It’s been another wild week of entertainment news, from new Star Wars action, to Marvel revelations, to another critically flat movie from the ‘Fleck. (That’s a thing, right?) But before we present our Weekend Box Office Preview and beyond, which will include Ben Affleck’s somewhat critically troubled movie about a homicidal mathematician, The Accountant, we’ll get into the latest from “a Star Wars story” with a little Rogue One trailer recap.
So, the trailer. This one was a little odd for us. Look, we’re still extremely excited about this movie — especially after the spate of failures that has been the last month or so at the box office — but frankly, while the visuals were amazing, the dialogue selected for the new Rogue One trailer fell a little flat for us. The key here is context. Maybe the lines that seemed supercheesy in the trailer (“Save the rebellion, save the dream!!”) will play out better in the middle of it all, and in fact that’s often the case. Still, to this podcaster especially, while the action looked epic and decidedly Star Wars-ian, the lines highlighted in this latest glimpse of the film just didn’t bring the feels.
We got to hear a lot (too much, maybe) of Jyn Erso’s apparent rally-the-troops speech, which rang just a little flat for us. “You’re rebels, aren’t you?” I guess? Even the line from Director Krennic about “power” seemed a little too similar to the Death Star line from A New Hope. OK, we’re probably just being a bit overly critical of a film this overhyped. There was also plenty we did like about the trailer — including the latest scenes of Mads Mikkelson’s character, the apparent architect of the Death Star, and some epic visuals. Highlights included the intro scene, where what looks like a T-4a shuttle soars above an ocean with the planet’s rings floating above, the X-wing fighters in space (please, let there be an awesome space battle), and the absolutely massive Jedi statue in the sand. There were also some cool lines in there, as well, including the “makes 10 men feel like 100” clip, which seems to be an allusion to the Force. In any event, we’ll dig deeper in today’s show, and ask for your thoughts as well.
Moving on to this weekend’s box office highlights, Ben Affleck’s The Accountant is doing poorly when it comes to the critics, and while our own Rick Marshall did enjoy the action elements, he also thought the narrative was a bit of a mess. The film — which comes from a Black List script — has a pretty intriguing premise, pitting a genius-level, autistic Jason Bourne against a backdrop of criminal elements. Yet, while Affleck seems to do as good a job as ever as the killer accountant, many reviewers seemed to take issue with the script and execution, which could leave this film relegated to the “rental” category. But if you’re looking for Bourne-style action, with a unique spin, it might be worth a ride.
The movie we’re most interested this weekend, however, is Godzilla: Resurgence (Shin Godzilla), a Japanese film that harks back to the original Godzilla films from the ’60s and ’70s. Described as “lo-fi,” the nostalgic reboot will be in the U.S. for a short time only, so for anyone who enjoys a good Japanese creature flick, that’s where we suggest you spend your time this weekend.
Of course, there’s much more to talk about this week, including another turn back to the old days with the Roger Corman-produced Death Race 2050. This trailer is wild, and for those who are familiar with the original, it’s almost like an acid flashback. For those unfamiliar, Roger Corman is one of the most prolific and successful filmmakers of all time, producing around 400 films in his lifetime, and even at 90, he’s apparently not finished yet. Nicknamed “King of the Bs,” Corman’s innovative approach to filmmaking and his intriguing eye for storyline and pulp aesthetics helped launch the careers of everyone from Dennis Hopper to James Cameron. Corman is nothing less than a Hollywood legend, and those who like the B-movie genre should be excited about this return to form based on his original cult classic from 1975, Death Race 2000.
Elsewhere this week, we got more news (maybe too much?) about the new Wolverine film, Logan, including a new villain revealed on Instagram via the film’s official account. We also got some Jurassic World 2 news from Jurassic World director Collin Trevorrow, and a very cool trailer from the wild Nic Cage film, Army of One. It’s based on the true story of Gary Faulkner, who brought a sword to Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden on a mission from God. And in the film, God is played by the hilarious Russell Brand. We know Cage is all over the place, but this kind of role is his comfort zone — the guy won an Academy Award, after all. This movie looks very fun.
All of this, and much more will be gabbed about on today’s show, so tune in live at 2 p.m. PT, or take our podcast on the road!
