Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
featuring the voices of: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson, Kevin McKidd
written by: Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi
directed by: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
MPAA: Rated PG for some scary action and rude humor
In the dystopian romantic comedy Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Steve Carell and Keira Knightley star as Dodge and Penny, two strangers in the same apartment building who unexpectedly find themselves becoming close companions for the final few weeks of Earth’s existence. As the film begins, we learn that the final effort to stop a massive asteroid hurtling toward Earth has failed, meaning that the apocalypse is imminent. While everyone around him chooses to celebrate with drug-fueled orgies and looting, Dodge would rather mope in private. But then he meets the exuberant Penny, who lives just below him and has been getting his mail for years. When a dangerous riot imperils their building, Dodge and Penny embark on a road trip across a bizarro end-of-days landscape, searching for one last connection with whatever had been meaningful to them in their lives. This delightfully imaginative film comes to us from writer/director Lorene Scafaria.
starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Akerman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Paul Giamatti, Bryan Cranston
written by: Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo, Allan Loeb
directed by: Adam Shankman
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, suggestive dancing, some heavy drinking, and language
starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Guy Pearce
written by: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof
directed by: Ridley Scott
MPAA: Rated R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language
starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban
written by: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
directed by: Wes Anderson
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content and smoking
starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Nick Frost, Toby Jones
written by: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini
directed by: Rupert Sanders
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality
Continue reading “Film Review: “Snow White and the Huntsman””
starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson
written by: Etan Cohen
directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content
starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Rodrigo Santoro, Ben Falcone, Chace Crawford, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker, Rebel Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock
written by: Shauna Cross and Heather Hach
directed by: Kirk Jones
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic elements and language
Continue reading “Film Review: “What to Expect When You’re Expecting””
starring: Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, Liam Neeson
written by: Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber
directed by: Peter Berg
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, action and destruction, and for language
starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley
written by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer
directed by: Larry Charles
MPAA: Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, brief male nudity, language and some violent images