In Theaters April 22nd, 2016
If you ever need an excuse to the movie theater, tomorrow’s Earth Day holiday is the perfect excuse. There are not any movies that have anything to do with conserving our planet, but hey, why not celebrate by watching Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain beat up mythical creatures? Or maybe you want to see Michael Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey as President Nixon? I mean, who wouldn’t want to see that?
Whatever your excuse is, make sure to get out to the theater and get some good sitting practice in for seeing Captain America: Civil War.
Opening In Wide Release
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
I’m unsure if the entire mythology of the Huntsman movies. I will leave that to our resident Huntsman expert, Alexis Johnson. However, I will admit the trailer for the follow-up to Snow White and the Hunstman, which, sadly, does not include Kristen Stewart returning to play Snow White, looks pretty cool and fun. It can’t be argued the cast is terrible. However, will something other than fun, CGI action and fights, as well as reimagined fairy tale monsters, come out of it? Not really sure but the visuals alone make it worth checking out this weekend. And for Alexis to have a fantastic review of it for us early next week!
Opening In Limited Release
Elvis & Nixon
Dramatizing the famous meeting between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon on December 21st, 1970, this movie has me very intrigued. Not only because the famous picture of the celebrity and statesman is the most requested picture from the National Archives, but because of the men playing them. Michael Shannon has never struck me as being Elvis-like, but pictures of him in the film fit the “fat Elvis” persona of the King of Rock n’ Roll. Likewise, Spacey has lots of practice as a corrupt politician, and I like him for the role of Nixon much more than I did John Cusack in The Butler. The two major questions for this movie are: can they imitate their voices well and will the story have anything worth biting into? I predict yes. However, the movie is opening in only 350-ish theaters, so a lot of us might not get to find out until a couple weeks from now.
A Hologram for the King
The opening of this trailer, with Tom Hanks speaking slightly altered lines from The Takling Heads “Once in a Lifetime”, was really great. Beyond that, most of the movie felt like a romantic comedy, which isn’t necessarily my thing. However, taking a man who once made a name for himself in some of the best romantic comedies of the 90’s, and putting him in a relationship with an Arab woman, is brilliant. Hanks looks to be a down-on-his-luck type that is more fitting of a romantic comedy for those who have loved and lost. Think of Jack Nicholson movies from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. While it’s limited release seems to indicate Hanks’ slightly less influential pull at the box office, it may have more to do with it not being normal Hanks material, at least as of late. If it is playing in your area I still think it is worth going to see. Hanks is really great and will continue to be great. Any movie he is in has potential.
