Happy New year everyone. The new year came bearing gifts. It’s true many of them are critically panned films, but for better or worse you have a chance to see more exciting movies this weekend. Keep reading to know more.
Cats
Directed by: Tom Hooper
With: Francesca Hayward, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Judi Dench, and Ian Mckellen
What is it about: A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.
Heads Up: If films can be bullied, this film certainly got bullied, ridiculed, and joked about by the internet ever since its trailer hit the web a few months back, and now that the film is already out, it is one of the most critically panned commercial flops of the year. Its reviews were especially harsh in the most vicious and hilarious way. If you enjoy seeing bad films ironically, and like a good old-fashioned train-wreck, then this is a must-see. I predict it will be a cult favorite in a few years, so you might wanna say to your children one day I have seen this in cinema.
The Grudge
Directed by: Nicolas Pesce
With: Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, and Jacki Weaver
What is it about: A house is cursed by a vengeful ghost that dooms those who enter it with a violent death.
Heads Up: A reboot for the franchise that started with the 2002’s Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge, followed by a successful American remake in 2004 that spun two more sequels. The trailer was creepy, and the cast is fantastic, so I am in.
Richard Says Goodbye
Directed by: Wayne Roberts
With: Johnny Depp, Rosemarie DeWitt, Odessa Young, Zoey Deutch, and Danny Huston
What is it about: A college professor lives his life with reckless abandon after being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Heads Up: Yet another film lead by an A-list star that is panned by critics, with the critical consensus that it’s “a muddled story populated with thinly written characters and arranged around a misguided Johnny Depp performance, it fails early and often“. If you’re hellbent on seeing it, then its available on VOD platforms already, but I’d say avoid.
Sab Kushal Mangal
Directed by: Karan Vishwanath Kashyap
With: Akshaye Khanna, Priyaank Sharma, and Riva Kishan
What is it about: How far will a politician go to gain revenge against the reality show that offended him?
Heads Up: This comedy from Bollywood had me at Akshaye Khanna, who is sporting a moustache and a ridiculous toupée playing one third of a love triangle. Me likey!
