Weekend Movies: You Wouldn’t Believe It If I Told You

Almost everyone is aware of that big ‘Hunger Games’ knockoff in theaters, but did you know that Sean Penn has an action movie opening and that the ‘God’s Not Dead’ folks are back?

The ‘Divergent’ series continues with ‘Insurgent‘, this time in 3D. The studio dropped ‘Limitless’ filmmaker Neil Burger for the sequel and replaced him with ‘R.I.P.D.’ director Robert Schwentke. Shailene Woodley returns as Tris, a heroine who continues to be screwed by the evil leader of future’s dystopia (Kate Winslet). The meandering first half of the movie is followed by a ‘Matrix’-esque second half and an ending that will keep you curious enough to watch the next installment. Be prepared for theaters filled with teenage girls.

Open Road Films doesn’t seem to have much budget to market its movies, but the studio tends to release solid little films. This week’s addition, ‘The Gunman‘, stars Sean Penn as a former sniper who returns to the land of one of his successful assassinations, only to find himself in the crosshairs at every turn. Idris Elba, Javier Bardem and Ray Winstone co-star with ‘Taken’ director Pierre Morel at the helm.

Believe it or not, yet another faith-based movie hits the big screen this weekend. From the folks behind ‘God’s Not Dead’, ‘Do You Believe?‘ follows an ensemble of characters whose viewpoints on life are about to be turned around by a single man – a pastor who puts into practice the motivating phrase “Faith without works is dead.” The casts consists of Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Delroy Lindo, Cybill Shepherd and Alexa PenaVega.

Opening in limited release is an intriguing drama called ‘Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter‘. Rinko Kikuchi stars as a girl who finds a stashed-away VHS copy of ‘Fargo’. Mistaking the classic Coen brothers thriller as a map leading her to the film’s snow-covered briefcase of cash, she heads off to find its buried treasure. That’s a concept that I can climb aboard.

Debuting on five screens is the drama ‘Danny Collins‘. Al Pacino stars as the title character, an aging rock star who has kept up his frontman lifestyle since his prime. When he receives a long-lost letter by John Lennon, the words within inspire him to make drastic changes that will affect everyone around him. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer, Josh Peck, Bobby Cannavale and Annette Bening.

4 comments

  1. Chris B

    I love how any of the movies I have even a bit of interest in seeing are always limited release and aren’t screening anywhere nearby….such is life…

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