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.
- Ted 2 – John Bennett and his magically animated teddy bear, Ted, return to screen in a story that’s all about legally seeking Ted’s civil rights. Really.
Directed by Seth MacFarlane (Our Family Wedding, Brown Sugar)
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, our Babe of the Week Jessica Barth, Giovanni Ribisi, Morgan Freeman
A full review of this will be up tomorrow, but I did see this already and it’s a mixed bag. It’s a funny movie, and I have a hard time saying it’s bad, but it is missing a bit of the charm that really made the first movie so enjoyable. It doubles down on the crude humor and offensive jokes, and sometimes they land really well and sometimes I just winced. If you’re a fan of the first you’d likely enjoy this one as well, but it is a step down. It does have the classiest opening credits of the year though. - Max – A family who’s son is killed adopts the dog who was on the ground in Afghanistan with him.
Directed by Boaz Yakin (Safe, Remember the Titans)
Starring Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Robbie Amell
Another tear-jerking dog movie hit theaters this weekend. Did you know Marley & Me made over $200 million at the box office? People love crying over dogs apparently. I know I sobbed like a baby when I watched that movie and plenty of others as a kid. I’m not going to lie, I teared up when the trailer for Max played before Jurassic World. Just hearing a dog whimper really loosens up the old tear ducts. Not exactly a fun time at the theater though. I’m not really in the demo here, so I won’t be checking it out (and definitely not because I’m scared that Max will die at some point in the running time). It does feel reminiscent of 1990’s family films though.
- Big Game – A 13-year-old Finnish boy is camping in the wilderness as a right of passage, when he meets the American President who has been stranded after Air Force One was taken down by terrorists. They team up to survive the terrorists who are on their trail hunting for the President.
Directed by Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports)
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Felicity Huffman, Victor Garber, Ted Levine, Jim Broadbent
I love the twisted Christmas horror movie Rare Exports. It’s such a unique movie with a fresh vision. Check it out if you haven’t seen it. That automatically makes this a must see for me, simply because I’m interested to see where Helender’s vision takes him next. The trailer sells the movie on its own though. It looks like a fun adventure movie with some good action and Samuel L. Jackson. I don’t see a downside. - A Little Chaos – While working together to build a new garden at Versailles, two landscape artists from different classes of society bond and form a romance.
Directed by Alan Rickman
Starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci
Oh dear, even writing out that plot description was boring. The high stakes of building a garden just don’t really compute. There’s a fish-out-of-water thing going on with Kate Winslet’s character entering this world of royalty, but the most I got out of it is that she’s supposed to look a little frumpy. But come on, it’s Winslet, I’m not buying that she would not immediately be accepted as an aristocrat. This just looks like an easy movie to skip.
