New Releases: October 25, 2013

1. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount, 3,336 Theaters, 92 Minutes, Rated R):  Okay, I have an intense dislike of Jackass in all its various and sundry forms. I might not have the highest brow of humor around, but it’s high enough that I am wholly disinterested in these guys’ comedy. I don’t find actively trying to injure oneself to be hilarious, and I find trying to make fools out of unsuspecting innocents even less funny.

But apparently, I am in the minority. Even in my circle of friends, the TV show and films were popular. I wouldn’t watch it when it was free on MTV, and you’d have to pay me handsomely to watch it in theaters. But that isn’t going to stop the rest of America from going to see it. More power to them.

This time out, Johnny Knoxville dresses up as an old man and drags his “grandson” across country, making fun of rubes and townies along the way. So it’s basically Borat with make-up and a kid instead of a Central Asian accent.

2. The Counselor (Fox,3,044 Theaters, 117 Minutes, Rated R): Well, if this doesn’t seem like a No Country For Old Men-lite.

Let’s check it off. Great cast? Check. Plot involving a wonky drug deal? Check. Written by Cormac McCarthy? Check (in his first screenplay directly for the screen). Javier Bardem in a bad haircut? Check.

We trade the Coen Brothers for Ridley Scott, which means this film will be less esoteric and a little more glitzy. It might also mean that audiences might be a little less forgiving of McCarthy’s eccentricities. I mean, I thought the ending of No Country For Old Men was awful, but came away with a positive vibe about the film because it was so well made. That might not happen here.