Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
Big Budget Films
There are three big budget films due for release this week, Collide, Meet The Blacks, and Miles Ahead.
Collide
Collide is an action thriller about two American tourists, played by Nicholas Hoult and Felicity Jones. They are backpacking across Europe, and end up on the run from drug smugglers in Germany. Collide is a Silver Pictures thriller starring Nicholas Hoult, Felicity Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Kingsley, and Marwan Kenzari. F. Scott Frazier wrote the script and it was directed by Eren Creevy.
Collide is rated PG-13 due to the violence, profanity, sexuality and drug use.
Prairie Miller interviewed Anthony Hopkins recently.
The Collide trailer has not yet been released.
Meet the Blacks
Meet The Blacks is a horror parody of The Purge revolving around a nouveau riche black family which unwittingly moves from the ghetto to Beverly Hills on the annual holiday when crime is legal. Ensemble cast includes Mike Epps, Zulay Henao, Mike Tyson, George Lopez, DeRay Davis, Charlie Murphy and Perez Hilton and Paul Mooney. The Purge was rated #6 in the top 10 big budget films for 2013.
Meet the Blacks is a comedy written by Deon Taylor and Nicole DeMasi, and directed by Deon Taylor. It is rated R for sexuality, violence, drug use and pervasive profanity.
Miles Ahead
Don Cheadle produced, directed, co-wrote and stars as Miles Davis in this impressionistic biopic chronicling the highs and lows of the legendary jazz trumpeter’s troubled life and checkered career. With Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg, Keith Stanfield and Emayatzy Corinealdi.
Miles Ahead is rated R for drug use, nudity, sexuality, brief violence and pervasive profanity.
Independent & Foreign Films
Catching The Sun
Written by Shalini Kantayya, Catching The Sun is a Green economy documentary. It tells a series of stories of people – workers and entrepreneurs – in the U.S. and China, who are in global race to lead the clean energy future. It follows the trials and tribulations of unemployed American workers looking for jobs in the solar industry. China is investing in innovative technologies and capitalizing on a trillion-dollar opportunity, but can the U.S. build a clean energy economy?
Francofonia
World War II drama giving a cinematic tour of the Louvre while explaining how the museum managed to prevent plunder of its collection during the Nazi occupation of France. Co-starring Vincent Nemeth, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing and Benjamin Utzerath. (In French, German, Russian and English with subtitles)
God’s Not Dead 2
Courtroom drama revolving around a public high school teacher’s (Melissa Joan Hart) fight for her career and her First Amendment rights after being suspended for having a classroom discussion of Jesus. With Jesse Metcalfe, Robin Givens, Ernie Hudson, Pat Boone and Senator Fred Thompson.
God’s Not Dead 2 is rated PG for mature themes.
Marinoni
Also known as The Fire in the Flame, a Reverential documentary chronicling the career of champion cyclist-turned-master bike maker Giuseppe Marinoni. The story is told in English, French and Italian with subtitles.
Natural Born Pranksters
Practical joke comedy highlighting the work of such Youtube sensations as Roman Atwood, Vitaly Z and Dennis Roady. Natural Born Pranksters is rated R for crude humor, dangerous stunts, and for pervasive profanity and sexuality.
Pandemic
Pandemic is a Sci-fi thriller that revolved around a research doctor, played by Rachel Nichols. She represents the last hope for a cure after a virus wipes out New York City and threatens to decimate what’s left of humanity. With Mekhi Phifer, Missi Pyle and Alfie Allen.
Sold
Sold is an adaptation of Patricia McCormick’s best seller of the same name chronicling the real-life ordeal of a 13 year-old Nepalese peasant, played by Niyar Saikia. She is sold to Indian sex traffickers. Supporting cast includes Gillian Anderson, David Arquette and Seema Biswas.
Standing Tall
Coming-of-age drama about a juvenile court judge (Catherine Deneuve) and a special ed teacher (Benoit Magimel) who join forces to rehabilitate a teen (Rod Paradot) in trouble with the law since being abandoned by his mother at the age of 6. With Sara Forestier, Diane Rouxel and Elisabeth Mazev.
Standing Tall is in French with subtitles, and is rated R for profanity and some sexuality.
