Rated: R
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams and John Doman
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Synopsis from IMDB: The film centers on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: Despite the critical acclaim this film received with its release, and the billing of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling as its two stars, the interest I have in this film is minimal. The subject matter simply does not interest me very much and during the summer months I look for films with a more upbeat tone. Still, I will eventually watch Blue Valentine because of its notoriety, it’ll probably just sit near the bottom of my queue for a while.
Rated: R
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kline
Director: Ivan Reitman
Synopsis from IMDB: A guy and girl try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it’s not long before they learn that they want something more.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: Here it is, the Rom-Com release of the week. No Strings Attached has a little more going for it than your typical Rom-Com, however. Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) directed this film, it earned itself a hard R, and any film starring Natalie Portman is good enough for me. This is not a film I’ll jump to the top of my queue but it’s also not one I’ll object to viewing either.
Rated: PG
Starring: Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin and Duncan MacNeil
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Synopsis from IMDB: A French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: One of three films nominated for Best Animated Picture at this year’s Oscars, The Illusionist appears to be the same quality and style of Sylvian Chomet’s previous animated film, The Triplets of Belleville. I’m not huge on animated features, but I like the classic visual style of Chomet’s work. Couple that with what appears to be a very endearing tale and I find myself more intrigued with this animated film than per usual.
Rated: R
Starring: Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi and Gook-hwan Jeon
Director: Jee-woon Kim
Synopsis from IMDB: When his pregnant fiancée becomes the latest victim of a serial killer, a secret agent blurs the line between good and evil in his pursuit of revenge.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: I’ve been excited to see this film for a while now. The South Koreans have given us some very worthy imports the past few years with Oldboy and The Good, the Bad, the Weird, and now I Saw the Devil. Jee-Woon Kim’s follow-up to The Good, the Bad, the Wierd is the kind of revenge/horror tale I love to watch, and is definitely my pick of the week. Warning: I’ve been told this film is extremely graphic and is not for the faint of heart.
Rated: R
Starring: Sarah Hyland, Denise Richards and Kyle Gallner
Director: K. Asher Levin
Synopsis from IMDB: Sam has been kicked out of every school across the country. When he learns that his mother can no longer afford to keep him in school he and his friends start their own escort service, Cougars, Inc., to help pay for his tuition. Through this hilarious new job Sam and his friends explore the generation of Cougars who are desperately trying to stay young and loving every lesson they are taught.
Trailer:
Pac’s Take: This sounds, and at times looks a lot like a straight to DVD American Pie or National Lampoon movie with a higher billed cast. Denise Richards and Jim Belushi have come a long way from hay day but the biggest surprise is Kyle Gallner whose Career seemed to be taking off after starring in The Haunting in Connecticut just 2 years ago (immediately after his phenomenal guest role on The Shield). Cougars, Inc is a straight to DVD feature for a reason and will probably be skipped by most (including myself).
Chris and Pac Take on Hollywood 