The winter blues at the movies continue this week, as The three particularly grim-looking new wide releases enter the marketplace. Meanwhile, a notoriously troubled Western finally sees the light of day.
The most successful new film will surely be Kung Fu Panda 3, the mega-budget animated sequel from DreamWorks Animation. I confess that I’ve never been that interested in this franchise, and I haven’t seen either of the previous installments. Audiences and critics all seem to like these films — but is this second sequel necessary? Not every third film in a franchise can be Toy Story 3, which was about something very different from each of its predecessors and so damn emotionally satisfying. Will Kung Fu Panda 3 offer any innovations, or will it simply recycle the previous films and laugh all the way to the bank? I guess we’ll find out this weekend. So far, reviews have been very strong. Maybe I’m just too hard on this franchise. In any case, expect this to top the charts this weekend.
Also opening this weekend is The Finest Hours, a disaster thriller about an accident at sea. Chris Pine stars (but does anyone at this point think of him as a compelling leading man?), and the large supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger (Showtime’s The Borgias), Eric Bana, and John Magaro (who is seemingly everywhere these days, including, prominently, in Carol and Best Picture frontrunner The Big Short). The film is directed by Craig Gillespie, who made Lars and the Real Girl, so that’s promising. But Gillespie also made Mr. Woodcock, so who knows? All trailers and marketing materials I’ve seen for this film make it look like every other storm-at-sea thriller that you’ve already seen, and my gut tells me that this will be totally disposable. Early reviews seem appropriately apathetic.
The third and final wide release this week is Fifty Shades of Black, which is a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey, starring, written, and produced by Marlon Wayans. I think that tells you everything you need to know. Please don’t go see this.
Opening in limited release (but allllmost wide) is Jane Got a Gun, a Western starring Natalie Portman that has weathered a very troubled production for the past four years. The film lost its original director, and seemingly every male actor cast in this film was eventually replaced before shooting actually began (Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor are the ones who made it on screen). Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) directed. After reading so many reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil on this film, I’m very curious to see if it actually turned out good.
What are you planning to see this weekend?
