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Brian Joseph Brian Joseph
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The September Movie Preview

Listly by Brian Joseph

The summer leftovers can finally be thrown out. Fall is here. Which movies will you say, "I'll see you in September" to?

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The Visit (September 11th)

Aug 24, 2015
The Visit (September 11th)

It's been 7 years since M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. Since then, Shyamalan strayed from the eerie with a couple of forgettable disasters (The Last Airbender and After Earth) so, at the very least, it's good to see him back to his roots. Since The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan's films have been polarizing. The reception has been lukewarm. But, based on the trailer, this looks intriguing.

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Black Mass (September 18)

Aug 24, 2015
Black Mass (September 18)

The true story of one of the most powerful gangsters in Boston history, James "Whitey" Bulger. It's early but it might be safe to pencil in Johnny Depp for a Best Actor nomination for his take on Bulger. While it doesn't mean movies released from January-August won't get Oscar consideration but let's declare September 18th as the start of Oscar season.

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Pawn Sacrifice (September 18)

Aug 24, 2015
Pawn Sacrifice (September 18)

Tobey Maguire brings the genius and paranoia of Bobby Fischer to life. The true story of Fischer vs. Boris Spassky during the rise of the Cold War. Add to it, Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) as director and you have a must-see biopic.

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Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (September 18)

Aug 24, 2015
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (September 18)

Based on The Scorch Trials, the second book in the Maze Runner trilogy, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is the sequel to, you guessed it, 2014's The Maze Runner. Basically, The Maze Runner was The Lord of the Flies on steroids. Look for more of the same from the dystopian sequel.

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The Intern (September 25)

Aug 24, 2015
The Intern (September 25)

Writer/director Nancy Meyers has been somewhat hit or miss. Her last film, It's Complicated, was well received. The Holiday? Not so much. Anne Hathaway as CEO of an internet start-up, Robert DeNiro as the world's oldest intern? Here's the fear: The majority of intrigue is given away in the trailer.

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In: 2015, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 20 out of 100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 65 out of 100

This wasn’t on the radar at all before seeing this trailer yesterday. The only reason it registered a blip was Nina Dobrev now that she’s no longer part of “The Vampire Diaries”.

This looks like a lot of fun. If Scary Movie had a brain. It’s disappointing to see the film will only enjoy a limited release on October 9th (at the moment) as these types of movies play better to large audiences. It’s not surprising it was a fan favorite at a few film festivals.

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In: 2006, Hot Take

Hot Take: Watch it? That’s correct, 10 points!

The challenge of coming-of-age romantic comedies is to stand out. As enjoyable as Pretty In Pink is, it’s hard to not blend it with Sixteen Candles at times. Same goes for 10 Things I Hate About You, Drive Me Crazy and She’s All That. What Starter for 10 does well is give a valiant effort to stand out in a genre that struggles to be unique. That doesn’t make it unique per se but it gives it the old college try.Read More →

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: If you set the bar low enough (a little lower!), Hitman: Agent 47 might make the cut. It’s August after all.

Two years ago, another video game turned movie flick, Getaway, hit theaters. It was the typical end of summer filler one ends up at and, at the time, I found it to be horrible but, also, a guilty pleasure. The combination of wondering if the Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 would make it in the credits as “The Car” much like Selena Gomez as “The Kid” and Jon Voight as “The Voice” (It didn’t.) and how fantastic it would be for this film to fall in the lap of the MST3K crew kept me entertained throughout. It wasn’t until last year when I tried to recapture the magic of the first viewing on the small screen did it hit me how truly dismal this movie was.Read More →

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: Is it OK if I say you might want to skip it? (Especially if you have high expectations… Sorry, couldn’t help myself!)

American Ultra might be dubbed a stoner, action comedy but it’s more a violent, end of summer leftover with an occasional laugh and some drugs.

If anything, the stoner portrayal is a lazy driver of the narrative that both Jesse Eisenberg’s Mike Howell and Kristen Stewart’s Phoebe Larson are unmotivated and unaccomplished. It might be the first movie featuring weed without using it as a comedic device.Read More →

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Anticipation (Before Preview): 60 out of 100

Anticipation (After Preview): 72 out of 100

If Superbad, From Dusk Till Dawn and Welcome to Zombieland had a three way, I envision this.

I’m a sucker for zombie movies so I’m probably downplaying my anticipation a little bit to appear sophisticated.

 

 

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Anticipation (Before Preview): 70 out of 100

Anticipation (After Preview): 90 out of 100

Ridley Scott, Matt Damon, a great supporting cast. Why isn’t this 100/100? There’s just something about it that can’t commit to this being absolutely, without a doubt, must see.

Maybe it’s the derivative Rounders-esque narration from Damon? Or maybe it’s just fatigue after Gravity and Interstellar? Or how similar the Damon character in The Martian looks to the character he played in Interstellar? Then there’s that whole “Help is only 140 million miles away” tagline combined with the “He’s 50 million miles away from home” line dropped by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the trailer that seems unusually vital to the plot. (Just a guess here: On average, Mars is 140 million miles away from Earth but his potential rescuers discover Mars will be closer than normal which provides a window for rescue. Am I close?)

Needless to say, even at 90 out of 100, I’ll be strapped in for take off.

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Anticipation (Before Preview): 51 out of 100

Anticipation (After Preview): 75 out of 100

Frankenstein is like the Fantastic Four of the Movie Monster genre. (Except for Young Frankenstein because it’s hilarious but that’s not really what Frankenstein is supposed to be so that really doesn’t count.)

It’s still hard to not think, “Hey, it’s young Professor X and Harry Potter and they’ve made a man monster!” but the preview, at the very least, makes me want to see the damn monster. Show me the monster! Please, let me see the monster so I don’t have to spend $12 on a ticket (and $8 on popcorn) to see it!

Guess we know what I’ll be doing Thanksgiving weekend.

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: Seeing It Isn’t Necessary But It’s Worth A Listen

I had no idea who David Foster Wallace was before seeing The End of the Tour. Maybe that’s what makes my take on the film different than any review I’ve read as it seems every film critic who reviewed the movie was intimately familiar with Wallace’s work.

Isn’t it odd when you read a movie review how hard the critic tries to keep it as impersonal as possible? It’s written from this inherently omniscient perspective as if the writer doesn’t dare personalize the review as to lose all credibility. It’s usually the last paragraph or two where the critic finally let’s down their guard and, after they’ve strategically established themselves as authoritative, let’s you in on their now qualified opinion.Read More →

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In: 2014, Hot Take

Hot Take: Watch. Enjoy. Repeat.

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of living the same day over and over until you get it right ever since seeing Groundhog Day. Somehow Edge of Tomorrow escaped me last year when it was in theaters. Accidentally, this morning, I caught it on HBO and now I wish I wouldn’t have missed it at theaters. Read More →