The Gravity of the Situation: What To See This Weekend

by TJ Draper
The Gravity of the Situation: What To See This Weekend

So this weekend is the one we’ve been waiting for. This weekend, we get to see Sandra Bullock in space!

But seriously Gravity does look like it’s going to be a good film.

New in Theaters

Gravity — PG-13

It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen this much consensus amongst the critics. That must mean something, right? I mean it does look like it should be a really great film. And I keep hearing from critics who have already seen it that it is the space movie they have always wanted — whatever that means. I am very much looking forward to the film and am looking forward to reviewing it on the podcast this coming week.

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. Her commander is veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney), helming his last flight before retirement. Then, on a routine space walk, disaster strikes—the shuttle is destroyed, leaving Ryan and Matt stranded in deep space with no link to Earth and no hope of rescue. As their fear turns to panic, they realize that the only way home may be to venture further into space.

1 hr 31 min
PG-13 | Intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language
Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

See or not: See (for now)

Runner Runner — R

I really don’t have a strong pre-opinion on this. I know that Justin Timberlake is going to be in this, therefore I am disinclined to really care about it. Old J.T. has been pretty middle of the road in the roles I have seen him in. On the other hand, Gemma Arterton is in the film — an actress which I tend to like in the roles I have seen her in. And there’s Ben Affleck who, despite the fact I don’t like the idea of him as Batman, and the general bad rap he sometimes gets, I actually like.

Yet again on the other hand, the trailers for this film have looked somewhat lackluster. I dunno, maybe I’ll make time for this one, and maybe I won’t.

Believing that he has been swindled, Princeton grad student Richie (Justin Timberlake) goes to Costa Rica to confront online-gambling tycoon Ivan Block (Ben Affleck). Block’s promises of immense wealth and power have a seductive effect on Richie, until he learns the shocking truth about his new mentor. When Richie is coerced by the FBI to help bring Block to justice, he faces the biggest gamble of his life: outmaneuvering the two forces closing in on him.

1 hr 31 min
R | language and some sexual content

Cast: Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, Oliver Cooper
Director: Brad Furman
Genres: Drama

See or not: Meh.

Still In Theaters

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 — PG

I did not see the first one because, well, quite frankly it looks terrible. While I think there may be some elements of humor in this film I find nothing about what I know of it that compelling to go see. Many of my friends tell me otherwise though…

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 picks up where Sony Pictures Animation’s mouth-watering comedy left off. Inventor Flint Lockwood thought he saved the world when he destroyed his most infamous invention – a machine that turned water into food causing cheeseburger rain and spaghetti tornadoes. But Flint soon learns that his invention survived and is now creating food-animals – “foodimals!” Flint and his friends embark on a dangerously delicious mission to battle hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, hippotatomuses, cheespiders and other foodimals to save the world – again!

1 hr 35 min
PG | mild rude humor
Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, Terry Crews, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Benjamin Bratt
Director: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn
Genres: Animated, Comedy, Family

See or not: Meh

Prisoners — R

As a parent, there’s certainly something compelling about the truth behind the story here: how far would you go for your child? There was something that both resonated with me about this film, and also disturbed me. It is obvious that the lengths Jackman went to to get his daughter back are not to be condoned, and the film’s message here was good. It was also satisfying to see such a good film that was not a purely action based film and had little to no CGI to help it along. This film was good because of it’s story. Of course along the way it had some great cinematography, and it was a good thriller with a good story.

Joe and I talked about the film on The MovieByte Podcast Episode 62 so you may want to tune to to catch that.

How far would you go to protect your child? Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), but a lack of evidence forces the only suspect’s release. Knowing his child’s life is at stake, the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. The desperate father will do whatever it takes to find the girls, but in doing so, he may lose himself, begging the question: When do you cross the line between seeking justice and becoming a vigilante?

2 hr 33 min
R | Language Throughout, Disturbing Violent Content and Torture
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo, Paul Dano, Maria Bello
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller

See or not: See

Rush — R

I saw this film and liked it a lot, but it had some problems. Namely there was one big problem from my standpoint, and that was the nudity in two places. Disappointing for what was otherwise a pretty great film. I am getting tired of this issue getting in the way of good films.

Chad and I talked about this film on The MovieByte Podcast Episode 63. Check it out.

The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives. Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.

2 hr 3 min
R | sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images and brief drug use
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino
Director: Ron Howard
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama

See or not: See (I hope)

Baggage Claim — PG-13

Quite honestly I don’t know much about this film other than that it stars Paula Patton. And it has something to do with her character’s sister trying to play matchmaker. She’s a flight attendant. Basically, it sounds like a pretty typical RomCom. I also know that it has a very low approval rating among critics at just 9% on the tomato meter.

Oh, also, I think that the film’s official theater poster may be one of Paula Patton’s worst pictures ever. Why they would use that in the promotion of the film is beyong my capability to understand.

I currently have no plans to see this one.

Although she has traveled all over the world, flight attendant Montana Moore (Paula Patton) has yet to find a man with whom she wants to settle down. However, her sister’s upcoming wedding and pressure from her often-married mother force her to calculate that she has a month to find a fiance of her own. Montana’s best friends and fellow flight attendants conspire to help her re-encounter her exes as they travel across the country, but the right man may be closer than she thinks

1 hr 36 min
PG-13 | sexual content and some language
Cast: Paula Patton, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott
Director: David E. Talbert
Genres: Romantic Comedy, Comedy

See or not: Probably not

Don Jon — R

BE WARNED, I’m given to understand that this film features strong graphic nudity and sexual material. Sort of ironic, if expected, given the subject of this film: pornography. There can be no denying that the immediate availability of graphic sexual material and stimuli has had a drastic effect upon our culture. Ostensibly, this film aims to deal with that, though if you ask me, they’re just capitalizing on it. I have no intention of seeing this film given how graphic it apparently is.

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

1 hr 29 min
R | strong graphic sexual material and dialogue throughout, nudity, language and some drug use
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Tony Danza, Brie Larson
Director: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Genres: Romance

See or not: I have to go with not given what I believe will be unacceptable graphic sexual nudity.

The Family — R

This looks mildly entertaining, but I have this feeling it’s going to be a pretty foul film and I’m going to be disappointed. I do plan to see it sometime soon, but probably not this weekend.

The Manzonis, a notorious mafia family get relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program. While they do their best to fit in, old habits die hard and they soon find themselves handling things the “family” way.

1 hr 51 min
R | Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality
Cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, John D’Leo
Director: Luc Besson
Genres: Action/Adventure

See or not: Probably not going to be great

We’re the Millers — R

I can’t wait to not see this film. It looks unbearably disgusting and stupid. If you go see this, I will deny any knowledge of you.

Small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished; trying to help some teens, he is jumped by thugs and loses his cash and stash. Now, David’s in big debt to his supplier and – to wipe the slate clean – he must go to Mexico to pick up the guy’s latest shipment. To accomplish his mission, Dave devises a foolproof plan: He packs a fake family into a huge RV and heads south of the border for a wild weekend that is sure to end with a bang.

1 hr 50 min
R | Crude sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and brief graphic nudity.
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy

See or not: NOT!

Lee Daniel’s The Butler — PG-13

My general rule of thumb is, if Oprah Winfrey is involved I want nothing to do with it. Fair or not, that’s my feeling on the matter. General movie goers seem to disagree however, because this, her latest film, is doing quite well at the box office.

LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man’s life and family. Forest Whitaker stars as the butler with Robin Williams as Dwight Eisenhower, John Cusack as Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, and many more. Academy Award® nominated Lee Daniels (PRECIOUS) directs and co-wrote the script with Emmy®-award winning Danny Strong (GAME CHANGE).

2 hr 12 min
PG-13 | Thematic Elements, Sexual Material, Language, Disturbing Images, Smoking and Some Violence
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda
Director: Lee Daniels
Genres: Drama

See or not: Possibly See