US Releases

Zookeeper

Studio – Columbia Pictures (Previous Film: Bad Teacher)

Director - Frank Coraci (Previous Film: Click)

In a nutshell....

The animals at the zoo adore Griffin Keyes, an overweight caretaker, who is amiable but lonely. Thus, he decides to leave the zoo for the good. When the animals realise their caretaker's plan they decide to stop him at any cost. They reveal that they can talk, and now want Griffin to win his girl of dreams, Stephanie.

When it comes to doing comedy, very few can manage to do it as good as Kevin James. Frank Coraci has made some decent comedies which have been liked by people world over. Voices of Sylvester Stallone and Adam Sandler are other super plus points of the film. With so many good things one cannot expect this film to falter at any level. Yet, there is something about Zookeeper that makes me skeptical of its success. First, talking animals is a been there, seen it concept; there isn't anything new about it. Second, obviously this film nowhere nearly seems to be a wondrous comedy, the one that makes it to the top. This film is supposed to be an entertainer and nothing beyond that. Thus, not all may want to put in time and money to watch something that lacks novelty factor. At the box office, Zookeeper will see a good opening and will perhaps manage to become the highest grosser for the weekend among the films releasing along with it. Whether is manages to maintain that, remains to be seen.

Runtime - 104 mins

Genre - Comedy/Romance

Rated - PG

Principal Cast

Kevin James - Griffin Keyes (Last seen in: The Dilemma)

Sylvester Stallone - Joe The Lion (voice) (Last heard in: Antz)

Adam Sandler - Donald The Monkey (voice) (Last heard in: Eight Crazy Nights)

Rosario Dawson – Kate (Last seen in: Unstoppable)

Leslie Bibb - Stephanie (Last seen in: Iron Man 2)

Principal Crew

Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick, David Ronn - Writers

Michael Barrett - Director Of Photography

Scott Hill - Editor

Rupert Gregson-Williams - Music Director

Film’s USP

Cast + Story

Anticipation Level - Second Choice

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Horrible Bosses

Studio – Warner Bros. Pictures (Previous Film: Green Lantern)

Director - Seth Gordon (Previous Film: Four Christmases)

In a nutshell....

Three friends, Nick Hendricks, Dale Arbus and Kurt Buckman, conspire to murder their disrespectful, horrible bosses, Dave Harken, Dr. Julia Harris and Bobby Pellitt, when they realise they are standing in the way of their happiness.

Getting rid of their irritating boss is every employee's dream, and some people do go to any lengths to see their dreams come true. Somewhat similar is the story of this film. With a super star cast and a story relevant to all, Horrible Bosses truly seems to have it all for a super summer comedy. Seth Gordon's only other film, Four Christmases, did not do too well but it seems Horrible Bosses will bring him a lot of success. The trailers are impressive, and there seems to be a mix of all types of humour. This one should do well at the box office, considering the lack of good comedies in recent times.

Runtime - 100 mins

Genre - Comedy

Rated - R

Principal Cast

Kevin Spacey - Dave Harken (Last seen in: Paul)

Jason Bateman - Nick Hendricks (Last seen in: Casino Jack)

Jennifer Aniston - Dr. Julia Harris (Last seen in: Just Go With It)

Charlie Day – Dale Arbus (Last seen in: Going The Distance)

Colin Farrell - Bobby Pellitt (Last seen in: London Boulevard)

Jason Sudeikis - Kurt Buckman (Last seen in: The Bounty Hunter)

Jamie Foxx - Dean 'MF' Jones (Last seen in: Due Date)

Principal Crew

Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein - Writers

David Hennings - Director Of Photography

Peter Teschner - Editor

Christopher Lennertz - Music Director

Film’s USP

Cast

Anticipation Level - Pick Of The Week (POTW)

John Carpenter's The Ward

Studios – Echo Lake Productions, A Bigger Boat (Previous Releases: Joneses, Frozen)
Director - John Carpenter (Previous Work: Ghosts Of Mars)

In a nutshell....

When an old farmhouse is burnt down by Kristen, a distraught young woman, she is taken by the police to a psychiatric hospital. There, she finds herself amongst the company of four girls, who are similarly wayward. Kristen's therapist tries to help her but she does not co-operate. When the ward is locked at night, she notices a shadowy phantom roaming in the halls. Her inquisitive nature leads Kristen to find the truth behind it and she soon realises that nobody gets out of the ward alive.

John Carpenter, the master of horror films, comes after almost a decade with this horror film based on the old school concept of haunted mental institutions. The Ward seems scary and gripping with an all women principal cast. It has all the ingredients of a typical scary film and also has the backing of WB pictures which sure means we can expect a lot from it. However, it got mixed reviews at the time of its US release.

Runtime - 88 mins

Genre - Horror/Thriller

Rated - R

Principal Cast

Lyndsy Fonseca –Iris (Last seen in: Brothers)

Amber Heard – Kristen (Last seen in: Date Night)
Danielle Panabaker – Sarah (Last seen in: Eastern Promises)

Principal Crew

Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen - Writers

Yaron Orbach - Director of Photography
Patrick McMahon – Editor
John Carpenter, Mark Kilian - Music Directors

Film’s USP

The reliving of the horror style of the 80s + John Carpenter

Anticipation Level - Wait For The Reviews