MuchMusic Movie Preview: February

January 28th, 2011

When you think about it, the movie industry can be pretty overwhelming as a viewer. So many different movies released each month. Sometimes way too many. In fact, I don’t blame you if you head to theatre, and emit a blank stare at the “What’s Playing” sign.

You wanna be in the loop with your friends at school when that next “word-of-mouth” conversation review comes around, yet how are you expected to make a legit decision?

Breath. We’ve got you hooked up. Damn straight we do. Top five movie preview countdown every month.

Yup. It’s on like Donkey Kong.

Here we go:

5) The Roommate

Release: February 4
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Director: Christian E. Christiansen
Cast: Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester, Danneel Harris, Cam Gigandet and Alyson Michalka.

Plot: A college freshman is randomly bunked together in a dorm with a stranger. A cute obsession goes from friendly, to creepy, to deadly.

Opinion: A bit similar to 1992′s Single White Female, but the cast and premise seem pretty solid. I don’t know about you, but Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester looks pretty intense as the psycho-stalker who becomes obsessed with her new roommate, played by Minka Kelly. And you’ll probably be a bit stoked to see Cam Gigandet (Twilight, The O.C) Alyson Michalka (Hellcats) as supporting roles. Also, attached to the movie as a producer, is Roy Lee, the guy who manned the helm for all the Grudge films- definitely someone who knows how to scare people.

4) Hall Pass

Release: February 25
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Bobby & Peter Farrelly
Cast: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis

Plot: Two men are given a once-and-a-lifetime “hall pass” from their wives- one week of freedom to do whatever they want. But they soon discover that their expectations of being single, aren’t exactly the way they pictured it to be.

Opinion: I’m not gonna lie, the trailer looks funny. Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live) seem like a combo with great chemistry. And it’s a story concept with a lot of potential to it too. But here’s something cool; it’s written and directed by the Farrelly brothers, the same guys who put out Dumb and Dumber, and There’s Something About Mary. Considering that, it should be a pretty decent laugh.

3) The Eagle

Release: February 11
Genre: Drama
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell

Plot: In 140 AD, a young Roman solider travels with a slave to try and uncover the mystery about the disappearance of his father’s legion 20-years-ago.

Opinion: This actually looks pretty interesting. Usually when you have these “gladiator-esque” movies, it revolves around a war, or something along those lines. But this is adapted after the book The Eagle of the Ninth, and has an edgy mystery vibe, as though there’s a case to be solved. And yes, I should be mentioning that Channing Tatum (Dear John, G.I. Joe) is the go-to guy to lead the flick. Enough said there.

2) Sanctum

Release: February 4
Genre: 3-D Action Thriller
Director: Alister Grierson
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Richard Roxburgh

Plot: A team of underwater cave divers embark on a dangerous expedition to the largest and least accessible cave system on Earth.

Opinion: Okay, first thing you should know, this is produced by James Cameron. That should get you mildly excited. Avatar- remember that movie? The big blue people in 3-D? Kinda won three Oscars, and remains the highest-grossing film…of all time. Yeah, so this is the first project that he’s attached to post-Avatar, and it also uses the Cameron-developed “Fusion Camera System,”- which made Avatar look awesome. Plus the story is inspired by one of the screenwriters, who had almost the exact near-death experience diving in underwater caves. Crazy stuff.

1) Never Say Never

Release: February 11
Genre: 3-D Documentary
Director: John Chu
Starring: Justin Bieber

Plot: An exclusive VIP backstage look into the life of Justin Bieber, with some footage of him growing up, as well as his performances on his 2010 tour.

Opinion: Is there even competition? It’s Justin Bieber. The kid’s doing it all, and then some. He’s even been unofficially adopted as a sibling by Drake, and Willow & Jaden Smith. But let’s put aside the obvious: he’s sitting on top of the music charts, his album My World 2.0 has gone double-platinum, and he’s one of the most popular commodities to come out of Canada since…well…maple syrup.

Now to have a movie about him? Prepare to see the true wrath of Bieber Fever.

But besides that, the documentary includes home videos of Bieber as a child, and also cameo appearances from Usher, Miley Cyrus and Jaden Smith. It’s no doubt, this film’s gonna be big. It’s the first time fans are actually being told Bieber’s full story, about a kid raised by a single mother, who went from taking on Stratford, Ontario, to the entire world.