Somehow, without my regular schedule to keep me honest, I completely forgot about the release weekend for February 4th. It wasn’t a particularly busy one, but it did have two of the higher-profile releases so far this year. I will be on vacation coming up this week, but I will make sure I get to the Release Radar for February 11th before I head out of town for a couple of weeks. Anyway, let’s take a look at what came out last week.
Jackass Forever (Theaters Feb. 4th)
Director: Jeff Tremaine | Writers: all of ’em (concepts)
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, and Chris Pontius
It has been 22-years since the MTV show kicked off the whole Jackass craze back in 2000. The show ran from ’00-’07 and spawned several movies and it looked as though Jackass 3D was going to be the final film in 2010. But here we are 12-years later and the boys are back for another round of bodily harm. The formula doesn’t appear to have changed, but there is something charming about the fact that this group will still come together to do this kind of stuff at this point in their lives. If you never liked the concept then that probably isn’t going to change, but there is a space for some simple, low-brow humor right now.
Moonfall (Theaters Feb. 4th)
Writers: Harald Kloser, Spenser Cohen, & Roland Emmerich | Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley
Some unknown life form has caused the moon to fall out of orbit and it’s on a collision course with Earth. Can a rag-tag team of three astronauts (are they though) do anything about it? What could the plan possibly be here? Are they going to ride their single shuttle into space and attach some tow cables to drag the Moon back into place? There’s obviously going to be something at the end that comes in handy but, based on what I’m seeing in the trailer, it sure looks like the Earth is toast either way. Roland Emmerich is no stranger to disaster flicks (2012, The Day After Tomorrow) this one certainly looks the part. However, it just seems like it’s mining the same stuff we’ve seen over and over again in the genre and just looking for a bigger spectacle. I’m guessing that’s a substantial part of the reason it has a 38 from Metacritic. I like Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley in the cast but the predictable cliches probably don’t make things better. If I were going to see this, it seems like theaters would be the way to go.
*The Worst Person in the World (Theaters Feb. 4th)*
Writers: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt | Director: Joachim Trier
Starring: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, and Maria Grazia Di Meo
Figuring out who you are and what you want doesn’t necessarily unfold in a convenient way. Julie finds that out the hard way as she is forced to detonate the life she created for herself, no matter how much it hurts the people she loves. This Norwegian film seems like a more honest and emotionally raw portrayal of the realities of love than we typically see. Writer/Director Joachim Trier was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes and Renate Reinsve took home Best Actress, so I have no doubt that it’s of high quality and there are some very interesting filmmaking techniques that I want to see more of. If I had an Editor’s Pick for this week, this would be it. You know what? I’m the Editor, so let’s make that a thing from now on. *Editor’s Pick*
The Wolf and the Lion (Theaters Feb. 4th)
Writers: Gilles and Prune de Maistre (screenplay) | Director: Gilles de Maistre
Starring: Molly Kunz, Graham Greene, and Charlie Carrick
This looks like a live-action reimagining of The Fox and the Hound in a way. A wolf pup and lion cub fall into the lap of a young woman living in the Canadian wilderness. They form a predictable, but still adorable, bond and grow up to be the best of friends. Naturally, a cliche villain comes along looking to get what’s “his” and the battle to protect the animals ensues. This is a PG family adventure, with all the familiar trappings, that I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see but there’s also a high probability that this movie would predictably tug at my heartstrings if I were to sit down and watch it.
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