One Week before Avengers: Endgame invades all the multiplexes, and while Hollywood is mostly getting out of the way, Bollywood, on the other hand, is doubling down and releasing one of its biggest films of the year, so we are getting that and a slew of smaller films, so let’s see what’s in store this weekend.
Kalank
Directed by: Abhishek Varman
With: Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sanjay Dutt
What is it about? Set in pre-independent India, Kalank is a story about an elite family and many of its hidden truths that begin to unfold as communal tensions rise and partition nears.
Heads Up? Director Abhishek Varman‘s sophomore directorial effort after the success of 2 States. This epic period drama has a star-studded cast of yesteryears and today’s A-listers. Produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala two of Bollywood’s biggest moguls, this lavish period piece looks beautiful, epic, and old-fashioned. I think it will be a good date movie.
The Curse of La Llorona
Directed by: Michael Chaves
With: Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, and Marisol Ramirez
What is it about? Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.
Heads Up? Set in the Conjuring Universe, The Curse of La Llorona is cashing on the massive success of The Conjuring which spun off Annabelle series and The Nun with more to come (director Michael Chaves‘s next film is The Conjuring 3 slated for next year). The reviews for this one are more in the negative side, but they are not disastrous (unlike last week’s Hellboy for instance). If you are a fan of said universe, or the horror genre in general, then by all means.
Missing Link
Directed by: Chris Butler
With: Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Emma Thompson, and Zach Galifianakis
What is it about? Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend.
Heads Up? Stop-motion animation films are a hard sell in recent years, despite how good most of them are, they’ve had a hard time at the box-office (Isle of Dog, Early Man, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Anomalisa: all failed commercially). Similarly, Missing Link is enjoying excellent reviews, but sadly not that much commercial love upon its release in the US. I’d say go take your kids and enjoy it with the whole family, and support this struggling yet excellent form of art.
Stockholm
Directed by: Robert Budreau
With: Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, and Mark Strong
What is it about? Based on the absurd but true 1973 bank heist and hostage crisis in Stockholm that was documented in the New Yorker as the origins of the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’.
Heads Up? A comedy thriller set in the 70s about a bank heist. It looks like if the Coen Brothers made Dog Day Afternoon, the three leads especially Hawke and Rapace seem to have the time of their lives in the scenes from the trailer, so even though the reviews are middling, the leads are very appealing to me. I am curious about this one.
The Hummingbird Project
Directed by: Kim Nguyen
With: Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård, Michael Mando, and Salma Hayek
What is it about? A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
Heads Up? Another comedy thriller this weekend (only fictional and set in modern time), and it looks funny and has a couple of charismatic actors in the lead, not to mention Salma Hayek as a blue-haired baddie. I’d say why not.
Teen Spirit
Directed by: Max Minghella
With: Elle Fanning, Agnieszka Grochowska, Archie Madekwe, and Rebecca Hall
What is it about? Violet is a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition.
Heads Up? This is the directorial debut of actor Max Minghella (son of the late Oscar winning director Anthony Minghella). This small drama is getting a good critical response for telling of a familiar Cinderella story well and for its lead performance by Elle Fanning. That said, I don’t think there is a need to rush and see this one on big screen.
Triple Threat
Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson
With: Tony Jaa, Scott Adkins, Tiger Hu Chen, Michael Jai White
What is it about? A hit contract is taken out on a billionaire’s daughter who is intent on bringing down a major crime syndicate. A down and out team of mercenaries must take on a group of professional assassins and stop them before they kill their target.
Heads Up? A martial art action film with who’s who of the genre. The reviews are good but the film is already out on VOD, so even if you are a fan of these films, you don’t really have to rush and watch it in cinema.
