There are two mainstream releases this week. The Lucky One focuses on a male marine who searches for a woman on a photo he finds while on duty in Iraq and believes was his “good luck charm” for keeping him alive. Think Like a Man pits its male and female protagonists against one another as 4 women start using advice in a relationships book to change how the men they’re with behave. When the men find out, they seek their revenge. Both are directed by men and The Lucky One has two men and two women in its top four cast while Think Like a Man has eight men in its top thirteen listed cast.
The Lucky One (USA)
Director: Scott Hicks
Cast: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Jay R. Ferguson and Blythe Danner
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, DiNovi Pictures and Langley Park Productions
Distribution: Warner Bros. Entertainment
Think Like a Man (USA)
Director: Tim Story
Cast: Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence J, Jenifer Lewis, Romany Malco, Gary Owen, Gabrielle Union, Keith Merryman and David A. Newman
Production: Screen Gems and Rainforest Films
Distribution: Sony Pictures Releasing Canada
On limited release this week is a Canadian film which follows a man and woman as they meet and travel up to Northern Canada, I’m Yours. It has a male director and just one woman in its top four listed cast.
I’m Yours (Canada)
Director: Leonard Farlinger
Cast: Rossif Sutherland, Karine Vanasse, Don McKellar and Nicholas Campbell
Production: New Real Films
Distribution: Entertainment One
The Lucky One poster Think Like a Man poster I’m Yours poster
(20 Apr Canada)
The Lucky One trailer (20 Apr Canada)
Think Like a Man trailer (20 Apr Canada)
I’m Yours trailer (20 Apr Canada)
An ensemble cast makes up The Cabin in the Woods with four actresses and four actors in the top eight cast list, and the narrative is primarily driven by one of the female characters.
StreetDance 2, co-directed by a man and a woman, focuses on male dancer, Ash, as he assembles a group of dancers to take on another dance group. The Three Stooges is very much a male-dominated film with two male directors and three male leads. There are three women in its top six listed cast.
Of the top six listed cast in Lockout, only one is female and the narrative focuses on a man’s mission to save the president’s daughter.
The Cabin in the Woods (USA)
Director: Drew Goddard
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker
Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Mutant Enemy and United Artists
Distribution: Alliance Films
Lockout (France)
Director: James Mather and Stephen St. Leger
Cast: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan, Joseph Gilgun and Lennie James
Production: Europa Corp., Canal+ and Ciné+
Distribution: Alliance Films
StreetDance 2 (UK/Germany)
Directors: Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini
Cast: Falk Hentschel, Sofia Boutella, George Sampson and Stephanie Nguyen
Production: Vertigo Films, BBC Films, British Film Institute (BFI), Square One Entertainment, Deutsche Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Film1 and Eagle Pictures
Distribution: E1 Films Canada and Remstar Films (Québec)
The Three Stooges (USA)
Directors: Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
Cast: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson and Sofia Vergara
Production: Wessler Entertainment, C3 Entertainment Inc. and Conundrum Entertainment
Distribution: 20th Century Fox
Another two Canadian films on limited release this week, both directed by men. Hard Core Logo 2 has three actresses in its top six listed cast and Keyhole has two in its top four and its central character is male.
Hard Core Logo 2 (Canada)
Director: Bruce McDonald
Cast: Care Failure, Bruce McDonald, Julian Richings, Shannon Jardine, Sera-Lys McArthur and Adrien Dorval
Production: Foundation Features and Trilight Entertainment
Distribution: Alliance Films
Keyhole (Canada)
Director: Guy Maddin
Cast: Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, Udo Kier and Brooke Palsson
Production: Everyday Pictures and Buffalo Gal Pictures
Distribution: E1 Films Canada
Hard Core Logo 2 trailer (13 Apr Canada)
The Three Stooges trailer (13 Apr Canada)
StreetDance 2 trailer (13 Apr Canada)
Lockout trailer (13 Apr Canada)
