January 3rd
Happy 2014 everyone! May this year be one that brings us many incredible movies to discuss with friends and family. Starting things off for us this year, we have the latest entry into one of the most successful horror franchises to have come along in some time. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones attempts to spin-off from the characters in the first four films somewhat in an attempt to make it seem fresh, but we are not holding our breath in anticipation. The Best Offer is a drama about an antiques expert who has done his best to drive away any close human contact only to become infatuated by a young woman who lives a far more agoraphobic lifestyle behind the walls and doors of the antique-filled mansion he has taken assignment in. Geoffrey Rush and Sylvia Hoakes lead the cast with Donald Sutherland in support. Jamesy Boy is a true story of a troubled young man who gets sent to prison where he is mentored by an older convict played by Ving Rhames. Yawn....oh, did I type that? Open Grave is a thriller that seems to tie in elements of Saw and The Walking Dead to fairly creepy effect in the trailer. No celebrity star power in this one to speak of, but it has us intrigued! Our pick of the week, however, is going to be The Best Offer with the always great Geoffrey Rush. Check out the trailer below to see why.
January 10th
Another week with a relatively short list of movies to preview. We start things off with The Legend of Hercules starring Kellen Lutz and directed by Renny Harlin (the man who gave us Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger). Next up, there is The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, starring Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, and Sam Neil in a story about a teen whose family vanishes setting him off on a quest to discover their fate. A quest that uncovers strange magic, monsters, and supernatural artifacts. Lastly, we have Banshee Chapter, a horror film starring Ted Levine and Katia Winter, about the effects of a research chemical by the CIA on civilians and a radio broadcast of unknown origin. Well, it seems that last month's Desolation of Smaug has ushered in a run of questy and adventury-type movie fare. Whether or not The Hobbit's success will feed the fire for audiences to see more remains to be seen, but our money would certainly be spent to support of Renny Harlin's Hercules tale, whose trailer you can see below!
January 17th
It seems that January 17th features the most crowded field of movie premieres this particular month. The Night Before Christmas poem is re-imagined by removing the Christmas elements and making of the animated entry The Nut Job all about a desperate squirrel who is banished from his Central Park home and will do just about anything to claim a stockpile of food for the winter. Ride Along is a comedy that features Kevin Hart has a security officer who dreams of being a real cop like his brother-in-law (played by Ice Cube) so he can prove himself a worthy of the woman he married. Big Bad Wolves is a subtitled Israeli crime thriller that apparently has Quentin Tarentino's creative admiration. GBF is a lame story about groups of high school female cliques that seek out a token gay friend which grants them some sort of social advantage over their peer groups? Life of a King stars the great Cuba Gooding Jr. as an ex-con who uses the game of chess to put struggling teens on the straight and narrow. The character made famous by Tom Clancy and Harrison Ford, jumps back in time to his younger days as a CIA desk clerk in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Chris Pine takes on the role with Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, and Keira Knightly in support. Reasonable Doubt is about a prosecutor (Dominick Cooper) with a serious skeleton which compromises his ability to deliver a very dangerous man (Samuel Jackson) to justice. Cooper pulls double duty as he also plays an English artist on the cusp of greatness if not for a fateful love triangle in Summer in February, which also stars Emily Browning. While Reasonable Doubt looks pretty darn good with Samuel Jackson gettin' medieval or maybe just plain evil all over the joint, we are going to have to go with the latest Jack Ryan movie in a nod to our beloved and sadly departed author extraordinaire Tom Clancy.
January 24th
I, Frankenstein starring Aaron Eckhart hits theaters on the 24th in the hopes of making us forget about the underwhelming Hansel & Gretel last year. In this one, a new age Frankenstein monster finds himself caught in the middle of a battle between two immortal clans of angels, and is based on the graphic novel of the same name. 24 Exposures is a drama/thriller about a fetish photographer who is wanted for questioning in the murder of a glamour model, but strikes up an interesting friendship with a cop who takes a particular fascination with his work. Gimme Shelter stars Vanessa Hudgens as a young pregnant girl who struggles with addiction and anger with the world around her. Rosario Dawson and Brendan Fraser are in support. Knights of Badassdom is about a bunch of gaming geeks who role play only to find out that one of their members has released a real life evil forcing them to unite and be the heroes they portray in their fantasy lives. Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, and Steve Zahn all star. Graphic novels to the big screen is definitely something that we support wholeheartedly but in this case we have to go with the Knights of Badassdom as the winner this week!
That Awkward Moment (starring Zac Efron) is a comedy about three guys who pledge to the single life after one of their own experiencing the end of a meaningful relationship. All goes well until one meets the "right" girl. Labor Day is a drama we previewed for last month's Fresh Popped Corn, but was bumped to the post-holiday schedule starring Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet about a prison escapee who solicits the help of a woman and her son to make a new life. Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage is a long-delayed action fantasy film narrated by Patrick Stewart and just looks terrible! Best Night Ever is the female equivalent of The Hangover series starring Desiree Hall and Samantha Colburn. And finally, At Middleton finds two single parents, played by Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga reliving or regressing to their youth following a tour of a college for their respective children. It's a pretty weak finish to the month, but we will hedge our bets on the Brolin/Winslet drama as the best of the group.
And that does it for another edition of Fresh Popped Corn. We would love to hear about which films you are excited for this month!
Chris (for the Great Stories team)
Life as a King looks like good movie, I love the inspirational hero type movies. :-)
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