2013 has been a pretty good year for movies thus far, so it’s a shame to have to take a month-long break from the theaters. So, just to make sure no one suffers from Harvard Press withdrawal in the month to come, here are some of my recommendations about the movies coming out soon.
‘Fruitvale Station’
Michael B. Jordan and Melonie Diaz star in “Fruitvale Station.”(Courtesy photos)
Coming out this weekend, director-writer Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” examines the true story of the death of Oscar Grant, a San Francisco man who was killed at the city’s Fruitvale Station on New Year’s Eve 2008. The movie’s focus on social injustice is a guaranteed blood pressure raiser, while performances from Michael B. Jordan (“Chronicle”), Melonie Diaz (“Be Kind Rewind”), and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) have been widely lauded. It’s a powerful feature debut for Coogler, who ended up taking home big prizes at Sundance and Cannes. It might not be light summer fare—in fact, it looks like the exact opposite—but its message about justice and doing what’s right is likely going to have a big impact.
‘Pacific Rim’
Mind-controlled robots are the stars of “Pacific Rim.”
No summer movie list is complete without an action flick, and Guillermo del Toro’s (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) upcoming monsters vs. humanity movie looks as if it will stand out from the rest. Del Toro is known for his inventiveness, and “Pacific Rim” appears to be no exception, telling the story of humans fighting back against a monster race that emerges from an ocean portal and attacks the earth. How do the humans fight back? Giant mind-controlled robots, of course.
It sounds as if it could easily be a stupid display of special effects self-indulgence—and in fact, del Toro has said the visual aspect of the movie is his main focus. But at the same time, he’s brought in influence from certain Asian animation styles that don’t appear much in America. So while this could be a gloriously stupid feast for our eyes, it won’t be the same kind of stupid we’re used to.
‘Turbo’
A garden snail competes in the Indy 500 in “Turbo.”
Of course, if you do want to see something light, the Dreamworks cartoon “Turbo,” about a snail who gets the gift of super speed, will be arriving in theaters next week. In it, Turbo, a lowly garden snail, gets into a freak accident, and thanks to exposure to chemicals in a car engine, suddenly becomes fast—fast enough to handily outrace his fellow snails and maybe even cars. The logical extreme of this, of course, is that Turbo wants to compete in the Indy 500.
Featuring voice work by Ryan Reynolds (“Green Lantern”), Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”), Maya Rudolph (TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), and others, “Turbo” promises to be a fun summer flick, albeit not the smartest. At the very least, it’s a safe bet for a good movie to see with kids.
‘The To-Do List’
Aubrey Plaza stars in “The To-Do List.”
Surely there are also those who would like to see a comedy this summer, and for this group, I’d recommend “The To-Do List,” which looks like this year’s version of “Bridesmaids.” The movie follows a young woman who, fearing that she lacks sexual and romantic experience as she heads to college, makes a list of all the different things (yes, we’ll call them “things”) she wants to accomplish. It’s a faux-innocent romp that celebrates vulgarity, so it will appeal only to a certain audience, but it looks as if it will succeed at bringing in that audience. With performances from popular comedic talents like Aubrey Plaza (TV’s “Parks and Recreation”), Alia Shawkat (TV’s “Arrested Development”), and Bill Hader (“SNL”), and directed by “Funny or Die” contributor Maggie Carey, “The To-Do List” is shaping up to be a good time for those of us who like our comedies edgy and inappropriate.
Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
