This week’s column is packed with dark images, sinister plots and plenty of action. Characteristically sweet Reese Witherspoon steps out of her acting comfort zone to star in Devil’s Knot, a biographical crime drama about the trial of the West Memphis Three, three teenagers accused of killing three young boys as part of a satanic cult ritual. Mark Whalberg returns in yet another installment of the Transformers saga as the war between the high-tech machines continues in Transformers: Age of Extinction and directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller return with another chapter of their stylized crime thriller series with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For bringing more of the town’s citizens in the path of violence and redemption. All three movies include overly fierce occurrences as well as a good deal of combat. Moviegoers might be surprised to see some of their favorite celebrities in these movies, which aren’t in their usual movie genre. How fans view their performances in such diverse roles remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that their fans will flock to the premieres at their local movie theaters to see how their favorite actors and actresses fare in these atypical roles.
Devil’s Knot is a biographical crime drama based on actual events. It chronicles the trial of the “West Memphis Three,” three teenagers accused of killing three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993 as part of a satanic ritual. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth and Elias Koteas, the trailer shows Witherspoon giving a heartbreaking performance as the mother of one of the murdered boys. Witherspoon, who is usually known for more lighthearted roles, certainly stretches her dramatic acting muscles in this role. Firth does the same as a private investigator in search of the truth. If you’re a fan of movies based on true events, this would be up your alley. It opens in theaters on Friday, May 9.
Director Michael Bay is at it again with the fourth installment in the never-ending battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons in Transformers: Age of Extinction. A sequel to 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, this time around, a ripped Mark Whalberg plays a single father and struggling inventor, who is brought into the war between the robots. The trailer is replete with intense action and mind-blowing special effects. Co-starring the always riveting Stanley Tucci, as a man who wants to build his own Transformers and Kelsey Grammer as a paranoid government official, the film is sure to bring joy to “Transformers” fans both young and old. It hits theaters on Friday, June 27.
Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miler’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is the sequel to their 2011 film Sin City and is based on the second book by Miller. It includes returning cast members from the first film such as Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Roarke and Bruce Willis among others along with newbies like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Piven and Christopher Meloni, among others. The plot is just like the first film showing vignettes of certain characters in violent situations. Fans of the first film will no doubt be eager to see the sequel to see how the returning characters fared and to be introduced to the new ones. Shot again in black-and-white, the stylized shooting of the movie sets it apart as well as its over-the-top violence. It hit theaters on Friday, August 22.