Coming to Cinemas: July 2013, Week 3

Sorry for no updates last week, but if you have to know I was going to say Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim,Pacific Rim was the only movie that was released last week. Still haven't got the opportunity to see it yet but...soon

Meanwhile let's just look at the releases that caught my eye for this third week of July 2013.

Man of Tai Chi

Director: Keanu Reeves
Cast: Tiger Chen, Keanu Reeves, Karen Mok, Iko Uwais, Simon Yam
Running Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: 18
Synopsis: "Man Of Tai Chi" marks the directorial debut of actor Keanu Reeves. Tiger Chen stars as a young martial artist who is recruited to take part in a no-rules underground fighting tournament. The tournament's leader, played by Reeves, is set on corrupting the young fighter.

Trailer Impressions: The directional debut of Keanu Reeves and it's interesting that he went to get some Hong Kong talents to be involved in it as well. The premise looks like a mesh up of Ip Man and Mortal Kombat, which doesn't sound too horrible, but there would be a lot hinging on Tiger Chen, who is actually a stunt double from The Matrix, to make this entertaining. Somehow I would be more comfortable if it was just starring Keanu Reeves and Tiger Chen, but knowing that Reeves is calling the shots for this one could spell a box office disaster. There is Iko Uwais, but I suspect he won't have a prominent screen time.

Red 2

Director: Dean Parisot
Cast: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lee Byung-hun
Running Time: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: 18
Synopsis: Retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they'll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world and stay alive in the process.

Trailer Impressions: I had watched Red and have it on DVD because I quite enjoyed it, so naturally I would be interested in seeing a sequel. With the added star power of Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones (and Lee Byung-hun for the ladies), this is shaping up to be an attraction. I had always thought that this franchise had a better concept than The Expendables, so it makes me a little concerned when some early reviews have warned that the sequel has traded more laughs for the outrageous action (though the spinning car trope remains), which is why I liked this franchise better.

Turbo

Director: David Soren
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez
Running Time: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
Language:: English
Classification: U
Synopsis: From the makers of "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" comes "Turbo", a high-velocity 3D comedy about an underdog snail who kicks into overdrive when he miraculously attains the power of super-speed. But after making fast friends with a crew of streetwise, tricked-out es-car-goes, Turbo learns that no one succeeds on their own. So he puts his heart and shell on the line to help his pals achieve their dreams, before Turbo-charging his own impossible dream: winning the Indy 500.

Trailer Impression: There really isn't much going for this but it has just made me realised that I have not seen a single animation for this year. No way I'm going to pay to see Despicable Me 2 (plus I don't want to be brainwashed into a McD queue jumping maniac) and Pixar's offering this year with Monsters University isn't compelling enough to make me rush for it when it was released. So this is probably the most attractive of the bunch, thematically. Well, maybe partly because it shares the same narrative thread as my all-time Pixar favourite Ratatouille (I could almost spell it without Google), but with the slapstick brand of comedy that makes it less mature, but funnier. Ryan Reynolds doesn't sound too bad here.

FilmBah's Pick of the Week

I probably have the most reasons to watch Red 2 than any of the other releases this week, but I probably wouldn't watch any of them until I have fed my eyes to Pacific Rim though.

Releases according to CinemaOnline and check your nearest screenings at Showtimes.