It’s an exciting week for new releases, with three appealing offerings for moviegoers of all ages.
1. Baby Driver (Opened Wednesday, Sony/Columbia, 3,226 Theaters, 113 Minutes, Rated R, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 97% Fresh [167 Reviews]): Edgar Wright is a genius. His “Cornetto Trilogy” was brilliant. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was spectacular. And I really wish I could have seen him on Ant-Man.
But he is also severely underrated. He is a director who should be making blockbuster after blockbuster but has yet to fully rise above cult status. Perhaps this film will be his breakthrough.
The cast is phenomenal and the trailer exciting. And it’s hard for a film top get better reviews. Treat yourself this summer–go see this film.
2
. Despicable Me 3 (Universal, 4,529 Theaters, 90 Minutes, Rated PG for action and rude humor, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 64% Fresh [96 Reviews]): In the world of computer animated films, there is Pixar, then there is DreamWorks, then there is the rest. The best of the rest has been the Despicable Me franchise.
Kids love the adorable minions but to me the real MVP is Steve Carell’s voice work on Gru. In anyone else’s hands, the character could be one-note. But the personality Carell adds to the character makes him funny and unforgettable.
In this film, he also voices Gru’s long-lost brother, Dru. That alone should make this a kids movie you wouldn’t mind taking your kids to.
3. The House (Warner Brothers/New Line, 3,134 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated R for language throughout, sexual references, drug use, some violence and brief nudity, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 11% Fresh [18 Reviews]): When Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate (Amy Poehler) find they have spent all of their daughter’s college fund, they need to find a way to replace the money–fast. The idea they hit on is simple. They’ll just turn their basement into a casino.
It’s a high concept idea that lives just outside the realm of possibility (I’ve seen some big basements in my day, but big enough to fit a fully functioning casino?) with Will Ferrell on Defcon 1 of his “acting like an idiot” scale. His pairing with Poehler as his wife could lead to a few laughs (and kudos to the age appropriate pairing. Only four years separate the two actors.).
The reviews are horrible but that seems to be a trend for some Ferrell films. If you like his films, you’re probably going to want to see this one too.
Next week, the New Releases belong to a teenaged Spider-Man.
