Welcome to a new weekly column! Each Thursday we’ll look at what is going to be coming out in theaters this weekend, show you the trailers for the big releases, predict the box office winner and just generally give you enough of a carrot to pull you through the rest of the work week. March 11th has five new releases, four of which are getting rave reviews….the other has Sascha Baron Cohen.
Certainly the highest-profile release is 10 Cloverfield Lane. Six weeks ago, we didn’t know Cloverfield was a franchise and now here’s a new film that feels very Twilight Zone. 10 years after Borat, Sascha Baron Cohen still apparently has a career. His latest attempt at being funny is The Brothers Grimsby. Alan Rickman’s last live-action performance also stars Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul in the timely, intriguing thriller Eye in the Sky. Sally Field gets a starring vehicle in Hello, My Name is Doris (has that happened in 20 years?). Finally, two brilliant actors in the twilight of their careers, Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau, team up in the drama Remember. Here’s a look at each:
10 Cloverfield Lane (John Goodman, PG-13, 1hr 45min)
The Brothers Grimsby (Sascha Baron Cohen, R, 1hr 23min)
Eye in the Sky (Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, R, 1hr 42min)
Hello, My Name is Doris (Sally Field, R, 1hr 35min)
Remember (Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, R, 1hr 35min)
HOW DID WE DO LAST WEEK?
We predicted that Zootopia would open solidly at #1 and so it did with a $75.1 million take. WE’RE 1-0 (insert sarcastic applause)!!!!
WHO WILL WIN THE WEEKEND?
Zootopia will hold off 10 Cloverfield Lane for a second week atop the heap, though good reviews for 10 Cloverfield Lane may make it closer than I originally thought.
I loved Rickman. I hope his last performance was one of his best. Probably not, but he was always memorable regardless of the movie, so we can at least expect that. He was lucky to have landed an incredible role (Hans Gruber) for his first movie, then the best role of his career (Snape) so late in his life. Snape was one of the great all-time characters (even now, all these years later, I find myself turning the guy around in my mind to ponder his motivations) and Rickman embodied him.
As for The Brothers Grimsby, Sasha Baron Coen doesn’t need to do this kind of thing anymore. I was never a fan of his Borat-style comedy (I don’t like the idea of setting traps for people on camera) but at least there was an energy to it. This new one just looks sad, and after Hugo, Les Miserables, and Sweeney Todd, he’s proven himself to be a really good straight-up supporting player. I’m sorry his Freddie Mercury biopic fell through, and I might go see the Alice sequel just for him.
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