RBR: Dream House

This is another example of talented actors somehow getting bamboozled into staring in terrible, cheesy thrillers. Daniel Craig should know better after the disasterous The Invasion, but I guess he got desperate when Bond went on hiatus. And I also doubt that he regrets this film too much since he got married to his costar (Rachel Weisz) after working with her on the film. If you had seen the trailers for this film about a family man who comes to realize he's just moved his family into a new house where a family was previously murdered, then you may have thought that the film's twist was revealed. In the preview, it appears as if Craig's character was responsible for the murders and has since psychologically blocked the incident from his mind. On the plus side, there's more to the story than what the trailers reveal. On the negative side, the twists that do follow in the film are increasingly stupid and cause the film to crash and burn. Very little makes sense here and the actors aren't even given enough to try and salvage this thing. Both Weisz and Naomi Watts, playing a neighbor with some insight on what actually happened, are not given enough development. Instead, we get scene after scene of misdirection until the underwhelming truth gets revealed. The actors here deserve better. But the only way we can prevent them from making these duds if we avoid seeing them. This is certainly one you can avoid. Rating: * 1/2

Fall Movie Preview (September)

As the temperature begins to cool off and everyone heads back to school, movie fans turn their attention to the most 'prestige' films that will be coming out in the next few months. I was having difficulty ranking the ones I'm looking forward to, so instead, I'm just going to focus on the most interesting films coming out month by month.

A GOOD OLD FASHIONED ORGY (September 2)
Plot: Jason Sudeikis is Eric, a thirtysomething party animal famous among his close circle of friends for his lavish summer theme parties at his father's swanky Hamptons pad. But when members of the crew start settling down, and Eric's dad announces plans to sell the beach house, Eric decides it's time for one last bash to go out with a proverbial bang--a good old-fashioned orgy. The only obstacles to overcome are actually convincing each of his reluctant friends to join in on the bacchanal, and an inconveniently blossoming romance with the real estate agent threatening to sell the house out from under him before the main event can even take place.

Quick thoughts I'm sure there's a lot of you who may need a break from the R-rated comedy after having a glut of them this summer, but if you've got room for one more, then this seems like it might be right up your alley. Based on the trailer I posted last week, there seems to be enough solid laughs to make this worth a look. Plus, Jason Sudekis has been solid in his other films this year and this time it appears he's surrounding himself with a solid cast of other funny people. While the subject matter may seem a bit taboo, I'd like to think this will focus more on the comedy than the tawdry.


CONTAGION (September 9th)
Plot: "Contagion" follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

Quick Thoughts: The idea of a non-terrorist virus spreading throughout the globe may be a little too real for people to enjoy this thriller. However, it's hard to ignore this impressive cast of actors coupled with an excellent director. I'd have to be sick in order to miss this one.


MONEYBALL (September 23)
Plot: Based on a true story, "Moneyball" is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games.

Quick Thoughts: With the Cleveland Indians imploding, it appears this is the only fall baseball I have to look forward to. While I still don't understand it completely, the system that Billy Beane created to scout players is pretty impressive and I'm anxious to see how they depict it on the big screen.


50/50 (September 30)
Plot: The dram'edy is a funny, touching, and original story of friendship, love, and survival, in no particular order. Joseph Gordon-Levitt toplines opposite Seth Rogen as the twenty-something who's been diagnosed with cancer and decides to use humor in helping fight against the disease.

Quick thoughts: While the title refers to the chances the title character has of surviving his cancer, it's also the odds I'll give this film of being really good. On one hand, you have Seth Rogen who has turned from hilarious to grating in most of his recent films. But then you have Joseph Gordon Levitt, who's really starting to come into his own as an actor. Making light of cancer is a difficult task, but the previews I've seen thus far make me think this has a chance of doing it right.


DREAM HOUSE (September 30)
Plot: Some say that all houses have memories. For one man, his home is the place he would kill to forget. Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts star in "Dream House," a suspense thriller about a family that unknowingly moves into a home where several grisly murders were committed...only to find themselves the killer's next target.

Quick thoughts: The plot seems familiar and the first trailer for the film seems to give away the big twist, which would be major marks against seeing this. Yet, I can't shake the feeling that this still might be good, especially if you're looking for a few good scares. The director recently came out to say that the twist revealed in the trailer is not the final twist, so here's hoping this still has a chance to surprise us all.

OTHER POSSIBLE FILMS OF INTEREST:
- Apollo 18 (September 2)
- Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star (September 9)

Spoilspots

I'm posting two trailers here because they are both for films that I have interest in seeing, but both also give away too many plot details. So while I want to plug the movies, I also want to give you advance notice. If you seemingly don't want the movie ruined for you, avoid watching these trailers. But if you don't mind being spoiled or if you just want to save yourself some money and basically see the whole movie right now, by all means go ahead and check out these videos.

In Time, a sci-fi thriller starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried


Dream House, a supernatural thriller starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz