The Weekend Warrior September 23, 2022
DON’T WORRY DARLING, AVATAR, NOTHING COMPARES, CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY, A JAZZMAN’S BLUES, and More
This is going to be a relatively light week, I think, at least as far as limited releases, and unfortunately, this is also going to have to be a stripped-down column with far fewer reviews, since I have a new long-term project starting on Wednesday and won’t be able to work on this after I run out of time to write on Tuesday night.
DON’T WORRY DARLING (New Line/WB)
Three years after wowing critics and fans alike with her directorial debut Booksmart, Olivia Wilde returns with an even more ambitious project, a period thriller that stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as a couple living in the ‘50s suburbs where the husbands work on something called the “Victory Project,” all going off to a mountain base every day while their wives cook, clean and take ballet lessons. Obviously, there’s something more nefarious going on, involving the company’s CEO, played by Chris Pine, but I’m not going to get into spoilers here, since it’s irrelevant to anything… except for the film’s mostly negative reviews.
I have to say that Warner Bros. did a great job with marketing the movie and controlling the narrative until movie writers and others actually had a chance to see the movie, and that’s something that’s harder to control. But they saw very early on that the rumors surrounding the feud between Wilde and her leading lady might end up dominating, but then all this other stuff came out, including Wild stating why she didn’t think Shia LaBeouf wasn’t right for the role that eventually went to Styles… who then became Wilde’s boyfriend. (And maybe when she answered the question about Shia, she didn’t realize that he would respond.) It all culminated at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year when the gossip just boiled over and then there was the whole “spit-gate,” probably the stupidest thing on the internet this month. I won’t get into any more of it, but oddly, it’s built up interest in the movie where it might have just gotten a very limited audience before.
Realizing this, Warner Bros. managed to get the movie into 4,000 theaters since there’s a lot of overwhelming curiosity to see the movie after all the buzz beforehand, as well as since it has these two hot young stars in Pugh and Styles. I’ve been thinking for a while that this would be good for $20 million just due to those two actors, but with all the added hype from everything else, I think it could maybe do as much as $25 million this weekend… but expect a very bad CinemaScore and a major crash and burn next weekend against Smile and Bros.
You can read my review of Olivia Wilde’s new thriller here.
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AVATAR (20th Century/Disney)
It’s kind of odd to think of a James Cameron movie that grossed over $2.7 billion worldwide as counter-programming, but indeed, Disney is giving Cameron’s groundbreaking 2009 sci-fi fantasy film, Avatar, a release into 1,800 theaters, which will include some IMAX as well as some 3D screens. Although the movie has been on Disney+ for probably a year or more, it’s been temporarily removed from streaming so that those who might want to see the movie on the big screen (maybe with kids who were too young to see it in 2009) will make the effort to do so.
I fully understand this decision, because we’ve seen things like Cameron’s Titanic do well with an enhanced review, and very recently, two of Steven Spielberg’s classics, 1975’s Jaws and 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, have received theatrical re-releases, the former in 3D and IMAX for the first time, the latter in IMAX only. While neither did huge numbers or made too much of an impact on the top 10, we’ve seen that repertory films are generally doing well in a movie market where there aren’t too many blockbusters or tentpoles being released. (In other words, theaters/screens need to have something to play on them, regardless of whether there’s anyone in the seats.)
I’m not going to spend too much time analyzing this one since there’s little purpose, but I do think it could bring in $8 million or so as counter-programming to some of the more R-rated fare currently in theaters.
THE CHART:
The top 3 should be pretty easy to pick this week, although we’ll have to see if Don’t Worry Darling just does decently or really explodes, the latter seeming less likely with such poor reviews. Avatar shouldn’t have a problem re-opening in third place, and then the only question is how many theaters Brett Morgen’s Bowie doc Moonage Daydream is released into by NEON following its successful IMAX run.
UPDATE: The only significant change is that Barbarian has done well enough that Disney has gotten it into 550 more theaters this weekend, which should allow it to continue to capitalize on word-of-mouth for a stronger third weekend, but still in fourth place.
1. Don’t Worry Darling (Warner Bros.) - $23.7 million N/A
2. The Woman King (Sony) - $12.2 million -36%
3. Avatar (2oth Century/Disney) - $8 million N/A
4. Barbarian (20th Century) - $4.5 million -31% (up .9 million)
5. Bullet Train (Sony) - $1.8 million -29%
6. DC League of Super-Pets (Warner Bros.) - $1.7 million -20%
7. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) $1.6 million -35%
8. See How They Run (Searchlight) - $1.6 million -48%
9. Moonage Daydream (NEON) - $1.4 million +8%
10. Pearl (A24) $1.3 million -58%
This week’s “Chosen One” is…
NOTHING COMPARES (Showtime)
I saw this amazing doc about Sinead O’Connor back at the virtual Sundance, but it will now get a theatrical release on Friday before hitting Showtime streaming on Sept. 30 and airing on Oct. 2. I highly recommend this movie whether or not you’re a fan of O’Connor’s music, particularly the better known songs from the ‘80s, because director Kathryn Ferguson did a great job culling her career and life down to a movie that really captures the ups and downs of her life from the early abuses by her father to being placed in the Grianán Training Centre, run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity, where poor girls who have been raped get treated even more horribly. In some ways, she thrived there, especially in the development of her writing and music, sneaking out to do vocals on a single with her first band, but she also chafed under the conformity imposed on her. In fact, it was her treatment that eventually led to the famous Pope-ripping episode on Saturday Night Live, but knowing more about her past makes you understand.
I had the luck of seeing O’Connor (who now goes by Shuhada Sadaqat) perform back in her heyday in the ‘80s, and there’s some amazing early footage of her performing in a club in 1985. Oddly, any modern-day interviews with her are done off-camera, although she does perform a song with her band at the end of the film. It’s a pretty haunting film, really, and quite thorough, covering a lot of ground, not just the music or the records and videos, but also her inner thoughts and why she did some of the things she did. Although she ended up vanishing for nearly a decade, she also influenced so many women and female artists to stand up for themselves and their rights, and it’s great this doc brings that influence to light.
CATHERINE CALLED BIRDY (Prime Video)
Filmmaker Lena Dunham returns with her second movie of the year, an adaptation of Katherine Cushman’s 1994 fictional historic novel with Bella Ramsey playing the title character, a 14-year-old in the Middle Ages, whose father (Andrew Scott) is itching to marry her off to bring in some money to the family’s beleaguered coffers. While Lady Catherine (as she’s known by most) has her eye on her uncle George (Joe Alwyn), he also is married off to an older regal that can help the family name (played by Sophie Okonedo).
I didn’t hate Dunham’s Sharp Stick, although it had some clear problems, and I’m not sure whether Dunham doing a period comedy would work, maybe because it’s always going to be compared to the likes of Monty Python and the Holy Grail or that season of Miracle Workers set in the Middle Ages. Catherine Called Birdy is a very different movie, being a coming-of-age comedy that showcases how well Dunham works with young actresses like Ramsey.
She also has the benefit of a great cast around Ramsey, including Billie Piper, Ralph Ineson, and the always hilarious grouch, David Bradley. Catherine Called Birdy benefits from being able to throw new characters and situations at Ramsey’s character to keep the movie from ever getting dull.
While Catherine Called Birdy is moderately funny at times, it never feels the need to get to dramatic as these sometimes things to do, and Dunham wisely lets her sharp writing and cast keep the viewer entertained.
Rating: 7/10
This will open in theaters on Friday and then be available to watch on Prime Video starting Oct. 7.
Unfortunately, we then get to the movies that I just didn’t have time to watch but I’ll try to at least let you know the general gist of what they’re about until I get a chance to watch them. Kind of sucks, but not much I can do about it. Time is my enemy.
GIVE ME FIVE (Well Go USA)
Zhang Luan’s dramatic comedy hitting select theaters this Friday stars Yuan Chang as Xiao Wu, who is transported back in time while trying to help his aging father recover lost memories. In doing so, he accidentally changes his parent’s pasts and must do whatever it takes to fix it, lest he never be born.
SECTION 8 (RLJEfilms/AMC+)
Ryan Kwanten from True Blood, Dolph Lundgren, Dermot Mulroney, Scott Adkins, and Mickey Rourke star in this revenge thriller directed by Christian Sesma about a former soldier (Kwanten) who is sent to prison for life after avenging his murdered wife and child. When he’s recruited by a government agency for the “Section 8” project, he learns that there’s more to it than it seems. This will hit theaters via RLJEfilms and be streaming on AMC+ starting Friday.
THE INFERNAL MACHINE (Paramount PIctures)
‘Guy Pearce, Alice Eve and Alex Petyfer star in Andrew Hunt’s thriller, which will be in theaters and on digital this Friday. Pearce plays Bruce Cogburn, a reclusive bestselling author who is drawn out of hiding by an obsessed fan, and that encounter forces him to confront his past.
THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING (Filmrise)
New Zealand filmmaker Gaysorn Thavat’s dramedy stars Essie Davis from The Babadook as Bunny King, the mother of two who washes windows at traffic lights, saving money to get back custody of her kids, with the help of her niece Tonya, played by Thomas McKenzie of Last Night in Soho. It will hit select theaters this Friday and will be on VOD on Sept. 30.
CARMEN (Good Deed Entertainment)
Opening in New York, L.A. and other major cities, as well as on VOD, Canadian filmmaker Valerie Buhagiar’s Malta-based third feature film, stars Natascha McElhone as Carmen, who has been looking after her priest brother for her whole life until he dies and she’s able to leave the church and make up for lost time. (This should not be confused with the recent adaptation of Bizet’s opera of the same name that just played at TIFF last week.)
YOUNG PLATO
Opening in New York and Boston this Friday and expanding to other cities on Sept. 30 is this doc from Neasa Ní Chianáín looks at the Holy Cross Boys School in Belfast, Northern Ireland and its principal, Kevin McArevey, who allows schoolyard conflicts to be resolved through the school’s “Philosophy board” where the kids can learn to reason and think for themselves.
Streaming…
A JAZZMAN’S BLUES (Netflix)
Tyler Perry’s second (?) movie for Netflix premiered at TIFF a few weekends back, starring Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as Bayou and Leanne, star-crossed lovers in the deep South, surrounded by the music of the juke joints of the time. That’s all I really know about this, because I haven’t seen it.
THAI CAVE RESCUE (Netflix)
Believe it or not, this is now the FOURTH project based around that famous rescue of a team of young Thai soccer players from flooded underground caves in 2018, following the excellent doc, The Rescue, Ron Howard’s drama Thirteen Lives, the lower-budget Cave Rescue, and now this series. I haven’t seen the latter two of these, but after watching the first two movies, I think I’m good.
MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY (Netflix)
Also hitting Netflix this week is Joe Berlinger’s new series about the famed serial killer, as played by Evan Peters, and also starring Richard Jenkins and Niecy Nash. (Berlinger previously directed Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil, and Vile starring Zac Efron as Bundy. I’m not sure if he’s involved with the upcoming Netflix docuseries involving recorded conversations with Jeffrey Dahmer.)
Romain Gavras’ ATHENA (Netfilx) will finally hit the streamer this week, as well.
ANDOR (DIsney+)
The big streaming series debut this week will be the latest “Star Wars” spin-off series centered around Diego Luna’s character from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
SIDNEY (Apple TV+)
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, this documentary shines the spotlight on Academy Award-winning actor Sidney Poitier with interviews with the likes of Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey (the film’s producer), and many more. It will be released in select theaters (including New York’s Quad Cinema on Friday as well as stream on Apple TV+.
ESCAPE FROM KABUL (HBO)
Debuting tonight (Weds) on HBO is Jamie Roberts’ documentary that covers the removal of American troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the subsequent evacuation of Afghan citizens from Kabul before the Taliban seized the city.
Repertory stuff…. (Also gonna be a stripped-down and limited section this week)
Metrograph Pictures is re-releasing Claire Denis’ 2004 film L’Intrus, beginning this Friday, and it also starts two new series this week, “Just One More Thing…,” which shines the spotlight on Peter Falk and some of the filmmakers that directed episodes of Falk’s classic TV series Columbo, which aired for a number of decades. This includes the likes of Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Demme as well as others, and this weekend, they’re showing William Friedkin’s The Brink’s Job (1978) and Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire (1987), both starring Falk, as well as Clint Eastwood’s The Eiger Sanction (1975).
“The Films of Sylvia Kristel” is pretty self-explanatory, focusing on the Dutch-born actress who first became famous for starring in the erotic dramas Emmanuelle and Julia (both from 1974), as well as playing Mata Hari (1985) and other roles. This series will run through the week, playing seven movies starring Kristel.
“Welcome to Metrograph A to Z” will show Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) one more time on Thursday night, while “Metrograph Selects” will show Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2016).
“‘70s Play the ‘30s” continues with final screenings of Thieves Like Us on Thursday and Boxcar Bertha on Friday, while this weekend’s “Late Nights: Hip-Hop Icons” is Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).
This Sunday’s offering as part of “Midilengths: Daily Life & the Afterlife” is Jan Nemec’s Diamonds of the Night (1994). (Never heard of it.) Frederick Wiseman’s Aspen is playing Thursday as part of the ongoing “Road Trip” series, and that may be the end of that.
Mike Nichols’ Carnal Knowledge contines to play as “Miloš Forman 90” concludes on Thursday, and I was never able to get to anything in that great series, because I’ve been so busy. Jean Luc-Godard’s classic Breathless begins to screen in 35mm on Friday, as well as François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows will run as part of a four-part Truffaut series called “The Further Adventures of Antoine Doinel.” This Sunday’s Film Forum Jr. is something called The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars & Motor Kings from 1979, which I’ve never heard of? (It stars Richard Pryor, Billy Dee Williams, and James Earl Jones.. And it’s a kid’s movie? Okay…)
Tying into the continuing run of Andrew Dominik’s Blonde, they’re showing the Marilyn Monroe film NIagara (selected by author Joyce C. Oates) and Some Like It Hot (picked by Ana de Armas) on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The “Infernal Affairs” trilogy ends on Thursday, and I wasn’t able to get to it. MAJOR SADDIE FACE EMOJI.
ETC…
BANDIT (Quiver Distribution)
BLANK (Brainstorm Media)
DIG (Lionsgate/Saban Films)
THE ENFORCER (Screen Media)
GRAND JETÉ (Altered Innocense)
INVISIBLE DEMONS (Mubi)
ME TO PLAY (Cinedigm)
MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY
PETROV’S FLU (Strand Releasing)
Next week… Billy Eichner’s rom-com Bros takes on Paramount’s high concept horror-thriller Smile. May be the best movie win!
Box office data provided by The-Numbers.com.