January – April 2011 in Film

After the flood of Oscar-approved movies at the end of the year, the first couple months of each year are notoriously slow for movies. But now that we’re a third of the way through 2011, there have been some pretty interesting releases. Yes, January and February were filled with the usual mainstream dreck, but also a couple of indies that got lost in the shuffle. And through March and April, we saw a mix of a few quality blockbusters and unique smaller films. As always, there have been box office flops and surprise hits. First, here’s a look at the 10 highest grossing films of the year so far (ranked by U.S. box office results):

1. Rango – $120m
2. Hop – $105.6m
3. Rio – $102.8m
4. Just Go With It – $102.8m
5. The Green Hornet – $98.8m
6. Gnomeo and Juliet – $98.8m
7. Fast Five – $98.6m
8. Battle: Los Angeles – $82.8m
9. Limitless – $76.3m
10. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never – $73m

Now, the big player there aside from cartoons is the new release Fast Five, which made almost as much in its first weekend as The Green Hornet did during its entire run. Meanwhile other more “cerebral” wide releases, such as The Adjustment Bureau and Source Code turned in solid but not spectacular box office results.

Here’s a look (in poster form!) at what seem like the most interesting offerings of 2011, so far. I’ve seen a couple of them, and the rest are all on my to-watch list.

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Trailer Round-Up: May 15, 2010

Charlie St. Cloud

I feel like an idiot for being excited for this movie, but I kind of am. Call it Zac Efron fangirl-ism if you want, but I think that Efron’s a surprisingly decent actor. Considering how fun he was in 17 Again, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles a fully dramatic role. By the looks of the trailer, Charlie St. Cloud seems a bit overly sappy, but Efron’s acting isn’t bad, from what I can tell, and it might be a good transition for him into weightier roles. It’s always a good sign when I’m more excited to see a movie after seeing the trailer, and even though it looks rather clichéd, I’m still interested.

Easy A

I loved Emma Stone in films like Superbad, The Rocker, and Zombieland, so it’s great to see her getting her own movie. Easy A looks surprisingly good for a teen comedy, and with Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow, and Thomas Hayden Church in the supporting cast, I’m pretty much sold on this Scarlett Letter-inspired comedy.

Inception (trailer #3)

We’re finally kinda sorta getting some plot information, and it’s great to see all of the major players in the cast pop up in the third trailer for Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated Inception. I’m trying not to build it up to much in my mind, because it’ll be hard for it live up to my expectations, but this trailer is pretty awesome.

The Adjustment Bureau

What starts off as a rote romance film soon adds an interesting twist to the political thriller genre in this trailer for the latest Matt Damon vehicle. Damon and Emily Blunt are great, and The Adjustment Bureau looks like a big, fun film. Glad to see both of these actors making a film like this.

You Again

Kristen Bell is a charming actress, and Betty White, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Sigourney Weaver are always a lot of fun when they pop up in goofy supporting roles. However, this trailer is too manic and clichéd to make me want to see the movie.

Buried

This teaser trailer for Buried barely shows us anything, but it looks like a refreshingly different role for Ryan Reynolds. Definitely intriguing, but I’d like to see more.

Super 8

Again, this shows us barely anything. The train crash on its own isn’t that interesting, but if it’s a J.J. Abrams film (presumably) about aliens, I’m on board.