Safe House

Oscar® winner Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds star in the action-thriller Safe House. Washington plays the CIA’s most dangerous traitor, who stuns the intelligence community when he surfaces in South Africa. When the safe house to which he’s remanded is attacked by brutal mercenaries, a rookie (Reynolds) is forced to help him escape. As the masterful manipulator toys with his reluctant protégé, the young operative finds his morality tested and idealism shaken. Now, they must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.

Legendary spy Tobin Frost (Washington) has eluded capture for almost a decade. One of the best ops men that the CIA’s ever trained, the brilliant ex-intelligence officer has betrayed assets and sold military codes to enemies of the state since he turned. From aiding splinter cells to trading incendiary secrets to the highest bidder, the damage he’s done to the U.S. is immeasurable. Now, Frost is back on the grid with the most explosive intel he’s ever gotten his hands on.

For the past year, Matt Weston has been frustrated by his inactive, backwater post in Cape Town. A “housekeeper” who aspires to be a full-fledged case officer, the loyal company man has been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. When the first and only occupant he’s had proves to be the most dangerous operative he will ever cross, Weston readies for duty.

As soon as Frost is brought in for debriefing, mercenaries in brutal pursuit of Frost come and level Weston’s safe house. Barely escaping, the veteran spy and untested captor must discover whether their attackers were sent by terrorists or by someone on the inside. With only hours left to get Frost to the next safe house, Weston must figure out who he can trust before he and the world’s most skillful assassin are both eliminated.

In theaters Friday, February 10, 2012.

Official Site
Facebook page

The Change-Up

Growing up together, Mitch (Reynolds) and Dave (Bateman) were inseparable best friends, but as the years have passed they’ve slowly drifted apart. While Dave is an overworked lawyer, husband and father of three, Mitch has remained a single, quasi-employed man-child who has never met a responsibility he liked. To Mitch, Dave has it all: beautiful wife Jamie (Leslie Mann), kids who adore him and a… high-paying job at a prestigious law firm. To Dave, living Mitch’s stress free life without obligation or consequence would be a dream come true.

Following a drunken night out together, Mitch and Dave’s worlds are turned upside down when they wake up in each other’s bodies and proceed to freak the &*#@ out.

Despite the freedom from their normal routines and habits, the guys soon discover that each other’s lives are nowhere near as rosy as they once seemed. Further complicating matters are Dave’s sexy legal associate, Sabrina (Olivia Wilde), and Mitch’s estranged father (Alan Arkin). With time not on their side, Mitch and Dave comically struggle to avoid completely destroying each other’s lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back.

Opens Friday, August 5th.

Official Site
Facebook page

Green Lantern

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

Opens Friday, June 17th.

Official site
Facebook page
Twitter

Buried

Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up 6 feet underground with no idea who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining battery and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time – fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul only had 90 minutes to be  rescued before his worst nightmare comes true.

Opens in limited release September 24th. Opens everywhere October 8th.

Official Site

The Proposal

OMG Betty White is in a new movie! That’s right America’s National Treasure THE Betty White is starring in the new romantic comedy The Proposal that opens this Friday. Finally, we get a summer movie that will live up to the hype! And her co-stars aren’t too shabby either: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. But really it’s all about the Betty!

OK maybe it isn’t all about Betty. It might be a little about Sandra Bullock and maybe a little more about Ryan Reynolds. In The Proposal book editor and bitchy boss Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is in danger of being deported back to Canada. In her desperation she bribes her long-suffering assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her so she can stay in the country. Drew agrees with a few caveats, one of which is the couple must journey to his family’s home in Alaska for the weekend. In close quarters, under the prying eyes of Drew’s ex-girlfriend (Watchmen’s Malin Ackerman) his parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) and his beloved grandma (the incomparable Betty White) the pair find their relationship changing and the business deal suddenly seeming inappropriate and unimportant.

The Proposal is a passable romantic comedy. It’s got some laughs, chemistry between the two stars, a few tears, an adorable fluffy dog and of course Betty White. What it doesn’t have is a great story. This is all well-trod territory. In fact it was pointed out to me by my friend Sunshine that there were eerie similarities between Margaret and the Lucy character Bullock played in While You Were Sleeping (1995). This genre is Bullock’s forte and she plays up the physical comedy of it well. Reynolds is he usual acerbic self and looks stunning unclothed. It’s a big summer for young Ryan. His turn as Deadpool in the Wolverine origins film garnered him an origins movie of his own. I, for one, am very much looking forward to that.

There are 3 scene stealers in this movie. The aforementioned Ms Betty White is delightful as the hopeful Annie. All she wants is to see her one and only grandson married before she dies and she goes to any length to achieve that. Fans of “The Office” on NBC will recognize Oscar Nuñez as Ramone, the town’s one and only exotic dancer. He is hysterical. Lastly there is the dog. I don’t know its name or its breed but dammit I want one! When you see it you’ll get what I mean.

If you need a cute date movie this weekend and aren’t really up to seeing Jack Black in animal skins The Proposal is a safe bet. Betty recommends it highly.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hugh Jackman may be the sexiest man alive, but he has got some major competition in this film.  It’s a virtual meat market for tastes of all kinds and for those who aren’t that picky and appreciate the male species.

After the disappointment that was the last two X-Men movies, I didn’t go into this with any more expectation than just being entertained.

Despite a few slow spots here and there, and a bit too long history of wars sequence in the beginning, I have to say I enjoyed this.  It’s not hard to look at Hugh Jackman for an hour and a half.   Heck, I would have paid $20 to watch naked Hugh for the seconds we got of him jumping and running in the buff.  Who wouldn’t?  The hair and sideburns were even an improvement for his previous stint at Wolverine!

Then we get to his cast mates.  Liev Schreiber (enough said in my book, there is not much you can say about his perfection), Ryan Reynolds (looking VERY buff and not an ounce of nerd to be seen), Will i Am (bringing cool to the X-Men), Daniel Henney (model perfect and deadly good looks) and, finally, the cherry on top, Taylor Kitsch (yum, yum, yum).  I could seriously watch an entire film with Taylor reading the phone book and not get bored.

Yes, my shallow, middle aged self was there for the hotties.  I won’t lie.  As a bonus, we did get a decent story that had you connecting this beginning to the X-Men films that have already hit the big screen.  My 13 year old was quite engaged and there were a lot of lightbulbs going off above her head as she connected Sabertooth, Scott Summers and the rescuer of the island children to X-Men 1.

All in all, thanks Hugh, for being you and bringing some of your sexy friends along for the ride.  It was a hellavu show!