Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).
Movies
Pete’s Dragon
Loren: I’m bummed I don’t really care to see this. I don’t remember being all that into the original animated feature. Maybe I’ll check it out streaming.
RDT: Good reviews will keep this on my radar, but I don’t feel the need to rush out to see it in theaters.
Rick: Like Jen and RDT mention, the reviews are glowing, but unless I have a desperate need to wait out traffic after work I’ll skip this in theaters.
Jen: This trailer didn’t particularly grab me but the reviews are pretty stellar. Not sure this will draw me in, but if there’s great word of mouth I’ll watch it in three years on whatever the equivalent of streaming is then.
Sausage Party
Loren: I like the other things this team has done, and the concept is funny enough. It’s another one I’m not rushing out to see in the theater but I’ll see it eventually. Also, this is going to backfire somewhere, where a parent brings their kids to this. That’s for sure going to happen.
RDT: This looks funny, but not $15 funny. More like $1.50 funny. Or streaming funny.
Rick: I enjoy me the occasional raunchy comedy, but I’m not in a terrible rush to see this. It feels like a rental to me.
Jen: 1. Loren – did you not hear about them accidentally putting this trailer before Finding Dory and freaking out a bunch of kids? Yep, that really happened. 2. Shouldn’t this be a Funny or Die segment rather than a feature?
Florence Foster Jenkins
Loren: Nah.
RDT: I am definitely intrigued by this. It looks kind of cutesy (not necessarily a bad thing in this case). But I don’t feel the need to see it in the theaters.
Rick: It’s not much of a stretch to say that Meryl Streep is the best actress of her generation. Had you put anyone else in the starring role of this story I’d have been less inclined to see it. But Meryl is pretty magical and, based on early word, this is some of Hugh Grant’s best work. I’m in.
Jen: Wolowitz! No one is talking about Wolowitz playing, um, someone other than Wolowitz. This looks uplifting and funny enough to watch on my couch when Streep’s billionth Oscar nom is announced.
Blood Father
Loren: Mel Gibson is Tattooed Taken. This could be a fun action movie but it looks a little too clichéd. Like it’s a greatest hits movie or something.
RDT: Man, do I miss Mel Gibson. Based on that trailer, I don’t quite think this is the movie that’ll get him out of movie jail. And, really, maybe he still deserves to be in there (I mean, he said some absolutely abhorrent stuff and it’s hard to separate him, the actor, from him, the guy that said all that stuff, drunk or not). What does that have to do with this movie? Well, Mel Gibson is in it. Other than that, I got nothing.
Rick: The revenge movie genre is one of my absolute favorites, and this trailer speaks to all of my sensibilities. I have a hard time separating the art from the artist when it comes to Gibson, however. I have seen movies he’s been in since he had his meltdown, but the reality of his actions were always in the back of my mind and kind of tainted the experience. I will probably still see this down the line, but I doubt I’ll be any closer to compartmentalizing Gibson’s history from his onscreen character.
Jen: This is a total B-movie. That’s not a bad thing, just an observation. I’m still unable to watch Mel Gibson and separate his personal issues with his onscreen persona. I wish I could, but I guess I’m just not there yet.
Hell or High Water
Loren: I was all ready to make a joke how this was just a continuation of the last trailer but then it really picked up. This has a great cast and kinda feels like a Texas version of The Town. On the list it goes.
RDT: A trailer that opens with a classic “That’s what she said.” bit? That’s something I can get behind (which, coincidentally, is also what she said). Seriously though, I like that Chris Pine goes outside the box a bit when he’s not Kirk’ing it up. The rest of the cast is pretty stellar, too. And I love a good crime thriller. Considering it’s currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d say this counts. I was gonna wait for streaming, but maybe I’ll have the strangest double-feature ever and catch this and Don’t Think Twice this weekend.
Rick: I’m already making room in my schedule to see this. Side note to RDT: Even if you don’t see Hell or High Water, you (and everyone else) should check out Don’t Think Twice. It’s pretty well done. (Already have it on the agenda for the weekend. –RDT)
Jen: This has a strong No Country For Old Men vibe. I could be down for mustachio-ed Chris Pine. Who can deny the awesome power of a 100% Tomatometer rating?
Anthropoid
Loren: Any movie about Nazi hunters is ok in my book. That reminds me, Rick! Nazi Hunter Movie Night!
RDT: While this seems a relatively unique take on a WW2 movie, I’m still a little burnt out on them. Maybe streaming.
Rick: I could put a good night of Nazi hunter movies together. Off the top of my head I’d say 1974’s The Night Porter and Atom Egoyan’s Remember, which came out earlier this year. That aside, I’m not sure that title is going to bring in the crowds (it kind of sounds like a cheap 80s sci-fi movie directed by Charles Band), but I’ll check this one out.
Jen: They’re all SO attractive, is that part of the plot or just Hollywood-ing up an actual event?
Operation Chromite
Loren: It’s not often that we get movies about the Korean War here in the states. This looks, I don’t know, interesting? It seems a little too action movie for it to be about a true story.
RDT: That trailer just didn’t resonate with me. It’s looks like action movie propaganda. Liam Neeson’s presence elevates it somewhat, but not enough to get me to see it.
Rick: 90% of the footage in that trailer looked like it was shot on a green screen stage. I’m not saying that makes it bad, it just doesn’t inspire confidence. I think I’d rather watch a History Channel special on the subject. The History Channel stills makes shows about history, right?
Jen: This sure is a war movie. Liam Neeson as McArthur is good casting, but I really can’t imagine myself ever seeing this.
Edge of Winter
Loren: I don’t really know what to say about this. It looks like an interesting thriller about a guy that’ll do anything to keep his family together. It has Tom Holland which is good, but it also has Rick Flagg which is not. So, maybe?
RDT: Loren, I enjoy that you referred to Tom Holland (aka the new Spider-Man) by actual name, but Joel Kinnaman but his (shitty) Suicide Squad character name. That trailer and 33%, nonetheless, on Rotten Tomatoes do not intrigue me. I’m out.
Rick: I keep waiting for Joel Kinnaman to show up in a movie that isn’t meh-looking. He’s a talented actor, but he keeps winding up with projects that are either just okay or several steps below. I may catch this on streaming, but it feels too predictable to devote any time to.
Jen: This just ain’t my bag baby.
Disorder
Loren: I really dug the score of that trailer. This reminded me of a Luc Besson movie from before when he wasn’t making garbage like Lucy or whatever the hell Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is. This 100% feels like a movie I’d check out while bored on a Saturday afternoon. I know that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but it is.
RDT: For literally years, I thought Diane Kruger was the Borg Queen from Star Trek. It turns out I was actually thinking about Alice Krige. Kruger, Krige. Honest mistake (despite Krige being a full 20+ years older than Kruger). Anyway, this looks fine. Whatever.
Rick: I have no idea what’s going on with this movie, but that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Diane Kruger is always strong, and Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop, Rust and Bone, Black Book) has proven himself versatile. Sign me up.
Jen: This sure is a movie. My interest in Diane Kruger is outweighed by my laziness in reading subtitles.
Ghost Team
Loren: Fun fact: I worked on Ghost Hunters for 2 years and some of them appear in this trailer. That is all I have to say about this movie.
RDT: I’d say Mystery Team was a superior version of this movie. But holy shit was that movie awful. This doesn’t look much (if at all) better. Cool cast, though.
Rick: I…I…no. Just, no.
Jen: Didn’t they already make a live action Scooby-Doo?
TV/Netflix/Blu-Ray
The Get Down (Netflix Original)
Loren: Netflix rarely misses and Baz Luhrmann really knows how to direct a musical. I’m definitely down for this.
RDT: I’m not a music guy, but I’ll give it a shot, maybe even this weekend.
Rick: 1) This is out already? 2) I’m all about this.
Jen: The first half of this trailer made me shrug, but then it takes a turn and pulled me in. Netflix has rarely steered me wrong so I trust this will give us the 70s-80s music story that Vinyl never delivered.
So that’s your upcoming weekend in review. Let us know what you saw, liked and/or hated.
As always, you can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/hollywoodpicturenews, or @HWPicNews on Twitter. And send in your questions/comments to questions@hollywoodpicturenews.com.
From Hollywood,
–Loren, RDT, Rick, and Jen