Pixar‘s latest leads the way in a weekend with a wide variety of releases. Keep reading to know more.
Onward
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
With: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer
What is it about: Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic out there.
Heads Up: Pixar‘s latest Onward promises a buddy road trip movie full of mythical creatures and weird shenanigans. The reviews are decent but not on-par with the studios best. Still, a middling Pixar‘s film is usually better than most of other studios’ output, so I am here for it.
The Way Back
Directed by: Gavin O’Connor
With: Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins and Janina Gavankar
What is it about: A former HS basketball phenom, struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons. But will it be enough to set him on the road to redemption?
Heads Up: Director Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant, Warrior, Miracle) is reuniting with his star from The Accountant Ben Affleck in this sports drama about the redemption of a broken man, which mirrors the personal life turmoils of Ben Affleck and his public battle with alcoholism. This might be interesting, but it won’t be the most cheerful subject, so keep that in mind.
Escape from Pretoria
Directed by: Francis Annan
With: Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, and Ian Hart
What is it about: Based on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa.
Heads Up: …and if you think alcoholism is depressing, how about 70s apartheid in South Africa. I commend Daniel Radcliffe for his post Harry Potter career which includes a lot of different roles in smaller films more often than not. This is essentially a prison break film based on real story. The few reviews out are quite positive and at under 2hrs, this can be your indie watch for the week. I’m kinda interested in this one.
Come To Daddy
Directed by: Ant Timpson
With: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Michael Smiley, and Martin Donovan
What is it about: A man in his thirties travels to a remote cabin to reconnect with his estranged father.
Heads Up: Speaking of past child stars with an interesting present resume, Elijah Wood has been a champion of low-budget genre films ever since he was done playing Frodo for The Lord of The Rings. This one looks like a load of fun and the critical consensus is that its is a “bloody horror with barbed wit, Come to Daddy anchors its brutal violence in a surprisingly mature approach to provocative themes“. I don’t know about you, but this is exactly my jam.
The Assent
Directed by: Pearry Reginald Teo
With: Robert Kazinsky, Peter Jason, and Florence Faivre
What is it about: After a series of disturbing supernatural events in his home, Joel, a young single father, comes to suspect that his young son may be possessed.
Heads Up: Yet another demonic possession of a child horror. This one doesn’t interest me the slightest, but if you like this sub-genre, then knock yourself out.
Baaghi 3
Directed by: Ahmed Khan
With: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, and Jackie Shroff
What is it about: Ronnie and Vikram are brothers who share an unbreakable bond. On a work trip abroad Vikram gets kidnapped. Ronnie goes on a rampage of destruction to see his brother safe again, even if it means that he independently has to take on an entire country.
Heads Up: The third film in this Tiger Shroff franchise which seems like Bollywood‘s answer to Rambo. This time around Captain Ranveer Pratap Singh is fighting ISIS in Syria. In this climate, I am really wary of films that shows Muslims as the bad guys, because apparently there is no difference between ISIS and average Muslims in the eyes of many. So I will pass on this one, especially that I had no interest in this series to begin with.
