Reel News: Week of Oct. 14 — Escape Plan, Carrie, The Fifth Estate, The Heat, Pacific Rim

Upcoming Theatrical Releases

Escape Plan
Director: Mikael Håfstrom
R; 116 mins.
Trailer

One of the world’s foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called “The Tomb.” Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built. ESCAPE PLAN is the first pairing of action legends Sylvester Stallone and ArnoldSchwarzenegger in leading roles, and co-stars Jim Caviezel, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio and Amy Ryan. (Synopsis by Summit)

Schwarzenegger is enjoyable, but Stallone is barely even phoning it in. This one is fun enough, but it doesn’t capture the genre the way “The Expendables” does. Save your money.

Carrie
Director: Kimberly Peirce
R; 100 mins.
Trailer

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother (Julianne Moore), who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, Carrie is directed by Kimberly Peirce with a screenplay by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. (Synopsis by Sony)

Warning flag: “reimagining.” The trailer looks ok, but this isn’t getting screened prior to its release—a second warning flag. Julianne Moore adds some clout. If you are willing to gamble on the price of a ticket, you could probably do worse this horror season.

The Fifth Estate
Director: Bill Condon and R.J. Cutler
R; 124 mins.
Trailer

Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a dramatic thriller based on real events, “The Fifth Estate” reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization. The story begins as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team up to become underground watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society-and what are the costs of exposing them? (Synopsis by Disney)

When the guy your movie is about absolutely lambasts it, you probably aren’t in for a good run. Then again, everyone (except Michael Oher) seemed to enjoy “The Blind Side.” This is a pretty generic thriller that only works on the strength of Cumberbatch’s performance. DVD worthy.

Upcoming DVD Releases

The Heat
Director: Paul Feig
R; 116 mins.
Trailer

Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) and foul-mouthed Boston cop Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) couldn’t be more incompatible. But when they join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies. From Paul Feig, director of “Bridesmaids.” (Synopsis by Fox)

This is a slight twist on the buddy-cop movie whose laughs just manage to push it up to “average.” Fans of “Bridesmaids” will find a few laughs, but this isn’t nearly as strong a movie.

Pacific Rim
Director: Guillermo del Toro
PG-13; 131 mins.
Trailer

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse. (Synopsis by Warner Bros.)

Previously reviewed by The Dagger.