There is no shortage of films to watch this weekend with an Oscar early front-runner and a highly anticipated star-studded mystery thriller in the mix, so keep reading.
A Star is Born
Directed by: Bradley Cooper
With: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, and Andrew Dice Clay
What is it about? A musician helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
Heads Up: This story is almost as old as cinema. A Star is Born has been made in Hollywood in 1937, 1954, 1976, and now in 2018 we have its 4th iteration. The film is a smashing success at the box-office and its reviews are glowing. Our esteemed critic Lloyd Bayer is one big fan, and 4½ stars review he wrote”A Star is Born might be the best remake of a bitter-sweet love story, but it’s really about Cooper and Gaga’s unseen talents pooled in to make this one of the best films of the year“.
Bad Times at the El Royale
Directed by: Drew Goddard
With: Chris Hemsworth, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, and Jeff Bridges
What is it about? Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption – before everything goes to hell.
Heads Up? This mystery thriller is Drew Goddard follow up to 2012’s The Cabin in The Wood (Our review: 4½ stars). The critical Consensus on this film is that it’s “Smart, stylish, and packed with solid performances“. I am all in!
Ghost Stories
Directed by: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
With: Andy Nyman, Martin Freeman, Paul Whitehouse, and Alex Lawther
What is it about? Skeptical professor Phillip Goodman embarks on a trip to the terrifying after finding a file with details of three unexplained cases of apparitions.
Heads Up? This film has been received positively by critics including our own Lloyd Bayer who in his 3½ stars review wrote: “Ghost Stories will appeal to old-school horror fans where the journey has more importance than the destination“. I personally think the ending was a letdown, but I agree with Lloyd that the journey was kinda fun.
What They Had
Directed by: Elizabeth Chomko
With: Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, and Blythe Danner
What is it about? Bridget returns home at her brother’s urging to deal with her ailing mother and her father’s reluctance to let go of their life together.
Heads Up? This family drama that’s geared toward adult audiences has an excellent cast lead by 2 times Oscar winner Hilary Swank and the one-and-only Michael Shannon. Going by the trailer, it looks like a cliched drama that hits all the Oscar bait notes, but according to the unanimously favorable reviews, although it hits all the familiar notes, it hit them the right way and it earns both its weepy and funny moments.
Helicopter Eela
Directed by: Pradeep Sarkar
With: Kajol, Riddhi Sen, and Tota Roy Chowdhury
What is it about? When her son leaves home to go to college, Eela takes helicopter mothering to the next level.
Heads Up? Kajol is one of the most charming Bollywood starlets of the last 25 years, so if anyone can make this cringe-worthy premise into something watchable it would be her. That said, I’d wait for the early word-of-mouth before committing to this one.
