Hang on to your cliches folks! Men in Black III is sure to challenge them all and include a few that left at the end of last decade, like any reference to Andy Warhol, free love, televisions, record players. If giving Scientology money isn’t your bag, check out Orin Peli’s new horror flick, one guaranteed to keep you from planning that trip to Russia, or you can stop in to Wes Anderson’s newest, most likely tinted yellow, mordantly ironic film, Moonrise Kingdom.
Men in Black III: How does one follow up a decent film? Make a crappy sequel: Men in Black 2. How does one follow up a crappy sequel too stuck on trying to make things look visually impressive that it forgot totally about the script and chose to pander to the eight-year olds in the audience who will press their parents to take them to the local Burger King / McDonalds for the newest figurine that vaguely resembles a tidbit of the movie? Release a third installment that was purportedly filmed without a script, for the most part. Seemingly, this film doesn’t need a script. It writes itself, or, at least, poaches on its own. This time, J (Smith) is heading back to 1969 to unravel a mystery that centers on time travel and pits K (Tommy Lee Jones) at the center of it all. Enter Josh Brolin as a young K, insert some references to “getting high” that turn out to be literal, insert Andy Warhol, and you’re good to go. I just hope they remember to include the Manson Murders, the height of the Vietnam War, the Weather Underground, and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy in this two hour expose on the death rattle of the decade of love.
Chernobyl Diaries: It’s from Orin Peli, so it could be decent. At the same time, I wonder why any logical group of people would visit Prypiat, the former home to the workers of Chernobyl. If nothing else, you’ve got to give it to Peli for doing his homework. In 1970, Prypiat was given to the workers of Chernobyl, but was abandoned in 1986 after the disaster. As of 2012, it’s still mostly abandoned, except for the random squatter, and most of the buildings are dilapidated. Thus, I wonder once again why any group of tourists would go through this city – only to find that they’re not alone.
Moonrise Kingdom: I want to see this, but Wes Anderson is hit or miss for me. Truthfully, this looks solidly funny, but so did The Royal Tenenbaums, yet I’m still not sure why people feel that movie is so good. I find it rather viscous and one dimensional. The characters are cutouts, which is my only fear for this film about young lovers who flee their town, prompting a search party to form and seek them out. The cast is stunning, so I can’t imagine the acting will be less than solid, though I fear a coming of age tale with nostalgic childhood memories permeating the second and third acts. I’m really hoping I’m wrong.
