There are two new wide releases coming out this weekend.
Gangster Squad
Trailer:
Admit it, you know next to nothing about this one and it comes out this weekend. How does a movie starring Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, and Ryan Gosling fly so far under everyone’s radar? Sadly, the Aurora tragedy. In an unfortunate coincidence, a trailer for this movie, including a scene where a movie audience is gunned down, was attached to the midnight screenings of The Dark Knight Rises. Immediately following the Colorado shooting, Warner Brothers pulled the trailer and pushed the release of this film back four months. Though the studio has not made an official announcement, various sources have reported that the theater scene has been cut from the final film and reshoots have taken place.
Based on the true story of a group of gangster hunting detectives in 1940’s Los Angeles, Gangster Squad looks a bit like the disappointing Johnny Depp vehicle, Public Enemies but with some Dick Tracy style and a little Frank Miller aesthetic mixed in. The trailer looks like loads of fun with plenty of shoot ’em up Tommy gun action, intrigue, and Emma Stone. Reviews so far, though, are coming in lukewarm so this might be a hit or miss depending on if you’re looking for more than a glossy popcorn muncher with violence and eye candy.
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A Haunted House
Trailer:
It’s pretty easy to decide if you should see this movie or not. Do you like Scary Movie and Marlon Wayans? Essentially another entry in the ever diluted Scary Movie franchise with some new branding. A Haunted House takes on the recent deluge of Paranormal Activity and other found footage horror movies with this parody with surely predictable results.
Granted, this is Marlon Wayans first _____ Movie since Scary Movie 2, so one can hope he is able to bring what little caliber those first parody movies had back to this one. Being better than Not Another Not Another Movie, though, will probably not be too difficult to accomplish.
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In addition, Zero Dark Thirty is expanding from 60 theaters to 2,400.
Trailer:
You’re going to be hearing a lot about this one. Billed as “the greatest manhunt in history,” Zero Dark Thirty chronicles the search for Bin Laden. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, whose The Hurt Locker won her the Oscar for best director and best film, Zero Dark Thirty is already amassing a slew of it’s own awards and nominations. It has received almost exclusively favorable reviews, as well as some intense attention due to the controversial nature of the movie, (did Obama release classified information?) both of which are sure to drum up buzz. It is almost certainly to be the most talked about movie this month and will have a strong presence during the upcoming awards season. This morning it garnered a number of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Film Hamster 