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
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Loren: I did one of my patented Trailer Breakdowns for this one back in June and I was kinda middling on the trailer. The first one was fine enough but I think I’m waiting until streaming/Redbox for this one.
RDT: I’m with Loren on this. The first one is enjoyable enough, though I did have severe tonal issues with it. So I don’t feel the need run right out to see it.
Rick: I enjoyed the first one quite a bit and, let’s face it, any movie that markets itself with a tongue-in-cheek video game is hard not to endorse: http://www.jackreachermovie.com/NeverStopPunching/
Never stop punching, guys. Or running.
Jen: When I saw that I’d have to watch this trailer I rolled my eyes. But… but… I kinda want to see this. I can’t really say why, maybe it’s all the punching? It just looks over-the-top, ridiculous fun. I did not think I’d be writing any of this about a Jack Reacher movie. Go fig.
Ouija: Origin of Evil
Loren: How the hell does a prequel to the awful looking Ouija movie from a few years ago look so good? Maybe it’s the 60’s setting, maybe it’s that it takes all the possession/ghost house clichés and blends them together, I don’t know, but this looks pretty damn good. (Hey Rick, might have a candidate for next years Horror marathon)
RDT: As I’ve said before, I watch horror movies once a year (from Rick’s kitchen, through my fingers, skipping ahead on Wikipedia.). So, if this is either really good or REALLY bad, that’s how I’ll see it. Otherwise, I’m out.
Rick: Honestly, I was expecting to throw snark at this trailer like I did at its 2014 predecessor, but this actually looks okay. Normally I would balk at a prequel, but this series might actually be better going backwards than conjuring up yet another generic sequel. I’ll give this a go.
Jen: I went to a haunted Hayride event recently and being a scardy-cat I opted to skip the maze based on this movie. While I waited for my peeps they ran this trailer without sound, on a loop outside so I watched it maybe 6-7 times in a row. It took me at least 5 viewings to figure out it was a NEW movie rather than a 70s horror classic I’d just missed out on. I mean that as a compliment.
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 Accountant
Loren: It’s an interesting concept to have someone with OCD and clearly a detached temperament to be your criminal accountant and hitman. Couple that with this cast and I definitely want to check this one out.
RDT: Remember that scene in Good Will Hunting where Will is talking about maybe going to work for the government and he’s all “I do this and then that happens and that happens and that happens and blammo! Jimmy’s dead with a bullet to the head!” (I’m paraphrasing.) Well, this feels like a movie version of that. Regardless, I still really want to see it.
Rick: The trailer for this is in the running for my favorite of the year. I sincerely hope the film lives up to that first bit of advertising.
Kevin Hart: What Now?
Loren: Nah.
RDT: I don’t find Kevin Hart’s stand-up very funny. And I don’t find Kevin Hart’s movies very funny. So, a stand-up movie starring Kevin Hart? I’m out. But, based on his bits on Conan, he seems like he’d be fun to hangout with.
Rick: I honestly thought this was some kind of action movie parody until I read the logline for it. A lot of comedy concert films have had wrap-around devices, but this one goes above and beyond. I’m not a huge Kevin Hart fan to begin with, so the likelihood of me seeing this is low. Continue reading →
This is the second full trailer we’ve gotten for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and it’s still pretty damn good. I won’t lie and say that it didn’t give me chills like the first one did but it doesn’t have to.
The trailer that came out today is what we’d call the “story trailer”, the trailer that tells the audience the basic story after they’ve presumably seen the “hype trailer”. Here we find out more about Jyn’s back story and connection to both the Empire and the Rebellion.
Don’t get me wrong though, this trailer still has a ton of awesome footage to unpack. Let’s not waste any more time and Let’s Talk About The Newest Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer: Continue reading →
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 Girl on the Train
Loren: That’s a very different trailer than the other one I saw. This definitely has me interested (I didn’t read the book) but I’ll probably wait until HBO.
RDT: Just read what Rick wrote below. Though I will probably see it eventually.
Rick: Having already read the book (which is worth it, but it’s not as shocking as the advertising might lead one to believe), I’m unlikely to see this. For what it’s worth, I think Emily Blunt, who I otherwise enjoy, is miscast as the lead, and I have a feeling the dueling perspectives from the book aren’t going to translate well to the screen. Just my two cents.
Jen: I can’t imagine it’s as shocking as they are billing it to be. This looks like it could be great, or it could be a.. Standard issue thriller. I might need some reviews to really help me decide if this is worth my theater-going time.
The Birth of a Nation
Loren: It’s rare that I use my entertainment time to tackle extremely heavy subject matters. The performances look good and the story it’s based on is a truly important tale. (Note: I knew nothing about the real world scandal the filmmakers were accused of, and based my opinion on the trailer alone.)
RDT: Once again, Rick sums up my own feeling pretty well.
Rick: The story of Nat Turner’s rebellion is a compelling one, but I’m having a hard time getting past the whole thing about the creative team having run a train on a girl while in college. It’s the age old “separating the art from the artist” conundrum. Even if I do see this, I’m going to be thinking about the scandal the entire time.
Jen: I have a lot of feelings about this film and am having a big internal crisis on whether to see it. The trailer does make me want to check it out, but see Rick’s note above, it’s hard to support. Will it be as good as the hype and dispel the non-film related criticism of its auteur? I can’t say and so I continue to be torn on this. Continue reading →
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
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Loren: What if Tim Burton made the X-Men set in the 20s? I don’t really trust Mr. Burton anymore so I think I’m waiting on this one. It looks interesting though.
RDT: Pretty much what Loren and Rick said (sorry, Jen).
Rick: I’m not familiar with the source material, but this feels like X-Men by way of Harry Potter with the look of an Edward Gorey sketch. I don’t know if I’m interested enough to catch this in theaters, but it looks like a good rainy afternoon movie.
Jen: Does this movie skew female? I already have my ticket for Friday (with a bunch of girlfriends)? Could this be a return to old-school Tim Burton? My fingers are crossed that after a few misses this re-captures the Edward Scissorhands-era magic.
Deepwater Horizon
Loren: There are a lot of people in this. Whether they are good or not is left to be seen. I just can’t seem to get into this movie. I don’t even know if I’ll bother when it hits DVD/Streaming.
RDT: When I was seeing this for free, I was looking forward to it. Since those plans fell through, meh. I’ll see it eventually, but I feel no rush to catch it this weekend, or even in theaters.
Rick: I don’t always care for Peter Berg’s movies (don’t get me started on Lone Survivor), but one of the things he does well is direct action. He has an excellent sense of geography when constructing scenes, so even during the chaos the audience is aware of where the characters are and what obstacles they’re facing. That doesn’t assert that Deepwater Horizon is going to be good from a story standpoint, but I’m sure it’ll be well composed visually. From that perspective, it’ll be worth checking out in theaters.
Jen: This has a strong Armageddon feel about it. I may have imagined it but I swear I heard that annoying Aerosmith song over Marky-Mark’s skype call. Also this isn’t exactly related but all the TV ads for this say “Based on a True Story” which annoys me because, duh – who doesn’t remember this event from just six years ago.
