[Movies] Opening This Week (1•9•2012—1•15•2012)

The ones that I want to see:

Albatross
We Need to Talk About Kevin
The Iron Lady
The Divide
and maybe Contraband

Beauty and the Beast I saw it in 2D
...and I already saw Loosies (for me 3 out of 4 stars, I'll review it some of these days )

I don't know about Joyful Noise

AleCanaya quote:

Loosies (for me 3 out of 4 stars[...])

Or maybe a 2.5... still good

peterchen quote:

@nancy
Kinda creepy... I like it

ArnoldJ quote:

I'm saving this list for weekends!! great selection. I'm intrigued about Iron Lady!!!

Interesting to see the story of M. Thatcher from another perspective

KerryTrudeau quote:

i would like to see albatross!

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Paola quote:

We need to talk about Kevin and Albatross

Ok, I want to see them all! Haha But maybe i'll start with those two

Thanks, Ale!

You're welcome Pao

Choludo quote:

awesome! you should do films coming out on dvd also!

I probably will

@proval
It does

First critics are in:

Rotten Tomatoes quote:

Contraband
48%

Mark Wahlberg made a big score in The Italian Job; now he's trying to pull off another with Contraband, and while the critics find it to be a competent heist thriller, they also say its plot is both convoluted and recycled. Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) is a cleaned-up ex-hood who's forced out of retirement when his brother in law flubs a drug deal and is on the hook for several million dollars. To settle the debt, Chris hatches a plot to smuggle money out of Panama, but things don't quite go according to plan. The pundits say Contraband is a well-crafted genre piece with a fine performance from Wahlberg, but it's pretty standard stuff with few surprises. (Check out our feature on Certified Fresh crime thrillers.)


Joyful Noise
38%

Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton team up in an attempt to make beautiful music together, but unfortunately, critics say Joyful Noise is mostly the same old song -- it's got some decent tunes, but it's ultimately done in by an overabundance of clichés. Latifah stars as Vi Rose Hill, the new head of a small-town gospel choir with a by-the-book approach to the group's songbook. However, the previous choir director's widow G.G. Sparrow (Parton) wants the group to updtate its sound. Will they resolve their differences in time for nationals? The pundits say Joyful Noise is proudly old-fashioned, and some of the numbers are stirring, but its plot is corny and mostly tension-free. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we run down some memorable movies in which the gang gets together to put on a big show.)


Beauty and the Beast (In 3D)
91%

The first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, Disney's Beauty and the Beast gets a 3D rerelease this week -- in other words, if you (or your kids) have never seen this modern classic, this is your chance. Based upon the timeless fairy tale, Disney's Beauty and the Beast is the story of Belle, a headstrong young woman who's imprisoned by a cursed prince in a castle full of singing table settings and household instruments. Will they eventually fall in love? No spoilers here; suffice it to say the Certified Fresh Beauty and the Beast enchanted the critics when it was released in 1991, and it remains a highlight of Disney's animated cannon.

Also opening this week in limited release:

Sing Your Song, a documentary about the life and activism of singer/actor Harry Belafonte, is at 100 percent.

Domaine, a French drama about a teenager who's attempting to rescue his self-destructive aunt, is at 100 percent.

Fake It So Real, a documentary about the wild world of independent wrestling, is at 80 percent.

Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, a doc about the video game guru-cum-private space traveler, is at 50 percent.

Albatross, a coming-of-age tale about a dysfunctional family that operates a seaside hotel, is at 44 percent.

Loosies, starring Peter Facinelli and Vincent Gallo in a dramedy about a pickpocket whose impending fatherhood forces him to reevaluate his life, is at 22 percent.

Lula, the Son of Brazil, a biopic of the former Brazilian president and union activist, is at 20 percent.

The Divide, starring Lauren German and Michael Biehn in a thriller about a group of people trapped in the basement of an apartment building after a nuclear attack, is at seven percent.

Aside of The Beauty and the Beast, out of all these movies I saw Loosies, and it wasn't that bad