Movies in Theaters This Friday, August 23, 2013: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The World’s End, and More
We’ve had superhero movies, we’ve had big budget sci-fi movies, and we’ve had highly-touted comedies. It’s about time we got another Young Adult franchise.
I assume The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones will be this weekend’s biggest draw. Based on the first novel in a series by Cassandra Clare, the first movie stars Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) and Jamie Campbell Bower (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1). Initial reviews have been largely negative, but the fan base is probably still there. It’s worth noting this movie actually premiered early on Wednesday.
For my money, I’ll be continuing the quest into the improbable “Cornetto” trilogy (which you can read my franchise review here) with The World’s End. It returns director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. This time, they’ll be taking on the sci-fi genre in the parody comedy.
Finally, You’re Next hits theaters after premiering way back in the 2011 film festival circuit. It gained high marks there, but for some reason it took this long to release. If home invasion is your thing (the movies, that is), check it out this weekend.
In limited release, the best cast award goes to Drinking Buddies. Stars Olivia Wilde (FOX’s House), Jake Johnson (FOX’s New Girl), Ron Livingston (Office Space), and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) play two couples struggling with their feelings for others.
The last notable releases go to The Grandmaster, a Chinese martial arts movie by Wong Kar-wai (My Blueberry Nights), and The Frozen Ground starring Nicolas Cage and John Cusack.
The rest of the limited crop involves Devil’s Pass, Paradise: Faith, Savannah (read my review here), Scenic Route, Short Term 12 (one of Sandrine’s favorite movies this year), Sparrows Dance, and Una Noche.
Check out more info on all the movies below. Enjoy your weekend!
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series.
A signature brew of camaraderie, knockabout humor, excessive quaffing, questionable life choices, hand-to-hand combat, and explosive surprises, The World’s End reteams director Edgar Wright with actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, following their hits Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).
The tale of The World’s End begins on June 22nd, 1990. In their suburban U.K. town of Newton Haven, five boys in the prime of their teenage youth celebrate the end of school by attempting an epic pub crawl together. Despite their enthusiasm and the downing of a slew of pints of beer, they fall short of seeing their quest through, to the last pub on their list, The World’s End.
Twenty-odd years later, “the five musketeers” have each left their hometown and are now husbands, fathers, men with careers – with the flashing-red-light exception of their voluble onetime ringleader, Gary King (Simon Pegg), who is now a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens. The irrepressible Gary, keenly aware of his estrangement from his onetime closest friend Andy (Nick Frost), becomes hellbent on trying “The Golden Mile” drinking marathon again. He convinces Andy, Steven (Paddy Considine), Oliver (Martin Freeman), and Peter (Eddie Marsan) to stage an encore, and one Friday afternoon they are all reunited. Gary is in his element: the mandate is one night, five guys, twelve pubs – imbibing at least one pint apiece at each establishment. Arriving in Newton Haven, they re-encounter Oliver’s sister Sam (Rosamund Pike), for whom Gary and Steven each still carry a torch.
As the gang attempts along the way to reconcile their past and present, an increasingly insane and dangerous series of encounters with old haunts and acquaintances makes them realize that the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries…
One of the smartest and most terrifying films in years, YOU’RE NEXT reinvents the genre by putting a fresh twist on home-invasion horror. When a gang of masked, ax-wielding murderers descend upon the Davison family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped…until an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all.
Five ambitious American students given a grant to investigate the incident and retrace the victims’ journey. This proves to be a mistake, since they’re soon bothered by strange and terrifying phenomena, suggesting that the forces behind the original mystery have been waiting fifty-odd years for a repeat performance.
Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They’re perfect for each other, except that they’re both in relationships. Luke is in the midst of marriage talks with his girlfriend of six years, Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend Chris. But you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer.
An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.
Ip Man’s peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family’s honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.
Anna Maria (Maria Hofstätter) is a middle-aged Austrian woman who lives alone in a well-knitted house in Vienna. When she doesn’t work in the hospital then she clean her house thoroughly. But she doesn’t feel alone; she has Jesus; she loves Jesus; This unconditional love to god, empowers her to overcome the temptations of her flesh, by praying and by using methodically all sort of self- punishments.
But she is not alone in her quest; she is member of a small ultra-religious group which tries to bring back the Catholic faith to Austria; when she takes a break from her work instead of going to vacations, she tries door to door, to bring God to the poor neighborhoods, which are occupied mostly by immigrants.
Although her faith is strong, it is going to be challenged not only by the various reactions of the people that she tries to approach, but also back home, where her past is vividly back. Her crippled Muslim husband is back and demands a share of her love, who offers gladly only to Jesus.
SAVANNAH is the true story of Ward Allen, a romantic and bombastic character who rejects his plantation heritage for the freedom of life on a river. Ward navigates the change of early 20th century America on the wrong side of the law and society, his loyal friend, a freed slave named Christmas Moultrie, at his side. Master of Shakespeare, and the shotgun that provides Savannah’s markets with fowl, Ward fights for his rights as a hunter. His charisma and eloquent rhetoric win the heart of a society woman who defies her father to marry him. An elderly Moultrie tells the story of life on the river with his friend to a little boy, who passes the legendary Ward Allen down to the next generation.
MITCHELL (Josh Duhamel) and CARTER (Dan Fogler), life-long friends who have drifted apart, are on a road trip when their old pickup breaks down, leaving them stranded on an isolated desert road. Nobody can pick apart a man like his best friend, and as the relentless elements of the desert grind them down, they start to attack each other’s life decisions with unwavering brutality. As they question who they are and who they could have been, their agitation leads to physical confrontation and ultimately knife-wielding madness, and what begins as an inconvenience becomes a very real life or death struggle.
A 20-something supervising staff member of a foster care facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
When stage fright gets the best of her, a former actress stops leaving her apartment, crippled by fear of the outside world. Living off delivery food and residuals from her acting career, she spends her days watching bad TV and spying on the city from her window. But when her toilet overflows and a kind, compassionate plumber shows up, she reluctantly allows him into her refuge.
In Havana, Raul dreams of escaping to Miami. Accused of assault, he appeals to Elio to help him reach the forbidden world 90 miles across the ocean. One night, full of hope, they face the biggest challenge of their lives.
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