The Hunger Games: Mockingjay–Part 1 (Francis Lawrence, USA 2014)

• This promo was actually interesting in that it really wasn’t a trailer. It was maybe one minute long and didn’t even say what it was for. I had to go look up Donald Sutherland after to find it out.
• I’m guessing that the idea is that The Hunger Games is so huge that everyone will recognize it. Maybe I’m the only one who didn’t.
• It looked reasonably interesting until I found out what it actually was–The Hunger Games just doesn’t interest me at all.
• It was kind of interesting that the thing that made it clear that this was a film promo was the presence of Donald “you don’t look as if you’ve ever lived next door to anybody” Sutherland.

When the Game Stands Tall (Thomas Carter, USA 2014)

• Something I forgot to say last time: This is an amazingly bad title.
• I laughed at Caviezel again.

The November Man (Roger Donaldson, USA 2014)

• Doesn’t this look rather familiar? (hint)
• Pierce Brosnan’s post-Bond career has been rather sad–he seems to have spent the entire time chasing the chance to be a watered down version of Bond again.

The Skeleton Twins (Craig Johnson, USA 2014)

• General rule: when there is nothing funny in the trailer for a comedy, it’s a very, very bad sign. Even bad comedies often have a funny moment somewhere.
• The Skeleton Twins is therefore doomed.

The Equalizer (Anton Fuqua, USA 2014)

• Yet another old man vigilante movie.
• However, Denzel Washington.
• And Chloe Grace Moretz . . . damn this one suddenly became interesting.
• Washington Plus Moretz>>>>>>>>>Brosnan
• I assume that “the Equalizer” is like the Punisher’s cousin or something just from the title. Hopefully the movie isn’t as bad as that piece of tripe was.

Wild (Jean-Marc Vallée, USA 2014)

• I still cannot believe Reese Witherspoon is as old as she is–she still looks awfully young.
• Does anyone else find her first name impossible to spell? No matter how many times I look it up, I want to spell it with a “c.”
• It’s funny that even when she’s supposed to be battered and bruised and worn out, Witherspoon is still really pretty. That also does not bode well for the film.
• I still can’t tell what this film is about at all.
• “What if all the things I did are what got me to here?” is one of those lines that sounds deep and then when you think about it at all falls apart and becomes ridiculously stupid. Of course everything you did is what got you there. However, the idea that therefore you should have done everything the way you did doesn’t make sense because maybe you would be in an even better place otherwise.

Annabelle (John R. Leonetti, USA 2014)

• I did not actually see a trailer yet, but there was a poster, so I’m going to start my campaign against this film now.
• Check out this MonsterTalk episode on Ed and Lorraine Warren, featuring the great Joe Nickell and the even greater Steve Novella.
• Perry DeAngelis also wrote a piece about the New England Skeptical Society’s visit to the Warrens long ago.
• It seems obvious that this film, like its predecessor is meant to lionize a couple of rather ridiculous “ghost hunters.” How about we make Hollywood make up their heroes instead of turning people who clearly shouldn’t be heroes into them?

Commercial: M & Ms

• Again, their anti-cell phone ad is the best thing I saw in the theater today. Maybe it’s dumb, but I laugh every time. “Um, why is it still counting down?”

Woody Allen Complaint of the Week

• Magic in the Moonlight is still not playing anywhere here. That is absolutely ridiculous.