Category: "Box Office"

Hysteria

Hysteria
Hysteria
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Rupert Everett, Jonathan Pryce

No matter what their malady—major or minor—Victorian-era women frequently received a medical diagnosis of “hysterical” (usually followed by a curt wave out the door). We’re not betting that you’ll find this period comedy even close to that, but it does concern a real-life breakthrough of no small interest: the invention of the vibrator. Everett and Dancy perfect their device, designed to treat the aforementioned diagnosis, behind discreet curtains while patients Felicity Jones and Gyllenhaal enjoy the cure. But don’t go in expecting hard-core action—unless you’re a time traveler from the Victorian era.

The Dictator

The Dictator
The Dictator
Sacha Baron Cohen, Megan Fox, Anna Faris

Has Baron Cohen’s shtick jumped the shark? His latest “outrageous” character looks, at first glance, like his weakest: a decades-in-power Arab despot with a skanky beard who rules with an iron fist. This minor-league Hussein comes to America, parades down Fifth Avenue, and antagonizes New Yorkers—expect many terrorism jokes, possibly of the boundary-pushing variety. We have doubts about the comic potential here, but very few misgivings about the supporting cast: The sultry Fox plays a high-priced hooker, and the underrated Faris has a sizable role, too. Crucially, Baron Cohen isn’t duping unwitting civilians into fake interviews this time out. Can he make a scripted story fly?

The Avengers

The Avengers
The Avengers
Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson

All those sneak-peak trailers at the end of the Iron Man movies and Captain America: The First Avenger ? Frankly, they’ve meant bubkes to us. We don’t want to incur the wrath of comic-book fans worldwide, but this elite club of superheroes they’ve been touting is strictly for higher-level geeks, not casual fans of the genre. But The Avengers is finally here, and some of these characters have grown on us: Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is wittier than most action heroes, while Chris Hemsworth’s Thor turned out to be unexpectedly likable for a Nordic lunkhead. But all eyes will be on Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner (he’s the third actor to fill the role in nine years), Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Johansson’s sultry Black Widow. The studio is hoping they’ll help draw the nongeek vote, and put this blockbuster combo-platter over the top at the box office.

The Raven

The Raven
The Raven
John Cusack, Brendan Gleeson, Alice Eve

Unlikely source aside, spirits are high for this action-thriller based (extremely loosely) on the final days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life in Baltimore. A serial killer is on the loose, committing atrocities inspired by the fictional works of the famed author, who is enlisted by the local constable to help track him down. As the unwitting impetus for the murders, and the inventor of the detective novel, Poe is uniquely suited to the task. Director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) is due for a smart breakthrough, and the casting of Cusack as the hyper-verbal hero is spot-on.

Marley

Marley
Marley
Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley

Still a fixture on dorm-room posters across the country, reggae legend Bob Marley desperately needs a reevaluation as more than just a happy herbsman. (You could even say it’s high time.) After directors Martin Scorsese and Jonathan Demme abandoned the task, Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) finished it: His lengthy, two-hours-plus documentary is being called “definitive.” Heavy on the Jamaican icon’s politics, the film touches on his occasionally naive strain of activism, along with his cultivation of a rapt, global audience. Naturally, the music sounds as vital as ever. Put this in your pipe and smoke it: Marley might have been the most important artist of the 1970s.

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