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
The Circle
Loren: Meh, I’m a Google guy so I’m a little over the trope of the evil tech company. Every show from Silicon Valley to Supergirl does it. I do like the cast though.
RDT: I like this cast, a lot. But holy shit does this look terrible.
Rick: I’m in for evil Tom Hanks.
Jen: I love Emma Watson and am curious enough to give this “Evil Google” a look.
How to Be a Latin Lover
Loren: This looks sooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad. Did Adam Sandler make it?
RDT: I already know how to be an Irish lover (zing!), so I’m all set. Thanks!
Rick: Nope.
Jen: I’m not sure who the target audience is for this. I’m not it.
Sleight
Loren: Does anyone want to talk about that chain Dulé Hill was wearing? I’m glad to see WWE Studios getting into other movies that don’t just have their Superstars crammed into them. This looks kinda ok I guess. Not rushing out to the theater or anything but maybe someday down the road.
RDT: It’s “Chronicle meets Iron Man!” But wouldn’t “Chronicle meets Dr. Strange” make more sense? Interesting premise, and WWE produced it…? So, I’m a little intrigued, but I’ll likely wait for streaming.
Rick: Yeah. Definitely more Doctor Strange than Iron Man. Regardless, I’m down.
Jen: I love the originality and would certainly check this out streaming down the road. If only for evil Dulé Hill. You can tell he’s evil because he has a goatee. Good Dulé Hill would never have a goatee.
The Black Room (Limited)
Loren: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDwFCoj-0js
RDT: I don’t do horror, even though this doesn’t look even remotely scary (or particularly good).
Rick: Pffft! Jesus, that’s terrible. Is Lin Shaye only doing movies that deal with demonic possession anymore? I guess it’s nice that Natasha Henstridge and Dominique Swain are still getting work.
Jen: This feels more like a late night Skinemax movie than something released in the theater. Nope.
Displacement (Limited)
Loren: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDwFCoj-0js
RDT: Can time please displace the last 3 minutes so I don’t have to have seen that trailer? (Time travel really messes with grammar, too.)
Rick: Look, I don’t know what awards Kenneth Mader may have won, but if this trailer is any indication of his talent, I feel like they might be participation trophies.
Jen: I can’t top what Rick wrote.
The Mason Brothers (Limited)
Loren: I was going to just post the Cinema Sins laugh again but I’m with Jen, are these student films? Or maybe movies Tracy Jordan would have passed on.
RDT: Whoa, heist gone wrong. Never seen that in a movie before. Also, can we stop with the “guy grabs the barrel if the gun pointed at him and says ‘If you’re gonna do it, do it!!!’” trope? Or, at least for once, have the guy pointing the gun actually pull the trigger?
Rick: Well, that certainly is a movie.
Jen: Are these all real releases? I feel like we’re seeing some high-budget student films on this list this week.
One Week and a Day (Limited)
Loren: I know I won’t see it but it looks leaps and bounds better than those last three. Also that kitten was cute as hell, I’ll fight you IRL if you disagree.
RDT: I don’t care about Eyal, Vickie or anyone else in that trailer.
Rick: I think I’ll get by okay without seeing this.
Jen: Dead kid! ::Takes drink:: While this doesn’t look as bad as many movies about grieving, I’m still out.
Voice from the Stone (Limited)
Loren: Creepy. In-ish.
RDT: I don’t watch Games of Thrones, and I’ve been wildly unimpressed with everything else I’ve seen of Emilia Clarke, which, cards on the table, is just Terminator:Genisys. This could change the tide or, more likely, once this entry is posted, I will completely forget about it.
Rick: *hands over monies for tickets*
Jen: Meh. At least this is a dead mom movie instead of a dead kid movie.
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City (Limited)
Loren: I’ll add it somewhere to the middle of The Doc Doc™.
RDT: That looks like a very interesting documentary that I’m never going to watch.
Rick: I wouldn’t have thought a documentary about urban planning would grab my interest, but here we are.
Jen: Interesting, I might give this one a whirl.
Danger Close (Limited)
Loren: Some people are going to really like this documentary. I don’t think I’m one of them.
RDT: As I write this, I have no idea where my puppy is. I mean, he’s somewhere in my apartment, but he’s being very quiet. That’s either very good, or very, very bad. This movie looks fine, by the way.
Rick: At first it sounded to me like the family was going to go over and see the outpost, but it’s actually a journalist? That makes it less interesting. It also feels like a 60 Minutes piece stretched out to feature length. Color me uncertain.
Jen: What Rick said. The hired journalist angle makes it feel a little less engaging unless they can really tie us into her story as well.
TV/Netflix/Blu-Ray
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mydFes629og
Silicon Valley – Season 4 (HBO)
Loren: I still need to watch the season finale from season 3. But it’s in the proverbial queue.
RDT: I watched this last week. I wouldn’t say I guffawed, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Rick: I’m sure fans of the show realized that this actually premiered last weekend. Can you tell I don’t watch this? (You should give it a shot. Very entertaining! –RDT)
Jen: Yep! My love of Kumail Nanjiani knows no bounds. Also this show is pretty brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJTonrzXTJs
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Loren: I’ll be honest, I didn’t know that this wasn’t a period piece. It’s almost a more adult version of The Hunger Games. It looks excellent.
RDT: The best science fiction is almost always allegorical. It has focus, a message, something to say about our world. Though I haven’t read it, I’m pretty sure the book this is based on does that, and though I haven’t seen it, it looks like the show does, too. It’s on the list.
Rick: The first three episodes drop this week. Afterward we get one episode per week until the series wraps up (10 episodes in total). I’m all in for this, but I may wait until the whole run is posted and just jam through it.
Jen: I read this book in high school and was struck by it. I think the casting is great and the timing couldn’t be more… appropriate. I’ll definitely be watching this.
American Gods – Season 1 (Starz)
Loren: Yes please.
RDT: I read, and enjoyed, the book. So I am curious about this. Not sure if I’m quite curious enough to add another streaming subscription though. Maybe if reviews are good, or once they’re done.
Rick: While it was never my favorite Neil Gaiman novel (that remains a tossup between Neverwhere and Good Omens), I’m excited to see this story come to life. Granted, I’ll have to pick up a subscription to Starz, but I think it’ll be worth it.
Jen: I already committed my husband to this being our next TV obsession. I’ve been counting the days since this was announced and the trailer looks better than I imagined. I can’t wait.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYKgHvPVACE
Dear White People – Season 1 (Netflix)
Loren: I happen to be a White People, so I think I have to see this. Also I want to.
RDT: I’m gonna drop a name here. I actually know Justin Simien (creator of the show, and movie it is based on). We worked together for a couple years many (is “7 and 1/2” many? a few?) years ago. Good guy who once tried to help get me a date with a pretty girl (she had a boyfriend). While we didn’t really keep in touch (Facebook doesn’t count), it’s cool to see his passion lead to success. I still haven’t seen the original movie (weirdly, it was on Hulu, but seems to have disappeared from my watchlist), but plan to give it, and the aforementioned subsequent series a shot.
Rick: I still haven’t gotten around to seeing the film this series is based on, but I got a lot of laughs out of that trailer. I’ll add it to the queue.
Jen: I chuckled through this trailer – I’ll give it a watch.
Casting JonBenet (Netflix)
Loren: Gross.
RDT: I don’t care how good this may be, it makes me feel so goddamned uncomfortable. Pass.
Rick: I’m completely unnerved by this. I know “uncanny valley” is the wrong term, but that’s the equivalent feeling that ran through me during the trailer. It’s a fascinating idea, but I don’t know that I can watch it. My curiosity might get the best of me, however.
Jen: ::Take another drink:: There isn’t enough nope in the world. I admire the artistic ambition here but I couldn’t even make it through the full trailer.
Rodney King (Netflix)
Loren: Wow. It’s not something I ever thought I would want to sit down and watch but here we are adding it to the queue.
RDT: I don’t know how to feel about this. It’s a topic worth discussing, but I’m not sure a one-man show is the best way to do it. Not sure it’s not, either. Cheers to Netflix though for really getting outside the box with its content.
Rick: If nothing else, it’s bold. It’ll make the queue.
Jen: Interesting. I do love that Netflix is giving us so much and allowing artists to try so many different things. I don’t know if this is my cup of tea, but I’m glad it’s out there.
Small Crimes (Netflix)
Loren: That looks….ok? I have so much TV already this will get left behind unless it gets amazing (and I mean absolutely stellar) reviews.
RDT: The tone of that trailer is all over the place. Looks like a poor man’s Coen Bros. ripoff. Might be worth checking out, but I’ll likely forget about it.
Rick: I…I have no idea what I just watched. With me, that’s usually a good thing. Makes me want to watch and figure it out. Not so much here.
Jen: Meh?
Catastrophe – Season 3 (Amazon)
Loren: Season 3 of a show I’ve never watched. I think you know where this is going. It looks… fine? I think there is much better looking TV out there for me to dive into before this.
RDT: I’ve heard it’s great and I’ve watched the first episode of the first season then promptly forgot about it, like I have with most Amazon shows. I wish there was an Amazon Prime app for AppleTV. It would make (my) life so much easier.
Rick: Meh.
Jen: Did I see a quick glimpse of Carrie Fisher in there? I’m both surprised and pleased they didn’t use that as a selling point. I’m curious about this show but not having seen the previous seasons, it’ll be a while before I’m up to 3.
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