Snap Judgement! This Weekend at the Movies!
Orlando

Up

I am quite excited for this film and I am not entirely sure why. I guess the central image of a house floating underneath a huge bunch of balloons is pretty enticing. It seems like Pixar can do no wrong so I am confident that this movie will be thoroughly enjoyable. The premise of the film is that an old man/balloon salesmen takes off on an around-the-world adventure, only to find out an annoying little kid is stowed away on his front porch. I’m assuming what follows is a bunch of funny/exciting twists and turns that the whole family will enjoy. And because it’s Pixar it’s bound to beautifully animated and have some sort of secret message about diversity/acceptance. Delightful!

Grade: A | Playing at The El Capitan

Drag Me to Hell

I hate previews like this one because they always make me feel like a terrifying ghost is standing behind me waiting to murder me. This movie is about a nice lady who works as a loan officer who is forced to tell a borrower that her home is going into foreclosure. The foreclosed upon woman then proceeds to turn into Satan and chases the loan officer around for the rest of the movie. What a timely movie, right? Poor loan officers, it sucks to be you right now. This movie looks totally terrifying, mainly because it looks like it could be a documentary. Scary times we live in.

Grade: A | Playing at Arclight

What Goes Up

Hillary Duff AND Molly Shannon?!? Enough said, this is already my favorite movie of the year. This film centers around a news reporter chosen to write about a deceased professor of some sort. The newsdude goes the college where the professor taught and interviews his students, some of whom are awesome nerds with frizzy hair. Hillary Duff plays some sort of young starlet. If you, like me, are fascinated with Hillary Duff, you have to see this movie. And if you enjoyed Molly Shannon in ‘The Year of the Dog,’ you’ll enjoy her playing a similarly shy/awkward character. With all its star power, the film seems like it could be a little slow, but not ruinously so.

Grade: B+ | Playing at Laemmle Sunset 5