"Oh, that sounds awesome! Let's see that." "It's only open in New York and L.A." "I guess we'll just have to stay home and watch reruns of Hoarders all weekend. Lame."
Don't let this happen to you.
Again.
Every Friday, Opening Credits will provide you with a peek at what's opening on the big screen here in Big D. Sometimes there might be an awesome Q&A with a director (keep reading), sometimes there might be a couple of big-name tickets (keep reading), sometimes there might be a film you've never heard of but don't dare miss (keep reading?).
Grab your theater sweater, hit up the box office and set your phones to silent.
We'll meet you at concessions.
"The Guy's/Girl's Night Out Comedy" Everyone's favorite interracial stoner duo is back after going to White Castle on a quest for the perfect munchies and a visit and subsequent escape from Guantanamo Bay. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas picks up six years after Harold Lee (John Cho) and Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) were locked up in the infamous terrorist detainment camp (coincidentally, Penn accepted the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison for the Obama administration a year after Escape from Guantanamo Bay's 2008 release). In this most recent tinsel-entwined misadventure, the now estranged bromancers get themselves on Santa's naughty list by accidentally burning down Harold's father's cherished Christmas tree (Hmm... I wonder how that happens?) and thus they set out on another quest; this time to find the perfect replacement. Not much of a plot sure, but neither was "two buds get stoned, decide to go to White Castle" and we all know how that one turned out. Basically, you know what you're getting when you unwrap this present. Plus, it's in 3D which, judging by the use of the candy cane Neil Patrick Harris (reprising his role as Neil Patrick Harris) is wielding on the poster, I can only imagine it being used in the most gimmicky and schlocky of ways. But if you really need any more reasons to jingle all the way to the theater for what is sure to be an instant holiday classic, how about the fact that Patton Oswalt plays a mall Santa? And there's something called a "Wafflebot."
Anticipation-O-Meter: 3 out of 5 puff, puff, passes
"The Date Movie" 2009 gave us (500) Days of Summer, 2010 gave us Blue Valentine, and now we have our grounded, realistic, and heartbreaking look at real love on the reel. This year's winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Like Crazy -- from co-writer/director Drake Doremus -- centers around a British girl (Felicity Jones) and an American boy (Anton Yelchin) who fall in love but are torn apart after she becomes banned from the states for violating the terms of her visa. If you're looking for your date night at the movies for the weekend, I think you've found it. Luckily, there are romantic-centric films like this that both girls and guys can enjoy. The film opens this weekend at the Angelika Mockingbird Station location. And here's a special opportunity for you movie goers. The director will be in attendance for the 7:15 p.m. showing tonight, with a Q&A following the film -- a Q&A hosted by yours truly!
Anticipation-O-Meter: 4 out of 5 broken hearts
"The Popcorn Flick" Hey, look! It's Eddie Murphy and he's not wearing a fat suit! That's an improvement -- I guess. Tower Heist isn't necessarily Murphy's comeback film -- he's just been making really shitty films the past decade that no one sees so, when he has a starring role alongside the likes of Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda, everyone thinks "Eddie Murphy is back!" We'll have to see the film to know if that's true or not. After all, this is the same guy that once starred in films like 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming To America (and had one of the most raunchy, hilarious comedy specials) only to decades later star in films like Meet Dave and the dare-I-mention-the-forbidden-one, Norbit. Murphy and the gang star as a group of blue collar guys who discover they've been had by a wealthy businessman (Alda) and decide to take back what's theirs and then some from the man's high-rise fortress. Directed by Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour trilogy).
Anticipation-O-Meter: 1 out of 5 gap-tooth smiles
"The Foreign Art House Indie" The latest haunting tale from Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar (Bad Education, Volver), The Skin I Live In stars Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon with a tortured soul who uses a mysterious woman as his kind of Frankenstein monster to create a synthetic skin which can withstand any kind of wound or infliction in order to right the wrongs of his past. From the film's trailer alone, not to mention Almodóvar's body of work, this one is sure to get under your skin. The film opens this weekend at the Angelika Mockingbird Station location.
Anticipation-O-Meter: 3 out of 5 scalpels
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