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Posted March 28, 2018 by Scott Davis in Features
 
 

The Preview Reel: Ready Player One and Acrimony

Welcome to the “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide-release movies. Last weekend Pacific Rim: Uprising took down the long-time box office king, Black Panther, with an impressive $28 million haul. It won’t likely repeat the feat this weekend as one of the more intriguing releases of the year arrives in the form of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Tyler Perry’s latest, Acrimony, also debuts with Taraji P. Henson in the lead role.

 

Ready Player One

Ready Player One posterWhat we are excited about: There’s two things to be very excited about with this movie—the source material and director Steven Spielberg. Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name is a fun, action-packed adventure filled with nostalgia and geek-filled glee. It pays homage to some of the best films of the 1980s, and who better to direct such a nostalgia-fueled adventure than the king of the blockbuster himself, Steven Spielberg? The iconic director is responsible for some of the biggest films of all-time, and Cline’s novel even references him several times, making Spielberg the ideal choice to direct this movie. If Spielberg can take the source material and elevate it to the entertaining blockbuster status he’s been able to do time and time again, this could really be something special.

What we are worried about: While everything that is said above is true, we’re a little concerned about the prospects of this film due to its marketing. The trailers have been somewhat subpar and a little uninspiring, especially when it comes to the overabundance of CGI. Having read the book, we understand that CGI is necessary in telling this type of story, but none of it feels real. We’re hoping this doesn’t turn out to be like Spielberg’s The BFG (2016) where the CGI pretty much kills the entire movie. Oh, and don’t get us started on those terrible rip-off posters….

The Buzz: Intrigue has been surrounding this film for quite some time, in both good and bad ways. As mentioned earlier, the trailers have been a little underwhelming and the internet was not exactly happy with how things looked. That has somewhat changed as the film premiered at SXSW a few weeks ago to mostly positive reviews. As of this writing, the film sits at 83% on RottenTomatoes and 64 on MetaCritic. That’s a good sign, and the film should debut to a hefty $40 million holiday weekend haul.

Final Thoughts: Steven Spielberg and this source material almost make this an automatic must-see.

 

Acrimony

Acrimony posterWhat we are excited about: We are excited to see Tyler Perry expand out of his comfort zone, and we are always intrigued with anything that involves Taraji P. Henson does, but there doesn’t look like there’s much to be excited about with regards to this movie. It reminds us of Unforgettable (2017)—but it would be extremely difficult to be worse than that movie—so Acrimony should at least be a step above that.

What we are worried about: This movie is not up our alley and reminds us of recent misfires such as When the Bough Breaks (2016), Unforgettable, and No Good Deed (2014). Most of these movies were profitable for studios, but they were mostly not received well critically. Tyler Perry’s non-comedic direction also doesn’t give us much hope as seen with Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013), For Colored Girls (2010), and The Family That Preys (2008).

The Buzz: There isn’t much buzz around Tyler Perry movies before they are released, but he is one of the most bankable directors working right now. Acrimony doesn’t have any reviews as of this writing, but that should not hurt its box-office prospects. Look for an opening around $15 million.

Final Thoughts: Sadly, Taraji P. Henson isn’t enough to raise our interest above a shrug.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.