Yep, this franchise continues, and continues to kick ass in the process. While I am sure everyone knows the story so far, and what they have in mind for next, I just have to comment on how much I have enjoyed it. The Die Hard series of films is some of my favorite escapist fantasy, and I hope they keep cranking them out.
There are two interesting choices this week. The genre film is Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: Part II, continuing the story begun with part 1 last year. This is in somewhat limited release, so you may have to hunt around for it, but trust me, it will be worth it, especially if you managed to see part one. And if you missed part 1, no worries; you can pick it up as a DVD or BluRay for $10 or less and watch it before seeing Part II in the theater. The story did not get stale with age since it was written, the conflicts embedded here are as alive as they were when she first wrote the book in 1957. I can not believe how many amazing actors are involved in this project, since it’s 10 million dollar budget could normally only pay for one or two of them, let alone the production costs of the entire film. My guess is it was a labor of love.
The other film worth mentioning will be playing everywhere, and while it isn’t genre I am so ready for this one! Seven Psychopaths is a twisted comedy in which a struggling screenwriter’s strange friends kidnap the beloved pet of a mobster, who then puts out contracts on everyone involved. Just like this weeks other winner, the cast is an amazing ensemble and the trailer tells me there is enough strangeness to make it quite a hoot.
The best Bond theme song in quite a while, Adeles official version of Skyfall is quite amazing. It does hark back to the days of Goldfinger and finally gives that classic a run for its money. No other Bond song has come close, and it will be a few years before we know how this one will hold up, but I for one am impressed. Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for the heads up on this one.
Coming up next year, The Prototype is a film about a dying man who uploads himself into the combat drone he is developing for the military. It seemed like a good idea at the time; he needed a way to escape death, and the drone needed a core intelligence around which to coalesce. Now, it is not so much fun. This one looks very interesting, if you are waiting for the Singularity this is another option to explore.
This week it is more Tim Burton animated silliness with Frankenweenie, an all star retelling of the classic Frankenstein tail. This is a great one to take your kids to, because afterwards you can have a meaningful discussion with them on the dangers of wild experiments using their high school genetic engineering labs for a little recreational recombinant DNA monster building.
This week we have a couple of good options to select from. Looper is the story of a time traveler who has to avoid being murdered by himself, starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as old and young Joe. If you are in the mood for comedy rather than action/adventure, Hotel Transylvania is an animated love story about Dracula’s daughter and the human she is sweet on. Obviously, dad does not approve.