Weekly Roundup - Opening 1/23

With only three new movies opening this week (and all three in the action/fantasy realm), let's hope at least one of them is decent. Let's see here....we've got books coming to life in Inkheart, a dragon-slaying Jesus in Outlander, and vampires vs werewolves in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. They all sound so compelling!

Weekend Suggestion:

While I would obviously pick Outlander out of these three (I'm a dragon guy at heart), I think I'll recommend Frost/Nixon or Revolutionary Road instead. Both Oscar contenders open wide tonight.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Movie Info

Directed by: Patrick Tatopoulos (Bird of Passage)
Written by: Nine dudes....too many to list
Starring: Rhona Mitra (Doomsday, Shooter), Michael Sheen (Underworld, Frost/Nixon), Bill Nighy (Underworld, Love Actually)
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Horror
MPAA Rating: R - for bloody violence and some sexuality
Runtime: 93 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 38% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 47/100
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
My Response: There is only one word I can use to talk about this film: Why? As in... why make a prequel to a crappy movie franchise...why would Michael Sheen go from the Oscar-nominated Frost/Nixon to this....why does Bill Nighy, a respected English actor, do these horrible vampire movies...why are there NINE writers for this movie? Why? Why? Why? Skip it.

Trailer



Official Website

Outlander

Movie Info

Directed by: Howard McCain (directorial debut)
Written by: Screenplay: Howard McCain (writing debut) & Dirk Blackman (writing debut)
Starring: James Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, The Count of Monte Cristo), Sophia Myles (Tristan + Isolde, Underworld), Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Enemy at the Gates)
Genre: Action/Adventure/Science Fiction
MPAA Rating: R - for violence
Runtime: 115 minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 29% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 40/100
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
My Response: This is very unknown movie, and it is only getting a limited release. That's too bad, because it definitely looks like it could be entertaining. Someone said that if it was released in the 80's, Outlander would probably be a cult favorite nowadays (like Conan or Predator), and I can't disagree. See it if you can, and make sure to catch it when it hopefully comes to the SciFi channel in a few years.

Trailer



Official Website

Inkheart

Movie Info

Directed by: Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key, K-PAX)
Written by: Novel: Cornelia Funke; Screenplay: David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots)
Starring: Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Journey to the Center of the Earth), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, 13 Going on 30), Eliza Bennett (Nanny McPhee)
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy/Family
MPAA Rating: PG - for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language
Runtime: 106 - minutes

Reviews

RottenTomatoes Score: 35% Fresh
MetaCritic Score: 47/100
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
My Response: To be honest, I didn't get a great feeling about this one when I first heard about it, but it's been getting solid reviews (EDIT: reviews have since tanked!), and could be (EDIT: but is most likely not) a nice surprise. It definitely looks to be the best family friendly movie in months.

Trailer



Official Website