Your weekend time is valuable and at the end of a long week, the discretionary time must be spent to its maximum value. In order to help narrow choices down on the film, television, and gaming fronts, every Friday the Weekend Preview gives you the rundown of your options and an educated guess as to which ones make the most sense.
Nick Nunziata and I predicted the box office returns for these films last Sunday.
At the Movies
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Director: Tim Burton
Stars: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson
Current RT Meter: 61% Fresh
My box office prediction last Sunday: $25,000,000
Nick’s box office prediction: $29,000,000
Tim Burton returns to the big screen with a story based on a popular book series. In a weird way, this feels like Burton’s response to the superhero movie craze. It’s not hard to see the X-Men comparisons here, but Burton looks to be bringing his particular brand of flair to the proceedings. Eva Green is always a joy to watch and Samuel Jackson’s bad guy looks like a blast. Reviews are somewhat middling (though Nick gave it a good review) but this looks like one for the weirdos.
The Verdict: Can’t be worse than Dark Shadows.
Deepwater Horizon
Director: Peter Berg
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Douglas M. Griffin
Current RT Meter: 80% Fresh
My box office prediction last Sunday: $18,000,000
Nick’s box office prediction: $19,500,000
Another bombastic true story makes its way to theaters this weekend. The reviews have been surprisingly solid (check out Nick’s review) and audiences seem to be primed for such a tale in the wake of Sully. The cast is excellent and the disaster spectacle seems appropriately breathtaking. Expect this one to try and gain some Oscar momentum.
The Verdict: The feel bad movie of the weekend.
Masterminds
Director: Jared Hess
Stars: Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis
Current RT Meter: N/A
My box office prediction last Sunday: $8,000,000
Nick’s box office prediction: $11,000,000
This zany true story looks a little too goofy for the current climate. Granted, the cast is full of comedy professionals and the premise seems fun. However, the film’s delays and lack of marketing presence don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Still, with the performers assembled, you’re bound to experience a few laughs at worst.
The Verdict: Looking for an easy laugh this weekend? This is a safe bet.
Queen of Katwe
Director: Mira Nair
Stars: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o
Current RT Meter: 91% Fresh
My box office prediction last Sunday: $5,000,000
Nick’s box office prediction: N/A
This Oscar contender is getting rave reviews and it’s pretty clear why. The fantastic cast and the uplifting story look like the kind of tales we could use more of in these dark times. Plus, chess is awesome. Queen of Katwe is getting a limited release this weekend, but it will likely expand if it does well. Go see it!
The Verdict: This one is gonna be good.
On the Tube
Marvel’s Luke Cage
Netflix continues its winning streak of Marvel shows with the indestructible Luke Cage getting his time in the spotlight. Reviews have been immensely positive, and it sounds like this is going to continue the adult themes and concepts that Jessica Jones brought to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Verdict: How can you call yourself a fan and miss this? Get your binge-watching pajamas on and strap in this weekend.
Westworld
This highly anticipated reimagining of the Michael Crichton sci-fi thriller seems like it’s going to live up to the hype. HBO needs a new genre show to catch on so that they have something to replace Game of Thrones with. Will Westworld be it? Here’s hoping.
The Verdict: This is the curiosity of the weekend.
Ash vs. Evil Dead
The cult hit returns for its second season, and the world is a better place for it. We’ve been itching for the second season for a while. Danielle Ryan got to see the premiere episode at San Diego Comic-Con, and Travis Newton even spoke with the Chin himself. Seeing as how things are going to get gorier and goofier in season two, it all sounds like an abundance of riches.
The Verdict: Groovy.
Amanda Knox
Netflix had a huge hit with their true crime documentary Making a Murderer, and now they hope to catch that fervor again with Amanda Knox. The story is certainly one worth telling, but the fact that it’s a feature instead of a series might diminish its profile. Still, true crime junkies are gonna wanna check this out.
The Verdict: A good true crime documentary is always a great watch.
For the Gamers
FIFA 17
Another year, another onslaught of sports games. FIFA 17 will most likely satiate fans of the long-running series. It’s gotta be tough to mess up soccer, right? Am I going to get a bunch of hate mail because I didn’t call it football? Oh well.
The Verdict: You’ve already bought this if it’s your jam.
Forza Horizon 3
Much like sports games, racing games have their own special branch of fandom. The Forza series has some serious pedigree behind it, and this newest entry looks like it’s hitting all the right marks. The cars go fast and they look good while doing it.
The Verdict: Two driveshafts up.
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice
Has there been a more embarrassing franchise game than Sonic Boom in the last few years? It’s become an industry-wide joke. Will this new 3DS entry change that opinion? Probably not, but it sounds like it’s an improvement in enough ways to matter. Simplifying the whole experience can’t hurt at this point.
The Verdict: Maybe if you’re deathly curious, but otherwise this is an obvious skip.
Yo-kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits & Fleshy Souls
Was Yo-kai Watch supposed to be the new Pokémon? If so, it had the unfortunate luck to get buried under the phenomenon of Pokémon Go. These new sequels seem to be slightly modified versions of the original game, so fans will probably find something to like. Everyone else will be catching Squirtles on their phone.
The Verdict: You’re probably too busy hitting up PokéStops to take some time to play this.
