The summer heat might be at peak outside, and although there are way too many new movies coming out this weekend, things are cooling off at the Multiplexes as we are more or less done with the summer big tentpoles. Big or not, we are still here to give you our take on the new releases, so keep reading!
Wind River
Directed by: Taylor Sheridan
With: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, and Jon Bernthal
What is it about? An FBI agent teams up with a town’s veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
Heads Up: This highly acclaimed crime drama is the winner of “Un Certain Regard” Best Director at Cannes this year. Taylor Sheridan, who wrote two of the most acclaimed crime dramas of recent years Sicario and Hell or High Water, makes his directorial debut here (apart from writing it too). This is for sure my pick for the week!
Snatched
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
With: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, and Christopher Meloni
What is it about? When her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unexpected results.
Heads Up: Despite having a pair of dynamite leading ladies, this film tanked at the box-office, and critically as well. Our own Lloyd Bayer was lukewarm on the film. In 2½ stars review he wrote: “If Snatched is about celebrating adventure and the open road, it gets there, albeit without a blazing trail.”
The Emoji Movie
Directed by: Tony Leondis
With: T.J. Miller, James Corden, and Anna Faris
What is it about? Gene, a multi-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji.
Heads Up: If you thought that Hollywood reached the bottom of the barrel last year with the release of The Angry Bird Movie, then think again! The Emoji Movie is one of the worst reviewed and most reviled films of the summer, and that is saying something (It’s currently at #9 on the bottom rated list on IMDb.com). Despite all that, I am sure many kids would not care and would drag you to watch it. Be firm and show them something better on home video!
Kidnap
Directed by: Luis Prieto
With: Halle Berry, Sage Correa, and Chris McGinn
What is it about? A mother stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Heads Up: A B-movie thriller starring Halle Berry is something we need to see more often. Despite its negative reviews, and laughable premise, I think this actually can be a fun film to watch in cinema.
47 Meters Down
Directed by: Johannes Roberts
With: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, and Matthew Modine
What is it about? Two sisters vacationing in Mexico become trapped in a shark cage on the ocean floor. As their oxygen starts to run out and with great white sharks circling them, the sisters must find a way to get to the surface alive.
Heads Up: Banking on our new found fear/obsession with sharks, and after the commercial success of films like last years The Shallow, we got not one but two tall attractive white girls vacationing in Mexico only to end up surrounded by bloodthirsty sharks. Our critic Lloyd Bayer saw it and he said it wasn’t particularly good. He gave it 2/5 stars and described it as “technically flawed and badly written but does provide some frightening moments for those who like shark attack movies”, so I would skip it in cinema and perhaps catch up with it later on home viewing.
Toilet – Ek Prem Katha
Directed by: Shree Narayan Singh
With: Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, and Anupam Kher
What is it about? Conflict comes knocking between Jaya and Keshav on the first day of their marriage, when she leaves the house for good, after discovering that there is no toilet in the home. Distraught and desperate, Keshav sets out on mission to win back his love- by battling against the age old traditions, mindset and value system of his country.
Heads Up: Akshay Kumar‘s latest film is a comedy with a social message, and it finds him in his comfort zone. Check the film out if you are a fan of his comedy, but don’t expect anything new.
Only Men Go To The Grave
Directed by: Abdulla Al Kaabi
With: Abdelreza Nasari, Hebe Sabah, Awatif Salman, Saleema Yaqoub, and Salimeh Rangzan
What is it about? When a blind mother accidentally dies, her family tries to uncover her secret past during the traditional 3-day funeral.
Heads Up: DIFF365 presents last year’s Best Muhr Emirati Feature Award winner at DIFF2016. If you are an arthouse film buff, here is a local film that might be up your alley.
