I am badly late with this rendition of GM/LM and I apologize profusely. No more procrastinating in the heat – time to jump right into it.
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starring Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, and Joel Courtney. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Rated PG-13.
This is the movie about a town in 1979 that has a mysterious train crash and then gets frighteningly taken over by a chain of motels (hence the title), right?
Just joshing – I know the title really comes from the type of film camera the kids of the story use to make their amateur sci-fi projects. The only source I have so far of someone who’s seen Super 8 was not too fond of it, labeling it a tired mix of Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me and (Super 8 producer) Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It’s no secret that Comic Con legend Abrams has a tendency to fall victim to his oversize ambitions – maybe it’s the non-stop feeding frenzy toward his ego. No matter – even if this is a spectacular flop, the premise is still just enough to keep me interested.
GOT ME
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Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer
starring Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller, and Preston Bailey. Directed by John Schultz. Rated PG.
I can’t read that title without imagining it being read by Borat…
This film is of course directed toward children – to be more specific, little girls. The comic approach seems to be exact with that of Zombieland with the cute floating word graphics. That should easily assist in keeping its youthful target audience’s attention. If the trailer doesn’t spell it out for you enough, there will be a moral at the end of this movie – something along the lines of “You don’t have to go to California to have an awesome summer break when you have a crazy relative who loves you to be there by your side.” I’m sorry, but even if I had a 7 year old daughter who was begging me to see this movie with her, I’d probably try to convince her that there are better movies coming out later (Harry Potter?). Probably a decent rental, but in the theater? Let’s be real.
LOST ME
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starring Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum, and Glenn Erland Tosterud. Directed by André Øvredal. Rated PG-13.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t trolls generally conveyed as smaller than the average human? Is it not giants that can “smell the blood of a Christian man?”… This looks tailor-made for a “good food/beer/whatever, bad movie” night. All the better that the CGed trolls don’t really look half bad.
GOT ME
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starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Margo Stilley, and Claire Keelan. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Rated R.
The little I’ve seen of Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story convinces me these two comic actors Coogan and Brydon have what it takes and more to make a road trip comedy worthwhile. With all the impersonations that its ads promise, it may feel at times that they’re trying too hard to recapture lightning in a bottle. That said, their Michael Caine impressions are quite perfect.
GOT ME
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starring Julie Delpy, Gerard Butler, Kathy Bates, and Charlie Sheen. Directed by George Augusto and Savina Dellicour. Rated R.
Either the makeup crew worked wonders with Sheen (or maybe he had some fresh tiger’s blood injected) or this has been previously shelved for some time (Follow the link above and you’ll see… Yup – original release date: 2006). The whole trailer reeks of “believe this film is brilliant” scamming. Even an interesting cast can’t prove to me that this isn’t small potatoes (in a running time of three hours).
LOST ME
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Return next Monday or Tuesday (I always shoot for Monday) for the GM/LM for June 17th, 2011. If you routinely visit Twitter, feel free to follow @MEIER_in_a_CT along with @gttmovies for the complete rush of movie-dork enchantment.