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.
- Unfinished Business – A small business owner hopes to close a huge deal on a trip to Europe, traveling with an older seasoned man and a newbie.
Directed by Ken Scott (Delivery Man, Starbuck)
Starring Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, Nick Frost
Apparently Vince wants to throw in yet another horribly received comedy before starting his Vaughnaissance with True Detective season 2 (hey I believe in the guy!). This doesn’t look particularly worth seeing, except that everything Dave Franco does in the trailer cracks me up. He totally is one of those people who seem to effortlessly make you laugh by just having his face on screen. Still, this looks like an easy pass from seeing in theaters. - The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – The gang is back together to try to start a new hotel in India while balancing their relationships.
Directed by John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Debt)
Starring Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Richard Gere
Not much to say here because I never saw the other one and don’t really plan to, seeing as there are so many other films to check out. It seems sweet and the cast is nice. This would probably be the ideal movie to go take your grandma to see. Poor Dev Patel gets a couple movies in theaters and of course they compete in the same weekend. - Chappie – A sci fi flick about a dystopian future in which a police drone robot is reprogrammed with humanity and the police completely freak out and want to kill it.
Directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium)
Starring Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Die Antwoord
Man, critics are really not liking this movie. The trailer didn’t do much for me but I was curious about the R rating for this robot movie. I think everyone just really wants another District 9 which seems to have majorly set the bar too high for Blomkamp. The big criticism seems to be that despite having the visuals and sci fi elements, the story is severely lacking. This is going to suffer from not having the blockbuster appeal of a movie like Pacific Rim or the kid friendly angle of Real Steal.
- Faults – The parents of a woman who’s been taken in by a cult hires a self-professed mind controller to break her free.
Directed by Riley Stearns (directorial debut!)
Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Leland Orser, Beth Grant, Chris Ellis, Lance Reddick
This would be my watch of the week. I’ve been wanting to see Winstead in something new recently and the plot set up looks great. The trailer has the best vibe, and even though it’s described as a drama/thriller, there’s definitely elements of black comedy. Of course, it says it’s produced by the same duo (Keith Calder & Jessica Wu if you want to take note) who did You’re Next and The Guest. I loved both of those movies and loved how they mixed and played around with genres. Can’t wait to check this out.
Playing in select theaters and available through video on demand
