TGITDNMAR (5/25/12)

It’s that time again for TGITDNMAR, which (obviously) stands for Thank God It’s The Day New Movies Are Released.

Men in Black III
It’s true – after the disappointing (but seriously – it’s not as bad as everyone made it out to be) sequel, not many people were asking for this third entry in what was once a promising young franchise (eesh – 15 years ago, really?).  It’s also true that over that time, Barry Sonnenfeld has probably done better work as Esquire‘s “famous” tech tester than he has as a director; after all, his last good film was, uh, a little film from 1997 called Men in Black  Since then?  RV, Men in Black II, Wild Wild West and Big Trouble.  Egads.

All that said…am I crazy for being a bit amped for this?  If you tell me that the time travel angle is tired or cliched or just a bad idea, I’d probably have a hard time arguing…but I see Brolin’s surefire-hit impersonation and I see Bill Hader and I see Jemaine Clement and, hell, I see Sledge Hammer, and what can I say?  I’m on board, man.

Oh, and I hear that this Smith guy has some charisma and was a huge movie star once upon a time.  So it’s got that going for it, too.

Dylan’s Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 79%

Moonrise Kingdom
Wanna hear something really depressing? Moonrise Kingdom hasn’t even been released yet, but I can already guarantee you that it’s Ed Norton’s best film in half a decade, and possibly in a full decade (who knows, maybe longer).

It’s no surprise that I think that, given my affection for Anderson over the years.  That affection threatened to abandon him after The Darjeeling Limited, which wasn’t so much in poor quality compared to his earlier films but left fans wondering if he was a song on your iPod stuck on repeat.  Then he did Fantastic Mr. Fox and (despite actually doing more or less the same thing again, just this time in stop-motion) we all forgave him because it was so damned good.  As such, I’ve been excited for Moonrise (and its cast, of course) upon first hearing of it and haven’t looked back.  My only worry is that – given his already familiar style, now combined with the presence of many children – it will all be a bit too precious.  Or precocious.  Or both.

Dylan’s Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 100%

Chernobyl Diaraies
If you’ve read my writing at all over the past 6+ years, you should already know that a film like this isn’t right up my alley.

However, I’m not vehemently opposed to it, either, and I must say that, despite the somewhat gimmicky feel to the concept, I found the trailer is pretty thrilling.  Sure, it’s gimmicky, but the idea of ghoulish, ghostish horrors lurking around a radioactive site is pretty inventive as well, and Oren Peli’s involvement has me more intrigued than I feel I should be otherwise.  Cautiously optimistic.

And that poster is pretty brilliant.  It would be better if it were simpler (ditch the cityscape, make the credits smaller) and focused more on the icon, but the use of the radioactive icon as a stand-in for a ghost face is fantastic, and I can’t believe it wasn’t done sooner.

Dylan’s Chance of Viewing (in the theater): 44%