Three movies due for theatrical release today – “Babylon A.D.,” a PG-13 rated sci-fi film starring Vin Diesel, “College,” an R-rated comedy starring Drake Bell and “Disaster Movie,” a PG-13 parody – were not screened in advance for critics.
However, this is not an out of the ordinary strategy. Studios usually make use of this method for one of these reasons: the films are either disastrous and their distributors want to save them from negative reviews (the most credible explanation) or the productions are too good to be true, thus any criticism would be unjustified (the most implausible explanation).
Anyway, if any of these titles sounds good to you, then you have no other choice than run to the theater and buy a ticket.“Babylon A.D.” is a 20th Century Fox production, starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Melanie Thierry. After receiving a couple of not-so-good reviews, director Mathieu Kassovitz strives to move away from the film that opens on Friday.
He told AMCtv.com in an interview that the sci-fi thriller was “pure violence and stupidity,” bearing a resemblance to “a bad episode of ‘24’,” according to Variety.Mathieu Kassovitz, who also directed “Gothika,” starring Halle Berry, told the same source that the studio made “everything difficult from A to Z.”
Mainly, “Babylon A.D.” portrays Toorop (Vin Diesel) as a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman from Eastern Europe to New York. He progressively discovers that the woman is carrying an organism that can become the next Messiah and everybody wants to obtain it.
“College,” directed by first-time director Deb Hagan and distributed by MGM, presents three high school students who spend their weekend at a college campus, where they go through a lot. Adventures roll on, as they either fall in love or get into trouble. The cast list includes Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell, Ryan Pinkston and Kevin Covais.
“Disaster Movie” is a parody directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and stars Carmen Electra, Kim Kardashian, Matt Lanter and Nicole Parker.
The production distributed by Lionsgate tells the story of several people who try to save themselves from some catastrophes that hit their city.Next week’s Nicholas Cage action movie “Bangkok Dangerous” will not be screened for New York critics either.