CONAN THE BARBARIAN
Starring: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan,
Saïd
Taghmaoui, Ron Perlman & Leo Howard
Directed by Marcus Nispel for distribution by
Lionsgate
The Plot: A warrior
(Momoa) seeks revenge following a brutal attack on his village.
The Final Word: Aside from HBO,
no other studio is probably as excited about the success of “Game of Thrones”
as Lionsgate. Jason Momoa, who became a breakout star on the series, fronts
this re-imagined remake of the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger 80’s film. Momoa’s
newfound fanbase paired with the nostalgia factor just could make this flick a
late summer surprise; if the logjam of 3D movies that weekend doesn’t destroy
it.
FRIGHT NIGHT
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse,
David
Tennant, Imogen Poots & Toni Collette
Directed by Craig Gillespie for distribution by
DreamWorks
The Plot: A high-school
senior (Yelchin) becomes convinced his new next-door neighbor (Farrell) is
actually a vampire who is preying on his neighborhood.
The Final Word: While Colin Farrell
hasn’t exactly fallen off the grid over the last few years, he also hasn’t been
as prevalent as he once was in Cineplex’s. You actually have to go back 2008 to
find the last time the charismatic actor truly headlined a movie. Now the Colin Farrell reunion tour looks
to continue as the actor stars in his second summer movie ahead of next
summer’s “Total Recall” remake. DreamWorks looks to be hoping to capitalize off
the same audience that made the company’s 2007’s “Distrubia” a big hit and
putting a star like Farrell opposite a younger rising star like Yelchin could
do the trick; again only if it is done in by a 3D heavy weekend.
ONE DAY
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson,
Ken
Stott, Romola Garai & Rafe Spall
Directed by Lone Scherfig for distribution by Focus
Features
The Plot: The two-decade
long story of two friends (Hathaway, Sturgess) who meet on the night of their
high-school graduation and then the anniversary of that night for the next
twenty years.
The Final Word: While both
actors have had mainstream success, both have even stronger luck with these
types of art-house movies. Focus has to be expecting those types of returns
also since they slated this move in the middle of what has quickly turned into
a 3D warzone weekend.
SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
Starring: Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven, Joel McHale, Rowan Blanchard,
Mason Cook,Antonio Banderas, Danny Trejo,
Alexa Vega & Daryl Sabara
Mason Cook,Antonio Banderas, Danny Trejo,
Alexa Vega & Daryl Sabara
Directed by Robert Rodriguez for distribution by
Dimension Films
The Plot: The family of a
retired spy (Alba) are thrown into the world of espionage when a villain
(Piven) threatens to take over the world.
The Final Word: It makes sense
that Jessica Alba would take this role on given her young daughter (and second
child on the way). Although I’m racking my brain trying to figure out what
lured Jeremy Piven and Joel McHale to this pic. It just seems odd both guys
would jump into a movie that is bringing back “aroma-vision.”
Previewed: next week: Columbiana, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, Our Idiot Brother
