The New Wave: 4/1/11

If sci-fi is your genre of choice, Duncan Jones's nearly flawless 2009 film, Moon, must've been like a breath of fresh air. Now working on a much bigger budget and with a decidedly more mainstream leading man, the question is whether Jones can bring the same level of intelligence to the world of audience pleasing action thrillers. The answer's pretty simple to me: Hell yes.  My review of Source Code can be read here.

If you have any doubts that Hop was made by the people behind Despicable Me, take a gander at all the little yellow chickens trying to pass themselves off as 'Minions'. It's really the only similarity this animated Easter fable has with that far superior film, although on the face of it Hop has an cast which should be a lot of fun. Russell Brand brings his irreverent personality to Easter Bunny, while James Marsden has been on a comedic roll. Throw in guest appearances by Chelsea Handler, Hugh Hefner, and David Hasselhoff poking fun at himself and what's not to like? I'll leave my review to answer that question.

Don't let the spooky kid in the poster fool you. Insidious isn't The Omen and nobody's getting pushed down any steps or anything. Although considering the film is brought to us by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, creators of the ultra violent Saw series, they've been making moves to break away from that reputation for years. With the help of Paranormal Activity director, Oren Peli(on board as a producer), the two are looking to rack your brain rather this time rather than trigger your gag reflex.  Check here for my review of Insidious!

There's been a lot of sweet buzz surrounding this film, despite the annoying title. Most of the credit has gone to writer/director Josh Radnor, who has been writing it throughout his stint on How I Met Your Mother. While Radnor's script is very good, the real praise should go to his strong, funny leading ladies: Zoe Kazan, Kate Mara, and Malin Akerman. All are spectacular. Will happythankyoumoreplease be enough of a crowd pleaser to make us forget the ball that Zach Braff so readily dropped? You can read my review of the film here.

Not a lot of people remember James Gunn's first foray into the world of superheroes, The Specials, which had a fun, quirky cast and a dead weight of a script. There's been a lot more positive to say about Super, which sees Rainn Wilson(The Office) as a regular dude who transforms himself into the world's most oddball vigilante hero, the Crimson Bolt. The trailers and posters(see above) have been silly and a little bizarre. Just the way I like it! Oh, and thumbs up to Ellen Page for her sexy sidekick costume as Crimson Bolt's partner-in-crime, Boltie.

It's good to see Freida Pinto in a movie with some real weight behind it again, especially after last year's Woody Allen fiasco. I'm not sure she was expecting all the controversy that would follow Julian Schnabel's film about Hind Husseini's attempt to establish an orphanage in 1948 Jerusalem. Pinto plays Miral, who leaves the sheltered walls of the orphanage and becomes caught in the middle of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Richardo Darin(The Secret In Their Eyes) stars as an ambulance chasing attorney who falls in love with a doctor trying to save a potential client's life. Chosen as Argentina's entry for Best Foreign Language film at this year's Academy Awards.