Friday that I am interested in seeing. They are Fracture, Hot Fuzz and In the Land of Women. I think I will leave the Vacancy unfilled. I tried to use In the Land of Women in the title of this post, but however many permutations I tried along with Hot Fuzz, Fracture or even Vacancy, they all just sounded dirty.
It looks like it will be a Fracture Friday followed by some Hot Fuzz on Sunday. A vacation In the Land of Women will be had near the end of the summer when it’ll probably be out on DVD and then gets added to my Netflix queue.
I am hoping to be a bit more thrilled by Fracture than last week’s Perfect Stranger. I should have gone to see Disturbia like most everyone else who went to the movies last weekend.
My favorite movies are of the action genre and if you can throw in a little comedy, all-the-better. So, when I heard the tag line for Hot Fuzz: “From the guys who watched every action movie ever made,” I just new I was going to have to go see it. So, now I am.
Of the four big movie releases this weekend, which one will you be going to see?
What New Movies Come Out Friday, April 20th?
There looks to be nine new movies opening this week. Four of them are opening wide and the other five are in limited release. None of the limited releases are playing anywhere near me up here in Seattle, but none of them really interest me all that much either. Adam Brody is both opening wide In the Land of Women and a bit more limited with a Smiley Face this week. What looks good to you this Friday?
Movies Opening Nationwide on Friday, April 20th:
Movie: Fracture (R) (Read Review)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling and David Strathairn
Genre: Dramatic Thriller
Synopsis: A man finds that his young wife has been cheating on him and plans to kill her. When the cops arrive at his home, he lets one cop in and admits that he shot his wife. He gets arrested and the case is given to a hotshot attorney in the district attorney’s office to prosecute. It looks to be a slam-dunk. It turns out not to be so easy, as nothing is as it seems.
First Thoughts: It looks really good from the trailer, as Anthony Hopkins is always really good in these types of roles. It couldn’t be worse than last week’s Perfect Stranger.
Movie: Hot Fuzz (R)
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent and Timothy Dalton
Genre: Action Comedy
Synopsis: The best cop in London is a little too good. The rest of his fellow officers don’t like looking bad, so they send him to the crime free village of Sandford. Partnered with an overzealous officer that is a big action movie fan he goes about his boring days in his new job. Then he starts to realize that there sure are a lot of accidental deaths in this sleepy little town and starts to investigate. It looks like Sandford isn’t as crime free as was originally thought.
First Thoughts: Has the best opening line in a trailer I have heard in a long time. “From the guys who have watched every action movie ever made…” It looks like it could really good.
Movie: In the Land of Women (PG-13)
Starring: Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart and Meg Ryan
Genre: Romantic Dramedy
Synopsis: A guy gets dumped by his girlfriend and decides to getaway for a while. He moves in with his grandmother in Michigan. Once there he gets involved with the lives of the women that live across the street, a mother with two daughters. He starts to learn about himself and starts to feel that he could love again.
First Thoughts: I really like Adam Brody. He has a great delivery and was one of the best parts of the The O.C. TV show. On the other side of things, it is kind of weird that Meg Ryan has graduated from America’s Sweetheart to America’s Sweetheart’s Mom.
Movie: Vacancy (R)
Starring: Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale
Genre: Horror Thriller
Synopsis: A couple breaks down on a lonely highway and need a place to stay for the night. They get a room a small roadside hotel. Having nothing to do they try to watch some TV, but the only thing that works is the VCR. They put in a tape and it is a slasher flick that was shot in the room they are in. They realize that it is real and not a fake and the mayhem begins.
First Thoughts: Looks terrible.
Movies in Limited Release this Friday:
- Believe – A comedy satire about multilevel marketing.
- Severance – A bunch of employees on the way to a team building exercise get stranded and have to hike through the woods, but are stalked by a psycho killer.
- Smiley Face – A comedy about a young actress in LA that is always stoned and has quite an adventuresome day. Stars Anna Farris, Danny Masterson and Adam Brody.
- Stephanie Daley – The story of a teenage mother who is accused of killing her baby, but she claims she didn’t even know she was pregnant. Stars Amber Tamblyn and Timothy Hutton.
- The Tripper – David and Courtney Cox Arquette in a horror flick that finds a bunch of hippies at a music festival being pursued by a maniac.
Movie Review: Perfect Stranger – Starring Halle Berry, Bruce Willis and Giovanni Ribisi
Released: April 13th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis and Giovanni Ribisi
Directors: James Foley
Rating: Check it Out When it Hits the Likes of HBO or Showtime
Synopsis: When a friend is found dead, a reporter sets out to solve the case. During her investigation she comes across information that a big time advertising mogul may have something to do with it. Assuming a new identity, she gets a job at his firm. She also pursues him online via chat.
Review: Perfect Stranger is far from perfect, despite its great cast. Halle Berry (Gothika, X-Men) plays Rowena, an undercover reporter who files her stories under a pseudonym, so she can stay anonymous. Bruce Willis (16 Blocks, Die Hard) plays Harrison Hill, the boss at the top advertising firm in New York. He is married, but you wouldn’t know it from the string of women he has on the side. When one of them is found murdered, who is also a friend from Rowena’s past, she sets out to find out if he is responsible. Giovanni Ribisi (Flight of the Phoenix, Gone in 60 Seconds) plays Miles, the computer tech at the paper that helps Rowena with her stories.
The movie starts out with a quick intro to show you how great of an undercover reporter Rowena is. It all comes and goes very fast. You know right away what is going to happen, because you have seen it before. Maybe that is why they rushed through it so hastily.
When the story Rowena and Miles have been working on for months gets quashed by the uppity-ups at her paper, another case of the powerful protecting the powerful, she quits. On her way home she runs into the old friend from her childhood who wants her to take a look at Harrison, who she has been with and now he is blowing her off. Next, we learn of the woman’s death.
In true suspense thriller style they throw out a lot of possible suspects for the murder of Rowena’s friend. There is Harrison, his wife, his assistant, Miles, Rowena’s ex who had a thing with the friend in the past. Who could of done it? Well, when you find out, you may be surprised in a, “I knew it,” kind of way. Mostly because, once the person who is most likely responsible is arrested, you know there is another twist coming and the list of truly likely candidates has been paired way down.
I will give them credit for one thing; all the clues are there for you to see throughout the movie. Not all overly obvious. They even give you a nice recap of what you should have seen that points to the person who did it, in case you missed them along the way.
What is most sad about Perfect Stranger is the lack of quality acting by a group of quality actors. Not to say that the material they had to work with was the best or most original, it wasn’t, but you felt they could have done more with it. Some scenes are over-the-top, while others are underwhelming in everyway. You might say at times that they were just going through the motions without much in the way of any emotions.
Don’t be fooled by the pretty face, this Stranger should be left stranded. You might give it a look-see once it hits one of the cable movie outlets, otherwise don’t bother. What did you think of Perfect Stranger? Leave your movie review in the comments.
The Pathfinder Sets a Course to Disturbia with a Perfect Stranger
This is quite the weekend for the suspense thriller, as Disturbia, Perfect Stranger and Slow Burn all hit your local cinemaplex. We have the up and comer cast of Distubia vs. the been there done that really well cast of Perfect Stranger with the some of us have been there, but not all of us have done that cast of Slow Burn somewhere in the middle.
As for other offerings this weekend, we have an R-rated cartoon, a guy running around with a sword killing Vikings invaders and bunch of beautiful 20-somethings driving and crashing fast cars. As I don’t watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force
That left the three suspense thrillers as options for New Movie Friday this week. Disturbia is a maybe someday, if there is nothing else on and I am bored out of my mind and I see it has been added to the On Demand movie listings, then I might check it out. Slow Burn will be a definite addition to the Netflix queue when hit comes out on DVD.
That narrowed the field down to one, Perfect Stranger. So, it looks like Halle Berry and Bruce Willis will try and thrill me, while holding me in suspense.
What movies hitting the big screen this Friday will get you out to the theater this weekend?
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