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Much Ado About Nothing
Who: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese, director Joss Whedon
What: An adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic comedy, set in modern day. Acker plays Beatrice, Denisof is Benedick, Kranz is Claudio, Maher is Don John, Diamond is Don Pedro, Fillion is Dogberry, Gregg is Leonato.
When: October 8th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Despite being one of Shakespeare's popular plays, it appears this is only the second major movie adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, with the first being Kenneth Branagh's version in 1993. Whedon's version is shot in black and white, and would otherwise look like a contemporary New York story, except that the cast's lines are taken directly from Shakespeare's original dialogue. The cast member that most interests me is Nathan Fillion, whom Whedon directed in Firefly and Serenity. After directing The Avengers, Whedon developed the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in which Gregg currently stars. Amy Acker previously starred in Whedon's TV series Dollhouse; she currently appears in the TV series Person of Interest.

Stuck in Love
Who: Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins, Logan Lerman, Nat Wolff, Kristen Bell
What: In this romantic comedy, Kinnear plays a struggling writer who is obsessed with his ex-wife (Connelly) and her younger man. Their daughter (Collins) is a rebellious college student who has trouble in relationships with guys. Kristen Bell's character helps Kinnear get back in the saddle.
When: October 8th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Kinnear has been consistently good throughout his career, and he and Connelly both bring Oscar pedigree to the movie. Collins played Snow White alongside Julia Roberts in Mirror, Mirror, and starred in The Mortal Instruments.

We Steal Secrets
Who: Julian Assange, director Alex Gibney
What: Using available interview footage, documentary director Alex Gibney tells the recent history of whistleblower proponent Julian Assange and the involvement of Wikileaks in US Army analyst Bradley Manning's leak of classified files.
When: October 8th - DVD and online on demand
Why: It's too bad Gibney couldn't get Assange to talk to him for the documentary, but it will still be interesting to see the story compressed into movie length. In addition to covering Eliot Spitzer and Jack Abramoff, Gibney has earned an Oscar nomination for his documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and a win for Taxi to the Dark Side.

What I'm watching for this week:
This week is the first in a long time that I'm actually more interested in a documentary than the scripted movies. We Steal Secrets is an opportunity to get an overview of Wikileaks and revisit the Bradley Manning leak case since news about Edward Snowden has taken its place. Of the scripted shows, Stuck in Love seems to me the most promising as far as acting goes, though it may be just a generic romantic comedy/drama. I might get some argument from Shakespeare fans on that point, but even though I'm a fan of Nathan Fillion, I'm never quite sure about how well Shakespearean dialogue will work in a contemporary setting. Much Ado About Nothing may be good, but I wonder how much that dialogue will keep interrupting my ability to enjoy the movie. The Look of Love is also one that I'm interested in as a history lesson, and I expect a good performance from Steve Coogan. After Earth is the “blockbuster” release this week, but it didn't live up to blockbuster expectations. I'm still interested in it for the special effects and visuals. Home Run isn't my typical choice, and doesn't star anyone that jumps out at me, but some families might find it interesting.


Coming next week:

The Colony, The East, Ingenious, Maniac

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