Now Out in Theaters – 8/17/12

Another decent week of releases, although I will have to say say that the limited releases debuting this week elevates the slate quite significantly if you live in a bigger city. But not everybody does, so let’s get to the big releases first.

The Expendables 2

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first one. I didn’t hate it, and there were some enjoyable scenes, but overall it was pretty “meh”. Adding Chuck Norris and JCVD to the mix definitely grabs my interest, however, as does giving Bruce Willis a bigger role. They’re already talking about who to add to the third one, so the studio must have some kind of confidence that this will do well. Does it make more than the first? Probably not, but that isn’t a necessity. Still trying to catch up to releases of last week, so maybe I will get to this one down the road sometime.

ParaNorman

This one has been receiving some pretty good reviews, sitting at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publishing of this article. The trailer for this didn’t really interest me, but it’s been pretty unanimous so far that the animation is really something to behold, and it’s surprisingly scary enough that it’s not really centered for younger children like I thought it would be. This is one of those times where you can’t ignore what other people are saying, and will be watching this sometime this weekend.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

I had someone ask me about this a couple weeks ago, and at the time I hadn’t even heard of this movie. So obviously I looked up the trailer, and while I thought it had potential – mainly due to the director being behind works like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? – one can’t help but think this will be overdone with cheese and saccharine. Maybe a DVD rental down the road sometime.

Sparkle

Let’s see here: A young person aspiring to be a singer? Check. Will have to overcome some kind of adversity, usually here surrounding environment? Check. Causes trouble within the family? Check. Will eventually beat the odds? Check. Yeah, I think we’ve all seen this before. Pass.

Cosmopolis (Limited)

David Cronenberg’s latest opened up at Cannes earlier this year to pretty solid reviews, with most of the detractors saying that it just rambles on and on, which can be expected in a story about a billionaire who travels across town for a hair cut. But as we’ve seen from Cronenberg many times before, his movies are rarely dull, and typically has several layers to it that takes time to digest. I think this one will a career changing moment for Pattinson, and helping him out along the way is a wonderful ensemble cast including Juliette Binoche, Mathieu Almaric, Samantha Morton, and Paul Giamatti.

Robot and Frank (Limited)

Another limited release that I have high hopes for. I’ve been saying for sometime that this seems like it could be a mixture between Lars and Real Girl and Beginners. Who wouldn’t want that type of movie? I also think Frank Langella is going to be a major player in the awards circuit with this film. Who doesn’t love an old man who uses his assistant robot to help him get back into a life of crime?

The Awakening (Limited)

A limited release for Cosmopolis I understand. A limited release for Robot and Frank, I understand. But a limited release for this one? I just don’t get it. I get that Rebecca Hall isn’t exactly the biggest name in Hollywood (yet), but most people enjoyed the trailer and opening this in such few theaters isn’t going to increase it’s box-office numbers. At minimum, give it a semi-limited release so that word of mouth can spread more quickly. Open it up in college towns and watch it prosper.

What will you be watching this weekend? Are you going for action or animation?