COLUMBIANA
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Jordi Molla, Lennie James, Michael Vartan,
Cliff Curtis
Directed by Olivier Megaton for distribution by
TriStar (Sony)
The Plot: Following the
murder of her parents, Cataleya (Saldana) trains alongside her uncle to become
an assassin with the ultimate goal of taking down the mobster responsible for
the killings.
The Final Word: Zoe Saldana has
been poised for this type of movie ever since “Avatar” hit it big. Now after
“The Losers” failed to light a box office fire, the actress is ready to strike
out on her own and show audiences what she can do when put in the title role.
With action direction Luc Besson’s protégé Megaton at the helm, Saldana should
be in give hands, but are audiences still up for one more action romp after a
long (and loud) summer? Granted Sony can’t be expected a high return here,
which should set the bar at a manageable level.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
Starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison and Jack Thompson
Directed by Troy Nixey for distribution by
FilmDistrict
The Plot: A young girl
(Madison) moves into a newly restored house with her father (Pearce) and his
girlfriend (Holmes) only to learn the house is literally out to get her.
The Final Word: While
fantasy/horror film maven Guillermo del Toro left the directing duties to
Nixey, his fingerprints are all over this movie and that could lead to some
serious thrills. Coming off this year’s “Insidious,” FilmDistrict is slowly making
a name for itself in this genre and “Dark” should help solidify it even more
OUR IDIOT BROTHER
Starring: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily
Mortimer,
Rashida
Jones, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn,
Shirley
Knight, Janet Montgomery & Steve Coogan
Directed by Jeese Peretz for distribution by The
Weinstein Company
The Plot: Three sisters
(Banks, Deschanel, Mortimer) take turns housing their well-meaning but overly
trusting brother (Rudd) after he loses his girlfriend and his home.
The Final Word: While the cast
is strong, I just don’t see audiences getting very excited about this picture.
You also can’t imagine the Weinstein Company is too psyched about it either
since they planted it firmly in the dog days of summer.
Previewed next week: The Debt, Apollo 18, Shark Night 3D
