This week’s column talks about upcoming movies from varying genres from biographical to romantic dramedy to animated dramatic science fiction. Kill the Messenger is a real life telling of a reporter, who becomes the target of a smear campaign after he exposes the CIA’s role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Magic in the Moonlight showcases an Englishman brought in to unmask a possible swindle and The Congress is an animated flick about an out-of-work actress, who accepts one last job, but doesn’t think of the consequences. All three motion pictures have tremendous star power behind them, which will no doubt bring in fans of the actor, actresses and even directors of these flicks. In addition, all three have fresh and inventive plots that are sure to pack audiences into their local theaters on each movie’s opening day.
Kill the Messenger is based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb, who in the mid-90s, uncovered and exposed the CIA’s role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Starring The Bourne Legacy’ Jeremy Renner, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paz Vega, Michael Sheen, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, Oliver Platt and Richard Schiff, the movie’s trailer shows how Webb uncovered the government corruption and was then targeted with a smear campaign to discredit him. With riveting performances from the whole cast, the movie shines a light on the drug trade in the mid-90s and how one man shined a light on the problem, but was then under fire. It opens in theaters on Friday, October 10.
Magic in the Moonlight is a romantic dramedy written and directed by Woody Allen. Starring Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Marcia Gay Harden and Hamish Linklater, set in the 1920s in the French Riviera, it tells the tale of an Englishman, who is brought in to uncover a possible scam being perpetrated by a young woman on a wealthy family. The trailer showcases the craziness that ensues as Firth’s character, Stanley, while working to prove that Stone’s character, Sophie’s psychic abilities are fraudulent, ends seeing life in an entirely new light and questioning all he knows in the process. This delightful romp opens in theaters on Friday, July 25.
The Congress is an animated science fiction drama about an out-of-work actress, who takes a job not realizing the consequences in order to save her son. Starring Forrest Gump’s Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, Paul Giamatti, Michael Landes and Frances Fisher, the lines of reality and animation are blurred as Wright plays herself, but has a reputation for being unreliable so no one in Hollywood will hire her. So she sells her digital image for a large sum and the promise that she will never work again. Years later, her image has been turned into “a product,” which Wright isn’t comfortable with and she voices her displeasure. An innovative story with wicked special effects, this movie is sure to pack people in. It opens in theaters on Thursday, July 24.