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
Wide Release
Jigsaw
Loren: Nah, I don’t care about his origins? Solo adventures? Cooking classes? I’ll be honest I didn’t even watch this trailer.
RDT: I haven’t seen a single Saw. So I doubt I’m gonna start with this one.
Rick: I’ve seen all of them in the theater thus far, even the utter waste of a great concept that was Saw: 3D (I’ll spare you all my rant about that movie). We’re seven years removed from the last sequel. Hopefully Lionsgate has simmered down in the interim and actually tried to make something at least halfway decent. I’m not expecting original Saw quality, but I’d at least like it to measure up to Part II, III, or VI.
Jen: Oooo, they’re getting clever with the title here. Good to see there’s something horror-related for Halloween weekend, but I’m not up-to-date on the Saw-verse so I think I’m good.
Suburbicon
Loren: I saw this trailer a while back and honestly thought it had already come out. I won’t rush out to the theater to see this but I’ll probably catch it eventually.
RDT: I’m hit and miss with both Clooney as a director and the Coen Bros. in general. And, I gotta say, this feels more miss to me.
Rick: I’m not in a super rush to see this. I think I can wait for home video on this one.
Jen: I watched the trailer a few months ago and remember Clooney coming out soon after to correct assumptions that it was a comedy to let people know it’s really a drama/thriller. I appreciate tempering trailer expectations, but maybe just cut a better trailer?
Thank You For Your Service
Loren: The Miles Teller of all of this gives me pause. That coupled with the fact that this feels extremely ham-fisted will probably keep me away.
RDT: What everybody else said? Yeah, me too.
Rick: I saw this movie when it was called American Sniper. Unless this somehow breaks new dramatic ground that isn’t evident in the trailer, I think I’m good.
Jen: The plight of our veterans is incredibly important but another movie telling the same story doesn’t feel like it’s doing them any favors. I’m sure this is fine, I just don’t need to watch this same story yet again.
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
Wide Release
Geostorm
Loren: I can’t even believe that this is a real movie.
RDT: I once thought nothing could be more ridiculous than outrunning the cold (The Day After Tomorrow). Then I saw this trailer. It will not get my money in theaters, but it will get time when streaming.
Rick:
Also, I’m all over this. I love disaster movies.
Jen: This is the perfect movie for Gerard Butler. If you think that’s high praise then you will not be disappointed.
Only the Brave
Loren: I have never been one for firefighter movies or Miles Teller movies for that matter. I don’t think this one will get added to any list of mine anytime soon.
RDT: This is a great cast…and Miles Teller. Feels a little on the melodramatic side. I could see myself giving a watch at some point.
Rick: I echo RDT. I foresee a lot of melodrama, but it has a similar feel to Deepwater Horizon, which is actually decent. Unless it gets completely savaged critically, I may give it a shot.
Jen: A bunch of white men controlling the action and destructive fires. Sounds like a nice escape from reality.
The Same Kind of Different As Me
Loren: I honestly don’t know what that was about. Also, I had zero clue that was Renee Zellweger. She’s not even the same person anymore.
RDT:
Rick:
Jen:
The Snowman
Loren: I used to love thrillers like this when I was younger, but I haven’t watched one in years. This looks okay. I like the winter/UK setting, but it’s also getting pretty terrible reviews. I’m going to pass but might give it a go down the road.
RDT: Absolutely nothing about this is grabbing me. Some of it is even a little laughable. Pass. (Rick, let me know how the books are…)
Rick: I can’t deny that the story, cast, and director are endlessly appealing, but I’d like to read the books the Fassbender character is featured in first (The Snowman is the seventh book in the series, BTW). Looks like I have a lot of reading to do…
Jen: There’s a lot of negative buzz surrounding this and not much that’s making me look past that to seek it out. I’ll pass.
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
Wide Release
The Foreigner
Loren: I’m interested in this for serious Jackie Chan but I want it to look better. It won’t be in the theater but I’ll check this out down the road for sure.
RDT: I’m definitely intrigued by this. I’m only really familiar with comedy Jackie Chan. I’m way behind on movies right now, so probably not in the theater. But yeah, it’ll stay in my radar.
Rick: It’s nice to see the more serious side of Jackie Chan come to U.S. theaters. He’s made plenty of movies with this type of tone in Hong Kong (the Police Story series is a standout), but most of them rarely even hit video stateside. Count me in.
Jen: I probably won’t see this, but I must admit it looks good. I’m glad to see the range on Jackie Chan that I, for one, didn’t know existed. Well done, sir.
Happy Death Day
Loren: This looks dumb, but I think that’s kinda the point. Another one that I’m not rushing out to the theater to check out but if it comes across my path, say at a movie night at Rick’s house, I might be inclined.
RDT: I don’t want to want to see this, but I kinda want to see this. Dumb, I know. I won’t pay for it though. If (when) it shows up streaming, I’ll give it a watch.
Rick: So, Groundhog Birthday? Sorry, but if you’re the lead in this movie and you figure out what’s happening say, after the second reset, this is the solution: you Nancy from Nightmare on Elm Street this shit and booby trap the hell out of wherever you’re holding up; preferably a room with one door. You acquire any and all weapons and supplies you can, and wait for creepy baby mask person to show up. The only way this concept has legs is if this happens to the lead while they’re in a foreign country and they don’t know the language. Even then, my original solution still applies. Also: Pass.
Jen: I’m surprised to say this, but I totally agree with RDT. Call me when you’re going to watch it and I’ll join you on your couch.
Marshall
Loren: Was that Mrs. Murtaugh stepping out on Roger? Oh, the movie, yeah it looks pretty ok and is a subject that is really interesting and important right now. I’m hoping it’s better than that trailer makes it look.
RDT: It’s an interesting story, and I love most of the cast (sorry, Josh Gad), but I did not enjoy that trailer at all. It’s got an odd vibe to it. Still, I’ll likely check it out eventually.
Rick: One of the best things about Selma was, instead of trying to jam the entirety of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life into one movie, they picked a seminal event and focused on it. It allowed for an incredible amount of depth in both character and context. This looks to be taking a similar approach and, hopefully, it’ll be the better than the trailer makes it look.
Jen: My husband and I watched this trailer together and at the end he said, “I don’t know if it’ll be good or not,” which is unhelpfully vague, but sort of how I felt. I’m excited for the cast and story, but it almost looks too slick? I’m willing to give it a go to find out.
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
Loren: This is something I knew a little bit about and I’m not sure I need a 90 minute dramatization of it to entertain me. Maybe if I hear it’s amazing, but probably not.
RDT: I feel like I should want to see that, but it didn’t really enthrall me. I’m sure I’ll see it eventually, but for now, I think I’ll stick to the comics (and maybe the article linked by Rick below).
Rick: I read an excellent article about this a few years ago in Smithsonian Magazine. Considering how in depth it was, I’m not sure I need to watch the movie.
Jen: I am going to read that article ASAP. But first, let me say that I am surprised how unexcited we all are about a movie about a comic book author in a long term threesome.
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).
RDT: Currently 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, Loren. I think you’re safe.
Rick:
Jen: I know we use this gif a lot, but it’s accurate…
The Mountain Between Us
Loren: This type of flick (post-accident survival) is not something I usually go for. This looks to be well done, and I like the cast, but I can’t see it getting my money any time soon.
RDT: Like Loren said, it looks well done. Good cast. But I’ll probably wait for streaming.
Rick: Kate Winslet AND Idris Elba? Damn straight, I’m in.
Jen: I love Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, and a romance between them is hot as hell. Except when it’s on a mountain. I’m holding out for the sequel.
My Little Pony: The Movie
Loren: Shockingly I am not a Brony and have no earthly desire to ever bother with this movie. It will, however, be absolutely devoured by little kids.
RDT: Didn’t even watch the trailer.
Rick: I watched a couple episodes of the series when it first came out because the internets were all aflutter about it. Admittedly, the writing was a hell of a lot more clever than I’d anticipated, but it’s definitely geared toward a younger audience (i.e. – lots of songs). I doubt I’ll see this, but I’ll bet it’s better than most of the non-Disney/Pixar animated fare parents sit through with their kids.
