The Memorial Day weekend is upon us (seriously, the time flies!) and it is the official start of summer in many circles. The weekend movie preview is chock full of fantastic film ideas to beat the summer heat. The Hangover Part III closes out the series while Fast and Furious 6 increases the speed of the franchise. Something arrives for the kids in the form of the animated Epic and in limited release (before going wide June 14)... Before Midnight romances.
Fast and Furious 6: We're off to the races again and this time out, the series may have its best film. As we state in our Fast and Furious 6 review, the movie combines all the elements of the previous five films and puts it all out there while simultaneously amping up the action (if that's even possible!). Dwayne Johnson returns as Federal Agent Hobbs and in the sixth installment of the racing series, he needs the help of the crew led by Dom (Vin Diesel). With the promise of a full pardon, the gang jumps at the opportunity and we are off and running.
The Hangover Part III: The third film in The Hangover franchise proves that three times is not always a charm. Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha return to Las Vegas -- where it all began -- to close out the series. John Goodman joins the series as a gangster hell bent on getting Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) to pay for how he ripped him off. The only thing is... he needs The Wolfpack to get Chow. As we report in our The Hangover Part III review, this is more of an action and a crime caper movie than comedy.
Epic: The sole movie out there for kids this weekend arrives in the form of 20th Century Fox's Epic. The film is from the creators of Ice Age and it could not be more different in feel and in story. The focus is still around Earthy issues, but this movie follows the battle for the heart of the forest. The vocal cast is astounding including Colin Farrell, Jason Sudeikis, Aziz Ansari and Amanda Seyfried. Our Epic review finds the film perfect for kids, but adults may find it a bit tired.
Before Midnight: Director Richard Linklater and stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy co-wrote the screenplay to this third in the "Before" series and they saved the best for last, as we reported in our Before Midnight review. The duo who fell in love on that Paris train is older and more mature, but still full of conversational vive. The flick only opens in a few markets before opening large on June 14.
