Lawless

This is one of those movies I’d like to be really interested in because of the cast alone, but my tastes have never really run to Depression era smuggling stories. Still, cast. I’m a sucker for Tom Hardy, of course, but we also have Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, and Guy Pearce—who just looks phenomenally awesome and creepy in this. I’ve never really watched Jessica Chastain before, but she’s supposed to be a great actress, and while I sometimes have this immediate, Oh God, Shia LaBeouf reaction, that’s really not fair because I’ve never actually disliked any of his performances. (Movies he’s in, yes. But not the performances themselves.)

In this Battle of the Accents (we’ve got, what, English, Australian, and Californian actors playing primarily Southern characters), we’ll have to see who comes out on top. Also, which brother makes it. Cause you’d think at least one of them would have to die, right? I doubt it’s Shia, not unless all of them bite it. So it’s between Jason Clarke, who’s barely in this trailer, and Tom Hardy, who I like. Hmmm . . .

Magic Mike

Guy strippers! Yay!

Honestly, I have some reservations about this movie—mostly centered around the girlfriend, who seems fairly annoying—but I actually think Channing Tatum has more talent than people give him credit for (he’s actually pretty decent in Stop-Loss) and . . . well, come on. While Matthew McConaughey as a stripper does absolutely nothing for me, Matt Bomer and Joe Magnaniello as strippers? Ohmygod, I’m sold.

Virginia

Okay, here’s the thing about this movie: I’ve read a couple of different plot synopses for it, and they all make this film sound deadly serious, you know, like bleak family drama Oscar bait. Which doesn’t seem so surprising, especially when you factor in Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly, but then you watch the trailer, and the wacky tone doesn’t at all match up with these descriptions. I’m hoping the trailer is more accurate to the film because it actually looks a little fun. I don’t know if I’ve ever even seen Jennifer Connelly attempt a sense of humor before. It’s not a bad look on her.

The Impossible

This is a teaser trailer and also completely in Spanish. I probably wouldn’t even have watched it—less because of the Spanish and more because true life stories aren’t my thing, especially about horrific natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami—but I saw that the movie was directed by J.A. Bayona, who also directed El Orfanato, one of my favorite horror films of all time, I think. So I decided to check it out, and honestly? It looks kind of gorgeous. That’s an odd thing to say about a tsunami movie, but it’s true: the camerawork in this trailer is beautiful. I’m not sure if that’s enough for me to actually go see it, but I might at the very least consider it.

And finally . . . Ruby Sparks

Finally, a movie to double feature with Stranger than Fiction.

I’ll admit, I’m interested, even though the line, “But falling in love is an act of magic,” kind of makes me cringe. Plus, I think this story is doomed to end badly. I mean, I’m sure there will be some kind of inspirational upswing to it and all, a lesson learned, blah blah, but do you really think Ruby Sparks gets to continue living? I mean, I guess it’s possible, but after watching this trailer, I kind of doubt it.

Regardless, as a writer, I think I’m compelled to watch stories where characters come to life, you know, literally. Plus, I’ve liked Paul Dano from what I’ve seen so far. I might not go to the theaters for this, but it’s at least a rental.