It all looks good on paper. A choice between space-horror, a hungry shark and the Queen hunting down Nazi war criminals. Now tell me that doesn’t sound like a good night out…
The Debt
Helen Mirren stars as one of three Israeli spies who were on a mission to kill Nazi war criminals in the 1960s. But their mission wasn’t entirely finished and thirty years later, the triad must come together to finish what they started. It’s shot like an episode of Cold Case, in that two different sets of actors portray the same characters decades apart and therefore don’t look anything alike. So you get three younger stars, including Jessica Chastain (in the Mirren role), and Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas as her younger compatriots, while the older generation is played by Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds. It’s got murder, mystery, mayhem—and Nazis. Perfect late summer spy flick fare.
Perfect for: Fans of the Bourne series and those of us who would be quite happy watching Helen Mirren read the phone book.
What the Critics Say: They think it’s really deep for a spy movie. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly writes that the movie “toggles between two eras in a busy, satisfying way.” Meanwhile Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers says the “Nazi-hunting thriller deepens into a meditation on conscience.”
Our take: Helen Mirren vs bad guys =yes.
Apollo 18
The trailer makes it look like a cross between The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and 28 Days Later. That is to say it’s a spooky, monster zombie horror movie set in space. The premise is based on an urban legend: two astronauts embark on a secret NASA mission to the moon, but during their time in the sky, they find the smashed helmet of a presumably dead Russian astronaut and realize that something else is out there.
Perfect For: Fans of sci-fi, horror, mysteries and audio scare films shot shaky cam-style.
What the Critics Say: Nothing so far. Not a peep. Either the movie is too scary-good to be shown to the critics pre-release, or too scary-bad.
Our Take: Seems intriguing, but don’t blame us if you see it and want those two hours back.
Shark Night 3D
The end of summer horror movie. A bunch of young, good looking 20-somethings who want to get one last good weekend party by the lake under their belt before they have to go back to the real world, but guess what, that salt water lake has a shark! And it’s eating everyone alive! In 3D! Um, what?
Perfect For: People who have no memory of Jaws; people who like watching beautiful half naked young men and women die crazy deaths in a horror movie.
What the Critics Say: Critics don’t watch this stuff. They know you will see it no matter what they say.
Our Take: Please, for the love of cinema, rent Jaws. Even Jaws II. They’ll both make you whimper like a baby and never want to swim in the ocean again.
