In what turned out to be the biggest box office weekend o the year so far, Sonic the Hedgehog and Fantasy Island looked to take down the newly renamed Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey while The Photograph looked to capitalize on the Valentine’s Day weekend crowd. Outside of the mainstream, another seven films went into limited or expanded release in the busiest movie weekend of 2020.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Written by Patrick Casey & Josh Miller – Directed by Jeff Fowler
Starring: James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Ben Schwartz
After surprising public outcry, redesigning the creepy humanoid Sonic was clearly the right choice. Sonic smashed its way to a whopping $58-million opening weekend, the biggest opening ever for a videogame movie, and easily outpaced all its competitors. My expectations aren’t high but I have faith in Marsden and Jim Carrey. The general consensus is that it’s an enjoyable theater outing so you can feel pretty confident that you’ll get your money’s worth.
Fantasy Island
Written by Jeff Wardlow, Jillian Jacobs, and Christopher Roach – Directed by Jeff Wardlow
Starring: Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, and Charlotte McKinney
Blumhouse has a knack for making bad horror movies…it’s kinda their thing. While pumping out low-budget B movies into mainstream cinema, they’ve turned a lot of profit and made some good movies along the way too so you never really know what you’re going to get. In this case, the premise had to carry a lot of the load because the drawing power of the cast was underwhelming. As suspected, that wasn’t nearly enough with a Rotten Tomatoes score sitting at 10% and a Metacritic score of 22. Nonetheless, it had a $12-million opening and has already doubled its production cost. Enter at your own risk.
The Photograph
Written and Directed by Stella Meghie
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield & Issa Rae
Stanfield had a big year in 2019 and I would have given him my Performer of the Year award if it weren’t for Adam Driver’s incredible year. Rae looks poised to have a similarly big 2020 with two high profile movies due out in the first half of the year and her HBO show coming back in April. This is the highest-profile project for writer/director Stella Meghie but it’s definitely giving off some If Beale Street Could Talk type of vibes and that’s not a bad thing. It has generally favorable reviews and looks like an artfully crafted adult love story if that’s what you’re looking for.
Downhill – *Limited*
Written by Jesse Armstrong, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – Original Screenplay by Ruben Östlund – Directed by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell
I’m more than a little disappointed to see this movie is posting so many negative scores across the board. I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was excited to her in this role now that Veep has run its course but something clearly didn’t connect. Love him or hate him, Will Ferrell has proven to be a fairly reliable performer throughout his career. The fact these two stars couldn’t get the movie across fills me with morbid curiosity but not enough to plunk down the time or money to see it right now. I feel like I can safely wait for this one to make its way to On Demand.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire – *Expanding* – **Editor’s Choice**
Written & Directed by Céline Sciamma
Starring: Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant
This movie was a major player at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, earning a nomination for the Palme d’Or (the festival’s most prestigious award) while taking home Best Screenplay and the Queer Palme for treatment of LGBT themes. It also got nominations for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs so there was a substantial buzz surrounding this project coming out of France. Set towards the end of the 18th century, the story deals with themes of forbidden love and secrecy. Even in “expanded” release, it won’t be the easiest title to find but I’m guessing it will be worth the effort.
After Midnight – *Limited*
Written by Jeremy Gardner – Directed by Jeremy Gardner & Christian Stella
When Hank’s girlfriend walks out on him leaving behind only a mysterious note, the woods outside his house come alive as his sanity begins to slip. Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson (the guys behind The Endless, Spring, and Resolution) served as producers on this film so you can rest assured it was going to be weird. This is officially the second film Stella and Gardner have directed in tandem but Stella wore many hats behind the scenes on the production of The Battery (2012), so the two are well acquainted behind the camera. There’s no star power to help sell this but it’s mostly about the concept and execution anyway. If you’re really interested, it will be a difficult one to find.
Buffaloed – *Limited*
Written by Brian Sacca – Directed by Tanya Wexler
Starring: Zoey Dutch, Jai Courtney, Judy Greer, and Jermaine Fowler
As a Buffalo Bills fan, any movie that’s even remotely related to the team gets some automatic bonus points. Whether it’s any good remains to be seen but it has a surprisingly strong cast and movies about hustling tend to be fairly entertaining. Wexler has made some interesting films but this is Sacca’s first feature screenplay although he’s written a variety of television programming. I’d call this one a coin toss despite the extra added interest on my end.
Ordinary Love – *Limited*
Written by Owen McCafferty – Directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn
Starring: Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville
Even though the poster for this movie looks like Neeson is locking in a rear-naked choke on Manville, this is really the story of a couple dealing with a sudden cancer diagnosis. I could see how this appeals to the older crowd on Valentine’s weekend but it’s certainly a very niche audience and, with a story like this, the performances are going to have to be particularly strong. This is McCafferty’s first screenplay and the directing tandem hasn’t exactly banged out bankable hits; it’s been seven years since there last film as well. There is reason to have faith in the leads and the overall tone of the film seems genuinely heartfelt but there are enough question marks to not go all in.
Olympic Dreams – *Limited*
Written by Nick Kroll, Alexi Pappas, and Jeremy Teicher – Directed by Jeremy Teicher
Starring: Nick Kroll and Alexi Pappas
The “first feature film shot inside the Olympic Village” angle comes across a bit gimmicky but a project like this is going to need all the marketing help it can get. As you can see by the credit listing, this was a very small core group that put this together. That’s a good thing in terms of creative control but the success of the idea will rely almost solely on Nick Kroll’s shoulders. He’s spent his whole career doing comedy, some of it very strange, so he’s the one who is going to have to win the audience over. If he falters in the character portrayal, I don’t know if there is enough there in support to help the film stay on track. However, it does look like a sweet story about exploration and risk-taking but I’ll probably wait until it’s On Demand.
VFW – *Limited*
Written by Max Brallier & Matthew McArdle – Directed by Joe Begos
Starring: Stephen Lang, William Sadler, and Fred Williamson
In very From Dusk Till Dawn fashion, a group of war veterans has their night turned upside down and is forced to defend a teenager from a drug dealer and his gang. Really, what’s not to love? Stephen Lang is perfect for this role and having William Sadler and Fred Williamson along for the ride feels right at home. Joe Begos certainly has a thing for horror films so why should this be any different. The screenplay by Brallier and McArdle looks to be fully aware of its genre responsibilities and more than willing to indulge them. I grew up with these types of movies so I’ll be happy to go check it out but it’ll be hard to find for a while.