From Ridley Scott to R&B, Friday’s movies have it all

The two movies that lead Friday's mainstream releases look fairly interesting. "The Counselor," directed by Ridley Scott from an original script by Cormac McCarthy, boasts an all-star cast from Michael Fassbender to Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz to Javier Bardem and Cameron Diaz. But since the film's review were held, that makes me doubt its quality. "Bad Grandpa," on the other hand, is pretty much what it advertises itself as: a "Jackass" production starring Johnny Knoxville in makeup as the dirtiest 86-year-old man ever. The trailer made me laugh, and I hope the movie does, too.

Over at the Magic Lantern, meanwhile, we have two other openings: "Inequality for All" is a documentary, directed by Jacob Kornbluth, focusing on economist/former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich talking about the U.S.'s widening gap between rich and poor. The one film I can recommend without qualification is "Muscle Shoals," another documentary, this one exploring the little Alabama river town that birthed some of the finest music of the mid-20th century.

I'll post a full review of "Muscle Shoals" tomorrow morning. For now, listen to this. Or this. Or even this.