1. Grown Ups 2 (Sony/Columbia, 3,491 Theaters, 101 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Hey, it’s Adam Sandler’s first sequel! No, we couldn’t get a sequel to The Wedding Singer or 50 First Dates or any of his good films, we get one to his filmed reunion vacation with his Saturday Night Live plus, plus Kevin James.
In this one, the guys, with the exception of Rob Schneider, who either was too busy and/or had too high standards, decide to move back to their hometown to give their families a chance at a better life. While there, they encounter mean frat boys and erotic male car washes.
I’d like to point out that Milo Ventimiglia, who is 36, and Taylor Lautner, who is 21, play two of those frat boys. I hope that the age discrepancy is addressed in the film, because it is pretty darn obvious in the trailer.
2. Pacific Rim (Warner Brothers, 3,275 Theaters, 132 Minutes, Rated PG-13): This film is unkindly referred to as “Transformers meets Godzilla,” which is unfair. If those people knew anything, they’d say it was “Battle Suit Gundam meets Godzilla.”
This is obviously Guillermo del Toro’s love letter to Asian pop culture, albeit with a western spin on it. I am amazed by a lot of the negative build up to this due to del Toro’s aping existing tropes when the top ten films of the year are littered with remakes, sequels and adaptations from other media.
The plot is that giant alien beasts have sprung up from the Earth’s core and attacked humanity. Humanity fights back by building giant robots to battle the Kaiju on their level.
Don’t let the negativity get to you. This film is currently at 72% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes (compared to Grown ups 2’s 8%) so you’re getting a decent film. But if that isn’t an enticement, it’s giant robots beating the snot out of giant monsters! How can that be all that bad!
