Scream 4

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When Sidney (Neve Campbell) returns to her home town after 15 years, Ghostface Killer (the serial killer, not the rapper) decides to go on his first killing spree since the last time she was in town.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Marielle Jaffe, Marley Shelton, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Erik Knudsen, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Alison Brie, Mary McDonnell, Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Aimee Teegarden, Brittany Robertson, Heather Graham

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's not bad. It's not good. It's just a completely unnecessary addition to your film repertoire. Especially if you've seen the other films in this series, because this one adds pretty much nothing to the party.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: How many Meta-jokes can one movie make? This movie attempts to determine that with the answer: All of them. Even the ones that have already been made in Screams 1, 2, & 3.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: You could feel sad for Courtney Cox and David Arquette who play a married couple in the movie, while playing a divorcing couple in real life. Their animosity towards each other really comes across on the screen.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Flashback to the 90s Award. You feel like you're right back in it, since nothing in this town or this franchise has evolved or been updated since then.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Emma Roberts hits a false note when she yells at Neve Campbell in a climactic scene, but then redeems herself with a short but perfectly nuanced performance in the following scene, in the hospital.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Remember when they remade Psycho shot for shot, and all anybody had to say was, "Why bother to remake it if you're just going to do the exact same movie with younger actors?" Well, that's exactly how you feel watching this movie. Only this time, it's unintentional... I don't know which is worse.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The "Why done it?" re-iterates how totally unjustified this killing spree actually is, and leaves you even more confused about why this particular character would have the capacity to kill anyone. The only redeeming part of the story is the ending after the ending, which at least tries something new, and then ruins it with a line of dialogue that suggests that you should never try anything new.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

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A: Scream 4 Trailer

In a Better World

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Two outcast school boys (William Johnk Juels Nielsen & Markus Rygaard) begin to retaliate against the violence and injustice of their assaulters and it goes too far.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, William Johnk Juels Nielsen, Markus Rygaard, Bodil Jorgensen, Toke Lars Bjarke, Simon Maafaard Holm, Odiege Matthew, Elsebeth Steentoft, Anette Stovelbek, Kim Bodnia, Martin Buch

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. As is the case with most of Susanne Bier's films, you have to have a strong stomach and a fair amount of patience to endure it, but if you can, you will find you have a lot of respect for how angry she makes you feel.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Susanne Bier doesn't believe in humor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Cry for a better world maybe. But mostly, it will inspire you not to have children, because they are the ones who will have to live in this one.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: I predict that it will win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, last year.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If the Academy really felt compelled to nominate kids for acting awards, these are the ones they should've nominated. Both Markus Rygaard and William Johnk Juels Nielsen blow Hailee Steinfeld out of the water. And if their characters had met her in a swimming pool, they probably would've done it literally.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Susanne Bier is one of the original Dogme 95 crew, and 16 years since that Danish filmmaking philosophy was founded, she hasn't seemed to veer too much from it. Some of the rules she still follows are: shooting solely on location and hand held. One of the rules she no longer follows is: The director must not be credited.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Intense, vicious, and true to how quickly sorrow, depression and desperation can turn even the most average of us into destructive psychopaths.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: In a Better World Trailer

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Limitless

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A loser writer (Bradley Cooper) discovers a drug that gives him heightened brain activity as well as the ability to recall any and all information he has ever been exposed to from his entire life. Unfortunately, once you take the drug, you can't stop taking it or your body will deteriorate and you will die. Oh, and there's an extremely limited amount of it going around.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth, Tomas Arana, Darren Goldstein, Ned Eisenberg

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! Talk about life or death stakes...

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Cocky people are funny... so long as they aren't the star of your hit sitcom.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Cocky people are also sad, because what goes up must come down. But I don't like to think about that, because it defies my medication-induced optimism. And medications are too expensive to defy.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This deserves an Academy Award for Directing, but will most certainly be overlooked. Why it will be overlooked? Because it's early in the year and at first glance it seems like standard Hollywood fare. Why it deserves it? Because a director's job is to get you inside the mind of the story, and by the time I walked out of the theater, I felt like I had taken NZT.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Like the directing, Bradley Cooper's performance seems straight forward enough, but in fact demonstrates incredible nuance, as he seamlessly switches between a dangerous, know-it-all, drug-induced pit bull and a weak, insecure, natural lamb. And it's not just the intensified lighting of his frighteningly blue eyes.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: At first all the special effects felt a little gimmicky, to me. But once I realized that I was completely riveted by a scene where Bradley Cooper cleans up his apartment, I knew that I had been a fool to mistrust this director's instincts. Team Neil Burger, all the way to the Oscars!

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Leslie Dixon presents interesting twists in such a way that you get to feel smart, because you know what's going on without being told. I love feeling smart. Which is why I've gotta get my hands on some of that NZT... And if that's not available, maybe I could get me a dose of that Charlie Sheen. From what I can tell, the effect of either drug is about the same.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Limitless Trailer

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True Grit

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge the murder of her father, so she hires a ruthless Marshall (Jeff Bridges) and they accidentally team up with a cocky Texas Ranger (Matt Damon), on their hunt through the wild west, to find an inconsequential criminal (Josh Brolin).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Jarlath Conroy, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Marvel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. Contrary to popular belief, this movie isn't for everyone. It's for people who love Westerns, and/or people who love the Coen Brothers. Note: I said "love," not "like."

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I'm pretty sure Jeff Bridges said a lot of funny things, but he mumbles so much that without closed captioning, you won't understand any of them.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The number one problem with this film is that you don't care about anybody. They're all cold hearted jerks, including the kid, so I dare you to find someone to cry for.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Cinematography is award-worthy. The remainder of the buzz is poppycock.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Hailee Steinfeld is good for a 14-year-old, but completely average for a person of normal-age. Let's not start giving out awards to people just for being young-- that would only aggravate the problem. Jeff Bridges is incomprehensible. And right when you think you've understood just about as little as you can understand, Matt Damon gets his tongue mangled, so that he can't articulate anymore either. Regardless of all that, the actors seem to struggle severely throughout due to the absence of their beloved contractions... Turns out, it's not so easy for even the most professional of them to sound natural when saying things like, "I will do it," when inside they're clearly dying to say, "I'll do it."

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I've never had anything bad to say about the Coens as directors, and I doubt I ever will, but this, their most profitable film ever, has much less of their signature style in it, and aside from the final shot of a woman in black walking away from us, none of the shots in this film stand out as particularly memorable.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Aside from making the lead character a smart-talking 14-year-old girl, the story line seems particularly unoriginal. And the fact that it's a remake makes the whole 14-year-old girl idea not so original either. The dialogue is clever, though, if you're able to understand it.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Sorry for my assessment on this one. Feel free to yell at me in the comments section about all the reasons this movie is brilliant.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: True Grit Trailer

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