Theatrical Releases: Fast and Furious 6 & The Hangover Part III

THE HANGOVER: PART III || May 24th, 2013

	Without having seen “Before Sunset” and “Before Sunrise”, I feel like the passion and references would be lost on me in “Before Midnight”, another film starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as a couple, several decades removed from there first meeting. I am intrigued by this concept and have heard enough positive things to jump in.	RENTAL
	Like “The Croods” this year, I’d like to see “Epic” in the theater, because if I’m going to see it, it might as well be on the big screen. That being said, it is always tough for me to run out and see animated films if they aren’t completely captivating me like Pixar and Disney films. “Epic” looks like a complete re-tread of “Ferngully”, but with all the time past, I can respect a resurgence. At least it’s not “Avatar”.	THEATER
	Retroactively, my interest in this franchise has grown phenomenally, to the point where the latest two films have caused me to respect the original four much more immensely. Whether its aware of it or not, the “Fast and the Furious” franchise is built on chemistry and relationships, with the majority of the success attributed to the returning of the familiar characters.
	Not that you have to be Jewish to appreciate a film about the culture, but “Fill The Void” is so immersed in that world that I feel that it would mostly be lost on me. With no drawing stars and being a foreign language film, there’s not enough here that would get me through it.	PASS
	“The Hangover Part III” abandons all the conventions from the first two films that actually worked. Todd Phillips refused to learn from his mistakes. The cast never appears interested and even Las Vegas feels like an afterthought. There’s very little worse than leaving on a sour note. One would almost rather have simply stuck with “The Hangover” and wondered what could have been instead of driving this franchise through crapper after crapper.

	The poster for “3 Geezers” makes it look like a stand-up comedy film. How they got J.K. Simmons, Tim Allen, Randy Couture, Scott Caan, and Breckin Meyer in this film I will never know (although most of these look like cameos, save for Simmons). Nothing against them, but I have no desire to see these old men doing raunchy things.	PASS
	You know how you sell a movie? By not having the first card in the trailer be “From the Director of Zombie Strippers”. The premise sounds the slightest bit interesting, but you wouldn’t get that from the random trailer. I’m on the fence about ever giving this a chance, but chances are, I won’t see this film.	PASS
	Truth be told, I quit watching this trailer almost immediately. It’s a documentary, it probably has something to do with the stage and I have zero interest.	PASS
	The comedy mockumentary genre is a tough egg to crack and since “This Is Spinal Tap” there really has never been anything comparable. “Darnell Dawkins” at least has the grainy look to blend it in and make you question the authenticity, but ultimately, there’s nothing drawing me to it.	PASS
	The message of this film is about the strongest thing going for it, the using of a green detergent, and I do support that message. But the film lands somewhere between a Lifetime Original Movie and a low budget Indie and for that I’m just not instinctively drawn to it. However, kudos for landing a recognizable cast with Shannon Elizabeth, Billy Zane, and Malcolm McDowell.	PASS
	Unless I start hearing rave reviews about this film, “Picture Day” is inexplicably eye catching with a strong female lead and outcast themes, but it appears so off the radar that until that changes, I’ll be filling my time with something else. Great trailer though!	PASS
	As far as documentaries these days go, “Plimpton!” is one of the most interesting ones I have seen recently. About a journalist that partakes in first hand experiences like sports to write about them, he became a national figure and almost in a comedic way, this film delves into his life and lifestyle. As I often say, documentaries are a hard sell for me 90% of the time, and even though I think highly of this one, I will probably not be seeing it.	PASS
	My first response to this trailer: Hmm. “A Wedding Invitation” is a Chinese-Korean film about a couple who reunites after “trials and tribulations” and gets married. Described as melodramatic, the trailer is set to an English rock song and though the crying and cuteness fit this format, an entire film like that could be nauseating.	PASS
	Again, a spectacular looking documentary in “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks” from an Academy Award-winning director and on a prevalent subject from our recent history but the trailer alone is not enough to sell me and I will wait to hear if this is worth my time or wait to hear anything at all about this film.	PASS