New in Theaters September 07: The Words and The Cold Light of Day
By Chris Kavan - 09/06/12 at 03:00 PM CT
Last Labor Day weekend, a typically slow week for movies, the horror film The Possession managed to snag the top spot over the star-packed Lawless. It's been a bit slow the last few weeks and I have a feeling this weekend will be no different. Though there are two new films premiering, I don't think either one is going to make a significant impact at the box office and The Possession, though it's a horror film in its second week, could still wind up, if not on top, than certainly still near that position.
Bradley Cooper has proved he can be successful in many roles: he has managed comedy well in the two Hangover films and has tackled action in the A-Team and Limitless. But The Words is yet another way for Cooper to improve his credentials. A drama/thriller about a successful author who finds out the cost of taking credit for another man's work. The well-rounded cast also includes Dennis Quaid, Jeremy Irons, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde and J.K. Simmons. I would be willing to watch this just to see how Cooper handles a more serious role. He looks to once again play a well-known character: ambitious, arrogant and probably stylish as well. Yet he plays that character so well, I hope he can pull off yet another facet of that archetype. With Cooper at the helm, this has the best chance of unseating The Possession - it will come down to what audiences feel in the mood for this weekend.
The week's other new entry is The Cold Light of Day. Despite featuring some heavy-hitting action stars in the form of Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, I admit I've seen and heard very little about this movie. Henry Cavill is the lead who finds out his parents are involved in something other than family affairs when they are kidnapped and the culprits are intelligence agents after a briefcase. I have a sneaking suspicion this is going to wind up like a hundred other generic espionage/action films and that it will have very middling success with audiences. I guess there's a reason they're releasing it in September. I predict a short run with hopes pinned on more robust DVD sales.
It will probably wind up as another rather slow weekend. And it's not looking like we're going to break this trend for at least a couple more weeks. I'll be back on Sunday to see how the new movies fare.
