In Theaters: November 28th, 2014

There are TWO wide releases this weekend . . . and because it's a Holiday weekend they are actually BOTH coming out on Wednesday.  So the title should actually read "In Theaters: November 26th, 2014."  But we don't care enough to change it.

Horrible Bosses 2 (Wednesday Release)

I was living under a rock when the first Horrible Bosses came out so I had to watch the trailers for both of them to know what I was talking about.  I just did that.

This one is a comedy about three entrepreneurs who get themselves into financial trouble when they invest half a million dollars to fill an order and the order is then cancelled.  In the previous film they resorted to murder to solve their problems so expect similar ideas for solutions to float around in this one.

Writer/director Sean Anders is known for a variety of other raunchy R-rated comedies - with the notable exception of the first Horrible Bosses.  So even if you liked the first one, proceed with caution.

Horrible Bosses 2 is rated R for strong crude sexual content and language throughout.

Penguins of Madagascar (Wednesday Release)

I have never seen a Madagascar movie all the way through.  I'm pretty confident there are three of them . . . checking . . . okay yes there are three of them and I've never seen one.  But from the parts I have seen these penguin characters are the funniest and most interesting characters to watch.  For some reason I am completely willing to believe this movie would be pretty enjoyable!

Benedict Cumberbatch is in it, for all you Benny Batch fanatics.

It will be far more family friendly than Horrible Bosses 2 anyway, that's for sure.  I think it looks good.  Maybe I'll sneak off to the movies this weekend and see it.

Penguins of Madagascar is rated PG for mild action and some rude humor.

UPDATE: Last weekend I actually did sneak off to see Mockingjay and I liked it!

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: November 21st, 2014

There is only ONE wide release this weekend - but I wouldn't be surprised if it made a billion dollars worldwide in its theatrical run.  No joke.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

For those of you who don't know what this is all about (read: for those of you who were born on Mars) The Hunger Games is a trilogy of books that were (are) wildly popular YA novels.  The first one was adapted and released in March 2012 as a feature film starring (then fairly unknown) Jennifer Lawrence.  Fans loved her.  Critics loved her.  It worked out.

Anyway the second movie came out a year ago (to even more success) and now it's time for round three.  Er . . . you know, part one of round three.  Because for some reason it's basically a rule now that if you're adapting the last book in a popular franchise you split it into two movies (Peter Jackson misunderstood this memo and accidentally made three Hobbit movies - oops).

Catching Fire, the second Hunger Games movie, very nearly made one billion dollars worldwide.  Less than twenty movies have ever done that.  Suffice it to say that expectations are justifiably high for this movie!  I myself might just sneak over to the movie theater this weekend.

It almost goes without saying, but there is another reason to see this movie.  Her name is Jennifer Lawrence.

She's a babe.  I rest my case.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: November 14th, 2014

There are TWO wide releases this weekend.

Beyond the Lights

The main character is a singer who becomes a pop star and struggles through the expectations placed on her by her manager and her fans.  Because, you know, having enormous amounts of money is obviously very difficult.  It gets to the point where she attempts suicide but is saved by a police officer.  They fall in love.  Surprised?  Neither are we.  But then he has trouble understanding how to fit into her world and what he can do to help her through it all.

So, basically, it's a movie about serious emotional issues and serious communication issues.  How dramatic!

I was poking around for something to make fun of about this movie and I found a couple things.  I love that all the promotional material says "from the writer and director of Love & Basketball."  It might just as well say "from the writer and director of another movie that nobody cares about."  Also, the main character is played by a woman called Gugu Mbatha-Raw.  I'm not 100% sure, but I believe she was named after a villain from a cartoon show in the 80's.

Beyond the Lights is rated PG-13 for sexual content including suggestive gestures, partial nudity, language and thematic elements.

Dumb and Dumber To

If I tell you people have been waiting a long time for Interstellar (as I did last week) then I'm not sure what I can tell you about this.  It's been twenty years since the original.

I recommend we completely ignore 2003's Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.  Other than this paragraph we will do so.

For those of you who don't know (nobody) Dumb & Dumber came out in 1994 and it was simply about two idiots making their way through life.  It was pretty funny.  When I say "pretty funny" I mean one out of every two guys you ask to list their favorite comedies will mention Dumb & Dumber.  Can they do it again?  Maybe.  The only twenty-years-later sequel with the original creative team that I can think of off-hand was . . .

. . . not well loved.  People hated it.  A lot.

I say Dumb and Dumber To could work.  Anyway they get bonus points for their posters that parody the Lucy poster from earlier this year.

Lucy poster

one of the Dumb and Dumber To parody posters

Dumb and Dumber To is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, partial nudity, and some drug references.

      Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: November 7th, 2014

There are only TWO wide releases this weekend.  Sorry I'm late!

Big Hero 6

This one is a little interesting.  Big Hero 6 is a Marvel property but it is not in the same Marvel universe as the Avengers and Spider-Man and all those guys.  I believe it was just a one off thing.

This is from the same team as Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Frozen.  So that's good.

Other than that the early reviews are in and are generally positive!  They say it's solid.

Big Hero 6 is rated PG for action and peril, some rude humor, and thematic elements.

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan's latest.   A lot of people have been waiting a long time for this one.  Including me!

Basically there's some kind of problem with Earth that we can't fix so we send, like, five people into space . . . for some reason.  The trailers never say it outright, but it is generally believed that they go to space to find a new home for humanity.  Maybe the rest of us are packed away in a suitcase on board, I don't know.

This is the first time since July 11th that EVERY release is one that I would personally want to see!  Cool.

Interstellar is rated PG-13 for some intense perilous action and brief strong language.

      Big Shot Critic