Weekend Flix Picks : Time Travel, Monsters, and One Really Deep Hole

   It's that time again. The weekend is here, and with it comes new movies in your local cineplex. I know what I'm seeing (LOOPER), but you may want more options. So, for your consideration, I present the following:

LOOPER

   I've been looking forward to this ever since I heard of it. I first became aware of director Rian Johnson back when BRICK came out. I still haven't seen all of that film for some reason, but I have watched the hell out of THE BROTHERS BLOOM, his con man film starring Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody. This time around, he turns his lens onto the subject of time travel and from the looks of it, he has made a movie that people will be talking about for years to come.

   In it, Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a hit man who executes people sent back to him from the future. Bruce Willis plays his future self that gets sent back in time to be executed by his younger self. All doesn't go well, however, and Willis runs - which is a big no-no.

  One of the big things about this film that has drawn attention is the crazy makeup that Levitt dons to look like a younger Willis. Some have even said that it looks too distracting, but I think that when people see the film they will soon forget how distracted they are and just enjoy what promises to be a hell of a thrill ride. If Rian Johnson's writing is as top notch as in his previous efforts, I have no doubt that LOOPER will be fantastic. 

THE HOLE

   Back in the 80's there were a ton of films that promised horror movie tropes softened down a bit for younger filmgoers. One of the big ones for me was GREMLINS, directed by Joe Dante. Dante went further with that rarely tapped genre with his weird TV show EERIE, INDIANA, and his 90's film SMALL SOLDIERS. Now, Dante has directed a film that features a couple of brothers discovering a hole in their basement that leads straight to hell.

   THE HOLE came out a while back overseas, but, for some reason, it's taken a while to make it to domestic theaters. The trailer looks genuinely creepy in places, and I, for one, welcome a new flick from one of my childhood's favorite filmmakers.

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

   My third choice this week is another movie for the little ones, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA. I ignored this film entirely until a few days ago when I found out it was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the man behind DEXTER'S LABORATORY, SAMURAI JACK, and the 2D CLONE WARS that came ou tbetween episodes 2 and 3 in the STAR WARS prequel trilogy.

   The film features a bunch of big name voices, with Adam Sandler as Dracula and Kevin James as Frankenstein - among others. This may be just another CG kidfest, but it might be a good way to introduce your own little geeks to those classic monsters of old. Hell, maybe they'll want to watch that new UNIVERSAL MONSTERS Blu Ray set with you when that hits October 2nd.

   Well, that's all for this week. Have fun at the movies!