What to Watch This Weekend: July 5, 2013

I hope everyone has recovered from their July 4th festivities! There are some good movies out and available for streaming! Here's our recommendations for this weekend.

In Theaters: Despicable Me 2

THE MINIONS ARE BACK! And already setting records for opening weekends. Get to the theaters and see the enjoyable sequel to the charming 2010 animated movie. It's an enjoyable sequel with more of everything you loved about the first movie! David recommended that you see it, so get going!

On DVD: Venus and Serena

Do you love sports movies? How about 30 for 30? If either of those appeal to you, or you just want to take a close look at two of America's premier athletes who happen to be sisters and Wimbledon champs, then check out this film. I absolutely loved it when it was in theaters, so now you can enjoy it from the comfort of your home!

Streaming (Netflix): Drive

Nicolas Winding Refn's dialog-limited, 80s-style, award-winning movie is available for streaming. Drive is a beautiful film starring Ryan Gosling as a mysterious stuntman and mechanic who falls for the wrong girl (Carey Mulligan). Drive is a pure 80s-noir film with a synth score and neon credits. 

Streaming (HBO Go): Pitch Perfect

Do you like a capella and Anna Kendrick? Or do you just like charming movies with lots of song and dance? If so, you'll want to check out Pitch Perfect. It's a surprisingly fun movie that features a lot of great singing and remixes without any instruments. 

Box Office: Despicable Me 2 set for a big five-day debut, while Lone Ranger stumbles

Despicable Me 2 is cleaning up at the holiday box office, opening on Wednesday with a $34 million gross and expected to gross at least $140 million by Monday. It's the third-highest opening day for an animated film following Toy Story 3 and Shrek the Third, though the others did not benefit from releasing one day before a holiday. The Lone Ranger, on the other hand, only managed to take in about $9.7 million and will likely end the weekend with less than $50 million, a disappointing start for a blockbuster with a budget of at least $215 million. The first Pirates film opened on a Wednesday in mid-July, made $73 million during its first five days, and ultimately reached $305 million by attracting relatively large audiences through September. The mixed reception of TLR may give it less staying power. With a limited release, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain opened with $4.8 million in less than a quarter of the theaters given to the blockbusters, and may finish the weekend around $18 million. See more detailed analysis of this and past Independence Day box offices here.

What to Watch this July 4th - Independence Day Edition

Happy Fourth of July everyone! We thought we'd give you a holiday-themed What to Watch in case you wanted to get a little patriotic on Independence Day. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday everyone!

In Theaters: White House Down

What could be more patriotic than watching Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx save / destroy the White House? Beat the heat tomorrow and catch a fun summer movie! And, if you are an active military or a veteran, you and a guest can see it for free!

Streaming (Netflix and Amazon Instant): Captain America

Spend Independence Day watching America's super soldier take on Red Skull! Seeing the first film will help you better appreciate the Avengers and also prepare you for the upcoming Captain America sequel.

Streaming (Netflix and Amazon Instant): Coming to America

Eddie Murphy's classic comedy is free to stream on multiple services. An African prince in search of a woman fit to become queen logically goes to Queens, and is thrilled to experience a life unlike his privileged upbringing. There's satire and romance, and a bit of praise toward the lives of hardworking Americans.

Streaming (Amazon Instant): Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Jimmy Stuart's classic movie about one man's ability to change the country is available for free streaming. This political dramedy was not well-received by some politicians back in 1939, but audiences and critics loved it, and the Academy gave it 11 Oscar nominations (and one win for Best Original Story). You may find that this 1939 film's themes are surprisingly relevant seventy-four years later.

Review: Pacific Rim

Release date: July 12, 2013

Running time: 131 minutes

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Rinko Kikuchi

Who to see it with: A fan of video game movies or good special effects.

David:

Pacific Rim is easily the best video game movie ever made. Unfortunately, it's not based on a video game. But, watching it is like you're watching your favorite A-list game play out on the big screen. From the simply amazing special effects, to the overly dramatic plot, the neon everything, the corny dialog, and the inclusion of the freaking voice of GLaDOS, everything about this seems like it's directly out of the latest blockbuster release. Pacific Rim tells the story of our world attacked by giant monsters from another dimension, creatures that look like the Cloverfield monster went to a rave. In order to combat these giant enemies, humans create huge robots piloted by a bonded duo to fight them. The movie is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro so the monster and art design is simply gorgeous. The Kaiju are all similar but unique: some have aspects of crabs, others of apes, others of reptiles. Each of them looks both natural and otherworldly at the same time. The mech designs are equally impressive. There is enough variety that you never see the same mech twice, but they have enough similarities to seem like part of a cohesive fighting force. 

The visuals of Pacific Rim area easily the strongest area of the film. All the special effects are simply gorgeous. As I mentioned, the monsters and the robots are beautifully created. The fights between the two are understandably epic and destructive, with buildings and environments exploding and crumbling under the massive figures. Additionally, the sets are wonderful. The home base looks decidedly futuristic and future Hong Kong looks just as high tech and neon as you would expect it to be. The plot is like a video game's plot, overly dramatic and simplistic with enough plot twists to keep you entertained. The dialog is pretty bad, with some stereotypical characters and corny delivery. There is a scene later in the movie that is supposed to be a climactic, motivational speech that just falls flat because of the writing. But, here's the thing. I think a lot of it is intentional. I think that del Toro set out to make a video game / anime big budget movie and largely succeeded. The flaws of the movie seem to be by design.

Pacific Rim is a tough movie to judge. It's not exactly a great movie. It has great special effects and is a visual treat, but the other aspects of the movie aren't spectacular. But, like I mentioned before, that might be part of the goal of the film. Ultimately, I think that the movie is a rental. However, many of the best aspects of Pacific Rim would best be enjoyed on the big screen. The animation and CG are impressive and the 3D is very well done and adds some nice depth to the movie, especially during the fights. I think if you were going to see it in theaters, you probably would enjoy the added experience, but ultimately

Rent it.

Lee:

Pacific Rim's characters and dialogue are often cliched, but its battles, special effects, monsters and set design are very imaginative. The fights slightly remind me of Transformers, but here they feel weightier and more intense. They're often larger in scale and look and sound like knock-down, drag-out battles to the death that the victor barely survives. Unlike David, I never felt the dialogue was ever particularly bad, just not much better than the writing found in 99% of action movies. The lead character is the most stereotypical while the supporting ones are effectively used for comic relief, and the actors ably spout their sometimes silly lines. That speech moment is distinctly cliched, but it's so obviously corny that it must have been del Toro's intent. It contributes to the feeling that PR is like a cool, live-action cartoon but, unlike Transformers, the stakes feel high and the goofy humor is kept to a minimum. You'll enjoy Pacific Rim if you like spectacular, large-scale action or wish to reconnect with your inner child.

See it.

Great Deal: Active Military and Veterans see White House Down free on July 4th!

What activity could be more patriotic on the fourth of July than seeing Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx save / destroy parts of the White House? I really can't think of anything and Sony Pictures seems to agree with me. On July 4th, 2013 only, Veterans and Active Military (and one guest) can see a free showing of White House Down at Regal, AMC, Cinemark, and Carmike theaters courtesy of Sony Pictures. Sure, this might be an attempt to bolster their numbers for a movie that didn't hit expectations. But who cares! The movie is a fun, action packed film that features plenty of big guns (both of the shooting kind and the Tatum kind). The seating is first come / first served and patrons must present a valid military ID to receive the deal. 

Review: The Lone Ranger

Release date: July 3, 2013July 26, 2013

Running time: 149 minutes

Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson

Who to see it with: Someone who absolutely loves Johnny Depp and long movies

David:

The Lone Ranger is Disney's reboot (I guess it's a reboot even though there never was an official movie) of the beloved radio show. It takes loose elements from the original, such as the character names, rough story, and the white horse, and then adds enough to turn it into a two and a half hour origin movie. The film is told by an old aged Tonto (Depp) who is recalling his exploits to a wandering child. This doesn't really grab you at the start, mostly because it just feels odd, and can be distracting as the story abruptly cuts back to the storytelling at random points. According to Tonto, he is forced to team up with John Rein (Hammer) in order to right an injustice. They're joined by the Lone Ranger's trusty steed Silver, a pretty awesome albino stallion, on a long, slightly nonsensical journey. Apparently justice takes a while to deliver, because the movie definitely feels like an extended adventure. There are plenty of plot twists and turns, making the plot feel bloated and unsatisfying. And it's capped off by an unnecessarily over the top end scene that seems to go on as long as the movie does. The movie is surprisingly dark for what you would expect to be a light-hearted summer movie, and Tonto's jokes and asides feel out of place at times when contrasted with the ominous story.

Johnny Depp is easily the best part of the movie. His portrayal of Tonto is great. Depp always goes all out for his roles and this is no exception. Part crazy and sporadic, part wise man, Tonto feels like a less verbose Jack Sparrow. He provides many of the funniest laughs and some of the most memorable moments. Hammer is good as the Lone Ranger, but his justice angle gets a little annoying towards the end.  William Fichtner is especially creepy and maniacal as the villain of the film, Butch Cavendish. The other characters are well done, but you expect that with an all star cast. Finally, as many of you know, bad CG is kind of a pet peeve of mine. And although the CG was fine in most of the scenes, there were some moments that were pretty terrible and stood out to me. Overall, The Lone Ranger has some funny scenes and parts of the movie are entertaining, but they were too few and far between. If you absolutely love Johnny Depp (who doesn't) then it might be worth a rental. 

Rent it.

Lee:

I didn't like it so much. It was like a fairly funny buddy comedy mashed up with an average western, plus a handful of okay action sequences. The two moods don't really complement one another, abruptly shifting from silly to serious whenever the film leaves Tonto's perspective. It seems like Disney tried to recapture Pirates of the Caribbean's lighthearted adventure and blockbuster appeal by hiring its director, star and a couple of its writers to adapt a familiar franchise, but that spirit can't be created by simply placing a comical character into a serious, but shallow, story about corruption in the wild west. I liked Tonto and the ranger's playfully antagonistic partnership, and there are some great shots of the desert. The rest is competently made but bland, never terrible but rarely interesting. The action scenes are shot well but aren't very exciting and the story touches on good ideas but doesn't do much with them. The tale is framed within another story where a child is riveted by the Lone Ranger's journey, but I think real kids won't remain so engaged throughout the long running time. You'll have some fun if you enjoy mismatched partner comedy or feel that westerns are sadly underrepresented in today's theaters but, otherwise, I'd leave The Lone Ranger alone.

Don't see it.

Review: The To Do List

Release date: July 26, 2013July 26, 2013

Running time: about 100 minutes

Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawcat, Scott Porter, Rachel Bilson

Who to see it with: Someone disappointed by the lack of female-lead teen sex comedies

Lee:

The To Do List is set in the summer of 1993. When awkward valedictorian Brandy Clark (Plaza) is unwillingly taken to a party by her two best friends, she meets hot college guy Rusty (Porter) and is mesmerized by his looks and guitar playing. After a strange series of events leads to a brief, drunken make out session, she realizes that her sexual inexperience is embarassingly apparent and hurts her dating prospects. Her much more experienced sister (Bilson) informs her that college is going to be full of sex, so Brandy decides to use this pivotal summer to learn the basics. Being a rigorous student, she approaches this problem academically, making an incredibly thorough sexual checklist to guide her hands-on research. By summer's end she hopes to bag Rusty, who works at the pool with her lovelorn friend Cameron (Simmons) and goofy boss (Hader).

Brandy is a very likable protagonist, and Plaza's usual monotone, deadpan acting suits the character's awkwardness. Her unusually pragmatic approach to sexual exploration  is  a smart, unique foundation for a "can't go to college a virgin" teen comedy. She's easily the best thing about the movie, mystifying her friends and coworkers with her uptight, clumsy attitude and behavior. The checklist scenes are some of the film's best, and raunchiest, moments. Brandy propositions confused guys in an oddly straightforward manner, and their encounters always end with crude sight gags. The film has a refreshingly positive attitude toward female sexuality, never slut shaming Brandy for exploring her sexual curiosity.

The worst thing about this comedy is its disappointing writing. The 1993 setting feels like an excuse to make lots of easy references to early 90's music and pop culture, designed to get a chuckle because nostalgic viewers recognize a name or song rather than being thoughtfully placed. The other characters are also likable and fairly inspired but, like the references, much of their dialogue seems like it's supposed to be funny just because it's raunchy rather than being clever. And a few scenes near the story's end sound a bit preachy. Despite some funny moments, The To Do List should only be put on your to-do list if you think that an appealing heroine and a novel premise can make up for cheap humor.

Don't see it.