1. Project Almanac (Paramount, 2,893 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual content, Rotten Tomatoes Fresh rating as of press time: 35% Fresh (24 reviews)): Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the film that is to Doctor Who that Chronicle was to the X-Men.
Okay, that analogy might not sync up exactly, but I am sure you’ll get what I mean after you read the synopsis.
In this “found footage” film, a group of teenagers find a way to build a time machine. They immediately use the machine for personal gain, but eventually find out that the changes they made might spell their doom.
I can’t get past the “found footage” part. I mean, wouldn’t whatever they taped be wiped out whenever they changed time? Like if they taped a car hitting a building, then went back in time to make sure the car didn’t hit the building, how could the tape ever show the car hitting the building.
This film was originally supposed to come out last year. It’s not the only one this week.
2. The Loft (Open Road Films, 1,841 Theaters, 108 Minutes, Rated R for sexual content, nudity, bloody violence, language and some drug use, Rotten Tomatoes Fresh rating as of press time: No Score (1 reviews)): Five businessmen have found the perfect way to cheat on their wives. All five have gone in on a loft apartment that they can take their mistress to, and only the five of them have keys to the place. It’s and ideal situation, right up until the dead woman is found in the loft. Now, the five must discover which one of them is a killer.
This is an American adaptation of one of the most Flemish films of all time, 2008’s Loft. That film’s director, Erik Van Looy, and star, Matthias Schoenarts, reprise there roles in this one.
This film not only had to suffer a release date change (it was supposed to come out last August) but also a change in distributors, moving from Universal to Open Road Films. That was the second time it moved, as it originally was at Warner Brothers. Take that as you will.
3. Black or White (Relativity, 1,823 Theaters, 121 Minutes, Rated PG-13 on appeal for brief strong language, thematic material involving drug use and drinking, and for a fight, Rotten Tomatoes Fresh rating as of press time: 31% Fresh (39 reviews)): Tragedy has become a big part of Elliot Anderson’s life. First, he loses his daughter in childbirth and is forced to raise his granddaughter, Eloise, with his wife. Now, afterlosing his wife to a car crash, the African-American family of his granddaughter’s father has decided that Eloise should be raised with people her own color. Elliot is forced to fight for the girl he raised from a baby for fear that she will fall into hands of her drug-addict father.
There’s a whole lot of melodrama heaped on to the rote custody battle storyline. However, that doesn’t always make for a good movie. Having a cast that features an Oscar winner and an Oscar nominee helps in that regard.
