The second weekend of 2018 is a busy one at the box office. Here’s a look at the new releases you can look forward to this week.
The new film we’re most looking forward to is Paddington 2, the sequel to the hit 2015 film adaptation of the children’s book series about the very polite, marmalade-loving bear from Darkest Peru who finds himself adjusting to life in London. The previous film was so, so good — one of the very best family films of all time, in fact — so we’ll be first in line for this one. Writer-director Paul King returns, along with the all-star British cast that includes Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, and Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington. After Nicole Kidman’s delightful turn as the villain of the first installment, Hugh Grant now joins the cast as a self-absorbed actor who stars in dog-food commercials. Critics are loving it. Let’s hope it’ll be a huge hit.
Also opening this weekend is the latest version of the Liam Neeson Action Film, called The Commuter this time around. Jaume Collet-Serra, who directs most of the LNAFs, returns once more. This film features Neeson as an insurance salesman on his daily commute home… when he’s contacted by a mysterious stranger who offers him $100,000 to identify a hidden passenger who holds the life of every passenger in his hands. This film sounds ridiculously bonkers… but isn’t this the exact plot of Non-Stop, the Neeson/Collet-Serra collaboration from 2014, except on a train this time? The impressive cast also includes Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, and Jonathan Banks. Reviews are not as terrible as you’d expect, which indicates that this could be some stupid fun.
The final new wide release of the week is Proud Mary, starring Taraji P. Henson as a hitwoman in Boston whose life is changed when she inadvertently leaves a young boy orphaned. This film comes from Iranian-Swedish director Babak Najafi, who made London Has Fallen — and that doesn’t inspire too much confidence. But we love Henson so much, and we’re all in favour of films that let great actresses be kick-ass action stars, so we’re rooting for this to be both good and successful. Reviews thus far are rather uninspiring, though.
Opening in limited release are Condorito: La Pelicula, a Spanish-language animated film based on the Chilean comic strip, and The Insult, a French-Lebanese film about a misunderstanding that occurs during a routine drainpipe repair that leads to an act of violence and courtroom drama. The latter premiered in competition at Venice this past fall, where it won the Best Actor prize for star Kamel El Basha; it’s currently on the Oscar shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film.
Finally, The Post, the latest film by Steven Spielberg, expands wide after three weeks in limited release. Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, the film examines the true story of how publisher Kay Graham and editor Ben Bradlee of The Washington Post battled the government to publish the Pentagon Papers. The film has strong reviews and is squarely in the running for Oscar attention.
What are you planning to see this weekend?
