Friday is fast approaching and that means a new selection of films will be opening all across the country this week. Here at thc CliqueClack Cinema you can gaze upon the trailers for this week’s new releases and I’ll give you my impression of what to expect … solely from what we’ve seen in the trailer. Feel free to add your own comments to the mix! Keep in mind that the smaller films this week will be opening only in select cities, so check your local listings for theaters and showtimes.
Cars 2
Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine
Rated G
Let’s be honest … Cars was a lesser Pixar production. Not that it wasn’t beautiful to behold (there were many gorgeous images and the car detailing was astounding), but the story went nowhere fast. Now, they’ve amped up the action and moved the setting from the southwest to Tokyo (and the racing scenes look like they’re lifted right out of the Speed Racer movie). But in the end, even lesser Pixar is better than most movies.
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Bad Teacher
Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel
Rated R for sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use
This certainly has its moments, but I’m worried that all of the funniest bits are in the trailer and that we’ve basically seen the last shot of the movie as the last shot of the trailer. It seems that instead of pushing the bad taste envelope of Bad Santa or even Mr. Woodcock, this is going to be another cliché-filled movie where an “outrageous” character finds herself and some respect for others by the end. Yawn.
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Beginners
Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent
Rated R for language and some sexual content
This looks charming, but maybe just a little self-consciously artsy for its own good. Love the bit about “house music” and the dog. I’m willing to bet we’ll see Christopher Plummer come away with an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination, if not more. We’ll have a review posted Friday.
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Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Stephen Colbert
Rated R for language
I know I’ll be pilloried for this, but I don’t think Conan O’Brien is all that funny. He has moments but I’ve never been able to get through an entire episode of his show and thought the comedy was firing on all cylinders. However, the behind-the-scenes intrigue of what happened to him during the Jay Leno/Tonight Show debacle is extremely interesting … but the movie still looks like it features too much of O’Brien’s stand-up tour for my tastes.
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A Better Life
Demián Bichir, José Julián, Eddie ‘Piolin’ Sotelo
Rated PG-13 (for some violence, language and brief drug use
This one looks sincere and earnest … but it could have been a solid TV movie too. As long as the acting is good and the story is strong without hitting us over the head with a “message” (like Crash did, over and over), it may be worth seeing.
So what’s your take on this week’s new movies? Sound off below!
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Jun 22, 2011 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
