1. Paul (Universal, 2,801 Theaters, 104 Minutes, Rated R): Seeing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in any film not directed by Edgar Wright seems to veer a little too close to sacrilege for my tastes (same goes the other way too, it just doesn’t seem right).
But yet, here we are, with the pair joined up with Superbad‘s Greg Mottola as a pair of comic book afficiantos making a pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con who pick up a rather unique hitchhiker near Area 51, an alien named Paul (voice by Seth Rogen).
Considering the people involved, it should be impossible that the film is not funny at all. The premise is kind of meh, but the cast is good enough to bring some oomph to it.
2. Limitless (Relativity, 2,756 Theaters, 105 Minutes, Rated PG-13): If it wasn’t for one particular plot point, this film would be your typical high finance thriller.
Think about it. A young skilled hotshot enters a corporation. His talent shoots him quickly up into the highest eschelon, and his ego makes him a lot of enemies on the way up. Once his luck runs out and his talent fails him, the wolves begin to circle. Sound familiar?
The twist is that the hotshot’s talent is brought about by a pill that unlocks the untapped potential for the human brain. That kind of sci-fi swerve does add something to the film, but it only barely makes it more unique than your typical Wall Street clone.
3. The Lincoln Lawyer (Lionsgate, 2,400 Theaters, 119 Minutes, Rated R): This might be opening myself to ridicule, but I believe Matthew McConaughey can be a great actor when he wants to be.
Sure, most people when the first think of him, think of him as a stoner characture who’s acting talents would be strained if he goes beyond the realm of the chick flick.
But this is a man who did some pretty fine acting in Contact and A Time to Kill. These were solid dramatic roles and McConaughey excelled in them.
He returns to the legal-potboiler-adapted-from-a-book genre with this one as he plays a lawyer with a client who is hiding something. Not exactly fresh and unique, but could be something that could remind people that McConaughey can really act.
