Here to take a look at the films coming out in wide and limited release this coming weekend. I’ll give you my thoughts to help you decide what’s worth checking out.
- The DUFF – Ugh, I really have a hard time even watching this trailer (especially when they compare it to Mean Girls). Mae Whitman is an adorable, beautiful, tiny awesome woman. She deserves so much more than this, or to be anywhere near the labels ugly or fat (friend is fine). If anything could make this terrible looking movie work, I suppose it would be a charismatic lead so I guess The DUFF at least has that going for it. Besides my annoyance of Whitman being cast as this DUFF character, it just looks very cheesy and not a joke in the trailer really landed for me.
- McFarland, USA – The last movie I need in my life is probably an inspirational sports drama starring Kevin Costner. This one looks like it has just as much manufactured heartfelt as Disney’s last foray in this genre, Million Dollar Arm. But this one has no Jon Hamm! No thanks!
- Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – The first Hot Tub Time Machine was a hilarious treat, a little gem, a great white buffalo if you will. I was just hoping for a decent movie and it ended up being a really funny, memorable one. If this sequel is more of the same, then great, but the trailer isn’t really doing much for me. I hold out hope because I really like the cast (boo for no more Cusack but yay Adam Scott!). It’s certainly missing something by not being set in the 80’s, which easily is the most fun decade to see in movies. Definitely will at least have to check this out (or at least rewatch the original).
- Wild Tales – Just in time for Oscar weekend, this Best Foreign Picture nominee starts its limited run, which will roll out to more theaters in the coming weeks. When this played at TIFF I heard such great things about it and have been looking forward to seeing it since. It’s an anthology of shorts that all seem to be a bit wacky and it’s billed as a black comedy. It looks like a very fun entry into Oscar season, in a group of films that are usually heralded more highly for their seriousness.
See where it’s playing in select theaters and when it’s opening near you here.
