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

Kong: Skull Island

Loren: Let’s see, pretty people, giant ape fights, the 70’s, John C. Reilly John C. Reillying it up. I’m in.

RDT: Yup, count me in, too.

Rick: You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger Kong fan than myself. One of the first things you see when you walk into my apartment is a poster for the 1933 original that stretches seven feet in diagonal. I’ve watched/read about that film’s history, its sequels, its remakes, and everything in between. I love giant monster movies. So why is it that I have zero desire to see this? Because I know it’s a setup for some unnecessary “cinematic universe”. As much as I love Marvel’s triumph in world building, it’s inadvertently created this belief that, in order for properties to be successful, they need to have some gigantic crossover universe. So, from here forth, King Kong and Godzilla exist in the same world. I just…They don’t need to fight. Again. It was fun and campy in 1962. Now it just feels forced; like you’re not confident enough to make your different franchises work on their own, so you mash them together hoping it’ll somehow make it better. No. Just no. Stop it. Also, most of the stuff in this trailer, apart from the time period, looks no different than Peter Jackson’s take on the character. And don’t even get me started on that movie…

Jen: There are things that look fantastic in this trailer and things that could end up being downright silly, but I’m giving it my money either way. If nothing else, I get to spend a couple of hours looking at Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson – and they are very pretty.

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Raw (Limited)

Loren: Vampires? Was that about vampires?

RDT: Yeah, I’m out for this. (But I’m glad it’s not about zombies…)

Rick: 

Jen: Ick. No. No way. That being said, I really like this idea and how unique it is. So, please support it if you’re the type with a strong stomach.

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This week, the guys talk all the things pop culture, starting with confusing the hell out of the Mission: Impossible movies. Plus…

• Who is Rebecca Kirby? We may never know.
• Omar is coming to Red Cup (can we please stop calling it Red Cup?)
• Emily Blunt IS Poppins, Mary Poppins
• Shut up, Meg (for now).
• Bumblebee meets the two strings
• Gotham – good casting, shitty show
• SuperFlash sings!
• Who is Vigilante? Not Rebecca Kirby!
• Chris Hardwick will never stop Talking.
• Rebels continue to rebel
• When will GLOW light up?
• One More Day at a Time!
• Who are the Inhumans? We may never…oh wait, no, we totally know!
• X-Men tv get a mom and dad

All that, what we watched, and the usual tangents.

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review us on iTunes and/or Stitcher. We’d really appreciate it!

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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

Logan

Loren: This is a forgone conclusion.

RDT: Already have tickets.

Rick:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jen:

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The Shack

Loren: No. Just, no.

RDT: Jesus himself would have to reappear in front of me and tell me to see this movie. And even then, I’d be all “But I was gonna see Get Out…”

Rick: *trope alert siren blares*

Jen: 100% Nope.

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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

Collide

Loren: Why is Anthony Hopkins the only British person in this movie filled with British people that takes place in Europe speaking in his natural English accent? Meh, it’s like a mediocre version of the Transporter with a better cast. I may eventually catch this on Crackle.

RDT: Holy shit, this….looks…..terrible!

Rick: *addressing Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley in Oprah’s voice* You get a boat payment! And you get a boat payment!

Jen: It’s so refreshing to see a smart, talented woman playing a damsel in distress with no agency whatsoever. Wait, no, it’s not.

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Get Out

Loren: I have no idea what to expect from this movie and I can’t wait. It looks amazingly terrifying. If this is the kind of stuff Key & Peele are doing instead of their show, I might be a little less bummed about it ending.

RDT: Like many other, apparently very good, horror movies posted here before, I look forward to watching this from Rick’s kitchen.

Rick: 
Seriously, though. This looks effing terrifying. I can’t wait.

Jen: This looks fantastic – equal parts funny and scary, and I’m almost curious enough to venture to the theater for it…

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Welcome to the #HPNPCTOTM (Hashtag Hollywood Picture News Pop Culture Thought of the Moment). Spun off from the PCTOTD’s (Pop Culture Thoughts of the Day) on our Twitter, this weekly(ish) column will allow for a deeper (at least deeper than 140 characters) dive into a specific pop culture topic. This week, I’m looking at Batman.

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This week, the boys are back from a couple very different cons (COOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!!). So let’s dive into some Dr. Who info, baking tips and, of course, pop culture news.

• R2D2-2
• The Last Jedi..s?
• The Raid: Reboot
• The Lion King voice cast seems a little familiar
• The Predator will not be going Dutch
• Ru-Fi-O!!!!!! (probably won’t happen)
• Helen Mirren #F8 role revealed
• View Askew news confirmed and clarified
• Superstore will be back
• Leo Getz cast on Lethal Weapon
• Who is Black Lightning, and where should his show end up?
• Jawbreaker breaking jaws on E!!!!
• Castle Rock coming to Hulu
• The Batflick in turmoil
• The original Mad Max to helm the unoriginal Suicide Squad 2?
• Wonder Woman villain confirmed, kind of, we guess
• And, apparently, Logan is good. Like really good.

All that, plus the usual tangents.

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review us on iTunes and/or Stitcher. We’d really appreciate it!

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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 Great Wall

Loren: At first you’re like, oh ok a semi-historical, slightly white washed story about a battle at The Great Wall of Chi…. WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!?!?!? WHY ARE THERE BABY DRAGONS!?!?! SAVE ME MATT DAMON!!!!!

RDT: Curiosity will get me to see this eventually, but, unless reviews are phenomenal (and they aren’t so far), it won’t be in theaters.

Rick: Hello, US Audiences! Welcome to the weird Chinese genre of Wuxia fantasy films! To make this over the top, dragon-filled, Chinese-centric story more palatable (and potentially profitable) to a larger audience, we’ve added a little Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe! In all seriousness, though: Wuxia movies have been around basically since the dawn of Chinese cinema and have only gotten more fantastical as the genre has matured. The films that are more fantasy driven are definitely niche, and their budgets often times have a hard time supporting their ambitions. Whitewashed or not, from a business standpoint, this is a logical way to try and expose this type of film to a broader audience. And, honestly, this looks to be more an ensemble piece than something like The Last Samurai, so bonus points for that. I don’t know that I’ll catch this in theaters, but I may give it a curiosity spin on home video.

Jen: The gents seem to have a lot to say about this movie. Which makes me feel better since all I was going to say was: uh, nope.

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Fist Fight

Loren: 

RDT: 

Rick: 

Jen:  

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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

John Wick: Chapter 2

Loren: The original was surprisingly good (even after starting the movie with puppy murder). I love the world they’ve created with the assassin’s hotel and code of conduct. I look forward to seeing this.

RDT:

Rick :

Jen: I didn’t see the first one, but listening to the Hollywood Picture News podcast has pretty much filled me in on the backstory. I’m a strong maybe on this.

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Fifty Shades Darker

Loren: Not only am I not the audience for this movie, I’m having trouble trying to figure out who is.

RDT:

Rick: Nope. Not even a little bit.

Jen: Maybe when it’s on HBO Go and my husband is out of town and I just scroll through to the naughty bits? Nah, probably not even then.

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The LEGO Batman Movie

Loren: Look, LEGO is my jam. I have a suspiciously large collection for an adult. That being said, comedy Batman is not my favorite kind of Batman. This does look pretty great though, a decent send up of the DCEU. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that we got a bunch of rad LEGO sets out of the deal.

RDT:

Rick: My sincerest hope for this movie is that they manage to sneak in some kind of dig at the terrible live-action DCU movies.

Jen: We just got a LEGO Batman cup as the toy in a Happy Meal yesterday and my daughter is very interested. Holy cross-promotional tie-ins! That aside, yes, this looks cute (in a positive not pejorative way) and I will be seeing it.

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Year 2 of the Hollywood Picture News begins NOW! So let’s talk pop culture news, shall we?

• Han Solo: Red Cup: A Star Wars Story begins production
• Granddaddy’s Home…?
• We talk about the Arrival of a Dune reboot…
• IT kids revealed
• Superb Owl Big Game trailers
• Captain Underpants gets a poster and voice cast
• IMDB boards no more
• The Good Place to continue (yay!)
• RDT gives us his own casting thoughts for the What About Barb? pilot
• Black Lightning heads to the CW
• Supergirl gets some villains you might be familiar with
• Witches, vampires and lawyers are all delayed
• Batfleck no longer directing Batflick. Who will?
• A ton of Aqua-casting
• Powerless is on Fire
• Cloak, Dagger and some Runaways cast
• Iron Fist pics (seem to have disappeared from the internet…)

All that, plus the usual tangents.

As always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t forget to rate/review us on iTunes and/or Stitcher. We’d really appreciate it!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS

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 Space Between Us

Loren: Ah, The Fault In Our Mars. No thanks.

RDT: Gary Oldman, you, sir, are better than this movie. I hope you’re enjoying your boat.

Rick: I like the concept enough that I can look past the sappiness, but not enough to rush out and see it. I’ll wind up streaming this down the line.

Jen: 100% what Loren said.

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Rings

Loren: I still can see Amber Tamblyn’s petrified face in the closet from the first one. That movie was good enough, and though I do like the idea of updating the video to an email attachment, it feels like then everyone would be dead. Seeing as how things go viral these days everyone in the world would have seen Samara’s video. I’m looking too much into this, aren’t I?

RDT: Many years ago, around the time it came out on dvd, I actually watched the original, well, not original original, the American original Ring. If you’re a regular reader of this column, this might come as a surprise to you (I, usually, don’t do horror). I was home one random weekday afternoon and I had it from Netflix (this was pre-streaming, but I still get the discs, even now). I popped it in the dvd player, plopped down on the couch, covered my eyes with one hand and hit play with the other.

Mere minutes into the film, the phone rings. I pause the movie, walk over to it (this was in the days of landlines), pick up and no one is there. Weird. Whatever. I got back to the movie. A couple minutes later, we’re still in the opening scene, the phone rings again. Pause the movie, walk over to the phone, answer it. No one there again. I walk back to the dvd player, eject the disc, go into my room and close the door.

That dvd sat on that player for weeks, until one night my then roommate made me watch it with him. We sat in the dark, and were scared by a pizza delivery guy, but I watched it.

Anyway, I will not be seeing Rings.

Rick: Not that you were asking, but here’s The Ring series by the numbers:

Number of novels – 6
Japanese TV series – 1: Ring: Kanzenban – 1995
Japanese features – 7:
Ring, Ring 2, and Ring 0 – 1998-2000
Rasen – 1998, a substitute sequel to the first film from a different company, based on the second novel. (I wish we were able to do that with American films and get away with it.)
Sadako 3D and Sadako 3D 2 – 2012-2013, based on the fourth novel, no relation to the other films.
Sadako vs. Kayako, the 2016 crossover film pitting the villain from Ring against the ghost from Ju-on (The Grudge, to US audiences). At least we’re not the only ones doing ridiculous “vs.” movies.

Korean feature adaptations – 1:
The Ring Virus – 1999

US adaptations – 4:
The Ring – 2002
Rings (short film that precedes the sequel) – 2005
The Ring 2 – 2005
Rings – 2017

Got all that? Hell, I barely do and I wrote this up. Nevertheless, there’s clearly an audience for this material. Rings got bumped from last year’s schedule to avoid competition from Ouija: Origin of Evil (which is actually decent, unlike its predecessor), a smart move on Paramount’s part. This may just wind up being a cash-in, but at least it looks like a decent evolution of the concept. I’m in.

Jen: You guys have a lot to say about this movie. I actually enjoyed The Ring (the American original version from 2002 as listed out by Rick above.) And the sequel seems to have the same feel – horror but not gross-out horror. I could give this a shake.

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